The office suite Joshua Richards had commandeered had a waiting room with a leather sofa and two matching chairs. When hours had gone by and there still hadn’t been a final word on the location of the clinic, Steve insisted that Jessie stretch out for a while on the sofa while he brought an office chair into the room. “I don’t want to fall asleep while you rest.” Jessie, still overwhelmed by the feelings that had swept over her when she prayed earlier, didn’t argue for a change, but just went along.
She didn’t think she’d really do more than doze. That’s why it was a surprise when Joshua’s voice woke her out of a sound sleep. “Be thankful we kept searching,” he was saying to Steve. “The trail to the Upper Peninsula was a phony, designed to throw us or anybody else looking for them off the scent. They’re in Ontario, about halfway between Windsor and a very small town called Essex.”
“That’s trouble, isn’t it? You don’t have any jurisdiction to go in there.”
“Yeah, but we’ve got friends. The task force I’m part of has an equivalent in the RCMP. And they’d like to snag Jake Brandino just as much as I would.”
Jessie was sitting straight up now, trying to figure out what the best argument would be for not getting left behind. “You have to take us with you. I’ve got to be there when you find Laura.”
“You have no idea how many strings I had to pull and how many favors I had to call in, but you’re both going. Not to be part of the raid on the clinic, but you to positively identify your sister and Steve because I figured you wouldn’t go otherwise. You’ll be kept in one of our surveillance vehicles.”
Jessie sat back, stunned. “What kind of argument did you have to give them to take a Missouri sheriff’s department deputy on this raid?”
“He’s an identification expert aiding the bureau. And if either of you are injured in the operation we’re going to be in a world of trouble so Steve had better be as good as I think he’ll be at protecting the two of you.”
Steve’s face was stony. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you down. I promised Jessie I’d do anything in my power to find her sister and I’m not backing down now.”
“Then go home, pack and be at Spirit of St. Louis Airport at eight tonight. If you don’t show up on time, we leave without you.”
It only took a look from Steve to get Jessie up and moving. Speeding through the streets of the city in Steve’s car she prayed her second heartfelt prayer, this one of thanks for the incredible gift she had received today.
“I still want you to stay here. You know that.” Steve stood in the doorway of Jessie’s bedroom watching her pack. “You could stay with my mom and go to work, keep up the facade of a normal life in case anybody’s watching you. It’s not going to be safe where we’re going and I’ll worry about you the whole time.”
Jessie nodded, trying to give him the attention he deserved while concentrating on packing for the next few days. Whether she followed Steve and Joshua or stayed with Susan she would still need to take clothes from the condo because staying here alone wasn’t an option. “You’re right. I know that you’re right. But just like you, I’m not backing down now.”
Steve looked heavenward with a sigh. “At least I tried to get you to stay here. And I still wish you would. But short of having you arrested I can’t think of a way to keep you here.”
“I’m truly touched by your need to protect me. Between you and your mom, I’ve never felt so cared for in my life.” Jessie felt tears well up again. She’d cried more in the last month than in the fifteen years before that, and it was getting to be a tiresome feeling. “But this time I’ve got to go and do this. If I didn’t go and I missed my last chance to see Laura, I’d never forgive myself.”
“So what can I do to get us out of here faster?” When he stopped arguing Jessie felt like kissing Steve.
“Go down to the pantry and grab a grocery sack. Put all of Maude’s food and toys you can find into it so that your mom isn’t inconvenienced any more than she has to be. And grab the dog bed so we can put that in your trunk with the stuff we really need.”
Steve gave her the ghost of a smile. “I have an idea that dog bed has never been used. And knowing my mom, it’s not likely to be used there, either. Maude is going to get the same kind of spoiling at her house that she’d get here.”
Jessie smiled back and kept packing. Once she had the essentials for herself in the small suitcase, she zipped it up and brought it to the other bedroom. There she found Laura’s favorite pink velour pants and hoodie and a T-shirt with Princess written across the front in glittery letters. “Now I’m packing this because I’m trying my hardest to trust that we’re going to find her and she’s going to be in good enough shape to want her own clothes,” she said softly. It still felt a little funny to talk to God, but it got more natural every time she tried it.
“What about this box of treats?” Steve called up the stairs.
“Sure, why not?” Jessie zipped the suitcase a final time and hurried down to meet him. If her adrenaline was pumping this fast and they still had a couple of hours to go before they left St. Louis, what would it be like in Canada?
Having her cell phone ring in her purse made her heart race even faster. She hoped it wasn’t Richards calling to tell her he’d changed his mind. Looking at the display she felt relief when she saw the familiar number at the history office.
“Professor Barker? It’s Linda. I’m getting ready to go home soon and I noticed that your lights are still on, your office unlocked and your computer running on the desk. Do you want me to take care of that for you?”
“That would be great,” Jessie said. Then she came to a dead stop in the front hall. Her passport was at work in her desk! “Actually, you don’t have to do all of that. Just turn off the computer and close it and turn the office lights out. Leave the door unlocked because I just realized I have to come in for a minute or two. I’ll pick up the computer and the other things I need and lock up.”
“If you say so. I could bring your computer to you if you’re at home,” Linda offered.
“That’s very kind of you, but I need to get something out of the locked drawer of my desk, so I have to be there anyway.”
“All right, then. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Actually, I’m going to have to take a few days’ emergency leave. But I’ll work that out with the department head and let you know when I come back.”
They said quick goodbyes and Jessie took her suitcase out to the car so that she could break the news to Steve that they’d be making one small detour on their way to the airport. When she told him, he didn’t look all that happy. “I need to grab a couple of things from my apartment, too, and even more important, stop by the department. Given the nature of what we’re doing, I’m not about to leave town without my vest and some other equipment.”
Jessie looked at her watch. If traffic was bad across the interstate highway bridge between here and the small airport, they were going to be pushing their luck. Steve seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“I hate to say this, but why don’t we split up for the next twenty minutes? I’ll forget the apartment and grab my stuff at work and some spare clothes I keep in my locker. You go by your office and get your computer and passport, and I’ll meet you there. We’ll leave your car in the lot, drop off Maude’s stuff at Mom’s and be on our way.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Jessie gave him a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you there.” She dashed back in the house, made sure everything was locked up and exited through the garage. She knew from past experience she could make it to work in five minutes if she took the side streets. In the evening traffic it took more like eight minutes, but soon she was there.
In her haste she almost left the car unlocked as she hurried to the building. Using the remote key she heard the locks shut down and dodged a skateboarding student on the sidewalk.
The offices were as quiet as could be. The full-time tenured instructors left most of the evening classes to part-timers, so the department was abandoned most nights by five. Toward the back she could see the soft glow of a desk lamp in her office, the only light in the hall coming from her slightly open door.
She wondered why Linda hadn’t done things the way she’d told her. The woman was usually so efficient that this came as a surprise. Still, she didn’t have enough time to think about it much now. At least the computer was shut down and closed, and the power cord neatly gathered beside it. Sliding both into the leather backpack she used to transport them, Jessie fished her work keys out of her purse and searched for the small one that unlocked her desk drawer. She had just gotten it in the lock when the light went out.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but when she did she saw motion in a corner. Her heart nearly went through the roof of her mouth. “Who’s there? If you move any closer I’m calling nine-one-one.”
“There’s no need for that,” a familiar voice said. “Not that it would work anyway. I took the liberty of disabling your phone before you came back. Once I saw what was on that computer screen and traced your search history back a few screens I knew I had to get you in here. That’s a pity, because I really was getting to like you, Jessica.”
It was Linda Turner’s voice, and yet it wasn’t. In the shadows between her desk and the door that was her only escape, Jessie could see the soft glint of metal in Linda’s hand. “Wh-what are you talking about?”
“It’s clear that you’ve figured out way too much about my past. Or should I say my past life? It does seem like it was another person who worked as a marshal. And since that person conveniently died in a car accident much like your parents had, it was easy to become someone else.”
The woman who stepped from the shadows pointing a gun at Jessie didn’t look like the sweet, middle-aged person who’d taken the job as the department secretary. This woman had a hard set to her face, had done away with the reading glasses “Linda” had worn and she looked quite at home with the small automatic in her hand.
“What do you want from me?” If Jessie thought her heart had been racing before, now it threatened to leap from her chest. “Whatever it is, you can take it as long as you just let me out of here. I won’t tell anybody. I just want to go find my sister.”
“You don’t have to leave me to do that, Jessica. I can take you to her even faster than Agent Richards. And perhaps you can even have some kind of touching farewell with her before they sedate you and put you in isolation.”
“I don’t believe you.” Jessie willed her voice not to shake. “You’re just bluffing to keep me here for some reason. I know where Laura is, and I know you don’t work for the people who have her.”
“Oh, no. I don’t need to bluff. You see, Jake Brandino and I are going to do each other a favor. It won’t be the first time I’ve done business with him and he pays very well. Only this time we’re both coming out ahead because he’ll have the means to make his precious boy all better and I won’t have to worry about the one person who could identify me. It’s so much more lucrative than killing you and making it look like a suicide.” As she spoke the woman edged closer to Jessie until there was nothing for her to do but sit down in her desk chair.
Looking up at her from a seated position Jessie’s brain went into overdrive to match her heart, and long-suppressed memories slid into place. “I’ve seen you before. I tried to tell you and a man in a black suit about what I’d seen the night my mother disappeared.”
“Yes, and you could have listened to us like a good little girl and believed that you’d imagined it all. If you would have just shut up then Patrick and I could have lived a somewhat normal life.”
“After you shot Joshua’s father, you mean? With him to take the fall you were home free, weren’t you? But then somebody told you about the kid with a weird story, right, Cass?”
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise. “Nobody had to tell me. I was Paula’s handler. Jake promised me a clean sweep that night, but when it came down to business he couldn’t kill little kids. And you were too smart back then, just like you’re too smart now.”
She motioned with the small, deadly looking weapon. “Get up and get moving, and don’t try anything. I promised Jake I’d deliver you alive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to get you there in one piece.” Grabbing Jessie’s arm she applied pressure in a way that made Jessie wince. For once Jessie wished she’d paid more attention to the parttime instructors who taught in the evenings. Then maybe she would know if anyone was in the building who might hear her.
Before she could do anything they were out in the cool night air, exiting through a seldom-used side door. Cassidy had her purse and knew how to open Jessie’s car. Reaching into the back of her waistband somewhere she came up with some kind of plastic strap. Pushing Jessie against the side of the car roughly, she spun her around and had the bands around her wrists before Jessie could react.
“Temporary handcuffs. Just one of the cute little things law enforcement came up with in the last twenty years to make my job easier.”
Cassidy had the front passenger door of the car open now, and her free hand on the top of Jessie’s head, trying to force her down onto the seat. Suddenly all the anger and pain Jessie had bottled up for so many years surged to the surface and she fought back. Even though the woman was in far better shape than she’d pretended to be as Linda Turner, Jessie still had youth on her side. Turning sideways she used her shoulder to plow into Cassidy’s chest as hard as she could, rewarded by the satisfying sound of the air whooshing out of her lungs as she fell back.
Jessie ran and dodged between the few cars on the lot, feeling like an easy target. It was still hard for her to pray and do anything else at the same time, but she pleaded silently for help as she ducked around a pickup truck. When a familiar car came to a quick stop nearby she almost sobbed with relief. But her relief was short-lived as Steve jumped out of the car, right under one of the parking lot lights.
“Steve, watch out. She’s got a gun,” Jessie shrieked even as she tried to get even lower behind the pickup truck. She could hear the sound of running feet, then a pop and the driver’s side window of the truck dissolved into thousands of pieces.
“Stop now. I’ve got backup on the way,” Steve barked from his position behind the driver’s side door of his car where he’d taken refuge. “Jessie, are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” Jessie thought she could feel gritty pebbles of glass in her hair, and her ears were ringing but otherwise she was okay. Ten yards away the door to her car slammed, and the engine started at almost the same moment. With a squeal of brakes the car tore out of the lot, headlights out.
Steve rushed to where she sat on the pavement and started looking her over. “Aren’t you afraid she’ll get away?” Jessie asked, trying to get up.
“Let her go. I can radio in the information on your car and somebody else can go after her. Right now I want to make sure you’re really okay, and tell Richards what just happened.” He helped her into a standing position with shaking hands, and didn’t let go once he got her steady. “What did just happen, anyway? When you didn’t call me once you picked up your stuff I began to get nervous. I got over here quickly just in time to see you come out that door with a gun at your back. I think my heart about stopped.”
“I’m glad it didn’t. I’d hug you but I’ve got a little problem.” Jessie motioned with her cuffed wrists. “I hope there’s a simple way to get these things off, because I don’t want to wear them all the way to the airport.”
Steve started shaking his head. “Oh, no. You can’t believe that after all of this we’re going to Canada tonight.”
Jessie knew she must look a little deranged with her straggly hair, glasses askew and pebbles of wind-shield probably caught in her hair, as well. “Stephen, I can’t believe anything else. Once you give the shortest possible report to whoever answers this call from your department, I’m getting to Spirit of St. Louis even if I have to hitchhike.”
“Then let me get you out of those things while we wait for the deputies. While I find my pocketknife, lean over and shake your head, gently. I don’t want you to cut yourself.”
Doing what he told her, Jessie thought those might have been the loveliest words Steve had said to her in days. Let other women have men who whispered sweet nothings in their ears. Steve was going against his every instinct to let her find her sister, and if that wasn’t love Jessie didn’t know what was.
Later, on the small, fast jet to Canada, Steve found a blanket somewhere, and a comb and made her lean forward while he gently went through all her hair searching for errant glass. “I don’t know which one of us is crazier,” Joshua Richards muttered. “You for still wanting to come or Gardner here for agreeing to it or me for not stopping the whole operation after what happened back there.”
“Probably you,” Jessie heard Steve say. “But then you haven’t known this woman as long as I have. Give her a couple more weeks and you’ll realize that we couldn’t have stopped her from doing this unless Cassidy had actually shot her in that parking lot.”
Jessie, her head turned toward Joshua while Steve combed through the last of her hair, saw an enigmatic look cross the agent’s face. Somebody shot Cassidy, she thought but didn’t say anything. The knowledge was more than she could handle tonight, so she stayed silent. A few minutes later she agreed with Steve’s suggestion that she recline her seat and try to get some rest, even though she knew she wasn’t likely to. Much later she woke up still clutching his arm as the dark sky passed by outside the windows of the plane while a row in front of them Joshua Richards looked out into the blackness, a look of grim determination etched on his face. This time prayer came easily for Jessie as she silently asked her newfound Father to keep them all in His care.