Jane turned to it.
“It was a post at Voice of the Programmer. It was posted an hour ago.”
Jane read it with a lump in her throat. To her relief, it was not a post asking for violence against Maggie. But it did suggest a group meet up. The author called himself “Gametegrity.”
“How do we get an invite to this shindig?” Jake asked.
Brenna kept her eyes on the screen. “We don’t.”
“But we need to.” The papers shook in Jane’s hand.
“He knows me. He knows my online name. He won’t let me in.”
“But we could get in.” Jake’s jaw still twitched, but his eyes were lit up with excitement.
“You’d never be able to set up an account and establish credibility in time to get an invite.”
“What about Maggie? Or Ayla?”
“You don’t think he’d recognize his sister or his wife?”
“So what can we do? Do we take the info to the police?”
“No way.” Brenna reached for the papers. “I called you because you are a private detective. You’ve got to sort this out.”
Jane’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She wanted to sort it out, that’s why she wanted an invite to the meet up.
“Okay. Meet us at the SCoRI office tomorrow morning. We’ll need to get Flora and Rocky on this.” Jake held out his hand for the papers.
Brenna pressed them to her chest. “Okay.”
“We have to run. The dinner tonight is still going to be useful, I think.” Jane stood up, her eyes glued to the print outs.
“Come and get me in the morning,” Brenna said. “I’m not leaving my room until then.”
“Of course.” Jane tried to speak in a soothing tone, but she was too excited, and Brenna too scared, for it to make any difference.
They were only a few minutes late for dinner with Jeremiah. He and his girlfriend didn’t seem to notice. He sat in a booth with his arm across her bare shoulders. She giggled at something he said and tossed her long hair over her shoulder.
“So sorry!” Jane slid into the booth.
“I’m Jake.” He offered his hand across the table.
Jeremiah peeled his arm off of his girlfriend and shook hands with Jake. “Glad you could come.
“I’m Sierra.” The girlfriend picked up her glass and took a sip.
“Tell me everything.” Jane leaned on her elbows, ignoring the menu.
Jeremiah laughed. “So, here’s the thing, this Brad guy…he was disturbed when I brought up your name. What did you do to him?”
The waiter came over before Jane could answer.
“Give us both the lasagna and a Coke,” Jake said.
The waiter looked at Jane. “This works for you?”
Jane stared at the waiter. What did she want from her? “Er…”
“Lasagna?”
“Yes! Of course. That’s great.” Jane passed over her menu.
“Great.” The waiter gave Jane a second glance, but left.
“Back to Brad. I am investigating a murder, and he is acting very suspiciously,” Jane said.
“Ooh.” Sierra fanned herself. “That’s crazy. Are you kidding?”
“Nope,” Jake said. “Jane doesn’t joke about murder. So you said you had something to tell us about this Brad guy. We know some stuff. We know he’s a journalist looking for his big break. And we know he doesn’t mind stretching the truth to get a lead. What do you know?”
Jeremiah nodded, his face serious. “Gotcha. Okay. He took us out to lunch. I knew he wanted to dig up some gossip about the person who had been stealing from the zoo.”
“And it looked like your boss was going to give him everything he wanted,” Jane said.
“Exactly. I couldn’t let her do that. We rely on donations. Bad press could be devastating.”
“I completely understand,” Jake said. “I’m in F and D myself.”
“I did my best to dominate the convo, to stifle Brenda. Brad got very angry,” Jeremiah said.
“How do you mean?” Jane sipped her water.
“He’s a yeller,” Jeremiah said. “And he’s a table flipper. Not literally, but he did this.” Jeremiah jumped up, both hands flat on the table and leaned in. Then he sat back down. “You know what I mean?”
“Sounds like he’s on his last nerve,” Jake said.
“We think he saw something related to this murder. I bet that’s what’s weighing on him.” Jane said.
“When was this murder?”
“About two weeks ago now,” Jane said. “If he was sniffing around the journalistic integrity in gaming issue at that time, and saw something about the murder, it could explain everything.”
“Maybe,” Jeremiah said. “But the first time I met him he was almost just as bad, and that was last month.”
“Oh.” Jane stirred the ice in her water cup. “How exactly did you drag me into the conversation?”
“I casually mentioned that I had gotten the T-shirts in and that Jane from the detectives had brought them. Then, I threw in that I knew you back in college.”
Sierra waved down the waiter. “Can we get some more breadsticks?”
“Sure thing.” She hadn’t brought Jane and Jake’s Cokes yet, but Jane didn’t say anything.
“Is that when Brad threatened to tip the table?”
“Not exactly. First he just got flustered. He complained that I was turning the subject. So I suggested he was trying to keep me from talking about Bible School. That’s when he got angry.”
“What exactly did he do?”
“He jumped up and started yelling, saying I was hiding behind religion. Frankly, it was weird.”
Weird, but not really useful. Jane sighed. She would rather have stayed with Brenna to talk her into getting an invite to Kyle’s meet up.
“But what exactly did he say?” Jake said.
The waitress came with the Cokes and bread sticks.
“I don’t think I remember exactly. He said I was hiding. He called me a hypocrite. He was trying to claim I was covering for the employee who took the funds.” Jeremiah’s color rose again. “And maybe I was. I know what she did was awful, but she’s my friend, and I don’t see the need to drag her name in the mud. She’s getting punished enough.”
“What did you do next?” Jane asked.
“I asked him to sit down. I said he was being ridiculous.”
“And he said?” Jane bit a breadstick, suddenly happy for the waitress and all she was doing for them.
“That’s when it really got interesting. First he sat back down, then he said he was sorry. He put his recorder away and said he wanted me to talk off the record.”
“About the volunteer funds?”
“No, about you.” Jeremiah lowered his voice. “And that’s why I thought we should talk. He wanted to know how long you had been working for that detective place. He wanted to know how involved you were in the zoo investigation. Then he slowed down and got real specific. He wanted to know what your hours were. He wanted to know who your roommates were. It was really messed up.”
“Freaky,” Sierra said. “Sounds like a crazy stalker.”
“Dude. Someone ran over my sister at Jane’s place.”
“I don’t know man, but it seems like it could have been him,” Jeremiah said.
“Was that it?” Jane asked. “Just…a bit too many questions?”
“What did you expect? Him to tell me that he watched the murder from his parked car? Don’t think so. But I do think you need to be very careful with this guy.”
“Of course.” Always with the vague warnings. Did everyone but her think she was in over her head?
“Of course.” Jake repeated it, but with a touch of sarcasm. “Of course. Jane, this is serious. This guy is a crazy lunatic. He knows where you live and where you work. How exactly do you plan on keeping yourself safe?”
Jane looked around the table. Sierra’s big blue eyes were wide, and she shook her head no, with a ti
ny motion. Jeremiah’s brows were furrowed.
Jake looked pained. His jaw did the twitchy thing but his brown eyes, the ones that had won her heart, were wide with fear.
“It’s too late to drop the case.” Jane straightened up. “So I’ll have to report this to Flora and ask her advice. Until then…” She sighed. “The smart money is to maybe relocate Gemma and I, just for a few nights.”
“I didn’t tell him anything. I told him he was crazy. I told him he could have that on the record. And I told him I was going to report his questions to the police.”
Sierra sucked in a sharp breath.
“And then I did. He stormed out, and I called the cops and told them how the conversation had gone. To be honest, I don’t know that they are going to do anything about it, but I don’t make idle threats.”
“You’re a good man.” Jake passed his phone to Jane. “I already dialed. Tell her to come to my place tonight. You and she are rooming together. Anyone who wants to think that we are up to no good can think it. I’d rather your reputation suffered than that he killed you.”
“Point taken.”
“What are you two waiting for, anyway?” Sierra asked, a little smile playing at her mouth. “I mean, why not just get married?”
Jane closed her eyes and tried to count to ten, but Jake interrupted.
“Because good things are worth the wait.”
Jeremiah laughed. “Spoken like a man who just doesn’t get it, but is trying to be okay with it.”
“About right.”
Gemma didn’t answer her call, so Jane hung up and sent her a text. The reasons to get married fast were adding up, and she was tired of fighting it. Maybe they’d drive through somewhere tomorrow and get it done. That wouldn’t kill her parents at all.
Gemma made it to the old Crawford place sometime after midnight. Jane was still awake, but safely tucked away in a bedroom that was not Jake’s.
Of course, he was with her, but that wasn’t anybody’s business but theirs and all they did was talk anyway.
They talked about the wedding and how they could probably pull it off in six weeks after all. They also talked about the psycho-stalker Brad.
“Tomorrow I don’t have anything official to do until a three pm coffee thing with the wife of the guy who owns Speedy Rotor. They’re interested in supporting our work.”
“That’s great. You deserve to sleep in.”
Jake laughed and lifted Jane’s hand to his lips. “I thought I’d go to the office with you instead. I know that Jeremiah didn’t tell Brad your hours or anything like that, but that doesn’t mean he’s not parked across the street waiting for you.”
Jane squeezed his hand. “I won’t turn down your company.”
Gemma popped the bedroom door open, and knocked on it. “Any room in the inn?”
“Welcome to the Crawford Protection Agency, Home for Troubled Girls.”
Gemma curled up on the bed. “You can call me troubled, just don’t call me late for dinner.”
“You missed dinner entirely.”
Gemma giggled. “Not if you think of tonight as tomorrow. In that case, I’m very, very early.”
Jake kissed the top of Jane’s head. “Good night, baby. See you in the morning.”
“Night.” Jane climbed into the other bed, still in her clothes.
“So things with this case are pretty serious, huh?”
“More so than I wanted them to be. There’s this guy who seems really threatening. He knows something, and instead of telling us what it is, he is trying to silence us. Me. Not us. We think he’s the guy who hit Phoebe.”
“Do you think maybe you are in over your head?” Gemma yawned.
“No.” Jane pulled her blanket up to her chin. “If I have been called to do this, God will give me the resources I need to get it done.” She rolled towards the wall, so she didn’t have to look at her cousin in the other twin bed. And she prayed that she would believe what she had just said, because she really, really didn’t want to die before her honeymoon.
Sixteen
“Hey, babe, Phoebe just called and she needs me to pick her up at the hospital this morning.” Jake gave her the news as he handed her a cup of coffee. It helped.
She sipped the coffee before responding. “Okay.”
“Can you call Flora and ask her if you can meet her later? Explain about the terrifying stalker guy and how you’d prefer to come with me.”
“I’ll be fine.” Jane stretched her arms over her head. Jake had dark circles under his eyes, and a worry line right between his eyebrows. But Jane felt perfectly fine. The sun sent streaks of thin light through her curtains. The coffee was hot and strong. Nothing was as bad in the morning as it was at night.
He looked at his watch, and then at her again. “Sorry I let you sleep so late.”
She glanced at the bedside clock—8:30. Eight thirty? She sprung from bed. “How? Why? It’s almost three hours later than usual. What on earth?” She flung herself from the bed.
“You really needed sleep. You’ve been working too hard the last, um, twenty-three years.”
“Jake, not funny. I had a client this morning.”
“A cleaning client?”
Jane rubbed her eyes. Then she took another sip of her coffee. “No, I didn’t. I just do so often.”
“Then calm down. Take a deep breath. Come with me to get Phoebe, and then after we deliver her safely home we can go see Flora and Rocky and discuss how to handle it when a contact goes crazy.
“I’d feel better if I could have that conversation sooner rather than later.”
Jake’s jaw twitched. “And I’d feel better if I could send you out into the world with a concealed weapon.”
“I’ll put it on the to-do list, right after getting a shower and some breakfast. Now scat.”
“I think you should put it right before the shower, but it’s your list.” Jake gave her a half smile and left.
She made quick work of her shower and breakfast and hit the road for Oregon City.
She parked behind the building that housed the SCoRI office. Her hands felt oddly empty, like she should be carrying a briefcase full of evidence. But she didn’t have one. Just her regular little purse with her regular phone, and the story Jeremiah shared the night before.
She slung her purse over her shoulder and paused by the car to get her thoughts in order. What exactly was she asking from her mentors today? How to protect herself from a potential stalker? How to be a detective without inspiring stalkers? How to catch a stalker with your bare hands? She chuckled to herself. Better to just lay the facts out for the team and see what they have to say. She could pose specific questions as they occurred to her.
She took a step forward, but her purse strap was stuck. She gave it a jerk, but it jerked back.
“Glad to see I didn’t miss you.” The voice hissed in her ear, but she recognized it: Brad Carter.
She slid her arms over her head and twisted, slipping out of the strap of her purse. Then she ran. But he ran, too and caught her around the waist. “Come on. I’ve got to show you something.”
She tried to slither out from his grasp, but he transferred his arm to hers, hooking her in.
He didn’t punch, hit, or threaten. And he didn’t appear to have a weapon. So she didn’t scream. There’d be time for screaming after she learned what he wanted.
They walked calmly to his Honda, where he popped the door open for her. “Get in.”
It occurred to Jane that it might be a good time to start screaming, but she still held it in reserve. “Not gonna happen.”
“I warned you this was a dangerous case. I answered your boss’s questions. But you won’t drop it and you won’t leave me alone. You want to know what I know? I’ll show you. But you’ve got to come with me now, and quietly.”
If Jane had had the concealed weapon Jake had been promoting she would have been able to take the situation in hand, by force. Until then she’d have to use her wits
and trust God. Oh, and the mace in her purse. She thanked God for the small miracle of that tiny can of painful spray. “If you have something important to show me, I will follow you. But I won’t get in the car.”
Brad gritted his teeth so hard she could hear them. Then he slammed the door. “Fine. Your car. But I drive.”
“I haven’t screamed yet, but I still could. My car, I drive. Your car, you drive. I follow. Does that make sense? Or I run and scream and you get arrested. Up to you.”
Brad cracked his knuckles. “Fine. Fine. You just need to come with me. It’s for your own good.” He handed her purse back. “Don’t try any funny business.”
Jane wondered if that had sounded as stupid to him as it had to her as she got into her car. She took his willingness to let her follow as a good sign. He hesitated at the passenger door to her car, but eventually turned and went to his own.
As soon as his back was to her, she texted Flora. “Following Brad the journalist somewhere. Could be dangerous. Don’t know if I’m being smart or stupid.”
Flora didn’t respond.
Brad flashed his lights at Jane, as though they had a prearranged sign. She rolled her eyes and followed him. He led her the back way to SE Portland. He drove past her normal stomping grounds and a shiver of fear raced up and down her spine. At a long stop light she glanced at her phone, but there was no new message from Flora. She would have given her left hand to have Jake with her.
They went so far out on Foster Road, Jane thought for a moment he was going to lead her to the wilderness to kill her, but a quick glance at the street sign showed her she had overreacted. They were just a few blocks past 92nd. You couldn’t be that close to the mall and worry about being hacked to death—could you?
He turned into an industrial area—it looked like some kind of quarry, and maybe a recycling plant. Large, aluminum structures sent long dark shadows across the parking lot.
Jane took a snapshot of the sign at the nearest building and sent it with a text to Flora. “This is where he took me, if I never make it out.” She bit the inside of her cheek, willing herself to believe her words were just a joke.
Brad parked in a crowded parking lot. Plenty of people were around, working, running the heavy equipment in the background, but none of them paid attention to Jane or Brad.
Spoiled Rotten Murder: A Plain Jane Mystery (The Plain Jane Mysteries Book 5) Page 14
