Chapter 16

The sunlight streamed in through the small opening in the curtains and fell across Jessie’s face. Morning! Please not yet. She closed her eyes again and groaned. It was still shining when she peeked again. It was more of a poke than a shine, mocking her with its brightness. She rubbed her eyes and moved her head out of the direct line of the sun. The next line of defense was to pull the sheet over her face. It didn’t help, she was awake now, or partly awake might be a more accurate description. The clock showed eight-thirty. All the events of the night before came rushing back into her mind. She threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, pushing the hair out of her face. No amount of rubbing seemed to clear the fog in her brain, though. “Maria,” she murmured, shaking her head, trying to erase the image of the woman lying there. Boy, would she would like to get her hands on the man who did it, and put him in a room alone with Matt, Balasco, and Maria’s husband.

She stood and shuffled to the restroom. It was a slow start, but maybe a shower would clear the cobwebs. The water worked its magic, and just so she wouldn’t be tempted to crawl back into bed, Jessie gave her hair a cold rinse. With a startled yelp, she was wide-awake.

Thirty-five minutes later, she emerged from the room to Katie’s high-pitched chatter.

“There you are lazy bones. The guys left a while ago. I was sure you were going to sleep the day away.”

“It was a long night.” Jessie scowled. “One you completely slept through, by the way.”

“I wore a pair of Sadie’s earplugs just in case you decided to take up late night singing again. I wanted to sleep.” Katie took a breath. “They worked wonders, let me tell you. I’m feeling great this morning.”

“How nice for you,” Jessie mumbled, pouring coffee into her mug.

“What happened last night, Jessie? Matt flew out of here this morning saying he had a call in regards to last night.” Sadie handed Jessie the cream.

“An injured woman was dropped out front of our room. I heard her crying for help. She had a message for me from the guy who’s been sending the notes.” Jessie retold the events of the night.

“Will she be all right?” Sadie looked at Jessie, concern written on her face.

“It was bad. She looked awful. Matt thought she might have a broken arm from the way it was hanging. The paramedics wanted her ribs x-rayed to check for fractures too. The guy kicked her several times.” Jessie shivered. She knew all too well what broken ribs felt like.

“Oh dear, the poor woman.” Sadie grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes. “Can we do anything?”

“I’m going to check on her today. I thought I would take a bouquet of flowers to the hospital. Do you want to come along?” Jessie sipped her coffee.

“Of course, I do. How about you, Katie?” Sadie glanced at her.

“Naturally. I guess I’m going to have to get used to all these strange things that happen to you, aren’t I?” Katie gave Jessie an odd expression. “Just a thought, maybe I should start working the cases with you, but then again maybe not. I think you need someone somewhat normal in your life. I guess that’ll have to be me.”

“I’m not sure I would go as far as to call you normal.” Jessie winked at Sadie and grinned at Katie. “But, I’m glad you live close by, and I can slip over to the Inn whenever I need to laugh. Besides, I’ve always liked you just the way you are.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “I’m normal! Even you can’t spoil my good mood today. I like me the way I am, too.”

“I think both of you girls are perfect the way you are. As soon as we visit the hospital I think you two should do a little relaxing by the pool.” Sadie smiled at them. “Maybe it will do you both some good and help to remove the dark circles from under your eyes.” She patted Jessie’s hand.

****

They were in the hot tub when Matt and Jeremy got back to the resort. “Good afternoon, ladies.” Jeremy smiled and nodded at them as he sat down in one of the lounge chairs. “What have you two been up to?”

“We went to visit Maria at the hospital and to take her some flowers.” Katie smiled back.

Jeremy turned to Matt. “I’m telling you, Matt; I’m ready to scream at that guy. I don’t know how you put up with his hostile remarks.”

“Whatever you do, don’t give in to that urge or you’ll end up in jail.” Matt sat down in the chair across from Jeremy, pulling his shades down from his head and over his eyes.

“Give me some credit, I said I’m ready to, but I won’t do it.” Jeremy winked at Jessie. “Still I wouldn’t mind taking my best shot and punching him. He was pushing you every way that he could. It made me mad.”

“Are you talking about Agent Henderson?” Jessie grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself as she stood. Climbing out of the hot tub, she walked to the chair where her swimwear sarong hung and slipped it on.

“That would be the one.” Jeremy grinned at her. “He’s got it in for Matt and is making life around the station miserable. That’s putting it nicely.”

“Don’t be nice on our account. We’re big girls.” Jessie smiled back at him. “I wasn’t impressed him with either. He was a little too full of himself.” She thought about it a minute. “He could be a nice guy, though. I’m a firm believer that there’s some good to be found in most everyone if you take the time to look.”

“Always the optimist, Jess,” Matt snapped. Jessie frowned at his snap, and he looked away from her.

“I gave you a second look, didn’t I? We didn’t size each other up well in the beginning, either.” She flung the beach towel over her arm.

“Touché.” His brow rose slightly. “How’s Maria this morning?”

“Maria’s in pain but doing a little better.” She slipped her feet into her sandals. “She was happy to see us. I feel sorry he dragged her into this mess.” She frowned at him again. “Is there a reason you’re touchy?”

“Henderson.” Jeremy chuckled.

Jessie walked over to Jeremy and tousled his hair. “How was your morning?” She smiled at him.

“His morning was all right,” Matt snapped again. “Get dressed. We’re meeting with Frank in twenty minutes.”

She glared at him. “What! I didn’t know we had plans, or that Frank was even here. You could have called.” She marched into the house, followed by Katie.

Jeremy stood up. “Do you mind if I stay here and do that research we were speaking about earlier? I want to check something out while it’s still fresh in my mind.” His forehead wrinkled. “I’ve been thinking of that last note that both of you are the targets. It may be for different reasons, but I would guess that revenge may be at the heart of it.”

“I don’t mind.” Matt sighed. “I need to keep you on my good side. I may be in a bit of trouble. She’ll be taking imaginary points off for my behavior.”

“Yes, I thought you were acting too male.” Jeremy chuckled. “She might be mad now, but she’ll remember how Agent Henderson is badgering you. I’ll remind her of it, and she’ll be her usual sweet self to you in no time.”

“Thanks for having my back, not that it’s going to help this time.” Matt stood and pulled his keys out of his pocket.

“We guys need to stick together.” Jeremy grinned. “Women are hard to figure out.”

“We’re not easy ourselves.” He sighed. “But it’s pretty straightforward in this case. She didn’t deserve how I treated her. I was a jerk. No, excuse for it. She took it about the same way I did with Henderson.” He frowned, ruefully. “Only she had no trouble letting me see just how she felt about it. I think I’m about to get an earful.” He winced as the door slammed and looked up to find her headed his way. Oh yeah, she looked like she was ready to do battle.

Jeremy patted him on the back. “Hang in there, buddy, the make-up is worth the war.”

“That depends on how long it lasts.” Matt watched Jeremy walk away and smiled.

Jeremy had stopped her before she got to Matt. “Jessie, when you get back I want to run a couple of things by you. Don’t forget.” He raked his hand through his hair.

“Sure, okay.” She managed a smile that didn’t erase the anger in her eyes. “Oh, and I put my article about Adriana on the table in your room. Read it and see what you think. Sadie edited it, but I’d still like you to double-check it.” She reached up and straightened the curls he had messed up.

He leaned close to her and spoke softly. “Take it easy on him.” Jeremy winked at her. “Henderson put him through the ringer.”

She looked skeptical. “He’s a big boy.

She walked over and stood in front of Matt. “I’m ready, as you can plainly see, so let’s get going.”

“Look, Jess…”

She put up her hand to cut him off, turned on her heel, and walked toward the car. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“That mad, huh?” He ran to catch up with her and opened the car door. He walked around to the other side. “Jeez, am I going to get the silent treatment now?”

“What do you think?” She turned her face away and looked out the window.

“Damn, I don’t know what you expect of me.” He leaned sideways, trying to catch a glimpse of her expression. “I’m only a man. I’ve got some guy riding my case, and I’m staying in a small space with a woman who’s driving me nuts.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Okay, no thaw yet. “Nothing, it’s not your fault.” He straightened. “Forget that I said anything.” He started the car but didn’t back out of the parking space. “Look, Jess, I’m sorry. I’m a grouch. I don’t have a good excuse. I didn’t sleep last night. Henderson was being a nuisance this morning. Then to see you half-dressed, getting out of the hot tub, it was too much for this man, I’m at my limits. Since I’m being honest, I didn’t like the way you were looking at Jeremy either.” He glared at his hands on the steering wheel, forcing them to relax. “I took the path of least resistance and got angry.”

“I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment, an insult, or both. I’m sorry you didn’t like my swimming suit, but I was in the hot tub before you got back.” She kept her face to the window. “You didn’t call to say you were coming. You just invaded my space.”

“I never said that I didn’t like the suit. I liked it all right, and what was in it. But, let’s not go there.” He blew out an explosive breath. He wasn’t getting anywhere here. “Right now we both have to do whatever we can to keep our head in this. Honestly, I’m concerned. We have a guy who has real problems, and who is after you. He’s unpredictable. The more I find out about him, the worse it is. I have no clue as to what he’s capable of, or even what he could be thinking.”

“Have you found out something?” She turned finally, her expression worried.

“From the DNA collected from Maria’s nails, it is our guy, William Mallory. He was in prison for assault. He beat some guy bad, damn near killed him. He has a long rap sheet starting in his teens. Jeremy’s trying to find out more now.” He frowned. “We do know he was under the care of a Dr. Hearst for psychotic behavior. As long as he took his meds he was somewhat under control, but more often than not, he didn’t take them. That’s when the trouble escalated.” Matt started to back out of the parking space but stopped halfway.

“So why are you so upset and snapping at me?” She scowled at him. “Is it Henderson?”

He shook his head. “Henderson’s a pain, but he’s good at what he does. He’ll irritate the hell out of me, but he’ll get the job done. There’s another cog in the wheel, though. Henderson’s sources tell him they spotted a known hit man in the area.”

“Why don’t they arrest him?”

“His sources are snitches, not agents. They have no clue where the man is, and I have to admit that I’m a little concerned about that. You do remember that you shot a hit man. Now there’s a hit man in the same area where you are.” He adjusted the mirror. “Word is there might be a contract out on you. It may be nothing, but I’m not willing to risk it.

She took a deep breath. “Here’s the deal.” She turned to face him. “We’ll put this aside for now. I want to find Adriana, and personally, I want to survive. But when this is all finished, we are going to have a talk about your constant need to lecture me.” Her stubborn chin lifted, and his jaw clenched. “For now, we have a truce.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded. “But you also need to understand it’s my job to give orders when I’m on a case. That’s what I do. The niceties don’t apply. As much as I would love for this to be a vacation right now, it’s not, sweetheart. We’re in the middle off a case that I’m working hard to wrap my head around. If making you mad keeps you safe, if pulling rank keeps you safe, then that’s what I’m going to do.” He tapped the steering wheel.

“I understand orders when it comes to the job, but I won’t let you snap at me because you’re having a bad day.”

“Look, Jess, I can’t promise you I’ll never lecture you or tell you what to do. I’m a man. I don’t even realize, half the time, I’m doing it.” He frowned. “And, I’m not like your dad, so don’t compare us.” He knew once the words left his mouth that he’d blown it.

“I’ve never compared you to my dad.” Her eyes narrowed. “I only got mad when you sided with him. You don’t know enough about our relationship to make a call on it either way.”

“You may be right about that.” He sighed. “But you can’t run every time a guy frustrates you—you’d be running for the rest of your life.”

“Who’s running? So far I’ve taken everything you’ve thrown at me.”

He softened his voice and turned to look at her. “I know, Jess, I can be a real bear to deal with when I’m on a case. You’ll never find anyone who loves you more than I do.” He finished backing out of the parking space. From the corner of his eye, he could see her glancing his way with a perplexed look on her face. “Let’s just leave it as it is—we’re both tired and angry right now. Maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about it. I’ve already said more than I wanted to. This time, I wasn’t pulling rank on you, sweetheart. I was a jerk.” He could see the corner of her mouth turn up.

“My description, exactly. A simple call to let me know Frank was here could have avoided all this. I can’t read your mind. You have to tell me if you want me to be ready to go somewhere with you.” She frowned at him.

“I can live with that.” He changed lanes.

“Stress from the job doesn’t give you license to jump on me over tight quarters, or my swimming attire. You’re the one who suggested you stay there.” She turned her face away from him but then turned back around. “And just so you know, I love my dad. The argument I’ve had with him over the years is not over telling me from time to time what to do—he had the right to do that as my parent. But, he didn’t have the right to control my life. There’s a vast difference. Enough said.” She turned her head from him and looked at the window once more.

He watched her for a few minutes. The silence in the car was deafening. He reached across the space between them and touched her arm. “Truce, Jess, I’m sorry.”

She flinched. “Sure, why not.”

He noticed she still hadn’t looked his way. He had made a mess of this day. Was he trying to control her? He needed to figure out how to set this right. He put on the turn signal and turned into the motel where Frank was staying. As soon as he parked the car, she was out and had closed the door.

“Jessie.” Frank hugged her when he opened the door. “You’ve got yourself in the thick of it again I hear.”

“It found me and then followed me on vacation.” She smiled at him.

“Some vacation, huh?”

“Is Radar in the room?” She pushed past him when he nodded. “Hi, big fella.” She petted the dog.

“How are we going to do this?” Frank followed Matt into the room.

“I don’t know where to begin. We know she is in the area somewhere but have no clue exactly where.”

“I know that Adriana was in the trunk of the guy’s car. There must be times when that car has been near the resort because he’s gotten into our suite a few times.” Jessie looked at the two men.

“Let’s start with that. Even if we don’t get him, we might be able to find her by following her scent from the resort and the direction the car traveled.”

“He can do that?” Matt looked over at Radar.

Frank nodded. “In one of my cases, Radar followed the scent from a coat found in a neighborhood in another area, tracing the same route the perp took. It was over nine miles away. They discovered the body eventually, not far from where we finally stopped the track. Radar re-traced the direction they had traveled.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“I think it is.” Frank handed Matt some papers from his briefcase. “This is a list of the cases I’ve worked and the agencies which you can contact in case the FBI wants my credentials. There is also a list of the convictions made, based on Radar’s tracks.”

“Impressive. What a way to win over any doubters.”

“It should.”

“How about we start at the resort tomorrow?” Matt bent down to pat the dog. “I’ll need to take you over to meet the agent in charge, and the Chief of Police to clear it with them; which should be a mere formality. They know you’re coming.” He waved the papers. “After they get a look at these, they shouldn’t have any doubts. Let’s say I pick you up at seven-thirty tomorrow so we can start working him no later than nine o’clock. We’ll pick you up here later for dinner. I’ll call you with the time.”

“Sounds good to me.” Frank shook Matt’s hand. “If she’s out there, we’ll do our best to find her.”

“Oh, she’s out there all right.” Jessie finally spoke up. “I’ve seen her.” She hugged Frank on her way out the door. “Be sure to tell your wife hi from me.”