“Amen,” Gabriel echoed.
Penelope punched Jacob’s address into the vehicle’s navigation system for Gabriel and took another long sip of her coffee.
They drove to the beautiful, well-developed Franklin neighborhood of comfortable homes on large lots. The houses were built in the 1990s, but had been updated over the years and kept in meticulous condition. Landscaping trucks lined the streets and teams of workers dotted the lush lawns as Gabriel drove through the winding, tree-lined streets.
The voice navigation system alerted them of the upcoming turn onto Jacob’s street, and a knot tightened in Penelope’s stomach. She slid down a few inches in her seat as they rounded the corner and began the crawl up the rain-splattered street she had driven hundreds of times.
They parked at the neighborhood playground parking lot a few houses away from Jacob’s. The location gave them a perfect view of his house, garage, and driveway.
Fifteen minutes later, Penelope watched as Jacob emerged from his front door and locked it behind him. She held her breath as the man she loved waved to his neighbor Justine, a woman in her mid-fifties that Penelope had met a few times.
Jacob walked to his car. From the corner of her eye, Penelope noticed Justine still standing on her front stoop, in her silk bathrobe, eyeing Jacob as he walked away. Her eyes lingered on Jacob and Penelope felt a sting of jealousy.
“I never realized that Jacob’s neighbor looked at him like that,” she said aloud, forgetting for a moment that she wasn’t alone in the car.
Gabriel watched in silence. If he had an opinion, he kept it to himself.
Jacob got in his car and backed slowly down the driveway. Gabriel put the Hummer into drive and pulled out of the park after Jacob made the turn onto the main street. Penelope sat up taller. She knew where he was going.
Jacob worked in Franklin on Thursdays and usually jogged the trail that passed behind the Franklin Clinic. His usual routine was to park at the Franklin Clinic, run five miles toward Gainesville and then run back. After his run he would head into the clinic, shower, and then start his day.
As they neared the clinic, Penelope felt a loosening of the vice grip around her stomach. But it was quickly replaced with fear when Jacob stayed on State Road 20 and drove past the Franklin Clinic.
He wasn’t sticking to his normal schedule.
Penelope’s mind raced. Where’s he going?
“Isn’t this exciting?” Gabriel asked. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and stepped on the gas.
Exciting? That wasn’t the word she would use. “He probably got a call from Grace Memorial,” she said defensively. “That happens quite often.”
“I’m sure it’s something like that. Or maybe where he’s going will help us learn more about why your fiancé was targeted.”
Targeted? Was Jacob targeted?
CHAPTER 56
Ten minutes later, at 8:06 a.m., Jacob’s car pulled off the main road and into the Boulware Springs parking lot—the beginning of the Gainesville-Franklin State Trail.
Gabriel found a space in the shade of a water oak tree with a view of the picnic benches and the trailhead. It was getting increasingly hot despite the light rain. Gabriel turned the engine off, but let the air conditioner run.
Penelope pulled out her phone and read a text from Doug. Thanks for the update. Keep me posted.
At Boulware Springs. Jacob is starting his run. Nothing so far, she replied to Doug, and then sent Donny a text. How are the Franklin Clinic interviews going?
A few moments later Donny’s reply came. On our way to the clinic now. Starting interviews at 9. You still good for tomorrow?
“Who’s that you’re texting?”
Penelope jumped. Gabriel had been so quiet she had almost forgotten he was there. She was slightly put off by his directness, but she knew it was simply his way of cutting to the chase. When she wasn’t mad at him, it was something she liked about him.
“Detective Greene,” she answered Gabriel as she typed a reply to Donny. Yep. Still good. I’ll meet you at the station. She pressed send and continued out loud, “It’s strange . . . how far we’ve come.”
“How far who has come?” Gabriel asked.
“Donny and I. I mean . . . we studied together, graduated together . . . and now he’s a detective . . .” She didn’t have to add the rest, that she was still a beat cop when he’d gotten so much further.
“You’ve learned other things that you wouldn’t have learned if you were a detective,” Gabriel said absently. He was distant, his mind somewhere else, but what he said hit home. Penelope had learned so much. The path the Lord had taken her on had shaped her as a person. “You’ll make a great detective one day, you know,” Gabriel added, glancing at her.
Penelope smiled tentatively. Once upon a time, she might have been confident enough to think that, but lately she’d been emotionally involved in the cases. It had not been as easy as she’d hoped to piece this case together. Nothing matched up.
Jacob got out of his car and Penelope took a deep breath, trying to release some of the tension.
Gabriel saw the change in her expression and followed her gaze. “There’s the good doctor,” he said.
Penelope watched Jacob and her heart filled with love, the type of love she had never experienced before she met him. She admired his posture and his bearing. He walked to one of the picnic benches and went through a series of stretches. A moment later he sat down and started tapping on his cell phone. Penelope had seen him do this countless time. The e-mails, the phone calls, the frantic texts from nurses at both the hospital and the clinic.
As she watched him with admiration, a figure approached. It was hard to see clearly through the thick, moist air. The drizzle had picked up slightly, and the sky had darkened. The figure was clearly female, but she wore a hooded coat.
Jacob clearly knew the woman. He was smiling as he shook her hand warmly.
Penelope didn’t know whether to be relieved that a man was not attacking him or to be upset that a woman was talking to him.
The woman sat next to Jacob on the bench responding to his welcoming gesture. When she laughed at something Jacob said, her hood fell back to reveal her face.
A chill of recognition flashed through Penelope.
It was Tina Shifflett, the medical receptionist from Grace Memorial Hospital.
For the next ten minutes, Jacob faced Tina and listened to her, nodding sympathetically. Penelope sat frozen, not letting on that she knew the woman, afraid of the conclusions that Gabriel would jump to and trying to avoid jumping there herself.
Gabriel, seated next to her in the richly appointed captain’s seat of his tank, seemed to be perplexed. It was certainly not what either of them had expected. She was a little embarrassed that he should see her fiancé in what could be a compromising situation. Of course, this was nothing but an innocent visit between friends. Jacob would never do anything to hurt Penelope, and she didn’t need anyone else involved in his or her private business if it was something untoward.
For a moment, she became irrationally angry with Gabriel for judging, even though he had said nothing. The next moment, she felt that she needed to apologize.
“He is giving her some type of advice,” Gabriel said calmly.
He pointed out the key indicators of their body language to Penelope, using the most clinical language and deconstructing the scene scientifically. She could see what he meant about the way their bodies were facing and how their heads were tilted in relation to each other. It was too misty and far away to see their facial expressions, but Gabriel’s analysis appeared to be correct.
“You see, now that she is leaving,” he continued, “she is tilting her face away from his. If this were romantic in nature, she would press against his cheek, isn’t that right? And her arms . . . you see how she keeps one arm at her side and uses the other to pat his back? I believe this to be a coworker, someone with whom he has no romantic entanglements.”
It was impressive the way that he broke down the situation. The stress left Penelope’s body as he explained each movement and its psychological significance. She was confident that everything had happened exactly the way Gabriel described it.
Tina walked away, and she and Jacob exchanged friendly waves. She drove off in a gray sedan and Jacob disappeared into the wooded trail at a light jogging pace.
A wave of guilt washed over her. Was she doing the right thing by following the man she trusted with her heart and soul? It was in his best interest, but something didn’t feel right.
CHAPTER 57
Penelope gazed into the woods. She no longer liked the idea of following Jacob. It made her feel sneaky, calculating, and untrustworthy. The last thing she wanted was a reason to create any distrust in their relationship.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” she finally told Gabriel.
“About the woman your fiancé was talking to or us following him?”
“Us following him.”
“Would you feel better if he knew?”
“I don’t know. Maybe . . . But he’d probably say that he can take care of himself.”
“This is your investigation, Penelope . . . unofficially, of course. You tell me what you’d like to do. I’m at your disposal.”
Penelope thought about it for a moment. “Let’s see where he goes after the run and if we notice anything else unusual. He normally heads to the clinic and showers.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
“It’s going to feel uncomfortable, but it’s the right thing to do. If someone is stalking him, or admiring him from afar, it’s going to be our best chance to catch that person in the act.”
The two sat in silence while they waited for Jacob to finish his run. Gabriel busied himself by listening to a local talk radio program while Penelope checked her e-mail and sent Doug an update. She opened the Bible app on her phone and began looking up verses that would help calm her ragged nerves.
She found Philippians 4:6-7 especially reassuring. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Thirty minutes later, Jacob emerged from the woods, sweaty and flushed. He paused to do a few stretches before hopping into his car and driving off.
Gabriel kept his distance, following five to six car lengths behind. They rode back to Franklin without saying a word. Penelope prayed that there would be no more mystery women and no more surprises.
Fifteen minutes later, Jacob pulled into the parking lot of the Franklin Clinic. Gabriel turned into the church lot across the street and parked where they could catch a glimpse of the driver’s side of Jacob’s car.
Penelope watched across the road as her fiancé checked his phone, obviously handling urgent matters and tending to his agenda as he always did in preparation for a busy day. She still felt bad for watching without his knowledge, and resolved right then that she would tell him everything. She was about to tell Gabriel that they should leave but was interrupted when he spoke first.
“So, what does he usually do for lunch? Does he stay here or go out? Do you know if he goes straight home after work?”
“Listen, I appreciate your help, truly I do, but I don’t think this is a good use of our time.”
Gabriel seemed to take her decision in stride. “It’s your call. I’ll help in any way I can.”
Penelope thought about all the things she had to do for the wedding. “Any way you can?” she asked.
Gabriel looked at her and nodded. “Yep. Do you want to go back to any of the crime scenes? Review case notes?”
“I had something else in mind.”
“Like what? I’m all yours today.”
“Would you mind checking out a few venues with me?” she said with a slight hesitation. It was asking a lot, but she enjoyed spending time with Gabriel.
Gabriel smiled broadly. “Of course! I’d love to. Where to first?”
Penelope sat back and relaxed. She’d finally be able to follow through on her promise to Jacob—even if a little spying had diverted her. She grabbed her phone and looked up the list of venues she had found online.
“There’s the Sweetwater Branch Inn, The Hippodrome State Theatre, and the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens to start.”
Gabriel laughed and punched the locations into the navigation system. “Looks like we’re closest to the Botanical Gardens. Shall we start with that one?”
Penelope nodded and as they pulled out of the church parking lot, her phone rang.
She tapped answer and Jacob’s voice boomed through the phone. “Hi, Penny.”
“I was just thinking of you,” she said sheepishly. “I’m on my way to take care of some wedding stuff.”
“About that,” Jacob said with a slight edge in his voice. “I need to reschedule our lunch tomorrow.”
Penelope felt her cheeks heat up. “We’re supposed to meet with Josie, the potential wedding planner.” Jacob had been pressing her to make the wedding a priority, and now here he was, doing just the opposite.
“I know . . . and I’m sorry. I completely forgot about my meeting.” Penelope could hear his fear of disappointing her. “I called as soon as I remembered,” he added.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. We can catch up tomorrow at dinner, okay?”
“Is there something you need to tell me?” she asked.
“Dinner tomorrow night, alright Penny?”
He was purposefully not answering her question. Was someone nearby? “Should I be worried?” she asked.
“No. I don’t mind where we eat, as long as we’re together,” he replied playfully.
Penelope chuckled. “Okay, mystery man. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“See you then. I love you.”
“Love you back.” She hung up and shook her head. What was he up to?
“Everything okay?” Gabriel asked.
“I think so,” was her honest answer.
CHAPTER 58
That evening, after a long day of looking at potential wedding reception venues, Penelope smiled as Gabriel pulled into her driveway. Life could be so overwhelming and then something as simple as spending an afternoon with a good friend could bring her back to herself.
Penelope hopped out of the SUV and thanked Gabriel for an enjoyable day. He asked her about her plans for Friday, and she told him that she would be working with Donny doing follow-up interviews with the staff from Grace Memorial Hospital. She promised to keep him posted and then waved as he drove off.
Down the road, an engine started and Penelope paused mid-step, her pulse quickening. There were only three other homes on her block. The houses in this part of town were set back off the street, and there were no sidewalks.
She turned and spotted a light-colored SUV, with its lights off, about sixty yards away. It made a slow U-turn and Penelope squinted to get a better look. With no streetlights, she couldn’t make out the model or license plate before it disappeared into the darkness.
That was odd.
Had someone been spying on her the same way she was spying on Jacob? Where they casing the neighborhood?
Penelope listened for more activity.
Nothing.
She unlocked her front door, walked into her house, and assessed the scene.
Soft moonlight shining through the front windows lit up the living room, casting eerie shadows against the white walls. The refrigerator clicked on with a whirl, but Penelope didn’t flinch. One by one she checked the rooms and closets of her house. As she moved from room to room, she made sure all the windows were locked.
She almost called Gabriel but dialed the Franklin PD instead.
Officer Jim Saunders had just finished his shift and offered to drive by.
Pen
elope retrieved her service weapon, a Smith & Wesson Sigma Series .40 caliber semi-automatic double-action pistol, from the gun safe in her closet and waited for Saunders. As she sat in the darkness, staring out through the bushes and trees, Gabriel’s words from a few days earlier rustled through her mind: “If they accessed your fiancé’s cell phone and his address book, there’s a possibility they have all his contacts.”
CHAPTER 59
Fifteen minutes later, headlights lit up Penelope’s driveway.
She put her shoulder holster on and seated her Sigma in it. The action brought her back to the present. She stood on the porch until Officer Saunders got out of his cruiser.
“Chance, is everything okay?” There was no trace of his usually laid-back and goofy demeanor. He was all business.
“I hope so. A truck was out on the road there. It left when I got here. I want to go see if there are any clues about why they were here.” She paused. “It could’ve been teenagers, but in light of recent events . . .”
“I think you were right to call, Chance.” He was taking her seriously. “You’ve got to follow your gut. Better safe than sorry.”
“I figured you’d understand. Got a spare flashlight?”
“One step ahead of you.”
Saunders held up a small duffle bag. He reached inside, pulled out a flashlight, and tossed it to Penelope. She caught it and switched it on. Saunders armed himself with a flashlight as well and slung the bag over his shoulder.
“Which way?” he asked.
Penelope pointed at the clump of trees at the top of the incline that led to her house. The bushes and groundcover were thick and tangled. She looked at Saunders, and he nodded. She pointed up the driveway, and they crunched through the gravel toward the road, shining their lights in a sweeping motion as they went.
Their flashlights shone on fresh tire tracks in the dirt road under the row of trees.
“Definitely a truck,” Saunders noted. “You know anyone with a truck?”
Another Chance (A Penelope Chance Mystery Book 2) Page 16
