“Hush, I’m trying to listen.” I waved him off, restarting Jessica’s first message.
“Hey, Duane. It’s Jess. We just landed in Houston. I wanted to talk to you before we left the airport because the reception out at the farm can be spotty. It’ll take us about an hour and a half to drive out there. Call me when you get this.” She hesitated, her voice cracking a little when she added before clicking off, “I really miss you.”
The second message was short: “Hey, it’s me. We’re on the road now. Call when you can.”
And my heart was in my throat as I listened to the third message: “Hi. We’re at the farm now, this number is the direct line to the house. If you call one of the staff will answer and I left instructions that they should come get me if you do. So…call me? Did I mention I miss you? …Bye.”
I immediately hit redial, praying she’d be available to talk. As she’d warned, one of the staff picked up and placed me on hold, apparently searching the house for her.
I could feel Beau’s split attention—between me and the mountain road—and he finally asked, “Is that Jessica? What happened? Is she okay?”
“Shhh…” I didn’t want him distracting me. With each passing second I grew more agitated—with the wait and with myself for leaving the phone in Beau’s car.
But relief flooded my chest when I finally heard her voice. “Hello?”
“Jessica, it’s me. It’s Duane. I am so sorry I didn’t get your messages. My phone was in Beau’s glove compartment and…you know what, it doesn’t matter. How are you? Are you okay? Do you need me to fly out? I can leave today.”
This was a thoughtless promise and I knew Beau was looking at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t care. If she needed me I would fly out, the Order and their threats could go to hell. Then they could go fuck themselves and go to hell again.
She sighed softly, but when she answered, her tone was low and stiff, like she was trying to keep from being overheard. “Thanks for calling. I…I’m glad you called.”
I paused for a second, then asked, “I’m guessing you’re with people?”
“That’s right…”
I guessed she was hoping I’d lead the conversation, do most of the talking, since she was being listened to on her end.
“Can you call me tonight? Nine my time?”
“Yes!” Her loud and enthusiastic response made me smile despite the situation. “I mean, yes. I can do that.”
“Good. You call me at nine. I’ll keep my phone on me.”
“Okay…” I heard her struggle, like she wanted to say more, something in particular. Instead she sounded resigned as she said, “Talk to you later.”
I guessed what she wanted, so I said it. “I miss you, Jessica James.”
“Me too,” she said immediately, like she was anxious I wouldn’t say the words, but relieved I had.
“I mean it, I miss you. You’re too far away. If you need me to fly out I can get on a plane tonight.”
“Don’t do that. Things are…well, anyway.” I heard her take a deep breath then say, “Okay, sounds good. Talk to you later.”
I hesitated, wondering if I should just go. In the end I decided I’d be talking to her that night and could reassess the situation then, fly out Friday if needed.
Eventually I said, “Okay, okay. We’ll talk tonight.”
“Yes. We will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I set the phone on my lap, staring at the screen for a long minute before adding the Houston number to my contacts.
Beau exhaled loudly next to me. “You mind telling me what’s going on?”
“Jess’s aunt died. She’s in Houston, can’t make dinner tonight.”
“That’s terrible.”
I nodded absentmindedly, saving the number.
“So…no pie?”
I glared at my brother. “No. No pie for you, Beauford Fitzgerald.”
“No need for that tone, Duane Faulkner. I was just double-checking.” When I continued to glare he added, “The woman makes good pie. You can’t blame me for wanting more of it.”
“You’ll get her pie only if and when I say it’s appropriate.”
He grumbled something under his breath I didn’t catch. I ignored him in favor of glancing out the window and I saw the flashing police lights behind us through the side mirror just before the siren gave a yelp, making Beau jump in his seat.
“God in heaven!” Beau, obviously startled, frowned and squinted at his rearview mirror. “What the hell? Is that Jack?”
I nodded, grinding my teeth. Jessica’s brother Jackson was pulling us over and the hairs on the back of my neck abruptly itched. Something about the situation didn’t feel right, almost like it was an ambush, like he’d been waiting for us.
“Just pull off.” I sighed, closed my eyes, and rubbed my forehead. “Let’s get this over with.”
“I wasn’t even speeding, and this car doesn’t have a broken tail light. He is such a jackass,” my brother hit his steering wheel with obvious frustration, but slowed the car, navigating two more switchbacks before pulling carefully onto a mountain overlook.
Beau was now repeating all my earlier curse words under his breath as we waited for Jackson to approach the car. I was not surprised that Jackson, being the complete jackass that he was, shined his high-powered flashlight in Beau’s face even though the sun was still out.
“Which one of you is Duane?” he asked, then pointed the flashlight at me. I’d adverted my eyes so I wouldn’t be blinded, and was reminded how much I seriously hated this guy.
“You can’t pull cars over just because you’re looking for somebody, Jack,” Beau said, nice and friendly and with a shit-eating grin. “Not unless that person is missing or under arrest.”
“You’re Beau,” Jackson said, lifting his chin toward my brother. He redirected his attention back to me as he holstered his flashlight, still leaning against the car and into the window. “Duane, did you know my sister is out of town?”
I sat a bit straighter, surprised Jackson had pulled us over just to share his sister’s whereabouts with me, and glanced at Beau before answering. “Yes. I just spoke with her.”
“My aunt died, my momma’s sister. Jess is out in Houston with my parents, sorting everything out.”
Beau and I shared another look, and I read Beau’s thoughts perfectly because they mirrored mine, Why the hell is he telling us this?
“I know all this, Jackson. Like I said, I just spoke to Jessica.”
Jackson nodded, and I realized he was schooling his expression, keeping his tone flat. Something dark and cold settled in the pit of my stomach. This was a set up. I was sure of it. Jackson was setting me up, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how.
Abruptly I knew we needed to leave, before Jackson could say anything else.
“Well, thanks for the info. We’ll just be on our way.” I motioned to Beau to re-start the car.
“If you know about the funeral then I guess you know about the money, too. Right?”
I almost flinched. Almost. Instead I swallowed and nodded, bluffing. “That’s right. Know all about it. Start the car, Beau.”
Beau did as I instructed, but Jackson didn’t move away from the window. He just kept on talking.
“Oh. Did Jess tell you how she inherited all my aunt’s money? That she’s now independently wealthy and will be leaving Green Valley after Christmas?”
Beau eyebrows lifted, just a fraction of an inch, but otherwise he did an admirable job of hiding his surprise. Outwardly dispassionate, I stared at Jessica’s brother. Meanwhile my heart was beating out of my chest and I’d broken into a cold sweat.
Fear.
I was feeling fear.
The last time I felt fear, really and truly, was when my daddy locked me in the woodshed for two days with no food or water as punishment for sitting in his chair.
I couldn’t breathe.
Beau answered for me. “Like he said, Duane just talked to Jessica. He already knows all this. Now if you’ll step away from the car, we’ll be on our way home, officer.”