Cold Case Tracker, page 7
Hudson lay asleep on his blanket in front of the couch. But as Jackson approached, Hudson opened his eyes. The dog’s eyebrows rose.
“It’s okay, buddy,” Jackson said. “Get some sleep while you can. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
The dog closed his eyes and settled his head back down again. Within moments he could hear the gentle wheeze of Hudson snoring. Jackson wished he could fall asleep so easily.
Instead, he found himself stretching out on the couch with blankets draped over his body and his eyes scanning the ceiling beams in the darkness. He drifted in and out of a fitful sleep, praying for answers that didn’t come. Finally, the morning sun began to rise over the lake, casting the water below in pink and orange hues.
Soon afterward he heard the sound of Amy’s footsteps as she made her way downstairs. He sat up and looked at his watch. It was quarter to seven.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said. “Skye tends to rise with the sun and start kicking up a storm.”
“Not a problem.” Jackson swung his legs over the side of the couch.
Hudson leaped to his feet and ran over to greet Amy as soon as she reached the main floor. She smiled and ran her hand over the dog’s head. “Good morning, Hudson.”
“How did you sleep?” Jackson asked.
“Not too bad, all things considered,” she said. She looked up at him. “How about you?”
“About as good as I could expect.” He stood. “I should probably go take Hudson for a walk.”
“I was planning on making French toast,” Amy said. “Good by you?”
He smiled. “Good by me.”
Her tone was friendly and polite, and a million miles away from the emotional closeness he’d felt with her the night before. Instinctively, he mirrored her tone and they stood there, smiling nicely at each other. He signaled Hudson to his side. Jackson and his partner walked out the front door across the porch and down toward the lake. The memory of how Amy had thrown her arms around him in a spontaneous hug the night before flickered at the back of his mind.
Had she regretted getting so close? Or being so vulnerable with Jackson when she’d opened up about her ex-husband?
Maybe Amy was intentionally putting distance between them, and if so maybe it was a good thing. It definitely wouldn’t hurt for him to do the same.
When Amy found out the truth about him, she’d be understandably upset. And if watching the implosion of his parent’s marriage had taught him anything it was that conflict lead to yelling, anger, insults and worse. There was no way he could imagine she’d ever forgive him for what he’d done. The best he could hope for now was to somehow lessen the blow.
He walked slowly down to the water, letting Hudson run on ahead of him. He checked his phone. It was barely seven and the RCMP’s Ontario K-9 Unit wouldn’t open until nine. He needed to check in with Finnick and fill him in, but he also wasn’t about to wake his boss up.
He could however wake up Caleb.
The phone rang four times. Then Caleb’s voice was on the line, sounding slightly more alert than Jackson guessed he was. “Hey.”
“Good morning,” Jackson said.
“Is it really?” Caleb chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Did I wake you up?” Jackson asked.
“Nah,” Caleb said. “I was just staring at the coffee maker telling it to hurry up. How’s your face?”
“Only slightly more haggard than usual.”
“Ha.” Caleb snorted.
Jackson quickly filled him in on everything that had happened in the night, including his suspicion that the intruder was a professional.
Caleb whistled. “Well, that woke me up fast. I’m going to meet with Finnick and Blake in the office in a bit. Then I should reach Clearwater around two thirty. Okay?”
“Sounds good,” Jackson said. That would give him a few hours to figure out how to tell Amy that he was Gemma’s brother and apologize for being an idiot. “We’re going to be heading to the bookstore in a little bit. The power was out yesterday and she really wants to get it open and running by nine. I figure it’s as good a place to hunker down and wait for you guys as any. And it’ll probably be good for Amy’s health and sense of well-being to be focused on the store today.”
“And Amy still doesn’t know that Gemma’s your sister, right?” Caleb checked.
“Nope,” Jackson said. “But apparently our professional thief does.”
“Wow. Okay.” Caleb seemed to stretch the two words out into a few dozen syllables.
“By the way, thanks for covering for me when she called yesterday,” Jackson said.
“No problem,” Caleb said. “I hated doing it, though. I was so impressed she thought to verify your identity.”
“Well, Amy’s pretty smart.” That was an understatement. “I’ll see you at the bookstore this afternoon.”
“See you then.”
Jackson disconnected and called Hudson. Together they headed back into the cottage. Turned out Amy had made enough French toast to feed a small battalion, along with a fresh pot of coffee, which he knew was just for his benefit. She’d also opened one of the cans of dog food he’d set out on the counter the night before and scooped it into Hudson’s food bowl. She’d even gotten the dog fresh water.
He let her know that his colleagues should be there after lunch and would meet them at the bookstore. They ate mostly in silence, punctuated by the kind of small talk about the weather that one might make with a stranger when stuck in a slow-moving checkout line. Although Amy smiled frequently and even generously, somehow her eyes never lit up the way they had the night before. When breakfast was done, they did the dishes side by side, with her washing and him drying.
Then the three of them headed to the store, this time taking his truck, with Amy in the passenger seat and Hudson spread out in the back. Finally, they pulled into the narrow alley behind the shop.
She got out of the truck, walked toward the door and paused. She turned back. Worry filled her eyes.
He opened the back door for Hudson. “What’s wrong?”
“The door is ajar,” she said. “It isn’t locked and I’m positive I locked it.”
“Get behind me,” he said.
He pulled his weapon and signaled Hudson to his side. He crossed the alley, pushed the door open and stepped inside.
His heart sank. The lock had been busted. Shelves had been knocked over. Books covered the floor.
The store had been ransacked.
SIX
“What’s wrong?” Amy asked as she watched Jackson’s body freeze.
“There’s been a break-in,” Jackson said. His voice was eerily calm and level, but that didn’t stop her heart from plummeting into her gut. “Stay behind me.”
She waited just outside the doorway as Jackson and Hudson moved through the shop.
“We’re all clear,” Jackson called from within, “but I’ve got to warn you, it’s a mess.”
She stepped through the doorway. Sorrow crushed her core as she scanned the wreckage of their precious little store. The power was still off but enough light streamed in through the large front windows to reveal that every single book had been knocked off the shelf. The bulletin board and her framed sketches had been torn down from the wall.
“Did Gemma have a bird?” Jackson asked. “There’s an empty cage in the other room, but no bird.”
Oh no.
“Reepi!” She called the bird’s name but didn’t hear his cheerful chirping in response.
Where was Gemma’s beloved parrot? Amy slid past him and ran into the side room. Her heart shattered. Reepi’s empty cage was lying on the floor. The door was open. Green and gray feathers were scattered around the room.
The bird was gone.
Tears rushed to her eyes and she didn’t fully succeed in blinking them back before Jackson saw them.
“Are you okay?” he asked, softly.
His comforting hand brushed her shoulder. Hudson’s warm body pressed against her leg.
“Gemma had a conure parrot,” she said. “His name was Reepi. He was only a few months old. But she loved him so much. I can’t believe I lost him.”
Hudson went over and sniffed the cage thoughtfully.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jackson said. “He probably flew outside. The door was open a crack when we got here.”
She ran her fingers over her eyes. “I don’t know why I’m crying. He was only a bird.”
“But he was family?” Jackson asked.
Amy nodded. “Yeah. Gemma really adored him and he kept me company after she was gone.”
His hand ran along her back. It was comforting and supportive.
“Hudson’s like family to me,” Jackson said. “If anything ever happened to him, I’d be devastated.”
How was it this man she barely knew sometimes seemed to know the exact right thing to say?
Jackson stepped away from her and went over to where Hudson was still poking around the cage. He ran both hands over the dog’s head and a thoughtful look crossed his face. Jackson knelt down beside his partner, picked a feather up off the ground and held it up in front of Hudson’s nose. The dog sniffed the feather obediently. A tiny ray of hope flickered in her chest.
“Search,” Jackson ordered his partner. “Find Reepi.”
Hudson’s ears perked. The dog barked.
“Show me!” Jackson said.
Hudson woofed again, as if agreeing. The dog turned and trotted out into the main room.
“Is Hudson really able to track Reepi?” Amy asked.
“I don’t know,” Jackson said. “But he seems to think he can.”
Hudson barked sharply as if telling them to hurry up. They walked through the main room and found him standing by the back door. Jackson and Amy followed the K-9 out of the store, through the narrow alleyway, past Jackson’s vehicle, and then out into the thick and untamed woods. Trees hemmed in around them on all sides. The German shepherd confidently cut his own path through the forest.
“Reepi!” she called.
She glanced at Jackson. Deep lines creased his brow.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Honestly, I have no idea if this is going to work, and I’m worried about getting your hopes up. I don’t want to let you down.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” she said. Instinctively, she reached for his fingers and squeezed them. “I appreciate your honesty.”
She held his hand for a long moment before realizing what she was doing and letting go.
“Hey, Reepi!” Jackson cupped his hands around his mouth. “Little bird buddy! It’s time for breakfast!”
He glanced at Amy and whispered, “It is time for his breakfast, right?”
“Yeah.” She glanced at him gratefully. He met her eyes and smiled.
They reached a small clearing in the woods. The dog stopped suddenly. Amy held her breath and prayed. There was silence at first, and then something rustled in the branches above their heads.
As they watched, the parrot fluttered down from the trees in a magnificent display of gray and green. Amy’s hand rose to her lips. The bird landed on the dog’s head.
A laugh slipped through her fingers, mingled with a sob.
Jackson exhaled, and she wondered how long he’d been holding his breath.
“Thank You, God,” Jackson prayed. Then he glanced down at his partner and ran his hand over his side. “Good job.”
Amy reached out her hand for the bird, but Reepi bounced down onto Hudson’s back and busied himself with cleaning his feathers.
“Well, he seems happy with his new perch,” Jackson said. “Maybe he’s tired from his adventures.”
He chuckled, she did too, and then they turned and walked back through the woods to the store, with Reepi riding on Hudson.
It wasn’t until they were back indoors that Reepi disembarked and flew through the main room back into the smaller side room. Within moments she heard his usual chirping as he bounced around the bookshelves. Jackson ran his hand silently over his partner’s head and scratched him behind the ears. Amy followed the sound of the chirping bird into the other room.
For a moment, she’d been so elated about finding Reepi that she’d almost forgotten just how terrible a mess the place was. So many books were scattered on the floor there was barely anywhere to stand. She turned a small round table that had displayed large artistic picture books right side up again, and started stacking books on it.
Suddenly the lights flickered on above and she could hear the beep of the store’s Wi-Fi router coming online.
“Eureka!” Jackson called. A moment later he appeared through the door. “Turns out our intruder cut a few electrical wires. Thankfully I’m handy enough with a pocketknife to splice them back together. Although, you’re going to want to get an actual electrician in to do the job right.”
“I’m guessing he wished he’d left the power on before he realized he’d have to come back to ransack the store,” Amy said, wryly. “But my guess is our criminal hasn’t been doing a lot of planning. He attacked me, thinking he’d get what he was after. When that didn’t work, he tried searching the cottage. Then when that failed, he came back here.”
“It’s a good theory.” Jackson looked around at the books on the floor. “How can I help?”
Something about the simple question warmed her heart. Cleaning up the store wasn’t his responsibility. But he had her back without a second thought.
“Fiction goes on the right wall, alphabetically by author,” she said. “Left wall is nonfiction and the back wall is for crime, cold cases and unsolved mysteries. There are a lot of those. Gemma loves them. I’ll sort the children’s and coffee-table books.”
“Got it,” Jackson said.
He started picking his way around the mess. For a long moment, she just stood there and watched him. She’d never met a man like him before. So strong and yet so kind and caring at the same time. She hadn’t even realized she was staring until he stopped and looked up at her.
“What?” he asked. He straightened up and ran his hands down his legs.
Heat rose to her cheeks.
“I’m just really thankful that you’re here,” she admitted. “I know you told me you’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past and that you don’t think you’re cut out for family life. But from what I can see, you’re a really amazing guy. I hope you’re not being too hard on yourself.”
She wasn’t even sure why she was talking to him about this. But there was something incredible about him—something that drew her in and made her feel safe—and after everything he’d done for her, she hated the thought that he didn’t see that in himself.
He swallowed hard.
“Thank you,” he said. “But you wouldn’t say that if you knew the real me. My parents’ marriage was really toxic. And I was a terrible kid. I got into all kinds of trouble. I hate the idea of bringing a child into the world only for him or her to end up like me.”
She reached her hand toward him. Her fingers brushed his arm.
“But you’ve grown since then, right?” she asked. “I don’t know what you were like before, but the Jackson I know is helpful, funny, forgiving and kind. Maybe if you had a child, they’d turn out like the person you are now.”
Something wavered in his eyes, like he was standing on the edge of a diving board afraid to jump. His mouth opened, and she thought he was about to say something important. Then he closed it again, stepped away and broke her gaze.
“Thank you,” he said, after a long moment. He turned his attention back to the mess on the floor. “If your kid turns out anything like her mom, I’m sure she’ll be pretty awesome too.”
He scooped up a handful of books, turned his back to her and started arranging them onto the shelves. Why was he so uncomfortable receiving compliments?
Lord, whatever is hurting Jackson, and whatever lurks in his past, please help him see himself through Your eyes.
She went back to tidying the books and for a long while neither of them said anything.
“Our silent intruder was really careful when he searched the cottage,” Jackson said, eventually. “But he was either angry, frustrated or in a hurry when he ransacked this place. I’ve never seen a place so thoroughly tossed.”
“Maybe he’s only quiet and methodical when he’s afraid of being caught,” Amy suggested. “I’m sure just throwing everything on the floor is a more efficient method of finding what you’re after.”
“Or maybe he’s just really frustrated that this job has taken so long and has started to become more ruthless,” Jackson suggested.
She bent down, picked up one of the brand-new picture books and looked at it. She ran her finger down the crisp, clean spine. A thought crossed her mind. “Remember I mentioned I wanted to search every book in this place for hidden messages? The state he left the store in practically confirms that he was looking for the laptop or at least something around that size.”
Jackson’s eyebrows rose. “How do you figure?”
“Well, he was clearly looking for something small enough to fit in a drawer but too big to fit in a book.” Amy bent down and picked up two more coffee-table books. “He didn’t flip the pages or look through these. Their spines are still pristine.”
“Good point,” Jackson said. “None of the children’s books look leafed through either.” He glanced back into the other room. “Also, he didn’t open any of the VHS video or DVD cases. We can’t assume it was a search for the laptop that caused all this chaos, but it’s the likely culprit.”
Reepi chirped loudly from somewhere above their heads, as if announcing that he knew the answer.
