“I don’t care. Whatever sounds good to you is fine with me.”
“How about a good burger or a great salad?”
“Sounds good.”
“I know just the place. It’s in Seaside Village. I’ll text you all the particulars in a few minutes. Better yet, I’ll meet you at the church and you can let me drive your sweet car.” He watched her stand. He stood up beside her and without stopping to think he pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
He watched her until she pulled her car out of the parking spot. It was getting harder for him to be patient. Life was too damn short to mess around. He wanted to spend whatever life he had loving her.
****
Jessie smiled the minute she’d walked out the door of Joe’s. The smile continued through the morning at work, and through most of the day until the phone rang that afternoon, right before Matt’s arrival.
His deep raspy voice came across the line. “Are you Jessie Reynolds, the writer?”
“I am.” She felt oddly hesitant.
“You don’t know me, and you’ve no reason to trust me. Hell, I wouldn’t. I’m the one who tried to run you down the other night outside of Mindy’s Grill. I also was driving the car the day you were shot at.”
“Jed Johnson!” Her heart beat rapidly. “Why are you calling me?” She grabbed her pen and notepad.
“It’s like this. I’m as good as dead, and I sure as hell am not going out alone. I want to take all the double-crossing bastards with me. I read your article in the paper, and you are getting close. There are still things that will take time to figure out. When it comes to the kids, you don’t have much time. You get my drift.”
“What do you want?”
“You and I are going to meet. Right there in the church parking lot Friday night at eight. Nobody and I mean nobody can be out there with you. You can tell them you’re meeting me. Hell, they can plant a wire on you and be in cars nearby. I don’t plan to hurt you. I just want to talk to you and tell you everything I can before they kill me. Be there!” He hung up the phone.
Jessie couldn’t believe what had just happened. Should she trust him? Matt called to let her know he was waiting in the parking lot. She closed up the office, walked down the hall and out the side door of the church.
He was standing beside his patrol car. She walked toward him and he met her halfway. “Okay, let me have the keys.” He opened his hand in front of her. “I like driving this car, anytime you let me.”
She dropped the keys into his hand and waited for him to open the passenger door for her. “How was your day?”
“Too busy!” He closed the door once she was inside.
He got in and started the car. “It purrs like a kitten.” He grinned at her. “How was your day?”
“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say this was a ten. It was a very interesting day.”
He adjusted the mirror and looked over at her. “Why is that?” He put the car in gear and started to drive.
She smiled at him. “Let’s just say I had a call from a murderer!” She studied his face for a moment. “Jed. He set up a date with me for Friday night. It looks like you’ll have to cancel our reservations again.” Jessie’s seatbelt held her when he slammed on the brakes.
“What the hell, Jess?” He frowned and she proceeded to tell him what Jed had said. His frown increased with her every word. “You aren’t going to do it. You’ve got that?” His face was stormy. “Not unless I’m sitting in the car beside you with a gun pointed at his head.”
“Matt, you’re not thinking like a cop. If it was anybody else, you would wire them up and do just what he said.”
“Damn, Jess, you know how easily things can go bad. You’ve experienced it before. What if he walks up and shoots you dead? I can’t get to you in time to stop him.” He raked his hand through his hair.
“I’ll have my gun.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Besides you’ll keep me safe. I know it.” She touched his arm. “How can we possibly pass up the chance to hear him out just in case he’s telling the truth? This may be our chance to take down the others and possibly find the kids. He knows you’ll be sitting in the dark with guns trained on him. I don’t think he’s suicidal. We have to try, and you know it.” She smiled all the way to the restaurant in spite of his frown. She was right, and he knew it.
Chapter 34
They ended up at Sally’s Place. According to Matt, it was the best place in town for shakes, burgers, and fries. She went with a simple cheeseburger. He went all out ordering the blue cheese and bacon number, topped off with a chocolate shake. He wasn’t doing a whole lot of talking. Jessie tried hard not to laugh. What he was doing was grumbling. Growling might be a better word. She bit her lip and hid a giggle in her water. He wasn’t making it easy on her.
“If this is your attempt to charm me, I would just give it up if I were you.” She finally gave up and the giggle emerged. “Let’s forget about it for now. You can think about it, and we’ll talk about it at another time. We have four days to decide.”
“I’m not going to change my mind.” He scowled.
“I think you will, after you think about it. From the beginning, this hasn’t been about us, it has been about those kids. We have to do everything we can to get them home safely to their parents.”
“I know you’re right, but I don’t have to like it.”
“No, you don’t, but you do have to think like a cop. This might be our only and best opportunity. You even said that this guy would kill Jed in the end. And Jed knows that, too. Obviously.” She leaned toward him. “I’ve got a feeling this is the break we’ve been looking for.”
“Aren’t you just a little bit afraid, Jess?” He grabbed her hand and held on to it.
“I’m not afraid of Jed, and I can’t tell you why exactly.” She frowned. “I don’t think he will harm me. He’s afraid he’s going to die. He wants to get it off his chest.” She paused as the waitress set their meal in front of them.
“Okay.” He picked up his mountainous burger. “We’ll talk about something else, and I’ll think it over.”
“Thanks, Matt, that’s all I’m asking.”
“What else did you do today besides talk with Jed?”
“Oh, you know, the usual in the exciting world of a church secretary.” She dipped a crispy fry into ketchup. “Write the bulletin, exercise my coffee-making skills, and regulate the church calendar.” She sipped her chocolate shake. “Mmm, this is really good.”
“I told you so.”
“So, Mr. Parker, you haven’t been doing much impressing lately.” She grinned at him. “I mean, it’s hard to be impressed when I hardly get to see you.”
“Feeling a little neglected lately, are we?” He smiled when she nodded at him. “I’ll have to try and remedy that. I’m sorry, Jess. It’s just I go a little crazy thinking about you anywhere near a guy like Jed Johnson.”
“I know! I appreciate your concern for me. The moment I heard from Abigail I was hooked. The other day when Josh opened his eyes while I was there, I knew I would do anything to help those kids. Besides we’re a team.” She placed her burger back on the plate. “Tom and all the others will be gone when this is over, but you and I will still be watching over our town.”
“That’s what has been missing. I haven’t had the time to bounce things off you. You’re right, we’re a team.” He finally smiled. “I’ll be by every night to talk things over with you. We started this case together and we’re going to see it through.” He took a big bite of his burger.
“I have to admit you were right about this place. I can’t tell you when the last time was that I had a shake this good. I mean it! It’s worth every mile I’m going to have to run tomorrow to burn off the calories.” She smiled, wiping up the mustard that had plopped onto the table from his burger.
After dinner, they strolled through the village to the water’s edge. They sat together on the beach, watching the waves lap the shoreline and shimmering moonlight da
nce across the water. It was a moment of contentment for her. There wasn’t much conversation; there didn’t need to be. She looked out of the corner of her eye at him. He was handsome, and he might just be easy to love. She shivered. He wrapped his arm around her.
“You’re cold. I guess we should get you home.” He stood and pulled her up. They walked hand in hand back to her car.
****
If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t be struggling with this so much. Matt stared at the bedroom ceiling. Not true! He was always serious when anyone’s life was on the line. Man, he couldn’t believe he was even considering letting Jessie do this. He didn’t know if he could keep her safe. Maybe Jed was suicidal. His stomach churned at the thought. He rolled onto his back. Jessie had said from the beginning it was all about the kids. She knew the risk and was still willing to meet Johnson. Frustrated, he sat up. His first priority was to keep her safe and to bring the kids home to their families. No small task. He exhaled. What he needed was a great plan. She was rubbing off on him and truth be told, he liked it.
Matt rubbed a hand across his face. He couldn’t lose her now. Couldn’t! He would plan. He lay back down on the bed and tried to get into the mind of Johnson. Jed was cornered, afraid, and therefore hard to gauge. He said he didn’t want to hurt her. Maybe that was true, maybe not. Things could always go bad and you had to have back-up options just in case. A sharp shooter hidden at the scene was one part of the plan. Jessie would wear a listening device, with Gary and Jeremy monitoring. He would keep several guys close to move in at a moment’s notice. He would work her tail off with gun training every night until Friday.
The only thing he couldn’t account for was the outside factors. The unknowns, like someone moving when they shouldn’t, an itchy trigger finger, who knew what? Anything could go wrong. Finally, his mind quieted down and he dozed off.
****
Just as Jessie was walking out the door, her phone rang. “Hey, this is Jessie.”
“No kidding.” She heard Matt chuckle. “Pick me up after work before you go for your training class. I want to go along and see how you’re doing. I might allow you to do this if I think you’re ready.”
“Allow me? I don’t like the sound of that. If I want to do it, I will do it and that’s all there is to it, mister.” She barely stopped herself from hanging up.
“Excuse me, Jess, but I’m in charge of the case, I have the ultimate say.” His tone was surprisingly gentle. “This isn’t personal. I have to know you’re ready for any eventuality. I would do the same with anybody. I’m going to go over some important instructions repeatedly. You’ll get sick of hearing me, but I’m hopeful it’ll stick in your head if you need it.”
“I know.” She let her breath out in a rush. They were both under pressure here. “I just don’t like you telling me what I can or cannot do. You’re right, of course, this case is yours, and I’m lucky to be a part of it.”
“No, Jess, your skills earned you the right to be part of it. All I want to do is sharpen them so you are absolutely on your game. Are we okay?”
“Yes. I’ll see you after work.” She smiled as she hung up, then locked, and closed the door behind her.
Chapter 35
Matt had pushed her hard the three remaining days. He smiled thinking about it. She had impressed the hell out of him. She was also good and angry with him. Tomorrow night would be the true test. He hoped it would all go down smoothly.
He rode back with her to the station. She didn’t talk much. That was his first clue not all was well. He leaned in her open window. “Jess, come here tomorrow after work. We’ll get you wired and turn it on when you’re in the parking lot of the church. Then we’ll all go to dinner. I want you as relaxed as possible.”
“Sure, whatever…” She scowled at him.
“I know I’ve been hard on you. I wanted to make sure you’re ready. Damn, Jess, you’ve done everything I asked of you and more. I’m impressed. You’re good.” He ruffled her hair and grinned when she slapped at his hand.
“Does this mean you’ll stop growling?” She peered up at him. “I surrender.” She raised her hands.
He nodded. “Go home and take it easy.”
“I wasn’t this tired when I ran my first marathon. I hope I can stay awake tomorrow for the interview with him.” She waved and drove away.
On his way back into the station to get his case files, Tom stopped him. “Is she ready?”
“She’s not bad, I mean good, but that’s without the stress of a fluid situation. You can only hope training kicks in and takes over.” Matt leaned against the wall. “I rode her pretty hard and she didn’t blink, although she did snarl a few times.” He laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“At one point, if memory serves me right, she told me if I didn’t knock it off, her next target would look a lot like me. She would explain to the police it was accident and that I had gotten in the way.”
Tom laughed. “She’s game, I’ll give her that. I don’t know too many women who’d be willing to do it.”
“She’s got spirit, intelligence, and the skill worthy of some my best officers on the force.” Matt grinned and leaned against the wall.
“Maybe I should see if she wants to work for the Bureau.” Tom turned his head and smiled.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t go there. She belongs here.” He pushed away from the wall and stood, feet apart.
“Shouldn’t she make that decision?”
“I know her, and she’s here to stay.” Matt frowned at him.
“You’ve got it bad, man!” Tom laughed and slapped Matt on the back.
“You’ve got that right, but I’m happy.” He grinned. “I don’t share well.”
“With her looks, you’re going have to put a paper bag over her head or fight jealousy all the time.” Tom paused and grinned back at him. “You’re not half as pretty as she is.”
“That’s for damn sure.” Matt laughed and walked back into his office to close up.
****
By the time Jessie got home, her legs felt like rubber. It took everything she had to walk up to the door. Her first destination was to the tub, kicking off her shoes as she went. She filled the tub and eased her weary body into the hot water. It went to work like magic fingers soothing her tired muscles. Even her hair felt sore as she worked the shampoo through it. She nearly fell asleep before she could rinse it.
When the water got too cool, she grabbed for the towel and stood up to dry. She put on her robe and made it as far as the bed where she promptly fell on it and went sound asleep.
****
She was hearing something. Light tapping became knocking. Through the sleep fog, she heard the loud banging. She tried willing it to stop, but it was persistent. Jessie sat up, rubbing her eyes. Matt. He was calling her name, banging on the door. She pushed her hair out of her face, wiped the drool off her cheek. Stumbling toward the door, she pulled her robe tightly around her.
“Why didn’t you answer any of my calls? Are you all right?” He stared at her, his jaw clenched.
“I was fine until you woke me. But now that you have, you may as well come in.” She walked toward the bedroom. “Make yourself at home, I’ll be right back.” She quickly put on some clothes.
“Did you eat anything?” He looked up as she walked back into the room.
“No, I barely made it out of the tub to the bed before I fell asleep.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to run you into the ground.”
“I know.” She didn’t try to stifle a yawn. “Is there a reason why you’re here? I mean you did wake me from a very sound sleep.”
“Sorry again, I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” He looked her over. “Even a mess, you’re pretty.”
“So you came to insult me too.” She frowned at him.
He shook his head no. “Believe me that wasn’t an insult. I don’t know how you do it.”
“Do what?” She shrugged he
r shoulders at him.
“Look like a million bucks no matter what.”
“Now you’re just being a suck up after you insulted me.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
He grinned and opened the refrigerator, sticking his head in for a look. “Let’s see what’s in here. I’m going to make you something to eat. It’s the least I can do.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Sure you are, and you’re going to eat.” He took out a couple of eggs and some veggies.
“So you’re here to boss me around some more.” She propped her head up with her bent arm.
“Sweetheart, I’m only here to take care of you. That, and to satisfy this need I have to see you.” He made an omelet while she stood and watched. “Sit!” He smiled at her as he fixed her toast and tea to go with it. “I’ll let you sleep when you’re finished, but I’m going to hang around just in case you need something.”
She stared at him, her mouth falling open. “Why?”
“Okay, I admit it I’m feeling a little guilty for working you so hard.” He gave her a lopsided grin.
“You should!”
Chapter 36
Jessie looked at the clock for the umpteenth time. She would be meeting Matt in fifteen minutes. There were butterflies in her stomach, but she wasn’t afraid. Her jacket covered her gun, her badge was in her slacks pocket, and she had a small tape recorder in her handbag. She was excited. Smiling, she got up from her desk and went to shut off the coffee. “I’ve come a long way since our case together, eh, Gina!” she whispered.
She cleared off her desk and took the bulletin to the lobby for Sunday. She stood at the Sanctuary door remembering the first time she had heard Gina singing. Since Gina’s murderer was dead, her ghost was gone. She shook herself. That was then, and this was now. The children were waiting for them to find them. This was almost the end for those who were responsible for all of the kidnappings and murders. She could feel it.
She ran a brush through hair and put on some lip-gloss. Locking the church door, she stepped outside and strolled to her car. Was she being a little too cavalier? No way! You can’t hurt children and win! This was the bad guys’ time to lose.
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