“Six thirty. See you there.” Jessie hung up and headed for Matt’s car to wait.
****
They left the crime scene, and Jessie got back to her car with about two hours to make it home and get ready. She needed to shower and to decide what to do about the red dress. Katie would never let her hear the end of it if she didn’t wear it. It was a great dress, but it seemed a little on the short side, or maybe she was just too tall. The color was great on her though.
Jessie was ready with a little time to spare. She had her hair pulled up in a cascade of curls to show off her small diamond earrings from her dad. She had to admit the dress was a knockout. She glanced one last time in the mirror trying to tug it down another inch. She put on her lipstick, grabbed her evening bag and a shawl to keep off the evening chill, then made her way to the waterfront and the restaurant.
****
Katie paused in the entry to the restaurant scanning the room for Matt and the others. They were over by the big window. No Jessie? Good! She smiled as she made her way across the crowded dining room. Matt introduced Katie to Frank and Tom. She knew everyone else including most of the other people in the restaurant.
“Save me the seat next to you, Dylan. I’ll be over in a minute.” She sat down next to Matt.
“Where’s Jessie? I thought you two would come together?” He reached for a roll from the overflowing basket.
“I wanted to get here before her.” She leaned close to Matt and lowered her voice. “I wanted to see everyone’s reaction.”
“Reaction to what?” Matt grinned, searching her face. “What are you up to?”
“Remember I told you that I have a theory I’m working on.” She tilted her head back and glanced at him. “You are probably the only guy who I know who seems to be immune. Jessie has no clue what she does to men, but I watch it happen all the time. I came early to see what happens tonight. Every time she gives a guy her full attention, he is rendered speechless, or gets all twitter-pated as I like to say.”
“Why would you say that?” Matt gave her a quizzical look.
“I have the joy and honor of fielding the questions that they ask about her. None of them ever asks her out. They think she’s out of their league. And then I get asked out by the very same guys.” She smiled at him. “I’ll think you’ll even find it a little hard tonight, when you see her. But then again, I’ve been wrong about you before. I bet your good-looking friend Tom will be interested though.” She looked up at him through her lashes.
“I thought you were her friend.” He grinned, chucking her on the chin. “You little minx…”
“I am. I absolutely think she’s the best. Her father did a real number on her. She’s shy when it comes to relationships. Not you, of course. You’re one of the guys and when she’s with you, she is too.” She laughed at Matt’s puzzled expression. “Guys always wanted to date her, but she never gave them any encouragement. She’s not pushy like me.”
“Is that so?” His brow lifted in challenge.
“You’re about to see my theory tested out. Jessie has just arrived.” Katie gave Matt a sly wink and scooted to the chair beside Dylan.
Katie smiled at how insightful her little experiment actually was. No male at the table could take their eyes off Jessie. Matt was the worst. He acted nonchalant, but Katie noticed his eyes kept drifting to Jessie. She knew her hunch had been right.
She almost laughed out loud when Matt introduced Jessie to Tom. His expression was comical. Katie had seen it often enough.
“Tom, this is Jessie, the lady I was telling you about earlier.”
“Uh, nice to meet you…” Tom tipped his head to her.
Katie looked at Matt and mouthed the words. “See what I mean.”
“Behave.” He frowned at her.
Jessie walked over and said something to Frank, laughed at something Kip said, and smiled at Dylan on her way back to the chair next to Matt.
“You’re late.” He growled at her.
“Don’t start on me. It’s just now six thirty. I didn’t get home until late. I had to get ready you know.”
“It must have worked,” he said taking a breath. “You look like a girl.”
“If that was a compliment, I think you could use some help.” She giggled, patting him on the arm.
He turned away from her and changed the subject. “Frank, as I watched you earlier with your dog, I wondered about a couple of things.”
“What do you want to know?”
“I noticed you took off his harness and changed to a collar when you started the track. Why did you do that?”
“Bloodhounds tend to get depressed if they don’t find the person they’re looking for alive. When I’m doing decomp work and looking for blood evidence or a body, the change in collar alerts Radar to the fact he’s looking for decomposition and not a living person.”
“Wow, he understands all that by changing from a harness to collar.” Kip looked impressed. “Does every trainer do that?”
“The group I work with all train their dogs the same way. It changes how the dog works the track. Tomorrow if we look for the little girl, Radar will wear the harness, and he will know he’s looking for a living person.”
They asked Frank more questions about Radar. Katie reached across the table to grab Jessie’s hand. “You look sensational. Red looks so much better on you than me, and I love red.”
“You look pretty great yourself, Miss Donovan. That color brings out the red in your hair.”
“Did you notice not one of these guys said anything? I guess we’ll have to give each other compliments if we want any.”
“Matt told me I looked like a girl,” Jessie whispered.
“Are you kidding me?” Katie giggled until they all turned to look. She faked a cough. “What are you thinking of having for dinner?” Katie picked up the menu.
“What’s good here?” Jessie glanced over at her and smiled.
“What’s not is a better question.”
Katie wondered what was going on in Matt’s head as he watched them. She knew he was the perfect man for her friend. But Jessie was oblivious, and Matt wasn’t much better. He was very interested. Katie could see it. Even with all of her helpful nudges, they weren’t getting it. She was going to have to step it up a notch.
When Matt asked Jessie to tell Tom about how she got involved with the Harvest Club case and this new one, Katie started plotting how to get them together.
Jessie told them about her encounter with Gina’s ghost, her near-death experience at the hand of the former police chief, and about Abigail, the little girl now speaking inside her head.
“Are you a psychic?” Tom’s voice sounded disappointed as he asked it.
She chuckled. “Absolutely not! I’m a church secretary who is still trying to figure out if I’m weird, though.” All three men laughed.
“Whatever it is, she made a world of difference in our first case, and with Frank’s help we’re moving forward in this one.” Matt leaned back in his chair.
“What are we looking at for tomorrow, Matt?” Frank asked.
“I’m hoping we can take a shot at trying to find the girl. I’m not sure what can be done, but we have to give it a try.” Matt placed his arm over the back of Jessie’s chair without thinking about it. “Do you have any ideas how we should go about it?”
“We need to go back to where we were today. She was probably there with the other children. That might be a good starting point.” Frank paused. “Do you have something that belongs to the little girl?”
“Yes, her parents brought something.” Matt realized where he had placed his arm and quickly removed it, knocking Jessie in the head. “Sorry…” He dropped his arm to his side. “Tom, do you want to ride along?”
“You bet.” He turned and watched Jessie and Katie stand up.
“We’ll be right back!” Katie smiled in a flirtatious way. “Don’t talk about us while were gone.” She winked.
****
“Several years. I met her when my dog did a track to find an autistic child.”
“Was she always so unconventional in her approach to cases?”
“No. I know she is struggling with the experiences she’s having now.” Frank looked after her with fatherly concern. “She told me as much. However, she has always been intuitive, caring, and good at what she does. I simply think it flows from who she is.” Frank fidgeted with his napkin.
“You’re right about that. She’s nice to pretty much everyone.” Kip nodded.
Dylan laughed, “Everyone except for Matt, that is. The two of them argue all the time. Of course it doesn’t help that he calls her Jess and teases her all the time.”
The girls’ return, along with their dinner, saved Matt from any further embarrassment. Steak and lobster all around, except for Jessie. She had a grilled chicken breast on a bed of greens; followed by the crème brûlée that she shared with Katie.
“What time are we going out tomorrow?” Jessie turned to look at Matt.
He tried to focus on the question, but her steady gaze was making it hard. “Frank, what time would you like to get started?” He turned away from her.
“The earlier Radar starts the better—how about seven thirty?”
“Seven thirty it is.” Matt looked around the table and everyone nodded.
After dinner, Jessie went to the other end of the table and pulled up a chair to talk to Frank, which gave Matt a chance to observe her and listen. He noticed Dylan, Kip, and Tom were also interested in that end of the table. Katie just smiled and kept winking at him.
“See what I mean?” She giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Dylan turned to look at Katie.
“I was just thinking of a conversation I had earlier, nothing important.”
A little while later Jessie stood and gave Frank a hug. “I’m so glad I had some time to catch up with you. Please give your family my love. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walked around to Katie. “I need to get going. I want to finish my story about Joshua. The article needs editing, and then I have to send it on to Neil. Thank you, Matt; I appreciate being included tonight and dinner. It was nice to meet you, Tom. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Katie stood up and left with her, stopping Jessie’s progress along the way to talk to everyone she knew.
****
With the bill paid, the men walked out together. Tom headed back to his motel room, Dylan dropped Kip off at his car, and Matt drove with Frank back to his place. Matt’s house stood in a slightly wooded area on a hillside with an unobstructed view of the cove. His parents had given him the house when they moved to Boston, but after his remodel, the place did not even resemble the house of his boyhood years.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier. Your house is amazing. Dylan told me you did all the work yourself.” Frank sounded impressed.
“I did, it was my therapy time. I love restoring and remodeling things. Working with my hands is a great stress reliever for me.” He ran a hand along the glossy wood trim around the window. “I had a contractor work on the exterior and the windows facing the cove, but the inside work was done by me.”
“You did a great job, especially with all the woodwork and built-in bookshelves. It’s fine craftsmanship.”
“Thanks, I’m proud of it all.” Matt smiled, his gaze sweeping around the room.
“I love the way you restored your truck, too. It’s a beaut.” Frank had noticed the quality of the leather on the seats.
“That was a fun project. I’ve always liked older cars and trucks. There’s a lot of my heart and soul in that venture.” He looked over at Frank. “I think Jessie’s Mustang is sweet. Someone did a great job with it.”
“Speaking of Jessie…” Frank paused. “Jessie’s a pretty woman, but more than that, she’s sweet.”
“She sure is.” Matt nodded.
“She tends to protect herself. She is very careful about men. I saw the way some of them were looking at her tonight.”
“They would have to be blind not to notice. She’s damn pretty.” Matt drummed his fingers on the windowsill.
“Mind you, she’s not weak; she can take care of herself. In fact I’ve seen her go toe to toe with any man who challenges her.”
“Boy, don’t I know it.” Matt chuckled. “I got on her wrong side early on. She got eyeball to eyeball with me and put me in my place for sure. We still fight each other some, but I believe we’re friends. We work well together.” Matt dimmed the lights in the living room.
“Watch over her for me, will you?”
“I’ll watch over her.”
“Thanks, Matt. I love Jessie. She’s like my own daughter.” Frank’s expression was pensive. “Jessie greatly admires her Grandma Sadie, whose life was pretty interesting. Has she ever told you about some of the things she has done in her life?”
“No. Although, I have talked to Sadie and I can well imagine.”
“Jessie admires her values and qualities. She is the one person Jessie wants to emulate.” Frank sat down in the leather recliner. Radar plopped down at his feet.
“I doubt she realizes it, but she already does.” Matt smiled and turned on the news.
Chapter 8
Jessie enjoyed her evening but was happy to be home and wearing something comfortable. She was more of a jeans girl than a dress-up girl. She checked her messages and found one from her Grandma Sadie. A brief glance at the clock told her it was early enough to call her.
“Hi, Grams, are you watching your favorite show?”
“It’s not on tonight, some awful special took its place. By the way, I got your email and see you’re back in the thick of it again.”
“It’s weird.” She paced as she talked. “I don’t know why it suddenly has started happening to me again. I did the same work in New York and nothing like this ever happened to me.”
“There are so many investigators in New York, great people working on so many cases. Maybe a smaller town with fewer resources needs an extra edge in solving its crimes. You are just what Blue Cove needs right now. Gina needed you, and now this sweet little girl does, too. I must admit it’s a slightly unconventional method, but if it works, who cares. What matters is the crime is solved.”
“I hope we can kind find Abigail in time. It’s getting colder at night. She’s been without food for several days.”
“You’ll find her, Jessie. Things like this happen for a reason. If you heard her call, you were the one meant to hear it, as strange as that may seem.”
“You always help to put things in perspective. How are Mom and Dad?”
“Fine, but as usual they’re trying to tell me what’s good for me and what’s not. I’m seventy-five for heaven’s sake. If I want to eat a long john with chocolate frosting once in a while, I think I should be able to do so without a lecture about how it’s full of fat and sugar.” She snorted. “I’ve earned that much in my life. At least while you were here, they were too busy telling you how to live your life. Now they have way too much time on their hands.”
“Stand your ground, Grams. As long as you don’t eat like that very often, who cares?”
“That’s what I say, besides, I walk every day and that’s more than I can say for those two. I complain, but you know I love them. I wish they would find another project besides me.”
Jessie giggled. “Think of one quick so they don’t drive you crazy.”
“Maybe I should send them out to check on you.”
“Now, that’s just mean.” She groaned. “There must be something in town or at church you can get them involved in. Is there a disaster somewhere in the country?”
Sadie laughed. “You do my heart good, Jessie girl. I hope someday you’ll be calling to tell me you’re getting married. I want to dance at your wedding.”
“Don’t hold your breath, but maybe Katie will give you a chance to
dance. She’s actively, and I do mean actively, pursuing the matter.”
“Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.” Sadie sounded disappointed.
“I did go on a date of sorts tonight with Katie and five guys.” Jessie smiled imagining the look on Sadie’s face.
Sadie laughed. “A sort of date with five guys at once. Are you interested in one of them maybe?”
“I’m interested in all of them as friends, and we’ll see if anything else develops.”
“Was that nice Matt Parker one of them?”
“Oh no, you don’t, you’ll get no more information from me.” She smiled and slapped her thigh. “You’ll have to get by on what I gave you.”
“All right then, I’ll have to get my information from another source.” She chuckled. “You stay in touch, and call me when you find the girl.”
“I will. Grams, I hope you’re coming for Thanksgiving. Katie is planning a big feast for everyone.”
“We plan on it. Goodnight, sweet girl.”
Jessie smiled as she hung up. She emailed her article on Joshua for edits. Then she would send the article to Neil and Max at the Blue Cove paper. She was just starting the framework and the first paragraph of Abigail’s story when she heard a light tapping on her door. Jessie glanced at her watch; it was almost ten, a little late for a visitor.
“Jessie, are you still awake?” She heard Katie’s voice.
Jessie opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
“Everyone is settled down for the night, and I saw your light on. I wanted to talk.” Katie sat down in one of the floral chairs.
“What’s up?” Jessie sat across from her on the couch.
“Did you enjoy the evening?”
“I did.” Jessie smiled. Katie was up to something. “They’re a great group of guys.”
“I absolutely love that place, and the company would be hard to beat.” Katie laughed, fanning herself. “You hang out with some good-looking guys.”
“Yes, and they’re good friends too.”
“Uh…” Katie paused. “I wanted to tell you I was sorry for teasing you the other night. You’re my best friend and about one of the nicest people I know. I think I got on a kick after your grandma called me the other day.”
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