Stand

by Becky Johnson

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then how do you know the senior partners weren’t happy?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice got louder and her eyes looked like those of a hunted animal.

  “Okay, well why did you say that they weren’t happy?”

  “All I know is that the morning he went missing there was a big meeting with all the bigwigs. After the meeting Mr. Barnes seemed tense.”

  Tense, like Cindy was right now. I smiled reassuringly, took a slow sip of tea to stay calm and asked, “Do you know the details of the case?”

  “No, I don’t. The files were restricted. No one knew anything.”

  “Why did you call me?”

  She looked down at her coffee on the table. Her fingers tapped out a pattern on the side of the cup. “You called and everyone got tense again.”

  I used my silence tactic again. The tension in her body coiled tighter.

  “I just wanted you to stop asking questions.” There was a genuine plea in her voice. “I just wanted work to be normal.”

  We talked for a few more minutes, but I was unable to get anything else out of her. I stayed at the café long after she left, thinking.

  I now knew that I was onto something big. I had to learn more about that case. Whatever Jimmy was working on, it was important. I pulled my tablet out of my bag, logged into the café wifi, and spent the next hour searching for information about estate and elder law. I looked for old cases. Washington D.C. has an online repository of docket entries for civil cases. I used Jimmy’s name and the law firm’s name to search for cases, especially cases that occurred in the last few months before he disappeared.

  I found two cases that Jimmy personally filed. The firm filed many more. But the legal jargon was foreign to me. I needed to talk to someone who understood what I was reading. A quick search brought up several law libraries. I picked the closest one and took off walking with Max at my side.

  When I got there the man at the front desk gave Max a look, but no one said anything. The vest works wonders. People won’t refuse a service dog. I headed toward some tables and chairs in the back. There were several law students spread around the room, studying thick leather-bound books. I figured they would be the best ones to help me.

  Once settled at a table with Max lying on the floor beside my chair, I opened up my tablet, used the library wifi to pull up the court’s website, and got the cases on the page. I limited them to five that caught my interest: four filed by the firm and one filed by Jimmy. I spent hours reviewing cases. The law students were helpful, although I got the feeling after a while that I was annoying them. The legal jargon was overwhelming and despite my copious notes I didn’t feel like I had made any real progress.

  When I checked my phone it was seven in the evening, later than I intended to stay in the city. If I left right now, I could still make it home by nine-thirty. I packed up my notebooks and tablet. Max and I walked back to my SUV in the parking garage.

  I would have made it home by nine-thirty without any trouble, except for an accident on route 95. I sat on the highway for three hours and traffic barely moved. I reminded myself that there was no point in being inpatient. It wasn’t easy though, especially when I could feel Max’s anxiety to be out of the car.

  Finally I was free of the traffic jam and was driving north toward New Jersey. I still had two and half hours to drive before I could settle in safe at home.

  As I drove along I listened to the radio and sang along with Pink. I tried not to think about Jimmy. I didn’t have enough information. Everything I had discovered spun through my head. Facts and speculation went round and round. I had no answers. Thinking about it right now wasn’t helping. So I purposefully tried to take a break. Pink was helping me.

  I had just crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number that popped up onto my navigation screen. I debated whether or not to answer. It could be some type of sales call. It had rung four or five times before I finally hit the accept button.

  “Hello?”

  The voice that responded was formal.

  “Is this Charlotte Marshall?”

  “It is.”

  “This is Karen from the alarm company. Is everything okay?”

  Time stopped for a heartbeat as a million horrible scenarios flashed through my mind before jolting back with hyper-clarity.

  “I’m not at home. What happened?”

  “Your alarm sounded.” Her voice was calm and professional, designed to keep me from panicking, “I am sending a unit out now.”

  I have a top of the line home security alarm. In addition to entrance alarms there are motion sensors at key locations throughout my home. I am obsessive about setting it. It also is specifically designed not to be set off by Max or Kitty. In addition to the motion sensors, there are three cameras that I can access at any time. I found the first place I could and pulled over. After double checking that Bertha’s doors were locked I pulled out my tablet and fired up the 3G. A few clicks and I was looking at a view of my front entrance, the back entrance, and the garage.

  I didn’t see anything. It looked perfectly normal. The alarm register showed that the motion sensor on the main floor had been tripped about twelve minutes ago. The perimeter alarm had never sounded. I breathed a sigh of relief. Kitty must have somehow climbed high enough to trip the alarm.

  I was just about to put the tablet away and pull back into traffic, when something at the garage caught my attention. I brought the video feed up as the main feed. I didn’t see anything, then movement to the right of the screen. To my horror I watched a man dressed in black with a ski mask pulled over his face step into the screen. His eyes, hidden in the shadow of the mask, looked right at the camera. Right at me. There was an intruder in my home.

  Chapter 12

  For a moment I was frozen, like a rabbit in the sight of a hawk. Then like switching on a light I was in motion. I threw my tablet into the center console. The alarm company had contacted the police. I needed to focus on getting home, right now and reclaiming my space. From the corner of my eye I could see movement on the screen of the tablet. I refused to let it distract me.

  As I pulled back into traffic I used the voice command on my cell phone to call Jack.

  The first call rang but no one picked up. That’s fair. It was almost midnight. The second time I called a slightly groggy male voice muttered hello.

  “Jack, its Char. Are you awake?” That was a stupid question. Obviously he was awake.

  “Char? What’s going on?”

  “I need you to wake up, Jack.”

  “I’m awake, I’m awake.”

  On the other end of the line I could hear the creaking of a mattress as Jack sat up.

  “What’s happening? Char?” He sounded awake now and a little concerned.

  “I’m on Route 295 heading north. I’ll be home in about forty-five minutes. I just got a call from my alarm company. Someone broke into my home. I saw them on the monitoring stream.”

  “What?”

  “The alarm company called the police. I’m headed home now. I'm betting this has something to do with Georgia.”

  “Okay, wait a minute. Someone broke into your house? Are you okay?”

  It was taking him some time to catch up. I think that my calm was ruffling him. Odd.

  “I’m fine. I wasn’t home. What should I do when I get to the home? Can you meet me there?”

  “Uh yeah, I’ll be there in about an hour.”

  I said goodbye with a thank you.

  As I drove my mind circled the situation. What was Georgia up to? It had to be her. It was just too coincidental. I don’t believe in coincidences, not anymore. There was no other option that made sense. My security system is top of the line. Your average thief would not tackle it for the piddly belongings in my home. The only other thing I was involved in was the Jimmy investigation. Since I had just spoken with them today, it seemed unlikely they would hire some
one to break into my home. My conclusion was, Georgia hired someone to break into my home. Why?

  The more my mind circled the more I wondered what Georgia’s point was. It seemed like she wanted me afraid. Was that all this was? An intimidation tactic? Or was there some other point I couldn’t see yet?

  The one thing I could say for sure, if Georgia wanted me to be scared she was failing. I was calmer right now than I had been in months.

  ______

  The lights from two police cars illuminated my front door in flashes of blue and red when I pulled Bertha up to my house. I was not at all surprised to see Jack on the curb waiting for me. The blue pickup truck that I usually saw at Joe’s gym was a surprise. An officer moved and I saw Skeet. What on earth was he doing here? Not that I wasn’t happy to see him, he was a friend. I just didn’t expect to see him here tonight.

  I parked in my driveway. I wasn’t sure if I could pull into the garage yet or if the cops were still looking things over. I didn’t even know if there was anything for them to look over.

  Jack was waiting for me when I stepped out of the car. He pulled me into his arms the minute my feet hit the ground. While I appreciated the hug I was too busy processing events and trying to figure out my next step to take any comfort from it. Jack pushed back to arm’s length, but kept his hands on my shoulders.

  “You’re calm.” I guess he expected me to be hysterical.

  “I am.” I smiled at him.

  He waited a minute for me to retrieve Max before he led me toward the front door. It was already propped open. I took the moment to look him over. He was dressed in dark sweatpants and sneakers. Under his down coat his t-shirt was inside out. It was cute. He obviously rushed to get here. More proof that I could always trust Jack. Although I felt calm, I moved a little closer to him as we entered my home. Across the lawn Skeet and the two officers turned toward the house and started to walk in, which reminded me.

  I snagged Jack’s sleeve. “What is Skeet doing here?”

  Jack gave me a grin. “That’s what you are worried about? Your home was broken into and you’re worrying about Skeet?”

  When he put it that way I felt stupid. I was still curious though.

  Jack must have seen it on my face. He chuckled, “I guess you don’t know what Skeet used to do. He is Sergeant First Class Nathaniel Jacobs, also known as Skeet.” Jack looked at me as he said that. I guess he knew I would need a second to process that Sergeant First Class, seriously. “Skeet was an Army Ranger,” he continued, “later he was an MP, military police. There is no one better to investigate.”

  I hadn’t even known Skeet and Jack were friends, let alone Skeet’s history. I was a little overwhelmed.

  “Ma’am.” A man addressed me. Ugh, I hate being called Ma’am. It makes me feel about ninety. “Everything appears secure, but we do have a few questions for you.”

  The person speaking was a police officer who looked about nineteen.

  I nodded my head in acceptance of the inevitable questions.

  He looked young and eager with his notepad ready to take notes. Skeet and the other two officers joined us. We moved as a group into my kitchen and sat down at the table. Time for reality. The last few minutes I had been distracted by Jack and Skeet. I had avoided looking around. I didn’t want to see what had happened to my home, but everything was fine. Nothing out of place.

  Except. Kitty. Where was she?

  Without my butt ever actually touching the seat I jolted back up and called for Kitty. Max was glued to my side. For the first time, fear took over. I had been so calm and centered, but now someone I cared about was missing. I ran through the living room. Several steps behind me came Jack, Skeet, and the officers. Jack is the only who knew what I was looking for. I heard him calling her, too. We checked under the couch and chairs.

  I ran up the steps toward the bedrooms, still calling Kitty’s name. Nothing. I burst through the door into my bedroom and froze. Centered in the middle of my bed lay a single pink carnation.

  Jack stepped into the room behind me, and stopped with his chest right against my back.

  “What? Char, what is it?” I could feel his hands gripping my shoulders, trying to turn me to face him.

  I pointed toward the bed. “He left me a present.” I heard him curse under his breath. A flower shouldn’t feel menacing, but that single carnation felt wrong, like a threat. I suddenly remembered the flowers left for me on New Year’s – pink carnations. Despite the unease left by the flower I had a bigger problem.

  Still no Kitty.

  I threw myself down next to the bed, no Kitty.

  I was growing more frantic with each second. Max was tight to my heels as I dogged past the police officers who entered the room behind me. Wait Max.

  I turned and dropped to my knees in front of Max. I took his face in between my hands. “Find Kitty, Max. Please, find Kitty.”

  Max woofed and ran off with his nose to the ground, sniffing the air and walls as he searched. I was close on his heels, with Jack and the officers behind me. Everyone was calling Kitty. We must have been quite the crazy processional. Max led us back downstairs to the laundry room. He stopped in front of the dryer and woofed.

  This time I heard a quiet meow in response to my call. A quiet meow that grew louder and more demanding as Kitty expressed her displeasure. It was music to my ears. I have never been so grateful to hear her complain. It took a few minutes to get to her. She had managed to wedge herself behind the dryer under the exhaust vent. With Jack’s help I moved the dryer and leaned over the top to lift her out.

  Then we sat on the floor in front of the dryer with Kitty clutched in my arms and Max by my side. I felt my panic recede. I focused on my breathing. In and out. Jack crouched in front of me.

  “She’s okay.”

  “Yeah, she is. Come on, let’s get her somewhere comfortable.”

  Jack helped me to my feet. Kitty was still in my arms with her claws dug deep. Someone had scared her bad. I barely registered the pain. I brushed her rumpled calico fur. I was just happy she was alive. We took Kitty to her favorite spot by the back window and let her hide behind her bed. I would have to wait until everyone had left before I cuddled her back to being calm.

  The officers were back sitting around the table. I guess they were hoping to get this show on the road, sooner rather than later. Max and Jack were both by my side, and Skeet was not around.

  “Where’s Skeet?”

  Jack looked around then said, “I think he’s still upstairs.”

  Just then Skeet came downstairs. He had the carnation in a plastic bag.

  The officers were annoyed. The oldest and largest of the three requested our presence in an authoritative and very Jersey tone of voice.

  We all settled back around the table. The lead officer – I dubbed him grumpy – had me go through the events of the night. They wanted to know where I was when I got the call. I really didn’t want to fess up about my amateur sleuthing with Jack on one side and Skeet on the other I figured I was in for some exasperated looks at the least. I fessed up anyway. Surprisingly, the only response from Frick and Frack was a snort from Skeet.

  On my tablet we all watched the footage of the intruder. The officers dusted for prints, but they weren’t optimistic. In the video you could clearly see gloves on the guy’s hands. He didn’t leave any prints behind. After I gave my statement the officers started to pack up. Jack was not happy. He felt that they were not being thorough, and told them so. They made reasonable excuses, but clearly felt that the presence of an FBI agent and former Army Ranger made my situation suspicious. When they left at a little after one in the morning, Jack was fuming and the officers were all grumpy.

  I contacted my alarm service. They were sending someone out in the morning to change the codes and revamp the system. I was debating whether or not I should get a hotel room when I noticed Jack and Skeet plotting.

  When they walked back toward me they both had that look that men sometimes
get. You know the one, the I-have-made-a-decision-and-you-are-going-to-abide-by-it look. That look always makes me want to do the opposite of what they are suggesting.

  Jack stopped in front of me. Skeet stood a few feet away, arms crossed with a slight smile on his face. I glared at him. Jack stood in front of me with his reasonable smile and his ‘we are all friends’ body language.

  “Char, I think you should stay at a hotel tonight. I’ll drive you over there and make sure it’s secure.”

  Despite the fact I was thinking exactly that, since Jack suggested it I became stubborn.

  “I’m not going to a hotel, Jack. Kitty has been too traumatized for me to take her somewhere else.” There, that was perfectly logical. Never mind the fact that since the officers left Kitty had come out and was now walking around purring, acting strangely fascinated with Skeet. She kept trying to get his attention. Since she pretty much hates everyone but me, her fascination with Skeet was worth noticing. He took it all in stride.

  “Your security system is not fully functioning. It might not be safe for you to stay here.”

  “I have my gun and Max. I’ll be fine here.”

  Skeet made another chuckle/snort sound. I took a second to send him a dirty look.

  “Char, it really would be best if you went to a hotel.”

  “I’m not leaving.” I crossed my arms and gave him my best resolved woman in charge expression.

  Jack and Skeet looked at each other and apparently communicated silently. Jack sighed and looked back at me.

  “Okay, I guess I’m taking the couch.”

  I argued and yelled, but I couldn’t change Jack’s mind. Truthfully, I was glad he was going to stay. But for pride’s sake I made a fuss. It helped to know that there was going to be someone else there.

  Jack went to get his go bag from his car. Skeet hung back.

  “You okay?” It was the most he had said to me all night.

  “I’m okay.” I smiled at him. “Nathaniel.”

  “Call me Skeet.” He grinned.

  I walked him out to his car while Jack talked to someone on his phone. It sounded official. Skeet opened the door, then turned back to me presumably to say goodbye. I hugged him. I don’t think he expected it because he didn’t hug me back at first. He smelled clean, like soap. We stepped back from each other and there was awkward silence. “I expect to see you at the gym tomorrow. Moshe is going to want to see you.”