Fugitive at Large. Sandra Robbins
four years. Why didn’t it show a hit on Lee Tucker before now?”
Ryan shrugged. “The lab people don’t know. The important thing is that it does now. Tucker had to be at the Harveys’ home the night they were killed.”
“So Oakes might not have been the killer.”
He nodded. “Maybe not. The real killer could be—”
“Lee Tucker.” Her expression changed instantly. Alarm took over her features as she no doubt realized the danger that he had come to understand moments ago. “The police have to stop Tucker before he follows through and kills Jamie, too.”
“I know,” Ryan said. He tried to keep his anxiety reined in.
“But Lee Tucker could be anywhere,” Jessica said. “How would you decide where to start looking?”
Ryan held up one of the papers from the report. “I think we start with the car that you saw leave the scene after the shooting yesterday. The license plate is registered to the reelection campaign of Hayden Mitchum.”
Jessica’s eyes grew wide. “The US senator?”
Ryan nodded. “Yes. When we called his reelection headquarters this morning, they said they hadn’t realized it was missing. It’s one of the cars that the senator’s aide uses when he’s in town, but he is in Washington right now with Senator Mitchum.”
The phone on Mac’s desk rang at that moment, and Mac answered. “Detective Barnes.”
Ryan waited until Mac hung up before he said anything else. “Do we need to answer a call?”
Mac shook his head. “No. That was the captain. He needs me to bring him up to speed on the investigation into Gerald Price’s murder.”
“I read about that,” Jessica said. “He’s the man whose body was found in a riverfront parking lot. The newspaper report said the police believe he was killed in a carjacking.”
“That’s right.” Mac turned to Ryan. “I can go over everything with the captain. You stay here and talk to Jessica.” He reached over and patted her on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you. I hope you’ll come back to visit soon.”
She smiled. “Maybe I will, Mac. Take care of yourself out there.”
He nodded and walked from the room. Ryan waited until Mac had closed the door behind him before he spoke.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. “Jessica, yesterday I thought I was going to a store to make sure my brother was okay. Since then, what was thought to be a robbery has snowballed into something that appears to be much deeper. And somehow it has ties to the murders we investigated four years ago.”
“I know,” she murmured as if she was lost in thought.
He sat down on the edge of his desk again and faced Jessica, who took the opposite chair. “What is Lee Tucker’s connection to the murders of two reporters four years ago and to what appeared to be a random robbery yesterday? And why was the getaway car stolen from a US senator’s parking lot? It doesn’t make sense.”
She nodded in agreement, then added, “If it really was stolen.”
“That’s a possibility. The senator’s office could have been lying about that.” He stood up, paced to the far side of the office and came back to sit in front of her. “And why did my brother suddenly disappear?”
“And why did I receive a threatening telephone call?”
Now it was his turn to be startled. “When did that happen?”
She shrugged. “Last night. A man called I think just to scare me so I couldn’t sleep. I have to say it worked.”
“What did he say?”
“When I asked who was calling, he said it was the friend I met earlier. So it must have been Lee Tucker,” Jessica answered. “I asked him what he wanted, and he said he didn’t want anything at the present time. But he’d let me know if he changed his mind.”
Ryan pounded his fist down on his desk. “That settles it. I have to find out what’s going on.”
“How are you going to do that?” she asked.
He thought for a moment before he responded. “I think I’ll take a few days’ leave and poke around on my own to see what I can find out. Maybe I can turn up something.”
She pushed out of her chair. “Well, I wish you luck. Let me know if I can help in any way.”
He stood and faced her. “You can. How about working with me for a few days? Let’s see if we can find out what’s going on.”
She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. After all, Lee Tucker is a fugitive and you’re a bounty hunter. If we find him, maybe we can answer some questions we’ve always had about Cal’s and Susan Harvey’s murders. And you may get to bring in a fugitive who’s skipped bail.”
She stared into his eyes without blinking. “Ryan, I don’t know...”
He reached for her hand and clasped it in his. “Please, Jessica. It’ll be like old times. The two of us working on a case. What do you say? Want to be my partner again?”
Jessica swallowed the last bite of her hamburger and took a sip of iced tea before glancing across the table at Ryan. She still couldn’t believe this was happening. Twenty-four hours ago no one could have convinced her that she would be having lunch today with Ryan Spencer. And yet here she was, sitting across from the man she’d told herself for four years that she hoped she would never see again.
As they had discussed the Harvey murder case and its link to the robbery and what was believed to be an attempt on Jamie’s life yesterday, she had found herself feeling comfortable in Ryan’s presence. Maybe she had been too quick to jump to conclusions four years ago. In all honesty, he had tried to explain his side back then, but she had felt so betrayed that she wouldn’t listen. Her brothers had always said she had a stubborn side to her sweet personality. No wonder Ryan had given up on trying to convince her she was wrong.
On the other hand, he’d had four years. Why had he waited until last night to try again to convince her?
“What are you thinking?” Ryan’s voice cut into her thoughts, and she sat up straighter.
Her face grew warm, and she picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. “Oh, just lost in thought, I guess.”
A skeptical look flashed in his eyes, and he regarded her with an arched eyebrow. “Come on, Jessica. I always told you that your face was like a mirror to your soul. You never have been able to hide your emotions. Is it me? Are you still trying to make up your mind about whether or not you can be my friend?”
There was no use evading the truth. He was right. He’d always been able to read the expressions on her face. Maybe that was what had made them such great partners. The thought of their former relationship and how it had ended sent her heart plummeting to the pit of her stomach. Could she really put the past behind her and be his friend? And could she really work with him on a case?
She took a deep breath and tried to smile. “I listened to all you said last night, and I wish I had done that long ago. I didn’t, and I’ve had four years to ponder everything that was said between us.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Still the same old Jessica, huh? Once you get something in your mind, you’re like a dog with a bone. You chew on it constantly, and the longer you do, the more you take ownership of it.” He leaned forward and clasped her hand on the tabletop. “I’ve told you the truth about what was going on with me then. I’m sorry that I didn’t handle