They knocked on the door and were greeted by Mr. Harrison who looked a little relieved to see them.
“Thanks for stopping by,” he said, and opened the door for both to enter.
“How are the kids?” Victoria asked.
“Actually, pretty good. There’s a little tension in the air, but they had some friends over and have been pretty busy goofing off. Don’t challenge those two to an air hockey game,” he said. “They kicked my butt.”
Victoria smiled and looked relieved. “I don’t want to upset them but we have some news that might make her feel a little better. Can we talk to them?”
“Ok-I’ll find them.” He left to search the kids out.
Jaxon and Victoria sat in the living room, and the kids walked in together a minute later. The girl looked much better and the boy beamed beside her. They sat on the couch next to each other, holding hands again, and waited expectantly.
“You guys look happy,” Victoria said. “Have you had a good day today?”
They both smiled and nodded. “Well, except for this morning,” Luke said, looking a little somber now.
“Good,” she said. “I’m glad. Ellie, we found some information that might make you feel a little better.”
Jaxon watched the girl who looked at them warily. She didn’t trust them yet, and Jaxon didn’t blame her. She’d been through a lot and probably had doubts about life in general. Her perspective had grown up a lot in the last few months and she was getting an above average dose of adulthood tossed her way.
“What is it?” Ellie said.
“We tracked down information on your father and there is no way William Smith could know him.”
“What kind of information,” Ellie asked, and this surprised Jaxon. He expected her to just take their word for it. Victoria never faltered.
“He is nowhere near us and hasn’t been for some time,” Victoria said.
“Where is he?”
Victoria looked at Jaxon. He had nothing to offer. Maybe this had been a mistake.
“Can you just take our word for it right now?” Victoria offered. “I know it’s confusing for you, but just trust us.”
She seemed to accept this and nodded her head and sighed. “Well, that’s good,” she said. “That does make me feel a little better. The killer’s still out there though, right?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Jaxon said. “But we’ve got you well protected here, and I know he won’t try anything. Besides, he doesn’t know you’re here.”
“I hope not,” Luke said.
“We will still pretend like he does and keep a couple of officers parked in front and back,” Victoria said. “Does that make you feel safe?”
She nodded hesitantly.
“What is it, sweetheart?” Victoria asked.
“He’s smart,” she said. “He always seems to know what’s happening.”
“It appears that way at times, doesn’t it?” Victoria said. “What if Detective Jennings and I stayed in the house with you tonight? Would that make you feel safer?”
Jaxon jerked his head toward her, but saw the girl smile and nod her head. Victoria looked at him and smiled, and he knew he’d be sleeping on a couch tonight.
Ellie said, “Great!”
Chapter 41
Jaxon sat in a recliner, his radio next to him on the table, volume turned low so it wouldn’t wake any of the kids. Victoria was on the couch, her laptop resting on her knees. She was going through some of the data Holt had e-mailed her. The lab at Quantico was still struggling with the Hacker’s computer system, but the forensic guys in DC had gone through a lot of the evidence collected from the Jenson house. Most of it was nothing new.
After getting permission from each other’s boss, Jaxon and Victoria explained their intentions to the Harrisons and both seemed grateful for the added security. The father had actually taken a deep breath, as if he had been struggling to fill his lungs all day and finally found relief.
Jaxon ran Victoria by her house where she picked up a few things, and then they stopped by the Hoover building so she could grab some electronic eavesdropping detection equipment. Holt was there, and though it was a little awkward for Jaxon, he muddled through and Holt noticed nothing. One more stop at Jaxon’s house to feed Reverb, and they arrived back at the Harrison’s at around 8:00 p.m.
Breaking out the eavesdropping equipment, Victoria scanned the house and phone lines, while Jaxon searched outside for cameras. The light was fading so Jaxon didn’t have much time. Neither found anything.
“If he doesn’t have any electronics around, how does he know so much about what is happening with these kids?” Jaxon asked.
“Could he be tracking their cell phones?”
“Possibly,” Jaxon said, “but he would have to be able to listen in on their conversations to find out anything about the Hacker. How could he know Quentin Jenson provided Luke with software just from observing him visiting the house?”
“Yeah, that doesn’t make sense.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Victoria finally said, “Could he have an accomplice? Someone watching the kids or even someone who knows them?”
Jaxon sat up. “Or maybe he’s bugged one of the friend’s houses. What’s their names?” He snapped his fingers a couple of times. “John and Jimmy. What if Luke’s buddies are inadvertently supplying the guy with intel? They wouldn’t have a clue if their phones or computers were bugged.”
“We’ll see if we can get permission to check the house tomorrow.”
“Just wave that FBI badge and that should do the trick.”
“It does seem to work most of the time.”
They sat quiet for a few minutes. He listened to the noises of the strange house, trying to familiarize himself with its personality. The quiet squeaks of the floor, or the groans of the A/C system as it came on. Hopefully, he would recognize something strange if it happened while he slept. After a few minutes he looked over at Victoria and then got up and walked over to the couch. She was typing something into the laptop and he reached up and brushed the hair away from her forehead, looking at the healing bruise underneath.
She stopped and looked up at him. “Not here,” she said.
“I know,” he said and let his hand fall to his lap. The bruising was looking better and he told her so.
“It feels better,” she said, reaching up and touching it. “I don’t notice it as much anymore.”
He stared at it remembering the horrible panic he felt seeing her lying there after the house exploded. She must have read his mind because her eyes softened and she said, “I’ll be ok.”
He searched her face. Was this really going to happen? Could they give it another go? They had been so busy today they barely had time to reflect on their little tryst this afternoon. They hadn’t even talked about her relationship with Holt, and maybe that was on purpose. He was a little afraid to hear what she would say about him and maybe she was afraid to think about it.
He pushed it away and thought about the last few days. It had seemed like months and realizing it had only been a couple of days, it made him think he hadn’t even had time to grieve for his partner. Sally was like a distant memory and he hated himself for relegating her to some small compartment in his mind, to pull out later and look at. Seeing her lying unmoving and lifeless in his mind immediately brought the image of Victoria up again, bleeding from the head, the sinking feeling in his soul, thinking she was dead. And then the relief he felt when she was ok.
“Back in Indiana,” he said softly, “when I saw you lying there, I felt empty. In the split second before you woke, I thought you were dead and any hope of my life ever being whole again was sucked away like a vacuum. I could feel it. Physically feel it. The air turned stale and hot, and I couldn’t breathe. I knew I would never get to tell you how I felt. That I would never get to feel your touch again. That I would never hear your voice again. The world had ended for the second time in my life, and I didn’t want to go on. Then you spoke to me.”