Valentine Wishes (Baxter Academy Book 1) (13 page)

“
W
here is he
?” I mutter to myself. Last night, after Grandmother was put in her room and hooked up to all kinds of monitors and her surgery scheduled, we finally left the hospital. After taking me home, Brett promised that he would come to the hospital this morning to sit with me while she had surgery. The doctor thinks it is a blockage, but won’t know how bad until they are in there.

I didn’t ask Brett to come sit with me. I am a big girl and don’t need him to hold my hand. He offered, and said that he would be here. He knew when surgery was scheduled, which was two hours ago, but he never showed.

If he didn’t want to be here, then he shouldn’t have said he’d be here or made the fucking promise. That’s what pisses me off more than anything. Don’t promise to be somewhere and then not show. Don’t make the fucking promise in the first place if you have no intention of following through.

But, what if something happened to him?

No. I can’t think that way.

“Did you call him?” Theo asks.

“Who?”

He tilts his head and just stares at me. We both know who he means.

“Twice. No answer.”

“I’m sure he has a reasonable explanation.”

There’s no such thing. Either there are dire circumstances that prevent him from calling, for which I will forgive him, if they are dire enough, such as being unconscious and unable to punch in a number on a phone. Or, he doesn’t think breaking a promise is that important, for which I won’t forgive him.

“It’s either one or the other for you, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re pissed because he hasn’t called. Yet, you’re worried sick that he’s dead in a ditch somewhere.”

My brother knows me too well.

“Something could have happened that just prevents him from calling.”

“In the age of cellphones, I find it hard to believe.”

“What if he’s somewhere that gets no reception?”

“As that somewhere isn’t here, it doesn’t really matter, now does it?”

My entire family has filled up the waiting room, well, except for the kids. They are at home waiting for news. Theo and I are the only grandkids here. Our aunts and uncles are all sitting around talking quietly, Theo is not talking to them and I’m going back and forth between worrying about my grandmother in surgery and wondering if Brett is in a mangled car in a ditch somewhere.

I know I shouldn’t jump to the worst case scenario, but I can’t help it. The only reason a person doesn’t show when they are supposed to is that they have no consideration for the other person, or they are dead. There is no middle road.

I’m just surprised Brett shows me so little regard. Before he even knew me he called two places to make sure I knew he had a flat tire and he was going to be late. Now, one day after he fucked my brains out, he’s a no show. Was he just doing and saying what he needed to fuck me? Was that all that was? He got what he wanted and now can’t be bothered?

It’s not what I expected from him, but it’s a lesson learned. All guys, no matter how promising, are fucking dickheads.

“I can’t believe you,” Theo says with disgust.

“What?”

“I just watched your facial expressions go from worried to pissed to you just wrote him off.”

“He isn’t here,” I remind my brother.

“He isn’t our parents either,” he argues. “Give the guy a fucking chance.”

“Hey, is that the Brett guy you brought to the picnic?” Uncle Mark points to the television. It’s been on a news channel all morning.

I glance up as Uncle Gary is turning up the volume. Some guy in a suit is making a live statement and in the background is Brett, a notebook out and writing while he talks to someone.

“All we know now is that the family was murdered sometime after midnight. The call came in at two in the morning when someone driving by spotted a fire in the living room. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it reached the rest of the house and that’s when we discovered the bodies. The FBI was called in as soon as we learned the two children are missing from the home. A search party and dogs are combing the area and we are asking any witnesses to come forward as we continue the investigation. The two children missing are a girl of six and another who is four.” Their pictures flash on the screen. Then the speaker gives the number to the hotline and declines questions.

I can feel Theo’s eyes on me, almost accusing me for jumping to conclusions.

“He still could have called,” I grumble and scrunch down in my seat. I’m also relieved he’s not injured or dead somewhere. I get that the case is important and who knows what time they got him out of bed, but he still could have called.

My phone dings and I looked down, wondering if he’s texting me. Instead it is another strange number.

A boy like that wants one thing only

A chill runs down my spine and I glance around. What the hell? These are beyond creepy now. It’s as if someone read my mind. Nobody is in here but my family and none of them are one their phones. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I glance out into the hall, a lot of people have walked past the waiting room since we got there. Is one of them watching me?

No! That is ridiculous. Someone just has a wrong number and when I know Grandma is going to be okay, I’ll deal with it.

J
ackie called
me twice but I couldn’t answer because I was in the middle of talking to my supervisor. Then, I followed the lead agent around, photographing the scene and taking notes. This is the first real crime scene I’ve been on. Not a simulation we ran at the academy. There is so much to take in and try to remember, and I’m trying to piece it all together. There have been discussions of how the perpetrator got into the house when the front door was still bolted, but then discovered the backdoor off the kitchen wide open. It’s still too soon to speculate if the murder came in through that door or only exited. The beds of the two little girls were slept in, but there isn’t a sign of them anywhere. I spent an hour going through the basement, looking in the crawlspace and every cubby hole or box a small child could hide in, but they aren’t anywhere in the house. That’s what has me worried. The longer it takes to find them, the closer we move to worst case scenario.

This is the first time I’ve had a chance to make a call, and only because the lead agent said we needed to stop, think and consider. And, get a cup of coffee, and check in wherever we needed to. He said that sometimes refocusing the brain helps you focus back on the problem. Kind of like cleaning the unimportant cookies from the hard drive and freeing up space.

Mrs. Baxter’s surgery began four hours ago. I’m almost afraid to call Jackie since her first call to me was one hour in. Had something gone wrong or was everything good?

I click on her name and press to call. It rings five times before going to voicemail.

“Hey, sorry I couldn’t call before now. Was called out on a case. Call me when you get a chance. I hope your grandmother’s surgery went well.”

I end the call and stare at my phone. Maybe she’s busy or something.

I try again an hour later, after I’d gotten something to eat and gone over the statements and what we know with the other agents. It’s as if the girls just disappeared. Which is impossible, and means whoever killed the family and torched the house, took the kids. My stomach clenches with concern over why kind of person would do this.

I didn’t do well in the simulations involving kids. This is ten times worse. The bodies of the parents and an unknown adult, all with shotgun blasts to their heads, were bad enough, but missing kids was the worst.

“Tough one,” one of the agents says as he comes up beside me and leans against the car.

I take a sip of my coffee and nod. “Anything new?”

“Maybe. Wife was divorced and remarried. Dad wasn’t happy when he didn’t get custody. A bunch of restraining orders were filed and he lost all visitation rights.”

“Where’s Dad?”

“That’s what we are tracking down now. As soon as we know, we go after him.”

“Poor kids.” Their mom’s been murdered and their dad probably did it. Hopefully there’s a loving family member to take care of them.

I try calling Jackie again, before we start gathering up our gear. Still no answer. “Just checking in. Call me.”

Is she ignoring me or can’t talk? Did things go bad with her grandmother?

Damn, I wish I knew.

It’s another two hours before we are ready to leave. Photos have been taken outside, inside, of the bodies, tire tracks, blood splatter, fingerprints, and even family photos. The place has been dusted and printed, and there’s really nothing left to do except get everything back to the lab. I drop my case in the back of my car and try Jackie one more time.

“Hey, Brett.” It’s Theo, not Jackie, but at least someone answered.

“Is Jackie around?”

“She’s talking to the doc right now.”

“How’s your grandmother?”

“Pulled through great. They are going to keep her in ICU just to make sure everything goes okay.”

It’s eating at me that she didn’t call me back. “I tried to call Jackie a couple of times.”

“I know, she ignored them.”

I still. What the hell? “Why?”

“You didn’t call.”

“I couldn’t.”

“I know that. We saw the news. You were in the background talking to someone.”

Then why the hell didn’t she take my call? It isn’t like I was blowing her off. “She’s mad at me?”

“Hey, Jackie is very particular about people being late, being a no show, or not calling.”

Don’t be late
. Ashley had warned me the first time I was supposed to take Jackie out. I guess the two phone calls are what saved my ass. “Shit! I would have called if I could.” Why am I explaining to Theo when it’s Jackie I need to talk to?

“Hey, Dude, I know that. And, I think your reason is legit. You just need to convince her.”

“Why is she so rigid about this? Things happen.”

“Hey, those are her issues. I know why, but if you want to know, she’s got to be the one to tell you.”

Well, he’s not being any help.

“Just give her time. Keep calling. I’m sure she’ll pick up eventually.”

I guess there isn’t much I can do. “Well tell her that I’ll call when I can, but I’m still working and it could be hours if not more.”

“Didn’t find the kids yet?”

I shouldn’t reveal anything about the investigation, but it has already hit the news. “No.”

“That sucks. I’ll let her know. Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

I click off the phone and just stare at it again. I get just being a no show and that, but she saw me on the news, she knows about the murder and the missing kids and she still won’t fucking take my call. It’s not like I didn’t try to reach her the first chance I had.

With disgust I shove the phone in my pocket. Let her call me because I’m not chasing after her for something I have no control over.

“
R
eally
?”

I stare at the phone. Ashley called just to say that? “Really what?”

“You gave those assholes you dated in college dozens of chances and Brett calls late just one time and you freeze him out? At least he had an excellent excuse, like dead bodies and missing children. Those other dicks had none and you still talked to them.”

I so do not need this from Ashley right now. Brett had called me two times each day since grandmother’s surgery which was three days ago, not that I spoke with him, but Theo answered my phone that first day. Gran is no longer in ICU, but will be in the hospital for a few more days. There’s so much to do before we bring her home and I don’t want to deal with this.

“That’s different,” I finally say.

“Why? Because Brett’s a decent guy and the others were jerks?”

That is precisely why, though I know it doesn’t make sense. The others, I got irritated with, but still went to dinner, a movie, and bars. In retrospect, I wasn’t that invested in the relationships. They weren’t that important to me, just easy. I finally broke it off when I was sick of their shit and lack of consideration. When Brett wasn’t there, when I really needed him, and didn’t call until hours later. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

And, then there was the panic. What if something had happened to him? That is what scared me. Too close, too fast. I was worried about what happened to him and about my grandmother in surgery, until I saw him on the news.

Am I being unreasonable? Probably, but I need to take a step back. The panic I experienced when I didn’t know where he was and he didn’t answer his phone was unlike anything I’d felt since the day my parents didn’t show up at school. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.

“Well?”

Shit, I didn’t answer her, but I can’t tell Ashley what’s going on in my head. She either won’t understand or try and argue with me. I’ve got too much I need to worry about right now. “Listen, I’ve got to get the house set up for grandmother when she comes home. I really don’t have time to deal with this right now.”

“I’m sure he’ll wait once I tell him.”

“You don’t need to tell him anything,” I snap back. “By the way, how do you even know any of this?”

“He came in to work out a little bit ago. Finally got some free time now that those two little kids were found late last night and their dad was arrested for the murder.”

I had seen that on the news this morning and wondered how much of a part Brett played. Especially since there was gunfire before the man was taken into custody. Another round of panic almost set in when I found out two agents had been shot during the arrest. They’ll recover but it still scared me.

Do I really want to be with someone who is constantly in the line of danger?

Already his job is fucking with my emotions. I’d be a basketcase if I fell in love with him.

A chill goes up my spine. No. I am not going to think about his job and what he has been doing or what could happen. I’m not even sure I want to see him again.

“Don’t let this one slip through your fingers, Jackie, just because you’re stubborn.”

“I’m not being stubborn. I’m being pragmatic.”

“Ha! You’re just afraid.”

Afraid? “Of what?”

“Loving and losing.”

“I am not.”

“Tell that to someone who doesn’t know you.” Then she’s gone. No goodbye or nothing and I’ve managed to piss off my best friend. She’ll get over it. Ashley always does. And in this, she is wrong.

I
know
she’s not at the hospital because I went there first. Mrs. Baxter seems to be doing okay, but she’s very weak and appreciated my visit. As the nurse didn’t think Jackie would be back today, I decided to head to the plantation house. If Jackie’s writing me off because of one late call, I want to know now so I can stop calling her. And, I’m a little pissed too. She could have at least returned one of my phone calls. If what we have is over, I’ll be bummed, but I want that closure and a chance to give her a piece of my mind.

She has to be home. Lights are on inside and once in a while I hear noises, but nobody is coming to the door. I ring the bell again and wait, then peek through the windows beside the door. She and Theo just stepped into the entry and they’re carrying a mattress. What are they doing?

Instead of waiting for either of them to actually answer the door, I open it and step inside. Jackie’s head jerks up and Theo grins at me.

“Because you’re FBI you think you can just walk in any house?”

“I’ve been waiting for someone to answer and then saw that you could probably use some help.”

“We’ve got this,” she bites out.

“No we don’t.” Theo grins. “She’s about as much help as my ten-year-old cousin.”

“That’s not true.” Jackie drops her end of the mattress, upsetting Theo’s balance. He loses control of it and it tips over, hits the coat rack, which falls onto a table, knocking the lamp onto the marble floor and shattering the light bulb.

“See what you did.” She glares at her brother.

“Me?” He tosses up his hands. “I didn’t drop your end to begin with.”

Jackie blows out a sigh. “I’ll get the broom and a damp cloth. Neither one of us needs to step on glass.”

“I’ll get it.” Theo rushes out of the room before Jackie can say anything.

She turns to me, her hands fisted on her hips and glares.

“I was afraid maybe your phone was broken so I thought I’d better stop by.”

Her eyes narrow further. “It’s not.”

“Oh, so you
were
just being rude in not returning my phone calls.”

She grabs the end of the mattress and starts dragging it through the parlor. “I’ve been busy.”

“You sure you want to risk getting glass in that?”

Jackie stops and blows out a sigh.

“How is your grandmother?”

“Better.” Some of the tension leaves her shoulders. “She’ll be out of the hospital in a few days if she continues to improve, but she won’t be able to go up the stairs until she’s stronger.”

It is a massive marble staircase and splits and goes in two different directions to the second level.

“So you are moving her room down here.”

“Yeah. We cleaned a back room. I think a housekeeper used to live in there at one time because it has a sitting room and a full bath so grandmother should be comfortable. And, it’s near the kitchen.”

I’m not surprised there was a housekeeper. I’m just surprised there isn’t one now. “What can I help with?” She and Theo do not need to be moving all of that furniture on their own.

“We’ve got this.”

“No we don’t,” Theo answers coming in from the dining room. He’s carrying a broom and dustpan. “We’ve still got to get her entire bedroom down here.”

“Not everything.”

“Really? That old room is empty. You want her to just sleep on the mattress on the floor, keep her clothes in neat little piles or hung in the closet.

“Okay, let’s get this done,” her Uncle Robert says as he comes in the door, followed by the rest of Jackie’s uncles. “Glad you could come by and help.” He pats me on the shoulder as he heads up the stairs.

“That’s not necessary.” She smiles at me but her eyes are telling me to go away. “We’ve got more help than we need.”

I am not leaving that easy. Not until we talk and have it out, which we can’t do with her brother and uncles around.

“Since you’ve got a lot of help now.” Theo glares at the backs of his uncles as they go up the stairs. “I’ll head back to the camp.”

“Theo, stay,” she almost begs.

“I will when they really listen and stop dismissing me.”

Jackie practically deflates and for the first time I see how exhausted and worn out she is. A lot of my anger slips away. Maybe now isn’t the time to push on her returning my phone call or being mad when I called late, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving either. “I’ll go help your uncles.”

“You don’t have to.” This time her voice is no longer irritated, just tired.

“Maybe I just want to.” I head up the stairs and I could swear she muttered something about me being a damn Boy Scout.