Unexpected Ride (10 page)

“Would you like to explain this?” Becca asked.

“I’m good at many things, but designing websites is not one of them.  Besides… can you see me hosting some fancy dinner for rich fuckers?” Chuck said defensively.

Carla wanted to cry but what good would it do?  Could this be the work of
Jarrod? 
Maybe the only reason she hadn’t heard from him after meeting up with him at the mall was because he had a new scheme.  Looking closely at the computer screen, she couldn’t figure out where Jarrod would have found additional photographs of Chuck aside from the ones he’d taken that day.  Should she say something or was she prematurely assuming it was Jarrod?

“Just where did that picture come from then and who is planning this dinner for rich… people?” Becca asked.

“I have no idea!  I swear,” Chuck replied emphatically.  “What I do know is that the picture isn’t of me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?  That’s definitely you!” Becca said, growing angrier by the minute.

“No,
Babe,
it isn’t… I have tats and that guy doesn’t,” Chuck replied pointing at the screen.

Looking closer it was immediately obvious that he was right.  It might be his head but it definitely wasn’t his body displayed in the picture.  Chuck’s arms, chest, shoulders and most of his back were covered in tattoos, where the person in the picture didn’t appear to have any tattoos, except for on his neck.  It made no sense… whoever the person was in the picture it was either Chuck’s twin or someone had done some serious editing with existing photos of Chuck.

“The right person can do amazing things with a couple of photos.  So before everyone gets all in a panic, let me see what I can do.  I have a buddy in the military that might be able to track down where the website is coming from and see if this is some sort of scam,” Greg offered.

Becca reached over and placed her hand on Chuck’s cheek and said, “I’m sorry… someday I will stop doubting you.  In the meantime I hope you can forgive me for assuming.  I fear you might get tired of me jumping your case all the time and just fire me.”

“No one else has balls enough to climb up my ass like you do, Becca.  I need that sometimes and I figure I’d rather have people around me who will keep it real than a bunch of ass kissers or gold diggers,” Chuck laughed.

“Well no more assuming until I can do a little investigating and see what I can uncover,” Greg advised.

Greg was right… no sense in opening up the past prematurely.  It was possible there was some other explanation for the website than Jarrod Tompkins. 
No more assuming.

Chapter Six

The fact that this website involved Chuck, who meant so much to Carla, made this investigation as important as the case Greg had worked on regarding Lilly Jackson’s first husband.  Though it wasn’t a nationally recognized case like that one had been… having it impact people he actually knew and had come to care about made it just as important.  Besides, Chuck had asked him to spend the Christmas holiday with them.  As much as he wished it had been Carla that invited him, he would take the chance to spend time with her no matter how the opportunity presented itself.

Knowing he needed to pull out the big dogs where this case was concerned and knowing little to nothing about websites, he called up a friend of his that was in the military.  Master Sergeant Russell Hawkins had a special security clearance and might be able to get better and faster information on the website than Greg could, especially since Greg had no jurisdiction at all in the state of Florida.  He had met Rusty in the police academy.  While Greg had moved to New York to be near Becca and joined the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Rusty had ended up joining the Army instead.  They had kept in touch over the years, even when Rusty had been stationed overseas.

“Hey… long time no hear, man… how’s the arm?” Rusty asked.

“Sore as hell… but some days are better than others.  I have a favor that I’m hoping you can help with,” he replied.

“I’ll do what I can but I’m actually thinking about getting out of the service… I’ve had enough,” Rusty replied.  “Seriously considering retirement… I have the years of service and I’m still young enough that I could do something else.  That close call we had… just got me thinking.”

“If I send you a URL could you do a little digging and figure out who is hosting the website or maybe even who created and posted it?” he asked.

“Can’t your FBI boys do that?” Rusty replied.

“That’s the thing see… I’m in Florida until I get medically released for duty.  I am
not
a desk duty kind of guy… my secretarial skills leave a lot to be desired.  So I am just taking sick and vacation leave until the doc says I can go back to doing what I
am
good at,” he replied.

“I guess the scenery in Florida is better than New York?” Rusty laughed.

“You could say that…” he laughed as well.

“Send me the link and I will see what I can do… is this a security thing?” Rusty asked.

“No more like fraud or a scam scenario,” he replied.

“Got it… never know what you’ll run across when keeping an eye on terrorists,” Rusty implied.  “I’ll let you know what I find.”

“Thanks, man… I owe you one and happy holidays,” he said before hanging up.

After getting off the phone with Rusty, Greg emailed him the link to the website and then looked around online for some holiday gift ideas for Carla.  What did you get for a woman like her? 

She was so kind, giving and beautiful it was hard to decide, but he needed to figure out something today because he was out of time. 
Maybe he should ask Meredith for help.

He punched in Meredith’s cell phone number and waited for her to answer.  Then he explained his situation and lack of options for a gift as well as his shortage of time.  After hearing a muffled conversation in the background he found himself on speaker phone.

“Okay… I am with Lilly and Dana and I think they might be able to help too.  It should be something really special… to show her that you are a sweet, sensitive guy,” Meredith offered.

“Well I know she has a lot going on right now so sometimes the best gifts are the ones that come from the heart.  How about offering to watch the boys for her while she goes to the spa or just curls up on the couch with a good book and no interruptions,” Dana suggested.

“Dinner reservations accompanied by a bottle of wine would be nice.  You could even find a nice a pretty necklace and drape it around the bottle… that would be romantic,” Lilly proposed.

“I know she was pretty impressed by how supportive you were of her going back to school.  I haven’t seen her so excited in a very long time.  You could give her something that would just reiterate that support… like a book bag full of school supplies… paper, pens and stuff,” Meredith recommended.

They were all great ideas but which one would earn him one of Carla’s smiles that he was starting to live for?

“I got her a pair of earrings that she was looking at when we went to the mall looking for wedding stuff and a bottle of her favorite perfume, so that’s out,” Meredith said.  “The boys made a booklet of chores that they can do on their own now that she can cash in at any time, and Chuck… well it’s Chuck… so he got her a gift certificate for a tattoo or piercing as a gag gift and I think he’s been painting something for her as well but he’s keeping that under wraps.”

“I think the fact that you are asking for help is a good indicator that whatever you end up getting will have been the result of some serious thought.  Keep in mind that some stores close at six tonight since it’s Christmas Eve.  If you get done before four this afternoon and can swing by the house, I’ll help you wrap her gift before we leave for my parent’s house since I’ve got to wrap Chuck’s gifts anyways,” Dana offered.

“You’ll do great… just go with your gut,” Lilly advised.

He thanked them all for their suggestions before hanging up and then headed out to get a gift for the last person on his list.  Driving around, he sifted through the suggestions the women had given him and decided to pull at least one idea from each of them.  Gift giving was never his forte but this time was even worse since, along with trying to impress Carla, he also wanted to convey his thanks for all she had done and continued to do for him.  Something romantic and supportive that came from the heart…
Got it.

Greg managed to get all three things he decided on for Carla and make it to Tommy and Dana’s house well before four o’clock.  Carrying his bag up the sidewalk he was met at the front door by Dana, who held it open for him. 

Stepping inside he found Tommy sitting on the couch playing a guitar and writing in a notebook.  Tommy nodded at him and he returned the gesture while handing the shopping bag to Dana. 

Looking around he found Chuck sprawled out on the living room floor on his stomach.  Gretchen, was lying on Chuck’s back with her head between his shoulder blades stretched out in the same position as Chuck was in, staring up at the ceiling and talking a blue streak.  Dana’s youngest daughter, Melody, was crawling across Chuck’s head and drooling while using his hair for balance.  The whole scene looked horribly uncomfortable for the man, yet his expression was completely relaxed.

“You’re just in time.  I finished wrapping Chuck’s gifts so I can wrap yours up real quick before I start on my own pile.” Dana smiled at him and then led him into the kitchen. “This process goes much faster with Chuck providing entertainment for the girls otherwise I get a ‘helper’ and Tommy gets a fussy baby.”

The entire kitchen table was setup like a professional gift wrapping station.  Dana set the shopping bag on the table and as she pulled each gift out of the bag she smiled at him.  Getting a female stamp of approval made him feel less nervous about his choices.

“These are perfect… she’ll love it,” Dana finally said.  “Let me get you a glass of tea and you can sit in the living room with the guys… though you may prefer the couch over the floor.”

A few minutes later Greg headed back into the living room, glass in hand, where he found Tommy, Chuck and the two little girls doing much the same thing as before.  Chuck’s eyes were closed as though he was actually napping through the torture the baby was applying to his hair.  Gretchen was in the same position on Chuck’s back but now wore a scowl on her face and had her arms crossed over her chest.

“I wanna go to the Johnson’s house with you, my Chuckie,” Gretchen complained.

“I hate it for you but it’s not going to happen,” Chuck replied.  “Besides… you like Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson and you get to see Ben and Matt more than you get to see them.”

“I’m going with
you
,” Gretchen insisted. “And that’s final.”

“No… you’re not,” Chuck said as the baby used his hair and part of his cheek as an exercise ball to pull herself up with.

“Then I’m never playing with you again,” Gretchen said, getting angrier by the moment.

“Fine, kiss my grits then you little shit… and get off my back,” Chuck replied.  “My gifts are wrapped now so I should go anyways.”

“No, Chuckie!  But can I go next time then?” Gretchen begged.

“I don’t know… you’re being awful rudy poo right now.  You didn’t even say ‘Hi’ to Mr. Sanders,” Chuck said as the baby began making humming noises while trying to put her fingers in his mouth.

“Hi, Mr. Sanders,” Gretchen said guiltily.

“Hi, Gretchen,” he said.  “I got a buddy looking into that website, Chuck.  He said he would call me as soon as he had something.”

“This whole thing is making me crazy because I know damn well it wasn’t me that created it,” Chuck replied.

“Language…
Mister
,” Gretchen admonished Chuck from where she lay on his back patting her stomach in rhythm to the tune that her dad was playing on his guitar.

Watching the young man with the two little girls, it made Greg angry that someone was using Chuck’s newfound notoriety for what had to be a scam.  Most cases he investigated involved strangers that he only knew as a name on a report.  The people down here were more like…
friends
. 

They helped him out without ever expecting him to pay them back.  Greg crossed his fingers that Rusty would find something for him to work with.  Chuck may look like a hardened criminal but he was a good guy and didn’t deserve for someone to take advantage of him, if that was what the website was about.

Once Dana finished wrapping the gifts for him, he thanked her and then drove back to the beach house to collect his other gifts to take over to the Johnson house.  Greg realized halfway to Carla’s that he no longer felt weird or like the odd man out around the group of bikers. 

He had wondered why someone like Carla and even his own sister would be friends with such a rowdy group of people but he completely understood it now. 

Since being wounded, these people had visited him in the hospital, brought him food, gave him advice, wrapped gifts for him and recently even invited him to come down to the motorcycle shop where the guys all worked to get him away from all the estrogen… or so Dickie had said. 

After the holidays Greg might just take the man up on his offer… get to know him on a personal level… especially since it was looking like his sister might end up marrying him.  He knew Dickie was a good man, had sensed it right away, and had even been rooting for him to win Becca’s affections.  So it was time to really get to know him.

Perhaps having somewhere to go, even if it was only for a couple of days a week, would take his mind off the conversation he’d had with his boss.  The longer the physical therapy continued on his arm, the more Greg was starting to realize that it was quite possible that it would never be one hundred percent again.  Major Laskins must know that but also knew there was no way Greg would go for an administrative job like the one he held.  The retirement proposition was a good one but to take it felt like admitting that such a big part of his life was over.  The badge had been his wife for twenty five years… that’s a long time to be with the same woman.  What would Greg do when
she
was gone too?