Deception (5 page)

“Just doing my job, ma’am. So?”

Why couldn’t she get over it? “Things didn’t work out.”

“Mmm.”

Her face felt warm. From embarrassment, shame, or anger? Probably all three. Her gaze strayed back to the ocean. She cleared her throat, hoping she could keep the emotion out of her voice. “Jamie came home a few weeks before the wedding. My fiancé went gaga over Jamie the minute he met her. She kept telling me he wasn’t right for me, but I didn’t want to listen. Jamie flirted with him outrageously. At one point, I overheard him talking to Jamie. He was asking her to...”

Patti stopped. She didn’t want to remember the conversation. She’d heard it in her mind for the past seven years. “You can imagine what it was. It was ugly, and it made me realize he wasn’t the man I wanted to marry.”

“And you felt Jamie was to blame.”

Patti wiped away tears. “Wouldn’t you?”

“I can understand why you’d be upset.” Sgt. Caldwell said in a non-committal tone.
“But did you ever consider she might have been protecting you from a man who wasn’t going to be honest with you? That maybe she didn’t really want him, but was trying to show you what kind of man he was?”

Patti’s heart cracked.

Jamie wouldn’t have done that…would she?

She thought back to the ugly scene with her fiancé and sister. Everything she’d wanted in life was destroyed that day.

No husband.

No children.

Patti had dreamed of a family. And it was gone in an instant. This man didn’t understand.

“I was led to believe forgiveness was what that cross you’re wearing is all about.” He pointed at her necklace. “Of course, it doesn’t happen overnight. Forgiving someone can take a long time,” His voice was gentle.

Shame burned. “It is.” The tears were falling harder.
I’m a failure. As a sister, an aunt, but mostly as a Christian.

Patti looked out at the ocean for a few moments as she worked to gain control of her emotions. Glancing back at the detective, she wondered about the sadness she heard in his voice.

It sounded as if he’d had his share of learning how to forgive.

She wiped at the tears and looked at him. “I’m such a mess.”

“We all are. That’s why it’s a wonderful thing God’s mercies are new each morning.”

Patti considered his words. “I suppose, but I’ve got such a bad feeling.”

“I could tell you everything will be fine, but –”

“I know,” Patti said. A wave washed into the shore. “I’d rather you be honest, than try to make me feel better.”

“That’s a deal I can live with.” Carter hesitated, then turned to her as though this was the moment of truth. “Was Jamie ever into drugs?”

It took a moment for her to grasp the meaning of his question. “No, of course not. What a ridiculous question. What would make you thi—”

“I just –”

“You’re wrong. Jamie wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Think about it, Patti. She has a lot of money and lives a lavish lifestyle. Her nanny doesn’t know what she does for a living and claims she can’t call her when she’s away. What does it sound like to you?”

“I admit it doesn’t sound good, but I can’t believe she would sell drugs.” Her heart pounded and bile rose up in her throat.

Jamie selling drugs?

The thought sickened her.

“Was she
ever
into drugs?” he asked in a more gentle tone.

“For awhile, but nothing serious. She certainly wasn’t selling them.”

“I checked her arrest record, earlier.”

Patti waited for the other shoe to drop.

Jamie, arrested?

“She’s been arrested before.”

“If you already knew that, why play this game with me?”Anger tinged her voice.

“Because it’s not clear-cut, and I wanted to hear what you said, first. No felonies, just some misdemeanors.”

“Did they have to do with drugs?” Patti asked as she sat back down in a chair.

“Some did and some didn’t.”

Her stomach clenched. “Some. How many times was she arrested?”

“Eight,” Carter said.

“Eight times. Jamie’s been arrested eight times?” Patti rubbed a hand against her forehead. “I had no idea. I can’t believe this.”

She couldn’t handle any more. Patti jumped from her chair.

Sgt. Caldwell followed suit, but she held a hand up.

“I need some time alone.”

8

Carter stared after her as she walked down the beach.

His brain said not to get emotionally involved with this beautiful woman from Ohio, but his heart told him otherwise. It had been a long time since he’d felt this attracted to someone.

When his wife, Nancy, died, he’d vowed to never remarry. Still, he could visualize Patti’s lips and...

A noise in the dark drew Carter’s attention.

A jogger. The man stopped running and stared at the closed gate. The jogger turned and his eyes widened as he noticed Carter. “Hey, didn’t see you sitting there.”

Carter went into full cop mode. “You live in there?” he asked.

“I wish.” The jogger chuckled. “Just stopping to dream about the day when I can afford it. How about you—you live there?”

“Nah, just taking a break. Enjoying the view.”

“Gotta get going. Don’t want the muscles to cool down. Have a good one.” The man turned and ran.

The hairs on the back of Carter’s neck tingled.
A harmless jogger. That’s all the man was. No reason to be worried.

As Carter glanced down the beach, he saw Patti.

The man was jogging towards Patti...Ms. Jakowski.

Carter started a slow jog in the same direction. Too slow. He picked up his speed.

Another shadowed figure walked towards him and the jogger. Patti must have turned around.

Carter increased his speed. Too far away. He ran harder. “Hey, Patti. I got tired of waiting for you,” he called.

The jogger sprinted past Patti and into the darkness.

****

Patti stood rooted to the spot. Her heart lurched as she watched the bizarre chase scene.

The man ran towards her, but when Sgt. Caldwell yelled, the jogger veered away.

As he passed she saw anger and hatred in his face.

A moment later Sgt. Caldwell was by her side.

“What’s wrong?” Patti’s own heart raced, though she had no idea why. “Who was that man? Why were you chasing him?”

Sgt Caldwell sucked in air. “Are you OK? Did he say or do anything to you?”

“What made you think I wasn’t OK? Why were you chasing him?”

“It can be scary out on the beach in the dark. I didn’t want him to scare you. Did you get a look at him?”

“No, but he looked so angry when he ran past me. Do you think he had something to do with Jamie?”

“Not really. Just the cop in me being suspicious.” He took a few deep breaths. “I need to start spending more time in the gym. I’m getting out of shape.”

“It doesn’t look that way to me.” She realized how that sounded. “I mean you look good to...I mean...never mind what I mean.”

Sgt Caldwell chuckled.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Sgt. Caldwell.”

“Call me Carter. And whatever you say, Ms. Jakowski.”

He’d chased the man because he thought she might be frightened. She touched his arm for a quick second. “Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Not a problem.”

They started back towards the gate.

“I hate to bring this up, but we need to finish our conversation.”

“I know. Sorry I ran away.”

“You didn’t really run away, you left for a few minutes,” Carter said.

“What makes you think I was coming back?”

His lips quirked.

“To answer your question.” Patti decided to get the conversation back on track. “As far as I know, Jamie’s never been into serious drinking, or doing drugs, but I haven’t seen her in more than seven years, so that could have changed. But it’s hard for me to imagine her dealing drugs under any circumstances.”

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but it makes sense. It could explain the money she’s made in a relatively short amount of time.”

“I know.”

“Any other ideas how she made her money?”

“Well, she was trying to break into acting. Maybe she succeeded?” It sounded lame.

“I’ll see what I can find out. I have a friend who’s a whiz at computers. I’ll ask him to check into her finances. Maybe he can figure out where the money comes from.”

“Thanks, Sergeant.” She moved to the gate leading to Jamie’s housing development. She slid in the key card and waited for the buzz to let them in.

“Let’s get you home.”

She swayed ever so slightly, emotionally drained and physically tired.

“You must be exhausted after the day you’ve had.” He said sympathetically. He reached out and steadied her.

Instead of shrugging him off, she leaned against him for just a moment, savoring the warmth. Embarrassed, she stepped back, mentally promising not be taken in by his sweetness, charm, or good looks.

That had happened once before, and she vowed never again.

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.