Chapter 27
Matt dropped Jessie off at the resort. She had called Sadie earlier to let her know she was on her way back. It was warm enough that a dip in the pool sounded like the perfect way to spend the afternoon. All she needed was her suit, and she’d join them.
“Hey, Jessie, can I talk to you?” Jeremy called out to her as she walked in the door.
“Sure, what’s up?” She poked her head into his room.
“The article you did on Adriana was great and is ready to send off. It’s this one on Mallory that’s got me thinking.” He looked over his glasses at her. “If this is true, it explains a lot. How did you get all this information?”
“It’s true all right. I found a lot of it in the transcripts from his trial. Some came from the public record including the unsealed records from his childhood. I also talked to Dr. Hearst, who gave me some of the hypotheticals I used.” She leaned back against the doorframe.
“It almost makes me feel sorry for the guy. The whole angle of the abused becoming the abuser takes on new meaning.”
“I know, to me too.” She folded her arms and frowned. “His parents should be put in prison for life for what they did to their son. The strange thing is no one has seen them for years. Mallory said they had died in a car accident, but there’s no record of it. It is as if they disappeared from the planet. Dr. Hearst believes it’s possible that Mallory killed them.”
“It got me thinking.” Jeremy rubbed his eyes. “How many other kids have been so horribly abused by their parents? It’s hard to stand idly by while this could be happening to other children. I could become an activist against child abuse. This made me sick.” Jeremy looked thoughtful. “I had great parents. I can’t imagine what a kid must go through when the people they depend on for survival and love are the ones who hurt them.”
“I hear you.” She leaned against the doorframe.
“You need to publish this at some point. It’s a good place to begin.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose. “It makes you wonder how many criminals were abused as kids.”
“It has a way of changing how you feel about them, doesn’t it? I know that Mallory has done a lot wrong. Nothing can change that.” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine you can have a proper sense of what justice is when year after year, you went through torture.”
Jeremy nodded. “Did you ever find out who turned his parents in?”
“It was his grandparents. They noticed at his birthday how thin he had become and the bruises under his clothes. They wanted to take him but decided not to because their daughter would find a way to have access to him. They never wanted her to be able to get near him again.” Her face softened. “The sad thing is that Mallory never knew his grandparents had tried to help him. It would have been nice for him to have known that someone loved him.”
“That’s sad. Look what it did to him.” Jeremy walked toward her. “Not to change the subject, but are you okay about tonight?”
“Yeah.” She relaxed her stance. “I’m a little nervous, of course. I hope they catch him so that he can’t hurt anyone else. Maybe he’ll get the help that he so desperately needs.” She gave Jeremy a dubious look.
“I’m beginning to think, like Matt, the professor has something to do with this. A large sum of money was deposited in Irwin’s account. You both need to be careful and on the lookout for him tonight. I already told Matt, but I wanted you to be aware.” He touched her shoulder. “We’ll all be looking out after you, but be careful out there.”
“Thanks, Jeremy. I’ll try. But for now I’m going to chill out at the pool with Katie and Grams.” She walked away and then turned back. “You can join us if you like.”
“You know, that sounds good.” He grinned. “I’ll meet you at the pool.”
While Katie and Jeremy played a game of volleyball in the pool, Jessie lounged back in the chair next to Sadie, her sunglasses shielding her eyes and an umbrella shading both of them. “Where’s Matt?” Sadie stretched luxuriously.
“Probably still at the station filling out reports.” Jessie took a sip of the iced tea the waiter had just brought her. “The man is virtually buried under a mound of paperwork. I think Agent Henderson is doing it on purpose. I heard how he goaded Matt, and I don’t know how Matt has put up with it. Matt did all this so he could be here to work on this case with me.” Jessie looked over at Sadie. “He’s a gem, you know?”
“I know. Your Matt is a hard worker. It seems his job takes up most of his life.” Sadie fanned herself. “Oh, that little breeze feels nice.”
“It does indeed. Speaking of the hard-working man, here he comes now.”
Matt came through the gate and walked toward them. He bent down to kiss Sadie’s cheek and winked at Jessie. “How are my two favorite girls?” He sat down beside Jessie, grabbed her hand, and laced his fingers through hers.
“Were you ears burning?” Sadie winked at him. “We were just talking about you.”
“Is that right?” He grinned at her. “Do I need to be worried?” He looked at Jessie as he asked it.
She shook her head. “We were talking about how hard you work, weren’t we, Grams?”
“Among other things.” Sadie stood. “I think I’m going to take a dip and cool off.”
“What did she mean? What other things?” Matt’s eyebrows rose.
“Nothing. She’s baiting you. That’s my grandmother being a stinker. Did you notice how she put that little idea out there and then left me to deal with it? She’s good.” Jessie chuckled.
“I’m on edge. I don’t want you to do this tonight. I’ve spent the last hour arguing with Henderson over it.” His eyes hardened. “I’ve about had it with that guy.”
“You don’t have to put up with him too much longer. We head back on Sunday morning.”
“I wish it was that simple. Until this case is solved, I’ll be traveling back and forth for a while. You’ll have to come back out yourself for trials if we catch them here, unless we can have them extradited.”
“I forgot all about that part of it.” She sighed. “I hope it’s not until after my store’s grand opening.”
“The law gives them the right to a speedy trial, but it won’t be that fast.” He smiled at her. “As long as we can get you home without anything going wrong, it should be okay for a while.”
“That’s nice to know.”
“Look, Jess, I want to talk to you about tonight.” His smile vanished.
“I figured you might. You have that look about you.”
“What look is that?” He glanced over at her.
“You know the look that says it’s time to get down to business, just when I’m trying to chill out.” She gave him a crooked smile.
“You mean the look that means I want to talk about keeping you alive?” he said bluntly.
“Yeah, that’s the look. The one that usually has some lecture attached to it.” She turned her head so he wouldn’t see her smile.
“What’s this really about, Jess?” He sat up with a frown, and then saw her smile. “I think there’s a lot more of Sadie in you than meets the eye.” He gave her a lopsided grin.
She laughed as she saw his smile. “Sorry, but you need a break from your job even if it’s only for a moment. Consider me here to help you out.” She sipped her tea. “I know we need to talk, and that you’re worried, which is sweet by the way. I’ll listen to all your instructions, and I’ll do what you tell me to do. But every now and then, you need to lighten up, if only for a moment.”
“You’re something.” He stroked the palm of her hand with his thumb.
“I know. I’m good for you.” She felt the familiar flutter in her stomach. “So what do you want to tell me?” She exhaled slowly, a whoosh of air, trying to steady her pulse, and pulled her hand from his.
He grabbed it right back, and a tug of war ensued. She let him win. “I have the vest you’re wearing tonight in the car. It should be cool enough when the sun sets for a light jacket if you have one. The vest won’t be so obvious that way.”
“Okay, I can do that.”
“Frank will be walking with us, and so will Radar. I was talking to Tony. The fair attracts large crowds. It could be a nightmare trying to keep track of what is going on around us. There is a risk, and I want you to be aware of that. You can say no, and I can keep you home if you want. No plan is foolproof.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “But, if not now, when? At least I’m aware now in this situation. What happens if I go home and let down my guard? They’ll probably follow, won’t they? What then? Maybe it will be when you’re out of town.” She lifted her sunglasses and gazed into his eyes. “I would rather it be here, with you by my side. The odds are a little more in my favor. Who knows, maybe they won’t even come out to play with all those people around.”
“Oh, they’ll be there all right.” Matt ran his hand through his hair.
“You sound pretty sure.”
“I am. Here’s the plan.” He adjusted his sunglasses. “At some point Jeremy is going to take Katie and Sadie off to look at something. Frank will move away just a little leaving us to walk alone.”
“Thank you for thinking of Katie and Sadie. I don’t want them caught in the crossfire.”
“We’ll do everything possible to keep them safe. I will tell them why it’s important that they go with Jeremy. I think they should know about what we believe might happen so they can choose to stay here if they want.”
“I agree that they have to be given a choice.”
“Mallory will be there. I’m not sure what he’ll do. You keep a watch out for him and Irwin in case he shows up. You’ve seen them both before.”
“I can do that. Will you be wearing a vest, too?” She drew a slow breath.
“Yes.” He tightened his hold on her hand.
“I’m good with that.” She released the breath she had been holding.
“As soon as we’ve finished here, I’ll talk to Katie and Sadie.”
“I appreciate you telling her. Sadie likes you. She’ll weigh everything you say. If she decides to go, it will be because she wants to. I thought you should know.”
He let his free hand follow the line from her cheek to her jaw. “Do you have any idea what you mean to me?”
“I think I’m beginning to.” She caught her breath.
“I want you to know it. I love having you in my life, and I’ll do everything I can to keep you there.”
****
Her nerves were starting to kick in. She’d looked at the clock several times in the past ten minutes. Get a hold of yourself. She took a pair of slacks out of the closet and pulled them on. She buttoned her shirt in all wrong places and had to start again. This will simply not do, Jessica Lynn. She slid her feet into a pair of shoes but had to change them when she realized that they were from two different pairs. It was all because of the item she had to put on next. The vest. She held it up to look at it. Matt wanted her to wear it. He had wanted her to wear the vest during their first case, too. He was right then. It had saved her life. So why did she dread putting on the vest?
Maybe because it made it all real. Anything could happen. Matt had made it clear—you can do everything right, and still it’s a risk. There is always the unknown factor, the one variable you didn’t plan for that can happen.
“Jess, are you about ready? I want to make sure the vest fits you right.” Matt knocked on the door.
“Give me a second.” She ran the brush through her hair and put on her lip-gloss. “Okay, you can come in now.”
“Are you all right?” He looked at her.
She nodded. “Just thinking,” she answered softly.
“About what?” He reached for her hand.
“This.” She held up the vest. “And the last time I wore it.”
“I thought maybe it was something like that. Why don’t you stand up and let’s make sure it fits right.”
She shook her head no. “I know when I put this on it will be real, and I don’t want it to be.”
“Do you want to back out?” He raked his hand through his hair.
She shot him an irritated scowl. “No, I just don’t want it to be real, that’s all.”
“Jess, that doesn’t make sense. It is real, and you can do it, or not. You’re not logical.”
“Who says I have to be logical.” She stood with her hands on her slim hips. “I wish the whole thing that makes this necessary didn’t exist, that’s all.”
He stood and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re just having a case of nerves.”
“Of course, I am. The last time, this vest may have saved my life, but the bullet still bloody well hurt.”
She looked at him in time to see the corners of his mouth twitch. “I suppose you think that’s funny.”
“Nope, not me, but I think that’s the strongest language I’ve ever heard you use. I bloody well think it probably did hurt.” His chuckle morphed into laughter.
With his laughter, her tension eased. She picked up the vest and put it on. “Am I good to go?”
“You’re good to go.” He smiled at her.