Truth Avenged (Green Division Series Book 1) (12 page)

“
I’ll pull some strings alright.”  He winked.  “Go home.  Maybe I’ll pop by for a visit later tonight.”

“
I have plans.”  She turned unsatisfied with his lack of cooperation.

She walked out of the offi
ce and back to her Jeep.  Not five minutes had passed before her phone beeped. 

I
’ll see what I can do.
  Paul texted.

I <3 you,
but I still have plans.
  She typed back.

Playing hard to get ;)  I
’ll talk to you tomorrow.

She knew she could make him feel gu
ilty.  Paul was wrapped around her little finger.

*****

She studied the photographs as she sat on the couch munching on popcorn.  Squirrel was a stoic looking man, though they all were, expressionless and stone serious.  The men behind the five in the front row were youthful, most no more than their early twenties.  Squirrel looked to be in his early thirties.  She hoped Paul would be able to hook her up with someone in the know.  But, why was it so hard to find information?  She wasn’t a conspiracy theorist, but this had all the markings of a cover up.  It wasn’t like there would have been any enemy fire in the North Woods.  Hawaii had been attacked, yes, but not Maine.  Canada didn’t shoot down a US military aircraft.  That was a ridiculous thought.  What did that leave for possibilities?  If it was an accident, why would they have gone to such great lengths to cover it up?  Or, maybe it wasn’t a cover up.  If they were going to cover it up, they wouldn’t leave the wreckage in the woods for anyone who stumbled upon it—like her.  Ugh, it made her head hurt as she tried to analyze the cluster fuck she’d fallen into.  Her energy level was at zero and she didn’t want to move off the couch.

“
What happened to you?”  She rubbed the dust away from Squirrel’s face.

*****

“Hello.”  Tuck answered.

“
Hey.  Are you still free tonight to drop in?”  Chance asked.

“
Free as a bird.  What time do you want me to come over?”

“
Whenever is good for you.  I’m not going anywhere.”

“
I’ll be out the door in a few.”  He was already on his feet walking to his bedroom to change out of his lounge pants and college Alma Mater’s sweatshirt.  “Have you eaten dinner?”

“
Not yet.”

“
What are you in the mood for?   I’ll pick it up.”  Tuck couldn’t stop himself from saying these words.  Jesus, he needed to think before he spoke.  She had a boyfriend, regardless of if she’d only called him a friend thus far.  No man and woman interacted the way those two had without being intimately involved.

“
You don’t need to do that.  I can get something to eat here at home.”

“
I’m hungry.  You’re hungry.  Food seems like the solution to our problem.”  He laced his shoes.  “Chinese?”

“
Oh god, you have no idea how good that sounds.”  She returned.  “But, I’ll pick it up.  You bought dinner a couple nights ago. It’s only fair I repay you.”

“
You order it in about thirty minutes and I’ll pick it up.”

“
Tuck—”

“
Regardless of you ignoring your doctor’s orders and running around against their wishes, I’m not going to have you doing so on my watch.” 

His watch.  Get
a grip Tuck.  It’s Paul’s watch, not yours
. 

“
China Moon?”  He suggested.

China Moon
was a small hole in the wall restaurant about fifteen minutes away from Chance’s house.

“
You read my mind.” 

Tuck gave her his order and headed south.  China Moon had th
e best Chinese food in the area, to die for.  His stomach turned, but not with hunger.  It was conflict over what the hell he was doing.  He shouldn’t be involved with her to the extent he’d become, no matter how innocent their relationship was.

*****

The little voicemail indicator flashed on Chance’s phone, but she had no missed calls.  Friggen reception was stellar in Maine. 

“
Chance, its Mike Kerr.”  He didn’t refer to himself as Sergeant.  “Give me a call as soon as you get this message.” 

Chance ca
lled him back.

“
Hi Chance.  One of my guys got an anonymous lead about a possible suspect in your case.  We have a picture of the man and need you to take a look at it.  Would you be able to meet me?  I’ll be at the office until at least eight.”

What was C
hance to say?  No, I invited Tuck over to talk to him about the plane crash.  Would his Sergeant be okay with Tuck coming over?  She never thought about that aspect of the equation.  Hmmm....

“
If he’s any larger than 5’7 and 150 pounds, he’s not the shooter.”  Chance said.

“
We were thinking it’s our second man.”

“
I didn’t get a good enough look at him.  All I know is that he had a beard and was overweight.  I couldn’t begin to identify him.  I wish I could.”

She didn
’t want to see a picture.  Didn’t want to see their faces.  Didn’t want to see either one of them again.  She wished that aspect of the day could be pushed out of her memory permanently.

“
If you don’t recognize him, we aren’t out anything.  But, I still need you to look on the off chance it could trigger something in your memory.”

“
Um, I’m really not up to it tonight, I’m exhausted.  I forget that I have a bullet wound and exhaust myself.”  One hundred percent the truth.  She didn’t want to move from the couch the rest of the evening.  “Can I come in tomorrow morning?”

“
I’d prefer you come in tonight.”  He paused.  She didn’t fold under his pressure.  “If he’s our guy, he knows we’re onto him Chance.  And that puts you in danger.”

“
They don’t know my name.  This wasn’t in the paper, I was never identified.  They’d have no way to find me.  How would they?”  She sat up and her body went rigid. 

“
It’s a small community.  This whole state is small.  We didn’t release your name, but word of mouth is faster than any press.  I’m sure they know.”

That didn
’t settle well with her.

“
You shouldn’t be alone.  Your parents are from Seattle, right?  Perhaps you should visit with them until this all settles down.”

“
I’m not going anywhere.  My life is fucked up enough as it is.  I have a top of the line security system and a .22.  I think I’ll be able to take care of myself, the playing field is even now.”  She didn’t feel nearly as confident as she projected.

“
I suggest you stay with someone.” 

Didn
’t he mimic Tuck.  “Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be okay.”

Kerr didn
’t answer right away.  She had the feeling this man could be very intimidating in his element.  She would have been more apt to listen if he’d been staring her down.

“
Call us if anything seems out of the ordinary.  The police will continue to step up patrols around your neighborhood.”

“
Thank you.”

“
Call me tomorrow.”

“
I will, thank you.”

The phone hung up. 

Chance’s excitement over her new discoveries were now shadowed by the development in her case. 

*****

Tuck pulled into the driveway food in tow.  Dusk had fallen, but floodlights surrounding the lawn illuminated Chance’s house as though it were daylight.  She answered the door and he immediately could see the worry on her face.  She wouldn’t own up to it without being interrogated of course, but he detected it.

“
What’s wrong?”  He asked, putting the food on her kitchen counter.

“
Nothing’s wrong.  Why would you think something is wrong?”  She was far too quick with her response.  “Have you talked to any of your warden friends today?”

“
No, I’m officially off your case.”  He cocked his head to the side.  “Why?”

“
Apparently they have a suspect.  Not the shooter, the man with him.”

“
That’s good news.”  He was instantly pissed that Ryan, Mitch, and/or Kerr had left him out of the loop.  He’d deal with them later.

“
If it was the man who shot me and he was behind bars, where the fucking asshole belongs, I’d agree.  But it’s not.” She opened the bags and calmed herself.  “Anyway, let’s eat and talk about what I found out today.”

“
No, hold on for a moment.”  He put his hand atop of hers and prevented her from prepping their food, this wasn’t the end of the conversation.  “Who is their suspect?”

“
I don’t know.  Kerr asked me to come take a look at a picture, but I’m tired and I told him I would tomorrow.”

“
God Chance, this isn’t the kind of thing you should wait on.  I can’t believe Kerr let you blow him off.” 

She returned to the bag withdrawing one of the boxes inside. 

“Whether I look at it today, or tomorrow, it won’t matter.  This is not what I wanted to talk to you about.  The plane—”

Tuck cut her off.  “
It’s what I want to talk to you about.  I’m more worried about you than that damn plane.”  His admission stunned him.

She pulled a box of rice from th
e bag and her hand faltered.  It dropped to the tiled floor and splashed in all directions.

“
Shit.”  She let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the counter.  “There goes dinner.”

She grabbed a roll of paper towels from the countertop.

“I’ve got it.”  He put his hand on her back caringly and took the towels.

He scooped up the last of the rice and put it in the trash.  Chance washed the spot on the floor and tossed the rag in the sink.

“I can’t ID him.  Why is that so damn hard to believe?”  She rubbed her eyes.  “I’m tired, I don’t want to deal with this tonight.”

“
When will it be a good night?”  His tone was light and sympathetic, but he wanted to make his point.  She turned and opened a cupboard door retrieving two plates.

“
Not tonight.”  She passed him a plate.  “Let’s eat.  Before I drop the rest.”

“
You’re going to meet with Kerr tomorrow.”

“
Yes.”  She didn’t elaborate.

They loaded up their plates and sat at the table together.  They ate in silence until Tuck broke down and changed the topic.

“Are you going to tell me about the janitor, or keep me in suspense?”

“
I thought you didn’t care.”

“
I didn’t say that.”  He put a forkful of the remainder of rice that hadn’t spilled on the floor into his mouth.  “Come on, spill.  That’s why you invited me over here.”

That wasn
’t the only reason she’d invited him over.  And it wasn’t the only reason he came.

Chance filled him in on the
day’s events and what she’d learned.  She showed him the pictures of Squirrel and the plane.  John White.  Tuck laughed at the name.  “Hell of a name to track down.  Might as well be John Doe.”

“
Do you believe me now?  At least a little bit?”  Chance put the pictures back in the envelope.

“
I’ll admit I’m intrigued.  So, where do you go from here?”

“
Those five men in the front row, their names are written on the back of that picture.  It identifies them as US Airmen. The remainder of the men it just say USAAFC.  I haven’t checked to see what that means yet.  Google will figure it all out for me tonight and I’ll go from there.”

“
They are cadets.  These five men in the front have their wings and stripes.”  He pointed on the photo.  “These men behind them don’t.”

“
Oh.”  She felt a bit dumb.  That was any easy thing to infer from the photo, she’d just been too overloaded with other information to process it.  “One mystery solved.”  She flopped the envelope onto the kitchen table.

“
I’m trying to get records from the military, but I doubt I’ll get far.  I don’t know.  I think I found something I obviously wasn’t supposed to.”

“
Hmmm, conspiracy theorist.”

“
What other explanation do you have?”

“
I don’t have any.”  He pushed his chair back and stretched out.  It was 9:00 p.m. and they both were ready to fall asleep.  “I should get going.  If I don’t, I’ll be passing out here.”  He smiled.