Dead Ringer. Sharon Dunn
up in Colorado. I remembered I had a P.I. buddy down there who owed me a favor. He tracked down a childhood friend of Jackson’s.”
Eli tensed. “Is the probing going to get back to Jackson? That could blow everything.” The last thing they needed was for any of the suspects to know they were looking into their lives.
“Relax, this isn’t my first day at camp. The friend hasn’t had contact with Greg in years. They were in the same FFA club in high school. My detective friend didn’t put up any flags. He just followed the guy into a bar and struck up a conversation with him. We are being very careful.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you.” If there was anyone he trusted to maintain the integrity of the investigation, it was William. Lucy’s resistance to his advice about Greg had made him tense. “What did you find out?”
“Greg had a troubled childhood. Mom was repeatedly treated for ‘injuries’ until she finally divorced Dad. As we already knew, most of Greg’s crimes fall into the under-eighteen sealed category, except for that one assault charge when he was nineteen. The high school friend said that after that, Greg supposedly found God and got his life straightened out.”
Eli turned to watch as Lucy hugged Nelson goodbye. Nelson climbed into his truck. He waved at Eli and drove around to the other side of the house. “People do find healing in their faith, William.”
“And sometimes that stuff lies just beneath the surface waiting to erupt.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Christ could transform lives, but religion could also mask unresolved issues. “Is there anything else?”
“While I was briefing all the small police departments who are going to help us, one of the highway patrol officers recognized Jackson’s picture. Couple of weeks back, Jackson had a little bit of a run-in with this highway patrol officer for speeding.”
“Who hasn’t?”
“The officer was female, and he put his hands on her neck. A court date is pending.”
A shiver ran down Eli’s back. Lucy stopped picking up debris and tools long enough to shade her eyes and look in Eli’s direction. He had to keep her away from Greg.
“Eli, are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m still here.”
Eli’s pulse rate skyrocketed. He watched Lucy gather the lighter tools. He fought to maintain the objectivity required of his job, to keep his emotions at bay. Where Lucy’s safety was concerned, that was hard to do.
William broke into his thoughts. “We are still trying to dig stuff up on the other three suspects. See you tonight for the surveillance in Three Dot.”
“Keep me posted.” Eli clicked off his phone and strode over to where Lucy was attempting to lift the heavy saw. “Let me help you with that.”
She set the saw back down and faced him. “Long phone call.”
She was close enough for him to smell the floral scent of her perfume. Even in a ratty T-shirt and jeans, she looked radiant. “Yeah.”
“Not going to tell me more?” She picked up a bucket of nails.
“Just some police stuff.” He bent over and lifted the saw. He carried the saw while she trailed behind with the bucket.
They entered the shed. He heaved the saw onto a counter. He had to try one more time.
“Listen, Lucy, I know you have the right to make your own choices, but I got a creepy vibe from Greg Jackson when we were in the restaurant the other day.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand. “I know you don’t like people interfering. I grew up with two sisters, and I had like a ninety-percent success rate with predicting when a guy was bad news.”
Her expression hardened, and he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
“We have to get the rest of these tools put away.” She stalked toward the door. “By the way, if you are trying to succeed on your mission to convince me that cops are okay, this hyperprotective thing is not how to do it.”
He darted toward her and grabbed her arm. “Please Lucy, I am just asking you to trust me. I can’t explain why, but please just trust me.”
She studied him for a moment. “You barely know me. I don’t understand why you would even care.”
“It’s in my cop DNA. Though my partner says I have an overdeveloped need to protect people.”
“Your partner might be right.” The resolve he saw in her eyes was unwavering.
He let go of her arm. “I had a good time this afternoon helping you. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” It was the truest thing he could say to her.
Her stiff posture softened. “I had a good time, too.” She patted him on the arm. “We make a good team.” She checked her watch. “I have to get cleaned up for my date.” She walked out of the shed.
As he followed her outside, panic spread through him. A lump swelled in his throat. He steadied his voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interfere. Your business is your business.”
She lifted her chin. Her skin looked translucent in the early evening sun. “Thank you. I think we will get along fine if you keep that in mind.”
He wanted to know if she was going to be alone with Jackson. Would she be in a safe place, a public place? But it was obvious that probing her about the date would be fruitless.
Eli said goodbye and went back into his house. He showered, unpacked his minimal belongings and then spent some time making a list of what he needed to get in town for his new home. He flipped open his laptop and opened the investigation folder. Some surveillance photos and reports were already coming in.
He came across a photo of a woman with dark hair leaving a movie theater with suspect number two. His stomach tightened. He couldn’t leave Lucy alone with Greg. He had to do something.
He checked the schedule for where he had put his surveillance team. None were assigned to keep an eye on Jackson, and he was supposed to drive out to a small town called Three Dot, where an undercover female officer had set up a date with one of the other suspects.
Even as he dialed William’s cell, he kept one ear tuned to the road, waiting to hear Greg Jackson’s approaching car.
“Yup.” William answered on the fourth ring. “Calling back so soon?”
Eli moved the curtain back from the window, thinking he had heard something. The only vehicles in the driveway were his own and Lucy’s. “Listen, I was looking at the schedule. We don’t have anyone on Jackson tonight.” The silence on the other end of the line told him that William was probably clenching his jaw.
“It was your idea that with the limited manpower the rotating surveillance was what would work best.”
Eli pressed the phone harder against his ear. “I just found out Jackson has a date tonight.”
“It didn’t come up on the phone taps or through e-mail. He must have made the date in person.”
“I know we can’t be everywhere at once, but—” Even as he spoke, he knew that what he was suggesting was unrealistic. “I’m just concerned about Lucy.”
“Lucy isn’t the only potential victim. We got a undercover female officer who has made contact with two of the other suspects.”
Eli closed his eyes. William was right. From an investigative standpoint, they were more likely to get information that could lead to warrants and arrests from a trained officer probing the suspect than from watching a suspect on a date. “It’s just that Lucy looks so much like the others. I’m afraid for her.”
“I don’t want to risk another life, either.”
Eli paced through the bare kitchen of his new home, his resolve