Life in the Raintree house was going along smoothly until Mrs. Tarry of Child Protective Services called to make an appointment to come by for a home visit.
Josie went into a panic. "Jack, you have to move out!"
"I'm not moving out," Jack stated plainly. "I need to be here for you."
"I can take care of myself," Josie exclaimed. "We're breaking the rules, Jack. I can't be living with a man and caring for a foster child. I told you the rules!"
"They'll have to make an exception. I know the rules and the regulations thanks to those classes I've been taking. I know a lot more about foster kids and kids in general than I thought I would ever need to know. They've got all my certifications, on-line and classroom documentation, and the investigations and background checks are completed. They are sitting on the paperwork and have been for several weeks now. Alex has gone from one person taking care of him exclusively to three people who love and care for him. How can they complain about that? If the damn bureaucrats would get off the stick and terminate his mothers' parental rights to him, none of this would be necessary."
"The legalities aren't that easy. The entire system is geared to keeping families together. Even if that happens, it doesn't change the rules. You have to leave!"
"I'm your caretaker right now, and I'm not leaving you on your own again, Josie," Jack snapped. "You get into too much damn trouble!"
"You can't blame me for what happened!" Josie gasped.
"I'm not blaming you," Jack said, losing his temper. "I'm also not leaving! I promised to stick by you, and I meant it. If the system wants people to step up and help kids, they have to stop being so damn rigid. Alex may not have a quote unquote normal family, but damn it, we've formed a family. Between you, me and Buck, that kid is covered. End of discussion!"
Alex, who was eavesdropping at the top of the stairs, scooted back out of sight. He was not going back into the system. He didn't care what any of them said or what rules had to be followed. He was sick of grown-ups running his life. It wouldn't be so bad, except that until Josie came along, they'd done a lousy job of it. He had some plans to make.
By the middle of her third week of recovery, or imprisonment, depending on how you viewed it, Josie was about to boot Jack and Buck to the curb. She would have added Alex to that list too except she had worked too hard to get and keep him in the first place. She was feeling a lot better and every single time she had to repeat herself, she got more frustrated. Yes, she had been through an ordeal, and yes it would take her a while to recover from it, but she was not an invalid! She did not need to be spoon-fed, well… not anymore, and she was sick of them treating her as if she were going to break at any second.
She called the office and told Georgina to bring her computer to her. Most of the bandages were off her cut hand, and the doctors had removed some of the stitches. She thought she could punch out commands with one-finger typing. She could at least finish the reports needed for the state inspection. Except that now Sheriff Clay Tucker had wrangled an extension on the inspection date. The state officials were more amenable to his request, after the Rawlings Sheriff's department had been given some of the credit for the capture of a serial killer by the FBI.
After Josie's request, Georgina had called Jack who countermanded her order with a flat no! Who the hell was he to tell her what she could and could not do? The fallout from that argument sent both Buck and Alex on the run. Jack did not back down.
In the aftermath of that explosion, it was Sheriff Clay Tucker who told Josie she was on medical leave, and no, they were not going to send any work over to her house.
Josie didn't speak to Jack for the rest of the day. That evening she did apologize, because he'd tossed her over his shoulder and carried her up to bed. He'd told her that although he wouldn't set her bottom on fire—he would warm it up a bit if she didn't stop acting so bad-tempered and ornery.
She had a nightmare that night and had been grateful for Jack's solid support. Stubborn and immovable as he was sometimes, he was always there for her. The next morning she apologized to everyone.
After daily begging by Alex, Jack replaced Josie's speared flat-screen TV with his own, which was twice the size of Josie's. He also bought some gaming software, which meant he and Alex spent several hours a day fighting aliens, terrorists, and zombies.
Jack and Buck, with Alex chiming in, tossed Josie out of her library since they were replacing the smashed window. Josie settled in the living room and decided to read some censored transcripts, sent to her on the sly from an unknown source. These were the transcribed interrogations of Jimmy Richards and his brother Matt. Reading the reports with large sections blacked out with indelible black markers was interesting, to say the least.
Matt Richards was admitting nothing, but Jimmy was telling it all, in graphic detail.
Matt, younger than Jimmy by nine years, was Jimmy's scout and pick-up guy. Jimmy was married, with a large family, and he ran a business. It took time to research his victims because his requirements were exact. The women had to match Josie's physical attributes and age. After Matt had discovered his brother's crimes, he hadn't wanted to stop him. Instead, he'd blackmailed Jimmy into letting him in on the 'fun'. Their physical relationship dated back to Matt's elementary school days, or as Matt described it—Jimmy had been banging on him since he was a little kid.
Matt was involved in the last two, possibly three killings which meant that he'd been involved with the murders since he was seventeen. His fingerprints and DNA were matches on the last two victims and Josie's abduction. It was Matt who had disabled her with the pepper spray. It was Jimmy who smashed the security system, and made the house look like there had been a home invasion.
Matt had been driving his U.S. Mail delivery truck, which was why none of the neighbors reported anything unusual at Josie's house. For over a year, during the renovation of her house, deliveries through various postal services had been common. Matt had parked his mail truck so no one could see what he put in the back. It was Matt who had taken Josie out and dumped her into the sod shanty. The brothers had their rituals of play before playing with their victims.
Between fits of accusations and blaming everyone but himself, Jimmy filled in most of the details concerning the deaths of the six women. His secret obsession over Josie had driven him to kill six times and his confessions matched his detailed journal entries. Jimmy had set fire to his last victim. With Jack and Josie spending so much time at the old Rawlings house, he feared trying to dig a fresh grave. Jimmy had told Jack he was too busy to clear off the fire debris because he had wanted time to relocate his victims. It had never occurred to him that Jack wouldn't wait for him to do the job and would hire another company.
Jimmy was the one trying to scare her out of her house with the smoke bomb, hoping she would be driven out at least overnight. He was searching for the desk where he kept his journal. He had not known for sure that it was at her house, but he had found out, from his good friends, the Winstead brothers, that Jack had rented more than one storage unit. He had taken a trip to the Altus antique store where Jack had sold the furniture, and the desk had not been there.
Jimmy suspected Jack had not sold the kidney-shaped desk where he kept his journal. He'd tried to break into the iron shed on the property but had been unsuccessful. Ironically or perhaps delusional, he was angry because Josie had changed her house locks. He didn't understand why she'd done that—everyone in town knew he could be trusted.
Although he had found the desk when he had broken in during the storm, he hadn't found the journal. He looked for it again after Matt had taken Josie out to his truck. That was why he trashed the room again and smashed her computer. He wanted it to look like a home intrusion.
When asked why he'd smashed out the living room window and speared the flat screen TV, he'd simply shrugged and given them no explanation.
When asked why after so many years, why had he decided to go after Josie, he had only one reason. If Jack was going
to have her, so was he.
Feeling sick to her stomach, Josie locked the reports in her desk and got up to make some peppermint tea to calm her stomach. She was almost finished with the brewing when the doorbell rang—a sedate soft ringing of chimes courtesy of Jack's reprogramming.
Mrs. Augustine Freeman, the high school principal and Head of the Rawlings' Town Council, was standing on her doorstep with a casserole.
"Come in, Mrs. Freeman," Josie said, backing out of the way of the good-sized woman.
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Freeman said, marching her way to the kitchen counter and depositing the dish. "I thought by now that your cupboards might be a bit bare."
"Thank you," Josie said although that statement was far from true because many people still ignored Alex's sign. "I was making some tea. Would you like some?"
"Thank you, but no. In fact, you shouldn't be serving me; I'll finish making this for you and carry it into the living room," Mrs. Freeman said and proceeded to make up a tray, per Josie's instructions.
"Thank you, Mrs. Freeman."
"I'm not your Principal any longer, Josie, you may call me Augustine," the woman said with a smile.
Josie bit her lip and smiled. "Mrs. Freeman, there are very few people in this town that would dare call you anything except by your proper name or ma'am. I have the greatest respect for you, ma'am, and I am one of them."
"That is a problem with being an authority figure," the older woman said. "Am I still that scary?"
"Considering how much time I spent in your office—yes, ma'am," Josie said truthfully. "Although I have always appreciated that you were in my corner. I doubt I would have gone to college if you hadn't pushed me in that direction."
"You gave yourself that push, Josie," admonished Mrs. Freeman. "When you suddenly turned your life around, I prayed that it wasn't going to be a temporary thing. I was astonished, when six months later you were a top student in your class. I simply facilitated the process by getting you into an accelerated program. You earned it. You were the one that did the work, and you have thanked me many times."
"I still appreciate it, and I will never forget it," Josie said. She picked up a straw and put it into her teacup. "My grip is still not very good."
"I am so sorry, and I shouldn't be here. You should be resting."
"To tell you the truth, I've had about all the rest I can handle," Josie said with a laugh. "I could use a good project, but the three men in my life are objecting strongly to that idea."
The older woman's eyes lit up. "Well, isn't that opportune? I happen to have a proposition."
"Really? Does someone need tutoring?"
"Always," Mrs. Freeman said expansively. "I'll keep you in mind for the next school year. I am here first to offer my condolences for what happened to you. I still cannot believe that kind of evil lived among us, and thanks to you, no longer does. Second, I'm here to ask what you intend to do now that Clay Tucker seems to have permanently settled into the job of sheriff."
Josie considered that question. "I'm not sure, Mrs. Freeman. As soon as I am cleared medically, Clay will debrief me, and I will turn in my badge for good. He can handle the job. I think he enjoys being in charge now, and he's doing an excellent job. I don't know what I'm going to do. I still have some work to finish in the house, and I've been giving some thought to going back to school. I don't have a clear idea of what I want to do in the future, but I'm through with law enforcement."
"The town council has been aware of your dedication to the job of sheriff, Josie. We appreciated you stepping up and doing your civic duty. Now that we have the sheriff's job squared away, we want to know if you would consider stepping up again. This time, we would like you in the job of mayor. There are still twenty-two months left on Aiden Roland's four-year term, and he will not be able to complete his commitment."
"Why?" Josie asked.
Mrs. Freeman ignored the question. "We, the council members are quite aware of how heavily Aiden relied on your decision-making abilities and advice during this last year. Frankly, Aiden Roland was floundering from the moment he took the office. He took over the position when his mother became ill, but his mother made the decisions for him until she became too ill to continue. I don't believe that when he won the election he was aware that it is a real, and sometimes difficult job with difficult choices. He delegated as much as possible to you, and you have done an able job of it. It has not escaped our attention that Aiden Roland wasn't prepared or suited for the position."
"Why is he giving it up?" Josie asked again.
Mrs. Freemen turned a light shade of pink. "I can't discuss why he is stepping down from his position. It was a private decision he made. We would like to know if you would be interested in the position."
"Why don't you take the job? You have your finger on the pulse of everything that goes on in this town," Josie said.
The older woman shook her head. "I have a full-time job as principal of the high school. Educating and keeping our youth on the straight and narrow is more than a full-time job for nine months out of the year. I couldn't take on any more responsibilities than I have now."
"Remembering what you did for me, I agree with that," Josie said, smiling. "May I have some time to think about this?"
"Of course," Mrs. Freeman agreed. "Remember though, everyone has an obligation to give back and support their communities. The more we care, the better our community. You came back to Rawlings for a reason. You have earned the favor of the entire town council, and we believe you would make a fine mayor, and the vote would be unanimous."
"Thank you, Mrs. Freeman."
"Good, now do you have a pen so I can sign your cast?"
Josie laughed. "Do you really want to? There might be a space somewhere on it that is blank. It is a silly thing, but at least I can cover it up with a sling."
"Nonsense, it shows people care." Mrs. Freeman picked out a purple pen and picked a spot under Josie's elbow where she could not possibly twist around to read it. She wrote something, smiled, said goodbye and swept out the door with a broad smile.
Josie shut the front door and turned around to find Jack standing in the hallway. "Mayor, huh?"
"Imagine that," Josie said, grinning.
"I can imagine it."
"Why didn't you come in and say hello?"
Jack shook his head. "She still scares the crap out of me and if she ever finds out who TP'ed the school lawn in my senior year, she'd still come after my hide."
Josie laughed, understanding all too well as she felt the same way about the formidable high school principal. Everyone in town viewed her with the highest of respect and if they had attended school under her—a twinge of fear. "What did she write on my cast? I can't see it." She held her arm up as much as she dared.
Jack bent down to read it. "To Josie: One of my toughest nuts to crack and one of my greatest success stories. I'm proud to call you a friend, Augustine Freeman."
Josie's eyes lit up. "Imagine that! Me! The delinquent of the town."
"I can," Jack said. "And I do. Getting Mrs. Freeman's recommendation is the equivalent of getting a blessing from the Pope. You'll make one hell of a good mayor."
"I haven't said I'd do it yet," Josie protested.
"So you say," Jack said, chuckling as he headed back down the hallway. "Mayor Raintree."
Buck ducked into the garage and behind the open hoods of Jack's Jeep and Josie's truck. Jack was checking out the engine fluids on both vehicles.
"Where is she?" Buck asked.
Jack looked up from wiping the dipstick. "The last I saw her, she was trying to put books on the library shelves one-handed. She has Alex in there helping. I told her if she gets on that rolling ladder, she's going to answer to me! She's kind of pissed at me right now."
Buck raised his bushy eyebrows. "I need you to find something for Josie to do the day after tomorrow, all day—something that will keep her busy."
"Why?"
Buck grimaced. "I can't tell
you. I'm going to have Alex. I told her I was taking him fishing. It's supposed to be an all-day excursion for me and him."
"That's what she told me," Jack said. "Something tells me you're not going to fishing. Where are you going?"
"I can't tell you. This is Alex's idea, and I promised him I wouldn't tell. I'm Kato on this caper. He's the Green Hornet.
"Okay, stop right there. The less I know, the less I'll have to deny. Whatever you two are up to… don't wind up in trouble," Jack warned. "Because it won't be Alex she blames if something goes wrong."
"It will be a good deal all around, if he can pull it off," Buck promised with a grin. "Like I said, I'm only the sidekick driver."
Jack shook his head and went back to work. He knew Buck would not let the boy get into any serious trouble.
Jack headed for the public library after dropping Josie off at the sheriff's office. She was going to be debriefed and officially turn in her badge. After that, she would go over to the town hall to discuss with Mrs. Freeman what was involved with the mayor's job. He didn't need to go to the library, he could have done his research on their new computers at home, but he needed to look like he was doing research. Keeping Josie busy was not a difficult thing to do. She only had one speed—fast. She was not fully recovered yet, and it was wearing him out trying to keep her contained enough to get some rest.
Josie felt like she'd been let out of prison. She leaped out of Jack's Jeep in case he changed his mind, but well-wishers stopped her before she could take the ten steps toward the office door. After politely doing her duty, she ducked inside.
"Josie!" Georgina jumped up and hugged her tightly. "Are you supposed to be out and about?"
"Yes, my warden has given me a temporary pass," Josie joked.
"You're not still mad at me are you?" Georgina pleaded.
"Maybe," Josie hedged, dragging her friend into her old office and closing the door. "Give me the dirt on why Aiden Roland is stepping down from the mayor's position."
Full Circle Page 27
