Illegal Contact

by Becky Harmon

  “Oh she’s mad now,” Carlton said with a grin.

  Though she couldn’t hear what the players were saying, Jamison could tell by their actions that they weren’t happy with the tackler. They stood in a circle around him and all seemed to be talking at once. When Shea called for them to huddle so she could give them the next play they came reluctantly.

  “He’s just going to keep playing?” Jamison said indignantly. “No one’s going to do anything? What the hell?”

  She fought the urge to charge the field and punch the guy herself. Shea might try to appear tough, okay, maybe she was pretty tough, but Jamison had seen her exhausted and vulnerable last night. She couldn’t believe Coach Sutton wasn’t going to step in and do anything.

  Carlton laughed at her consternation. “Don’t you worry about my cub. He’ll get what’s comin’ to him. You might not see it but those guys that protect her will take care of him.”

  Jamison watched Shea take her position behind center and call the cadence. When the ball moved it seemed almost in slow motion. The offensive line parted and Shea threw a bullet into the tackler’s crotch. He collapsed onto the ground rolling back and forth until his teammates pulled him to his feet. Shea called her next huddle and the offense took the line quickly giving him no time for recovery.

  Jamison stared in wonder but Carlton chuckled softly beside her. “Shouldn’t piss her off.”

  “No, I guess not.” Jamison relaxed back into her seat. She was impressed with the way Shea handled the situation, realizing that this was probably not the first time Shea had dealt with unruly team members. “Was a check run on the players too?”

  Carlton grunted. “I was told that was too invasive when I suggested it to the police officer so I did a search myself. Coach and I are pretty confident we cleared them all.”

  She nodded. “Do you know anything about the kid that just hit her?”

  “An aggressive sophomore trying to win a place on the first string. I don’t think it’s anything more than that and I don’t think he’ll make a late hit again.”

  She stood as the players started to leave the field. “Tomorrow, then.”

  Carlton gave her a nod.

  Like yesterday, Shea waited at the edge of the tunnel for her to climb down the bleachers and then they walked together in silence. She wanted to say something about the late tackle but wasn’t sure how to word it and she didn’t want to disrupt the amicable silence they were developing again. She glanced at Shea out of the corner of her eye and found her looking back.

  Shea grinned. “I’m okay.”

  Jamison nodded. That was all she needed to know.

  “The weight room is going to be pretty smelly today with all the guys in there but I’ll work through my set as quick as I can.”

  Jamison nodded again.

  “I’m going to dinner with some of the guys after practice,” Shea said reluctantly.

  “I’ll stay out of sight. Is it within walking distance or will I need my truck?”

  “We can walk. Mike’s on Tennessee Street. It’s a burger place.”

  Jamison grimaced and Shea laughed. “They serve other stuff too but we go there for the burgers.”

  Chapter Seven

  Shea groaned as she pushed the bar over her head again. This was her last set and she was hoping to escape without an ice bath tonight. Lynnette seemed to be busy with the guys and hadn’t mentioned it to her. As if Lynnette had heard her thoughts, Shea saw her turn in her direction so she closed her eyes to concentrate on the weight.

  “Your bath is set.” Shea heard a soft whisper in her ear. “And don’t bother getting fully dressed after your shower, I want to see those ribs.”

  “Crap,” Shea said as Lynnette walked away.

  Josh, her center and pretty much favorite guy on the team, laughed softly. “Ice bath?”

  “Yes, dammit.”

  “She takes such good care of you,” he teased.

  She rolled her eyes. Finished with her last set she sat up on the bench and scanned the room. Her eyes met Jamison’s and held for a moment.

  “She your bodyguard or girlfriend?” Josh asked, his voice still teasing.

  She narrowed her eyes. “What’s it to you?”

  “I was thinking about asking her out that’s all. She’s kinda hot.” Josh stood and pushed her off the bench. “You’re done here, right?”

  Shea considered punching him. She knew he was only kidding but her jealousy had flared instantly. Jamison was hot. She involuntarily glanced in her direction again. Wearing jeans and Shea’s Tigers Windbreaker, Jamison looked relaxed and not really out of place in the Tigers team weight room.

  Shea liked the way Jamison never seemed to get ruffled even when she gave her a reason to be angry. Her own childhood had always been a constant state of turmoil. Her mother was either angry or excited, there was never a downtime and Mel was the same way until she moved out of the house. It took Mel years to become the solid person emotionally that she was now. Shea struggled to find an even keel. Football had helped but still some things disrupted her emotions, like the arrival of Jamison.

  She was ready to leave football and everything that went with it behind her for the night but she had already agreed to dinner.

  Josh was watching her closely. “You know I was just kidding about asking her out, right? She is hot and all but I can see you guys got a connection. I wouldn’t do anything to screw that up for you.”

  She grinned at him. “Shut up, Josh, before I punch you.”

  He laughed. His happy demeanor returned, his attention went back to lifting weights. For a minute, she watched the muscles in his biceps bulge as he pushed the weight bar over his head. She was thankful to have him for her protection on the field. All of the guys on her offensive line were beefy with plenty of muscle strength too. She’d been sacked only twice this year because these guys took their job seriously and didn’t mess around where her safety was concerned. Maybe it was because she was a female but really she didn’t care why. Whatever it took to make them strive to protect her was not important—only that they did.

  She headed for the door without looking behind her. She could feel Jamison’s presence. When they returned to the women’s locker room, she watched Jamison again search every corner, her pistol casually at her side. She tried to ignore the uneasiness she felt at the idea someone could be waiting to harm her. When Jamison relaxed, taking her usual seat on the stack of mats, she wasted no time returning her focus to getting out of there for the night.

  She quickly switched into long sleeves and sweats before climbing into the ice bath. She was reminded of the earlier hit when she lifted her arms above her head, stretching her rib cage. She had thought no one had noticed when she skipped the weight machines that would put the most strain on that area of her body, but now she wondered if maybe Lynnette had noticed. She gently lowered herself into the freezing water, trying to clear her head and focus on something other than the ice. After a few minutes, she settled back against the tub making sure her throwing arm was completely submerged.

  “Does it burn?”

  Shea looked up to find Jamison watching her. “No, unless it touches my skin. It’s more of a mind-numbing pain. The initial shock is the worst then it just settles into a dull ache.”

  “But it makes you feel better?”

  “Oh yeah. That’s why you don’t see any of us complain about it too much.”

  They both turned as the locker room door opened and Lynnette appeared. “How bad was the hit? One to ten?”

  She groaned. Lynnette always asked that and then she never believed the answer. “Not more than a five. He really just knocked the wind out of me.”

  Lynnette rolled her eyes. “Save it, Carter. You skipped two machines in the weight room so hit the shower and I’ll draw my own conclusions.”

  With Lynnette’s help, she climbed out of the tub and stepped into the showers.

  Lynnette asked Jamison quietly, “Have there been an
y developments?”

  Shea had wanted to ask the same question but she knew it wouldn’t be answered truthfully.

  “I’m not really working on the case. I’m just here to make sure he…or she isn’t able to reach Ms. Carter again.”

  If Lynnette responded, Shea didn’t hear her. She dressed quickly in a sports bra and underwear before allowing Lynnette to begin her evaluation. She couldn’t stop the occasional grimace when Lynnette zeroed in on a bruised area.

  “Nothing is broken. Some serious bruising though.” She crossed the room to the office and returned with an arm full of bandages. “Let’s wrap it for the next couple of days. You know the drill. Contact me immediately if the pain intensifies or you have trouble breathing.”

  She stood quietly while Lynnette wrapped her ribs and then she dressed quickly. Jamison followed her out of the locker room and across the darkening campus.

  “I don’t plan on staying long,” she told her as Mike’s came into view. “I have some stuff to work on tonight but I’d already agreed to come along.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll follow you out whenever you’re ready.”

  * * *

  College students filled every available space and they all seemed eager to talk with Shea. Jamison remained near the door waiting to see where Shea would settle. Shea chose a table near the far wall already crowded with several men and one woman. Jamison moved to a booth in the corner and slid in giving herself a clear view of Shea. The waitress approached quickly and Jamison ordered a grilled chicken salad with spinach. She was scanning the room when her phone vibrated. She swiped to accept the call when she saw Heather’s name.

  “News?” Jamison asked as her greeting.

  “Maybe. Narcotics picked up a guy with a stash of cocaine. He wants to negotiate and says he has information on the bus tampering. I’m just arriving at the station now so I’ll call you back after I talk with him.”

  “Sounds good.” Jamison punched her phone off. Heather was all business and Jamison liked that about her. She had originally thought she would have her hands in the investigation too but after meeting Heather this morning she no longer felt that was necessary. Heather had proved her right by not waiting or hesitating to fill her in.

  Jamison went back to scanning the customers and the waitstaff. No one seemed to be focused on Shea more than normal. She noticed Shea was watching her. Jamison allowed her eyes to lock with Shea’s. She struggled to read the dark eyes burning into her own. From across the room it was hard to tell the exact color and she had already learned that was the only way she knew to read Shea. Her eyes were a creamy dark until she got angry and then the color deepened. Jamison’s body gave an involuntary shudder as she thought about the dark arousal she had seen in Shea’s eyes the night before. Again she wondered if there would be anything left of their relationship when this case was over. She couldn’t open that door by asking Shea to wait until then. Best for Shea to think there was no opportunity for anything between them so Jamison could focus entirely on the case. Her eyes caught Shea’s again as a grin slid across her face. What had Shea seen in her face to make that grin appear? She was glad the waitress chose that moment to arrive with her salad.

  Jamison’s phone buzzed as she was taking her last bite and she immediately picked up Heather’s call.

  “How’d it go?”

  “He was a fountain of rambling but I might’ve gotten something. He identified the make and model of a car that was idling near the bus. A white Honda Accord in the old box style. Probably a late nineties model.”

  “That’s something. Anything on the person?”

  “Nothing specific. Dark clothes with a hood up. I’m going through surveillance at the hotel again. Maybe I’ll catch a glimpse of him or the car. One of the other guys is pulling all the older white Honda Accord registrations within a sixty-mile radius. I’ll email you the records when I get them. It looked like about ten or so.”

  “I’ll contact Carlton Hammer with Tallahassee University security and have him pull the tapes and see if we can spot the car around campus.”

  “Okay. Let me know if you guys turn up anything on your end.”

  It was almost nine p.m. Out of the corner of her eye, Jamison caught a glimpse of Shea standing beside her table so she quickly paid her bill, crossed to the exit and waited outside for Shea. They walked together down the sidewalk and headed back toward campus. The traffic on the street was light and there weren’t many people hanging around.

  Jamison wanted to ask how she was feeling but knew Shea wouldn’t respond well to that question. Shea wanted to belittle the situation and Jamison needed to honor her feelings. So, instead she asked about dinner.

  “How was your burger?”

  “Greasy. And your salad?”

  “Not greasy.”

  Shea led the way into the duplex, disappearing upstairs. Jamison logged onto the security cameras and scanned the footage from around the house while they had been gone, then brought up her email. Heather had sent copies of the driver’s licenses for the owners of all ten Honda Accords and she forwarded them on to Todd, requesting that he have a tech run background checks on each person. She considered calling Carlton to ask about the surveillance tapes but it was late so she sent him an email too. There had been no movement upstairs in over an hour so she went to bed as well.

  Chapter Eight

  Wednesday morning, Jamison checked the street and then stood aside for Shea to exit. At Shea’s first class Jamison took her usual seat in the hallway with her laptop. She had received reports back from the tech center and managed to go through all ten backgrounds by the time Shea departed her classroom an hour later. She had arranged the files in order of potential suspects, even though none of them had any prior police records, and emailed the file to Carlton. After she dropped Shea at her second class of the day, Jamison crossed campus to the security office and located Carlton.

  “Good morning,” he greeted her as soon as she walked through the door. “I’ve been scanning the files you sent but I haven’t finished yet. Anyone stand out to you?”

  “Unfortunately no, but at least we know what he might’ve been driving. Can you pull up the surveillance tapes and see if you can match the vehicle?”

  “My secretary’s pulling all the tapes for those days.”

  “Email me some of the files and I’ll have the techs at Flagler work on it too.”

  She could tell he wanted to do the work himself but he reluctantly nodded. “I’ll see how much I can get through in the next hour or so and then I’ll split the rest with you.”

  She dialed Flagler and waited for Todd to pick up as she walked back to Shea’s classroom. “Are you having the footage from my cameras watched every day?”

  “Yes, but unfortunately it’s the night shift. I have it running live on the monitor beside me but I haven’t been able to watch it consistently.”

  “I understand. I know you have other work too. At least if someone is scanning it each night they’ll catch someone hanging around.”

  “They’ll be long gone,” Todd said with regret.

  “But we might get a visual on a face and that would help.” She saw Shea step out of the building with her lunch friend from Monday and two other guys. Jamison recognized them all from the dinner group last night. She fell into step behind them. “Thanks for all your help, Todd. I better run.”

  Jamison considered calling Mel with an update but really they didn’t have much yet. They were finally chasing a lead and that, at least, felt good. She was surprised when Shea held the sub shop door open for her and then motioned for her to join their table.

  “I’m Mindi. This is my boyfriend, Doug, and that’s Josh.”

  “Jamison.”

  She ate quietly as the conversation went from classes to football.

  “Have you been to a game?’ Mindi asked her.

  “Never in person but I watch on television.”

  “Did you watch last weekend?” Doug asked. “I
t was a great game.”

  Jamison replayed the game in her mind, looking for a moment that stood out. “I did. It was a good game. I was scared for a short time toward the end when they scored and then almost scored again.”

  Josh jumped into the conversation. “Right. Our defense lost their minds and allowed them to walk right down to the twenty. Luckily Harper got that interception.”

  “That wasn’t luck, man. We were still up by a touchdown. That game was in the bag,” Doug said.

  “This is the last regular season game, right?” Jamison asked, even though she knew the answer. “Jacksonville?”

  “Right,” Josh answered. “And this year we have Shea so they don’t stand a chance.”

  Shea stood. “At the risk of counting our chickens before they’ve hatched, I’m going to class.”

  Jamison stepped onto the sidewalk and held the door for Shea.

  “I didn’t realize you were a football fan,” Shea said as they approached the campus.

  “I like to watch on my free weekends. And yes, I do watch Tallahassee.”

  Shea grinned. “I’ll see you in an hour?”

  She nodded, taking a seat on the floor beside her computer bag.

  * * *

  Jamison leaned back in the stadium chair and enjoyed what had quickly become her favorite part of the day. She and Carlton watched the team run through play after play while they sat in the late afternoon sun. She watched Shea run the ball on a quarterback sneak play. She seemed much more relaxed than Jamison had seen her all week. Even the team seemed to have an easygoing attitude. It must have been a good practice because Coach Sutton released them about thirty minutes early.

  Shea waited for her at the edge of the tunnel as she had the last two days and they walked together to the weight room. She watched Shea move through her workout and was surprised to find her ready to go as soon as she finished.

  “No ice bath tonight?” she asked as they exited the locker room.

  “I talked Lynnette out of it. I want to go home, shower and lay on my couch.”