Chapter 10 #2
“It’s Simons. Okay, I talked to the Amber Alert people and got the notification issue straightened out.
” There was a brief pause, and she heard him inhale.
“For some reason they had down that I wanted the alert blasted several times a day with the majority within the first half-hour like you said it happened. I don’t recall relaying that message to anyone.
However, I told them that I wanted it to go far and wide within the state.
The person I spoke with said they had a new employee that tended to interpret instructions in their own special way and that may be what happened, but he couldn’t say for sure who took my initial call.
He has corrected the alert about Travis and there will be a release to the media outlets that there was a malfunction with the alert system that caused so many notifications to go out today, but that it has been corrected. ”
“I’m glad I called you about it,” Jillian said. “Otherwise, it might have continued like that for days.”
“It very well could have,” Simons agreed. “But one good thing did come out of this morning’s multiple blasts. We know who the young men are, where they work and live. We are hunting them down even as we speak.”
“That’s wonderful,” Jillian said, almost dropping the plates she held. She sat them on the counter and turned to look at Nick, waving her hand in his direction, beckoning him to come over. When he looked up, she smiled and walked towards him. He met her in the middle of the kitchen.
“Do keep me informed with what you find,” she told Simons. “This is the best news I’ve heard in days.”
“Will do,” Simons said. “I’ve got to go. Stay safe.”
The call ended and she put her phone in her jeans short back pocket.
“What has you grinning like a Cheshire cat?” Nick asked.
“That was Simons. He knows who kidnapped Travis, where they work, and live. They’re hunting them now.”
Nick grabbed her around the waist and twirled her.
“Put me down!” she exclaimed, swatting at his shoulder. “If you make us topple over into a heap, I’m going to hurt you.”
“A pretty heap for sure,” he said, doing as she asked.
Mrs. Hudson side-stepped them, grabbing the plates. “Knock it off, you two. Lunch is ready. I’m thrilled they’re about to find Travis.”
“Except you said they were hunting them down,” Nick said. “That means they aren’t at home?”
Jillian shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Damn.” Nick pressed his lips together. “Then they could have been the red dot flashing at the top of the screen as easily as the bottom at any moment. I don’t know how in real time what I had been looking at was today.”
“Should we get in your Land Rover and go look for them?” Jillian asked.
“Not without eating your lunch first,” Mrs. Hudson interjected just like a mother.
They both laughed and took their plates from her before going to sit at the island.
“I think we should leave the chasing of these two to the professionals, just like Mr. McGinty suggested,” Nick said. “You still have dark circles under your eyes, and I don’t like the look of that.”
“But–”
He put up his hand and stopped her from saying more. “It’s only been two days since you were mowed over by a car, and you were damn lucky to come away with just a fractured radius and a cracked tibia.”
Frowning, she picked up a triangle of the quesadilla, dipped it in the sour cream, and said, “Do you have to keep reminding me? I’m fully aware of what happened.”
“As long as you act like you are one hundred percent, yeah, I will,” he said.
“I don’t act that way,” she protested.
“I beg to differ,” he said, walking to the cabinet and getting down three glasses. He filled them with ice from the dispenser, carried them to the island while Mrs. Hudson took a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator, and filled the glasses.
“I agree with Nick,” Mrs. Hudson said. “You do try to act like nothing happened. It started with that first mugging and you wouldn’t tell Mr. McGinty. You didn’t want to bother him because of his upcoming wedding. When I think that if you had just spoken up, maybe Travis might be here today.”
Jillian’s mouth dropped open. “It was their time. Not a time I should have been drawing attention to myself,” she protested.
“But in hindsight…” Mrs. Hudson trailed off.
“It all could have still happened,” Jillian said.
“Yes, it could’ve,” Nick agreed. “We just will never know. And I didn’t say any of this to point a finger at you and I don’t think Mrs. Hudson was either. She was only pointing out that you can’t keep acting like this hasn’t happened to you or that you’re fine when you aren’t.”
“Okay. I’m not fine. I’m in pain, but I’m not going to take the meds when an over the counter will do just fine,” Jillian said.
A silence filled the kitchen, and Nick didn’t know what to say. “You haven’t taken any?”
“One,” Jillian admitted reluctantly. “The first night because the pain was numbing and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but not since.”
“But have you really needed the medication?” Nick asked.
“At times I felt I did, but like I said, I wasn’t taking a chance on getting addicted,” Jillian said. “Even if I only took it as needed.”
“Your doctor didn’t prescribe an opioid,” Nick said. “I think you would have been fine taking the medication. But your resolve and ability to withstand the pain shows your strength and character.”
“I agree,” Mrs. Hudson said. “I’m impressed. I don’t think I could have made it through without taking anything, especially the way you have been pushing yourself to search for Travis despite your injuries.”
They finished eating in silence and then Mrs. Hudson brought out a lemon meringue pie for dessert, serving them each a piece.
“When did you have time to bake?” Jillian asked. “I know you’ve been rearranging Mr. McGinty’s bedroom to move in Abby’s things.”
“Yesterday, while I worried where you’d gone off to,” the housekeeper said.
“Sorry we worried you to the point you had to keep busy,” Nick said. “But this pie is delicious. We’ll have to worry you more if it produces this.”
Mrs. Hudson gave a little laugh. “Please, don’t go out of your way. I enjoy baking and I would prefer to do it under different circumstances on a regular basis.”
It was Nick’s turn to laugh. “I don’t think I could take you away from the McGinty’s, but I will be happy to have pie any and every day you want to bake one while I’m staying here.”
“It’s a deal,” she said, getting up and clearing away her dishes, leaving the younger people to finish their meal.
“Lemon is a summer favorite around here,” Jillian said. “It’s cool, refreshing, and not too heavy.”
“I think it’s good anytime,” Nick said, finishing off his piece.
“Help yourself to seconds if you like,” Mrs. Hudson said. “We’re having Mango mousse for dessert tonight.”
“Yum,” Jillian said. “I love your mango mousse.”
“I’ve never had that before,” Nick said, getting up from the barstool and taking his and Jillian’s dishes over to the sink before she could protest. “I’ll be interested in trying that.”
He returned and sat back down to her frowning face. “I could have managed,” she said.
“And I thought I’d be nice,” he replied. “What do you want to do this afternoon? Play a board game?”
She shook her head. “I have an assignment due for my online grad class. I haven’t had a chance to work on it the last few days with what has been going on. If you give me a few hours to complete it then I’ll be all yours.”
“I didn’t realize you were taking one this summer,” he said.
“My last one and I’ll have my masters completed.”
“That’s great,” he said. “What will you do with your degree? Finally apply for a teaching job?”
She shrugged. “I promised Travis I wouldn’t leave him, so unless the decision is out of my hands, I will be staying put for the next several years.”
“And will you be satisfied with that?” Nick asked. “Don’t you want to have a family of your own one day?”
“I’d have to meet someone and fall in love before that could happen, Mr. Bardou,” Jillian said.
“It isn’t impossible for me to date and do my job.
I was involved with a man when Travis was small, but things didn’t work out.
He claimed seeing me only on my days off was not enough.
We had been seeing one another when I came to work here. ”
“And how did you feel?” Nick asked.
“I thought we were seeing one another a respectable amount of time each month,” she said. “But he wanted to get more serious than I did.”
“Has your opinion changed as you’ve grown older?” Nick asked.
“About getting serious with someone?” she asked. “I never was opposed to it. I just didn’t feel ready with him. I liked him well enough… but I guess he just wasn’t the one.”
Nick nodded.
“What about you? Have you got a significant other right now?”
“No. I’m a lone wolf.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I am happy being by myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t hope to meet that perfect someone one day,” he said. “And when I do I’ll no longer find the solitude livable. I’ll have to be with her.”
Jillian felt her heart skip a beat when he said that. She’d always longed to find someone who made her feel that way about them too. Did that mean she was a lone wolf as well? Why had he told her this?
She smiled. “If you are a lone wolf, then it sounds like you working for the Lone Wolf Agency is perfect.”
“The principle is the same. We like to work alone in the field, not that we don’t seek assistance from others if we need it, but we go out alone,” Nick said. “There is only one catch, most of the guys end up hooking up for life whether they intend to or not. Same with Hank’s men.”
“How’s that?” she asked.
“It’s a long story,” Nick said. “Almost like cupid’s curse and one that even my boss Kenneally thought he’d never fall prey to until he did a job for Hank in December. Now he’s married and he’s moved his main office from Leesburg, Virginia down to Bayou Dixie, Louisiana.”
Her brow raised. “Cupid’s curse?”