In Her Sights (25 page)

The hospital smelled of the same antiseptic. The barren walls were just as devoid of joy since the last time Jazz had visited Gabe, but at least now he was out of intensive care. That fact didn’t make her stomach less queasy, though.

As she and Luke strode on the linoleum tile toward his room, looking worse for wear in their rumpled clothes, dread bubbled up within her. Would he be okay? Had his leg shown more improvement? Did he blame her?

Luke put his hand on her back in a show of support. “Gabe’s going to be fine, but we’re not saying anything to my brother about the trouble. Agreed?”

She nodded, but one look at Gabe’s face told them that he already knew a lot. Flanked by Seth and Caleb, Gabe appeared weak. Except for his eyes—they burned in anger. Guilt flared in Jazz’s gut.

“It’s amazing what one hears when people assume they’re unconscious.” The corners of Gabe’s mouth creased with irritation. “It’s also amazing what those same people won’t confirm, and it really ticks me off. If one of you guys doesn’t start talking soon, I’m getting out of this bed and will find the answers myself.”

Despite his threats, they all knew he wasn’t going anywhere. His leg had been rigged with some contraption, immobilized and elevated. Then again, with Gabe you never knew. He was stubborn enough to find a way.

Gabe’s pointed stare nailed Steve. “You’ve known our family long enough to recognize my brothers are a bunch of wimps. Spill it, Paretti. Now.”

Paretti shot an apologetic glance at Jazz. “Okay. In a nutshell, you got knifed. Everyone at the sheriff’s office knows about Luke’s investigation and they are pissed. Joy got threatened. Brian Tower was murdered. Luke and Jazz got hauled off as suspects after Jazz’s apartment building burned down. And a few minutes ago, Wexler got a call that the arson investigator found bloody Arvada Police Academy sweats in Jazz’s size and a mostly wiped-clean crowbar near the smoldering rubble.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Luke muttered.

All eyes shifted to Jazz.

Another nail in her coffin. “I didn’t kill him.”

“No one here thinks you did,” Steve said. “Though few would’ve blamed you for offing Tower. If you’d done it, you’re too smart a cop not to cover your tracks better than that. Unfortunately the media and the top brass, including Tower’s father, are out for the easy arrest. There’s no warrant yet, but it won’t be long.”

“This is ridiculous,” Luke snapped. “She’s innocent.”

“Are you going to arrest me, Steve?”

“No, I’m getting as much information as I can about this case and will see what I can do to help you. You’re being railroaded, and I don’t like it.”

Everyone around the room nodded in agreement. Stunned, she realized that none of them looked at her with accusation. Their faith humbled her. “Thank you. All of you. But once the warrant’s issued, I’ll have to turn myself in.”

“Then there’s no time to waste. Start talking,” Gabe bit out.

Luke filled them in on what they knew. “We know they want Jasmine to take the fall for the corruption investigation. But this crazy focus on her past doesn’t fit. The vandalism, the phone calls threatening me, using Jasmine’s birth name. Those actions are personal. The shot that deliberately missed us. That was unemotional and professional.”

“Two motives,” Seth said, nodding. “Two perpetrators.”

“There’s no other way to explain the inconsistencies. Someone with a grudge against Jazz somehow hooked up with Tower. Of course, he didn’t count on ending up dead. Which sucks for us, because he was the linchpin.”

“Then who killed him?” Gabe asked.

“My informant claims the mob didn’t waste him. Wexler showed me photos of the body. He was beaten to a pulp with the same viciousness as the truck and apartment,” Luke said.

“Personal,” Jazz muttered.

“Which brings us back to our mystery woman and the guy in the Pinto,” Luke said. “We couldn’t tie the car to Tower, and there’s not much time for me to break into the DMV again…”

Steve raised a brow, and Luke’s voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. “But maybe there’s some sort of connection to one of Jazz’s old cases or to the IA investigation.”

“I suppose…” Steve shoved his hand through his hair. “I could run the Pinto against the IA files, see if something hits.”

Jazz saw doubt in Steve’s gaze. This had to be hard. He couldn’t go to his family to verify their information either. If he did, he was dead. But they
were
asking him to risk everything he’d given up his family for.

“It’s not fair for you to take this kind of chance with your career,” Jazz said. “If they find out, you could end up getting tarnished with the same brush as me.”

“Hell, what’s life without living on the dangerous side. Besides, it’s worth a shot. If it pans out, I get a promotion. But unless I hit triple sevens, it won’t stop the brass from coming after you, Jazz. Unless they can’t find you,” he said innocently.

Silence battered the room.

“You think she should run?” Luke asked.

“I’m just saying I wouldn’t be opposed to having a little more time to do the search.”

Luke walked over to Jazz and grabbed her hand. “It’s a good idea. You’re in danger. If there’s a plant in the sheriff’s office, we should avoid them. It’s not like you have an address anymore. They can’t expect to locate you immediately.”

Jazz recoiled from the idea. “I’ll look even more guilty. Wexler told me not to leave town.”

“Luke and Steve are right,” Seth said. “The cops can’t arrest you if they can’t find you. We need the time, and you’ll stay safe.”

“I don’t know.”

Caleb, who’d been silently watching, spoke, his voice raspy as he tugged at his scraggly beard. “What if the Pinto belongs to the woman who went after Joy?”

“Then we’re in trouble. We don’t know who she is,” Jazz said. “Luke pulled up her composite sketch, but I didn’t recognize her. It’s possible I knew her when I was a kid, but I lived in a lot of places, and people change as they age.”

Luke paced the room in frustration. “If only we knew the woman’s name.” He turned to Gabe. “Could she have touched something while she was in the SWAT den, something that would have her fingerprints? I heard she climbed all over you.”

“She touched me in a few anatomical places I won’t mention in mixed company, but nothing that would help.”

Jazz rubbed her face with her hands. “It’s a dead end. We have a face with no identity.”

“We’re going to get you out of here while Steve heads to the station to run those names.” Luke gripped her shoulders. “I’m still looking into what happened to a family from Jazz’s past. If we all hit another blind alley, we’ll regroup and try something else. We won’t stop until we find out who’s doing this.” He looked around the room. “Right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Gabe said. “Don’t you worry, Jazz. Once the Montgomerys sink their teeth into a problem we never give up.”

“Ever,” added Seth and Caleb simultaneously.

Steve turned to Luke. “Where can you go? They’ll be looking for you soon. You can’t head to your place. They’ll probably try there first. You need somewhere out of the way.”

“Easy.” Luke said. “The cabin. Nick took Joy and Mom there. It’s isolated, and nobody but friends and family know about it.”

Steve nodded. “Good idea. Then I’m out of here while you guys plan your attack.” He paused in front of Jazz and cuffed her arm. “You hang in there. We’ll take care of whoever is doing this to you.”

“I hope so.” Jazz shoved her hand in her pocket. Empty.

Luke gave her a small smile and pulled out a roll of butter rum Life Savers. He knew. He understood. She took the candy from his hand. Oh, how she wished she could let herself love him like he deserved. Who else on earth had ever been there for her like Luke Montgomery?

No one. She had to make sure his family was safe. This might be her last chance.

The woman toyed with the front of her stooge’s camouflage jacket as they crouched in a thicket outside the Montgomery cabin. She loved the way her red-tipped fingernails looked like claws waiting to strike. “You did as I instructed? Luke and Jane are coming here now?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m not an amateur. Luke’s family is drugged and bound. They have been for a while. Now give me those pictures.”

Her teeth grated. This was
her
plan.
She
was in control. Not him. “All but the girl will die? Right? I need her alive.”

“I know the dosage. They won’t survive much longer. The girl will live.”

“Good.” Luke Montgomery had to pay. With his brother and mother dead, he’d finally understand how much ignoring the rules cost. “How long before Luke and Jane get here?”

Irritated, he glanced at the GPS monitor. “About thirty minutes.”

Relief washed through her. The pilot was on stand-by. Well paid to ask no questions. She still had time to finish the setup. “The flat tire was a good move. Gives us plenty of leeway. What about the explosives?”

Paretti pulled out a bag, no larger than a baked potato.

“That’s it?”

“PETN packs a punch. With this amount, you could blow up an entire house.”

She smiled. “Excellent. Now let’s check out our bait.”

With quick and sure steps through the pine needles and past a cluster of aspens she headed toward the cabin, pulling on a pair of surgical gloves as she went. No sense leaving fingerprints. After opening the unlocked door, she scanned the room.

The man and the grandmother lay on the floor, still. The little girl rested, cuddled on the sofa, hugging some stupid stuffed fish. A pink blanket covered most of her.

Placing two gloved fingers against the kid’s throat, the woman smiled at the thready pulse. The Liquid K had done its job well. The kid would be out for at least another few hours. “Perfect. We’re ready.” She turned to him. “Throw the kid in the backseat of my car.”

He frowned at her. “What are you talking about? Jazz and Luke haven’t arrived. You said we’d take care of them here.”

She slid a .44 Magnum from her bag and pointed it at him. “I lied.”

Luke couldn’t reach the cabin fast enough. He needed to get Jasmine to safety, and at least there they’d be defensible. He skidded around another bend. In a half hour they’d be safe.

She stirred in the passenger seat and opened her eyes, unfocused with sleep. “How long have I been out?”

“Not long. Check the cell phone for service. We’re close to where we should be getting something. Remind me to buy a satellite phone after this.”

She tilted the phone so she could see it. “Looks like a signal, but it’s weak.” A tone sounded. “You’ve got voice and text messages waiting.”

“Hopefully it’s good news.”

They rounded another bend, and Luke pulled over to maintain the signal. He took the phone and scanned the incoming calls list. “Five from my editor—probably wanting that article. Three from Seth. He must’ve found something.”

“Or there’s a warrant for my arrest.”

The thought had crossed Luke’s mind, but he hadn’t wanted to say it aloud. He hit the speed dial for Seth, and when his brother answered, Luke pressed the speakerphone. Static crackled across the lines. “It’s Luke and Jasmine.”

“About time.” Crackling cut off his next words.

“Seth, this is a really bad connection. I can barely hear you.”

“I said things are happening fast here. I called in a favor, hoping to get facial recognition info on the woman, and I put the Pinto in the request at the same time. I think I found the owner. It’s not good.”

“What’s wrong?”

“A familiar name owns a registered ’74 Pinto with Colorado plates. Jeff Gasmerati.”

A cold shiver tingled at the base of Luke’s neck. “Jeff Gasmerati? Steve Paretti’s cousin? The one Steve disowned because Gasmerati stayed in the family business?”

“The one he
said
he’d disowned,” Seth said. “That’s not all. Steve lied to us. There was a warrant issued for Jazz’s arrest just before he came to the hospital. Sergeant Carder told me Paretti knew. My guess is the family got to Steve—if he ever bailed on them at all. Just like they got to Derek’s father.”

“It can’t be,” Jasmine said, her voice a bare whisper tinged with hurt. “He was helping us. I trusted him.”