Jack of Diamonds

by Christopher Greyson

  “Wait,” Tom said. “Are you allowed in there?”

  “Morrison cleared it.” Jack didn’t take Tom’s questioning personally. “You can call and check.”

  Tom reached for his radio. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “I do understand. But I don’t have time to wait.” Jack walked past him and inside.

  “But . . . Jack!” Tom called after him.

  Jack headed through the small apartment and straight down the hallway to Castillo, who was standing in a doorway. “What do you have, Ed?”

  “We’ve called the phone company and we’re trying to get a ping on Poole’s phone. The judge signed off on the warrant and we should get it soon. They located Poole’s car. He ditched it. Probably because of the rear window your fiancée smashed.”

  Jack smiled. “She’s got a heck of an arm. Where did they find the car?”

  “Dumped behind H&S Auto. They said none of their cars are missing, so we’re assuming he’s on foot. IT is working on his computer now.” Castillo gestured into the room—a simply furnished bedroom with a desk in one corner, where an IT specialist was busily working on the PC.

  “Can he pull up Poole’s address book?” Jack asked.

  “I can’t do anything yet,” the specialist said, looking back over his shoulder. “I’m mirroring the hard drive. Standard procedure before I can access any files. It should be done in forty-three minutes, give or take.”

  “Thanks.” Jack turned back to Castillo. “Where’s Thomas now?”

  “At the photography studio interviewing your fiancée and her friends.”

  “I’m heading over there. I’ll be back in forty-three minutes—give or take.”

  Castillo and the IT guy both laughed.

  Thomas was outside the studio smoking an e-cigarette when Jack pulled up. “You just missed your fiancée,” he said. A cloud of vanilla-scented vapor puffed from his mouth as he spoke. “She said she was going to go see your aunt.”

  Just then Jack’s phone beeped with a text from Alice.

  AUNT HADDIE’S FRIEND HEARD DISPATCHER REPORT WOMAN IN WEDDING DRESS CHASING CAR. AUNT H KNEW IT WAS ME. IS UPSET. GOING OVER 2 CALM HER DOWN.

  Jack laughed.

  “Good news?” Thomas asked.

  “My fiancée’s funny. Our foster mom heard that a woman in a wedding dress was chasing a car, and Alice is surprised that she knew it was her.”

  “She’s a firecracker, all right. She was all riled up.”

  “Have you already searched inside?” Jack asked.

  “We’re about to. I wanted to interview the witnesses first, and now I’m waiting on an IT crew to show up. We’re stretched thin. We have one crew checking out that camera in the church, another at Poole’s apartment, and a third is coming in from Mayfield. They’re still half an hour out.”

  Jack looked down at his phone. “Where was the camera?”

  Thomas took another drag off his e-cigarette and exhaled. “Come on. I’ll show you.” He opened the door, and Jack followed him inside.

  “The camera was in the dressing room,” Thomas explained as he walked down the hallway. “It was hidden in the smoke detector. Your fiancée’s friend bumped the wall and the smoke detector fell apart. Alice noticed an extra wire that she recognized as a data cable.”

  Thomas stopped outside the dressing room. The smoke detector was hanging against the wall by three wires.

  Wow, that was a great catch. Way to go, Alice! Jack smiled just thinking of her.

  “Poole’s office is down here,” Thomas said, waving for Jack to follow.

  The office featured wedding photographs covering nearly every inch of wall space, except for the side of the room that had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Two loveseats sat facing each other with a coffee table between them. A desk held a computer and two large monitors. Jack peered at the computer equipment.

  “Let’s not touch anything until IT gets here,” Thomas said.

  Jack nodded but kept staring at the router. “The only thing plugged into the router is the computer.”

  Thomas shrugged. “I’m not a computer guy. What does that mean?”

  Jack started back down the hallway. “It means that the camera is plugged in somewhere else.” He pulled out a pair of gloves. “Do you mind if I follow the cable?”

  “Do you know how to do that?”

  “I’ve run cable with Alice before.” Jack pointed at the ceiling tiles. “I won’t touch anything; I can lift up a ceiling tile and look where the blue cable goes.”

  “That’s fine.”

  Jack found a chair, took it to the dressing room, and climbed on. He lifted up the ceiling tile and used his phone flashlight to part the darkness; his height made his search rather easy for him. The blue cable led out of the dressing room and down the hall in the direction of Poole’s office. Jack repeated the process in the hall, checking every twenty feet to confirm that the same cable continued all the way to Poole’s office. He then climbed on a loveseat in the office and peeked up into the ceiling again. Instead of going toward the desk and computer, the cable snaked around to the left—and passed over the top of the bookshelves.

  Jack got down and frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “The cable does come in here?” Thomas asked.

  Jack shook his head. “It comes through here and runs straight over that wall.” He walked over to take a closer look at the shelves.

  There were three separate shelving units. They all held framed photographs, but whereas the unit on the left had the frames sitting on the shelves, the middle and right units had the frames mounted to the back of the bookshelf.

  “Why are only the photos on these two units mounted?” Jack asked.

  Thomas shrugged.

  Jack stared along the length of the shelves. “The office used to be much bigger. Poole blocked off part of it with the bookshelves.”

  He grabbed the middle and right units and pulled. They were hinged together and opened like swinging doors to reveal a hidden room with one chair facing a wall of monitors—Jack counted sixteen—all showing different scenes. The hidden space was aglow from the wall of screens.

  Jack pointed at one. “There’s the feed from the dressing room.”

  “We have to catch this guy.” Thomas pointed to another monitor, where two little girls, maybe six or seven years old, were swooping up and down on swings in a playground, all smiles, unaware that they were being recorded. “I’m calling the sheriff to notify the child welfare office— Hey, where are you going?” Thomas called after Jack as he walked out of the office.

  “Back to Poole’s apartment. I have an idea how to find him.”

  40

  The police were done questioning Boomer, so he offered to drive Alice to the nursing home. Alice left him in the reception area happily reading People magazine and chatting up the nursing staff while she crossed to the visiting room.

  Aunt Haddie greeted her with a tight hug and held her hand as they sat down together. “You didn’t have to come and see me, honey. I can’t imagine all that you have to do.”

  Alice sighed. “You saw for yourself, it’s like a three-ring circus that never ends. And then add in my uncle showing up. Plus, getting stalked by a serial killer is never easy.”

  Aunt Haddie raised an eyebrow and then squeezed her hand. “Alice Campbell, don’t joke about such things.”

  Alice bit her lip. What was I thinking, blurting that out to Aunt Haddie? Nice way to calm her down.

  She tried to sound lighthearted, raising her voice. “Honestly, my biggest worry is that Jack won’t show up for the wedding,” Alice admitted.

  “Nonsense! He’ll be there. You had that boy the minute you set your green eyes on him.”

  “I think you have it the wrong way around. I’ve never loved anyone but him.”

  Aunt Haddie shook her head and smiled. “He may not have realized it then, and neither did I, but you knew. And you know what they say: an acorn doesn’t become an oak
overnight. Some of the best things in life get better with time to grow. And love is one of those things. That boy has a deep love for you, and you know how fiercely loyal he is. You realize that he loves you more than himself?”

  Alice blushed. She didn’t know for sure, but she knew the feeling, because that’s how she felt about Jack.

  Could he really love me back the same way?

  Alice kissed Aunt Haddie on the cheek and delicately explained why she’d been running down the street in her wedding dress.

  “I had an uneasy feeling about that photographer . . . I was hoping I was wrong.” Aunt Haddie scowled. “I certainly never imagined that he was a killer, but there was always something off about that man.”

  “I didn’t see it either. But he wouldn’t have had to go far to put the note and flowers in Bobbie G.’s car.” Alice crossed her arms. She didn’t want to explain to Aunt Haddie how scared and angry she was that Poole had been watching her in the dressing room and left that horrible message for her. Not to mention that pictures of her in varying stages of undress could have made their way onto the internet.

  Aunt Haddie leaned over and gave Alice another hug. “Don’t you worry about that man, Alice. Jackie will get him.”

  “I know he will.” Alice forced a smile.

  “You’re selling your happy appearance a little too hard.” Aunt Haddie winked. “Don’t worry about upsetting me. Out with it. What else is wrong?”

  Alice sighed. She never could hide anything from Aunt Haddie. “I just want to make sure that I’m doing the right thing. I’m . . . hesitant.”

  “About marrying Jackie?”

  Alice nodded.

  Aunt Haddie looked like she’d swallowed a bug. “That boy would give his right arm for you. He’s such a hard worker. Kind. Loyal. True. He’ll make a fine husband.”

  “It’s not Jack. It’s me. Everything you said about Jack is a hundred and ten percent true.”

  Aunt Haddie gave her a wink. “Did I mention handsome?”

  Alice felt tears coming on. “I just don’t know . . . How can he be happy settling for me? You know everything that happened when I was young—losing my family, then getting molested . . . Maybe I’m just too broken.”

  Aunt Haddie pulled Alice in and held her tightly to her chest. All the pressure of the wedding, the stalker, and finding her family . . . Alice finally let it overwhelm her, and she sobbed in Aunt Haddie’s arms. She felt like a little girl again, but she couldn’t seem to stop the flow of tears. Aunt Haddie just rocked her in her arms and stroked her head.

  After several minutes, Alice sniffled and sat up. Aunt Haddie handed her a tissue box, and Alice blew her nose and looked at her hands. “I came over here so you wouldn’t worry about me, and now look—”

  Aunt Haddie gently put her hand under Alice’s chin so Alice had no other choice but to meet her gaze.

  “You are too special for words, my child. I know you have a hard time seeing it, so believe an old woman. You are one of a kind.”

  “Sometimes that’s not a good thing,” Alice sniffled.

  Aunt Haddie laughed, and everyone in the room turned their heads toward the sound of it—bright, loud, and real. Aunt Haddie waved back at them like she was in a parade and welcomed the attention.

  “What’s so funny?” Alice grabbed another tissue.

  “I never met two people who needed each other more or complemented each other better. Don’t you listen to the world, darling. Everyone says you have to be independent and stand on your own. That part is true. But the world also tells you that you don’t need anyone else. And that’s a lie. We’re stronger together. Stronger with friends we can talk to. We’re stronger with family and those we can count on. And if you find someone who can stand back to back and fight with you? You’re unbreakable.”

  Alice’s smile wavered like a candle in the wind, flickering and about to go out. “But Jack’s so . . . Jack. Look at me. I fall apart.”

  Aunt Haddie laughed again. Alice scowled, which only made Aunt Haddie laugh harder.

  “I’m just a dainty little thing that falls to pieces,” Aunt Haddie said in a high voice. She grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes.

  “Are you making fun of me?”

  “Never.” Aunt Haddie reached out and took her hand. “Well, maybe a little.” She gave Alice’s hand a light squeeze. “I’m just trying to show you how silly you’re being. You have so much going on that you have every right to a good cry. I expected one long before this. That’s why I went with you to the photography studio.”

  “Great. So, you do think I’m a crier.”

  “Everyone needs to cry now and then. It’s healthy.” Aunt Haddie lifted Alice’s chin. “But you’re no dainty little thing. You’re my fierce little lion.”

  Alice rolled her eyes and wiped the smudged mascara from her cheeks. “I sure don’t feel like a lion.”

  Aunt Haddie called over to three women sitting near the window. “Ellie? What did you say when you heard the police scanner?”

  The old woman smiled. “As soon as I heard that a woman in a wedding dress was chasing a car down the street, I said to myself, that must be your Alice.”

  Aunt Haddie chuckled and waved. “Thank you.” She turned back to Alice. “Not a lion? You tell me how many other women would chase a killer down the street in bare feet and a wedding dress.”

  Alice blushed.

  Aunt Haddie took Alice’s hands in hers. “Trust me when I say this. If you and Jack are broken, then God has brought you together to make you both stronger.”

  Alice smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Now do me a favor?”

  Alice nodded. “Of course, Aunt Haddie.”

  “Go help Jack catch that creep.”

  41

  Jack parked the Charger outside Poole’s apartment. Officer Kempy was standing on the sidewalk trying to answer the questions of an inquisitive couple walking their dog. Jack gave him a sympathetic wave. He’d been there before. When people see police camped outside their door, they have a right to be nervous and wonder what’s going on. You can’t tell them too much, because the accused and victims have privacy rights, too. But soon enough, Poole’s sick story would be on the news all across the state.

  “Hey, Jack,” Castillo called from the bedroom doorway as Jack walked inside. “I heard you hit the jackpot.”

  Jack tried not to make a face. He wouldn’t call Poole’s hidden office a jackpot. More like a toxic waste dump. “Thomas is waiting on IT. How about your guy? Did he get into the computer yet?”

  In answer to his question, the IT man walked out of Poole’s bedroom shaking his head. “The drive is encrypted. If we can get anything, it’s going to take a while. I did find a number of USB sticks that aren’t encrypted, but so far they’re just client pictures.”

  “Does Poole have any paper address books? Mail?” Jack asked. “We need to find friends or relatives that he would go to.”

  “I think the guy is one hundred percent digital,” Castillo said. “The only paper I’ve found is for the printer, and it’s photo paper.”

  “Have you pulled a list of family? Anyone local?”

  Castillo shook his head. “Brother and mother in Washington State. No idea about friends.”

  “Have you canvassed the neighborhood?”

  “Not yet. I’m still looking through drawers.”

  Jack exhaled and forced a polite smile. “That’s great. While you do that, I’m going to start canvassing.”

  Castillo crossed his arms. “I don’t know about that, Jack.”

  “There’s nothing not to know.” Jack started for the door. “The sheriff deputized me. It’s legal.”

  Castillo started to say something more, but Jack didn’t give him the chance. He shut the door behind him and hurried down the stairs. He didn’t need Castillo’s permission.

  And even if I do, I’m not stopping to get it.

  “Jack!” Alice called from down the sidewalk.

  Jac
k turned at the sound of her voice, and she broke into a run and leapt into his arms. He held her tightly and kissed her hair, drinking in everything about her. Her being close made him feel stronger.

  “I can’t tell you how much I wish I could have seen you in your wedding dress chucking a rock at Poole’s car,” Jack said with a laugh.

  “I should have thrown it harder.” Alice brushed back her hair. “I was aiming at the back of his head.”

  Jack didn’t want to let her go, so he kept his arms around her. He laughed harder. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was thinking.” Her face became serious. “We’re a team. We work together.”

  “What about all the wedding planning?”

  “Isn’t that why you have a wedding planner? I told Erica to handle anything else that comes up. All the important stuff is already done. And if it’s not . . . well, too bad. I’ve got work to do.”

  “Looking for the guy who’s trying to kill you isn’t the safest place for you,” Jack said.

  Alice grabbed his shirt, pulled him lower, and kissed him. “With you is the safest place for me. Besides, someone has to watch your butt.”

  “You want to watch my butt?” Jack raised an eyebrow.

  Alice blushed. “You know what I mean.”

  Jack laughed. “I’m going to canvass the neighborhood. Want to join me?”

  Alice eyed him suspiciously. “You’re not going to try to make me go back to Shawna’s?”

  “Make you? Aunt Haddie gave me some really good advice when I told her I was going to marry you. She said the most important thing in dealing with you is never try to make you do anything, just ask. The truth is, I’d appreciate your help.”

  Alice beamed. She held up her fist with her thumb up—their own version of a fist bump. “Let’s do this.”

  At the apartment next door, a young woman opened the door. She was dressed in hospital scrubs and looked tired. “Can I help you?”

  “My name is Jack Stratton, and this is Alice Campbell. We’re working with the sheriff, and we have a few questions about your neighbor, Philip Poole.”