by Ines Saint
“Who’s the robot with them?” Jamar asked.
“That’s Alex Hooke.”
Helen frowned. “The name sounds familiar.”
“He’s the FBI agent who got shot a few months ago.”
“What the hell is he doing there?” Jamar turned to him.
“He’s Paige’s boyfriend, but damn if I know what he’s doing there.”
The camera zeroed in on Gracie, then. She was holding a piece of paper and her hands were shaking visibly, and Josh’s heart knew pain. “My family and friends are here today to set the record unequivocally straight,” she began.
Helen raised the volume and Josh stopped breathing. Gracie’s voice was clear and powerful, but her jaw was visibly clenched, and he knew she was shaking because she was angry.
“Josh Goodwin and I are good friends today precisely because nine years ago he was my honorable and noble champion, and to suggest he behaved with anything other than professional decency, empathy, and kindness toward me when all proof is to the contrary, is the mark of a weak and sick mind. This vile creature, who cowers behind a screen name, has gone to great lengths to cast aspersions on Josh’s character and, as a result, on mine. I ask everyone listening to this, or anyone reading this statement later on, to ask themselves what kind of a person goes to these lengths and what it is they hope to gain. We know Josh Goodwin has successfully prosecuted many criminals and we know he’s running for county prosecutor. It might be that someone out there has information that will lead us to unmask the motives and identity of Pasts Matter or Past Smatters or whatever the hypocritical screen name really is. Because truth is what really matters. Not just a smattering of it but every relevant aspect of it. My friends and family are joining me today to vouch for the truth.” She looked up then, and Josh felt a mixture of pride and wariness. She was so strong. Stronger than she knew. But was she also courting danger by issuing such a challenge? They had no idea who was behind everything and, so far, no way of knowing.
Gracie continued without looking down. “And the truth is as follows.” She went on to explain how the bidding process for the job had been fair and transparent and handed out corroborating evidence, but she also disclosed that her boss had received a tip about the bid from someone impersonating her grandmother. However, he noticed she didn’t go into the phone call her boss had received from “Josh.”
Next, she produced the index card and date-stamped envelope she had received two days ago, explaining how she and Josh had been talking about it later that same night, and how she had fallen asleep, exhausted over the incident and all the emotions it had conjured up, the night he carried her home. She looked down then, and it pained Josh to see how difficult it was for her to make that reference to the past.
He vowed then that he’d leave her alone. He’d sworn he wouldn’t hurt her. She’d told him he was safe, and yet she and her whole family were in their current, very public predicament because his feelings had gotten the better of him, and he’d carried her home to get away from them.
One more talk, to tell her how sorry he was she’d been dragged into his campaign and to thank her, and then he’d stay away. The house could wait.
One by one, everyone flanking Gracie spoke out to defend him. Sherry explained how Josh had never once been alone with Gracie when she was younger, looking indignant that anyone would dare insinuate that she wouldn’t have accompanied her granddaughter to every single meeting. Ruby, Rosa, Paige, and Hope backed her up, spoke highly of him, and even explained how Josh had come to put an offer on the house next door to Gracie’s apartment. Hope described how she had accidentally set off the alarm the night of the video, how they’d all run outside, and how that had led to Gracie being in her nightshirt in the first place. Alex Hooke then corroborated it, and his serious demeanor and credentials were such that he was the only one not interrupted with questions from the press.
When they were done, Ruby offered to read fortunes, Rosa offered coffee, and Sherry handed out treats, charming the pants off every reporter. They’d done it for Gracie, of course, but they’d saved his candidacy in the process. He sighed, wishing he knew how to make it up to them.
The thought didn’t last long. A second later Josh heard one of the reporters ask, “As her grandmother, how would you feel about a real romance between these two, Sherry?”
Josh’s head snapped up in time to see Sherry smile wide. “Why, I’d be tickled silly and pink if these two got together. They’d make the most adorable great-grandbabies ever.”
The camera panned to Gracie, who was looking at her grandmother with round eyes and an open mouth. The camera then zeroed in on the reporter, who was chuckling. “There you have it, Jenna and Mike,” she said to the anchors in the newsroom. “A mystery, a challenge, and the possibility of a romance. Will there be a fairy-tale ending to this story, do you think?”
Josh shot up and turned off the TV. He didn’t want to hear the answer. Helen and Jamar laughed as Josh walked to the window and braced himself on either side. “I told you, you’re in trouble,” Jamar said in between guffaws.
“Gracie’s the one who could be in trouble, don’t you see?”
“What are you going on about? They offered a firm rebuttal and charmed everyone in the process. You’re both home free. Well, except for the adorable babies. Those are always expensive.” Helen’s teasing tone further aggravated his nerves.
Josh turned around. “You guys think this is funny?”
“Lighten up, man,” Jamar admonished as he stood up. “I think it went well.”
Josh stared at his friend. “Gracie both publicly challenged and insulted a creep who has already gone as far as watching her and recording her—or us, rather—without either of us even suspecting it, and that’s on top of them digging up where she worked and where she was staying now, even though she’d changed her name. I was already worried about the emotional impact on her; now I’m worried about her safety.”
Jamar sobered in an instant. “Sorry, man. I wasn’t making light of that. You’re right.” He glanced at his watch, and Josh knew he was running late. “The bottom line is, this creep really knows what he’s doing. No crime has been committed, therefore, legally, we can’t open an investigation. We can’t prove a pattern of conduct because one incident doesn’t qualify as menace by stalking, and the posts aren’t libel because they weren’t reported as facts, never mind that we’d have to prove malice on top of it. As a concerned friend, though, I’m on it. I was planning on visiting Spinning Hills tonight to help you ask around.” He went to the door, clearly in a rush. “Text me your address and I’ll meet you there at eight, okay? I’ve got a few ideas.”
Jamar left and Helen turned to him. “I agree with both of you, but that’s not what I want to talk about now.”
Josh braced himself. He knew what was coming. Helen propped one hip on her desk. “Have you developed feelings for our Gracie, Josh? Because the way you were looking into her face as you were carrying her home was pretty revealing. At least to those of us who know you.”
Josh didn’t want to be rude, but he wasn’t up for this. “No wonder you and Sherry get along so well. Neither of you understands boundaries,” he said as pleasantly as possible on his way out.
“By definition, some boundaries are merely imaginary lines, you—”
Josh shut the door before she could finish.
* * *
The moment the reporters had left and they were all back inside the bakery, everyone turned hurt and accusing eyes Gracie’s way. She blinked back, confused. “That went well, I think,” she said, wondering why they didn’t look pleased. “Except for the part where Grandma Sherry became tickled pink and silly.”
Grandma Sherry spoke first. “Why didn’t you tell us about that index card with that despicable message when you got it? Or at least before the press conference? We were blindsided.”
Gracie dropped back down in her chair. Her grandmother was right. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to sur
prise you. At first I didn’t tell you because I was being dragged back into the past again and the last thing I wanted was to drag all of you back with me. I’m angry enough that I ended up having to do it anyway, today. But I didn’t leave it out intentionally when we were planning the press conference. I promise. I already knew what I wanted to say, so I was focused on what you would all say and how we could organize it to have the most impact.”
Paige was immediately on her knees before her, reaching for her hands. “Don’t apologize. We’re not angry and we don’t mean to imply it’s about us. We just need you to understand you’re not imposing on us, ever. It hurts to think you keep things to yourself. We’re in this together. Always.”
Gracie sighed. “I know.”
“Yes. And we’ll all be together when we show up at Brad Wolf’s door,” Rosa said. “At least Ruby, Sherry, and I will be. You four can be there in spirit,” she said, looking at Paige, Hope, Gracie, and Alex in turn. “You still have careers and young children to think about. And if there’s a second recording, make no mistake, the Wolfs will hand it over to us this time.” She looked at Alex, then. “It’s best you pretend you didn’t hear any of that.”
Crud. It was time for another confession. Gracie squeezed Paige’s hands and stood up. “I already went to see Mrs. Wolf. We talked, and she assured me there’s no second recording.”
The next few minutes reminded her of a rooster and a bunch of hens in a barnyard. Alex crowed about how unsafe it had been for her to have gone to a place that could be harboring a snake like Brad, and that for all she knew, Brad was the one stalking her. Hope clucked her way through a few choice curse words that described both Brad and Mrs. Wolf, while the rest squawked on and on about how Mrs. Wolf’s word couldn’t be trusted and Gracie should never have gone to that wicked witch’s castle on her own. Her grandmother, Ruby, and Rosa were fully convinced that if someone had a copy of the recording, it was Mrs. Wolf because she’d been the one to fight to keep the original in the first place.
The loud and purposeful sound of a throat being cleared finally shut them up, and they turned to see Josh standing at the door.
“Josh!” Ruby exclaimed, suddenly all smiles. “Come in. Did you see our press conference?”
Josh nodded and stepped further inside. “I did. That’s why I’m here. I want to thank you. All of you. I know you did it for Gracie, but you saved my hide in the process.” He gave them a humble and appreciative look. “I know I’ll probably never be able to make it up to you all, but I wanted to let you know I’ll try, and that I’m here for you, too, if you need anything.”
Rosa shook her head, as if she wasn’t having any of it. “We did it for everyone, Josh. Including us. When bullies win, we all lose. Gracie sent a strong message today.”
Grandma Sherry walked over to him and stood on her tiptoes to give him a big bear hug that he fully returned. For some reason the little scene left Gracie breathless with feeling. A tickle behind her nose warned her to get a hold of herself, that it was nothing to cry over. It was just Josh being appreciative and tender. To her grandmother. “You’re going to be an excellent county prosecutor, Josh Goodwin,” she said, patting him on the chest when she stood back. “Do you know how many people will benefit from that? We’re doing it for the community, too.”
Ruby nodded. “And don’t forget that all this is happening because Gracie spoke up for herself years ago, and when no one would listen, you became her megaphone. Certain people resented it. And those certain people can’t win.” Her eyes had narrowed and her fists had clenched as she spoke. “We won’t allow it!”
Gracie blew out a long-suffering sigh. “For the last time, Mrs. Wolf truly believes there’s no copy of the recording, and she apologized. I may not like her or forgive her, but I believed her. Stop treating me like I’m being naïve. You weren’t there.”
Grandma Sherry reeled on her heel to face her. “And whose fault is it that we weren’t there?”
“Nobody’s!” Gracie threw up her hands. “It was a choice. Mine.”
Josh’s eyes widened. No way was he going to get in the middle of that. He caught Alex Hooke’s eye and motioned with his head to the door. Alex nodded, looking relieved.
A minute later they’d managed to slink away unnoticed. Josh shook the other man’s hand and thanked him before saying, “I was hoping to talk to you. I wanted to know if there’s a security camera at the property where Gracie and Hope are staying. The video looks like it was taken from the bridge, but I know there wasn’t a car there that night. It was dark enough that I wouldn’t have noticed a person if they were hiding, however.”
Alex nodded. “We have a camera, but I already checked it and there’s nothing there.” He slanted a glance at the café and motioned for him to move further up the sidewalk, where the women inside couldn’t see them. “After viewing the video a few times, though, my best guess is that it was recorded with a long-range scope from about nine hundred meters away, which would put whoever recorded it all the way across the river.”
“There’s nothing there but vacant land,” Josh said, thinking about the area. He perked up when an idea occurred to him. “The only way to get there is to go all the way down South Arena Boulevard from West Dayton, which means they passed an auto repair shop I know for a fact has a few security cameras pointing at the street. I know the owner; he’s cooperated with investigations in the past.” Josh took his keys out of his pocket, ready to leave, but Alex stopped him.
“Look, whoever is behind this put a whole lot of effort into trying to catch you and Gracie doing something that could potentially harm your campaign. Who knows what else they’ve been up to? Gracie’s become like a sister to me and Paige is freaked out by the implication that someone’s been out there, watching the building where her sisters live, or even following Gracie. We need to figure out who’s behind this.”
“I know. I agree,” Josh said, barely allowing Alex to finish. He was eager to leave. “Trust me, I’m going to do everything in my power to find out who’s behind it.” He turned to leave, and Alex stopped him once again. Josh didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “What?” he demanded.
Alex shook his head. “You’re not listening, I said we need to figure it out—I’d like to help.”
Josh looked down and took a breath. Alex was right. He hadn’t been listening, which wasn’t like him. He needed to calm down and think. Finally, he gave Alex a short nod. “I’ll let you know what I find out and we’ll take it from there. Where can I reach you?”
Alex dug out a card, saying, “I’ll be staying at the house with Gracie and Hope for now, just to have an extra pair of eyes looking out for anything suspicious. Hope and Gracie aren’t happy about it, though. Gracie doesn’t want me staying up all night watching the street when I have a long commute the next day, and Hope says she has a stun gun and sharp stilettos and that’s all she needs for protection.”
Josh lifted an eyebrow. “Well, would you want to go up against Hope, a stun gun, and those heels?”
“Hell no.”
“And are you planning on staying up all night watching the street?”
“Hell yeah. And the river bank across the street.”
“Sounds like they’ve got you pegged,” Josh said as he took the card Alex was handing him. He was planning on staying next door anyway, to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, especially over by the river bank across the street. But having an FBI agent staying in the same building with Gracie would be a huge help and a strong deterrent for anybody looking to make more trouble.
Though it was doubtful any guilty individual would be stupid enough to loiter around Gracie after her press conference, Josh still had an uneasy feeling about the challenge she’d issued.
“They’ve got me pegged all right.” Alex gave him a friendly slap on the back and walked him to his car, adding, “Just so you know, Sherry’s having a mattress set up at the judge’s house as we speak, and Hope had the power company com
e out to fix the line feeding the house. Did you tell them you were planning on staying next door?”
Josh’s smile quickly disappeared. “I didn’t tell them a thing.”
“Then I’d say they’ve got you pegged, too.”
Chapter 15
“Bingo.” Josh pushed back from the desk in the cramped office at the back of the auto shop on South Arena and stared at the screen. A late-model silver Buick Encore was the only vehicle to keep heading south. All others vehicles either turned east on the bridge or west onto Moses Drive; the only other choice was to drive right onto the riverbank. And who would want to do that? Time to find out. The plates were difficult to make out, but he took a screenshot and emailed it to both Jamar and the email address on Alex Hooke’s card.
The footage went back as far as two weeks, and he started to go through it, looking for the same car. What he learned made a chill run down his spine. The first time the car had made its way to the riverbank had been roughly ten minutes after the time he’d gone to meet Gracie at her apartment for the very first time. The second time had been also minutes before he’d gone to see the judge’s house for the first time. It was the same pattern, over and over again. Josh was being followed.
He slumped back. Thank God the house had been dark. He and Gracie had kissed, twice. Anger swept through him with such violent force, he shot up and punched the nearest wall hard enough to make his fist throb in pain.
Gracie had been dragged into the spotlight once again because of him. How could he not have noticed he was being followed? He kicked the chair before leaning against the wall. Soon, at least, they’d have a name. He’d managed a few good screenshots of the plates. Though he couldn’t zoom in enough to see them, it would be no problem for Jamar or Alex to get a technician to do it and then run the plates, off hours and as a favor.
