Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (111 page)

Then I heard whistling coming from one of the stalls around the corner. Women usually don’t whistle, I thought. It was probably nothing, but I got out of there just the same.

I threw on my Barca sweatshirt as I headed out the gym door. And then I saw him standing there on one of the walking paths, not too far away. My heart melted a little, like it always did.

He adjusted his hat and I hurried over and gave him a long hug.

CHAPTER 23

Jesse grabbed my hood and pulled it up over my head, covering my wet hair.

“You gotta watch the chill, Craigers.”

“It’s not the cough that carries you off,” I said.

“It’s the coffin they carry you off in,” he said. “You don’t have to tell me.”

I smiled as he tugged on the cord.

“Let’s keep moving, so you don’t cramp up,” he said. “How many did you do?”

“Ten.”

“Not too shabby for a soccer player,” he said. “And a girl.”

I knew he was just trying to get under my skin. But I quickly reached up and knocked the cap off his head.

“Look alive,” I said, smiling.

“I haven’t quite mastered that yet.”

There were miles and miles of pathways behind the gym, and most of the time they were fairly empty. Some of the walkways snaked through one of the newest upscale housing developments where they were building large, expensive houses again. But for now, most of the area was still just open fields and lots. The perfect place for walking and talking to a ghost.

“I wouldn’t mind living in one of these mansions,” Jesse said, looking over at a half-built house up on a ridge.

“Probably have to be an NBA player to afford it,” I said. “But seriously, who lives here?”

“People with money, I suppose. Not home growns, that’s for sure.”

The sky was clear and it was warmer than it had been. I was hoping it was a sign. Maybe spring would come early this year.

We small talked for a while before I told Jesse about my visit with his dad. I mentioned the bike falling down too.

“Don’t fret over it, Craigers. Pops is getting up there.”

I smiled. He never called his dad
Pops
.

“I gave him your message, by the way, about the beer. You did know that he’s brewing it, right?”

“He’s brewing
and
drinking it. That’s why I wanted you to talk to him. All that stuff in the closet will end up in his liver within a month.”

“Well, not all of it,” I said. “He’s saving me some. And besides, he says he shares it with his friends. They all get together and have a big brew party at the garage, or something like that. They’re just storing it there.”

Jesse laughed, shaking his head.

“What?” I said.

“The part he failed to mention to you was that each of his buddies has their own closet full of those same white buckets.”

“Oh.”

“What the hell,” Jesse said. “I’ll lay off. Let him enjoy it.”

We turned west, facing the mountains. As we walked up a little hill, a spectacular view of Mt. Bachelor opened up. You could almost touch it, covered in snow and glowing bright against the sky.

I told Jesse about Derek.

“Yeah, I saw you guys last night at the pub.”

“You were there?” I said. “I didn’t see you.”

“I know. I wasn’t visible. I like to save my strength where I can.”

He smiled when he said that and then I remembered the strange feeling I had at the restaurant, that feeling that someone was watching me. It was Jesse.

“I hope you had a good time catching up with Derek.”

“Yeah. It was a lot of fun, reliving the old days.”

“Craigers…” He paused for a minute before continuing. “Derek, his energy is, well, kind of strange. Have you noticed?”

“Yeah, I have. It’s either speeding around or it’s real slow. I haven’t really encountered that kind of pattern before.”

My legs started tightening up a little, so I pulled off the path onto some grass and threw my backpack down on the ground. I stretched for a few minutes, while Jesse stared up at another giant house.

“Maybe I should just set up in that one,” he said. “It’s almost finished and seems to have all the prerequisite accoutrements. What do you think?”

“
Pre
who?”

He shrugged, his eyes still on the house, like he was really considering it.

“Don’t hate on my vocab skills, Craigers. It’s unbecoming. Anyway, I would have to find the right roommates. I don’t want to hear any of that
American Idol
crap. I want to live with people who know how to rock.”

“You could always haunt them,” I said. “That way, you’d have the place all to yourself.”

“I’ll give it some thought. C’mon. Let’s turn back,” he said, pinching his nose. “Someone needs a shower.”

I stood up and we headed back toward the Jeep.

“Hey, have you seen that dog that’s been hanging around?” I asked.

“No. But I’ve heard it. It’s loud in my world. What do you think it wants?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to find out. I thought it belonged to Derek, but he says it’s not his. So now I’m not sure.”

“Why did you think it was connected to him?”

“He showed up with him that first time at Back Street. And again last night. Of course, he’s been outside my window a few times too. I don’t know. My instincts still tell me Derek’s the link. But it’s just a feeling.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“What is it?” I said.

“I was just thinking. People don’t change.”

I could tell he didn’t mean it in a good way.

“Are you talking about Derek?”

“I mean, he was a good little guy. Okay, maybe not so little. We had a lot of fun, the three of us, hanging out like we did. But he had it hard, harder than he ever let on. I know there were certain things he kept from us back then, kind of like he’s keeping things from you now.”

I had been so caught up by the nostalgic pull of the good old days that I had almost forgotten. There had also been a dark side.

“His dad just picked him up from school one day and that’s all she wrote,” Jesse said. “They flew out to Los Angeles that night. He never even got a chance to say goodbye or anything.”

I sighed.

“Yeah, that was pretty brutal,” I said. “We didn’t even know what had happened until the teacher got a letter from him a few weeks later.”

“And Derek apologized, like it was his fault. Remember those bruises? He always had an excuse for them. Falling out of a tree, off his skateboard. I was only 10, but I had started to put it together just before he left. Poor little bastard. I wish he could have just told us about what was really going on with him. Maybe we could have helped somehow.”

“I think that would have been hard to talk about,” I said.

“Ah, hell,” he said, shaking his head. “We probably wouldn’t have been able to do jack anyway. But my point is he’s probably still keeping things to himself.”

I recalled the made-up story Derek had tried to get me to swallow about Skyping with his girlfriend.

“Well, I’m going to try to help him whether he asks for it or not,” I said. “I owe him that much.”

“You mean, because of that bully he took out for you?”

“I suppose.”

“That was a long time ago, Craigers.”

“Some things don’t come with an expiration date,” I said.

“Yeah, I know,” Jesse said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and kissing me through my hood. “I’m glad he has you. Just be careful.”

“I will.”

We walked to the parking lot and I leaned against the Jeep. I looked into his eyes, a little nervous.

“On to other things,” I said. “Any signs? You know, of Nathaniel?”

He was quiet. Too quiet. A sudden surge of fear cut me in half as I waited for him to say something. Usually, whenever I brought up Nathaniel, Jesse was reassuring and told me not to worry. But this was too long of a pause.

“It’s not that I’ve seen him,” he said finally.

“Then what?” I asked, my words tripping on my tongue.

I tried to steady my knees as I put it together. Jesse hadn’t stopped by to catch up and chat. He was here to tell me something. I took in a breath, trying to slow down the pace of the drumming erupting in my chest.

“Well, it was your energy last night,” he said. “At the pub. You went a little dim at times. It was like something there was affecting you. Did you feel it?”

“Yeah. I got tired for no reason. It was odd.”

“I don’t know what caused it, but pay attention to it. If it happens again, call out to me and I’ll come.”

“Okay. Was that all? I’m just a dim bulb?”

He looked at me seriously without the slightest trace of a smile.

“It had me a little worried,” he said. “It’s your life source that was being affected. It’s not a small thing.”

As soon as he said that, the fear inside me multiplied.

It wasn’t a good note to end on, but I knew it was time to say goodbye. I gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’ll be seeing you, Craigers,” he said. “Figure out this dog business. I don’t think I like it.”

He walked away, turning around once to play air keyboards while humming Journey’s
Separate Ways
. Then he was gone.

***

Right after Jesse left, the phone rang. It was Special Agent Felder. He said he needed to see me. He wouldn’t give me any details, but his voice sounded more serious than usual.

I called Kate and she said she would meet me at his office at 4:30. I went home to shower and change.

Something was wrong. I could feel it all around me.

CHAPTER 24

“Five years?” she said. “Did I hear that right? All of them, including Jack Martin, are getting five-year sentences for kidnapping and almost murdering Abby?”

Special Agent Felder nodded slowly as if moving his neck caused him pain.

“Yes,” he said. “That is correct.”

He wasn’t behind his desk like he usually was during our meetings. Kate and I were over on the sofa, and he had pulled up a chair and was sitting across from us. He ran his fingers through his hair, which was already slicked back with gel and not going anywhere. I could tell he wished he were somewhere else.

“What happened to the twenty?” I said.

He crossed his legs and adjusted the black see-through sock covering his right ankle.

“It didn’t work out that way,” he said. “As you know, the prosecution’s case was built on your testimony and that of Simon Shaffer. Well, at the last minute, Shaffer had a change of heart. He said he would refuse to testify against the others. We already had his signed confession, but he said he would take the stand and say he had been coerced.”

He looked out the window for a moment.

“And that left us with your word against theirs,” he said, staring at me over the top of his glasses. “It just wasn’t enough to risk a trial. The defense smelled the blood in the water. I can’t prove it, but I suspect they got to Shaffer somehow. Why else would he turn his back on his immunity deal and take five years? The attempted murder charge was always going to be a long shot. In the end we were lucky that they agreed to plead guilty to second degree kidnapping. Lucky that we got what we got.”

“
Lucky
you say?” Kate fumed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

I just sat in stunned silence. The room was spinning in front of me, the nausea hitting me hard. There was nothing more to say, and I was ready to leave. But Kate wasn’t going anywhere. She straightened up, arms crossed, ready for a fight.

“You need to explain to us just what the hell happened, step by step, because the last time we heard from you, the deal was as good as done,” she said. “This is not acceptable. You, the government, are supposed to protect people like Abby and see that justice is carried out. You’re not protecting anyone, except maybe Jack Martin. This isn’t justice. Can you even spell the word?”

Black energy circled around her as she spoke. She was livid. She had every right to be mad, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. It wasn’t his call. Felder was just caught in the middle of something bigger than any of us.

He stood up and walked over to the window.

“I wish it had turned out differently,” he said. “These things are complicated. Our hands were tied. I hope in time you’ll be able to see that. Mr. Martin and the others were represented by some of the top defense attorneys money can buy. All they had to do was chip away at your testimony until they created a little reasonable doubt in the jury’s mind. There was a strong likelihood that we would have gone through the pain and expense of a trial only to see them all walk in the end. I hope this helps to paint a picture of what we were up against.”

“Yes, sure,” Kate said. “You’ve given us a regular Monet.”

He let out a long sigh.

“I would have gone to trial, Mr. Felder,” I said in an even tone. “I would have testified and convinced that jury about what he did to me. They would have found him guilty and put him in prison for a lot longer than five years. Why didn’t they let me? You said yourself that I would have made a good witness.”

“You would have,” he said, sitting down again and looking at me. “There’s no question about that, Ms. Craig. I have no doubts.”

I looked over at Kate. She was getting madder and madder, the black angry energy twisting in a thick vortex around her, making it hard to even see her face. It was time to get out of there and think about this on our own.

I reached over and pulled on her forearm.

“I understand your disappointment,” he said. “If it had been my call—”

But Kate stood up abruptly, cutting him off with her hand. I stood up too.

“Stop. Just stop the lies. You haven’t done your job and you haven’t done right by Abby. I’ll be looking into this,
Special
Agent Felder. And when I do, I’m going to make sure people read about this screw up. This isn’t over.”

It sounded tough, but I was pretty sure she was bluffing. Any story about the case would have to include my name. I knew she wouldn’t do that. Plus, the newspaper wouldn’t let her write a story about her sister.