Illegal Contact

by Becky Harmon

  Jamison laughed. “That sounds like a good plan.”

  Shea strode down the hall and stopped in front of a wall filled with boxes. “Team mailboxes,” she explained. “Seldom anything important but sometimes Lynnette will put supplies we ask for in there.” She tossed a small box into her backpack. “Like my new mouth guard.”

  As they left the stadium, Shea began her plea for pizza. Jamison let her argue her case and then simply said no. Their banter was friendly and filled with laughter.

  “But Jimmy’s going to think I don’t like him anymore,” Shea pretended to whine.

  “You just had pizza on Sunday. I’ll bake chicken.”

  “If you must,” Shea surrendered. “What’ll you make with it, Chef Krews?”

  “Lots of vegetables,” Jamison teased.

  “That’s terrible,” Shea groaned, depositing her backpack beside the couch. “I’m going to shower.”

  Jamison turned the oven on to preheat and placed the raw chicken breast into a baking dish, covering it with Italian dressing. She laid out some vegetables, chopped them up and added them to a bowl of lettuce and spinach. She moved to grab her laptop and met Shea at the foot of the stairs.

  “I’m going—” Jamison started.

  “No, I don’t think you are.”

  Shea grasped her by the waist and pushed her onto the couch, straddling Jamison’s lap. Their faces were close and she stared into the dark eyes unable to look away. What would one kiss hurt? Just one. Shea’s skin was cool from her shower and the lavender smell was intoxicating.

  * * *

  Shea watched the range of emotions cross Jamison’s face. She hadn’t planned this but now she couldn’t stop. The flames of desire had engulfed her and Jamison’s expression mirrored her own. She gently tilted Jamison’s chin. She knew any second Jamison would come to her senses and she would quickly be dismissed. Slowly, she touched her lips to Jamison’s and held them there. Her tongue softly played along Jamison’s lips, patiently waiting until Jamison’s tongue met hers and the kiss deepened. She couldn’t hold back any longer and she pushed deeper into Jamison’s mouth. She felt Jamison surrender for barely a second and then the timer went off on the stove.

  Jamison broke the kiss and slid Shea off her lap, jumping to her feet. “Dammit, Shea. I can’t…You can’t.” Her frustration clearly visible, she disappeared into the kitchen.

  “I think we just did,” Shea said to the empty room.

  Chapter Nine

  Jamison slapped the oven timer to stop the beeping and leaned against the counter trying to get control of her body. The look of desire she had seen on Shea’s face before she had closed her eyes had unnerved her. Her own emotions had been reflected back at her and she wanted to give into them. She crossed her arms over her chest and took several deep breaths. She needed to walk into the living room and give Shea a firm no, but she couldn’t even form a full sentence in her head let alone make words come out of her mouth. At this moment, she wouldn’t be very convincing.

  She took a quick look in the living room as she retrieved her laptop. Shea was lying on the couch with the remote on her chest but her eyes watched Jamison walking past. She shuddered and hoped that Shea hadn’t noticed the effect her eyes had on her. She couldn’t even think about the rest of Shea’s body but her mind could. In fact, her mind couldn’t stop.

  She booted up her computer and pulled up the surveillance cameras, checking first the live feeds before scrolling through today’s recordings. The television was muted but movement from a football game on the screen caught her attention. A quarterback rolled out of the pocket and as he pulled back to throw the defense slammed him hard to the ground. She spoke without thinking. “That was stupid. He moved out of the pocket when he would’ve been safe there.”

  Shea’s head appeared over the top of the couch. “That was a correct observation, Coach Krews.”

  She rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the camera footage. She could feel Shea’s eyes still on her.

  “I wasn’t being sarcastic, Jamison. You were correct and I won’t make the same mistake. Their defense is killer and if I move out of the protection of my offensive line, they’ll get me every time. Come watch with me,” Shea suggested.

  She glanced at her computer screen. She would rather be with Shea analyzing the football game. She closed her laptop and took a seat in the living room chair out of touching distance. A box on the floor in front of Shea’s open backpack caught her eye. “Shea, what did you say was in that box?”

  “My new mouth guard. I’ll wear it tonight while I sleep to get used to it.”

  “Was it shipped from somewhere or did Lynnette pick it up?” Jamison asked, still studying the box.

  Shea shrugged. “I guess Lynnette picked it up. I really don’t know.”

  “Do your supplies normally come like that?” Jamison looked at her.

  “What do you mean?” Shea started to reach for the box.

  “No!” Jamison put her hand out to stop Shea. “There’s no return address but your name and address are written out fully. It’s like it came through the mail.”

  Shea frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Do you have a number for Lynnette? Can you call her?”

  Shea nodded and reached for her cell phone.

  “Wait. Let’s step out on the porch.”

  Shea was puzzled but she followed Jamison out of the house.

  “Lynnette, its Shea. I’m sorry to bother you.”

  Jamison listened while they exchanged greetings, her eyes locked on Shea’s.

  “Did my mouth guard come in yet…No, it’s fine. You said when you ordered it that it might not come in before the game.”

  Jamison had heard enough. She dialed Flagler and asked for Bowden. Thankful that Mel had given her a point of contact for assistance.

  Shea was still talking with Lynnette and Jamison looked up at her when she asked, “Did you put something else in my team box?” She shook her head at Jamison.

  “Oh, yes, Agent Krews. I’ll put you right through to Mrs. Bowden,” the Flagler technician said.

  While she waited on the line, she took Shea by the hand and walked her across the street to her truck. She motioned for Shea to climb in. Closing the door behind her, Jamison paced on the sidewalk.

  “Jamison? What’s wrong?” Bowden asked.

  “Ms. Carter received a package in her team mailbox today. She thought it was something she was expecting. I didn’t become suspicious until I saw the writing on the outside. It was fully addressed with her information but no return address. We have confirmed it is not the package Ms. Carter was expecting.”

  “Okay. I’ve heard enough. Are you out of the house?”

  “Yes, we’re across the street in my truck.”

  “I’ll have someone there shortly.”

  The dial tone buzzed in her ear.

  She climbed into the truck and gave Shea a small smile. “How about some pizza?”

  While Shea called in the order, Jamison considered calling Heather but if it turned out to be nothing she was going to feel like an idiot. Same thing with Mel and Carlton. She would fill everyone in once she knew whether there was anything to tell them. She looked up to find Shea watching her. Her face was creased with worry.

  “You think it’s a bomb?” Shea asked softly.

  “I think we should be safe and not take any chances.”

  “What’s going to happen now?”

  Jamison smiled, trying to lighten Shea’s mood. “One of two things. The bomb squad will show up and clear the package.”

  “Or?”

  “The house will blow up and we won’t need the bomb squad.”

  Shea chuckled. “That’s nice, Jamison.”

  Jamison stared out her window at the duplex. “How long has it been empty?” She motioned toward the other half of Shea’s building.

  “About a month. He was evicted. I wasn’t sorry to see him go. He had a dog that barked all the time and I t
hink it chewed on most of the fixtures in the house. I was home the day the landlord came to check it out and he said he probably wouldn’t be able to rent it again until next fall.”

  “Why so long?” Jamison wanted to keep Shea talking so she wasn’t thinking about their situation.

  “He won’t do repairs until summer. He does everything himself and he travels in the winter. He’s a friend of Coach Sutton so I just go to him if I need something but really it’s been great. No plumbing or heating issues. The guy does good work so it’s not like most rentals.”

  A black SUV pulled into the space in front of Jamison’s truck. She climbed out, telling Shea, “Please, stay in the truck.”

  Shea nodded.

  “Agent Krews?” the driver asked as he extended his hand. “I’m Sam.”

  “Sorry to call you guys out this evening.”

  “Not a problem. We always enjoy a good suspicious package.” Tall and muscular, he smiled down at her. “You can watch the monitor with me, if you want.”

  He stepped to the rear of the SUV and opened the hatch. Computer equipment and a monitor screen were permanently mounted to the vehicle.

  “John Sully will control Alpha’s movements from inside the response van.”

  He motioned to a black van pulling to a stop directly in front of the duplex. Two young men jumped out. The shorter one with red hair removed a robot, presumably Alpha, from the inside of the van and the other climbed inside the rear of the van.

  “House unlocked?” Sam asked.

  She nodded.

  “You’re clear, Sully,” Sam called to the man with the robot.

  Sully set the robot on the sidewalk and climbed into the rear of the response van.

  Jamison watched the robot on adjustable legs climb the stairs of the duplex and reach up, opening the front door. She couldn’t help but smile and turned to see if Shea was watching too. Shea’s gaze was locked on the robot now disappearing inside the house.

  “Do you mind if Ms. Carter joins us?” Jamison asked Sam.

  “Will she have a problem if we have to blow it in place?”

  Jamison motioned for Shea to get out of the truck. “She won’t be happy but she’ll understand.”

  Jamison saw the flicker of recognition on Sam’s face when Shea approached them. “Shea, this is Sam. Sam, Shea.” He shook her hand quickly and then returned to his monitor. “I’m a fan, Ms. Carter. Big fan. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “And you too, Sam. Thanks for helping us out here.” Shea shrugged at Jamison. “It’s a football town.”

  “You are correct on that,” Sam said, his focus still on the monitor. “Sully’s finished with his preliminary testing. Where’s the package located?”

  “The living room floor,” Jamison answered.

  She watched the monitor as Alpha moved slowly through the kitchen and into the living room. The package came into view.

  “I don’t see any wires on first pass.” Sam punched a few buttons, picking up the feed from the response van. “There’s no radiation, so that’s good.”

  An interior view of the package displayed on the screen. “Nope, definitely no wires. That’s real good. Sully, what’s that black spot on the right?” He paused while he listened. “Okay. Sounds good.” He turned back to Jamison and Shea. “We think the black spot…” He pointed at the monitor. “Right here, is a blasting cap.”

  Shea gasped and then quickly placed a hand over her mouth. Jamison put an arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze while Sam continued. “We don’t see any wires or timers though, so Sully’s going to move in for a visual and confirm that.”

  “He’s going into the house?” Shea asked in surprise.

  As if on cue, Sully stepped out of the van and trotted up the steps into the house. Sam nodded. “We’re confident about what we’re seeing or I wouldn’t allow him to do that. We have other options. Alpha can cover the box with a bomb plate and we can detonate on the spot but I don’t think that’s necessary.”

  They watched Sully’s hands through Alpha’s monitor as he opened the box. He pulled a folded up letter out first and then an old-fashioned Polaroid photo.

  Sam spoke into his microphone. “Yes, bring it all out.”

  The video began to wobble as Sully picked up Alpha to carry it out of the house. Sam shut off the monitor and closed the hatch of his SUV.

  “All clear, ladies. If it’s okay with you I’ll hang until TPD gets here. Sully will burn the footage of what we just did to a disk and they’ll want that as well as a report from me.” He passed Jamison a pair of gloves. “Probably no prints but just in case.” He pulled on a pair of his own.

  Sully handed Sam the box, nodded and crossed back across the road, disappearing into the van with Alpha still in his arms.

  Sam pulled the Polaroid out first.

  Jamison stared at the photo of her and Shea walking on campus.

  “That’s us,” Shea gasped.

  Sam dropped the photo back in the box and handed Jamison the letter. She opened it carefully holding it by the edges, making sure nothing fell out. Pasted on letters covered the paper and she read aloud.

  “Boom! It would have been that easy. You and your NEW friend would both be gone. See you Saturday.”

  She felt Shea shiver beside her and she gave her arm a quick squeeze. She dropped the letter and envelope into the evidence bag Sam held. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she dialed Heather and quickly explained the situation.

  “TPD is on the way,” Jamison said, disconnecting, though as usual Heather was already gone.

  Sam nodded. “Let’s get off the street.”

  “Pizza’s here,” Shea said.

  Jamison met the driver at the car and paid him, taking the pizza and drinks into the house. Sam and Shea followed her. She passed around bottles of water then joined them at the table. Shea pulled two pieces of pizza onto a paper plate and went into the living room. She sat in the chair, giving herself a view of the table, but she hit play on the DVD player to start the game footage again.

  “Will you let Mrs. Bowden know the outcome? I hate to call her again at home,” Jamison asked.

  “I sent her a text when we were all clear and she’ll call one of us if she wants more details before morning.”

  Jamison lowered her voice. She knew Shea was listening to the conversation though her gaze was focused on the television screen. “Were the explosives real?”

  Sam appeared to contemplate what he wanted to say. “I think so but we’ll let the lab guys say for sure. If they are, they should be able to track the origin.” He took another bite of pizza. “The FBI will probably want all of the evidence but you might convince them to give you a copy of the note.”

  “I’ll let TPD handle that fight.”

  Jamison left the room and returned with her laptop bag. She pulled two incident report forms from her bag and passed one to Sam. Silently they both documented their part in finding the evidence. Sam finished first and taking another slice of pizza he joined Shea in front of the television.

  Jamison sent a short text to Mel letting her know everything was okay in case she heard the bomb squad was called out through other Flagler channels. She saw movement on the porch as the motion light kicked on.

  Heather tapped lightly on the door and Jamison held it open allowing her and a man in a black suit inside.

  Heather motioned at him. “FBI Special Agent Andrew Wallace.”

  Jamison shook his hand. “Jamison Krews.”

  While Andrew and Sam exchanged greetings, Heather shrugged at Jamison. “I had to call him,” she said softly.

  “I understand. Pizza?” She motioned at the table.

  Heather shook her head. “No thanks.” She turned to where the two guys were going through the evidence bag. She frowned at Jamison when she saw the picture. “Sitting ducks is right. I’ll make you a copy of the picture and the note when Agent Wallace sends one to us.”

  Wallace nodded. “I want to get this to the
lab as soon as possible but I’ll have them make copies.” He nodded at Heather. “Thanks for calling me. I’ll be in touch.”

  They watched the door close behind him before anyone spoke.

  “I’ll be in touch my ass,” Heather mumbled.

  Jamison and Sam laughed.

  “I’ll email Mr. Personality a copy of our incident reports and footage from the package retrieval.” He nodded to Jamison. “I’ll copy you on it.”

  “And I’ll forward it to you,” Jamison said to Heather.

  “Not tonight though.” Sam smiled. “I’m headed home now. Nice meeting you, Ms. Carter. Good luck on Saturday.”

  “Thank you,” Shea called from the living room.

  “Thanks, Sam.” Jamison shook his hand.

  “No problem. Happy to help.”

  As the door closed behind Sam, Heather spoke. “The note is probably worthless again but maybe the FBI will get something from the explosives.”

  Jamison glanced at Shea and lowered her voice. “That would certainly help. Any luck with the car?”

  “We interviewed all of the owners today. Each was able to account for where they were during the time the brakes were tampered with.”

  “Maybe someone borrowed the car? Family member? Friend?”

  “It doesn’t appear so. I’m afraid we might have a car without registration.”

  “Another dead end. I thought the low number of matching vehicles gave us better odds.” Jamison rubbed her face. “I can’t believe he was so close and I didn’t see him.”

  Heather frowned. “How could you? You don’t know who you’re looking for. It’s not like he’s wearing a sign.”

  “He was using a fucking Polaroid camera, not a zoom lens—which means he was too close for me to miss him.”

  “Right, in a crowd of college students.”

  Jamison shrugged. “Maybe. But I still need to get on top of this before he gets any closer. He has something planned for the game on Saturday so we need to catch him now.”

  Heather nodded. “I agree. I pulled traffic camera footage from around the hotel. Maybe I’ll get a shot of the car coming or going and a view of his license plate.”

  “I’ll check with the techs at Flagler and see if they’ve spotted the car around the stadium when the notes were left.” Jamison’s phone buzzed and she glanced at the caller ID. “Crap.” She nodded toward the living room. “Her sister.”