Covert Exposure (12 page)

Shannon paused. She chewed on her lips for a
moment. Tears flooded her eyes. Spinelli reached forward and took
her hands in his. “What happened, Sweetheart? What was he
doing?”

Shannon released her lips. “He had...” Her
voice cracked and she paused again. She closed her eyes and
gathered her thoughts. She opened her eyes to find Spinelli’s gaze
still fixed on her. His warm caring eyes eased her and she
continued, “He had a body slung over his shoulder and he threw it
out of the elevator. It startled me. I jumped back and dropped my
keys on the cement floor. The noise drew his attention and he
looked at me. Judging from the look on his face, he seemed
surprised to see me but then the look turned stone cold. I felt
frozen. I couldn’t move. He lunged toward me but the elevator doors
shut him inside. I glanced down at the body and realized it was
Jarrod, you know, one of the elves. He was moaning. I didn’t know
what to do. I was afraid the guy in the elevator was going to come
back so I got back into my car and took off. When I got out of the
parking ramp I called 911 for Jarrod and then I drove here.”

* * * *

Spinelli ran to his front window and peeked
through the blinds. He turned back toward Shannon. “Did you notice
if anyone followed you here?”

Shannon used the back of her hand to swipe
the tears from her cheek. “I don’t think so. It all happened so
fast. I didn’t know what to do.” She burst into tears again.

He reached for her and pulled her tightly to
him. His mind raced. He wondered if Loukas the Greek’s muscleman
recognized her. He feared for her safety.

Shannon stopped crying and Spinelli separated
himself from her. He motioned for her to take a seat on his couch.
He punched Walker’s number on his cell phone and when he answered,
Spinelli gave him an overview of the events of Shannon’s
evening.

Spinelli snapped his phone shut and took a
seat next to Shannon on the couch. He reached over, took her small
trembling hands into his, and looked into her frightened eyes. “Are
you okay? Can I get you anything?”

“I’m fine. I’m just worried about
Jarrod.”

“Walker’s going to check on Jarrod. But for
now I need you to tell me every detail again. What exactly did you
see and hear and more importantly do you think the guy in the
elevator knows who you are?”

Shannon sniffled again and then she took in a
deep breath and let it out slowly.

Spinelli listened as she repeated the story
reiterating and adding every detail she could remember.

“Do you think he recognized you?” Spinelli
asked again.

Shannon blinked away the tears in her eyes.
“I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”

“Are you positive it was one of Loukas’ guys
in the elevator?”

Shannon hesitated and thought for a moment.
“I’m pretty sure it was but it was dark.”

“Would you recognize him if you saw him
again?”

“I think so.”

Spinelli nodded. He wished she wasn’t quite
so indecisive about whether or not the man in the elevator was one
of Loukas’ men.

Just as Shannon finished her rendition
Spinelli’s cell phone rang. Walker reported that he located Jarrod,
alive, at County Hospital, but he didn’t have any other details
yet.

Spinelli rose from the couch pulling Shannon
up with him. “I need to go to the hospital and talk with Jarrod,
see if he can tell me what happened and why.”

Shannon watched him as he flung his black
leather jacket over his shoulders. “Oh…I guess I’ll go home then.
Please let me know how Jarrod is doing when you find out.”

Spinelli zipped his jacket and narrowed the
gap between them. He couldn’t believe what she just said. She
couldn’t possibly be that naive? She obviously didn’t comprehend
the degree of danger surrounding her. He placed his hand on her
shoulder and caught her gaze. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for
you to be alone right now. If Loukas the Greek’s sidekick
recognized you…you know what, until I figure out what’s going on
here I think maybe it would be a good idea if you just hung with
me. Okay?”

Shannon blew out a sigh and nodded. Spinelli
grabbed her hand and led her through the house to the door to the
garage. He helped her into the truck, then hurried around to the
driver’s side.

Spinelli drove to the hospital and listened
to Shannon as she repeated the details of the incident over and
over. When they got to the hospital, she repeated her story to both
Walker and Marsh as they waited for word from the ER doctor about
Jarrod.

Finally, the short portly ER doctor came into
the small waiting room to give an update on Jarrod’s status. He
looked at Walker and Marsh. “The young man’s been roughed up pretty
good.” Then the doctor looked at Spinelli. “He’s got a few cracked
ribs, a gash on his forehead which required nine stitches, and a
great deal of bruising on his face and abdomen.” The doctor held up
his pudgy hand for everyone to see and he pointed at a couple of
areas on the base of his hand as he spoke. “The boy also has
several broken bones in his left hand. Here, here and right here.”
The doctor lowered his hand and glanced in the direction of
Jarrod’s room.

“Can we talk to him now?” Spinelli asked the
ER doctor.

The doctor held up his hand and raised two
fingers. “Yes. You can talk to him. Two minutes, that’s it. The boy
needs his rest.”

They entered Jarrod’s room and Spinelli went
to one side of the bed, and Marsh and Walker lined up on the other
side. Shannon stood just inside the doorway watching from a
distance.

Spinelli leaned slightly over Jarrod’s bed.
“Jarrod, can you hear me?”

Jarrod’s eyes popped open, the swollen eye
not quite as open as the other eye. He shifted his eyes around
taking in the sight of the three men staring down at him. When his
eyes made the full circle and returned to Spinelli he took a
double-take and pulled his eyebrows together. “Santa.”

“Well, actually, Detective Spinelli.”

“That explains a few things,” Jarrod muttered
as he winced.

“What do you mean?” Spinelli asked thinking
the response must pertain to something to do with Jarrod’s
assault.

“You suck as Santa,” Jarrod flippantly
replied.

Walker and Marsh chuckled. Spinelli cut them
a sharp look. He didn’t like being poked fun at and he didn’t like
not being good at something. He’d grown accustom to being good at
whatever he did.

Spinelli loosened his hard-eyed scowl. “Can
we just stick to the issue at hand here?”

Spinelli turned his attention back to Jarrod
who drifted in and out of sleep as they questioned him. Jarrod
offered nothing. He claimed he couldn’t remember anything between
the time he left the locker room and the time he woke up in the
hospital.

A short time later, a nurse came into
Jarrod’s room and shooed them out. As they walked down the hall and
toward the parking lot Shannon listened attentively as the
detectives talked about their next step and the fact that Jarrod
just lied to them. They knew Jarrod held his tongue solely out of
fear.

A plain-clothes officer was posted outside
Jarrod’s room for protection. Spinelli, Walker, and Marsh decided
not to pick up Loukas the Greek’s muscleman just yet. They decided
to tail him instead, along with Tyler Simmons, the other elf.

Chapter
Seventeen

Spinelli turned out of the hospital parking
lot and headed in the direction of Shannon’s apartment. She sat
quietly in the passenger seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he
could see her tilt her head to the side. A puzzled look consumed
her face and she opened her mouth, “Ah, I need my car. It’s at your
house.”

Spinelli cringed inside. He hoped she
wouldn’t give him any flack about staying at his place. Thoughts of
Loukas the Greek’s muscleman paying her a visit scared the hell out
of him. For her own safety he didn’t want her to stay at her
apartment.

He cleared his throat. “I thought we agreed
that you’d just hang with me for a while so I thought we’d stop by
your place so you could get some things and then we’d go back to my
place.”

Spinelli paused, took a half breath, and
continued talking about the incident at the mall so that Shannon
could not get a protesting word in edgewise. He saw her open her
mouth a couple of times but he just kept talking and before he knew
it, he’d parked his truck in her apartment complex’s parking
lot.

“Well we’re here,” Spinelli said as he sprang
out of the truck and hurried to the passenger side of the vehicle
to open the door for her.

Shannon slid out of the truck and slung her
handbag over her shoulder. Spinelli walked beside her as she headed
toward the front door of her apartment building. He combed the area
looking for anything unusual. The apartment complex appeared dark
and quiet.

Shannon punched the pass code into the
numeric keypad, the door buzzed and Spinelli pushed it open. He
held the door open for her to pass through then he followed her
down the long narrow hallway. She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“Do you really think this is necessary?”

Spinelli cocked his head to the side. “What
do you mean?”

“That I can’t stay here, that I need to stay
at your place.”

Spinelli opened his mouth, ready to go into
detail about his concern for her well-being but before any sound
could escape Mrs. Finch’s apartment door opened and she popped her
head into the hallway. “Is that you, dear?”

“Yes. Wow you’re up kind of late
tonight.”

Mrs. Finch let out a frail chuckle. “It is
kind of late but Sister and I got caught up in the Golden Girls
marathon on TV. That Estelle Getty, she’s a firecracker that one, I
just love to listen to her.”

Spinelli couldn’t help but smile and tease
Mrs. Finch. “Estelle kind of reminds me of you. I think you’re a
little firecracker yourself.”

His assessment brought a wide smile to Mrs.
Finch’s face. She stepped toward him and reached up with her cold
frail boney hand and placed it on his cheek and gave it a little
pat. “Oh you’re a charmer.”

Mrs. Finch lowered her hand, looked in
Shannon’s direction, and flashed a little wink. “I think he’s a
keeper, dear, much more personable than the caller that came by for
you earlier tonight.”

A blanket of jealousy fell over Spinelli.
“She had a caller did she? Is this someone I need to worry about
Mrs. Finch?”

Before the words even finished coming out of
his mouth he could feel Shannon’s glare on him.

Mrs. Finch leaned toward Spinelli and
whispered, “I wouldn’t worry about it. This fella didn’t seem very
nice. Shannon here, she likes the nice ones.” Mrs. Finch let out a
chuckle and continued in her loud whisper. “You smell better
too.”

Spinelli caught Shannon’s eye-roll and he
could tell she was nearly bursting at the seams to find out who her
visitor was.

“Mrs. Finch, what time was my visitor here
and did he mention his name or what he wanted?”

“He came by at about 11:00. I heard someone
in the hallway so I opened the door thinking it would be you and as
soon as I caught a whiff of him, I knew it wasn’t you. I asked if I
could help him and he said you were expecting him. I told him you
weren’t home yet and he said he would wait around for a bit. He
wasn’t much of a talker.”

Spinelli immediately thought the worst.
Loukas the Greek’s muscleman already came by looking for her.

“Mrs. Finch, did your sister get a look at
Shannon’s visitor?” Spinelli asked hoping to get a good
description.

Mrs. Finch shook her head. “No, she didn’t
come to the door at all. Like I said he wasn’t much of a talker so
the whole conversation didn’t take but a minute.”

A rush of disappointment rippled through
Spinelli. “Are there any attributes you can describe about him for
me?’

Mrs. Finch perched her hands on her narrow
hips. “Well, he’s got a big shadow, not only tall but wide. And
he’s got a deep mono-tone voice and he breathes kind of heavy. He
smelled like fresh baked bread and garlic. He made me hungry.”

Spinelli thanked Mrs. Finch for her time,
wished her a good night, and followed Shannon into her
apartment.

Shannon hung her handbag on the coat tree
next to the door. She turned and looked up at Spinelli. “It was
him, wasn’t it?”

He knew she knew but apparently she needed to
hear him say out loud, “Yeah, pretty sure.”

Shannon nodded. “I’ll get my things.” And she
spun on her heel and headed down the short hallway toward her
bedroom.

Spinelli snooped about Shannon’s apartment as
he waited for her. He eyed her basic beige furniture and
immediately concluded that it suited her conservative nature. He
liked her lightly decorated living room walls, a picture hung here
or there but none of that cluttered looking home decorators stuff
covered her walls. A wood shelving unit stood in the corner of the
living room. Two of the shelves where lined with romance novels and
the other two shelves housed pictures of people. The largest
picture on the shelf looked like a family photo. It consisted of a
woman who looked a lot like Shannon but a bit older and a lawyer
looking gentleman a bit older than the woman in the photo. Three
little red-headed boys with freckles stood in front of the
couple.

“That’s my sister, Claire and her family, her
husband John and their boys, Cody, Zack, and Brady. They live in
Boston now. I don’t get to see them much since they moved away,”
Shannon said as she lifted the photo from the shelf and pulled it
closer to her sad eyes.

Spinelli grabbed the duffel bag from her
hand. “Got everything?”

She flashed her eyes around her living room
and then nodded.

Silence filled the air during the ride back
to Spinelli’s house. He could easily see the worry lines take over
Shannon’s milky white face. His heart felt heavy. What he would
give to take her worry away.