Not for Sale

by Iona Morrison

  She got up and sat down at her computer. Words poured forth from her for the next few hours. NOT FOR SALE became the refrain beating in her heart and flowing through her fingers. No one, young or old, should have to live in slavery. She finished just as the sun was coming up, sending an email first to Sadie who checked her writing. Later, she would send a copy to Neil in New York, Max at the Blue Cove News, and maybe she’d let Matt read it, too.

  ****

  The warm water rained over her body inviting her stiff, weary muscles to relax under its steady flow. She wanted to remain under its gentle spray until all the anger and fear she had felt in the dream went down the drain with the water. Josh’s nightmare—even for that brief moment—was more than she could stand. He had suffered, so had all those who witnessed it.

  She dressed for work and went through the motions of eating. Matt needed to hear this. She made a face, pushing her plate away. The fact was she desperately needed him to reassure her she wasn’t losing her mind. She called her Grandma Sadie only to get her voice mail. She didn’t leave a message. Honestly, she didn’t know what to say. She was frustrated about hearing and seeing things no one else could. Yet, she was grateful at the same time. Talk about incoherent! She looked at her watch. She’d better get a move on if she wanted to hang out at Joe’s for a while.

  She passed the Inn without her usual honk or wave. Today, she would do it. She would talk to Pastor John. Her mind raced ahead with the idea that had come to her. A few minutes later, she pulled her car into Java Joe’s.

  “Hi, Jessie.” Molly’s friendly voice greeted her when she stepped through the door. “It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day.”

  “It sure does.” Jessie glanced up at Molly as she grabbed her wallet from her purse.

  “What can I get you?”

  “I’ll have my usual decaf and the scone of the day.”

  “Will that be for here or to go?” Molly took the money Jessie handed her.

  “Here…” Jessie tossed her change into the tip jar. “I’m early today and have some time to enjoy it.”

  “Have a seat and I’ll bring it right out to you.” Molly smiled at her. Jessie nodded. She sat down at the table by the window where she could see the street and the door. She took out the article that she had written and began to read it over again, glancing up when Molly approached the table.

  “Thanks, Molly. I bet you’re getting excited about your wedding.”

  “I sure am.” Molly beamed. “I can’t wait for you girls to see my dress. I went for the final fitting. It’s beautiful.” Molly turned to look as the door opened. “I’d better get back to work. Refills are on the house.”

  Jessie tried to proofread her article, but her mind kept drifting to the dream or whatever it was that she had last night. Never had she felt anything so real in her life. Her scone was untouched, and her coffee was already cold by the time Molly stopped by the table again.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, why?” Jessie looked up at her.

  “You haven’t touched your coffee or scone.” Molly picked up her cup. “Let me heat this up for you.”

  “I guess I’m just daydreaming.” She watched Molly carry her cup back to the kitchen and dump it out. Jessie thanked her when she brought back the fresh cup of coffee. “I’ll drink this while it’s hot.” She took a sip, looking around.

  Jessie noticed all the empty tables had filled up. Joe’s was busy. She must have really been lost in thought. It was actually noisy. Why hadn’t she noticed it? By the window, behind a grouping of leather chairs on the other side of the room, a lone man sat at a table. His paper hid his face. She noticed that his foot never stopped moving the whole time she watched him. His hair was dishwater blond, but that was all she could see of him. Her eyes traveled back to him, often. Wow, he had a lot of nervous energy.

  The door opened again, Matt walked in. She watched him glance around the busy café, smiling when his eyes lighted on her. “Hi, Jess, you’re just the person I wanted to see.” He strode toward her.

  “Oh yeah, why is that?” She smiled back, looking up through her lashes at him.

  “No particular reason. I just wanted to see you. I like looking at you.” He gave her a disarming grin. “It has become one of my favorite pastimes.”

  She shook her head. “If you’ll be serious for a minute, I was actually going to call you later. I need to talk to you.”

  “Do you have time now?” He leaned on the chair.

  “I have about thirty minutes which should give me enough time.”

  “I’ll get some coffee. Don’t disappear on me, I’ll be right back.”

  She watched him walk to the counter. He was handsome, no doubt about it, so why was she so conflicted? Any girl in her right mind would love a man like him. Maybe she wasn’t in her right mind. She smiled. At least that was the story she would stick too. She didn’t know her own mind. Who could blame her? Since moving to Blue Cove, strange things had been happening to her. She really did wonder about her state of mind.

  “What’s up?” He sat down in the chair across from her.

  She handed him the story to read. “You can read this after I leave. Let me know what you think. Remember it’s a first draft, and I wrote it in the middle of the night. You’ll understand more when I tell you what happened to me last night.” She proceeded to tell him about her dream, watching the expression on his face.

  “Wow. I guess that answers my question about whether Abigail was a onetime occurrence, or if you would have more.” He lifted his coffee mug for a sip but never took one. The cup remained halfway to his mouth.

  “Josh went through a living hell. It was awful. I can tell you one thing for sure; those kids will all need some help. They’ve been traumatized by this.” She shivered. “Eddie Lutz was a terrible man. Everything you’ve heard about him is true.” Matt was quiet. “I think Josh must be reliving the moment while he’s unconscious. I got in on it somehow.”

  “Would you care to elaborate?” His brows rose.

  “I would if I could. I felt suspended between being awake and asleep. At first, I thought I was the one running. It was happening to me until I saw Josh lying on the ground. I knew it was happening again. Do you think I’m crazy?” She scrutinized his face. “Sometimes I wonder if I need to move away from here. This stuff never happened to me before I got here.”

  “Like I’d ever let that happen. We’ll figure this out together.” He took a sip of coffee. He placed the mug on the table.

  “I guess if my seeing Gina’s ghost didn’t deter you and this doesn’t, then I think I can safely say you’re going to stick around for a while.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, at least not without you.” He reached across the table and took her hand.

  She felt the tears well up in her eyes. “I need to get to work.” She stood up abruptly and grabbed the keys from her purse. “I’ll talk to you later.” She made a quick exit.

  ****

  He watched her walk away. He liked everything about her, even the weird unexplainable stuff. He didn’t know how she held it together. Hell, he would have left when Gina showed up or had his head examined. She handled it all with grace. His feelings for her were growing, but it was too soon to spring anything on her. She had too much on her plate. He had never considered himself a patient man, but in this case, he would just have to try.

  As he sipped his coffee, Matt received a text from Dave Lewis to give him a call as soon as possible. It was time to get back to the case he thought as he made the call. “Hey, Dave, this is Matt. What’s up?” His fingers tapped on the table.

  “I have another victim identified, and I thought you’d want to know right away. Does T.R. Booker AKA Travis Ray Booker ring a bell?”

  “You mean the Booker on the FBI’s most wanted list!” Matt’s brows arched. “We’re not talking about some petty criminal here. Booker is a major player in the crime world. Big money to hire him. He’s been as
elusive as hell for years.” Matt ran his hand through his hair. “No one has seen him long enough to give an accurate description, but his calling card is well known.”

  “I have more if you can handle it.”

  “Sure, lay it on me.”

  “His counterpart was identified from fingerprints sent over from the hospital. He’s Sammy Adelson, a thug with a rap sheet that goes back to when he was twelve years old.”

  “He’s not in the same league as Booker. Maybe he’s a hit man in training. Whew, I’m still processing the news that Booker was in the area. He doesn’t come cheap.” Matt’s phone alerted him to an incoming call—Dylan. “Thanks, Dave. I’ll get to work with this new information. I’ll talk to you later.” He took the incoming call.

  “Matt, I spent some time talking to Karl Hampton’s wife. It seems he traveled a lot for business. I don’t think she had any idea about what her husband was up to. They have a couple of kids, and she was appalled to even think about him taking children.” Matt could hear Dylan flip through his notepad. “I got the name of the third man that traveled with them. He’s the one we’re probably looking for. His name is Jed Johnson. His friends called him J. J. The three of them went to high school together in Evansville. I’m on my way to speak with his wife now.”

  “Good work, Dylan. Dave Lewis identified the last two men. You’re not going to believe who one is, none other than T.R. Booker.”

  “The hit man, Booker?” Dylan gave a long slow whistle.

  “One and the same.” Matt drummed the ink pen on his notepad.

  “Man, that’s mind blowing. What are you thinking?” Dylan asked.

  “I’m still processing it.”

  “I’ll get back to you as soon as I talk to Mrs. Johnson. I just arrived at the house.”

  “Okay, I’ve got a lot to think about. We’ll talk later.” Matt ended the call.

  Matt finished his coffee and picked up Jessie’s article. It was powerful, thought provoking, and fed the passion he already felt for her. She had attached a note asking if he would be willing to teach some classes on the subject of human trafficking, or a class to teach parents how to keep their children safe from predators. Matt wasn’t sure if he had enough knowledge on the subject, but he would check with Tom. She was right. They needed to educate people.

  Matt’s eyes strayed to the other side of the room. The man wasn’t there anymore. Damn, when had he left? The man hadn’t seemed right to him when he walked in. Was he the one following Jessie? He stood up to leave. For now, she was safe in the church.

  “Thanks, Molly.” Matt went to the counter to pay his check.

  “Sure. I’ve wanted to ask how Kenny’s working out on the desk.”

  “He’s doing fine.” Matt dropped a tip into the jar. “Did he tell you he got his letter of acceptance from the Police Academy?”

  “I bet that’s what he wanted to talk to me about, but I couldn’t answer, we were too busy at the time. I’ll give him a call back.” She smiled. “Business has been booming lately.

  “Act surprised. I’m sure he wanted to be the first to tell you. I went and ruined it.” He grinned at her. “He’ll make a good officer.” Matt started for the door.

  “See you tomorrow.” Molly hurried to catch up with him at the door. “By the way, I think you and Jessie look real nice together.” She smiled. “Is there something in your future?”

  He smiled back. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He walked out the door and closed it behind him. Travis Ray Booker’s long murderous career had ended in Blue Cove. Matt was having a hard time believing it. Wait until Tom heard this one. He made his way to his car mentally shaking his head all the way.

  Chapter 19

  Jessie knocked softly at John’s office door. “Pastor, would it be possible to meet with you and Pastor Kevin for a few minutes sometime today?”

  He looked up from his book and smiled at her. “I’m sure we can arrange it. What’s up?” He bookmarked the page and closed his book.

  “I have something to run by you. I’m hoping that both of you will see it as a worthwhile project for the church. Maybe even one that could include the other churches in town.” She leaned against the doorframe.

  “Let’s see if Kevin is available now. I have to admit, I’m a little intrigued. Give me a few minutes to check with him.” She looked at his phone and he chuckled. “Yes, I know we have an intercom. I need to get up and move every now and then.” He smiled as he brushed past her and walked down the hall to Kevin’s office.

  She returned to her office when she heard the phone and caught it on the third ring. “First Community Church, may I help you?” She leaned her hip against the desk.

  “Jessie, this is Steve Murphy. I hope you remember me. Katie gave me your number.”

  Jessie made a mental note to strangle Katie the next time she saw her. “Hello, Steve.” Her chin edged up.

  “I’ll be in town until Saturday morning and I wanted to ask you to be my date for the hospital’s Autumn Ball on Friday night.”

  “I’m sorry, but I already have a dinner date for Friday. Maybe the next time you’re in town.” She shook her head. That would never happen!

  “I can’t entice you to break that date to go with me?”

  She frowned. “No, this has been in the works for a while, but I appreciate the invitation.”

  “I’ll take a rain-check then.” He hung up before she could reply.

  How rude! Her mind raced ahead. She hung up the phone with a bit more force than necessary. He hangs up when he doesn’t get the answer he wants. What a child! Boy, oh boy, she was happy she had a date on Friday. She didn’t have to lie to him, she smiled, but she didn’t have to go with him either.

  “We can meet now if you would like.” Kevin’s voice startled her.

  “I’ll be right in.” She picked up her notebook and pencil from her desk.

  Jessie walked into John’s office and sat down in the open chair next to Pastor Kevin. She crossed her ankles, opened her notebook, and handed each of them a copy of the next in her series of articles, Not for Sale.

  “I have some strange things to tell you.” She shifted in the chair. “I also have something very important to ask you.” She began by telling them about the unusual things that had happened to her since she had moved to Blue Cove. She almost laughed at the looks they exchanged when she talked about Gina, and what had happened with Abigail. When she told them about Josh’s story, Pastor John got tears in his eyes.

  Kevin cleared his throat. “You’ve never experienced anything like this before moving here?”

  “No, and I would be happy if it never happened to me again.” She shivered. “Except for the fact that Gina helped us to find the Harvest Club and the vision helped us to find Abigail. The vision also made us aware of the other kids who have been kidnapped.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I both hate it and like it at the same time. It has interrupted my life on a regular basis with crazy visions, with threats, and gunshots. But, at the same time, lives have been saved.” She paused and the room was completely silent. “So my first question is; why is this happening to me?”

  Pastor John looked at her. “That’s a loaded question and depending on who you asked, you could hear hundreds of different answers. There’s a lot experiences in life for which we have no simple answers.” He stroked his chin. “I have to be honest. I don’t know why this is happening to you now, or why only since you moved here. I do know that Abigail is glad you heard her. Her life was saved.” He looked down at the article she handed him earlier. “I bet some other kids will be glad, as well.”

  Kevin smiled, looking over his glasses at her. “No wonder you’ve been a little distracted lately. I think anyone in your shoes would be. Or maybe I should say in your head.” He grinned at her, patting her hand. “Have you told anybody else?”

  “Very few, and for the most part I’ve tried to downplay it. Of course, Chief Parker knows because I had to tell him to get him
involved. Reba Thompson, on the other hand, knew about it before I told her.” Jessie flipped the page on her notebook. “It’s possible this may never happen to me again so I may have nothing to worry about.” She uncrossed her ankles and folded her hands in her lap. “I did want you both to know. I feel normal but as you can imagine, occasionally I wonder. All this has turned my life turned upside down. If you see me being weird, let me know, will you?” She gave them a tight-lipped smile.

  “I had no idea you were seeing Gina’s ghost. I had heard a few others around the church talk about it, but I really never gave it much credence.” John shook his head. “I have to admit, coming from you it sounds different than when Melinda told me she had seen a ghost. Her red hair was falling down as we spoke and her glasses were halfway down her nose. I’m not sure I paid any attention to what she said. I was distracted with wanting to push her glasses up and fix her hair so it wouldn’t fall down in her face.” He chuckled. “I sound like a pompous snob.”

  “I’ve had that same urge myself, sir. I guess we’re both in trouble.” Kevin chuckled.

  “Make it the three of us.” Jessie gave them a sheepish look. “My second question is, would you be open to offering a class to educate the church and others in town about human trafficking?” She looked at the open page in her notebook. “As you know, human trafficking is a major human rights issue. Millions of people are human slaves worldwide, and it’s happening right here in our country, too.” She gestured with her hands as she spoke.

  “We have no clue yet why Abigail and the others were taken or where they were headed.” She paused to take a breath. “Some of this case seems to have taken the authorities by surprise, breaking new ground. What is different about this case is normal-looking people from the community are the ones taking the children from their own neighborhoods. Josh was abducted right off his bike.”

  “That’s a scary thought.” John shook his head. “It sounds a tad too close to home for me.”

  “Please read the article and let me know what you think. There are organizations popping up all over who teach people what to look for. There are so many ways people can get involved.”