Jacob's Grace

by C. P. Rowlands

  Tag reached for Grace’s hand again.

  “You were saying…”

  Grace tilted her head with a deep breath but kept looking at Tag. “I don’t know what to say to you. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  “I have an idea,” Tag said, inching close, framing Grace’s face with her hands. “See how this works.” She kissed her softly and carefully, heart banging against her ribs.

  Grace’s blue eyes were wide and startled and a shade of blue that Tag still couldn’t identify. “Much better than words,” she said and licked her lips. “Could we do that again?”

  Tag did just that, every piece of her body shaking. Somewhere, something was thumping, and that quickly turned into banging.

  “For crying out loud.” Grace tossed her pen across the desk and moved toward the door.

  AJ and Sam strode into the room. “The cops or maybe a fire truck are at the motel. See the lights down the road? Look at the computers.” AJ turned. “Grace, take your truck down there and call us. Neither Greg nor Jeff is picking up.”

  Grace grabbed her weapon and keys and was gone before Tag could move.

  “Tag, pull up all the angles on the motel so we can watch,” AJ said.

  Hands still shaking, Tag brought up live shots from the motel. She could still taste Grace’s lips.

  “I was on the phone with Maddie when the sirens went by. Didn’t you hear them?”

  Tag shook her head, and Sam pointed at a group of girls huddled in the doorways.

  “There’s Frog,” AJ said.

  “Has Maddie seen any of the video from here?” Sam said.

  “Yes, and has three of them identified, four including Frog. That gives me hope.” AJ turned to them. “Tag, talk with Jay. See if we can trust the cops. Or if you don’t want to use Jay, see what you can find out while you’re doing that survey thing. Didn’t you say you know some people here?”

  Tag nodded. “Two that I went to high school with, and I’ve spoken to both of them. One’s an artist with a little shop in town, but the other’s a doctor at the hospital. I’ll get in touch with her. And there’s no problem talking to Jay.” She turned and put her friends’ names on her personal computer notes. “I think Jay’s kind of jazzed over this whole thing, believes it’s for Clint and understands I don’t want the family to know. All I said at our meal was that I’d be working for the government soon.”

  “Clint Weeks’s grand opening of his Niagara Inn is within two weeks. It’s all over the newspaper I bought,” Sam said, watching the video.

  “Damn,” AJ said. “That means we’ll have a couple hundred new people in town to deal with. Great.” Her phone rang and she put it on speaker.

  “There’s at least one body,” Grace said, slightly breathless. They watched the EMTs wheel a gurney to a waiting ambulance.

  “There’s Donna,” AJ said, pointing at the woman talking to the sheriff’s deputy, animated and angry. There was only the ambulance and two sheriff’s SUVs. “We’re watching the feed, Grace. Can’t see…oh, we’ve got you.”

  “They’re really arguing,” Grace said. “That woman’s hanging in there and— hey, get your hands off me.” They all heard a man’s angry voice and the phone went dead.

  “Christ,” Tag said, reaching for her weapon in the drawer.

  “Hold on.” AJ put a restraining hand on Tag. “Wait for it.” Grace spoke to the sheriff’s deputy and put her hand out. It looked like he had her phone. They said a few words and she stepped back. He moved at her aggressively, and suddenly, he was on the ground.

  AJ shouted, “Atta girl, Grace.” The officer stood, obviously furious. Grace said something and he pulled his fist back, but she made another quick move and he was on the ground again. The man scrambled up and charged at her, but she turned quickly, sweeping his legs out from under him, and he was down for the third time. Grace shook her head and got into the back of his SUV.

  AJ turned to Sam. “Take the car down there, but let this play out. If they ask, tell them you just stopped to see if you could help. Don’t forget she’s ‘Gabrial’ and be alert for Greg or Jeff. Show the sheriff’s men your paramedic ID if you have to.”

  Tag sagged back in her chair, feeling useless. “Why’d she get into his SUV?”

  “Because we need to see law enforcement up here.” AJ put a hand on Tag’s shoulder again. “She’s trained for this. I’m not kidding when I say she’s my best success story. Trust her. If the cops detain her, do you think you can get Jay there as her lawyer?”

  Tag tipped back in her chair, not used to waiting. Her phone began to ring, but AJ grabbed it before Tag could get her hands on it.

  “Don’t answer. What if they have her phone and want to see who picks up?” Tag’s phone went silent and AJ’s began to ring. “Grab that number, Tag. Put it on the computer.”

  Tag had the location up in a heartbeat. It was the sheriff’s phone number.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tag followed Jay into the sheriff’s office south of Niagara. Much to her surprise, Aaron Youngbear stood behind the desk.

  “Evening, Jay. What’s got you out this late?” And then his face split into a huge grin. “Tag, I’ll be damned. When did you get home?”

  Grinning, Tag shook his hand. “Aaron. Good to see you. I finally left the service and am doing some work for Jay.” He was one of her brother’s best friends since they were kids, and it was good to see him.

  “So, you’re both here for what?” He looked at them, puzzled.

  “You have my employee, Gabrial Frank. She’s one of my computer women,” Jay said.

  Sergeant Youngbear raised his eyebrows. “That little lady that was shooting video at the motel works for you?”

  Surprised at Jay’s quick lie, Tag hung back. He was usually all suited up, but now Jay wore a faded Green Bay Packer T-shirt, jeans, and neon-green running shoes.

  The sergeant laid papers on the counter. “You sign the papers while I’m getting her. Deputy Miller said she did some damage.”

  Grace did some damage? Tag looked around the station. It was immaculate and the flagstone walls gleamed.

  Jay reached over the counter for a pen. “Wonder what he meant by damage?” He paused his writing and looked at her. “This might cost some money.”

  “I’ll pay for it, or she will. Get her phone back and anything else these fellows took.”

  The metal door slammed and Grace stepped out with the young deputy. He had fresh bruises on his face and rubbed his jaw.

  “Mr. Yardly,” he said, shoving Grace toward them.

  “Deputy Miller.” Jay nodded. “What’s happened with my employee?” He handed the paperwork over and took a long look at Grace.

  “She was videoing us at the motel down the road from the Crooked Lake Resort. No one authorized that. Did you?”

  “No, but I doubt it was criminal. She probably wanted to put it on social media.”

  Grace hung her head and smartly looked embarrassed.

  “So it’s a draw, right?” Jay regarded both men. “She’ll want her phone back and anything else you might have confiscated.”

  The deputy tossed Grace’s phone and keys on the desk with a loud clatter. “There’ll be no charges, but she’ll have to stay away from that motel. One dead is enough for this night.” He rubbed his face again and stared at Grace. “Where the hell did you learn to fight like that? A pretty little girl like you should be out on a date with some lucky guy.”

  Tag clenched her fists. Stupid little sexist.

  “There’s a body?” Jay looked up.

  “Already transported to the hospital,” Deputy Miller confirmed. “Christ, that was terrible.”

  “Miller, leave it alone.” The sergeant turned to Tag. “Let your brother know I said hello, and give my regards to your parents.”

  Jay held the door and the three of them walked outside into the cool dark night. Tag glanced at Jay. She’d remembered Grace’s undercover name but hadn’t told him about the a
mbulance or the body. He was frowning as he held his car door for Grace. Tag started to follow, but stopped as she heard the sound in the night air. The whomp, whomp, whomp of helicopter blades grew closer. “What the hell,” she said, fighting the familiar panic, grabbing for control.

  Jay looked at the sky. “That’s just Judd’s personal ride home from Madison.”

  They watched the helicopter pass over them.

  “Who owns that?” Tag said.

  “The CEO of Marine Bio-Tech, the plant over that hill. They’re working on clean water. It’s a facility the state built three years ago. Clint’s the majority investor.”

  Tag concentrated on her breathing and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans.

  “My truck’s at the motel,” Grace said from the back seat and snapped her seat belt.

  “I recognize you now,” Jay said, looking at Grace in the rearview mirror. “Your lead agent in Milwaukee was right. I wouldn’t have known you. I know you’re trying to help Clint, but you might want to stay away from that motel from now on.” He gave a short laugh and nudged Tag’s shoulder. “Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis, but this is the most interesting thing I’ve done in years. My wife thinks I’m having an affair.” He parked at the motel, now dark and quiet.

  “Kathleen’s smarter than that.” Tag grinned. She’d always liked Jay’s wife, who was also a lawyer.

  “Normally, yes, but she’s stressed as hell over the new house we’re building.”

  “You’re building a new home? Where?”

  Jay gestured toward the lake. “Over there, on the north side of the lighthouse next to that little cottage. I think I’ll turn that smaller building into a new law office for both of us now that the kids are in high school.” He turned in the seat to Grace. “What happened here, at the motel?”

  “I was driving by, saw the ruckus, and stopped,” Grace said and got out of the car. “That older woman that manages it and the deputy were having one heck of an argument.”

  “What older lady?” Jay said. “A man from Wyoming, a friend of Clint’s, owns the place. Well, maybe he hired her and I just hadn’t heard about it.” He grinned. “I’ll catch it on the town’s grapevine tomorrow and let Tag know. Thanks for letting me play, ladies.”

  “Do I owe you anything?” Grace took her keys out of her pocket.

  “Not so far. I’m sure the damage mentioned was to young Deputy Miller’s face. I don’t think that has a monetary value,” he said.

  Grace shook his hand through the open window. “Thank you, Mr. Yardly. I appreciate your help.”

  “It’s Jay, and don’t hesitate to call if you need help again.” He held up a hand. “Wait. I told them you were my employee. I’ll put you on my list at the office so we’re all covered with the sheriff. Tag says you’re a computer whiz, so welcome to the firm.” He grinned again and drove away.

  Grace drove toward the resort.

  “You okay?” Tag finally said.

  “Of course. Call AJ. Tell her we’re on our way and we’re sweeping this truck once we get there. Damn. We’ll need new phones.”

  “We ran the phone number when the sheriff’s department tried to use your phone so we knew. We watched you on the computer. That deputy never stood a chance. Nice work.” Tag dialed AJ on her personal phone. When she hung up, she laughed. “You should have heard AJ watching that live feed. She was yelling at you to hit him again.”

  Grace’s mouth twitched with a little smile. “Three times. Three times I knocked that dummy down and told him to stay down. He didn’t even realize I got into his SUV willingly until we were driving to the station. I wanted some information on the dead person, but he wouldn’t give it up. Whatever happened at the motel really upset the deputy.” She took a deep breath and laced her fingers with Tag’s. “That was fun, but you were the best part of my day.”

  Pulse racing, Tag glanced at their hands. That beat down in the parking lot confirmed she had a lot to learn about Grace and had been every bit as ambushed as the deputy. She brought their interlaced fingers to her mouth and softy kissed Grace’s knuckles. This had been some day.

  * * *

  AJ waited for them in front of the computers. Sam returned and confirmed the motel had gone quiet. She sent him off to bed and then called Maddie to finish their phone call. She told her about the motel, the sheriff, Grace, and how Jay had helped.

  “Maddie, we have tons of information on Clint Weeks, but what do we have on Jay Yardly?”

  There was a moment of silence. “Not much. I knew him when I used to hang out up there with Pete. Nice guy, smart, and a good rep as a lawyer.” AJ could practically hear her think. “Huh. Let’s do a run on him down here. I’ll get back to you,” Maddie said. “You’ll have your new phones tomorrow at Adams Delivery. I gotta run. Later, girl.”

  Next AJ left messages on Jeff’s and Greg’s personal phones. Both had responded. They’d been scouting Clint’s new facility where they’d do some finishing work until the place opened. They’d meet AJ there tomorrow morning.

  While she was waiting, she reread Tag’s data on the two motel men. Somehow Tag had managed to talk to people that had served with both men and Robert Owens. Tag must have some serious cred. None of the three men had done any more than work in Transport in Kabul, and outside of shooting commendations, they’d simply served their time. They had no marks on their records either, and all had honorable discharges.

  Swiveling her chair slowly, she looked around the room and the two beer bottles and chairs, nestled up to each other. No wonder they hadn’t heard the sirens. Grace’s eyes had been a brilliant blue. Maybe it was time to meet Grace’s horse and have a little one-on-one at the stables.

  One of the computers had the tax information on the property Donna Seesom was selling up on the screen. AJ scrolled through recent property transactions in the area, spotting Jay Yardley’s name. She wasn’t sure where the acreage was that he’d purchased, but she’d find out. It looked like it was out by the little lighthouse.

  Grace came through the door at that moment, her face shining. Tag followed with an odd look on her face. They both laid their group phones on the desk near AJ.

  “No information on the dead person,” Grace said, taking a drink from her beer bottle.

  “Good job,” AJ said. “Tell me what you both saw.”

  “There were sheriff’s vehicles and one ambulance at the motel. Was that Donna Seesom?” Grace took another quick drink.

  “Yes. Did you find out what she was so angry about?”

  “She didn’t want them interfering with what was ‘a personal and unfortunate accident.’ She actually shoved that deputy around, the little jerk I tangled with. I saw Frog when I drove in, but they moved the girls inside, and I didn’t see the body. It was already bagged.”

  “So the sheriff’s department might not be aware of the girls?”

  “They never mentioned them,” Grace said. “That deputy that you saw was really upset over the body and so were the EMTs. Something’s off about that body.”

  AJ shook her head. “It looked like he didn’t even realize you’d gotten into his vehicle. When did that hit him, and how’s his face?”

  “He yelled at me all the way back to the station. More than his face is bruised, but he killed the phones. Tag said you caught that. My truck’s clean. We swept it in the parking lot.” She took a deep breath. “What do we do now?”

  “I talked to Maddie. We’ll have new phones tomorrow. Also, Jeff and Greg scouted out Clint’s new place. They’ll put in on our link. Grace, let’s meet at the stables around two tomorrow afternoon.” AJ shoved herself out of the chair. “Where’d they take the body?”

  “To the hospital. Jay said he’d have information in the morning. I’ll call you when I’ve talked to him,” Tag said. “The sergeant at the sheriff’s is Aaron Youngbear, a good friend of mine, so that’s an another person I can talk to.”

  “Good. Speaking of Jay, he’s on that list.” AJ pointed at the compute
r. “He just bought some property.”

  “Yeah,” Tag said. “He told us on the drive back that he and Kathleen are building a new house out by the lighthouse. That was odd because he never mentioned it at our family dinner. Also, he’s going to put Grace on his employee list to cover his presence at the sheriff’s tonight.” Tag’s personal phone rang and she checked it. She raised her eyebrows at AJ and moved toward her bedroom. “I’m beat. Think I’ll turn in. I’ll let you both know what Jay finds out.” Her eyes lingered on Grace.

  AJ nodded and turned to Grace. “See you tomorrow.” Grace didn’t answer, and AJ saw that she was examining the knuckles on her hand with a faraway expression. “Nice job tonight,” she added.

  Grace looked up with a smile. “What? Okay, tomorrow at two. Wait.” She looked toward Tag’s bedroom. “We were coming out of the sheriff’s and a helicopter went over. Tag stopped dead cold, lost to us. Know anything about that?”

  “No, but I heard a helicopter here, while I was waiting. What do you mean, ‘lost’?”

  “She just seemed to…go away. It’s the second time I’ve seen her react to a helicopter like that. I told you about the first time at the Owens’s house.”

  “Why don’t you just ask and let me know,” AJ said and left. Walking down the hallway to her room, she put the information into some kind of order, and had an idea. The next step should be to contact Frog. Those girls were still taking their daily walks, according to Greg and Jeff. She’d do some running in the morning.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The next morning AJ ran down the road through scattered patches of ground fog. Jeff had called to let her know Frog and her group had just left the motel parking lot for their daily walk. AJ thought it would take about twenty minutes to reach the girls. The ground fog would help. They wouldn’t see her until she was right on them. She picked up her pace a bit.