After the surreal trip she’d taken down a shadowy memory lane with Chief Cook at the crime scene earlier, Jessie was desperate for anything that closely resembled normal. And the chief’s sudden change of heart, about wanting her help, had left her feeling more than a little lost.
She took a hot shower, got ready for bed, and made a call to Seth. He’d become her life preserver in the turbulent sea of her past. He steadied her and made her feel safe. With Harper, she had a shot at “normal,” at least a taste of it.
When he answered her call on the second ring, she simply said, “Hey, it’s me.”
Jessie heard a soft rustle and knew he was in bed, too.
“Hey, you,” he said. “What are you wearing?”
Jessie couldn’t help it. She had to grin.
“Nothing but a smile. And you?”
“I’m wearing . . . Floyd, actually. He’s such a bed hog.”
“What did he do today? I could use a good Floyd story. And I know you’ve got one.”
Harper told her that Floyd had learned how to open doors by standing up and flipping levers with his paws.
“I’ve got a reason for telling you this,” he said.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the next time you’re alone in our bathroom and you feel a cold nose on your butt, you’ll know who it is.”
“A cold nose, huh? Why would I assume Floyd is the culprit?”
“Very funny.”
She listened to the sound of his soft chuckle as she pulled the comforter over her shoulders.
“Should I be worried?” he asked.
“About what?”
“You seem to have this thing for Floyd. Do I detect a little canine envy?”
“That’s it, Harper. You’ve nailed it.” She sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair. “Have I told you how nice it is to hear your voice?”
“Yeah, but feel free to remind me whenever you feel like it.”
After a comfortable silence, Seth had more to say.
“You’ve done a fine job avoiding what’s on your mind. So what is it?”
“Can’t fool you.” She tried to smile, but couldn’t. “This place, I know that I’ve been here before, but those memories are just beyond my reach, you know?”
“You met with that cop today. What did he have to say?”
“He kicked me out of town . . . twice. Is that what you mean?”
“Wow, that must be a record.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
She told him about the police chief taking her to the crime scene and how he’d later allowed her to see the murder book until he erected a wall and suggested she leave town . . . again.
“I’ve seen you in action. Guess I’m not too surprised.”
“Thanks a lot, pal. Whose side are you on?”
“Yours. You’ve got the gun. But what do you think happened? Sounds like you were BFFs until you mentioned that missing file.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”
Harper had the same take on the situation as she had. Great minds . . .
“You’re gonna see that Tanner woman, aren’t you?”
“You know me, Harper. Never leave a good turn unstoned.”
“Wait, I gotta write that down,” he said.
She heard him fumbling for a paper and pen, like he was seriously taking notes.
“Are you sure that Angela DeSalvo was the woman you remembered from your dreams?” he finally asked, taking a detour down Serious Lane. “Maybe seeing the dead woman’s face forced you to make that leap.”
What Harper had insinuated made sense, but Jessie felt sure that she had remembered Angela’s face on her own, without the help from an old crime-scene photo.
“No, I’m sure it was her.” She sighed. “I’ve never felt so . . . down. Seeing her face and thinking she was my mother was the only bright spot to my childhood, and now all that is gone.”
“I knew I should have gone with you. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.”
“But I don’t feel alone, not when I can look forward to your abuse. I mean, your support.”
Even though she’d poked fun at him, hearing Seth’s voice on the phone made her feel like he was right in the room with her. Of course, nothing would replace the feel of his arms around her—or the many other things he did to make her feel warm and happy—but having him to talk to at the end of her day was the next best thing.
“So, with the chief taking back his key to the city, what’re you doing tomorrow?” he asked. “Is there something you need me to do?”
“I’m planning on making a royal pain of myself.”
“Stickin’ with your strengths. Always a good strategy.”
“And thanks for the offer to help. I may take you up on that.”
“For you? Anytime.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said. “And give a big sloppy kiss to Floyd.”
“That’s an image I didn’t need.”
Even as lousy as she had felt that day, Harper could always make her laugh. And now he had an accomplice.
Guadalajara, Mexico
In the cramped motel room, Alexa listened to Garrett as he told what he knew about Jackson Kinkaid. And from the looks of Hank, he hadn’t had a clue about any of it. She guessed that since she and Hank both knew Kinkaid, Garrett had kept the truth from them and added a higher level of secrecy to the mission.
“Kinkaid lied to them and set up a pretty big ruse, pretending to be me,” Garrett told her. “He even made fake ID to back up his story.”
“What made him think they’d believe that?” Alexa asked. “And how would they know who you are? You keep a pretty low profile.”
“Actually, that was a thing of beauty.” Garrett almost smiled. Almost. “He ran the whole thing like a con artist running a scam. He set up a fake online trail and made sure rumors got out on the street before he even got to El Paso. By the time he hit the ground, they were waiting for him, but that was what he wanted. All he needed was a way in, and a street gang on the American side of the border gave him that. He made himself a damned Trojan horse. Once he got inside, he had a plan to bring down the bastard who ordered the hit that got his family killed. Guess he wanted to look the guy in the eye before it all goes down . . . even if it put him at risk, too.”
By the way Garrett shook his head, Alexa knew he hadn’t had a say in how Kinkaid had orchestrated his own abduction.
“And in order for his plan to work, that meant you had to disappear,” she said. “If anyone saw you living large in New York, word might get back to the border, and Kinkaid would be a sitting duck.”
“Yeah. That’s why I couldn’t say anything. It had to look as if I’d gone undercover, on a mission of my own. If anyone knew what was really happening, Kinkaid’s life would be more at risk than it already was. I backed his play because he left me no options.”
“This is crazy. You gotta get him out of there,” she insisted. “I mean, what are you waiting for?” Her frustration got the better of her, and she knew it. “There’s gotta be another way to get at Pérez. We’ll find it and bring him down.”
“No, we’re too close, Alexa,” Garrett argued. “For now, we’re doing it Kinkaid’s way. All he has to do is hold out a little longer.”
“Hold out, for what? He’s not you. He can’t tell them anything.” She heard the anger in her voice and didn’t care. Anything involving Kinkaid was personal. No wonder Garrett had left her in the dark.
“Yeah, but they don’t know that. Kinkaid is holding out until Pérez gets there. From our intel, that son of a bitch is in Mexico City, conducting business as usual, but he’s heading to his estate tomorrow. That’s what Kinkaid has been waiting for.”
“So what happens after Pérez is in the picture?”
“I know what I’d like to see happen, but I don’t think Kinkaid has any intention of taking Pérez alive. He’s got another plan that I don’t know about.”