Undercover Justice (10 page)

The man, seeing my big angry brother coming his way, turned and ran back into the mall. Kent chased after him, yelling over his shoulder, “Get in the car” as he passed us.

We quickly scrambled into the car, locking the doors behind us. It wasn’t long before Kent came out of the mall looking dejected.

Quickly unlocking the door for him. I looked at him expectantly as he climbed in the car.

“I lost him,” He said, “He blended into the crowd, and I didn’t want to make a scene. What was going on?”

Charlotte and I both started talking at once.

Holding up his hand, Kent said, “One at a time, I can’t follow both of you talking at the same time.”

“Nora, you go first, since it was you who spotted him,” Charlotte offered.

Nodding my thanks, I filled Kent in, starting with the first time I saw him as we were walking into the mall.

“Do you think you could ID him?” Kent asked.

“I don’t know, he was wearing a baseball hat, but I’m pretty sure he was the same guy who we saw in room 35.”

“Let’s go file a police report, and you can at least give them the description of the guy.”

“The note said, no police. Do you think we should risk it?”

“At this point, the police already know that we saw two men beating up that kid. I don’t think there’s any harm in telling them one of those men was following you.”

“I think Kent’s right. We should tell the police. Maybe they will be able to identify those men with our descriptions,” Charlotte said from the back seat.

Giving in, I leaned back and closed my eyes. My heart was still pounding. I was so glad to have Kent here with us. He has bailed me out of so many mishaps. I silently thanked God for giving me such a wonderful protective twin brother. I felt bad for ever being annoyed with Kent for butting in with Jed. I know he was just looking out for me.

Pulling the Camaro into the police station’s parking lot, Kent said, “I think we should tell the police about the man, but not about everything.”

“I agree,” I said. “Charlotte?”

“Sounds like a plan, why don’t you do most of the talking though Kent.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I know that I’m going to be nervous and that I won’t be able to tell it right. When I get nervous, I open my mouth, and I never know what is going to come out.”

I grinned. “You do that too! I am notorious for saying the wrong thing at the worst possible moment. Charlotte’s right, Kent you do the talking.”

Rolling his eyes, he held the door for us. He was used to being the ‘talker’ between the two of us. He knew that if he didn’t want Mom and Dad to find something out, then he better be the one to tell them about it.

We walked up to the front desk. The officer standing behind it had a name tag on that identified him as Officer Parker. “Can I help you?” he asked. He was very young looking. He looked like he couldn’t be much older than we were. He was a few inches shorter than Kent, with blond hair bright and blue eyes that seemed to smile at you.

“Yes,” Kent said. “Our friend Jed Greyson reported a incident that happened yesterday morning during our school field trip. I am not sure who he talked to, but we have something to add. One of the men in that room was following my sister and her friend at the mall. He managed to corner them and threatened harm. My sister Nora can give a pretty good description of the man.”

“Let me go get the Lieutenant. He is the one in charge of this case.”

As we sat there waiting for the Lieutenant, I couldn’t help wondering if we were doing the right thing.

We didn’t have to wait long before the Lieutenant came in. He was middle-aged and had close cut blond hair that was starting to recede at the forehead. His eyes were very friendly when he introduced himself and shook our hands.

“I understand, one of the men you saw in room 35 threatened you at the mall.”

At our nod, he ushered us back to his office to give a statement.

“Parker, can you go notify the sketch artist that we may need her.”

“Yes, sir,” Officer Parker said, backing out of the room and closing the door.

“Why don’t one of you start at the beginning, and tell me exactly what happened.”

“Well sir,” Kent began, “They are both still shaken up, so I will try to fill you in on what I know first.”

Nodding his assent, Lieutenant Davis picked up his pen, and prepared to take notes.

Kent explained how I had seen the man three times before realizing he was following me. At that point, we had tried to walk away only to be cornered by him. He concluded, by telling about pulling up to the mall entrance and seeing us being chased by the man. Lieutenant Davis interrupted him to ask questions, and then finally turned to Charlotte and I, as Officer Parker slipped back into the room.

“Which one of you saw the man?”

“I did,” I said, “Like my brother told you, I was the one he threatened. I think I saw enough of his face to give a description of him.”

“Before we bring in a artist, I would like you all to look at some mug shots we have on file here. Are you willing to do that?”

“Of course,” I replied.

“I figured you might want these, so I brought them in,” Officer Parker said handing the Lt a manila folder.

“Thanks,” he said pulling out a few photos and passing them to us.

“Look at these closely, if anyone looks familiar, even if it is only their eyes, chin, or other any small feature I want you to set it aside.”

Taking the photos from him I began to slowly look through them, passing them on to Kent and Charlotte as I went.

About a third of the way through the pile, I saw him. I was pretty sure it was him anyway. He looked even scarier staring up at me with black emotionless eyes. Thinking about it, made me shiver.

“This is him,” I said, pulling it out of the pile and quickly showing Kent and Charlotte.

“It could be, “Charlotte admitted, “I didn’t get as good of a look as you did.”

“I mostly saw the back of his head,” Kent said, “so it’s possible that’s him.”

Handing it to the Lt, I sat back relieved to have it out of my hands. The Lieutenant and Officer Parker looked at the picture then at each other. Officer Parker nodded, answering the Lieutenant’s silent question. The Lt asked me, “Are you sure?”

“Almost positive.”

“This is Martin Vecelli, he has been implicated for numerous crimes including armed robbery and physical assault. We haven’t been able to get a charge to stick on him. He has powerful friends somewhere. If you see him again, stay as far away from him as possible. This guy is dangerous.”

Great. Not only was the man scary, but also now that I know he is a professional criminal I’m a lot more terrified. Nothing like this happens in our small town of Pine Hill. We don’t typically have criminals running around. Although, the police have obviously been dealing with this guy for a long time.

Up until now, the only criminal I have known has been the kindergarten bully. Now in less than a week, I have had one criminal threatening me and my friends, and possibly another criminal threatening my heart.

I sent a quick prayer to God asking that he protect me and my friends from Martin, help the police catch him, and show me what to do about my feelings for Jed.

Chapter 8

As we pulled into the school parking lot Monday, my heart started pounding, as I thought about seeing Jed again. I had thought of nothing else all weekend.

Climbing out of the Camaro, Kent and I headed over to the courtyard. Kent enjoyed getting to school early, so that he could play a game of football with his friends. Remembering my black eye from a week ago, I smiled ruefully at the group of guys waiting for him to play. I decided to sit on the other side of the fountain today to get out of the line of fire.

Before we could reach the fountain, a dark figure pushed away from a large oak tree.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked me.

Jed. I immediately recognized his masculine voice and the confident almost catlike way he approached. Looking at Kent, who shrugged and went off to join his friends, I braced myself for the emotional as well as physical rush of being near Jed.

Getting right to the point, he asked, “I heard you were cornered at the mall Saturday. Are you ok? Were you hurt?” Concern was evident in his voice.

“I’m fine,” I said, his concern reminding me how dangerous it could have been.

“Good. What were you thinking?” he said loudly, stepping closer to me. “The next time someone is following you, run toward people, not away from them into a deserted area.”

“Thanks, I kind of figured that out for myself,” I said sarcastically.

A look of regret crossed his face. Stepping closer, he reached out and brushed a lock of hair off my face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you, I was just worried. He could have hurt you. That sort of man can be very dangerous.”

“Like you?” I said stepping away from him.

“You think I’m dangerous?” he asked wryly. Maybe his charade was working a little too well.

Nodding, my heart stuck in my throat. How did I explain that I didn’t think he was as dangerous to my health, as much as to my heart?

Shaking his head, he said grinning rakishly. “No, it’s you who’s the dangerous one.”

Laughing, I said, “Yeah, dangerous to who?”

His eyes connect with mine, and he said huskily, “To me.”

The school bell rang. Knowing I was getting in too deep, I picked up my bag and started slowly backing toward the door not wanting to break eye contact with Jed.

I turned away when I backed up against the fountain. Heading up the path toward the doors, I turned back one last time. I saw Jed still in the same spot as when I had left him. He hadn’t moved an inch. His intense gaze was still locked on me, watching me walk away. I felt nervous, but at the same time, protected, very different from Kent’s over protectiveness. Not wanting to dwell on the difference, I quickly opened the door and headed to class.

“That guy is bad news,” a friend of Kent’s told him, as they watched Nora walk away from Jed.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard that he has a record and that he is one dangerous dude. The way he’s looking at her...man, I wouldn’t let my sister near him.”

“Thanks, man,” Kent said slapping his friend on the back. “I’ll be sure to have a talk with Nora.

As Jed watched Nora walk away he had to fight the urge to go after her. He had a feeling the danger was just beginning. Lieutenant Davis called last night and filled Jed in on what had happened at the mall. Somehow Nora and the project group were now involved in the whatever was going on in this community that was causing local teens to vanish.

Jed hadn’t slept much the night before; he knew what Martin Vecelli was capable of. In his first month on the job, he and his training officer had responded to an assault that they were almost positive was Vecelli’s handiwork, but couldn’t prove it. Jed clenched his fists just thinking about Martin coming after Nora.

Knowing he had to walk into social studies, and pretend there was nothing wrong, he took a few extra minutes to calm himself down. He wasn’t too worried about being late to class. What was the worst they would do? Tell the Lieutenant?

Right before the final bell rang signaling the start of school, Ollie came rushing in to class excitedly. Glancing quickly around the room, before coming over to take a seat near me, he whispered, “Where’s Jed?”

I shrugged. How was I supposed to know?

“I think I found a clue,” he said excitedly. “Let’s meet after class in the hall near the cafeteria. Can you tell Charlotte? I‘ll let Kent know and Jed if he gets here. I was really hoping to show him especially.”

I could hardly pay attention to what Ms. Morley was saying about the projects. My curiosity was too high. I kept looking at Ollie hoping for a hint of what he had found.

“Mr. Greyson, so good of you to finally join us. Won’t you take a seat, so that we can continue?” Ms. Morley said slightly annoyed at the interruption.

Apologizing for being late, Jed found the last remaining seat in the front sitting next to none other than Vanessa. Wonderful. The second he sat down, she started in on her prom campaign. I couldn’t watch. It was making me sick. Looking down at my notebook, I started to doodle.

Ms. Morley gave us a paper to work on with the person sitting next to us. It was a study guide for next week’s test. Charlotte was sitting next to me, so I turned toward her. I made sure that my back faced the front corner where Jed sat working with Vanessa.

Jed’s deep chuckle sounded through the room. Jealousy reared its ugly head again. I don’t have any claim on Jed, but I certainly don’t want Vanessa to be with him. Sneaking a look over my shoulder, I saw them both looking at me. It was obvious that they were talking about me and…laughing at me.

I was surprised at how much it hurt. I know that Jed has found me amusing since he first met me, but it was different when he was laughing about me with Vanessa.