Mine

Chapter 9

Cinnamon rolls in hand, David entered the station.

His mind on Miss Emily’s matchmaking attempts.

He wasn’t opposed to asking Jennie out, but the secrets she held concerned him.

He hoped he’d gain her trust before something terrible happened to her or Zoey.

The alternative—another death on his conscious—would have irreversible consequences to his heart.

“Is that a Miss Emily box?” Officer Carlson stepped beside him. A hopeful look plastered on his face.

“Sure is.” He lifted the lid, plucked out a couple rolls, and handed the box to the young officer. “Here. Put that in the break room and spread the word.”

Carlson scurried away with the treasured treat.

David meandered through the office maze and sat on the corner of Brandon’s desk. He handed his partner one of the cinnamon rolls. “Looks like you could use a pick me up.”

Brandon leaned back in his chair and released a contented sigh. “Absolutely.”

“How’s the research coming along?” David asked between bites.

“Not too bad. I’ve found evidence against Eddie Winters while waiting for our search warrant. I think we have our guy.”

“Good.” David licked his fingers. “How much longer before we get the go ahead?”

“Shouldn’t be too long. I’m expecting the paperwork by the end of the day. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

“I don’t care if it’s earlier in the week than normal, I want this creep behind bars.” David skirted Brandon’s desk and plopped down at his own. He pulled out two handwipe packets he’d thrown in the top drawer from one of their food deliveries and tossed Brandon one.

Powering up his computer, he opened his email and closed his eyes. Sixty-two messages. He’d only been away from the station for an hour. He inhaled and got to work.

“Detective?”

David checked the clock at the bottom righthand corner of his computer screen. He hadn’t looked up in over two hours. No wonder his eyes burned. He opened and closed his eyes a couple of times then lifted his gaze to the receptionist. “What can I do for you, Bethany?”

A pizza box in hand, she grinned at him. “Giving up and eating at work now?”

He scrunched his forehead. “Not that I know of.”

“Well, the delivery guy said this was for you.” She placed the box on his desk. “Enjoy.”

He turned to his partner. “Brandon, you order pizza?”

“Nope. I plan to be home in time to eat with the kids tonight. You?” Brandon rolled his office chair next to him.

“Not me.” David lifted the lid on this pizza box. He shoved his chair backward and leapt to his feet. “What in the world?”

A large supreme pizza with cockroaches sat before him.

“Interesting topping,” Brandon deadpanned.

David rolled his eyes. “Thanks, partner.” Inching his way to the nasty insect infested pizza, his gaze landed on the inside of the lid.

He stared at the message written in red block letters. Stay away! She’s Mine!

Officer Hanes appeared at his side and slapped his back. “Who’d you make mad?”

He heard Brandon on the phone calling the county Crime Scene Unit to come collect his delivery as evidence.

“Not a clue.” He peered at the creepy crawlies again and shivered. At least the disgusting bugs were dead.

“Well, someone doesn’t like you.” Hanes leaned in and examined the words.

Brandon hung up. “You go on a date with a wrong girl lately?”

“No.” David glared at him. The man knew he’d only dated a few times since he’d arrived in Pinewood Shores.

He hadn’t forgiven himself for letting down Brenda.

His lack of attentiveness had gotten her killed.

If he’d only left work instead of letting his job come first. “As a rule, I don’t date. You know that.”

“Had to ask.” Brandon pulled his cell phone from his belt clip and snapped a few pictures.

Hanes scooted a chair over and plopped down next to the detectives. “It has to be someone you’re involved with.”

David opened his mouth to respond, but the officer held up a hand to stop his rejection of the idea.

“Look, I’m not asking about women you have or haven’t dated. I’m asking if there are any new ladies in your life, including cases or casual friendships.”

He stared at a spot on the white colored wall on the other side of the room. Who had he met in the past few weeks? Only one name came to mind. “Jennie.”

Brandon lowered his cell phone. “That doesn’t make sense. Eddie’s focused on Zoey, not Jennie. He wouldn’t care what your relationship is with her mother. Unless…”

“Unless we’re right and there’s a second suspect unrelated to the internet crime against Zoey.” He flinched. Maybe their earlier theory at the coffee shop hadn’t been far off. But who? “Do you have any more info on Jennie’s background?”

His partner shook his head. “Nothing. There’s a glitch in the online system and I keep playing phone tag with the detective in Indiana. Since it was background only, I hadn’t pushed to get the information.”

“I’d say it’s time for a hard shove.” David ran a hand through his hair. Staring at the cockroaches, he cringed. Man, he hated those little critters. “We have to find out if she has any enemies.”

The wheels of Brandon’s chair squealed as he rolled behind his desk. “On it.”

The CSU team arrived, and David gladly moved to an unoccupied desk.

Pinewood Shores might be small, but the police department shared a CSU unit with two other neighboring towns. Something he was extremely thankful for. He’d collected his own evidence in the past when needed but preferred to hand off the job to a team trained specifically for that task.

Brandon leaned his hip against the corner of David’s borrowed desk. “Finally got a hold of the detective. He’s pulling together the information I requested and promised to send it to me tomorrow morning.”

David leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “Why not tonight?”

“Something about power outages due to a storm and everyone available is tasked with public safety. And for a bit of good news, the signed warrant for Winters is on its way.”

“At least you connected with Indiana.” David sat up. The back of the chair thunked to the upright position. “Let’s focus on Eddie and then we can turn our attention to whoever doesn’t like me.”

His partner studied him for a long moment then nodded. “Just watch your back. Call me if you need help.”

“Will do.” He gathered his papers and stood. “I think I’ll head home and get some rest before we serve the warrant tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Brandon meandered to his desk and logged off his computer. “Take it easy, Whitman.”

“You too, Pierce.” He watched his partner say goodnight to Bethany and push through the double doors at the entrance.

David rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. His shoulders slumped. Questions swirled in his mind. Who hated him? What had he done? He closed his eyes. The biggest question of all, would this be the case that cost him his life or the life of another?

***

Jennie held the mouthpiece of her phone over her head, kissed Zoey on the forehead, then shooed her off to bed while waiting for David to answer her call.

Her friend Bethany, who worked for the police department as a receptionist, called her a few minutes ago about David’s surprise delivery.

The story had given Jennie the creeps. Unable to stop worrying, she gave in and dialed his number.

“Hello?” David’s voice filtered over the phone line.

“Bethany told me what happened. Are you okay?”

“I assume you’re talking about the Coach Roach pizza.” His breath hissed across the connection.

“Yes.” Jennie shivered. Creepy crawlies in or on her food would give her nightmares.

“I wasn’t too fond of the topping that’s for sure.” He chuckled.

“It’s just downright disgusting. Do you know who sent it?” She tugged the ponytail holder from her hair and ran her fingers through the strands.

“Not a clue. Someone ordered it online and sent it to the station. The pizza place claims it was purchased by James Smith.”

“Who’s James Smith?”

“Someone who doesn’t want to be identified. Pick a common name and no one knows. Kinda like John Doe.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you today.” She clutched the phone to her ear and ambled to her bedroom. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.”

She paused at his hesitation. “You’re sure?”

“Well…”

“Yes?”

“Maybe you could talk to me for a while. I’d really like that.”

She smiled. “Tell ya what. Go do whatever you need to do. I’m going to change and brush my teeth. Then we can chat a little bit before we both need to get some sleep.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be back in a second.” A clunk sounded on the phone. Most likely David placing the phone on a table.

Jennie tossed her phone on her bed. Grabbing her clothes, she rushed to the bathroom, changed, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She took a deep relaxing breath. Flicking the light switch off, she padded into her bedroom.

She scooped up her cell. “Are you still there?”

“Yup.” David mumbled and paused. “Sorry for chewing in your ear, I grabbed a sandwich.”

“Hope it came without the insects this time,” she razzed him.

“Not funny. That thing was disgusting.” He tossed back, taking the joke as she’d intended.

“I’ll let Aunt Emily know you’d love cookies with extra protein next time.”

He groaned. “Oh stop. That’s just gross. I’m trying to eat here.”

“I’ll quit. But it’s so much fun to tease you.” Not in a thousand years would she have ever dreamed of enjoying a man’s company. But she was coming to like and trust the kind detective on the other end of the phone.

“Okay, so if insects are off the table.” She cringed. “Sorry. Bad pun.”

“You’re killing me here.”

She laughed. “What I was trying to ask…besides the icky delivery, how was your day?”

“Same old, same old. Working on warrants, contacting creeps, you know, all the glorious police work.”

“Sounds like fun.” She curled into bed and rested against the headboard. “Well, I hope nothing exciting happens tomorrow.”

“In police work, boring is good.”

She bit her lip. She needed to apologize to the man for Emily’s attempt at bringing them together. “Listen, I’m really sorry for…” Prickles skittered up the back of her neck. She straightened and scanned the room.

“Jennie? Jennie, what’s wrong?”

“I-I…um…something’s off.” Her gaze shifted to the window. The closed blinds gave her a bit of comfort, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

“Where are Tina and Zoey?”

“Tina went home today, and Zoey’s in bed.”

Keys jingled through the phone line. “Keep talking. I’m on my way.”

“No, I’m fine. Just an odd sensation.”

“Are you sure?” The man didn’t sound convinced.

“Positive. I’m just tired.” She slid down beneath the comforter and pulled it to her chin. As if the cloth would protect her. She shook her head at the ridiculous thought. “Tell me something funny to get my mind off of the weird happenings from the past few days.”

David sighed. “As long as you promise to call day or night if you need help.”

The knot in her stomach loosened. “I will.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s see. Did you ever hear about the time Brandon tried to arrest a raccoon?”

“No, I don’t think I’ve heard that one.” She appreciated him attempting to distract her.

Thirty minutes later, Jennie disconnected the call and placed her phone on the nightstand.

David’s voice had eased her panic, but now that he wasn’t in her ear, the sense of dread fell over her like a cloak.

The sensation of being watched returned.

Her throat tightened and her pulse raced. She gulped for air.

Clutching her blanket to her chin, she visually searched the room.

Nothing out of place. She had to get a grip. But what had triggered her panic?