The Justice Agency

Ethan pulled to a stop in front of a fifties-style home in Forest Park. Jennie clutched her camera like a lifeline and waited until he got her suitcase from the jump seat and signaled it was okay to get out.

He came around the front of his truck and opened her door. Earlier he’d put on a scarred leather jacket that, even as worn as it appeared, smacked of money and privilege so fitting for this neighborhood. She didn’t know if he’d wanted to cover his bloody shirt or if he was reacting to the falling temperature. She also didn’t know if he’d ever tended to his injuries.

“How’s your arm?” She hopped down and caught a whiff of his musky aftershave on the evening breeze.

“It’s just a scratch.” He gestured toward the walkway.

“I wish you’d have someone look at it.”

“It’s fine.” His gaze moved in sweeping arcs over the area, avoiding her concern.

She let the subject drop, and before they could reach the entrance, Kat opened the door. She was smiling as she stepped forward, but her mouth quickly formed an O of surprise. She stared at Jennie, and Jennie returned the favor, taking in Kat’s high cheekbones, glossy shoulder-length hair and bright blue eyes.

“You’re that Jennie.” She socked Ethan’s shoulder. “You should’ve told me.”

“Can we come in?” Ethan ignored his sister as he pushed past her.

“Welcome, Jennie. It’s been a long time.” Kat stepped back so Jennie could enter.

“I’m surprised you remember me.” Jennie moved into the open foyer with stairs straight ahead, a dining room on one side, and living room on the other.

Kat closed the door. “Are you kidding? Ethan moped over you for years.”

“Enough, Kat,” Ethan warned.

“What? You haven’t told her, huh?”

“Told me what?”

“I said, enough, Kat.” Anger pierced his words.

Jennie expected his tone to hurt Kat, but she seemed unaffected.

“Any word on the picture I emailed earlier?” he asked, setting Jennie’s suitcase at the bottom of the stairs.

Kat smirked. Jennie remembered how close the two of them were and how easily Kat saw right through him as she seemed to be doing now. She simply stood and watched him until he faced her again.

“I’m not going there, Kat,” he warned. “Just tell me what you found out.”

She didn’t speak, as if she wanted to push the subject Ethan avoided.

“C’mon, Kat, just answer my question,” Ethan said, his tone brooking no argument. “Jennie’s had a tough day, and I need to get out of here so she can get some sleep.”

“Fine. Narcotics confirmed the tattoo is the Sotos gang’s mark. Also, after Cole gave me Munoz’s name, I called the detective in charge of the gallery break-in and passed the information on. He’ll issue an alert for Munoz and bring him in for questioning.”

“I don’t suppose they’ll let you be present for the questioning.” Ethan’s phone rang, interrupting the conversation. He dug it out and looked at it. “It’s Cole.” He clicked Talk.

Jennie could hear Cole’s deep baritone rattle something off before Ethan could say anything.

“Slow down, bro,” Ethan said and listened.

“Can’t you just tell me what it is?” He looked at Jennie, and the darkening of his expression told her something was wrong again.

“I’ll call you back after we see it.” He disconnected and turned to Kat. “Can we use your computer? Cole’s texting a link for an interview Madeline’s assistant did with the newspaper today. He says we need to read it.”

“This way.” Kat headed into the dining room and through her kitchen boasting avocado-green appliances.

Ethan’s phone chimed a text just as they entered a bedroom furnished with floor-to-ceiling shelves and a large antique desk jutting from a wall like an island.

Kat had taken her place behind a flat-screen monitor.

“Here’s the address.” Ethan moved next to his sister and set his phone on the desk.

As Kat typed in the URL, Jennie joined Ethan. She instantly felt the tension radiating off him like heat from the sun. The news clearly would not be good.

She watched as the webpage opened and the headline came into focus. Her heart started to pick up speed.

Local Photographer Not Afraid of Thugs. Show Will Open as Scheduled.

She gasped.

“I second that,” Kat said.

Jennie forced herself to read the article adjoining her official head shot, photos of the trashed gallery and a picture of crime-scene tape strung around her house. Linda Becker, the gallery assistant, had told the reporter all about both break-ins. She extolled Jennie’s professionalism, said she kept a spare set of negatives and announced that the show would proceed as planned.

Jennie couldn’t pull her eyes from the screen.

Oh, Lord, how could You let this happen?

“How did they get this on here so fast?” Kat asked.

“Madeline’s assistant already had an interview scheduled today for a PR piece,” Jennie answered. “All she had to do was call with an update.”

“So much for keeping a low profile,” Kat mumbled.

“You think?” Ethan slammed a fist onto the desk, making Kat and Jennie both jump. “I was standing right there when Madeline warned Linda not to tell anyone. She knew better than this. She might as well have painted a bull’s-eye on Jennie’s back.”

Distress brought a lump to Jennie’s throat. “Why would she do this?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” He stormed around the desk and out the door.

Jennie charged after him, hearing Kat’s footfalls not far behind. By the time Jennie caught up to him, he was in the foyer, talking on his phone.

“I don’t care how you do it, Cole,” he barked. “I want to talk to Madeline’s assistant. Have her at the gallery by the time I get there.”

He clapped his phone closed and jerked open the door.

“Ethan, wait.” Jennie rushed forward. “I want to go with you.”

He turned, his eyes all hard and angry but softening a touch when they met hers. “It’s better for you to stay here.”

“But I—”

“Please, Jen.” His anger faded more, and he sighed out a long breath. “You’re safe here. Taking you to the gallery would just invite danger.” He looked at Kat. “I’m certain no one knows Jen is here, but don’t take any chances. Lock up and stay alert.”

With a final glance at Jennie, Ethan left. She felt his loss the moment the door closed. All day she’d wanted him gone. Wanted to be anywhere but with him, and now she wanted nothing more than to see his caring face looking at her. To hear him tell her everything would be okay even though she knew in her heart things had just gone wrong. Very wrong.

* * *

“Ethan, wait,” Kat called from behind as he jogged down the sidewalk.

He stopped to allow her to catch up.

“Are you going to talk to Jennie?” Kat asked.

“I don’t have time for this, Kat.” He turned away.

She grabbed his arm. “It’ll take a while for Cole to bring in the assistant.”

“Then I’ll help him.”

“You’re making a big mistake in running from Jennie with so much unresolved between you. It could jeopardize both of your lives.”

“Really?” He studied her. “Suppose you enlighten me on that.”

“You’re wound as tight as a clock. If you let this fester between the two of you, it might cloud your vision and get in the way of your job. You have to clear the air.”

“So what do you propose I say to her, then?” he asked, hating how his sarcastic tone made her tense up. “That after she bailed on me I spent every free minute for a year trying to find her? How about that I turned over every rock in Seaside and every other place she’d lived until I tracked her down like some lovesick weirdo? Or maybe that I found her father and uncovered the past she’d tried so hard to avoid telling me about?” He’d tried to keep his tone free from self-disgust but it filled his words. He was still ashamed of how pushy he’d been, how he’d refused to back down until he’d forced to light things Jennie had had every right to keep hidden. Only then had he learned his lesson and backed off…but not before learning one thing he’d never wanted to know. “No matter what I say, I’ll come off looking like a loser.”

Kat placed a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t like that and you know it. You just needed some closure.”

“Well, I got it all right, didn’t I?” He looked up at the clouds and remembered the pain of finding out the woman he’d loved could replace him in less than a year. “I could’ve lived without finding out she’d taken off for Texas with that guy.”

“It helped you move on.”

“I appreciate your concern, Kit Kat. I really do.” He squeezed her hand then gently removed it. “But getting to the bottom of the threat against Jennie has to come first. When the time is right, I’ll talk to her. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Hoping the time was never right, he hugged his sister and headed for his car, feeling her appraising eyes on him even after he drove off.

On the short drive, he tried to think of anything but the hopelessness he’d felt after Jennie had taken off. He’d been desperate to find out why she’d really left. At first, he’d thought it’d be easy to find her. Seaside wasn’t that big of a city. But she’d moved and he’d had to go all the way back to her high-school records to track down her father. He’d learned so much about her past and even discovered that she’d given up a baby for adoption.

Surprising, shocking actually, but he saw God’s hand in this. He’d never believed his birth mother had loved him. If she had, why give him away? Through Jennie’s selfless actions with her daughter, he finally believed his birth mother could’ve given him up because she loved him and wanted a better life for him than she could provide. So he’d sought her out and found a very similar story. Now they had a strong relationship and it was all thanks to Jennie. But his shame from digging into Jennie’s past wouldn’t let him tell her about it.

He parked in front of the gallery and pounded on the door. Cole headed down the long, narrow space, now free from debris. Ethan wasn’t surprised to see the gallery floor already cleaned up. Madeline didn’t let anything get in the way of what she wanted, and she wanted Jennie’s show to open on Friday.

Cole unlocked the door.

“She here like I asked?” Ethan pushed past Cole, who snagged Ethan’s arm.

“Hold up, bro.” Cole stood firm. “Don’t rush in there in this mood. Take a minute to cool off first.”

Cole was right. Ethan needed to catch his breath. He pulled the email about the warehouse manager from his pocket and handed it to his brother. He explained the tattoo connection and Caldera’s position at the Photos of Hope warehouse in Texas. “I’d like you to call Patrick and get him to work on this. Have him report back to you, and you can keep us updated.”

Cole’s eyebrow rose.

“What?” Ethan asked.

“What happened to would you do this?”

“Sorry.” Ethan rubbed neck muscles as hard as rocks. “Something about this case is getting to me.”

“Something or someone?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Kat told me our client is the infamous Jennie who bailed on you.”

“Does no one in this family ever mind their own business?” Ethan scowled at his brother and headed toward the back of the gallery.

He could feel Cole’s eyes burning into his back. Too bad his brother chose this topic to take an interest in. Since he’d come home from a second tour in Iraq, he’d rarely gotten involved in anything personal, and Ethan hated to shut him down.

Fresh paint fumes caught his attention and he noticed a new coat of paint covering the ominous message. Good. He’d rather not see the threat again. He found Madeline and Linda in the refreshment area. Madeline stared down on Linda, who was sitting in a wrought-iron chair and fidgeting with the cuff of her jacket.

As he neared, Madeline looked up. “Ethan, good. Now we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

She moved her focus back to her assistant. Working hard to keep his anger over Linda’s betrayal from his face, he nodded a greeting and waited for Cole to settle. He leaned against the wall, his ankles crossed in a casual pose, but Ethan saw the intensity in his brother’s eyes. Intensity constantly present since his return from Iraq. Linda cast him a wary gaze, so Ethan sat next to her, drawing her attention.

He kept his posture relaxed and leaned toward her. “Why don’t you tell me why you contacted the newspaper?”

“It’s my job.” She met his gaze with a hard stare, but her hands trembled, making him think she was hiding something.

“Explain.”

“I’m in charge of PR. After all the news stories ran about the break-in, I knew people would assume we’d canceled the event and no one would show up. If we don’t get a good crowd at an event, Madeline blames me.”

He ignored her jab at Madeline. “Do you routinely make this kind of decision?”

“Depends on the event.”

She was stonewalling him and his anger was starting to bubble up again. “But for this event you had the freedom to make all the PR decisions?”

“Yes.”

Madeline took a step closer and her painted-on eyebrows rose. “You knew I didn’t want the press to know about our plans.”

“No, I didn’t.” Linda looked away, but Ethan caught a flash of guilt in her eyes before she turned.

She was hiding something, but what? Had she decided to leak the info about Jennie to the newspaper on her own or had someone coerced her into doing it? Or did she simply not like working for Madeline and wanted to cause trouble?

Madeline circled the table and got in Linda’s face. “Don’t lie to me, Linda. I told you our plan was to keep publicity to a minimum and just call the invited patrons.”

“I—”

“Don’t lie again and say you didn’t know that.”

Linda crossed her arms and glared at Madeline.

Ethan was more certain she was concealing something, but he still didn’t know what, so he merely kept a curious gaze trained on her and waited for her to speak. People often talked during prolonged silences, revealing something they didn’t plan to say, just to cut the tension.

His phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID. Jennie.

“Excuse me.” He moved away for privacy. “Everything okay?”

“Fine. I just wanted to see if you were done talking to Linda.”

He sighed out a breath. “Not yet.”

“But you think she’ll tell you something to help us find this creep, right?” she asked, hope blossoming in her tone.

He heard Madeline’s raised voice in the background, threatening to fire Linda if she didn’t come clean. He glanced back at them. Linda still had her arms crossed and glared up at her boss, defiance now mixed with anger. Even if he kept questioning Linda tonight, he doubted she’d admit her reasons for calling the newspaper, or any connection to the gallery break-in. They’d need to do some legwork to find out why and how she was involved.

He turned his attention back to the phone. He hated to do it, but he had to tell Jennie that they were no closer to finding and stopping her attacker from coming after her again.

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