Jax: A Navy SEAL Romantic Suspense (3 page)

“But that wasn’t the case, was it?”

“No.  Not at all.  A couple weeks later I got a text saying
Black souls wear white shirts
.  I got really nervous.  It was a Saturday and Jerry was a classmate’s party playing.  I called over and everything was OK.  I decided not to chance it.  I went over to pick him up.  I blamed it on a family emergency.  As we were pulling out of the driveway I saw two kids coming up the lane.  They were dressed like Mormon missionaries, but they didn’t have that Mormon look.  They looked a bit too old to be missionaries and they seemed kind of cold and detached.  They weren’t talking to each other and seemed very focused.  Very calculated in the way the walked and looked around.  It was very strange.”

“Did you report it or tell anyone?”

“No.  Probably foolishly, but it was so strange.  I suddenly felt like someone was watching me and I wasn’t sure who to trust.  I considered pulling Jerry out of school.”

“Was that the last SMS you received?”

“No.  The next one was the worst.”  Kate paused.  She looked down at the ground, put her hands on her head and began to cry.  I reached over, embracing her in a full hug.

“It’s gong to be OK.  We’re going to get this guy.  I promise.”

“He almost got Jerry.  He almost took Jerry from me.”  Kate stopped crying, but was breathing in quick, short inhales and exhales that often accompany crying.  I got an SMS saying,
The earth will cover the doctor’s mistakes
.  Right after the text I got a call from one of Jerry’s friends asking if he was OK.  I had no idea what he meant.  He told me Jerry had come down with the flu at school and he heard he was sent home.  That didn’t make sense.  Jerry had only been at school for less than one hour and he was perfectly fine when I dropped him off.  I called the school immediately and they told me Jerry was in with the nurse.  I told them no nurse.  Pull him out of the nurse’s office immediately.  I would take him to our family doctor.  The school receptionist went and pulled him out.  I rushed to the school and picked him up.  He was feeling ill and couldn’t figure out why.  I asked him about the nurse and he said there wasn’t a nurse today.  There was a doctor.  The nurse was out sick that week and the agency the school nurse works for had sent a replacement.  I almost threw up.  I was so nauseous.  I got Jerry home and in bed and called the cops.  They said they’d check into it.”

“Check into it?  Are you kidding me?”

“That’s how I felt.  I was irate.  I called the school and got the name of the doctor.  I called my friend who works at the hospital to ask about this doctor.  She said she’d check into him as soon as she could.  She had to wait until her shift was over.  She works in delivery and she had more births than normal that day.  She checked as soon as she was off the clock and nothing came up for him.  Nothing!  I called the school first thing in the morning to tell them there was a someone there with no qualifications and they told me that doctor had been replaced by a new one that morning.  I kept Jerry out of school that day.  I went to the police and they told me no laws had been broken and asked me what I wanted them to do.  Speaking to me like I was an idiot.  I’m still mad at them.  Jerry was fine the next day, just a little cloudy in his vision and thoughts.  A little out of it.  It really didn’t seem like the flu.  I know this sounds crazy, but I think he might have been drugged.”

“It doesn’t sound crazy.  That’s exactly what it sounds like.  Kate, this is really serious.  Has anything happened since then?”

“Not yet.  I’m scared of what’s going to happen next.”

“Nothing’s going to happen next.  I’m going to take care of this.”

Kate buried her head in my shoulder and began to cry again.  Hard.  Three minutes passed.  She lifted her head.  “Thank you.  I really, really appreciate it, but Jax, how are you going to take care of it?”

“I have connections and if those connections don’t get the answers I’m after then I have other means.  I have specific skills and training for bad guys.  First thing’s first.  We need to get you and Jerry to a secure location.”

“It don’t have money for a hotel, plus I don’t want to go there.”

“Not a hotel.  It’s easy to find and monitor someone in a hotel.  I know a better place.  A place where I know you’ll be safe.”

“Where’s that?”

“Do you park your car outside or in a garage?”

“Outside.  On the street.  Jax, where is the place?”

I looked and saw our kids playing.  They had finished their ice cream.  “Let me see your keys.”  Kate handed me her keys.  I walked over to her car and opened the trunk.  Luckily she had a tire iron and a jack next to the spare.  I jacked up her car and took a look underneath.  Up underneath the rear bumper were two sets of spare keys.  One for the car and one for each of a door lock and a deadbolt.  Taped down with electrical tape.  I removed them and put them in my pocket.  I slid up by the tire.  Sure enough, attached up and inside the driver’s side rear car fender was a GPS tracking device.  It was activated.  I knew the answer, but had to ask anyways.  Never assume when you can know.  I motioned for Kate to come over.  “Do you have LoJack?”

“No, why?”

“I didn’t think so.  It doesn’t look anything like LoJack.”

“What doesn’t look anything like LoJack?”

“Kate, there’s a GPS tracker underneath your rear driver’s side fender.”

“Someone’s tracking me?”

“Someone knows where your car is all the time.  They may be tracking other things as well.”

“Oh no.  Such as?”

“Phone, clothing, hair, toys…the list is nearly endless.  It’s pretty much limited to your imagination.”

“Jax, I’m sorry I broke down earlier.  Except for my visit to the police I haven’t told anyone about this.  Just saying it out loud was too much earlier.  That’s over with now.  Out of my system.  I don’t want to be a victim.  What do we do next?  How do we take this guy down?”

“First thing is to get you and Jerry to a safe place.  You know the big shopping mall on Washington Street?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to go there now.  Your car will be in front during the drive over.  I’ll be just behind you looking for a tail.  We’ll enter the mall at Nordstrom underground parking.  Do you know where that is?”

“Yes.”

“After you take the ticket drive straight and park near the escalators that take you upstairs.  Go to the women’s shoes and try on shoes.  You’ll be able to see me enter the men’s shoes with your peripheral.  I’ll place my car key inside the shoe that is second from the bottom on the second rack from the left.  Two over, two up.  The kids will sit in the waiting chairs right by the key.  After I leave get the key from my shoe and go with the kids to my car.  Walk the mall to Robinson’s May and exit through their exit to the parking garage on their side.  They only have one exit.  Enter my car.  When you turn on the car the GPS will be programmed to my house.  Just follow the spoken directions.  When you arrive Cole will be there to let you in.  It sounds like a lot, but it’s not.  Just stay focused and follow the steps.  Got it?”

“Got it.”

“OK, let’s do.  Is there anything valuable or special you need from your house?”

“Yes.  There is a box of mementos in my bedroom closet.  They’re in a safe on the floor.”

“Combination or key safe?”

“Combination.”

I paused.  Kate seemed reluctant to volunteer the combination.

“What’s the combination?”

“They’re not that important, I guess.”

“Are you sure?  There’s a chance that you might never have another chance to recover those things.”

“How much can you lift?”

“I don’t know.  Deadlift maybe a few hundred pounds.”

“Just once though, yes?”

“Once or twice.  I can’t carry that much.”

There was an awkward silence.

“08-24-91.”

“That’s the combination?”

“Yes, that’s the combination.”

“OK, I’ll get the mementos and grab some clothes.  Anything else you must have?”

“No, that’s it.”

“OK, are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

We calmly got the kids and walked to the vehicles.  I had Jasmine and Jerry sit in the back so they could continue playing.  It would also give me a better line of sight out the passenger window.

The first few miles nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  Then I noticed a black Escalade driving a bit erratically.  I let it pull in between us.  It stayed there for all of about five seconds before sliding right and pulling off the freeway.  It looked like a mom with a van full of kids in soccer uniforms.  False alarm.

In my rear view I noticed a white car.  A Toyota Camry.  The most popular car in the U.S.  It had picked us up on the entry ramp and stayed with us for at least three or four minutes.  We were driving the speed limit and not changing lanes.  It could be another safe driver…or not.  I called Kate.  “Move to one lane from the right exit lane.  Drop speed to 50.”  I hung up.  Kate immediately signaled and fell right in place.  The Camry stayed in its lane, but dropped speed a little.  Since it kept its speed it didn’t pass me.  I couldn’t get a good look at the driver.  The mall was coming up in less than a mile.  No time to try and get a look without taking too much risk.  Kate pulled to the far right lane and signaled.  I pulled in without signaling.  The Camry fell in behind us.  It could be just another shopper, but I wasn’t feeling like that was the case.

As we pulled into the mall the Camry changed lanes.  It was in the lane leading to Robinson’s May.  Perfect.  Probably false alarm.  Kate drove into the ticket booth for Nordstrom.  I continued towards Robinson’s May.  We pulled into the garage and parked.

“Dad, what are we doing at the mall?”

“We’re going to do some quick shoe shopping.”  I looked at the Camry.  An elderly couple got out and headed inside.  I no longer considered the Camry a threat.

We went inside and sure enough I could see Kate looking at women’s shoes.  I left the key and had the kids sit in the waiting chairs.  Luckily I knew the shoe section well.  I am a practical guy, but one thing I learned in the SEALs is you have to have comfortable shoes.  And finding comfortable shoes that fit well and look good takes time.  A lot of time and a lot of trying on.

I told the kids to sit tight and exited to the parking lot.  Kate’s car was right where it was supposed to be.  I took the spare key from my pocket and opened the door.  As I sat in the driver’s seat I adjusted the seat back and down to fit my six foot five inch oversized frame.  I checked the mirrors and didn’t see anything suspicious.  I reached in the glove box and pulled out the registration.  Checked the address and was on my way to 337 North Jefferson Street.

Kate had a very simple one-story home.  I took the door keys I had removed from under her bumper from my pocket and let myself in.  I checked the obvious spots for wires, but didn’t see anything.  Her home could easily be bugged, but I’d need equipment to run a proper check.  Equipment I didn’t have, but could easily obtain.

I went to her bedroom and opened the closet.  I found the safe right where she said.  I turned the wheel…08-24-91.  Click.  The door opened.  The box was a simple wooden box.  There was an inscription on the top, but the box was so worn it was unreadable.  I saw a duffel bag sitting next to the safe.  I grabbed it and walked to Kate’s dresser.  I opened the top drawer and was greeted with what seemed like an endless supply of panties and bras.  I grabbed a handful and threw them into the bag.  I couldn’t help but notice their shape and feel the texture in between my fingers.  I imagined Kate walking around at night in my house in these little panties.  It was going to be torture.  I had to stay focused.  I walked down the hall and found Jerry’s room.  It was neat.  Unusual for a boy his age.  I filled the bag with clothes for Jerry and went back to Kate’s room for the box.  I put the box in the middle of the duffle bag to protect its contents.  I zipped the bag and walked out the door.  As I was locking the doors I used my peripheral vision to survey her neighborhood.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  I put on my sunglasses and began walking down the street to the bus stop.  As I walked, I noticed a stopped car and a map held in front of the driver’s face.  I dropped my walking speed just before I passed and looked in.  It was a middle aged Asian man with sunglasses.  In most cities that wouldn’t raise any suspicions, but here it was strange for two reasons.  One, why would a man be reading a map in a residential side street in small town America that’s off the beaten track? Two, we only had one Asian in town.  That one next to the word Asian stood out like a sore thumb on the last census report and everybody knew that one was Takumi, the owner of the Japanese Tea and Coffee shop.  That guy definitely wasn’t Takumi.  Takumi walks everywhere anyways.