Redemption (10 page)

“You're wasting all your time and energy trying to get rid of me instead of focusing on finding Michael Zinkleman.”

Jamie set down the glass. “I get it, partner.” She held out her hand with what seemed a genuine smile.

He stared at her hand, and then met her gaze. “Can I trust you this time, Jamie?”

“You can trust me. No more tricking you. No more forgetting to share information. No more nothing. Partners for real.”

He pushed his plate away, and then picked up his coffee. He met her gaze straight on. “Promise?”

“I give you my word, Enrique. From now on we're partners.” She held out her hand.

“Great.” He took the offered hand with a smile.

“But we still can't travel together.”

“I'm not that gullible, Jakowski.”

“I didn't think you were, Ricky. I said we were partners and we are. Of course, I'm the boss. Are you going to trust me or not?” She was staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“OK, I'll give it a shot. So, what's the plan, boss?”

 

 

 

 

19

 

Jamie drove the rented Jeep up the mountain road. Looming trees surrounded as she headed towards Jackson Hole. The view reminded her of Ohio, except the state didn't have actual mountains, only steep hills and trees. There was nothing like these majestic mountains. The Tetons were so beautiful. So inspiring. They reminded her of the immensity of God's power. One of these days she and Sabrina would visit here together. Soon.

Her foot ached from pressing on the brakes so often. She longed for the flat roads of Florida even as she rounded the next curve.

A huge moose with enormous antlers stood in the middle of the lane staring with big brown eyes.

She slammed on the brakes.

The Jeep fishtailed, but she managed not to overcompensate. The car slowed and came to a stop a few feet from the moose. The animal stared at her with brown eyes that reminded her of Enrique. She giggled, a little hysterical as adrenaline pumped through her system.

The car behind her wasn't so lucky. It slid into the ditch and, thankfully, not into her.

Jamie jumped out and rushed over. She leaned down and opened the car door. “Are you all right?”

An older lady with curly gray hair and glasses poked her head out. “I'm right as rain, dearie. How about you?”

“I'm OK. Are you sure you aren't hurt?”

“Not a bit.” The woman held out an arm.

Jamie took the offered hand and helped the petite woman out.

The lady walked around inspecting her vehicle.

Another driver came over. “Everybody OK?”

“I guess,” Jamie said. She pointed at the moose, which still stared. “He certainly doesn't seem to be bothered by us.”

“No, he doesn't. I'm Jerry.” He held out his hand. “Are you from the area?”

Jamie shook it. “No, I'm a tourist.”

“Nothing wrong with that. We love our tourists.”

The gray-haired lady stepped away from her car and returned to them. A tiny giggle erupted. “The moose seems fine, but I don't know about my car.”

Jerry checked the woman's car. “It looks drivable if we can get it out of the ditch.”

Enrique jogged up to the group.

Jamie ignored him, hoping he'd take the hint and do the same. She inspected the car in the ditch.

Enrique was talking with the driver. “Are you sure you're all right?”

“Fine—just fine.”

“If we can get it out of the ditch there shouldn't be a problem.” Jerry told Enrique. “The car looks drivable. I've got a tow chain in my truck bed.”

“Great, let's see what we can do.” Enrique went back with Jerry to the man's truck.

Jamie inspected the tiny woman. Her gray hair stuck out in tufts, and she looked as if a strong wind could knock her down. “Are you sure you're OK? Anything hurt? Did you bump your head?”

“Nope. Not me. Right as rain.” She straightened her glasses.

“I guess I should have been more careful. I'm not used to driving in the mountains. I am so sorry about your car.”

“Not your fault.” The spry little woman shook her head. “It's not the first time I went into a ditch thanks to the wildlife around here. It's part of the business of living in the wild west.” She cackled. “But I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. This is God's country.”

“Absolutely. That's why I came here, but I wasn't expecting a close-up encounter with a moose.” Jamie said.

Jerry connected the chain while Enrique waved traffic through.

She'd love to show a picture of that to Marcus. Enrique reduced to a traffic cop. She laughed out loud.

“What's so funny?”

“Uh, oh...I was just thinking how ironic it is that I came here to experience nature and I almost run into a moose. I guess I didn't want that much nature.”

“That is ironic. Most people don't use the term correctly.” She fluffed at her hair, and then adjusted her glasses. “I know. I'm an English professor. Stella McCleary, but my students call me Mrs. Mac, and so may you.”

Jamie held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mac. My name's Bridgette Downs.”

The tiny woman grasped her hand with a surprisingly strong grip. She wasn't as frail as she looked. “So, you're here to experience nature? You've come to the right place. By the time you leave here you'll be sick of it.” She cackled again as she smoothed down her hair. Mrs. Mac's laugh was infectious.

Jamie joined in as she watched the men. “I'm going to get my cell phone. Take a picture of the moose.”

The moose had slowly made its way into the thicket of trees as they'd talked.

Jamie grabbed her cell phone and snapped a few pictures of the moose—and of Enrique, still directing traffic and yelling instructions to Jerry at the same time.

Jerry's tires spun, but that didn't move the car out of the ditch. After three tries, he stepped out of his truck. “That car isn't getting out of that ditch without a tow truck.”

“I was afraid of that, but thanks so much for trying.” Mrs. Mac turned toward Jamie. “Can I get a ride into town? I'll have my husband take care of it.”

“Sure. No problem.”

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

“You can drop me off at my daughter's daycare. My husband can pick me up there later after he takes care of my car.”

A daycare. A single man with a child might need a daycare.

“That sounds like a fun job. Any chance she needs help? I'm planning on staying in the area for several months. A job would help me with expenses.” Her cover story was that Bridgette Downs was a writer looking for inspiration in the wilds of Wyoming, but she still needed to eat.

“She might. She has a high turnover rate of employees. Can't imagine why. Doesn't everyone want to work for minimum wage and spend the day hearing screaming kids and cleaning dirty diapers?” Mrs. Mac cackled at her own joke.

“I love kids.”

“Come on in and ask her yourself.”

“Sounds great.”

Mrs. Mac chattered as they walked through the small parking lot and into the square brick building. The back yard was filled with swings, a small slide, and a sandbox, but no children.

After pressing a buzzer, Mrs. Mac turned towards her. “I guess daycares are a necessary evil in today's society, but in my time, I couldn't have imagined sending my baby off for eight to ten hours every day for someone else to watch.”

The truth of her words pierced Jamie.

Anna had spent more time with Sabrina than she had. And here she was, off again, while leaving others take care of her child. And she didn't even have the excuse that she needed to work, because she didn't. Her investments had given her more than enough money to live on.

Sabrina deserved better.

This would be her last undercover operation. Sabrina would have a real mother—one she could count on.

A tiny woman rushed over and opened the door. “Hey, Mom. Come on in.”

“Marcy, this is Bridgette. She's new to town and was wondering if you need any help.”

Marcy looked at her. “Do you have any experience working with children?”

“Some. I did a lot of babysitting, but never worked in a daycare before.”

“That's more experience than some of the people I've hired. If you want to fill out an application that would be great. I vet my employees the same way the school districts in the state do. That means you'll need a background check and fingerprints. I'm not required to, but I don't take any chances. And you have to pay for the checks. If I hire you, then I reimburse you.”

“That's my Marcy. She takes good care of her kids.” Mrs. Mac glanced back at Jamie. “Thanks so much for the ride. I'll go play with the kiddies. See you soon.”

Good. That was just the chance she needed to talk with Marcy alone. Sometimes, honesty was the best policy. In this case, she was sure of it. “Look, Marcy. I want to be honest with you. I'm not looking for a job. I'm looking for a child—a kidnapped child.”

Marcy's eyes grew wide. “Does Mom know that?”

“No.” Jamie pulled out her phone and opened a picture. “This is a picture of the child. His name is Andrew, but I doubt if he's still going by that name.”

“Why did you lie to my mother?”

“No one can know about this. I have reason to believe he's living in the area and I don't want to scare off his father before I find him. The fewer people who know the better.”

“Makes sense. And if you told my mother everyone would know.” She laughed. “I love her, but she can be a bit of a gossip. What about the father? Do you have a picture of him?”

“Just slide over to the next picture.”

After looking at the picture, Marcy shook her head. “No, sorry. I don't know either of them, but I'm not the only daycare in town. Is this man dangerous?”

“He hasn't done anything violent up to this point. That we know of.”

Marcy nodded.

“I'll be checking other daycares tomorrow, as well. But I figured while I was dropping off your mom I might as well come in.”

“Sorry, I couldn't be of more help.”

“Not a problem. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything.”

“About what?” She smiled. “Is there something I can do to help?”

“Keep your eyes open. If you happen to see either one of them call the FBI offices.”

“Will do. Gotta go. Good luck. Hope you find him.”

After leaving the daycare, Jamie drove towards the center of Jackson Hole. It was always a good thing to get acquainted with a new area, and she wanted to see the historic town. She smiled as the scene came into view.

Each corner of the square had the famous arches made up of elk antlers. They were larger than she'd expected. Each walkway led to the middle of the square where a statue of some sort was situated.

Tourists milled about snapping pictures.

A huge sign announced the location of the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar on one side. Another humongous sign, with a bucking bronco, was atop one of the buildings. A grand red and gold stage coach was parked with two white horses hitched to it waiting for tourists.

The Tetons stood strong and silent watching the little town.

If Sabrina was with her this would be a sightseeing vacation.

As with most historic towns, there was the tourist area and then there was the other part of town. She drove out of historic Jackson Hole and went to the less expensive side of town where a starving writer would be expected to stay.

She found a chain hotel known for being family and pet friendly. In her room she texted Enrique with the name warning him not to come to see her. His assignment was to find a restaurant where they could meet later acting as if they were strangers carrying on a casual conversation.

After a short nap she was ready to meet Enrique, and then start the search for Andrew. She could check out daycares while Enrique checked out other businesses in the area seeing if anyone knew Michael.

Who would have thought she and Enrique would work together again? The man still made her heart pitter-patter. Those brown, puppy dog eyes melted her heart. She knew he was sorry. Regret was written all over his face every time he tried to talk about it.

Regret or not, they didn't have a future together. He deserved a much better woman. One day he'd find the right woman for him—even if he'd thought
she
was. He'd get over her.

She sighed and forced her mind back to the task at hand.

They'd planned to meet at a diner in town. It would be easy enough for them to sit beside each other and make casual conversation without attracting too much attention.

She pulled out the phone book. Seventeen daycare listings. She took a picture of the whole section with her phone and made sure she could read each address. Between her and Enrique, they should be able to visit all of them by tomorrow. She'd even let him pick the part of the alphabet he wanted.

A last glance in the mirror at her hair and makeup, and then she headed to the door. She opened it.

Before she'd taken a step out the door, a man jumped in front of her. Placing both hands on her shoulders he pushed her back in the room before she could react.

She opened her mouth to scream.

He pulled a gun from his waistband. “I wouldn't do that if I was you, Barbara. Or Bridgette, or whatever your name is. I got no problem shooting you. I don't like people who lie to me.”

Jamie's gaze moved from Ryan Mattson's face to the gun he aimed at her heart.

 

 

 

 

21

 

Enrique sat at the counter drinking the last of his coffee. The lunch crowd was gone, and he was one of the few stragglers still remaining. This place was not part of the tourist scene. Everyone wore hats and dusty boots—men and women. Hard-working Americans, just trying to make it through the day. Of course, they all seemed a lot happier than he was at the moment. He was brooding.