What Janie Saw

by Pamela Tracy

  “You have to drink it,” she said. “It will draw the poison out of your body.” It was only after the nurse threatened to call the doctor and hook Tommy up to a tube that he drank the charcoal.

  There were too many people in and out of the room for Rafe to make questioning Tommy his first priority. Tommy was then stripped of his belongings and the curtain of his room was left open so that anyone passing by might be able to hear. The passersby heard plenty, as Tommy had plenty to say, mostly about the travesty of justice that had brought him to the hospital.

  Rafe ignored him and checked his phone. Janie had texted to say she was fine and busy at the zoo. His mother had also sent him a message to say how brave he’d been at the church. Summerside, who’d left Rafe and Tommy at the hospital to return to the station, radioed to check if Rafe needed anything.

  All Rafe wanted was some time alone with Tommy and to get back to Janie.

  Just after two, Tommy’s mom called Rafe and asked if he’d seen her son.

  “You want to talk to him?” Rafe asked Helen. “We’re here at the Scorpion Ridge hospital. Tommy’s had a drug-related episode.”

  “Man,” Tommy mumbled.

  He took the phone and Rafe heard him say, “No, it was an accident. No, I’m not going to do it again. I’m all right. You know how cops are. I’m fine.” Tommy’s face scrunched up sourly before he handed Rafe back his phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

  Helen took in the news of her son’s attack in the church, followed by his visit and stay in the hospital, without crying.

  Maybe she was all cried out.

  “Rafe,” she said, “I’ve got a pregnant seventeen-year-old daughter and a son in the hospital because of drugs. Everything, all my dreams and prayers, have died this day. Just say what I have to do to make this right.”

  Pregnant? Little Amanda?

  “What size shoe does Amanda wear?”

  “What?” Helen sounded incredulous.

  “And does she have a pair of green high-top tennis shoes?”

  “She did,” Helen said hesitantly. “She lost one a few months back.”

  “Who’s the father of Amanda’s baby?” Rafe asked. He couldn’t afford to waste precious minutes tiptoeing around the question.

  “She hasn’t said yet, but I’ve got my suspicions.”

  “When did you find out Amanda was pregnant?”

  “I found out last night. Amanda apparently figured it out a few weeks ago.”

  “How long has Tommy known she was pregnant?”

  “He found out yesterday at the same time as me.”

  Rafe glanced at Tommy, who was now sitting straight up in the bed, moaning and drinking the charcoal as if it was the most interesting concoction in the world.

  He said to him, “I guess now the question is who do I question? You?” He looked Tommy full in the face. “Or, do I question a seventeen-year-old girl who’s dealing with the death of her baby’s father, among other things? Who’s the bigger person?”

  “Let me talk to my son,” Helen demanded.

  Rafe handed the boy his phone.

  Tommy didn’t say a word, just listened. After a full two minutes of nodding, he said, “Yes, Mom,” and returned the phone to Rafe. Helen had already disconnected.

  “I guess I’m talking to you,” Rafe said.

  “I should have come to see you the minute Brittney went missing,” Tommy muttered. “But I was afraid for Derek.”

  “For Derek or of Derek?”

  “For Derek. He wanted to be a good guy, but it’s not that easy to walk away from the drugs. Sometimes...” Tommy gazed down at the almost empty cup of charcoal and then touched his mouth and winced. “Sometimes, it’s fun.”

  Rafe didn’t agree. “Who are Chad and Chris?”

  A nurse came back in, took Tommy’s blood pressure and checked his eyes. Then she handed him a towel. Rafe hadn’t even noticed how much the boy was sweating.

  “I don’t know who Chris is. I’ve only heard the name once or twice, and that was by accident. Derek didn’t talk about him. Chad is Chad Ruskey. He used to work at the pizza place over on Main. That’s how Derek met him. He delivered a pizza to some party Derek was at, and they started hanging around. This was before I was friends with Derek.”

  “Is Chad the man that Amanda drew for Janie?”

  “Probably.”

  “Yes or no.”

  “I didn’t see the drawing. And, honestly, I only met him once or twice.”

  Okay, now that Rafe had a name, he could find out this information on his own. “When did Derek meet Chad?”

  “A couple of months ago. I got the idea that Chad didn’t stay places long.”

  “Places in Arizona, or are you talking about state to state?”

  “State to state. He wants to travel the world. He headed to South Carolina sometime after Christmas for basic training. He wanted to go to school but couldn’t afford it. I think he’s going to try for veteran’s assistance when he gets out.”

  “He’s a soldier?” Rafe said, more to himself than to Tommy. After a few more questions, Rafe quickly pulled out his phone and called Summerside with the new last name.

  “So,” Rafe continued, “is Chad capable of murder?”

  Tommy considered that for a moment. “It sure didn’t surprise me that he joined the service. But it’s hard to picture him killing someone. I mean, I partied with the guy once.”

  “He does meth, too?”

  Tommy eyed the room as if afraid someone would overhear. “Yes, but he worried he was using too much. He’s hoping the military will come between him and the drugs.”

  Tommy looked like he was starting to relax. Rafe wasn’t sure if that had to do with the meth still in his system or because he’d been given something by the medical staff to counter the meth.

  “So, why didn’t you come forward a month ago when the names Chad and Chris were released to the public as possible witnesses to Brittney Travis’s disappearance?”

  “I, uh, I wanted to,” Tommy mumbled.

  “Why didn’t you?” Rafe tried to remain patient.

  “Because the same time I heard about Chad, I heard about Derek. I’d been at that farm earlier, before it blew. It could have been me.”

  “And having a friend die because of meth isn’t enough to get you off of it?”

  “You don’t understand,” Tommy practically shrieked. “The meth got me through Derek’s death.”

  “And will lead you to your own,” Rafe said, standing. Before he left, he had one more question. “How did a journal with Amanda’s name on it get into Patricia Reynolds’s house? Did you put it there?”

  “I didn’t put it there.”

  “Did you know that the book showed Brittney’s murder?”

  Tommy sat up. “Not possible. Amanda couldn’t have been there.”

  “How can you be sure, Tommy? Do you know when Brittney was taken, where, how?”

  Tommy slumped. “If Amanda had been there, she’d have been a nervous wreck. She cries over TV movies and commercials. She only started crying when she started worrying about not seeing Derek.”

  “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “Chad’s not really a bad guy, but his girlfriend changed him, and she pretty much calls the shots. If he really did shoot Brittney, it was on her orders.”

  “Her name?”

  “He just called her ‘the girlfriend.’ I got the sense she was older, a cougar, you know, and didn’t want her name bantered around.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s the one who controls the meth. She has power and friends. Chad called her a ‘subcontractor’ once. I have no idea what that really means. If I actually met her, I’d pee my pants.”

  Th
at was quite possibly the wisest thing Tommy had said yet this day.

  “Why would she want Brittney dead?” Rafe asked.

  “No idea,” Tommy admitted, suddenly looking his age again, vulnerable and scared. “But it’s why I didn’t come to you before. If Brittney had been killed because of what she’d seen, maybe Amanda would be next. I didn’t want Amanda’s name anywhere.”

  Rafe understood. He felt the same way about Janie. And, unlike Tommy, Rafe had a very good idea of what a subcontractor was and how closely they were aligned with the cartels in Mexico.

  Rafe couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt the type of fear that could take him to his knees. He felt it now.

  Because Janie’s name had already been etched on a virtual tombstone by someone very dangerous.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  RAFE NOTED THAT looking unkempt seemed to be a condition experienced by many these days: the old, the young, the innocent, the guilty. Along with Rafe, Justin Robbins and Nathan Williamson had both lost weight during the last month.

  Sitting across from Nathan, Rafe—wearing gloves—flipped through Amanda’s art book. “We have to figure out who could plant this book as well as who would know what to put in it.”

  Nathan nodded. “I spoke to Chad’s drill sergeant and sent him Janie’s drawing. They’re one and the same. Man said he was surprised Chad had made it to the white phase where recruits get to shoot guns. He said Chad’s whole demeanor changed the moment they put a gun in his hand. They gave him a psych evaluation and discharged him.”

  “I’ve put out feelers,” Justin said. “No one even admits to knowing him.”

  Nathan hit a key on his computer and a page appeared on the screen. “He’s lived in sixteen states under five different names, and although he’s wanted in connection to a dozen crimes—none of them murder, by the way—he’s never been physically brought in for questioning.”

  “He’s good,” Justin said, and it wasn’t a compliment.

  It had been more than a month since Janie’d redrawn Derek’s art book, and Rafe wasn’t sure he could make it through any more days of waiting. He wanted Chad here now.

  Taking out his cell phone, Rafe redialed Helen Skinley. He really didn’t want to disturb Amanda; he agreed with Tommy that Amanda was fragile. Well, she needed to toughen up. She was about to be a mother.

  “How’s Tommy?” Helen answered the phone.

  “They say he’s going to be okay. His heart is fine, there’s no kidney damage and he’s breathing regularly.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  “He was quite a help. We’re finally closing in on whoever’s behind the drug situation at Adobe Hills Community College. We’ve got to stop the operation.”

  Helen didn’t say anything.

  “I have to ask Amanda a few questions.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. Everything’s a mess. We’ve been in this hotel room for days. She doesn’t want to leave. It’s all I can do to get her to eat properly. She’s sleeping right now.”

  “I wouldn’t call if there were any other way.”

  “I—”

  In the background, Rafe could hear someone talking. Then, Helen said, “Amanda has things she wants to say. She’s glad Tommy’s all right. Thanks for getting him to the hospital. He was pretty upset about the baby.”

  “Tell her Tommy cares about her.”

  Helen jiggled the phone before saying, “Amanda knows. What do you want to ask her?”

  “Her art book got into Patricia Reynolds’s house, and the last few pages were changed.”

  Again, moments passed while Helen interpreted Rafe’s questions.

  “She says that the only thing in her book would be drawings of clothes. She wanted to draw her and Derek, but wasn’t ready for anyone to realize they were a couple.”

  “Where did she see her art book last?”

  “That day when Detective Williamson came to the school. She had to leave the class, but Max Carter came out and said that you were picking up all our art books. She gave it to him and he handed it in. At least she assumed that’s what he’d done.”

  “She says Max Carter turned it in for her,” Rafe said to Nathan, “the day you picked them up.”

  Nathan shook his head, shuffled through some papers on his desk, and then dialed his own phone.

  “Thanks, Amanda. That’s all I wanted.”

  Rafe waited a moment while Nathan asked for Max Carter. After a moment, they discovered Max had handed it to one of the campus police officers: Barry Dime.

  Next, Nathan called the college and spoke to the officer in charge. Barry Dime was off today. Quickly, Nathan sent one of his men to Dime’s place to bring him in for interrogation.

  “Hopefully we’ll get some answers from Dime. I’ve talked to him twice already. He’s an ex-cop, hurt in the line of duty. There is nothing in his past to suggest he’s the type to work both sides of the law.”

  “I’m glad we have a name. It’s starting to come together. We’ll solve this.”

  “Amanda didn’t tell me she’d given the journal to Max.” Nathan shook his head. “I hate drugs. I hate watching people destroy lives—their own and others’—with drugs. Look at what drugs did to Derek. They not only took his life, but they robbed him of watching and nurturing a new life. And then there’s that poor girl’s brother.” Nathan shook his head. “Nothing destroys a family quicker than drugs.”

  Rafe agreed, remembering how drugs had destroyed Nathan’s young marriage. But they didn’t have time to dwell on the past.

  “Remind me,” Rafe said. “Has Max ever been in trouble?”

  “Just small stuff like skateboarding after curfew.”

  “Try their Facebook pages again,” Justin suggested. “It’s been a while, and we’re deeper into the case. Maybe we’ll see something we missed.”

  “I still don’t get,” Nathan said to the undercover officer, “how you hadn’t heard of either Chad or his girlfriend?”

  “Chad was only in our area a couple of months. I can’t be everywhere. The only girl I know who hung around with Tommy and Derek, and who also admits to being friends with Chad, is Ramona Turk. She’s only scary when she’s jonesing for a fix. I’ve chatted her up a dozen times since all this went down. She wasn’t involved.”

  Nathan started typing into his computer. After a moment, he had a photo of Tommy Skinley’s Facebook page on his screen. He looked like a typical angry kid.

  Kind of like Justin, who—still undercover and camouflaged as a teenager—was shaking his head as he studied the screen. “He’s around a lot.”

  Rafe watched as Nathan played with the computer some more. Chad didn’t have a page, apparently, if that was his real name.

  Amanda’s photo was there. Her list of friends wasn’t long, but her blog and accomplishments were. Both Justin and Rafe moved around Nathan’s desk to get a better look.

  “I’ve never seen her,” Justin said.

  “I hope you never do,” Rafe said. “At least, while you’re undercover.”

  “What do we do next?” Justin said.

  “We need to act as if we’re taking Amanda’s art book seriously. Let’s put out a public bulletin that says we’re searching for the type of vehicle she supposedly drew and the type of people she drew. We’ll also put out feelers for the first two numbers on that license plate.”

  “Giving our real perp a sense of security,” Nathan said.

  “A false sense of security,” Rafe agreed.

  Anything to keep Janie safe.

  * * *

  SUNDAY WAS A quiet day at the zoo. Janie sat behind the counter of the gift shop and rang up sales. Katie wouldn’t let her do anything else. “You’ve already hurt your arm—your painting arm. We need to make sure it’
s healed when you win the visiting-artist slot in South Africa.”

  This was the first time Katie’d spoken of the opportunity as if she were all for it. For the last year, ever since Janie’d started planning for it, all Katie could say was, “Africa’s so far away. You’re young.”

  Rafe showed up just after five, about an hour before the zoo closed. He pitched in, straightening up the gift shop and even helping customers. But Janie could sense he was distracted. She felt the same way. Tommy Skinley had scared her this morning. She finally understood why Rafe was so opposed to her returning to teaching, but really, this morning’s attack had been at church!

  When the last visitor left and the computer receipts were tallied and saved, Rafe held the door open for Janie.

  “You want to go to the diner and get something to eat?”

  “No, I don’t want to answer all the questions people will have.”

  He nodded. “I can go get something and bring it back. I’ll get enough for Katie and—”

  “They’re going out tonight. It can just be us. I’ll cook.”

  Instead, they both cooked. Janie made the noodles and sauce; Rafe assembled the meatballs and garlic bread. In the kitchen, they worked like a well-oiled machine. Even the few times they bumped into each other only garnered smiles.

  “You going to tell me what’s new in the case?” Janie asked.

  “Amanda’s pregnant.”

  “What!”

  “And the baby most likely belongs to Derek. The green shoe you found is hers.”

  “I think I should sit down.”

  Rafe took over setting the table and getting their drinks. He continued, “We’ve got a last name for Chad, but unfortunately he was discharged from the military and has disappeared. We’re not even sure what alias he’s using.”

  “Wow and double wow. You keep talking, and I’m going to need to lie down.”

  “The drawing you and Amanda came up with seems to be Chad. We’ll confirm as soon as we find him.”