by Lydia Burke
Jessie came to attention, remembering Allie. "What did you find at my sister's house, Ed? Were those men still there?"
He shook his head. "There was no sign of than by the time the cops got there."
"Don't worry, Jessie," Ben said. "The police are keeping an eye on the place. If Allie comes home, they'll see that nothing happens to her."
Jessie turned. Ben cleared his throat when their eyes met and said almost curtly, "Come over here a minute and sit down. I want you to listen to this. If s the tape from your sister's answering machine."
He placed the recorder on the spindly legged coffee table in front of the sofa while Jessie came around and took a seat next to him. She was careful to leave plenty of space between them. Ben helped by inching away a little when she sat down. He pressed a button, and she heard a long beep. A man's irate voice came out of the recorder.
"Webster? I want your butt in my office the minute you hear this, or else! You got that? Now!" There was a elide, and a mechanical voice said, "Tuesday, 7:32 a.m."
Another beep sounded. "Where the hell are you, Webster? You were supposed to be at work two hours ago! Get the lead out and get over here! I want to talk to you!" It was the same angry voice, followed by an emotionless, "Tbesday, 10:08 a.m.
"That must be Allie's boss. Which means she didn't go to wor-"
Ben cut Jessie off with a wave of his hand and sat forward intently. "Here, this is the one."
It was a woman this time. Jessie's heart beat faster after the first few words. "Hi, Caboosie. Just called to tell you I won't be there for Thanksgiving, so don't hang around waiting for me. Sorry to break our date, but something came up and I have to go out of town. Oh, I left that book you wanted to borrow with Kyle at the newspaper office, since you weren't there. He's
expecting you to pick it up tonight. Talk to you later.'' Click. "Wednesday, 6:11 p.m."
Ben turned off the machine and looked at her. "Well?"
"That was Allie!" Jessie said, smiling broadly. "Thank goodness, she's all right."
"Allie?"
"Your sister?" Ed echoed Ben's puzzlement.
"Yes. She did something to disguise her voice, but I know it was her. That message was meant for me. 'Caboosie 5 is the nickname she teased me with sometimes when we were kids, when she wanted to remind me she was born first. I'm so relieved."
Jessie noticed her companions didn't seem to share her euphoria. When neither man commented, she asked uncertainly, "Is something wrong?"
"No, no," Ed hurriedly assured her. "It's good to know that your sister's okay. We just thought we had something here that would help us with our case—a new player you might be able to help us identify. Before you told us who it was, we thought Angela—Allie, that is—might have had a coconspirator."
"No, I'm certain it was her," said Jessie. "I am a little confused, though, about the book she mentioned. I never asked to borrow a book from her, and it's not likely that I would. My sister's taste in leading differs from mine. She goes for that horror stuff."
Ed leaned forward. "That could mean something. What about this Kyle? Do you know him?"
Jessie shook her head. "I've never met him, but if I remember right, he's a photographer who works with Allie at the paper. She's mentioned him several times. Do you think she meant for me to go and see him? That this is some kind of secret message?"
"If it is," Ben said, "you've missed your rendezvous. She said he was expecting you last night."
She looked at him in dismay. "Oh, no. Do you think if s too late? Maybe we ought to listen to the tape again. Can we? Just Allie'spart?"
Without speaking, Ben reversed the tape to the beginning of Allie's message and played it through once more.
"She was trying to warn me, wasn't she? 9 ' she asked after he'd stopped the machine. "I was on my way to Port Mangos by six last night Allie must not have found out she wouldn't be home to meet me until after I'd left Chicago." She looked from Ben to Ed and back to Ben. "Only why on earth she thought I would listen to her phone messages is a mystery."
"Maybe the answering machine was all she had to work with," Ben answered thoughtfully, "That and her friend Kyle."
"At least I know now that nothing terrible happened to her, right? What you said before, Ben, about her knowing she was in danger and staying away must be the case."
This time Ben didn't give Jessie the reassurance she was looking for. "We'll know more after we hear what Kyle has to say. I'll phone the newspaper office to see if he's there, while you and Ed take care of the paperwork he brought along."
Ed pointed to a clipboard on the coffee table next to the tape recorder. "Just a transfer-of-property receipt," he said. "It's an acknowledgment that you received everything we brought over to you today and that nothing was missing. Do you want to take a quick look through your bags and purse before you sign it?"
Jessie followed his eyes and the lift of his chin to the wall where her suitcase, makeup tote and handbag were stacked. Grinning delightedly, she rose from the couch. "Sure, but right now the only thing I really care about is my toothbrush."
Ed rose with her and picked up the suitcase. "I'll get this one for you."
He carried it into the bedroom behind her and lifted it onto the nearest bed.
"How long have you known Ben?" she asked him casually as she unzipped the bag.
"Oh, three, four months. He's a good cop."
"Yes. He certainly got me out of a sticky situation. Do you know whether he's, uh, involved with anyone?"
Ed shrugged. "Of the female persuasion? Not that I know of. You interested?"
"Uh, no, just... curious."
Fketingly that odd half smile touched his mouth, and he shook his head. "If you're a marrying woman, Jessie, you'd
better look elsewhere. Ben eats and sleeps his job, and it crowds out everything else."
"Oh, I didn't mean-"
"Hey, it's okay. Just thought I'd warn you. You see, I know his reasons for becoming a cop. There's a devil riding his back, and I doubt anything can change that."
Jessie sensed Ed might have told her more, but good manners restrained her from asking, curious though she was. Ben had so far resisted her efforts to talk about his past. It seemed underhanded to learn about it from someone else.
After Ed left her, it took little time for her to ascertain that her belongings were intact. She took a clean outfit and underwear out of the suitcase. Carefully she arranged them over her arm so her panties and bra were covered, then picked up the cosmetics case and returned to the living room.
Ed had put on a sheepskin-lined coat and was standing dose to Ben in earnest conversation when she came into the room. Abruptly they stopped talking and turned to face her. She could only hope Eid wasn't telling Ben how nosy she'd been in the bedroom.
"Everything okay?" Ed asked.
"All here." She held up the articles she'd brought with her. "Don't let me interrupt. I'm just passing through on my way to get cleaned up."
"Do you mind signing this first?" Ed walked over and held out a clipboard and pen. "There's a patrolman waiting outside to take me back to Port Mangus, and I need to get going."
Jessie hurriedly read the form. "My car?" she asked when she saw the Toyota listed among her belongings.
"Out front," Ed said. "The keys are on the table there."
She set the tote on the floor and scratched out her signature while he held the board for her. With a smile, she handed back his pen. "Thanks for everything," she said.
"No problem—glad to help," Ed said. "You take care of yourself now."
"I will, thanks. You, too."
He nodded and turned to Ben. "Guess I'll take off, then. Watch your back, partner."
"Always/' Ben slapped Ed's shoulder companionably as they shook hands, then wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and looked back at Jessie.
"Stand out of the way," he told her.
Confused, Jessie's eyes measured the six feet or so that separated them. "I'm in th
e way?"
"I mean, out of the way of the door. I don't want that cop out there to see you."
She frowned. "Why not? Who is he?"
"Here we go again." Ben sighed as though he were called upon to exercise great forbearance.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jessie took immediate offense at his attitude. She hated it when men were condescending. She'd had two years of that from Antonio, and she wasn't going to take it from Ben.
"Look, Jessie, it doesn't matter who the guy is," he said. "Just step aside, okay? Or is that too difficult?"
"Of course not," she said with deceptive pleasantness. "No more difficult than it would be for you to explain why I should. Or if that would violate some big, important code of silence you've sworn to, just tell me it's a secret. I assure you I'll understand."
"Dammit, Jessie—"
Jessie compressed her lips and lifted her chin. Nothing now, short of an exploding grenade, could move her from this spot without an explanation. They stood locked in silent challenge.
"It's no secret."
Ed's puzzled declaration had two heads turning simultaneously in his direction. Jessie had forgotten their witness during the battle of wills; now Ed was looking from her to Ben with a mystified expression on his face. At once she saw their squabbling in a new light, and felt foolish for making an issue over such a simple matter as taking a few steps. Since Ed knew nothing of her short but volatile history with his partner, she must seem to be ridiculously uncooperative.
"Very well." She bent sideways to snatch up her tote, stalked across the room and, weighed down with her possessions, plastered her back to the wall next to the door frame where Ben was standing. From this new position she stared at her antag-
onist defiantly. "I trust this is far enough out of the way to suit you?"
Ben's face was a mask as he opened the door for Ed. Jessie didn't miss the fact that he stood well back from the opening so as not to be visible from outside.
When Ed was gone, Ben turned the dead bolt, fastened the chain and faced Jessie. Casually he leaned his shoulder against the door and regarded her with hooded eyes.
"Nobody on the Port Mangus police force but the chief has been told anything about our investigation. I'm sure the officer out there is clean and conscientious:, but right now the fewer people—even cops—who know who and where we are, the better. Does that answer your question about why I asked you to get away from the door?"
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?"
He dragged his hand across the back of his neck inside his collar. "Damned if I know. Pure aggravation, I guess. It wasn't as though I'd asked for something that should have caused you any great moral dilemma. All I was after was to make sure nobody saw you, and you tried to make some kind of federal case out of it."
"You didn't ask—you ordered, as usual," Jessie reminded him.
"Okay, maybe I did. Something about you gets my back up, makes me want to score points off you."
He hadn't moved, but Jessie felt crowded, as though he had begun to invade her personal space. "Well, there's our problem. The feeling is mutual, believe me."
She pushed away from the wall. Her intention was to get around him and out of his magnetic sphere, but he caught her elbow as she came alongside. A whiff of spicy after-shave drifted past her nose.
"I guessed as much," he said. "We've been striking sparks off each other from the beginning, lb be honest, I get a kick out of provoking you."
Jessie was incredulous. "You've been trying to make me mad?"
His fingers felt hot on her arm, and she tried to pull free. He nodded and gripped a little tighter. "Don't you know why?"
"No, I don't, but you're going to get your wish in a minute if you don't let me go."
"I can't help goading you for a reaction— any reaction. Only.. .1 forgot for a minute there about Ed and what he would think if he saw the fireworks." That appealing huskiness was back in his voice, and something inside Jessie melted.
"He—he'd probably think we don't get along very well, and he'd be right."
"Uh-uh," Ben said. "Look at me, Jessie." She lifted her chin and stared into eyes burning with green fire. "He'd probably see how frustrated we both are. Isn't that what made you back down while he was here, when what you really wanted to do was push me until I grabbed you and started what we've both been dying for, ever since that kiss?"
She shook her head. "Don't talk like that."
"At least you don't deny it," Ben said more softly. "We have unfinished business between us, Jessie Webster." His hard fingers caressed the sensitive skin at the crook of her arm through the thick yarn of her sweater.
Then he dropped his hand, and his voice turned implacable. "But we can't do anything about it now. You're going back to Chicago—today."
"What?" Jessie floundered at his sudden change of mood. But when it sank in that he thought he could send her home like a naive child, her temper flared in rebellion. "Who says I'm going back?"
Bra cast his eyes upward. "See what I mean?" he remarked to an unseen audience that presumably hovered near the ceiling. He looked back at Jessie and held up his palms in a placating gesture. "Look, Jessie, it doesn't make sense for you to stick around here. For one thing, your sister has made it clear your plans for Thanksgiving are off. She, at least, had sense enough to get out of town. Secondly, Wisconsin is too dangerous for you right now. Whoever is after Allie may not know she has a twin sister, and I seriously doubt they'll check your ID if they nab you by mistake. On the other hand, ifs not likely they'll be looking for her in Chicago, so you ought to be safe there."
"You don't know that. Anyway, even if you're right, what about Kyle? You said yourself Alliens message meant she
wanted me to see him. I don't think I should leave until I do. What if Kyle plans to tell me I should do something for her, or to meet her somewhere?"
"Kyle's not at the newspaper office—nobody is. All I got is a recording when I called. It's Thanksgiving, remember?"
"Oh, that's right. Allie told me the Sentinel doesn't publish on Sundays or holidays." Jessie's disappointment stole her righteous fervor.
"That reminds me. Do you know Kyle's last name? We might be able to reach him at home."
She shook her head. "If Allie mentioned it, I don't remember. I guess I'll have to wait and talk to him tomorrow."
"No, Jessie, I'll talk to him tomorrow. I want you back in Chicago by then."
She glared at him. "No way. It's my sister, my message, and I'm going to talk to him."
"Don't be a fool. I can easily let you know what he has to say, if anything."
"What do you mean, 'if anything'? Why else would Allie tell me to see him? And how do you know he would even talk to you?" Realizing her temper was getting away from her again, Jessie forcibly tamped it down. "Listen, Ben, arguing about it is ludicrous. How about we compromise? If you're planning to go to the newspaper office tomorrow anyway, why don't we go together? That way I'll get to see Kyle the way Allie wanted, and since you'll be there with me, you won't have to worry about my safety."
It was a rational solution, one that allayed Jessie's own uneasiness about plunging into unknown waters. Who knew what Kyle would tell her? She could do worse than to have a tough, experienced policeman by her side.
No matter how bullheaded he was.
Before Ben could offer the protest she saw coming, Jessie said, "Look, I've been dying for a shower for the past hour. Let me get cleaned up, and then we can hash this out all you want, okay?"
He glowered at her darkly. "All right, go ahead. But we haven't settled anything yet."
"You think about it." She walked to the bathroom. "Just remember, you may be in charge of your investigation, but you're not in charge of me. "
It was a parting shot to be proud of, and Jessie was still smiling ova: her cleverness as she smoothed her curls into waves with a brush and travel dryer twenty minutes later. She took extra care with her makeup—it was a holiday, a
fter all—and spritzed perfume at her wrists and behind her ears before dressing.
She had selected two favorites from her suitcase, a deep turquoise silk blouse with wide shoulder pads and slimming black pleated pants. On impulse she tucked the blouse in, knowing the style would emphasize her full bosom and small waist. For some reason, Ben made her fed provocative and more alive than she'd felt in a long time.
He was on the phone again, engrossed in conversation, when Jessie came out of the bathroom. He barely glanced up as she crossed to the bedroom to put away her things. After all the fussing she'd done, anticipating his reaction, it was deflating not to rate a second look.
She double-checked her appearance in the large mirror over the bedroom dresser and sighed. She looked about as good as she was ever going to. TVurquoise was one of her best colors, its richness bringing out the creaminess of her skin and the red highlights in her hair. Why hadn't Ben noticed?
It had probably been a mistake to tuck in the blouse. Her breasts didn't need enhancement Now that she thought about it, the blouse's casually elegant lines looked dumpy with the tails inside her pants. Her buoyant, sexy mood faded fast.
Nor did it return when Ben summoned her from the bedroom after he'd hung up the phone. His eyes flicked over her once and returned to her face with no indication he'd noticed anything different about her.
"Well, princess," he said, "you'll be happy to know you can come along tomorrow, after all."
Already feeling defensive after ha- self-perusal, Jessie reacted immediately to the veiled sarcasm in his voice. "Thank you so much," she replied sweetly, "though I don't recall asking for permission. Arid the name is Jessie. ''
"So you've said," he acknowledged with a trace of amusement that straightened her spine. She felt as though she'd been patted on the head by an indulgent father. Nothing could have inflamed her more.
"I'll also be following you back to Chicago after we've finished with Kyle," Ben added.
"If I decide to go home after I've talked to Kyle," she returned heatedly, "I won't need an escort."
