Learning to Drive... Him Crazy

by Misty Malone

  "What does that mean?" Kelli asked.

  "They're setting it up now. The agents that are with you guys will move you to a house that's all set up with enhanced security, and a couple officers will stay there with you. I have some more I have to do here yet, but when I'm done an agent will bring me there, as well. We'll all stay there, along with a couple agents for added protection, until they have everyone in custody and we won't have to worry about someone out there looking for us."

  John expected to hear some arguments, but no one said a word. He figured they must all have been pretty upset tonight. Finally Alana said, "You'll be there, too, right?"

  "Yes, I will, as soon as I'm done here."

  "Okay. I don't really care where I am, as long as you're there, too. I need to be with you."

  "I know, honey. Me, too."

  Cal asked, "How long will we be there?"

  "Until they get everyone in custody and are sure there's no one else out there looking for us."

  "So work tomorrow—"

  "Will probably not happen," John finished.

  "What will I tell them?"

  "The agents will explain all of that to us, I'm sure," John said. "So you guys are all good with this, right?" When they all seemed to agree, he said, "Okay, I'll go finish answering all their questions, and I'll see you when I get there. Oh, and one more thing."

  "What's that?" Alana asked.

  "I really want to thank you guys for figuring out that Joe was involved, and calling the FBI."

  "I think I can speak for all of us, big brother, when I say we're glad we did, too, but it was mostly Alana."

  "Okay, let me talk to my special little lady a minute again, and I'll see you soon," John said.

  "Okay, it's just you and me again," Alana said.

  "Boy, I wish it were just you and me again right now, honey, with no one else around. I'm looking forward to that. I really need to feel you in my arms again."

  "And I really need to feel your arms around me, too."

  "Soon, honey, soon. Listen to the agents now and I'll see you as soon as I can. I miss you."

  "I miss you, too."

  John hung up, glad none of them seemed upset about the safe house. He went back to the conference table, anxious to answer all their questions so he could get back to the lady he'd fallen in love with. He had not told her that yet, mostly because he hadn't realized it before now, but he knew while he was talking to her that he had indeed fallen in love with her. He smiled when he thought back to how they'd met, and what a scary driver she had been. Now he felt she was ready to take her driving test, as soon as all this was over.

  Lieutenant Berry brought him out of his memories and back to the present. "Were they okay with the safe house?"

  "Actually, they were. Cal's not sure about missing work, what they'll say about that, but none of them argued a bit. I figured they must have been pretty shook up tonight."

  "Could be. I'm glad they're not going to fight it, though. That makes it much easier for everyone. Now, let's get back to these men and anything you may know that could help us find them."

  It was another hour and a half before they both felt they'd gone over everything John may be able to offer to help with their case. He assured them, "You know where I'll be. Any questions that come up, I'll be happy to help as much as I can."

  "Thank you, John, I appreciate that. Now, let's get you to the safe house. I understand you and Alana are rather good friends," Lieutenant Berry said with a grin.

  "Yes, we are," he answered with a grin of his own. "Nothing like a night like tonight to make you realize just how special someone is to you."

  "Make sure you let her know that," he said. "I'm sorry. I mean, I don't have any right to tell you how to handle your personal life. I just—"

  "No apology necessary," John assured him. "I appreciate the advice. I had decided the same thing."

  The two men shook hands. "John, it was good to meet you," Lieutenant Berry said. "I'm sure we'll be talking again over the next few days. Agent Reed will take you over to the safe house now. You can tell Alana how you feel."

  Agent Reed took John to the safe house, again zig zagging their way through the city several times to be positive no one was following them before going to the house. It was just past the edge of town, and didn't look like much on the outside. It was pretty plain looking, not falling down, but certainly not any kind of show place. There was a car sitting in the lane, which he learned later was just for appearance. They would occasionally move it, drive it to the gas station and park it in a different place. That would make the house look more normal to neighbors. He drove around to the back and into the garage.

  Agent Reed knocked on the door and a man answered. "Ryan," the man said, "and you must be John. I'm Agent Brad Barstow."

  Before he could say anything else Alana slipped under Agent Barstow's arm and straight into John's arms. She had tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're finally here."

  Agent Barstow smiled. "You two know each other, do you?"

  They went inside, and John hugged Kelli and Cal, as well. Agent Reed said, "Once you guys have all said your hellos, let's sit down. We need to talk a little about staying in a safe house."

  Agent Barstow and Agent Kline, the two that were already at the safe house, roamed the house, looking out the corners of windows and watching screens hooked up to security cameras, while Agent Reed talked with the 'motel guests', as he referred to them.

  He gave them several instructions, like be sure to stay away from the windows, don't go outside without and agent escort and went over the procedure to follow if someone came to the door. After going over a few more procedures and precautions, he showed them to their rooms. The girls quickly claimed the room with two beds in one room, neither one wanting to be alone. The guys shared a look, but quickly approved, taking the single rooms themselves.

  Cal had brought a few changes of clothes along with him, knowing John was about the same size and could wear them, as well. They were surprised to find that the house was stocked with a few clothes of various sizes, and both girls were able to find not only nightgowns, but clothes to wear the next day.

  They were too wound up to sleep, so the four spent the next hour in the living room, John and Cal holding the girls on their laps, cocooned securely in their arms. They talked about what had taken place, and what made Alana realize Joe was involved. John told them how the FBI rescued him, and admitted he was very relieved when everything went as planned and Agent Reed opened the car door for him and they left.

  After an hour of holding, talking, cuddling, and seeing for themselves that they were all okay, they went to bed.

  John was up early the next morning. He showered and dressed, and went to the kitchen, where he found a pot of coffee.

  Agent Barstow handed him a cup. "Are you always up this early, or is something on your mind?"

  "Thanks for the coffee," John said. "To answer your question, I guess a little of both. I do have a few questions about last night that I can't seem to get worked out in my head.

  Leaning against the counter, the agent asked, "Anything you want to talk about? I may be able to answer one or two things. If not we can ask the lieutenant."

  "Actually, yes, I would appreciate that."

  "I'll do what I can. What's bothering you?"

  "Well, for starters, do we know yet what the gunshots were all about last night?"

  The agent looked over at the kitchen door before saying quietly, "Yes, we do, and I'll tell you, but I'm not sure you'll want everyone hearing it, especially Alana."

  "I agree. If it's what I'm assuming, she doesn't need to hear it."

  He got on his radio and told the other agent he was going in the office to answer questions for John. He led John inside and shut the door behind them. "This room is soundproofed," Agent Barstow explained. "We use it for just such occasions. We don't make it known to everyone in the house, but the lieutenant is likely to have some questions for you as
this investigation goes on, and this is where he'll talk to you. If you have anything you think of that you want to let one of us know, just ask if we can go to the office, and we will do so."

  "Okay, good to know," John said. "Now, the gunshots. They were shooting at me, I take it?"

  "For all intents and purposes, yes. Some of it was officers placing random shots so their story afterward would be believable. There were some shots fired toward the store loading dock so they could say there was a true shoot out between the police and the thieves, and sadly, one of their own was killed during that shoot out. But something else intervened."

  "What was that?" John asked.

  "We're not sure exactly what happened, but there were several pieces of cardboard in the area when they searched for the shell casings for evidence. Newjangles recycles their boxes. They disassemble them after they empty them and stack them in a bin out behind the store. The bin was full and people had stacked some beside the bin. Apparently the wind had been blowing some of them around out back because there were several pieces scattered around. What the agents at the scene think happened is right at about the time you were to come out from behind the dumpster and run toward the loading dock and meet up with the other officers, a piece of this cardboard blew up from the same general area. Our men saw something and were upset, afraid you hadn't gotten our message and it was indeed you. Anyway, apparently the police officers, who were all expecting you to come running from that direction, thought it was you and shot." He shook his head and said, "Sorry to have to tell you that, John."

  "No, it's okay. I'd actually come to that conclusion. Not about the boxes, but I assumed they were shooting at me. After all, I knew entirely too much."

  "You okay?"

  "Yeah, I'm okay," John said. "I was a little upset when I first came to that conclusion, but I'm okay now. I didn't know I had some cardboard to thank for helping me get away, though. I figured they were actually shooting at me, not the cardboard," he added with a bit of a laugh. Getting serious again, he asked, "Okay. I assumed that was the case, and that leads me to this next question. Why did they go through this whole charade? They could have gotten rid of me—" He swallowed and squared his shoulders before continuing. "They could have gotten rid of me and the other three without going through this whole charade. The four of us have gone out to eat or on other outings semi regularly, and we usually all go together in one vehicle. Why go through all this?"

  "We've wondered the same thing, John, and we're asking questions to that effect. We'll keep you informed of anything we find."

  "Okay, thank you. One last question. I know you wanted us to stay here while you investigate and make sure you have everyone involved. Last night you said you were hoping the two who were caught breaking into Cal's house were the two missing officers. That didn't register until after I'd gone to bed. Were you suggesting two of them that were at the scene left to go to find the ruby?"

  "We were hoping maybe that was the case, since they wouldn't really need them all there, seeing that in reality it wasn't really a stakeout. But that wasn't the case. We think the two at Cal's house may have been the actual thieves that stole the gems. Apparently how the whole system worked is the officers found the jewels and did the surveillance so they knew when the best time was to send the guys in to steal them. The officers also found the gemologist that made them into jewelry so they wouldn't be recognized, and set up the sales. We think some of them even served as lookouts during the actual thefts."

  "Wow," John said. "So who of the nine men that were there last night don't you have?"

  "The two that somehow managed to escape were your partner, Joe Decker, and Patrolman Nate Cooper. Is there anything you can tell us about any connection there may be between them?"

  "Not really. Joe never mentioned Nate that I can remember."

  "Okay. At this point we don't know if they're together somewhere or if they both slipped away on their own. If you think of anything at all that may help locate them—"

  "I'll let you know," he assured them. "So you got Chief Nelson?"

  "We did."

  "Is he the leader of all this?"

  "We're not sure yet, but we don't think so."

  "Really?"

  "He denies it, although he admits being involved. His name hasn't come up much, though, so we don't think he is. Or was."

  "Okay, that's all the questions I have right now." They both got up to leave, when John stopped. "You know, Nate is divorced, but he still cares a lot about his ex-wife, and I think she has similar feelings for him. You might want to talk to her, see if she has any idea where he might be."

  "Okay, we will. Thanks."

  * * * * *

  The agents were always in the house, a minimum of two, occasionally a third if they were bringing a message or food or something, but they gave the four of them as much privacy as was possible. They always made sure their 'guests' knew where they were in case they needed them, however.

  The first day at the safe house John and Alana were together almost constantly. Cal and Kelli were just about as desperate to be together. The two couples spent time together, all four of them, but they also made sure they had time alone. The house had a living room, a den and a library full of books for anyone who liked to read. The den and the library had doors and made a good spot for a private conversation.

  They all spent the morning together. Cal, who was the head of the marketing department at a local manufacturing company, was concerned about not being at work. The FBI had called all of their employers. They told his company that he was a witness and under their protection until the suspects were all arrested, at which time he would be released and could go back to work. Cal had a meeting with a potential new client in three days, though, and hoped to be out in time to prepare for the meeting.

  Kelli was an administrative assistant and hadn't been happy with her boss lately, so she wasn't real concerned what they thought. The FBI agent told her if they tried to fire her for not being there to let him know and he'd talk with them. The way she saw it, she was getting a vacation from her boss.

  Alana wasn't too concerned, either, because Marilyn didn't have much coming up in the near future, so she could handle it herself.

  John knew he had nothing to worry about as far as his job being in jeopardy, but he sure would like to be a fly on the wall and see what was going on within the police department right now and who was saying what about whom.

  Kelli and Alana searched the kitchen and found something to make for lunch. They ate in the living room so they could watch the news at noon. The big story all the stations were talking about was how the FBI caught the jewel thieves last night, and the fact that the thieves were members of the local police department, including the police chief. It was reported that another member of the police force played a crucial part in exposing the theft ring and working with the FBI, but he was not being named until they caught the last two officers thought to be involved. They then showed pictures of Joe and Nate Cooper. The mayor said he would have a comment later in the day, including something about the police force. They were all anxious to hear what he'd have to say later.

  After lunch was over and the dishes were done Cal said, "Kelli and I found some DVDs in the library, and we're going to watch a movie. You guys want to watch, too?"

  John quickly declined. "Thanks, but I have something I want to talk to Alana about. We're going to go to the library so I'll have her undivided attention."

  "Okay," Cal said. "We'll be in the living room if you change your mind."

  John took Alana's hand, noting the nervous expression on her face, and led her to the library. He sat down on the couch, pulling her down with him and putting his arm around her shoulder. He gently pulled her up next to him and she laid her head against his shoulder. "I've missed this, Alana."

  "Me, too," she said, snuggling in against him.

  He was content just holding her for a little while like that, but she was suspicious, and a littl
e nervous about what he wanted to talk about. After about five minutes of quietly cuddling, she tentatively asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

  He noted the concern in her voice. "I just wanted to hold you and make sure you're okay, honey."

  "That's it?" She sounded relieved. "I told you I'm fine."

  "I know that's what you said, and I know physically you are fine," he agreed. "I just want to assure myself that you're okay emotionally, as well. You've gone through some pretty rough moments here lately that would upset anyone. Knowing someone went through your apartment, trashed it from what I hear, has to be upsetting. I know you were worried about me last night. Are you sure you're okay? It's perfectly okay to feel scared or upset, or a whole host of other emotions. I would like to know about any feelings like that, though, so I can be there for you and help you through it."

  She looked up at him and smiled. It was a big smile that was full of love. He couldn't stop himself from leaning down and kissing the end of her nose. "What's that big smile for, honey?"

  "You're always concerned about me. You went through more than I did last night, but you're concerned about me."

  "There's a reason for that, you know."

  "There is?"

  "Yes, an explanation of sorts. You see, I love you."

  She had been cuddling up against him, but when he said those words she was quiet, and became still. He became concerned, until she whispered, "You do?"

  "Yes, I do," he confirmed. "The events of the last few days have made that perfectly clear to me, and that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to make sure you know my heart. I'm not trying to rush you, or asking you to reciprocate, but I do want you to know how I feel about you." He chuckled a bit as he said, "And that probably explains why I'm concerned about you. I not only care a great deal about you, but I care because I love you."

  She turned around to look him in the eyes, eyes that were full of love and sincerity. She kept his gaze as she said, "Thank you. I'm really glad to hear that because last night while I was so worried about you, I realized the reason I was so worried is because I love you, too."