2

“Are you okay?” One of the men who’d been lying near her grasped her elbow and helped her up.

“Yeah.” Jennie straightened her jean skirt and pink long-sleeved knit top. Her legs felt like cooked noodles.

The glass doors opened. Lisa stepped inside, her puzzled gaze flitting around the room and finally settling on Jennie. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“We’ve just been robbed,” answered the man who had helped Jennie up.

Jennie hurried to Lisa and hugged her. “I am so glad to see you. I thought maybe they’d taken you or something.”

“Y-you mean like a bank robbery?” Lisa stammered. “But how? I was sitting right out there.”

“They were using an armored truck—the one we parked next to.” Jennie’s voice sounded high and shaky.

“You’re kidding, right?” Lisa bit into her lower lip and pressed folded arms against her stomach as if she were about to be sick. “So that guy who was flirting with me was a bank robber?” She grimaced and shook her hand in the air. “Yuck! He was staring at me. That’s why I came inside. He was freaking me out.”

“Well, at least you got a good look at him.” Jennie’s gaze swept past the others. None of them had been injured as she’d feared earlier. Though she’d been unharmed physically, Jennie felt dazed and disoriented. “Um … did someone call the police?”

“The alarm didn’t work,” the man who’d helped her said. “They must have somehow disarmed it. Randy’s on the phone with a 9-1-1 operator now.”

Randy must have been the woman in the glassed-in office on the far side of the room. She ran a hand down her blue flowered blouse and black slacks. Her still-frightened gaze darted around the room, settling on the pen she’d grabbed out of a black plastic holder on the desk.

“Don, could you give me a hand?” the second man asked. He was trying to assist a heavyset older woman with short, curly gray hair. The woman, wearing a tent-type dress, looked miserably uncomfortable in her attempts to get up. Both men strained to help her into a nearby chair. Seeing the woman’s open handbag and cane on the floor, Jennie hurried over to pick them up and stuffed the wallet and lipstick back inside the bag. She handed the purse and cane over to the woman, who appeared to be the only customer in the bank besides Jennie.

She thanked Jennie for retrieving the bag. “I can’t believe this. Nearly had a heart attack. With all the bank robberies around here lately, you’d think the police would have an armed guard at every bank in Oregon.”

“I’m sorry this had to happen while you were here, Mrs. Murray,” Don said.

“No harm done.” She heaved a sigh and leaned against her cane. “Now, if you’ll help me out to my car …”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he said. “You’re a witness. We’ll all have to wait here until the police come. Can I get you some coffee?”

“That would be nice, thank you.” Mrs. Murray moaned as she adjusted her glasses and straightened her dress so that it covered her exposed knee.

Jennie wondered if she might be hurt more than she’d let on. “Do you need a doctor? We could call an ambulance.”

“No, I’m fine. Knees and back are troubling me some. Not used to lying on floors, but at least it was carpeted.” Mrs. Murray gave Jennie a trembling smile, then settled back in the chair and began drinking her coffee. “What about you, honey? I was scared to death that monster was going to shoot you.”

“Me too.” Glancing at the clock on the wall, Jennie winced. Almost four. She was going to be late for the swim meet. DeeDee, her coach, would kill her. “No excuses, Jennie,” DeeDee had told her the last time she’d been late. “Next time, you’re off the team.” Jennie wondered if being caught in the middle of a bank robbery was a good enough reason to miss. Maybe if she called … Unfortunately she’d left her phone in her bag which was still in her car.

Jennie asked if she could use the phone and explained why. Don led her back to his office and turned the phone around. “Police ought to be here any minute.”

“You’re where?” DeeDee asked after Jennie explained that she’d be late. DeeDee didn’t sound too pleased. “Let me get this straight. You were at a bank when it got held up? Jennie McGrady, I thought I’d heard them all, but that’s the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s true. Listen, I have to go. The police are just pulling in. Oh, and, DeeDee, please don’t say anything to my mom and dad. They’ll freak. I’m fine, and I’ll tell them about it after the meet.” Mom would be doubly upset when she heard the deposit had been in the car most of the day.

“I doubt I’ll have time to talk to them anyway,” DeeDee told her. “Just get here as soon as you can.”

“Right.” Jennie hung up and directed her attention to the police cars pulling into the parking lot.

An hour later Jennie entered Trinity High’s gymnasium and headed for the lockers. Lisa went to join the spectators on the bleachers. On the way over, both girls decided the best way to handle matters was to let their parents know immediately, before they heard about it on the news. Lisa had promised to break the news to the family as gently as possible—especially to Jennie’s mom, who was pregnant and tended to get rather emotional about things. At least Jennie had made the deposit—even if it was a few hours late.

Jennie got undressed, showered, and shrugged into her suit in record time. She hoped she’d be able to move that fast in the pool, where it counted. There hadn’t been time to prepare herself as she usually did with warm-ups and a pep talk from the coach. Still, if she concentrated, Jennie felt she could do a good job.

The once warm water from her shower now felt like ice chips on her skin. Toweling down, she slipped into her sweats and hurried to the poolside to check in with DeeDee.

“Are you sure you’re up to this, Jennie? I heard about the robbery on the radio. Sorry I doubted you.”

“I’ll be okay.” For now, anyway. She glanced toward the stands where Lisa was gesturing wildly. At least Mom didn’t look mad … yet.

“Well, do some stretches to loosen up. You’ll be on after the men’s butterfly.”

Jennie raised her arms and linked them above her head, stretching toward the ceiling. Five guys lined the end of the pool nearest her, then stepped up on the blocks. At the sound of the gun, they dove in. Kids and parents filling the bleachers yelled for their favorites.

Jennie shook out her hands and arms and moved her shoulders up and down. She was tight. And no wonder. Visions of the robbery played through her mind again. She’d given the officers as much information as she could, but it hadn’t been enough. All she remembered was that both men had been thin, but barrel-chested from what she suspected were bullet-resistant vests. Their features had been hidden behind facial hair. Both had full mustaches and beards. She’d briefly seen the driver when she’d gone into the bank but couldn’t describe him at all. She’d hoped Lisa would fill in the blanks on him, but she hadn’t remembered much either, only that he was kind of cute and had light brown hair. He, too, had a mustache.

Things had happened so fast—too many details. Relax, McGrady. It will come to you eventually. At least that’s what Gram would have said. Gram knew about things like that. As far as Jennie was concerned, her grandmother, Helen Bradley, knew just about everything. Gram was a retired police officer and now worked as a travel writer. On occasion, she still did work as an undercover agent for the federal government.

Jennie jumped as firm hands settled onto her shoulders and began massaging. “Can’t let you out of our sight for a minute, can we?”

“Hi, Dad.” Jennie didn’t turn around. She just hung her head while her father worked at the muscles in her neck. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I’d try to come to all your meets.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been so busy lately.” Her father, Jason McGrady, was a homicide detective for the Portland Police Bureau.

“When am I not?” His voice was deep and soothing. Jennie felt herself relax a little.

“Lisa told you about the bank robbery?” Jennie groaned as he paused to rub an especially sore spot.

“Rocky told me before I came.”

“How did he find out? He wasn’t there.” Rocky—Dean Rockwell—was a police officer and a good friend. He’d recently suffered a gunshot wound, and though he considered himself fit and ready for work, his boss insisted he take a full six weeks to recover. “He isn’t back to work yet, is he?”

“No. He was at the office trying to convince the chief to let him come back to work. Poor guy—hates being out of the loop. Anyway, he heard the call come in. When he heard you were one of the witnesses, he called me.”

Jennie sighed. “I shouldn’t have been there. I was supposed to make the deposit this morning.”

“I know. Lisa told us what happened.”

“Is Mom mad at me?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m in trouble, huh?”

“A little. But we’ll talk about that later. What matters is that you’re safe.” He reached around to give her a hug.

Jennie shrugged her shoulders and stepped away, embarrassed that the other kids might see her dad’s open display of affection. No one seemed to notice except her mother. Susan McGrady was sitting on the lowest bench wearing a what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you look. Nick, Jennie’s five-year-old brother, yelled something and waved.

Jennie waved back, then turned to face Dad. “Did they get the bank robbers yet?”

“No, but I’m sure they will.” His dark blue gaze met hers. “You sure you’re up to swimming?”

“Yeah. It’ll help, Dad.”

“Okay.” He paused, looking as though he wanted to say more, then patted her shoulder. “Good luck.”

She could hardly hear him over the cheers for the winner of the men’s event.

“You’re up, Jennie.” DeeDee gave Dad a quick smile. Turning back to Jennie, she asked, “Everything all right?”

Jennie nodded, wishing everyone would stop asking her that. What was she supposed to say? “No, I’m not all right. My stomach is still rolling and pitching like a carnival ride. I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened to Lisa if—”

DeeDee slapped her on the shoulder. “Go out there and win it for us, Jennie.”

Jennie didn’t win. She hadn’t even come close. After the meet, DeeDee and her classmates gave her understanding hugs and encouragement, telling her it would be better next time.

“If I’d been through a robbery, I probably wouldn’t have even tried,” DeeDee said. “You gave it your best shot.”

“Hey, Jen.” With his camera perched on his shoulder, Gavin elbowed his way through the crowd. “Lisa, get next to her so I can get a shot of both of you.” Gavin edited the school newspaper and worked as a stringer for the Oregonian, the area’s primary newspaper.

Jennie groaned and gave him a murderous look. He knew how she hated publicity. She’d had way more than her share, but she pushed her still-wet hair straight back, hooked an arm around Lisa, and smiled. She’d learned one thing about Gavin: he’d take the shot and print it whether she wanted him to or not. The last time she’d objected, he’d caught her in the worst possible pose. She’d had her goggles on and looked like a wild-eyed fish.

Despite his persistence in getting the news and taking advantage of every photo opportunity, Gavin had become one of her best friends.

“Can you give me a lift to the newspaper office?” Gavin asked.

“I told him you would.” Lisa beamed up at him. “He’s going to write an article on the robbery.”

“I’ll need to check with Mom and Dad.”

“I already did. We’ll drop Gavin off and meet our parents at Giovanni’s Pizza.”

Four hours later Jennie sat in the living room watching the ten-o’clock news. The police still had not caught the bank robbers, who had somehow confiscated an armored car. So far there’d been no trace of the car or the real guards.

“I should have gone after them,” Jennie muttered.

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

Jennie jumped, unaware she’d spoken aloud until her father rebuffed her.

Dad was sitting on the sofa cradling Mom’s head. She’d fallen asleep an hour earlier and groaned softly when he spoke. “And don’t be getting any ideas about getting involved in the investigation.”

“I’m not.”

“Now, why don’t I believe that?” Dad stroked Mom’s hair in a loving gesture that would have made Jennie smile under normal circumstances.

“Dad, I know how dangerous these guys are. It’s just that … I don’t know. It makes me so mad. I just walked into the bank and stood there like a dummy. I can’t even remember anything about them. I mean, how many guys in this town are thin and have beards and mustaches?”

Dad gave her a crooked smile, making the scar on his jaw stand out. “My guess is that all that facial hair is as phony as the uniforms.”

Jennie stared at the television screen, processing her father’s remark. Don, the bank manager, was being interviewed. “We had no clue,” Don said. “These two guards walked in, and all of a sudden they pulled their guns and ordered us to the floor. I told everyone to comply. You don’t want to antagonize these guys.”

Jennie tuned him out. She’d already heard the story and doubted he’d come up with anything new. “You know, Dad, you might be right. I couldn’t see the one guy very well, but the one holding his gun on everybody was only a few feet away. There was something really weird about him.”

“Don’t worry about it, princess. You did the best you could.” He gently lifted his wife’s head up and wrapped his arms around her. “Time for bed, honey. Want me to carry you up?”

Mom moaned and yawned. “S’all right,” she mumbled. “I can walk.”

Groggy from sleep, Mom hugged Jennie goodnight, then turned back to Dad. The two of them made their way through the entry and up the stairs.

Dad turned back at the landing. “Go on up to bed, Jennie. I’ll come back down and lock up.”

“I can do it.” Jennie pushed herself out of the chair and clicked off the television set. “I want to get a glass of milk anyway.”

“All right, just don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t. Have to get up early tomorrow for our hike up at Lewis River.”

“Looks like you’ll have good weather for it.”

“Hope so. Night, Dad. Night, Mom.”

They mumbled their goodnights, and a few minutes later Jennie could hear them moving around in their bedroom above the kitchen. A comforting sound, she decided.

The excitement of the afternoon robbery and disappointment over her performance at the swim meet faded as she set about doing normal things, like opening the refrigerator and eating a leftover piece of chicken and pouring herself a glass of milk.

At eleven, Jennie made the final entry in the journal she kept in her bedside stand and turned out the lights. She’d written down everything she could remember about the robbery in her journal. Maybe tomorrow she’d be able to add more.

Jennie forced the robbery out of her mind by thinking about the great time she and Lisa and Scott and Gavin were going to have on their hike. Soon sleep came, and the brutal bank robbers seemed like remnants of a bad dream.