Was she losing her mind?
No!
The elf who had stared at her had been a male with blue eyes. He’d recognized her, she knew he had. The moment she saw his eyes she knew he was the man from her living room. Find him, and she’d find out about the dead elf. They wore the same costume, after all.
The elf had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Since she wasn’t crazy, he must have changed places with someone while she made her way over to J.D.
That meant her elf was still back there.
The thought brought her to a standstill. If she hurried back to the center of the mall, she could probably catch him.
“Jackie, come on. I don’t see Daddy any more,” Heather urged.
Two small faces peered at her in distress. The elf would have to wait, she realized. First she needed to rescue J.D.
HE’D LOST HIS MIND. There wasn’t any other explanation. He’d taken one look at Jackie’s frightened face and simply reacted. Hadn’t Thompkins tried to warn him? Jackie Neeley was a fruitcake.
And J.D. was an idiot.
If he’d taken a minute to think, he would have realized this was the first time Jackie had indicated the second person in her house was also an elf. Until now, only the so-called dead body had had that dubious distinction.
Obviously, Jackie had an elf fixation.
“Are you sure you don’t want to press charges, Ms. Boreman?” the senior security man asked the young woman.
The girl pushed back her elf hat and shook her head. “No, it’s okay. He didn’t hurt me.” She sent an edgy glance toward J.D., as if she wasn’t sure she was making the right decision.
“I really am sorry,” he told her. “I honestly thought you were someone else.”
“That may be,” the security man said, “but you had no business climbing past the barrier.”
“I realize that” He kept his voice—and hopefully his expression—low and humble. “I can promise you, I won’t make the same mistake again.” The impassioned force of his words seemed to pacify everyone.
J.D. meant every syllable.
He would take Jackie Neeley home and forbid his children to go near the shopping center ever again. The woman was a menace. Those soft, pleading eyes could steal a man’s soul—or at least his ability to think. How was it they gave no hint to the madness behind them?
He gave a mental shake. He’d learned his lesson. He had his children and his reputation to consider. The kids must be frightened to death. He could only imagine what they must be thinking. Thankfully, the security man finally dismissed him.
He threw open the door and nearly knocked Todd off his feet. The youngster released the door handle and backed into Jackie. She teetered. J.D. reached for her arm. Only his quick reflexes kept her from falling at his feet He held her steady, all too aware of her fragility beneath that bulky sweatshirt. Quickly, he released his grip.
“Are you okay?” he asked gruffly.
“Yes, of course.”
J.D. released her and turned to his children. “How about you guys? You okay?”
Heather nodded, her eyes too large in her small face. Todd immediately stared up at him. “Are they taking you to jail?”
“No. Of course not.” Heat suffused his cheeks. “I apologized to Ms. Boreman and told her I made a mistake. She very nicely—”
“I figured out what happened,” Jackie interrupted. Her face was animated. Urgent. “The elf must have traded places with that woman before I reached you. If we hurry back there we can probably catch him.”
“No!”
Everyone stared at him. J.D. took a deep breath, struggling to control his temper. “We are going to the car and we are going home.”
“Good,” Todd said. “Then I don’t hafta sit on Santa’s lap.”
“But J.D.—”
“Not now,” he warned Jackie. “You and I need to have a talk. Later.”
Her stunned expression faltered, changing to one of hurt disbelief. J.D. hated that look—and the irrational urge that made him want to draw her into his arms and offer comfort. He had to remember the woman had nearly caused him to be arrested. She wasn’t playing with a full deck and she was making him crazy, too. How could he still be feeling an attraction to her?
Jackie’s slim fingers tightened around the crutches in her hand. She glanced at the children, and the protest so clearly evident on her face shuttered closed. Without a word, she pivoted and started back the way they had come.
They headed to his car in silence. Heather and Todd scooted ahead to walk with Jackie. Jackie refused to ride in the front seat, suggesting it was Todd’s turn. Heather didn’t even protest.
With the children watching so closely, J.D. felt it best not to object. His embarrassed anger was still too near the surface. Grimly, he helped Jackie into the vehicle. She stiffened at his touch, climbing in in prickly silence. The children slid in without a word.
Why was he feeling so guilty? He had nothing to feel guilty about. The woman was a menace.
Once he put the car in gear he realized he had another dilemma on his hands. Despite the rational side of him that wanted to take Jackie home and dump her on her front steps and never look back, he realized he couldn’t do that. Whatever was going on inside her head, she’d already fallen once and nearly burned the house down around her shoulders. No telling what might happen if he left her alone tonight when she was all upset.
Besides, he needed to talk to her. He’d seen the unsigned Christmas card with its message. Luke said she’d become agitated right after opening the mail. Her elf hang-up might be crazy, but she did have that restraining order against her ex-husband. There might be a basis for her fears that would explain her irrational behavior. Maybe a connection between her ex and her fear of elves.
Or maybe she’d sent the Christmas card to herself.
J.D. groaned.
“You okay, Dad?” Heather asked.
“Peachy.”
He regretted his pithy retort immediately. Heather gave him a reproachful look and snuggled closer to Jackie on the back seat. She draped a comforting arm around Heather’s shoulders and squeezed gently. J.D. gnashed his teeth.
What a fiasco. The evening had been a disaster from start to finish. Next time he nearly ran over a woman with his car, he wouldn’t stop to play good Samaritan.
“Let me off first,” Jackie said quietly.
Was she reading his thoughts now? “No. You’re going to have to spend the night again.”
“Excuse me, but I don’t have to do anything. I have new locks,” Jackie told him decisively. “I’ll be fine. Take me home.”
With his juvenile audience listening, J.D. wasn’t about to let her start an argument. “Look, let me drop you off with the children while I run to the store for Aunt Dottie like I promised. Then I’ll come back and pick you up.”
“That’s stupid. I only live five blocks from your house. Just drop me off on your way past.”
“We’ll wait in the car while you get the milk, Dad,” Heather offered.
“Yeah, Dad, we don’t mind.”
He clenched the steering wheel and scowled at Jackie in the rearview mirror. She glared right back.
“I don’t mind—”
“I do.” He said with quiet emphasis. “I’m driving, so we’ll do this my way. Okay, everyone?”
“Daddy, are you mad at Jackie?” Heather asked.
He wanted to shout an emphatic yes, then he remembered it wasn’t really her fault. Crazy people couldn’t help being crazy. Could they? If only he wasn’t so drawn to her.
“No, Heather. I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”
J.D. wished he could close his eyes. Actually, he wished for a lot of things—most of them totally impractical. He ran a hand angrily through his hair.
Heather’s concern worried him. Jackie’s influence was much stronger than he’d realized. He would have to do something about that.
He’d dated any number of warm, wonderful women,
but he’d never seen his children so animated with any of them. In fact, he’d never seen his kids respond to anyone the way they did to Jackie.
Hell. He’d never responded to anyone the way he had to Jackie. And for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was that guileless, untouched air about her. But she was hardly an innocent. She’d been married and divorced.
Yet, her almost chaste reaction to his teasing tonight had spurred him on, heating his blood. He could still taste that kiss they’d shared earlier.
He’d dated more beautiful women over the years. But none whose features had captivated him the way hers did.
He pulled onto his street in relief. They’d made it home without incident.
Or so he thought.
“I’d really rather you take me to my place,” Jackie said quietly when he tried to help her from the car.
“Later,” he told her, thrusting her crutches into her hands.
She climbed out and faced him. Anger added color to her cheeks, clearly visible in the moonlight. The children darted ahead to the front door.
“You are not my keeper,” she whispered fiercely.
“Damn right, I’m not. Nor am I applying for the job.”
“Then take me home. You’ll never have to see me again.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t live with the guilt. Yesterday you nearly set the place on fire. God knows what you would do tonight if I left you all by yourself.”
She jabbed an index finger against his jacket. “Who do you think you are?”
“The man who nearly got arrested chasing after one of your phantom elves,” he reminded her.
“Jackie, come on,” Todd called out.
Color faded from her cheeks. He felt like he’d just kicked a puppy. How did he let her keep doing this to him? He was normally such a sane even-tempered sort of a person. Taking a firm grip on his anger, he nodded toward the house.
“Please go inside. I’ll be right back and we’ll talk.”
She hesitated before limping past him without a word, head high, her carriage unnaturally stiff despite the crutches. J.D. watched her slow ascent up the steps and into the house. He felt rotten.
He drove to the shopping center and parked outside the convenience store. He stared at the lights inside and tried to remember why he was here.
No woman had ever gotten under his skin the way Jackie did. She had a way of peering up at him from under those silky long lashes with an innocence that stole his common sense. He wanted to shake her. He wanted to toss her in his bed and make love to her until neither of them could walk without help.
Aw, hell, she wasn’t the crazy one around here. He was. J.D. got out of the car and went inside the store.
He was calm when he pulled into his driveway. He decided to talk to Jackie quietly and without acrimony. He’d use logic to explain why the children must stay away from her in the future. He would again offer her a loan if she needed one to pay for the security system. Then, he would let her spend the night. But, in the morning, he would take her home and wash his hands of her.
The children met him at the door.
“Jackie’s gone,” Heather announced without preamble.
Fear tightened his belly. “Gone where?”
“She called a cab and went to Bessie’s. She said we can’t come to the store ever again.” His daughter’s eyes welled with tears.
“Yeah, Daddy. How come she doesn’t like us any more?”
Aunt Dottie joined them in the hallway. Even her features were accusing. J.D. looked from face to face, watching tears trickle down his daughter’s cheeks. Without a word, he handed Dottie the groceries and turned to go back outside.
“Where are you going?” Dottie called after him.
“To bring her back,” he growled.
Only, he couldn’t bring her back. Jackie refused to even talk to him. And Bessie wouldn’t let him inside the apartment.
“She went to bed,” Bessie snapped. “I won’t wake her, either. She’s upset. Since Frank and Seth are out for the evening, I hope you won’t mind if I don’t invite you inside.” Her cold voice told him it would be a long time before he got another invitation inside her home.
And he did mind, he realized. He minded a whole lot. He needed to talk to Jackie. When he realized he wasn’t going to accomplish that tonight, he finally turned away.
At least she’d be safe staying with her friend.
The thought brought him little comfort.
JACKIE FACED THE MORNING with determination. Her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep, but she had formed a plan of sorts. She would have a long talk with the obnoxious Officer Thompkins. If she explained the situation calmly, surely he’d listen to what she said.
Bessie had offered to let her out of the purchase agreement the previous night. She’d even offered to lend Jackie money to disappear again.
Only Jackie had decided not to run. She was tired of being afraid. She would not cower or be chased from the life she had created here in the sleepy foothills of Maryland.
She used the bathroom, trying to be as quiet as possible. Frank had come home quite late last night—intoxicated, from the sound of him. She had no desire to sit across from him at a breakfast table and make conversation. She couldn’t understand his heartless behavior when Bessie was so obviously grieving over the loss of her only son. But since Bessie didn’t seem to object, Jackie knew it wasn’t her place to criticize. Still, she felt uncomfortable around Frank and his circle of friends.
Quietly, she made her way to the kitchen and the pad of paper Bessie kept by the phone. She left a short message and started to turn away when the small row of hooks beneath the corner cupboard caught her eye. Spare keys hung there, neatly marked. Her former house keys were on the outside hook, easily recognizable without reading the tag. It was the third key on that same chain, however, that started her breathing more quickly.
With trembling fingers, she lifted them. The odd key could fit any lock. Why was she so certain the tiny bit of metal had fit the dead-bolt lock on her basement door?
A tremor passed through her. She must be mistaken. Bessie wouldn’t lie. Jackie was seeing bogeymen where they didn’t exist. Maybe this key went with the garage behind the house.
Only she knew it was too new, too shiny to fit that rusted old lock. Besides, Bessie had told her there wasn’t one for that door.
She closed her fingers over the cool metal and tried to control her breathing. There was an explanation. There had to be an explanation.
A toilet flushed somewhere in the apartment, making her jump. As quickly as she could manage, Jackie headed for the hall closet. Her stomach clenched alarmingly. She grabbed her coat and fumbled to release the front-door lock. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation with Bessie or Frank right now. She needed time to think this through. She was almost positive she was overreacting, but the keys, still clutched in her hand, had taken on ominous proportions.
Despite her grief, it would have taken Bessie only a second to look at the spare-key rack. Why had her friend lied to her?
Using the phone in the main lobby, she called for a cab. The wait seemed forever. She moved out into the crisp morning air when, at last, the cab pulled in front of the building.
Her house sat dark and silent on the quiet street. She would never be able to think of this place as home. Her eyes constantly scanned the neighborhood as she hunted for the new keys to get inside. Such a quiet, innocuous neighborhood. Lights were on in several nearby houses as people got ready for another day. There was nothing sinister. No sense of danger.
She opened the door and stepped inside, willing her heart to stop fluttering. Setting her purse and keys on the small table alongside her old ones, she swept the silent rooms with a watchful gaze.
The downstairs appeared exactly as she had left it, even the living room. She would have to purchase drapes today and maybe some sort of floor rug to cover the fire damage.
“Right. Who’s
going to hang them, or carry a rug inside for me?” She wouldn’t be asking J.D. for any more help, that was for sure. This sense of loss was ridiculous, but how she would miss the children.
The living room needed cleaning. Her pills still lay scattered on the floor. Her gaze strayed to the chair in the far corner.
Why hadn’t they found any trace of the elf? How could a body just appear and disappear?
Forcing back painful thoughts, she went through the downstairs checking windows and doors. She double-checked the lock on the basement. The key she’d taken from Bessie’s was the same brand as the lock. Why had Bessie lied?
Upstairs, she hurried from room to room to be certain no one lurked in a closet or hid in a spare room. Her leg throbbed, but the ache was definitely less severe today than yesterday.
She craved a bath. At the least, a shower, but she couldn’t trust her ankle climbing in and out of that high claw-footed tub. She had to settle for a sponge bath, washing her hair clumsily over the tub. At least she wouldn’t go to settlement today with dirty hair.
Grabbing clothing from the closet, she dressed in a clean pair of sweats and started back downstairs. The telephone shattered the stillness inside the house. Bessie, of course. Or J.D. She wasn’t ready to talk to either of them. What could she say, after all? Why did you lie? Why didn’t you believe me?
Crutches made cleaning hard, awkward work, but she felt better once she tidied the living room. When the phone rang again she decided to answer, but whoever it was disconnected as she lifted the receiver.
In the act of dialing Bessie’s number, she hesitated. She still wasn’t ready to talk to her friend, only the silence inside the house had become oppressive. She would go to the shop, instead. The shop represented safety despite the watcher. At least he hadn’t been dressed as an elf.
With the walking cast, surely she could drive two blocks. The car was an automatic, after all. She headed for the hall, put on her coat and reached for her purse and keys.
Her car keys weren’t there.
A quick search of her purse and her pockets didn’t turn them up either, and they weren’t on the floor.
Anxiety changed to anger, as she realized J.D. must have taken her car keys along with her house keys when he went to pick up her prescription. It meant another trip upstairs, but she did have a spare set tucked away in a drawer.
Better Watch Out Page 10