GIRL JACKED (Crime and Punishment Mystery Thriller Series) Page 19

  “I’m fine. I have to—”

  “Have to do what? What’re you going to do, Jack? The doctor doesn’t want you walking on that leg, and your right hand needs time to heal.” She held up her hand. “Collins said you were to take some time off, too.”

  “You have to be fu—”

  “Jack Alton Stratton.” Cindy stamped her foot so loud that a nurse poked her head into the room.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  “You should not be speaking such language in front of a lady.” She folded her arms and glared. “The sheriff is right. You can’t stand on your leg yet, and you can’t shoot. You need time to get well.”

  Jack looked up into her eyes but was unable to hold them.

  He leaned over and picked at the flowers next to his bed. “These came without cards,” he said with a sweep of his hand as he gestured to the half-dozen displays nurses had delivered to the room.

  “Well, they all had cards…once…” Cindy chuckled.

  “Once?” Jack didn’t understand.

  “Alice read a couple of them…”

  “Replacement? Why would she get rid of the cards?”

  Cindy looked at him as if he had three heads. “When it comes to women, you really don’t know jack, Jack.”

  “Ha, ha. Why do I have to stay here so long?” Jack folded his arms.

  “One reason is to give poor Alice a break. Do you have any idea how long she stayed at your side? She wouldn’t go home until today, and I had to promise I’d stay.”

  “You’re not staying.”

  “I told her I would.”

  “Go home, Cindy.” Jack sulked like a little kid.

  “I thought you’d want the company.”

  “I actually would prefer to sleep. You can go.”

  “Would that be okay? Really?” She leaned in. “My mother came for a visit, and if I leave her home alone with my husband… They get along like gasoline and a match.”

  Jack nodded.

  Cindy picked up her pocketbook. “Don’t you dare tell her I left. That one can be scary.” Cindy gave his foot a little squeeze and headed out the door.

  Jack leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

  Doc said nothing is broken in my leg, and I’ll be on it in a week or two.

  He arched his back and tried to flex his muscles. He still hurt, a lot.

  The door to his room opened, and a young nurse came in carrying a bright red vase filled with yet more flowers. She set them down next to the bed.

  “Someone must want you to get better,” the girl gushed. “This is the second time they sent you flowers.” She started to put it down with the others.

  He reached toward her. “Can I see who it’s from?”

  She handed him a very large card.

  Jack mumbled a thank-you.

  At least I can find out who sent these.

  The card had his name printed on the front. Jack opened the card but then closed it quickly. The inside had no words, just a picture.

  Marisa.

  He could feel his face turn red as he slowly peeked in and opened the card again. The picture was a pencil sketch of museum quality. The problem wasn’t with the piece but the subject. The drawing was of him lying on a tattoo table, a sheet partly covering him—just not covering the right parts.

  Well, that explains why Replacement got rid of the other cards.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Drunken Grasshopper

  Replacement propped another pillow behind Jack’s back and stepped away, appraising her work with a triumphant grin. Jack surveyed her accomplishment. She had transformed his bedroom; it was now his hospital room, only nicer. There was a food tray and a TV. Pillows were everywhere, and his leg was now cushioned on two of them.

  “Thanks, kid. I don’t know how you pulled this off but here.” He handed her a small pile of cash.

  “I’m not taking that,” she protested and pushed it away.

  “If you don’t, I have to figure out how you got this stuff or have you arrested.” He gestured to the room.

  “Donations.” She turned her hands up. “Cindy hooked me up at the Salvation Army. They wouldn’t take a dime.”

  “Take the money, kid.” Jack handed her the cash. “We need groceries and stuff.”

  “We have tons of food. Cindy brought food over. I like her very much.” Replacement sat down on the bed.

  “I like Cindy too.” Jack stared up at the ceiling. “I tried calling Sheriff Collins, but he won’t return my phone calls.”

  “Jack, I don’t think that you…right now.” Tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

  “You didn’t say anything just then. Not a full sentence anyway.” Jack tried to smile, but he ended up just staring at her.

  “For right now you need to stop. Jack, please. For right now, just get better.” She squeezed his hand. “Please.”

  “Okay.” He pulled the blanket up a little farther. “I’ll be good.”

  “Of course you will. Wait here.” She was smiling and crying at the same time as she raced out of the room and came back moments later with her arms filled with DVDs.

  “Pick a movie.” She stacked them on the table and gestured like Vanna White.

  “Here.” He grinned. “Rocky.”

  She picked up the movie and hopped over to the DVD player. “A boxing movie?” She made a face.

  “You’ve never seen it? You’ll like it.”

  That night, Jack stared up at the ceiling and waited. Replacement had gone to bed an hour ago.

  She must be asleep by now.

  He slipped out of bed and winced when he tried to stand. He shuffled to the door and slowly opened it.

  It shouldn’t make a noise. I used a whole can of spray oil so I wouldn’t wake Gina up when I came home.

  Replacement lay curled up on the couch under the thick comforter. He couldn’t see her breathing but was sure she was asleep.

  Gritting his teeth, he shuffled over to the desk. He leaned against it and forced himself to breathe. A quick glance at Replacement ensured she was still asleep.

  Click.

  The cord made the slightest sound as he unplugged her laptop. Cradling it like a football, he limped for the door as quietly as he could. As he neared the end of the couch, he heard a soft scraping sound. He turned around, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise, and his eyes stopped on the desk.

  The unplugged laptop cord was slowly sliding across the desk and fell. It landed with a crisp thwack.

  He held his breath and looked down at Replacement.

  She didn’t move.

  Jack turned and scurried back to the safety of the bedroom with his prize.

  The laptop’s screen flashed to life, and a password prompt appeared.

  Jack grinned.

  You’re not the only one who can look over someone’s shoulder.

  He typed XmasR0$3 and the laptop booted up.

  Christmas Rose for her password? I would have never guessed it.

  Jack logged in to the police database and opened the file on Lennie Jacobsen. He was clean. No arrest, but there was a mug shot.

  Why was there a mug shot, but no arrest records?

  He searched further into the file. He found an arrest record from a few years back. Someone had voided that arrest. Lennie had been arrested when he was a teenager, but the juvenile record was now sealed.

  Damn.

  He knew what that meant. Juvie records were like vaults. He’d have to convince a judge to give him a subpoena and get them unsealed.

  Mark Reynolds said Lennie was a runner for one of the dealers at the college. Maybe he was a student?

  He started to write an email to Neil Waters.

  The next couple of days, Replacement made him breakfast, lunch, and dinner and watched movie after movie lying next to him. If he tried to talk about the college or Michelle, she cut him off and reminded him he promised to wait until he got better. He couldn’t remember making a promise, but he
didn’t say anything.

  Every night, Jack would sneak Replacement’s laptop and continue the hunt. He pored over all the files to search for anything he may have missed.

  His leg healed slowly. The whole length of it was bruised and sore.

  Replacement never left his side. When he woke up, she was there, and she tucked him in at night. She doted on him like a mother, and though he wouldn’t admit it to her, he liked it. Even so, he was glad when the day finally came for his checkup.

  Jack was excited to see the doctor and get clearance to go back to work. He’d been out of the hospital for a week and was hopeful. He was not as excited about how they were getting to the doctor’s office. Because of his leg, he couldn’t drive. That left Replacement.

  He watched her carefully put the front seat all the way back to accommodate Jack’s leg brace. As he settled into the passenger seat, he realized a big problem: the front seat in the Impala was one long seat. It was like driving sitting on a couch. The problem was, in order for Jack’s leg to be straight out, Replacement now had to sit on the very edge in order to reach the steering wheel and pedals.

  He looked at her and laughed. She looked like a little kid playing in the car. She made a face and sat up straighter.

  “Okay. Just remember that the gas pedal is—”

  The car shot forward like a rocket as she pressed down too hard on the gas. She countered by jamming both feet on the brake, and Jack had to catch himself on the dashboard to keep from going through the windshield.

  “Very sensitive.”

  Before he could say anything else, she did the whole process again, and they were headed down the street with Jack feeling as if he were riding a bull in a rodeo.

  They stopped at a light and, between the pain in his leg and the terrified yet determined look on Replacement’s face, he burst out laughing. She muttered, which caused him to laugh even harder.

  “I’m doing my best.”

  “You have to go easy.”

  “I am.”

  “Just press a little.”

  When they reached the clinic, they both were howling with laughter.

  She followed him into the small exam room. Jack hopped up onto the examining table.

  Just let this guy give me the green light.

  He stared at the ceiling, and his mood shifted. As his thoughts moved back to work, he could hear Replacement move things on the desk.

  “Don’t touch anything, kid,” he called out but kept his eyes closed.

  “That’s Doctor Kid to you.” Replacement poked his leg.

  Jack sat up, and his eyes went wide. Replacement had blue rubber gloves on her hands and a white mask over her mouth. She crossed her eyes and held up a tongue depressor.

  “It’s time for your full body checkup.”

  They both burst out laughing, and still were as the door opened and the doctor walked in. Jack swallowed, and Replacement spun around, pulled her mask down, and put her hands behind her back. The older doctor’s expression lost the quizzical look and turned into a frown.

  I’m an idiot. Now he’s going to be bent out of shape.

  “I’m Dr. Nieman.” He shook Jack’s hand. “I see you’ve met my assistant.” He nodded toward Replacement.

  Jack exhaled, and Replacement grinned.

  Dr. Nieman walked over and removed Jack’s leg brace. Jack winced. After a few minutes of prodding, Nieman leaned back.

  “Officer, your leg is healing up quite nicely. If my assistant here keeps up with this quality care, you can head back to work next week.” He winked at Replacement.

  Jack and Replacement exchanged a quick smile.

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  Nieman shook Jack’s hand, and as he turned to walk out of the office, he whispered into Replacement’s ear. Jack watched from across the room as her eyes grew big and her face turned scarlet. She didn’t say a word as Nieman chuckled and left the room.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing.”

  He shot her a semi-mad look.

  “He said that I can take the mask and gloves. If we want to play doctor and patient, you’re healthy enough for that now.” Replacement continued to stare at the floor as her face continued past scarlet to plum red.

  The good news put Jack in a great mood for the ride home. They were soon howling with laughter again at Replacement’s driving. She couldn’t get the feel for the gas pedal, and they lurched down the street like a drunken grasshopper. Jack was amazed she parked the car.

  They were both still in a laughing mood as they tried to get into the apartment. Replacement held a stack of mail as she propped the door open for Jack while he had to shimmy sideways on his crutches to get through.

  Replacement dropped the pile of mail on the counter and headed off to take a shower. Jack couldn’t wait to take one either. He hated the doctor’s office.

  Germ factory.

  Jack made up two plates for lunch and hobbled over to the computer. Neil Waters wrote back. Jack read the email. Lennie Jacobsen had been a computer science student, but he’d dropped out in October. The only other information Neil had on him was a home address in Michigan.

  Jack looked down at Replacement’s notebook. She’d continued to read Michelle’s emails and made notes. He flipped it open and checked some of the pages. She had circled a filename in red and wrote Password? next to it.

  He logged into the file storage where Replacement had put the contents of the phone. A few clicks and he was at the folder. A video named “XPC 15 Interview — Part 1” was the only file in there. Jack double-clicked it, and a password prompt appeared. He read Replacement’s note. She’d written “tried everything!!!” with an unhappy face.

  He typed COOKIES and a message appeared: “Invalid Password. Type secure password and press enter.”

  Jack frowned, limped into the bedroom, and knocked at the bathroom door. He opened it a crack, and Replacement yelped. Jack jumped back and slammed the door shut.

  “What’s the matter?” he called.

  “I’m in the shower.”

  “I have a quick question.”

  “Can it wait?” she asked.

  “You walk in on me all the time.”

  “It’s different. I’m a woman.”

  Jack laughed and shook his head. “What makes a password secure?”

  “What do you mean?” She shut the water off and, in a few seconds, the door opened a fraction, her body hidden behind it. “What’re you talking about?”

  “That file that you can’t open. Did you try any word like cookies?” Jack asked.

  “A password doesn’t have cookies.” She looked at him as if he were stupid.

  “No. For the password. Did you try the word cookies?”

  “No. Why would I try cookies?”

  “Michelle always used that for her password,” he said.

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “Yes, she did, when she was little. It was her super-secret one you had to say.” Jack could see Michelle with her hands on her hips and her little chin sticking out, demanding that he say the password before she’d let him go by.

  Replacement yanked opened the door and raced to the computer. She was dripping wet but had a large towel wrapped around herself. She jumped behind the keyboard and pulled up another program.

  “I’ll run it through this.” She pressed a few keys, and the screen flashed.

  “What is it?” Jack leaned forward, but the screen was changing so fast he couldn’t tell what was going on.

  “It’s a password cracker. It would take way too long if you didn’t have any idea what the base password was. You’d need a super computer to crack it. But if you forgot your password and had some idea, this program tries the different permutations.”

  “You lost me with your geek-speak, girl.”

  Replacement frowned. “A secure password uses letters, numbers, capital letters, and symbols. I can put in a base word or words and let the program do all the co
mbinations. There are thousands and it will try them, but it still may take a couple days.”

  “Days?”

  “Yes, but that beats never.”

  Again, Jack thought she wanted to add the word stupid to her statement. “Okay.” Jack got up and limped for the bathroom. “I guess we have time.” He paused outside the bedroom door. “I’m real impressed. You really are brilliant.”

  Replacement jumped up and spun around so fast her towel started to fall. Jack couldn’t help it. His mouth fell open, and his eyes widened. Replacement twisted and turned different shades of crimson as she tried to hold onto the towel and cover herself up.

  As Jack quickly tried to look away, he slipped on the water on the floor. His full weight came down on his hurt leg, and he fell forward. He went to catch himself and realized it would be with his hurt wrist. He forced his hand up and landed flat on his stomach and face instead. The impact knocked the wind right out of him, and he groaned loudly.

  “Jack.” Replacement rushed over to him. “Jack, I’m so sorry.” Her small hands pushed his hair back. “Are you okay?”

  He tried to swallow and look just at her eyes, but he failed. He could hardly breathe, but he didn’t know whether it was because of her, or landing on his stomach. Her skin was white and flawless. Her emerald eyes invited him to lose himself in them. Her mouth was only inches away, and her clean scent washed over him and drew him closer.

  “Jack?” Both of her hands grabbed the side of his face; he lay there and stared at her.

  His arms circled around her waist and lower back. They stared at each other. Her eyes widened and then softened. His hand glided up to her shoulder.

  Jack leaned closer and placed his cheek next to hers. He could feel her heart beat against his chest. It matched the rhythm of his own. They both relaxed into each other, and Jack pressed his face into her neck.

  Her breath was hot against his ear. He felt her leg slide up and he tightened his grip to pull her even closer into him. Her hand caressed the side of his cheek, and he trembled.

  Don’t.

  The word of caution came from somewhere deep within his mind. It leapt out of hiding from some buried dark spot. His newfound desires for her vanished like mist at dawn.