Operation: Endgame
Page 14
“There is no way you can know that for sure, Cassie. Just because he’s in this class and has a history with you, makes him a suspect. Brian would tell you the same thing. Speaking of which, we need to call him, so we can find out exactly what’s in your little message there.” Jake pulled out his cell phone and called Brian as Derek and Cassie went over students from their class, trying to think of anyone who may have been acting suspiciously lately.
“What about Joel Reyes?”
“What about him? I didn’t notice anything with him and he’s always been a great student, and for that matter, a great neighbor too. No wild parties and he’s always respectful and friendly.”
Jake looked at Cassie. “One of your students is a neighbor too?”
“Jake, seriously, I live a couple of blocks from campus. Half my neighbors have taken one of my classes at some point in time. They’re all college students.”
“True, but someone that’s a neighbor would know your comings and goings and it would be easier to pinpoint your activities like your stalker is doing.”
“Okay, I can see your point, but Joel is seriously one of the nicest kids in my class. I wish they were all like him.” Cassie looked back at Derek. “What made you bring up his name?”
“He was just acting a little odd today. Jumpy, maybe. In the middle of the exam, he knocked over some books and he just seemed distracted. He kept watching everyone.”
“He’s probably just nervous about the test. Honestly, if we’re basing a witch hunt on odd behavior today, you’d be on that list today too, Derek.” Derek flushed red, and started to argue, but Cassie waved him off. “I’m not saying you have anything to do with this. I know you don’t. I just can’t see him as a creepy stalker and would hate to see a good kid accused of something just because he gets uptight on a day that just happened to coincide with the mess in my life.”
“You may not be accusing anyone, but I’m not afraid to push this.” Jake looked hard at Derek. “Derek had access to the tests and was acting out of the norm this morning and last night, so do you have anything to say in your defense?”
“Dammit, Jake, stop it.” She waved her hand in front of Derek as he started to speak. “Ignore him. I know you didn’t have anything to do with this.” Cassie gave Jake a dirty look, but he was saved from her wrath by the ringing of the front doorbell.
Cassie opened the front door to find Brian on her front doorstep. “Detective, no offense, because you seem like a nice guy, but I’m getting really tired of seeing you.”
Brian chuckled, “I have to admit I’d enjoy our little visits if they were more for pleasure rather than work. Maybe we could manage that when this investigation closes.” He gave her a flirtatious smile, which Cassie reciprocated.
Jake practically growled, “Maybe we need to add Detective Barnes to the suspect list too.” He scowled at Brian, then turned and scowled at Cassie. “Is there any male you come into contact with who doesn’t become enamored with you?”
“Aw, come on Jake, he’s just joking around. You need to take off your big brother hat.”
Derek muttered under his breath, “Big brother, my ass,” which got a good-natured chuckle from the detective, as he looked speculatively between Jake and Cassie.
Cassie hadn’t heard the comment though, so she waved Brian over to the table where the yellow paper was still sitting untouched on top of the pile of exams. “There it is. We haven’t touched it since Derek found it in the pile, so we have no idea what it says.”
Brian nodded as he pulled out some rubber gloves to unfold the note. Everyone in the room stepped closer so they could see what the note said. Using the same typewriter font which had appeared on all his notes, the paper said,
You will be mine.
And I don’t share.
I have a very special gift for you.
We will all be family by the New Year.
-BK
Cassie couldn’t help the shiver of revulsion which swept through her body. Jake wrapped a comforting arm around her waist.
Brian looked down at the stack of papers the note sat on. “You said the note was in the final exams from today?” At Cassie’s nod, he continued, “Are they still in the original order?” Cassie nodded again and looked at Derek for confirmation.
He also nodded and picked up the one that was set to the side. “This is the one that was on top of it.”
Brian noted down the student’s names of the tests that were around the note, and then looked at Cassie. “Did anyone have access to these besides you?”
“Just Derek. When we leave the classroom, we band them so none of them get dropped. He banded them and I put them in my briefcase. We didn’t pull them out of it until tonight and my briefcase has been locked since the test.”
Brian slid the note into a Ziploc, and then looked at Cassie. “You know the drill on this. We may luck out this time because the odds are good this will at least have the fingerprints on it from the person who placed it in the stack of tests. I need a list of your class roster.”
“Okay, but I’ll need to check with War, the history department chair, to make sure about privacy issues first. Let me just give him a call real quick.”
While Cassie went to make the phone call, Brian looked at Jake. “You realize he’s probably talking about you in the note.”
Jake gave a clipped nod.
“He already hurt her,” Brian nodded his head towards Cassie who was in the kitchen on the phone, “and I don’t think he would think twice about doing serious damage to you.”
Jake clenched his jaw. “He’ll be in for a surprise if he thinks I’ll be easily removed.”
Brian glanced down at the cast. “Yes, but you’re at a slight disadvantage right now.”
“No worries about that. It’s being removed tomorrow, if I have to take a hammer to it myself.”
“That’s good. You still have the police officer on the house, but there’s no telling what this guy’s planning, so be sure to stay on guard.”
Jake nodded. “Will do. Before you arrived, they were discussing a couple of students who might be worth checking out.”
Brian looked to Derek for the names. “Yes, one of them is Trevor Bennett. He’s in this class and has shown an interest in Cassie before.”
“What kind of interest?”
“I’m not sure about the specifics, but I know he asked her out a couple of times and then conveniently ran into her once or twice, which made her nervous. She hasn’t mentioned anything lately, but I know for a while she asked me to stick close when he was around so it was enough she was concerned.”
Cassie walked up carrying her class list she’d just printed. “War said it was okay to give this to you, but the history department would like this to be kept quiet if at all possible. They don’t want panicked parents or alumni calling the school.” Brian nodded in agreement. She looked over at Derek, “Who are we talking about?”
“We were discussing Trevor and his interest in you.”
Cassie nodded, “Yes, he was a nuisance for a few weeks at the beginning of the semester, but he seemed to get the hint, and I haven’t had any trouble with him for a couple of months.”
“Let me guess, the couple of months you’ve been getting mail from your stalker. Maybe he just figured out a different way to channel his energies and decided to terrorize you instead when you didn’t show any interest.” Jake added.
“I guess it’s possible, but I just don’t see him being brave enough to actually threaten or hurt someone. He’s really very shy.”
Brian added, “Actually you’d be surprised how many violent criminals are really social introverts. The psychologists could explain it better, but it seems to have something to do with how they can’t express themselves in more socially acceptable ways. He’s definitely someone to look into. I’ll check him out.” He looked over at Derek and Cassie. “You said a couple of people. Is there someone else who we should look at?”
Derek looked at Ca
ssie, but pushed on, despite her objections. “There was one student, Joel Reyes, who was acting very jumpy and uptight today in class that we’d talked about before you arrived.”
Cassie shook her head. “I still say he was simply nervous about the test today. He’s a model student and has never shown any special interest in me in any way.”
Jake looked at Brian and added, “He’s also her neighbor.”
Brian perked up at that bit of information. “Really? Where does he live?”
Cassie pointed out the front door and to the right. “He lives across the street, one house down, but honestly, he’s never been anything but friendly. He isn’t even like a normal college guy with the wild parties. He’s a great student and neighbor. I really don’t want you bothering him. I’d feel awful if he felt like he was being investigated.”
“I understand Cassie, but the fact of the matter is this could be anyone around you. He’s part of this class, so we can tell him we’re talking to all the students in the class, which probably won’t be a lie. Hopefully we can get hold of everyone before they all head home for the holidays.” Brian shook his head as he thought about the monumental and impossible task before him. He looked down at the list of the 150 plus students. There would be no way to interview all these kids before they started taking off towards home for the holidays. The chances were good some of them had already left town. “If your stalker is on this list, then from the message, I doubt he’s going anywhere for the Christmas holidays. If the note dropper was simply someone doing his dirty work, then the odds aren’t too good he or she will still be around, but we’ll do what we can. I’ll be in touch, Cassie.” He looked over at Jake. “Be careful Jake.”
After Cassie walked the Detective out the door, she turned back towards Jake. “What did he mean with that last warning?”
“He thinks the note may have been referencing me being here.”
“Brian thinks the stalker may come after you next?” She looked worried.
“It’s nothing to worry about, Cass. I’m not that easy to get to. Remember, I fight off bad guys for a living.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I also haven’t forgotten your promise. Can we go to the gun store tomorrow?”
“Absolutely, then we’ll go to the shooting range and work on your targeting. Now get back to grading your tests so you’ll have time to do anything tomorrow.” Jake looked down at his casted leg. “The first place we’re going to stop tomorrow is the doctor’s office so I can get rid of this,” he knocked on the cast, “and these.” He swung the crutches. “It’s time for me to be at 100%.”
Chapter 29
The next morning, Jake and Cassie met Julie at the Health and Sciences Center to have Jake’s cast taken off. As a physical therapist, Julie knew the orthopedic surgeons on staff and she called in a favor to have Jake’s cast removed. They met her at the physio workout rooms where she led them to Dr. Aaron Everett’s office.
Jake looked towards Julie as they walked down the hall. “Julie, I really appreciate you setting this up for me. I hope it wasn’t too difficult to get the Doctor to agree.”
Julie snorted. “No, it wasn’t too hard at all. I just had to agree to go out on a date with Dr. Everett.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “What? You had to agree to a date so I could get my cast off?” At Julie’s chagrined nod, Jake muttered under his breath, “Why do I suddenly feel like a pimp?”
Julie laughed lightly. “Don’t worry about it Jake. Having to go out with Dr. Everett is no hardship, believe me.” She gave him a wink as they came to the ortho receptionist’s desk. “Nancy, this is Jake Madsen. He’s not on Aaron’s schedule, but I cleared it with him earlier.”
Just then the doctor strode into the reception area, but as soon as he saw Julie, he came around the counters with his face spread in a huge smile. “Hi Julie.”
Cassie watched the doctor who only had eyes for her best friend. She could see why Julie was okay with going on a date with him. He was tall; probably about 6’2” with a lean, muscular build. He had dark black hair which fell over the front of his face to give him a boyish look. He wore thin-framed glasses which just helped to set off the dimples in his cheeks. He was gorgeous and obviously enamored with Julie. In fact, he hadn’t even given Jake or her a single glance.
Jake looked at Cassie with a smile and muttered. “Okay, I’m not feeling like a pimp any longer. I think I get dibs for best man at the wedding though.”
Cassie chuckled, but had to admit there was most definitely a certain amount of chemistry between the two, who seemed to have forgotten they were even there.
“Ahem,” Jake interrupted, and extended a hand out to the Doctor. “I’m Jake Madsen.”
Julie blushed. “I’m so sorry. Jake this is Dr. Aaron Everett. Aaron, this is Jake Madsen and our friend Cassie Robertson.”
Aaron took Jake’s hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you Jake.” He looked at Cassie. “You too, Cassie.” He looked back at Julie. “Do you and Cassie want to go out in the waiting room while Jake and I take care of his cast? It’ll only take about 15 minutes.”
“Actually, I think we’ll go grab some coffee from the cafeteria. We’ll be back in 15 minutes.”
Aaron grinned at her. “I’m looking forward to it,” and ushered Jake down the hall towards an exam room.
When Julie and Cassie got out to the hall, Cassie started giggling. “Oh my God, Julie, that guy is so into you and he’s cute!”
Julie gave Cassie a hopeful look. “Really? Do you really think so? He’s so gorgeous and so nice, but every nurse in the hospital drools all over him. I couldn’t believe it when he asked me out in return for seeing Jake. Like he needed to bribe me to go out with him. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I could really fall for him.”
Cassie watched Julie who was grinning from ear to ear and laughed. “From what I could see, he’s just as in to you as you are him. When are you all going out?”
“Saturday, but I have no idea what we’re doing yet.”
“Excuse me, did you forget the best holiday party in town?”
Julie looked stricken, “Oh no, your party is Saturday. I completely forgot.”
“No worries, girly. Just bring him along.”
Julie chewed her lip thoughtfully. “Maybe. That’s a lot of pressure for a first date….having to impress all the friends.”
“Well, just drop by for a little bit, then you can go on your way… or not. I completely understand if you don’t want that pressure on a first date. Regardless, I need a full report Sunday, unless he has you tied to the bed for the rest of the weekend, then I can wait until Monday.”
Julie was blushing again, but just coyly said, “We’ll see.”
Chapter 30
Cassie watched Jake approach the shooting lane. After watching him move around on crutches for the last week, she’d forgotten just how tall and broad he really was. Seeing him at his full height sent tingles through her belly and lower. She needed to keep reminding herself he had Amy waiting for him back in Arizona. She had no business lusting after her best friend, no matter how sexy he looked and, damn, he really did look sexy especially watching him handle a firearm. Cassie had never played bondage games, but watching him using a gun with such elegance and ease, she was beginning to see the appeal of a dominate male. Imagining him with handcuffs…
Cassie shook her head. What the hell was she doing fantasizing about Jake? Seriously, he’d proven over and over he didn’t want to have that kind of relationship with her. She was NOT going to put herself out there again with him.
She must have had an odd look on her face when Jake walked up because he looked at her funny and asked, “Are you okay?”
Great, not only was she lusting after him, but now she was looking weird too. She felt the heat suffuse her face and mumbled, “I’m fine. Are we all ready to start shooting?” They’d bought a handgun for her after leaving the hospital. It was a lot like Jake’s, but just a smaller version.
Jake stood closely behind her after he loaded her weapon and helped her steady the pistol. Cassie was very aware of his large hard body pressed so close to hers. She raised her left arm and attempted to take aim, but she could already feel the pull at her muscles while trying to hold steady.
Jake reached around from behind her and guided her right hand which was in the sling so it supported the upper portion of her arm. The position didn’t support her aim as much as if she could fully extend her arm, but it definitely helped. She turned her head a little to look at him and was met with the side of his neck, so close she could just lean over and lick it. Instead she simply whispered a husky, “Thank you,” and hoped he didn’t hear the lust in her voice.
He gave a quick nod and stepped back to let her take her shot. It wasn’t a great shot, but it at least hit the target, which pleased Cassie. Not bad for her first shot.
Jake let her continue shooting, coming in and correcting her stance periodically. By the time they were done, Cassie’s arm and hand were shaking with fatigue and the rest of her body was shaking with unrequited lust. Working closely with Jake and having him pushed up so closely against her was more than her overheated body could take. It had been way too long since she had been in close contact with a hard male.
She let Jake unload the weapon while she flexed her left hand open and closed trying to loosen the strained muscles. Jake reached over to her hand and started massaging it. It helped to relax her worn out muscles. As he rubbed, he felt the scar in her palm. He turned over her hand and examined the scar which ran the width of her palm. He lightly traced across it with his callused fingers, which sent chills skittering up her spine.