Then he motioned to Brody, who was still silently watching the exchange.
“Get in the car,” he said brusquely as he motioned to his own car which was parked beside them.
Brody weighed his options. He could either go with the big brute that had nearly kicked his ass or take his chances with this guy. He chose the latter. He walked around to the passenger side of the car and got in. Wes slid in beside him and started the car, backing slowly out of the parking space. He drove down a few blocks and parked again, watching his rearview mirror.
“We only have a few minutes, so I have to make this short. You’re all in danger. I need to talk to you all together. Can we go to your house and do it?”
“How do I know you’re not the danger?” Brody asked.
“If I was, I wouldn’t have just saved your life.”
Brody nodded, still unsure. He held up both hands in surrender. “Whatever you say.”
“Where’s Lou?” the man asked.
“At the doctor’s office with John. Then they’re going to the pharmacy before coming to pick me up.”
“Let’s see if we can head them off, shall we?” Wes asked of no one in particular as he backed out into the street again.
****
Lou waited patiently while John had his cast removed. He walked out of the doctor’s office with full use of both feet, only slightly limping as they walked out the door together and into the pharmacy next door.
“What did you need in here?” John asked.
Lou pretended to blush. “Some girly stuff, if you don’t mind,” Lou said, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Does that mean you want me to get lost?” John asked.
“Only in the nicest way,” Lou replied. “Couple of minutes?”
He pointed his finger at her sternly and said, “I’m going to be one aisle over, so don’t go far.”
“I promise,” Lou replied as she walked back toward the pharmacy counter. She quietly said to the clerk, “May I have a pregnancy test please?”
“Sure thing, Hun,” the clerk answered as she slid the test into a brown paper bag. Lou paid for it and walked back toward the front of the store. John joined her at the door, placing his arm companionably around her shoulders.
“Get what you need?” he asked absently, taking in his surroundings.
“Yep,” she smiled back at him.
She opened the door of the Jeep and slid her package beneath the front seat. She jumped as a brown sedan pulled up beside them and Brody stepped out. Her hands started to shake as she recognized the man driving.
“Get in the car, Lou,” Brody said, picking her up and lifting her into the front seat, then sliding in behind her. John scrambled into the back seat, realizing the seriousness of the situation even though he had no idea what was going on.
“What’s going on, Brody?” Lou asked.
“I have a funny feeling we’re about to find out,” he mumbled as they pulled out into the street. He verified the sedan was following in his rearview mirror.
“Did I miss something, Brody?” Lou asked insistently.
“Do you remember the night of the dance when that man tried to take Sarah?”
“Yeah,” she replied, her eyebrows drawn together.
“Well, that same man just showed up at the jewelry store.”
“What?” Lou asked. “What would he be doing at the jewelry store?”
“Hell if I know,” Brody breathed. “I went to take in that piece of jewelry to be appraised. The owner of the store took it in back, made a phone call and then that goon showed up. He walked out, carrying my diamond and told me I was going with him or he would kill everyone in the store. He was armed, so, I walked out with him and was about to get in his car, then that other man showed up.”
“Wes,” Lou stated.
“Who?” Brody asked, glancing in her direction as he drove.
“Wes.” Lou rubbed her forehead. “He knew my mother.”
“You know who this guy is?” Brody asked incredulously.
“No. But he knew my mother. He gave me some photos and said he wanted Sarah.”
“I still can’t figure out why they want Sarah,” Brody said. “Unless it’s to use her to get something else.”
“I don’t know,” Lou sighed. “He just kept telling me he wanted what was in the black bag.”
“Uh, guys…” John said from the backseat.
“What?” they both snapped.
John replied, “I remember that bag.”
“So?” they both asked.
“Sarah wasn’t the only thing in the bag,” John replied quietly.
Chapter Twenty-Two
They stopped in front of the house and turned off the engine. Lou heard the gravel crunch as Wes pulled in beside them and did the same.
Brody took Lou’s hand and pulled her across the seat toward him. He slid out of the car and she followed before he wordlessly pushed her behind him.
Wes hopped out of his own car quickly, looking around, taking in his surroundings. He made a let’s go sign with his hands and said, “Let’s move this inside where it will be a little more private.”
They regarded him wordlessly and walked into the house. He followed them in through the screen door and then closed the hard back door, shooting the lock home when he turned the knob on the deadbolt.
“That’s to keep other people out. Not to keep you in,” he said quietly.
She regarded him wordlessly, her brown eyes meeting his own. “What do you want?” she asked.
“It’s a long story, actually,” Wes said, taking a deep breath and raising his cigar to his lips.
Lou glanced at her watch. “I’ll make time.” She looked at him coldly.
He began, “Nothing has worked out the way it was supposed to, Lou.”
“You mean you had hoped to kill me by now? Or to steal my daughter?”
“I hadn’t planned to do either. I had hoped you would just give me what I wanted and then we could be finished with this,” he sighed. “I don’t know why I thought this would be easy,” he groaned.
“Why do you want her?” Lou asked.
“Because she’s priceless,” Wes answered.
“What?” Lou asked, dumbfounded.
Wes motioned to the kitchen chairs and indicated they should all sit. Lou sat slowly and warily, regarding him suspiciously. He sat down beside her, absently kicking at the floor with his heels. “Maybe we should start at the beginning.” He turned to face her. “Your mother was in some deep shit, Lou.”
“I kind of figured that when she was murdered,” Lou said sarcastically.
“She was working for a man named Jerry. Jerry Hayes.” Wes said.
“I remember him. He was a friend of a friend from when she was a kid,” Lou nodded.
“Jerry is no one’s friend, Lou. He’s bad news. He’s a thief and murderer. He single-handedly pulled off one of the biggest jewelry heists in history a few years ago. He stole some priceless jewelry as it was being moved from a private collector’s home to a museum for display.”
“What does that have to do with my mother?” Lou asked impatiently.
“Your mother met Jerry, and he hired her to run errands and make some deliveries. A pregnant lady was the perfect cover. She could go almost anywhere and no one would suspect a thing.” He smiled at the thought.
“You knew my mother when she was pregnant?” Lou asked.
“Yeah. I knew her. I watched her get deeper and deeper into the shit. I couldn’t do anything to stop her.” He adjusted the ball cap on his head. Lou flinched as he reached into the inner pocket of his sport coat.
He opened his jacket and showed her the gun that was still in the holster on his side. “Just going in my pocket.”
She nodded, her mouth suddenly dry.
Wes pulled a wallet out of his pocket and flicked it open. Lou read the bold letters, FBI, and looked closely at his photo on the paper.
“FBI?” she asked.
; He refolded the wallet and put it back in his pocket.
“I’ve been working this case for a long time, trying to get in good with Jerry and his crew. It’s taken me years but I did it.” He looked proud, yet defeated. “My first job was to track down the missing jewels from that jewelry heist. I’ve been able to do that, or almost all of them at least. But once I got involved, I realized Jerry is involved in a lot more than just some thefts. He’s responsible for killing a lot of people, but he’s really good at covering his tracks. Everyone who works for him is expendable. If they know too much or they become trouble, he just gets rid of them.” He drew in a breath. “That’s what happened to your mother. She knew too much.”
“Knew too much about what?”
“No one is sure.” He shrugged. “There at the end, she got a little too cocky. She went too far and she got a little greedy. It was almost like she knew he would kill her and she was going to get everything from him she could before it happened. Your mother took a piece of jewelry from him, one of the most valuable pieces. It was a huge diamond, priceless.” He laid the wooden cask on the table before them and opened it. Lou gasped as she saw the huge diamond winking back at them. She reached one finger out to touch it.
“What did she do?”
“She tried to blackmail him. Turns out this piece of jewelry can actually tie him to a whole string of robberies and murders which could put him away for a long time. She knew it had a ton of value to him, even if she couldn’t resell it on the open market. He bit. He agreed to give her $50,000 for it, a fraction of its value, but still a lot to someone like your mother. She had no idea what that piece was actually worth. She made arrangements for the money to be left in a black canvas bag and she said she would swap. But the swap never happened. I still don’t know how she pulled it off but she got away with the diamond and the money. Then she ran.”
“But they found her,” Lou stated blandly.
“ Jerry hates to lose. So, he killed your mother but before she died, she gave the bag to you. You were seen running away with it. It was a black canvas bag and this was in it.” he said dramatically.
“I thought the only thing in the bag was Sarah,” Lou hissed as she stood up and began to pace.
“What?” he asked blankly.
“The night my mother died, she threw Sarah into a black canvas bag and I ran with it. I never knew anything else was in the bag.” Her eyes reached his, pleading with him. “I swear it.” She held up one hand. “I don’t even know what happened to the bag.”
“It took me seven years to get in with these people, Lou. I know how dangerous they are. They’ll kill you and everyone you love to get that diamond.”
“All this time, I thought they wanted Sarah,” Lou moaned.
“They’ll take Sarah. Along with everyone else you love. There’s not a damn thing I can do to stop them. Unless you help me.”
“How can I do that?”
“They know you have it. Especially now that Lover Boy here took it in to the jewelry store.”
Brody shook his head. “It was in my mother’s safe. I thought it was hers. I just took it to be appraised.” He sighed. “What now?” he addressed Wes.
“Now, we just need to make a date so you can transfer it back. We’ll wire you up and be sure you’re protected. You will need to get him talking. It’s not hard to do. He loves to boast. Get him to talk about the diamond and the people who died at the robbery. Then we’ll come in and arrest him once it’s in his possession. He’ll never see the light of day again. Simple as that.”
“Simple as that?” she asked sarcastically.
“Absolutely not!” Brody barked, coming to stand behind Lou.
“Well, what’s your plan, big guy?” Wes bit out. “If she doesn’t do this, he’s not going to go away.”
“What do I have to do?” Lou broke in.
“We have a lot of details to work out, but I can take care of that part. Are you in?” he asked, as though he was just asking for a tennis match.
“Will this make it all go away? So I can go back to the way things were?” she asked.
“I think so.”
“No.” Brody said just that one word.
Lou stood and faced him. “Do you want me to have to hide for the rest of my life? To constantly have to worry about the people I love? That he’s going to hurt one of them to get to me? You can’t keep me locked up forever.”
“You’re not under lock and key.” He placed his bent finger beneath her chin and forced her to look up. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She melted immediately, all thoughts of his earlier phone conversation gone with that simple statement. “You don’t?” she asked tentatively.
He shook his head, blond locks falling across his forehead. “I don’t.” He pulled a lock of her hair. “You say that like it surprises you.” His eyebrows drew together in question. “Why else would I be here?”
“Your mother’s will…settling the estate…familial obligations,” Lou replied.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Lou. I’m here because of you. Jeb called and asked me to come and I’m here. Because of you. Because I care about you. I might be able to get some things done here while I’m with you. But you are the main reason I’m here. I want to try to keep you safe. But that’s hard.”
“Is that why you slept in my room?” she whispered to him. “To keep me safe?”
“Hell, no.” He grinned. He stepped closer to her and said in a low voice, “That was because I wanted to make love to you.”
Her heart started to pound in her chest. Making love and being in love were two different things. But not to me. I love you, she wanted to scream. But she didn’t. Instead she wrapped her arms around his waist and said, “I’m glad you’re here.” I’ll take what I can get until it’s time for you to go. Even if it’s temporary.
Lou turned to Wes and said, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Can you promise me she’ll be safe?” Brody asked.
“I’ll do my best,” was Wes’s response, as he flipped his phone open and started barking orders into it.
****
When darkness fell, Lou slid her fingers between the slats in the window blinds and spotted the headlights of a vehicle coming down the drive. When it was highlighted by the lights from the barn, she saw it was a pickup with a camper shell.
“Who is that?” she asked, turning to Wes who was still on the phone with his crew.
Wes craned his neck, looking out the window. “Those are my guys.” He spoke into the phone. “Yeah. Just pull into the barn.” He snapped his phone closed.
Wes turned and unlocked the back door. He pushed Lou in front of him through the doorway, whispering, “Show time.”
Brody and John followed them out to the barn. When they walked through the barn door, they saw six men climbing out of the back of the camper, all dressed in jeans and work clothes. Some wore cowboy hats and others baseball caps. All of them looked like they belonged on the farm.
The driver of the truck spoke first. “We don’t have much time. We need to get her wired up.” He turned to Lou. “Take your shirt off, please.”
“What?” Brody barked. “Why does she need to do that?” he said, stepping toward the group.
“It sure ain’t so I can see her naked,” the man said sarcastically, appraising Lou from head to toe. “Although that might be fun, too.” He winked playfully at Lou and held out a black box and a long wire. “We need to wire you up, darlin’.” He looked toward Brody. “I have kids older than her,” he flung at Brody caustically.
Lou still looked at him hesitantly. Brody stepped forward and took the black box in his own hand. “I’ll do it.”
“That all right with you, darlin’?” the man asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Yeah.” Lou nodded, stepping into a stall and motioning for Brody to follow. Brody closed the door and turned around to find Lou had already drawn her shirt over her head.
??
?We don’t have time for a tickle in there,” the man called out.
“We’ll hurry,” Lou called back.
“Just draw the cord up between the breasts. Make sure the end of the mic isn’t smothered in there,” the man said as he adjusted his own headset to listen to the static in the line.