9
“Lock the doors and make sure the security system is engaged.” Carter instructed.
“Yes, sir.” Her irritation was evident.
He waited until she shut the door and he heard the lock click in place, then he moved to his car with purpose.
The jogger on the beach worried him a great deal more than he’d let on to Patti. Of course, he might not have anything to do with Jamie’s disappearance, but at this point Carter wasn’t taking any chances.
After his wife’s death he’d always chosen to go beyond reasonable duty when it came to others’ safety. If he could prevent others from the pain he’d suffered, he’d do whatever he could. Since becoming a Christian, he knew this was a God-given responsibility, and one he gladly accepted.
He pulled his car up to the gatehouse.
The security guard leaned back in the chair, head nodding.
Carter walked up to the shack. So much for top-notch security. He rapped on the window—hard.
The guard jerked awake and glared at him.
Carter flashed his badge.
The man slid open the window. “Yes, Officer, what can I do for you?”
“We’ve got a problem. Well, actually you have a problem. Do you have any idea how easy it is for someone to get through the beach gate?”
The security guard rubbed his eyes and stared at Carter for a moment. He nodded. “Yeah, but management doesn’t want to do anything about it. Afraid it would make people uncomfortable, and too curious about what was behind the brick wall. We’ve got security cameras mounted.” The guard pointed to the monitors behind him. “Look at that. One of the cameras is broken again.”
Carter stared at the blank monitor screen. His mind flashed to the camera sitting so prominently on the fence. “From the beach area?”
The man’s eyes widened. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Was it working earlier?”
It wouldn’t take anything but a thrown rock to break the camera. Then the jogger, or anyone else, could waltz into the development undetected.
His blood pumped faster. He needed to get back to Jamie’s house.
Before someone else did.
“Yeah, a few minutes ago. The last time I checked.”
“Are there cameras set up on the grounds as well?”
Maybe they had footage that could show Jamie leaving—if she left on her own.
He needed to get back to the house.
“Just a few, like on the golf course and at the clubhouse. We don’t have them set up to view the homes. That would be an invasion of privacy.”
“Too bad.”
“Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
“We’ve got a problem at the Jakowski property, and I need you to put surveillance on it for the night. I want someone in front and in back of the property. We need to make sure no one breaks in there tonight.”
The man’s eyes bulged and then he shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“Look, there’s a very real possibility that Jamie Jakowski disappeared from her house in the middle of the night. Do you want to be responsible for her daughter and sister disappearing, too?”
The man’s eyes bugged out even more. “No, but there’s me and one other guy. I can’t leave here. I’m not allowed to. I—”
“Fine, get the other guy to sit in front of the Jakowski house. Make sure he’s in plain sight, and I’ll take the back of the house. Does that work for you?”
“Sure. He’s on a golf cart patrolling the grounds.”
“Perfect. Tell him to go to the front of the house, and stay parked there until daylight. Tell him to stay in full view so people can see him and know the house is being watched.”
Carter drove up and parked in front of Jamie’s house. He walked around the back, making sure no windows or doors were open and accessible. By the time he was on the second trip around the house, the security guard on the golf cart arrived.
The guard didn’t look to be twenty. He was skinny and wore glasses. He ran hands through his stringy black hair. “Do...do…do you think there’s going to be a problem?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“But...but...I haven’t got a weap—”
“You don’t need one. I have one if there’s a problem, but we’re here to make sure there isn’t a problem. Being visible should stop anything from happening.”
The boy’s Adam’s apple bobbed for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“No, I’m not sure, but I’m praying that’s what will happen. Stay out here and don’t leave. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“And stay awake. I’ll be around back.” Carter stared down at the golf cart. “Does that thing have a horn?”
The boy nodded.
“Good. Honk if you need me.” Carter went to the back patio. The lights were off inside. Good.
Patti needed to get some sleep. She’d barely had the energy to walk back.
Restless, he marched back and forth, being careful not to make any noise. After his adrenaline had calmed, he sat at the patio table. He’d spend the night and sneak off in the morning.
With luck, Patti and Anna would never know they’d been guarded throughout the night.
No reason to alarm them.
Chances were, they weren’t in any danger.
****
Patti wandered from room to room in the darkened house trying to reconnect with her sister. There was an eerie hush throughout the rooms, as if they mourned the loss of their owner.
Patti pushed away the negative thought. She wouldn’t give up on Jamie. She sat down on the leather sofa and stared at the spotlighted Picasso.
Looking at the girl reaching through the mirror, it was as if Jamie was trying to tell her something.
She thought back to what the sergeant said about forgiving.
She hadn’t let go of the anger. Had she even tried to? She closed her eyes, remembering her last encounters with Jamie.
Each time Jamie had reached out, Patti slammed the door shut.
Her breath caught as she choked back a sob.
Instead of forgiving, she’d made being hurt and angry a part of her life, a part of her identity. She’d been so self-righteous she’d shut the door on her relationship with Jamie. The few times Jamie had called, she’d been cold and uncommunicative.
Her sister stopped calling.
Jamie hadn’t betrayed her, Steven had. For the first time, Patti admitted the truth of it. Patti bowed her head to pray, but the words wouldn’t come, only tears. The tears melted the anger and bitterness in her heart. All that remained was worry, sadness, and regret.
Finally, emotions spent, she double-checked the front door’s lock and then made her way through the family room. As she walked to the sliding door, she was startled to see a man sitting in a chair.
Her heart raced and she squinted to get a better look.
Sgt. Caldwell was leaning back, watching the night sky.
Another example of her quick rush to judgment.
He was on the patio instead of in his own comfortable bed.
She wondered if she should go out, but decided if he’d wanted her to know he would have told her. Instead, she walked upstairs feeling safe and secure, knowing he was there watching out for them.
She turned towards the guestroom, but stopped at Jamie’s bedroom door.
She wasn’t ready to go to bed. She should check the room for a clue she might have overlooked. After poking around, it occurred to her that something could be dropped. Patti flopped down and looked under Jamie’s bed. A spiral notebook was on the floor under the bed skirt.
Jamie’s poetry. She’d been writing poetry since they were children.
Patti had never understood the need. She pulled it out. Noticing a Bible sitting on her sister’s nightstand, she picked it up and headed back to her own room.
Patti lay back on the bed and opened the notebook. Just as she’d suspected, it was Jamie’s poetry journal. As Patti read through the pages there was a sadness in the words that made her heart ache. But as she continued, the tone of the poetry changed.
In ‘The Master Gardener’ the words were hopeful.
I want a garden of peace and joy
where it matters not
if the sun shines,
if the rain falls,
if the wind blows.
My life is a rocky patch of dirt and soil
filled with pebbles of pain and problems,
filled with weeds of worry and grief,
filled with rocks of rebellion and wrongdoing.
Nothing good can grow in this rocky patch of mine.
But God is the Master Gardener.
He can change this rocky patch to a garden of peace and joy.
Let God till the dirt and soil.
He can change the weeds of worry to wisdom.
He can change the pebbles of pain to compassion.
He can change the rocks of rebellion to a spirit of submission.
God is the Master Gardener.
He can change that rocky patch to a garden of peace and joy.
Let the Holy Spirit sow the seeds.
He can plant the seeds of forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
He can plant the seeds of goodness, kindness, and faithfulness.
He can plant the seeds of patience, tolerance, and self-control.
God is the Master Gardener.
He can change that rocky patch to a garden of peace and joy.
Let Jesus share the fruits of His labor.
He will give you guidance.
He will give you love and fellowship.
He will give you a friend who never leaves.
God is the Master Gardener.
He can change that rocky patch to a garden of peace and joy.
I found a garden of peace and joy
where it matters not
if the sun shines, the rain falls
or the wind blows.
God is the Master Gardener.
After reading a few more, it was obvious her twin’s life had changed. Jamie had developed a personal relationship with Jesus.
Knowing that gave Patti a sense of peace she hadn’t felt all day. Her prayers drifted off, sleepily she asked for God’s protection for Jamie, Sabrina and…Sgt. Caldwell…
She fell asleep clinging to her sister’s Bible.