Unexpected Love (Jo's Story) (31 page)

“It seems that Ryan wants to make sure that I am ok with him taking my little sister out because of what we are going through with your job right now.  He thinks I would not approve because he is also a cop.”

“Do you?”

“He isn’t really my concern.  The only thing about him that matters to me is that he has your back.”

“No worries there, he is pretty much in the same boat you are right now.  He tried talking Chief into giving this case away because he thinks I will be too involved.”

“Is he wrong?”

“No, he isn’t.  But that is how I do my job, all or nothing.  There is no in between for me.”  I get up and get my papers off the printer.  Looks like I have everything that I need.  I set them on my desk and grab my jacket off the back of my chair and put it on.  “I'm ready,” I smile at him.

“You want to follow me?”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“Are you staying tonight?”  He grabs my hand.

“Do you think I should?”

“Absolutely.”

I smile, “we will see how dinner goes.  Depends if you annoy me or not,” I kiss his cheek.

“You are frustrating sometimes you know that?”

“Yeah, I know.  But get used to it,” I laugh.  I see him roll his eyes and we walk out of the office and out of the station. “I will follow you back,” I walk toward my car and get in.

Just as I am about to back out of my parking stall I see Chief pull up and wave for me to come talk to him.  I look at Jake and he puts his truck back in park and turns it off.  I get out of the car and walk over to Chief.  “Hey Jo,” he says.  “I need to talk to you in my office please.”

“Sure,” I follow him into the station and up to his office.

“So, I'm not sure how true this is, but I heard that someone at the Rehab Center is on the payroll of the Warrens.”

“Who did you hear it from?”

“Someone on the inside there.  They said that they have been watching Lewis closely and have made note of all the visitors he has had.  Do you think they will try anything stupid?”

“Only if Lewis doesn’t follow their every instruction.  Dammit I knew I should have had him go to a private rehab.  Well, I just need to make sure that he does everything they want him to.”

“Do you think that you going there is going to tip them off at all?”

“I don’t think they have put that together, if they did they probably would have stopped trying to get stuff into him.  They probably just think that since I was the one that brought him up here and I am dating his brother that I am staying in charge of making sure he walks a straight line.”

“Did you find a place for him to stay yet?”

“Working on that now.  Ryan has a place in mind he is going to check into.”

“Not a safe house?”

“No, I think that would be pushing it.  I think they are pretty aware of all the safe houses in the area.”

“Alright, well just play it safe and make sure you watch your back.  They know who you are and sounds like they know who his family is now too.  Make sure they lay low for a while.”

“They are staying some place on the north side of town.”  I look up at him.  “Chief, I want to end this by next weekend.  This is the only case that I have worked that I am actually worried about my wellbeing.  And I'm afraid of what might happen if this goes bad.  There are a lot of people wrapped up in this mess right now.’

“I know, but we have so much on them, we just need that proof.  Let’s focus on that and get it done.”

“Sounds good.  Anything else?”

“No, I think that about covers it.  I will see you in the morning.”

“Ok,” I turn and walk out of the station.  My head is spinning.  This just keeps getting worse by the minute.  Maybe I should have just left Lewis in Virginia Beach.  I walk up to Jake’s truck and see he is on the phone.  He rolls his window down once he hangs up.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.  Ready to go?”

“Yep,” he starts the truck. 

I get into my car and follow him back to his house.  I pull up outside the front door as he pulls into the garage.  I see that Ryan’s car is there.  I smile, I'm sure he is hanging out with Molly.  I walk to the garage.  “What’s Ryan doing here?

“He is taking Molly to a movie.  Mom said dinner is at 6:00 so they are going to catch a movie quick and be back for dinner.”

“Is Ryan coming to dinner too?”

“Not sure, depends on how their date goes I would imagine.”  He smiles at me.

“What?”

“Nothing, just glad you are here that’s all.”  He grabs my hand and leads me into the house.  When we get inside Ryan and Molly are sitting on the couch in the living room talking.  I wave at them and go into the dining room and out onto the porch.  I lose Jake between the living room and the porch; I assume that he is harassing Ryan and Molly.  I stand with my arms on the railing and look out at the back yard.  I see that he has the cover back on the pool and I can see the colors changing in the trees.  I take a deep breath and let it out slow.  I have enjoyed my last few days having Jake to myself but tomorrow we both go back to normal.  I don’t even know what normal feels like anymore.  I feel Jake put his arms around me.  “You are in deep thought,” he starts kissing my neck.

“Yeah, just wishing that we didn’t have to go back to the normal life tomorrow that’s all.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.  But I have had an amazing last week.”

“I did too,” I turn and face him.  “It gets easier you know.”

“What does?”

“Dealing with what I do.  I'm not always in this type of situation.  And if I can get these guys off the streets maybe it will get a little easier.”

“Yeah, hopefully.  And you haven’t even experienced my life yet.  You got lucky the last week.  My life is just getting harder.  I don’t know how this is going to work Jo.  I have never been with someone during the season.  I don’t know what it is going to be like.”  I put my hand on his cheek. 

“We will figure it out, together.”

“Yes, we will,” he smiles and bends down to kiss me.  “I love you Jo.”

I smile at him and pull him into a kiss.

“Alright team; this is what we are looking at for a time line.  The faster we can get Lewis in, the faster we can hopefully nail these assholes.  You all know how this works.  We want to make sure that this is done neatly and as quietly as possible.  I have narrowed down what we have found already.  Ryan and I sat last night and looked over everything that we already have on the Warrens; the only thing we cannot nail down is their drop point for the drugs.  We know they are getting them here somehow, but we haven’t gotten that yet.”  I hand out the sheets to everyone.  “I want you to look over this paper as much as possible, anyone you recognize and any information you have on them will help us.  Angela and I will be going over to get Lewis from rehab here soon.  I want it to look like he is under the watchful eye of me, that will cause them to do things sneaky and when they have to be sneaky they are more likely to screw something up.”

“Do you want us to check out the warehouse location?”  Ryan asks me about the location he brought to my attention last night.

“Not yet, I want to get Lewis settled in first and then we will go from there.  I need to get him clued in on what we are doing.  He needs to be aware of what we want him to do and what we are expecting them to do.  I'm hoping that they entrust him right away.”  I look around the room and see everyone look up at me.  “Guys, this is the only good opportunity we will get to do this.  We need to keep our heads in the game and focus on this.”  I hear a knock on the door and Chief Lorenz walks in with Captain Williams the head of Narcotics.

“Captain Williams has some insight for you on this, possibly some good locations and maybe another seller looking to get out,” he tells me.  “Why don’t you sit down with him and have Officer Ross take Officer Turner and go pick up Mr. Adams.”  I nod, as much as I want to be the one to handle Lewis, I need to get as much information as possible.  They go to the rehab center and about forty-five minutes later they are back.

“He is filled in,” Angela tells me when she walks into my office.  “He was a little upset that you weren’t there, not really sure he has any trust in anyone but you.”

“Well, I have been helping him since this happened so that is understandable.  He knows to contact Ryan if he needs anything?”

“Yes, I made sure that he had Ryan’s number.  He told me to tell you that he will contact Ryan as soon as they make contact with him.”

“Good that is exactly what I want him to do.  Hopefully that is soon.”  We spend most of our afternoon in the board room going over things that we know and planning on where we are going to check out.  At about 3:30 Ryan’s phone rings.

“This is Detective Parker,” he answers it.  “Yeah, did they make contact with you?”  He looks at me.  “Perfect, keep me posted.”  He hangs up.  “They made contact with him already.  He is meeting someone named Lincoln at 5:00 in Square Park.”

“Good, ok, so far so good.  Do we know who Lincoln is?”  I look around at the rest of them and they all start looking through files.

“Lincoln Dobs, he is pretty high up there from what I can tell,” Bob says.  “Looks like maybe third, possibly second in command.  He was caught last year with a lot of coke on him.  But got off for some unknown reason.”

“Good, he is getting their attention already.  That is what I was hoping for.  Ok, let’s get eyes on Square Park.  Ricky, I think you should post outside the front gate.  They know me so I cannot get close.  Ryan, why don’t you and Jean go in as runners and see if you can get close enough to get an ID on this guy, make sure he is who we think he is.”  They all leave the room and go to get ready.

“How you holding up?” Chief walks into the room.

“So far so good, they are doing what I was hoping they were going to.  He has a meeting at Square Park at 5:00, so we are going to try and get in before they do.”

“You’re not going down are you?”

“In the van, but not visible no.  I don’t think I will be able to show my face at all on this one.  I get to be the watch dog.”

“Good, keeps you safe,” he smiles at me.

“All you damn worry warts in my life, I will die of suffocation before I do anything else,” I laugh and go out the door.  I walk down to the van that Bob has gotten and get in.  I look around and laugh.  I never wanted to be doing this from here, but there is way too much at risk for me to get out.  I take a seat next to Bob and we head out.  Angela and Alicia get in a squad and follow us.  “Angela, I want you to post about two blocks north of the park entrance and keep a low profile.  I will let you know if we need you.”

“Got it boss,” she answers.  I watch in the mirror and see her pull off before we get too close to the park.  I look at the clock and it is 4:30. 

“Ryan, you and Joan set?”

“Yep, all set and ready to go.  No sign of anyone yet.”

“Ricky how you holding up?”

“Good, got a good view of the entrance.”

“Perfect, Bob and I are coming into position now; we will have eyes in a few minutes.”  Bob pulls over about a half block away from the entrance and I jump in the back and get the monitors fired up.  I check everything and it looks like I have a good sight from where Ricky is sitting.  I look around and wait. 

“Boss, I think I see Lewis,” I look up to the screen that is Ricky’s view.

“Yep, that is him, good.  Ryan, try and keep an eye on him if you can.  I want to see if they do an exchange.”

“Ok,” I see on Ryan’s monitor that he gets up and starts running.  I can see Lewis at a glance when Ryan passes him.  He definitely doesn’t look like the same guy that I have been talking to the last few days.  I can tell he has gone back into the dealer mode. 

“Jo, that’s Lincoln,” Bob points to the screen.  I see him walk into the park.  He looks very sketchy.

“Ok, good,” I look up at where Ryan is, I can’t see him on that monitor.

“Joan, see if you can position close enough to Lewis and allow me to get some pictures.  Lincoln is entering the park right now.”  She gets up and moves.  I can tell that she has taken up some stretching not far from where Lewis is standing.  I see Lincoln approach him.  They talk for a little bit then I see Lincoln hand Lewis something.  I snap the pictures from the monitor and next thing I know Lincoln is turned around and gone.  I see Lewis look around almost like he is looking for a sign that we are there.  “Ok guys, let’s move out of there meet back at the station,” I go back up to the front seat along with Bob and we are gone.  I wonder what Lincoln handed to Lewis.  Probably an order from up above him is my guess. About an hour later I am sitting in the board room uploading the pictures when Ryan walks in.

“Jo, Lewis called.  They gave him a pick up point and date.”

“Already?”

“Yeah, it is tomorrow morning.  You think this is the one?”

“Where is it?”

“Some house address up town.”

“No, I don’t.  I think that is probably just for him to pick up to sell.  We can’t nail them with that, we have tried.  We need their shipment place and time.”

“You want me to have him do it?”

“He has to.  He has to play along with them.  If he doesn’t he puts everyone at risk.”

“Ok, I will let him know.”  Ryan walks back out of the room and down the hall.  I am looking at the pictures and going over some of the files that Captain Williams gave me when my phone rings.  I look at it and see that it is Jake.  I look at the clock and it is 6:30 already.

“Hey,” I smile when I answer.

“Hey baby,” he says really soft.

“What’s up?”

“Just calling to check on you.  I haven’t heard from you all day.”

“The life of a detective on a hot case,” I laugh.  “We have been really busy today.  How was your day?”

“Really good, coach busted my ass at practice, now I'm sitting on the couch wondering if I should make something for dinner for myself or if you are coming over.”

“Well, I guess there is really nothing else that I can do here, I can come over.”

“Good, I could use some relaxation with you.”

“Me too,” I smile.  “I will head out soon.  You want me to stop and pick something up?”

“No, I will order something.  What are you in the mood for?”

“Not sure, why don’t you surprise me.”

“Ok, sounds good, see you soon.”  He hangs up.  I just sit there looking at my computer for a minute.  I just need something to break with this so I can nail these guys and move on from this.  I close my computer and grab it.  I walk back to my office and I see Ryan sitting at his desk talking on the phone.  I walk in.

“No, we have been busy today; I told you we have a really big case right now that’s all.  Listen you want me to come and pick you up?  We can do dinner?”  I see him smile at me.  I assume that he is talking to Molly.  “Ok, I will see you in a little bit.” He hangs up.

“They tend to be a little overwhelming sometimes don’t they?”

“I take it Jake called you already too?”

“Yeah, just got off the phone with him.  I'm headed there now, he is ordering us dinner then I will probably pass out,” I laugh.

“Tired?”

“Exhausted!”

“That’s what happens when you take time off,” he laughs.  “Hopefully this will be a quick one.”

“Honestly I will just be happy if we get out of this with no one getting hurt.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”  He grabs his jacket.  “Come on I will walk you out.” I smile and grab my jacket and go out the door.  He turns off the lights and we head out of the station.  I walk to my car and get in and head toward Jake’s house.  I'm really looking forward to just relaxing in his arms after today.  I have been up since 6:00 this morning and I am overly tired.  I pull into his driveway and type in the code to get in.  I see Ryan pull up behind me.  I pull up the drive way and park and so does he.  I wait for him to walk up the sidewalk to the front door.  I see Molly watching out the front window.  She runs to the door and opens it.

“You were both still at work?” She looks sternly at us.  I smile and decide to let Ryan deal with her and walk right past her into the house.  I see Jake sitting on one of the chairs on the porch and see that he is on the phone.  I walk out the door and up behind him.

“I don’t know mom, all I know is he was getting taken out of rehab today.  He is on his own to keep the shit out of his system.  I am not going to babysit his ass.”  I hear him take a deep breath.  “Because I don’t trust him that’s why.  It is more than just Molly and I, Jo stays here too.  And what if the girls come back and he is here.  If he brought that shit into my house I would kill him.”  I walk up next to him and sit in his lap.  He looks at me and smiles and I can instantly see him relax.  “Listen mom, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.  Jo is here and I want to spend time with her,” he rubs my arm.  “I will, goodnight mom,” he hangs up the phone.  “My mom says hi,” he says then pulls me into a kiss.

“Hi back,” I smile when he pulls away from me.  “Miss me?”

“Of course I did,” he looks at me.

“Good, I'm glad.”

“How did things go today?”

“Pretty much the exact results we were hoping for.  Hoping that things keep going this good.  If they do this may be over soon.”

“I like that idea.”

“Jake, there is someone here with food,” Molly pokes her head out on the porch.

“Ok,” he scoots me off his lap and goes into the house.  I sit at the picnic table he has sitting on the porch and watch as the sun gets lower.  He comes back out a little while later with some Chinese food.  “Here,” he sets something in front of me.

“Thanks,” the smell of the food is amazing.  I realize that I haven’t really eaten much all day.  I take a bite and feel the stress just go out of my body.  I feel so much better sitting here then I did the entire day at work.

“You like it?”

“Yes, it’s amazing.  I haven’t really eaten much today.”

“A little busy?”

“Yeah, just a little.  I don’t want to talk about my work.  How was practice?”

“Long, I didn’t get a whole lot of down time today.  They think that I am playing better so they are working me harder.  Its good though, pushes me to my limit so they know what I can handle.”

“Do you play this weekend?”

He smiles at me, “you should probably get a schedule to look at and maybe follow.  No, we don’t play this weekend.  I have a game in Denver next weekend.”

I look up at him, “does that make me a bad girlfriend that I didn’t know that?”

“Just shows how out of the loop you are when it comes to football.  I bet Lizzy knew that,” he laughs.

“Yeah, I'm sure she did.  She has become obsessed with football the last couple weeks.”

“Can you blame her?  I mean she is my biggest fan.”

“Oh you think so huh?”

“Yep, it’s obvious you want me for other things, she likes me because I play football.”

I just shake my head and keep eating.  I hear the door open and I hear Ryan and Molly come out.  “What are you guys up to?”  Molly sits down next to Jake.

“Eating,” he looks at her.

“Want to go to a movie with us?”