The Road to Justice/Sins of the Son combo pack - A John Fowler Novel (John Fowler (Books 1 & 2)) (69 page)

“You think Bruce killed Sam,” John said quietly.  Jessica looked up at John, and smiled in spite of herself.  John shook his head.  “That was good old fashioned police work of listening to all the things you three were saying and weren’t saying.  That had nothing to do with me reading anyone.  Jessica, I don’t think he did it, but I’m never going to be able to convince the three of you until we investigate him.  That’s what we’re going to do.  Let’s say he is the murde
re
r, he’s not dumb enough to kill me at that warehouse.”

“What if he does though?”  She asked frantically.  “What if he does and I lose you . . . again?”  Jessica said again softly, almost a whisper.  John was taken aback by the question, and what was implied. 

“Jess . . . Jess, what are you saying?”  John asked.

Jessica gave him a withering look. 

“Oh no, John,” she said, growing angrier by the second.  “You don’t get to have your ego inflated by thinking I was waiting around for you.  You don’t get to think that I pined over you like some brainless floozy.  You don’t get to hold anything like that over me, do you understand me!?  Do YOU!?!”  Tears were running down Jessica’s face.  John was speechless.  He went to hold her
but she pushed him away.  She turned away.  She was crying and had her arms crossed in front of her.  She composed herself and spoke softly, still looking the other way.

“You know what the worst part is?  I would never ever, EVER have asked you to break your vow to Sam.  For one thing, I knew you wouldn’t
hurt her
, but for another, you wouldn’t
, you were committed to her
.  That’s what is so crazy.  It’s one of the reasons I fell for you so hard.  It’s who you are John.  You tackle anything and everything that
’s
wrong.  You made a commitment to her, and you believed in until
death do
you part.  You took that seriously, and heaven help me, I love you for it.”

John didn’t say a word, but the question running through his mind was simple, did she love him?  For all the reads he could get on people, he just couldn’t understand them when they had to do with him and his love life.  John decided he had to say something.  He said the only thing he knew to say.

“I had no idea
,
Jess,” he said softly.

Jessica laughed.  “Typical,” she said.  “Sam did.”

John played back the sentence Jessica just said several times to make sure he heard what he thought he heard.  Jessica turned around and looked at him.  She knew he was trying to process what he had just heard. She smiled ruefully. 

“She knew
,
John,” Jessica said simply walking towards him.  He took his hands in hers.

“I never will forget what she said when I finally told her.  She told me she had known for a long time.  She also said that we don’t choose who we love.  She also knew I’d never act on it in a hundred years.”  She put down his hands and looked down at the ground.  When she looked back up, she looked right into his eyes.

“Why do you think I covered you as much as I could the past three years when you had your little outbursts?”  She asked.  John didn’t say anything.  “Do you know how many times I almost called you, or knocked on your door?  Do you know how many nights I spent watching you watching some of the people you did?  And by the way, that private eye job . . .” Jessica just shook her head and shuddered.  John grinned at her.  “
How long do you wait
to ask someone out on a date after he told you he hated you? 
How long do you wait
to tell someone who nearly drank himself to death after his wife died
. . . how long do you wait
to tell him how you feel about him?  John
,
these aren’t rhetor
ical questions.
”

“I don’t know,” John said quietly.  “I can’t figure out why two of the greatest women I have ever met in my life both think I’m something special.”

Jessica rolled her eyes.  “Oh
, come on,
John.  You ooze charm, you fight for justice, you have so much character at times its sickening, and as much as it pains me to admit, you’re not bad looking.”

John grinned and rocked back on his heels. 
“Anything else?”
  John asked.  He quickly dodged, as Jessica swung at his head. 

“You could have knocked me out!”  John exclaimed.

“I thought you sai
d it was different circumstances
just a few minutes ago?”  Jessica asked, smirking.

“They just changed again,” John replied.  John reached out to take Jessica’s hands.  She didn’t stop him.  John looked her in the eye.

“You’re not going to lose me,” he said.  Jessica’s jaw was trembling.  John leaned in close.  “You’ve made the mistake of telling me how much you need me, so I’m going to follow you around like a bad penny.  You’re stuck with me
,
Jessica, until you decide to run me off.”

“Me and my big mouth,” Jessica grinned and said quietly.  John leaned in like he was going to kiss her, and stopped an inch away.

“I don’t know what it is I do that makes you feel the way you do about me, but I’m glad you do,” John said above a whisper.

“Did I mention charming?”  Jessica asked, before she kissed him.  Trip and Chet walked out of the Senator’s room right at that time.

“I mean do you two have nothing else to do?”  Trip asked.

“And what if I said we didn’t?” John asked letting go of Jessica and walking up to Trip.  Trip smiled and clapped John on the back.

“Then I’d say, it’s about time,” Trip responded.  John smiled and turned back to Jessica.

“I need to go search that warehouse,” John said.  “I will see you later.”

“You better,” Jessica yelled as John headed down the hall.  “If something happens to you I’ll haunt you.”

John turned and continued walking down the hall backwards.  He called back to her, “Don’t you have that backwards?”

“Fowler, I meant exactly what I said,” she called back.

John smiled, opened the door to the stairwell, and paused.  “I believe you,” and with that he was gone.  Jessica had a sinking feeling that something awful was about to happen.

John and Bruce arrived at the warehouse address Chet had sent them.  They approached the door cautiously.  Bruce took the lead, and they cleared each room quietly and efficiently.  As they headed deeper into the warehouse, they both thought they heard something. 

“FBI!”
  John yelled.  He listened for a response and didn’t hear one.  They proceeded cautiously.  They came into the main spacious room.  John heard someone moving something. 
“FBI!”
  He yelled again. 

“Don’t come any closer,”
came
the response.

“Luke, Luke McDonald?”  John yelled.

“Yeah, John
,
is that you?”  Luke yelled back.

“Yes it is Luke, now come out with your hands up!”  John yelled.

“Are you by yourself?”  Luke asked.

Bruce got John’s attention.  He nodded yes.  John wasn’t sure what was going on.

“John, listen to me, some people want me dead,” Luke said.  “I’ll turn myself in to you and to you only.”

“That’s fine with me
Luke,
I’m here to bring you in.  Tell me what happened and we’ll see what we can do,” John replied.

“John
,
you don’t get it, they want me dead, they’ll kill me if they find out I talked,” Luke replied.

John walked out where he could see Luke.  Luke had his hands up, John relaxe
d
.  It was at that time Bruce
bumped
a container and it made a loud noise.  John turned toward the noise.  Luke bent down and threw something in John’s direction.  John turned back to see what he thought was a grenade.  John dove away.  As the grenade exploded he thought about how mad Jessica was going to be at him. 

John kept hearing a ringing noise.  He was also wondering why his face was wet.  He put a hand to his nose, and pulled it back.  Blood covered his hand.  He felt his forehead and it was sticky and wet.  John felt his stomach roll.  This isn’t good, John thought.  I think I have a concussion.  John felt someone grab his leg and begin to pull him across the floor.  His head bumped the concrete when he tried to look up to see what was going on. 

“Ow!”  John exclaimed.   Bruce tried to help John up, but John was seeing two of him.  John’s stomach rolled again and he thought he would throw up.

“You ok?”  Bruce asked.  John couldn’t quite make out what Bruce was saying due to the ringing in his ears.  He was quite sure Bruce had either asked him if he wore a toupee or if he wanted hay, but John had no idea why Bruce would be asking questions like that at a time like this.

“The next one won’t miss!!”  Luke yelled.

John tapped Bruce on the shoulder.  Bruce turned around and yelled “G
R
ENADE!!” in John’s ear.  That he heard. 

“I’ve got a bomb!”  Luke yelled.  “Have John come and arrest me, or I set it off!”

John still couldn’t make out what was being said, but he knew he had heard the word bomb.  Bruce was looking at something and sighting it with his gun.  John had a bad feeling about what Bruce was about to do. 

“John,” Bruce said turning back to him.  “I can take out the bomb.  He’s going to set it off.  He’s gone crazy.  We need to stop him.  I can shoot it without us getting hurt.”

“Bruce,” John said, wiggling his finger in his ear.  “I’m not hearing too well right now, but I swore you just said you were going to shoot a bomb.”

Bruce nodded.  John grabbed Bruce by his shoulders.

“Are you nuts!?!  That thing could go off and kill us all!”  John screamed.

“Let John come arrest me and I’ll tell everything!”  Luke yelled.

“What did he say?”  John asked.  “I can’t hear right.”

“He’s going to set it off if we come any closer.  John you’re hurt and I’m not letting him get away.”  Bruce was pleading with John.  John was having trouble hearing anything Bruce was saying, and he was really having trouble reading lips.  John felt his stomach roll and bent over, thinking he was going to hurl.  Bruce saw this as an opportunity and stood, aiming.  Luke saw who was with John, and his heart sank.

“Bruce,” Luke whispered to himself.  He then began to shout.  “Bruce!!  Don’t!!  I won’t tell them anything!!”

“You’re right, you won’t,” Bruce said quietly to himself.  Bruce fired as Luke started to run.  John realized what was about to happen and tried to take cover.  As the bomb exploded all John could think was he was about to see Sam a whole lot faster than he had planned . . . that and Jessica was going to kill him for getting himself killed.

             
It was dark.  John was sure he was dead.  He didn’t hear the ringing in his head anymore.  That was good.

             
“Sam?”  He asked, hoping for once in his life she wouldn’t answer.  He waited a minute and when there was no answer, he decided to chance it

John opened his eyes and looked up.  He saw the sky.  This was the second time in just a few minutes he found himself flat on his back and not quite sure how he had gotten there.  He heard sirens all around him.  Something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite figure out what.  It dawned on him he was in a warehouse, but now he could see the sky.  He could feel the concrete underneath him, but he was presently concerned about what had happened to the roof of the warehouse.  John tried to lift his head to see, but decided it hurt way too much.   He shut his eyes for a second and listened to the sirens approach.  He heard footsteps approach him.  John groaned.

             
“Lying on your back while you let your partner make the big collar, John?”  Jessica asked.

             
“Is there anything left of Luke to collar?”  John asked.  Jessica paused before she answered.  John opened his eyes and looked up at her.  He thought he might have a concussion; that or she was an angel with the weird glow around her.  Jessica slowly shook her head.  “Bruce?”  John asked.

             
“Oh, he’s outside.  Apparently he went to help you, according to him, but you told him to let you lay here and die.  Bruce wasn’t sure if you were injured and should be moved so he called for an ambulance.”  Jessica got down on one knee and whispered.  “There isn’t enough evidence to go after Bruce for Luke’s death, or anyone else’s.  Trip wants to keep an eye on him.”

             
John nodded.  “I think he actually might have saved my life and his by shooting that bomb.  Jessica, I don’t think he’s the.”  He paused a second.  “You’re mad at me
aren’t you?”  Jessica just stared at him.  “I’m going to have to pay for this aren’t I?”

Jessica nodded and smiled at him.  John smiled back and started to lean up to kiss her.  John stopped from the pain, and began to groan.  Jessica punched him on the arm.