The Target

by Gerri Hill

  “It’s Jaime,” Celia said and pointed.

  “About time,” Sandra yelled.

  Jaime waved and tossed her pack on the ground, then bent to untie her boots. Sara knew that she was about to be confronted with another display of nakedness. So did the others. Jaime walked slowly toward them, hands on her hips.

  “What have I told you about the rules, ladies? Clothing is not allowed in hot springs. Jesus, what am I going to do with you?”

  Sara stared as jeans were dropped and T-shirt was flung. Then, almost in slow motion, black panties this time were shed and a completely naked Jaime Hutchinson stood on a rock and executed a perfect shallow dive into the hot springs. She rose out of the water like a goddess, her eyes finding Sara’s immediately.

  “I thought you were in charge,” Jaime teased. “Why do they all have clothes on?”

  “Not for long,” Abby said loudly as she dipped below the water and came up flinging her swimsuit upon the rocks. Soon, nine others followed and the pool was reduced to a playground for eleven naked women.

  Sara laughed at their exuberant play, especially Sandra, who was floating on her back in the middle of the pool, not at all self-conscious as she splashed water on Jaime only to have the other woman dunk her under. Sandra came up spitting and laughing.

  “God, I love this.” She splashed down again. “I feel almost thin in this water.”

  “Sandra, honey, you look great just the way you are,” Jaime insisted.

  Sandra beamed a smile at her. “Now why can’t I find a man just like you?”

  Jaime’s eyes widened in mock disbelief. “A man? You’re comparing me to a man? I’m very offended.”

  “If I was into women, I’d already have you wrapped up, young lady,” Sandra teased the other woman.

  Everyone laughed, including Sara. It was only then that Sara realized they all must know Jaime is gay. And even then, here they were, all stripped naked without a concern in the world. She never would have thought it possible. Not with this group.

  “Sarge? Why don’t you join us?” Celia asked.

  Jaime walked closer, eyebrows rising mischievously. “Yes, Sara? Why don’t you?” Jaime playfully captured her hand and tried to pull her deeper into the water.

  “Behave or I’ll be forced to hurt you,” Sara said.

  Jaime laughed but did not release her hold. “What if I promise I won’t look?”

  Celia laughed and clapped her hands. “Don’t believe her!”

  “Hey, whose side are you on?” Jaime asked.

  “Yours, of course.”

  “I see. Ganging up on me, huh?” Sara tried to pull her hand away.

  “Yes, we are.” Jaime smiled, refusing to let her go.

  Jaime stood up, the water reaching only to her waist. Sara’s breath caught at the sight standing before her. Droplets of water clung to her breasts and Sara stared as one slowly traveled down Jaime’s breast to her nipple. The hand that was still holding hers tightened and she brought her eyes up, colliding with Jaime’s. The brown eyes darkened and she felt her heart quicken its pace.

  “Take it off,” Jaime whispered.

  Sara shook her head.

  “Please?”

  Sara was aware of how quiet it was, aware that the others were watching them with anticipation. She knew it was pure insanity but she wanted to be a part of their group. So, she took one hand and slowly slipped her straps off her shoulders. She saw Jaime’s breath catch and she smiled.

  “Turn around,” she instructed quietly.

  “What would be the fun in that?”

  But Jaime released the hand she had been holding and obediently turned around, pausing to wink at Celia. The other woman smiled broadly at her. Jaime finally heard a splash and quickly turned, just in time to see a nicely rounded backside dip under the water. Sara resurfaced in the middle of the pool, water up to her shoulders.

  “See? Isn’t that better?”

  “Much.” Sara slicked her hair back and let out a contented sigh. Yes, it was glorious. But as Jaime came closer, Sara laughed and splashed water in her face. “Behave.”

  The other women laughed and Jaime splashed back at Sara then moved a safe distance away.

  “Ms. Michaels? Are you dating anyone?” Celia innocently asked.

  Jaime hid her smile as Sara stared at Celia.

  “Actually, no. I’m not.” Sara cleared her throat. “Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, just . . . curious.”

  “Uh-huh,” Sara murmured. She slid her eyes to Jaime, raising an eyebrow. Jaime only shrugged and dipped below the water again.

  They stayed in the pool for another hour, then one by one they started getting out, most to grab dirty clothes to rinse out in the springs. It was only then that Sara realized her position. Her swimsuit was flung on a faraway rock. And Jaime was still in the water, a satisfied grin on her face.

  “Now what are you going to do?” Jaime asked with a laugh. “Can’t stay in here all night.”

  “Yes, you’re right. I can’t, can I?” So, she gave Jaime a dose of her own medicine. She stood and walked slowly to the edge of the pool, the water dripping off her naked body. She had the pleasure of seeing Jaime slip on a rock as she stared. Serves her right, she thought.

  “Oh my God,” Jaime whispered. She looked around for Celia. “Did you see that?”

  “Sure did.”

  “She’s beautiful.”

  “Nice body.”

  “Nice? That’s not nice. That’s . . . magnificent.”

  Celia moved closer to her. “I think she likes you.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. She kept looking for you when you were gone. And she must have asked Sandra a hundred times if you were coming back.”

  “She did?” Then Jaime playfully nudged Celia. “Thanks, even though this conversation is fast approaching the high school level.”

  Jaime watched as Sara disappeared into her tent and her smile faded. She would have to tell her tonight. Tell her that she was only here because she was a cop and she was supposed to be watching her. And then, no doubt, all the fun would be gone. Sara would be furious.

  Sara changed into her one pair of sweatpants, then took her dirty jeans and underclothes back to the springs to wash them. She smiled, thinking they looked very much like pioneer women on wash day. All but Jaime. She was nowhere to be found. Sara dipped her jeans into the warm water, trying to scrub the dirt off as best she could. Before long, tree limbs and shrubs held their wet clothing as it blew in the breeze. She helped the others gather wood for the fire they’d have later, all the while looking around for Jaime. Finally, she could stand it no longer.

  “Celia? Have you seen Jaime?”

  “She changed and walked back down the trail again. She didn’t say where she was going.”

  Sara nodded, wondering at Jaime’s odd behavior today. Oh, well. The woman had a right to her privacy. It would just be courteous to let someone know where she was going.

  In fact, it was nearly dark before Jaime joined them again. Everyone had already eaten and were gathered around the fire, relaxing. Sara watched as Jaime quickly assembled her tent, then moved closer to the fire with her small stove.

  “Where were you?” Sandra asked.

  “Just exploring.” She grinned. “Miss me?”

  “Well, it’s just kinda quiet when you’re not around.”

  “Oh yeah? Thanks. I think,” she added. “Actually, you know, I’m crashing your party so I thought I should give you guys some alone time. Sara might have had something planned that I shouldn’t be a part of.”

  “We don’t need any alone time,” Abby said. “And you’re not crashing our party. We invited you.”

  “Well, thanks.” Jaime sat next to Lou Ann on a log they had moved up. “This reminds me of a trip I took when I was a kid. My older brother organized this backpacking trip with a bunch of his friends but I wasn’t invited. In fact, I was instructed they didn’t want me within ten miles of them.�
�� She bent down to add her freeze-dried meal to the boiling water. “So, I snuck out of the house and followed them for two days before showing myself. I knew he couldn’t send me home alone but he was mad as hell, let me tell you.”

  “How old were you?”

  Jaime grinned. “Eight.”

  Sara rolled her eyes. “And your parents didn’t miss you?”

  Jaime laughed. “Hell, yeah. They had the police and helicopters out looking for me. It was all over the news. Volunteers had already organized to search the woods.”

  Sara laughed with the others. “How old was your brother?”

  “Seventeen. We came walking home five days later—tired, dirty and hungry. We should have known something was up by all the cars parked along the street.”

  “Please tell me you were grounded.”

  “Me? No, but my brother got his car taken away from him.”

  “Your brother? But you were the one who snuck off,” Abby said.

  “I was eight. You can’t be punished when you’re eight.”

  “And your return made the news?”

  Jaime grinned. “My mother made me put on a dress for the event.”

  Sara watched the women as they hung on Jaime’s every word. She was enjoying the story too. God, how boring would this trip have been if Jaime hadn’t tagged along? Then she frowned. Were all of her trips boring?

  Jaime stirred the pot one more time before pulling it into her lap. “Has everyone already eaten or are you planning on sharing mine?”

  “We’ve eaten,” Lou Ann said. “Tell us another story.”

  “Another story? If I bore you with more than one story a night, I’ll run out before too long.” She looked at Sara. “Are you planning on taking us to St. Elmo?”

  “I was, yes.”

  “What’s St. Elmo?” Abby asked.

  “It’s a ghost town. It’s in really great shape. Even some of the wooden sidewalks are preserved. Went there once. Hiked up alone. Saw the ghost town, all right. But saw a ghost too.”

  “No way.”

  “Yep. Sure did.” Jaime stood with her empty pot and walked toward the springs to clean it. “Remind me to tell you sometime,” she tossed over her shoulder.

  “Why not now?”

  “Oh, no. None of you would get any sleep if I told you a ghost story before bedtime.”

  Sara smiled at the other woman. Yes, she was certainly full of stories. Sara wondered how many of them were true and how many were made up on the spot. It didn’t matter. They were at least entertaining.

  Before too long, as the fire was burning down, the women started getting ready for bed. But Sara wasn’t tired. She added another small log to the fire and moved closer, holding her hands out to warm them. Actually, she hoped Jaime might stay up with her awhile. The previous evening, Jaime had joined the others at bedtime, leaving Sara alone. In fact, they hadn’t spoken a whole lot since the night Jaime had confessed she was attracted to her. And Sara had run. But Sara found she was interested and she hadn’t been flirted with this shamelessly since college. It felt good. It didn’t hurt that the woman doing the flirting was attractive and fun to be around. Then she frowned. Hadn’t she called her arrogant and conceited just a few days ago? Arrogant, yes, as she stripped naked in front of everyone, knowing full well the affect she was having on Sara. And then the nerve to insist that Sara strip as well. Yes, shameless. But it was all in good fun. It wasn’t like Sara was going to fall for it.

  “Hey.”

  Sara looked up. She had been staring into the fire and hadn’t noticed Jaime approach. “Going to tell me about the ghost now?”

  Jaime shifted nervously then glanced at the tents. They were within hearing distance, should anyone care to listen. And she knew full well that Celia and Sandra were probably sitting at their tent door this very moment.

  “Actually, I need to talk to you,” Jaime said quietly. “Can we maybe take a walk?”

  “A walk?”

  “Just over to the springs,” Jaime suggested. “I’d like some privacy.”

  Had she not been so serious, Sara would have teased her about her lame attempt to get her alone. So she nodded.

  They walked along the footpath to the edge of the springs. The continuous flow of the river as it crashed across the rocks and boulders gave Jaime just the sound barrier that she needed.

  Jaime turned and faced her, the moonlight strong enough for her to see Sara’s face. “Listen, first of all, you’ve got to promise me you won’t get mad.”

  Sara crossed her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows. “That depends.”

  “No, no. It can’t depend,” Jaime said. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay. Fine. Tell me.”

  Jaime took a breath then reached in her back pocket and pulled out her detective’s shield. She squeezed it tight, then handed it to Sara.

  “What’s this?”

  “What does it look like?”

  Sara held it away from her into the moonlight. “Is it real?”

  “Of course it’s real,” Jaime said as she snapped on a small flashlight and shone it on the badge.

  “You said you were a CPA,” Sara reminded her.

  Jaime shifted. “Not exactly. If you recall, you asked why I hadn’t made up something a little less threatening, I believe you said. So I insinuated that I might be a CPA. Big difference. Because in reality, I did say I was a cop.”

  “You said you were a CPA. You lied.”

  “No, I didn’t lie. I told the truth. I’m a cop. You just didn’t believe me.”

  Sara handed the badge back. “Fine. So you lied and you are a cop. The two are not supposed to mix. Cops are not supposed to lie.”

  Jaime raised her hands up. “Look, it doesn’t matter, okay? That’s not what I needed to talk to you about.”

  “It’s not? Okay. Then what is it?”

  “Remember, you promised you wouldn’t get mad.”

  “I don’t recall making that promise, but . . . what . . . is . . . it?” Sara asked loudly.

  Jaime hesitated. Sara was going to kill her. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if the woman never spoke to her again.

  “You asked me once why I was here.” Jaime took another deep breath. “Well, I’m working for the FBI.” At Sara’s widening eyes, she hurried on. “You know, the death threats.”

  Sara stared, her eyes finally narrowing. “How dare you? How dare you come here, befriend us, lie to us?” Sara pointed her finger at Jaime. “Do you have any idea how much those women look up to you? And it’s all been a fucking game?” she yelled.

  “Will you be quiet?” Jaime hissed, glancing toward the tents. “They don’t need to know.”

  “They most certainly do need to know,” Sara continued to yell. “I cannot believe you!”

  Jaime stepped forward, moving behind Sara and clamping her hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But that was before an elbow to her midsection took the breath from her and a closed fist connected with her face. The next thing she knew, she was being tossed over Sara’s shoulder like a rag doll and landing with a thud on the ground.

  She ran her tongue over her lips, tasting blood. “Damn,” she murmured. “Forgot about that self-defense class.”

  Sara stood back, her eyes wide. She couldn’t believe she’d just done that but it was an automatic reaction. One minute they’re . . . they’re talking, well, she was yelling and the next, Jaime was . . . was manhandling her. Instincts just took over. She finally knelt down, touching Jaime’s shoulder.

  “I am so sorry. I never meant to do that, but you grabbed me and—”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s okay. Really, it is. But you’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer.” Jaime wiped at the blood on her lip. “And as soon as I can stand up, I’m going to handcuff you.”

  Sara stood. “You’re going to what?”

  Jaime finally got to her feet. “I’m bleeding. I can’t believe yo
u did that.”

  Sara picked up the flashlight that had fallen and flashed the beam on Jaime’s face. She touched her lips with a soft finger, finally finding the cut.

  “You are such a baby.” Sara let her hands fall away. “It’s a tiny cut.”

  “Uh-huh. Don’t think that’ll get you off the hook.”

  “What hook? I’m the one who should be pissed off here. You lied to me.”

  Jaime snatched the flashlight from Sara’s hands. “Fine. Be pissed off. It doesn’t change anything. The only reason I’m telling you this is because we’re being followed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, they’re behind us, following us. They’re traveling on a higher trail or not on a trail at all. The map doesn’t show anything but that doesn’t mean there’s not a trail up there. And it could be perfectly innocent. They might be hikers for all I know.” Jaime turned the flashlight off. “But we can’t take a chance. I’ve got to check it out. So, tomorrow, you stay here with the group, keep them occupied. I’m going to go out and see if I can find them. If it’s just a couple of hikers, then it’s no problem and we can be on our way.”

  Sara met her eyes in the moonlight. “And if it’s not?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Jaime rubbed again at her lower lip, shaking her head. A cop, for God’s sake, and she gets tossed to the ground by a . . . a woman! Jesus. “Listen, what do you know about these threats? The FBI was strangely vague about them.”

  “Vague? That’s an understatement. They showed up at my office one day, saying my father had received letters threatening my life. That’s it. When I asked questions, they simply said they couldn’t say more.”

  “Special Agent Ramsey said he practically begged you to accept protection.”

  “Who?”

  “Ramsey. He said he spoke with you.”

  “No. I don’t recall a Ramsey. There were just two. A man and a woman. The man was tall, black, with a shaved head. His name was Erickson. I remember because my secretary’s last name is Erickson.”

  “Erickson? I spoke with Ramsey. Squirrelly white dude. He said he was heading the investigation. He said he talked with you and you refused protection. That’s why I’m here. Your father insisted someone look after you.”