Illegal Contact

by Becky Harmon

  “Jalapenos are healthy? Yuck. I didn’t know.”

  Shea bumped Jamison’s hip as she joined her at the counter.

  Jamison dumped diced apple into a bowl and added a scoop of jalapenos. She tore the stems from a handful of spinach and ripped them into small pieces. She added the tuna and some mayonnaise mixing everything in the bowl.

  “That almost looks good.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised,” Jamison teased her.

  “You constantly surprise me,” Shea said seriously.

  Jamison covered two slices of bread with the tuna mixture and placed the plates on the table.

  She turned and smiled at Shea. “That works both ways, you know? I am constantly surprised by you as well.”

  Shea gave her a devilish smile. “I’m not the cocky asshole you remembered.”

  “Oh no,” Jamison exclaimed. “You’re definitely that.”

  “What?”

  Jamison held her hand up and silenced Shea’s rebuttal. “But you have some amazing parts too.”

  Shea dropped into a chair at the table. “You just redeemed yourself.”

  She set two bottles of water on the table and took the seat across from Shea. This flirty conversation they were having was pulling them closer and Jamison needed to keep some distance between them.

  “What does Coach have planned for practice today?”

  “I think he wants to tweak several plays so probably quality time with the whiteboard.”

  “More x’s and o’s?” Jamison asked.

  Shea smiled. “Yep.” She took a bite of the sandwich and groaned. “How can this be so good?”

  Jamison smiled back at her. “I can work magic.”

  She watched Shea’s eyes darken.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Shea,” she commanded. Placing an elbow on the table and holding her hand in front of Shea, she said, “Hold up your hand.”

  Shea’s eyes still simmered but she did as Jamison asked, placing her elbow on the table too. Jamison put her palm against Shea’s and stretched her fingers as far as they would go. Shea’s fingers still reached several inches past the tips of Jamison’s.

  Jamison laughed. “It’s no wonder you can throw a football like you do.”

  “I like to think I have some talent too.”

  One-handed, Jamison shoved the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth. “I might have noticed that too.”

  Shea laughed and glanced at the time on her phone. “I need to get to class.”

  “When you get out of class just head to practice. I’ll be behind you.”

  Shea nodded, placing their plates in the sink and then grabbing her book bag. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jamison followed Shea out the door. This new cooperative Shea was starting to grow on her. As usual Shea was dressed in athletic shorts down to her knee and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Jamison watched her greet a few students as she passed and others she gave a wave. At one point, Shea was joined by a large muscular guy and Jamison watched closely, guessing he was a member of the football team. He and Shea parted ways outside her classroom and Jamison took her usual seat in the hallway.

  Unable to sit still after a few minutes she got herself coffee from the vending alcove. As usual it tasted horrible and was lukewarm, but she sipped it anyway. At her computer, she stared at the grainy shot of the man outside Shea’s house last night. Was this the man who had tried to take out the entire Tallahassee Tigers football team? Everyone assumed he was working alone but did he have the knowledge to cut the brake line on the bus? And where did he get the explosives? So many questions and very few answers.

  Ten minutes before Shea’s class was to end, Jamison grabbed her bag and walked out into the sun. She took a seat on a concrete decorative wall outside the building. When Shea passed her Jamison scrutinized the area and the students around her. She didn’t see anyone with a camera or even anyone whose focus was solely on Shea. They would give her a wave but then return their attention to their group. Most lone individuals were either on their way to or from class or scanning their phone. She was constantly impressed with their ability to walk and type with their faces and fingers glued to the device they carried.

  Shea went straight to her locker and began dressing for practice as Jamison quickly searched and cleared the locker room. As she pulled open the supply closet, pointing her pistol inside, she thought about the day Shea was locked inside. Now that she knew Shea’s routine, she wondered why Lynnette hadn’t missed Shea before the game.

  “Shea, why didn’t Lynnette notice you weren’t waiting to get taped the day you were locked in the closet?”

  Shea looked up from tying her cleats. “She tapes me several hours before the game starts. We’d already run some drills on the field and I’d returned here to relax for a while.”

  “Is that your normal routine?”

  “Yeah. I like to come back here for a little quiet time before we take the field for the game. The guys are rowdy and play their music loud.”

  Jamison nodded.

  Shea threaded her fingers through the face guard on her helmet, gathering it and her shoulder pads together. “I can see your wheels turning. Want to share?”

  “I’m just thinking.”

  Jamison waited by the coaches’ office until Coach Sutton was finished going over x’s and o’s on the whiteboard and then she followed Shea to the field. Today she didn’t head straight for Carlton but scanned the sidelines for Lynnette. Jamison waited until she was alone and then approached her.

  “Lynnette, did anything strange happen the day Shea was locked in the supply closet?”

  Lynnette, wearing shorts and a T-shirt with the team logo, watched the players as she thought for a minute. “It was a crazy day. Game days normally are, though. I hated that I wasn’t in the locker room because I would have noticed Shea wasn’t there. Honestly, I don’t know how everyone didn’t notice she wasn’t there.”

  “If you weren’t in the locker room, where were you?”

  She motioned to the equipment bag in front of her. “We pack these on Friday for use during the game but that day they weren’t properly packed. I had to run back and forth between the main supply room downstairs and the field to get them prepared.”

  “Did you pack them on Friday like normal?”

  Lynnette studied her. “We did but I just assumed one of the guys had pulled things from it after practice instead of using the supplies from the locker room.” She shrugged. “It’s not normally what happens but like I said, things are crazy on game day.”

  Jamison nodded, watching the team run through drills on the field.

  “You’re the first person that’s asked me about that day.”

  “The police didn’t question everyone?” Jamison asked, glancing at her.

  “They did a group questioning and asked if we saw anything. I didn’t because I was so busy.”

  Jamison looked at the field again. Being on the sideline gave a different perspective than sitting in the stands. Not so broad a view but she felt more like part of the action. “Do you think someone not a part of the team could have accessed the bags and moved the supplies?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Jamison started to walk away.

  “Hey.” Lynnette stepped close to her again. “Do you think someone on the team is responsible for all of this?”

  “Not necessarily. Like you said, one of the other athletic trainers might have removed the supplies and it was only a coincidence.”

  “But you don’t believe in coincidences?”

  “Oh I believe in them.” Jamison shrugged. “I just don’t like them.”

  * * *

  Jamison climbed the stairs to where Carlton sat and slid into the chair beside him. “Does the same security officer watch the hallway for each home game?”

  Carton looked at her. “No. Crowd control is the worst job so I don’t want anyone stuck with it at every g
ame.”

  She nodded. “Do you have a schedule of where everyone worked each game?”

  “Where are you going with this?” Carlton asked her defensively.

  She shrugged. “Just an avenue to explore.” She wasn’t trying to piss Carlton off. She needed his cooperation. “Can you say positively that the officer assigned to the hallway was involved in settling the disruption in the student section that day?”

  Carlton thought for a moment and then nodded. “Jeremy was questioned extensively by me and TPD. He didn’t see anyone hanging around except reporters and he was on the arrest paperwork for two of the students that TPD ended up hauling away.”

  “Did he recognize the reporters? Or identify them from their badges?”

  Carlton frowned and picked up his radio. “He’s on duty now. Let’s ask him.” He keyed the radio. “Officer Warrick?”

  A youthful voice responded immediately. “Yeah, Chief?”

  “Can you join me in the stadium?”

  “Yes sir.” An engine started. “About ten minutes out.”

  Carlton sat back in his seat. “My guys took a lot of heat when the notes started appearing. With the campus closed on Sundays and the stadium locked, TPD didn’t want to look any further for a suspect.” He sighed. “I vetted each one of them myself before they were hired. Backgrounds and interviews with anyone that knew them. They’re a good bunch of guys and girls. I trust them all.”

  “That’s good to know.” She paused, letting the silence stretch between them. “I didn’t mean to imply I was accusing anyone. Having a different officer dealing with the press at each game means someone could sneak into their ranks and not be noticed.”

  “Okay.” He thought for a second. “We have a campus paper and their reporter should be in that pack every week.”

  She tilted her head. “Can you track that avenue and see if it’s the same reporter every week?”

  “I can. I know it’s the same byline each week. Crystal Bailey. Home and Away.” He nodded toward the tunnel entrance. “There’s Jeremy.”

  “I’ll let you do the talking, Chief.” He smiled and she was glad the tension between them had eased.

  Jeremy entered the row beneath them and remained standing. “Yes, Chief?”

  Jamison glanced at him. His youthful voice had been deceiving. Up close she could see he was a little older than she first thought. She watched the play on the field and quickly located Shea in the huddle. As usual she could hear Shea’s strong voice call the cadence before faking a handoff and throwing a pass twenty yards down the field. Carlton’s voice brought her back to the conversation beside her.

  “Jeremy, are you familiar with the members of the press that hang around outside the locker rooms?”

  He grimaced. “Not really, Chief. I know one or two of the local guys because they visit during the week for other events too. Oh and the ESPN ones, ’cause I see them on the TV.”

  “So when you told TPD there were only reporters in the hallway the day of the incident with Shea Carter what did you base that on?”

  “Oh, I checked their badges. Right before the call came in for the fight I went down the line and checked them all.” He glanced at Jamison. “No one is allowed in that area except press,” he explained.

  “Okay, Jeremy. Good job,” Carlton said, dismissing him with a nod.

  Jeremy turned to go but Carlton called out to him. “Was Crystal Bailey in that hallway too?”

  Jeremy looked back. “Yeah, she was there.”

  “Can you track her down and bring her back here?”

  Jeremy nodded. “Sure, Chief. I’ll get right on it.”

  Jamison watched Jeremy walk away. “He seems like a good kid.”

  “I hired him right out of high school. His mother works on campus in the billing department and in the summers he would come with her. The kid would follow me everywhere.” Carlton laughed. “He knew the job better than some of my officers. He even made copies of the manuals and took them home to study.”

  She laughed with him. “How could you not hire someone with that kind of dedication?”

  “That’s what I thought too. He’s my only employee without a college degree so I’ve got him working on one.” Carlton shifted in his seat, getting more comfortable. “How’s our cub doing?”

  Jamison groaned. “She’s become more cooperative as the week’s progressed.”

  “That’s good to hear,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. “I knew she’d come around.”

  Jamison glanced at him. Shea was one of his kids and he looked like a father whose daughter had taken her first steps.

  They chatted about the upcoming game against Jacksonville while they watched the Tigers finish their practice and head for the locker room. Shea waited at the tunnel entrance until Jamison caught up with her. In the weight room, Shea dropped her shoulder pads and helmet at Jamison’s feet and began her lifting cycle.

  She watched Shea push the bar high over her head without a pause and she realized Shea’s ribs were no longer bothering her. Either the pain was gone or Shea was ignoring it. She had admired Shea’s outer beauty for a while but what she hadn’t seen on first glance stood out to her now. Shea’s strength and endurance. Her stubborn dedication. Shea didn’t quit no matter what. For the first time, Jamison realized that no one on the team had given a thought to not playing a game. Either in the beginning when the notes first started coming and not even now when things had gotten crazy. In her talks with Shea, they had never discussed quitting as an option because it wasn’t.

  * * *

  Shea glanced up from the weights to locate Jamison as she had started doing between each set, casually hoping no one noticed. Just looking at Jamison leaning against the wall brought her comfort. And made her smile.

  The outer locker room door opened and Chief Hammer walked in. He motioned for Jamison to follow him. Had something happened? When Jamison reached the door she glanced back her eyes finding Shea’s. Jamison’s smile reassured her that everything was okay.

  She returned to her sets but her mind was on Jamison. The weights she’d lost track of slammed against each other making a loud smack. The guys around her laughed and the harassment went on for a few minutes until everyone returned to their sets. She tried to clear her mind but every time she began to relax into her workout thoughts of Jamison pulled her back.

  * * *

  “Want me to place an officer in the weight room to keep an eye on the cub?” Carlton asked Jamison softly.

  She shook her head. “She won’t leave except through this door.”

  Carlton tilted his head. “You really did come to a truce, didn’t you?” He nodded as if that was the outcome he had always expected. Turning to a young girl in jeans and a peace T-shirt waiting in the hallway with Jeremy, he said, “Crystal, this is Jamison. She’d like to ask you a few questions about your fellow members of the press and the day Shea Carter was locked in the supply closet.”

  Jamison leaned casually against the wall as she studied the girl. She looked more curious than scared and seemed to be studying Jamison too. “You cover all the home and away games, right?”

  Crystal nodded.

  “So you’re familiar with all the reporters that crowd the hallway before and after the games?”

  “There’s usually one or two I don’t know from the opposing team especially if it’s not a team we play every year. I’ve been the Tiger reporter for two years now,” she said with pride.

  “Do you remember anything about the reporters you didn’t recognize on that Saturday?”

  Crystal wrinkled her face in concentration. “That was the North Carolina game so I knew everyone.” She paused. “When Jeremy left we thought Shea was already in the other locker room so we all moved to the tunnel entrance to see the team take the field. She’s the only reason we watch that hallway.”

  Jamison shrugged at Carlton. “That answers my questions. At least we know he didn’t have a press pass.”

&nb
sp; The locker room door beside Jamison opened and Shea stepped out, gave everyone a nod and then continued toward her locker room.

  “Thanks, Carlton.” Jamison followed Shea.

  Holding her pistol close to her body she stepped in closing the door behind them. She quickly secured the area and returned to wait for Shea by the door. While Shea took her ice bath and then showered, Jamison thought about the other ways someone could get into the secure area during a game. During the week a student ID would get them past the badge readers but not on a game day. There were no vendors in that area so a team badge would have to be the only way. She pulled open the locker room door and was pleased to see Carlton and Jeremy still standing in the hallway.

  “Carlton,” Jamison called to him.

  He motioned for Jeremy to stay where he was and walked down the hallway to Jamison. “Everything okay?”

  “Did you pull a list of the badge swipes into the team area that day?”

  “I did and there were no unauthorized entries. I don’t think anyone would hold the door for someone they didn’t recognize.”

  She nodded. “Has anyone lost their badge since the season started?”

  “That’s a pretty big deal around here and only my staff or I can replace it for them. We document any replacements.” He thought for a minute before continuing. “Now the registrar’s office makes their first badge, so they do have the equipment to make them.” He frowned. “But they’re not supposed to. I’ll make a trip over there first thing in the morning when they open. It’s all full-time staff and they don’t allow any students to work in there.”

  “If someone did a favor at least we’ll know whose badge we’re looking for and maybe we can catch a camera angle.”

  Shea stepped out of the locker room and smiled at Carlton.

  He grinned back and gave her a little hug. “Ready for Saturday?”

  “Of course,” Shea said confidently.

  “Thanks for everything, Carlton,” Jamison said as she and Shea turned to leave.

  Chapter Twelve