Chapter 14

Emma

Fuck. He saw me.

Jack’s face had shown only a momentary flash of surprise before it had hardened and he’d turned away, but it was enough for me to know that he’d seen me crouched behind the poster.

As soon as he was out of sight, I stepped out from behind the poster. My only thought was getting the hell out of Dodge before Jack could come back and find me. I knew I was in for a lecture, at minimum, and I didn’t want to have to face him.

Then I caught sight of the familiar faced man, heading towards the theater exit. He pushed through the door and back out into the mall. Without hesitating, I followed. This was the reason I’d stuck around. Regardless of what Jack thought, I was onto something important. This guy being here at the same time as Jansen had to mean something.

I started after him, picking up the pace but being sure to remain far enough behind that he wouldn’t get suspicious. The man walked at a brisk pace through the mall but didn’t stop at any of the shops or kiosks along his path. He made a beeline for the main exit, and so I followed him, keeping my head on a swivel for any sign of Jack and Jansen. I didn’t want to be taken off guard during my pursuit.

The parking lot was cold and wet, and I treaded with care as I followed behind my target. I was still a row away when I saw him hit his key fob, causing a black sedan to flash its lights in acknowledgment. I snuck a quick peek at his license plate, making out BKK as the first letters, then turned and sped off in the direction of my own car.

What are you doing, Emma? Are you really thinking about tailing this guy?

My heart was beating a mile a minute as a jogged to my car. I threw my bags in the back and jumped in behind the wheel, my hands shaking as I put the key in the ignition. Taking a deep breath, I turned on the car and backed out of the space, heading towards the exit and keeping my eyes peeled for the black sedan.

I caught sight of his car, and when it turned left out of the lot, I followed, two cars between him and me. I was committed to seeing where the familiar face led. Although Jack had given up on our investigation, I hadn’t.

I couldn’t, not now. Finding out what secret Jansen was hiding had come to represent something important to me. It was tied to the backbone I was growing, to the strength inside me that I’d often failed to utilize. My dad and big brother had always done an excellent job of keeping me secure, but the flipside to that security had resulted in me being too sheltered, too avoidant of conflict and confrontation.

Now was the time to change all that. And if it just happened to show Jack that I could handle myself without anyone’s help, then so be it.

My phone buzzed in my purse and I fumbled it out, glancing at the notifications. There was another text from Jack. The message was simple enough: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I’m proving myself, you big jerk. I’m getting the job done.

I didn’t text back, too involved in my trailing of the familiar faced guy. I followed the sedan as it headed east. The going was slow, as the weather was miserable. Southerners aren’t great fans of driving when there is any hint of ice or snow on the roads. Although it wasn’t cold enough to freeze, drivers were still taking things easy. It didn’t help that it was getting close to the holiday, which meant there were plenty of other people out shopping today.

I heard my phone buzz again, but I ignored it. The black sedan had its blinker on, and I was only a car length behind it now. I had to stay far enough behind that he didn’t see me, but the car in front of me was about to change lanes to go around the stopped car. Luckily the sedan turned left before the car in front of me revealed my presence. As I drove slowly by, I saw it pull behind a building with an old sign out front that labeled it “Benedetti’s Deli.”

I turned left on the next street, then circled around. There was an alley halfway down the block, so I pulled into it and crept slowly down until I saw the parking lot behind the deli. The sedan had parked there, and the familiar faced guy was just headed into the deli’s back door.

I realized then that the deli’s façade was brick. The drive that the sedan had pulled down was familiar as well. I grabbed my phone and pulled up the picture of the alleyway with the group of men standing in it. It seemed to be a match.

I swiped over to the text message I’d missed. It was from Jack. “Meet me at the office in 15 minutes.”

Sorry Jack, I thought. There was no way I’d make it back to the office in his time frame. Besides, part of me wanted to park and go into the deli myself, to scout it out. This had to be a clue to the secret Jansen was keeping. The men in the photograph had to have something to do with this deli, including the councilman.

I sat there, debating on how to proceed. The drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour, raindrops pelting my car, forcing me to turn my wipers on high. As they tapped out their rhythmic beat, I tried to reach a decision.

Should I go inside, see if I could find out where the familiar faced guy had gone, or if there were any other men from the photo on the premise? My pulse rate skidded out of control. It had taken all my reserves of bravery just to follow the guy in the first place. Did I really have the fortitude to go inside?
What if the familiar faced guy was in there, and he recognized me from the mall? I was pretty sure he hadn’t got a glance at me, but I wasn’t exactly trained in espionage.

But I knew someone who was.

Dammit.

Maybe it was better to meet Jack, to tell him what I’d found out. Although it was unlikely, there was a greater than zero chance that I might be recognized if I waltzed into the deli now. And no one knew where I was. I was alone, on a solo mission, no back up.

My reasonable side prevailed. Snapping a picture of the sedan, including the license plate, I drove up the alley to the end of the block. I then turned down the main street again and slowed enough to take a picture of the front of the deli. Then I sped up and started heading in the direction of the office.

I already knew that Jack was going to be spoiling for a fight. He had caught me mid-snoop, and I was sure he was going to assume the worst. I let myself feel a spark of hope. Maybe he would be impressed with me when I shared my discovery.

Maybe he would apologize for telling me to drop the investigation, and that he would say he was proud of me for sticking to the case.

And maybe pigs would fly and Santa would deliver a naked Jack clone into my stocking on Christmas Eve.

I let out a sigh. Jack probably wouldn’t even listen to me when I tried to tell him what had happened. He might even go so far as to call my father and inform him that I’d been playing private detective on the company’s clients.

The spark of hope vanished faster than the spiked eggnog at an office holiday party. This wasn’t going to go easy. As someone who hated confrontation, it took every ounce of my strength to drive directly back to the office.

I told myself I refused to let things go down the way they had last night. If Jack tried to act all high and mighty, this time I would put him in his place instead of slinking off like a dog with my tail between my legs.

I wasn’t the asshole here. I was the one concerned with finding out the truth, with doing my civic duty. I’d given him a chance to do this together, but he’d declined. Now he could either help, or get the hell out of my way.

I psyched myself up as best I could, but my hands were still shaking when I pulled into the office parking lot. It took several deep breaths before I was able to get out of the car and make the walk up to the office door.

It was time to put my new backbone to the test.