Girl Jacked Read online

  Gina. If I’m around when she comes back, there will be an epic fight no matter what I do. She could show or not show. If she stays away for a couple of days, there’s the possibility she’ll try to work things out and come back. If she shows up today, it’ll be to get her stuff, and then she’ll be gone, permanently.

  Jack hoped it would be the latter. He thought about hiding anything valuable, but he’d done that long before Gina. He’d locked the important papers in the safe, but he’d kept copies in the back of the sofa. He didn’t trust anyone anymore. Great life.

  He thought about the gun in the safe. I don’t need it. I won’t take it.

  He carried himself differently when he had his gun. It was like a tell in poker. People seemed to sense he was a cop when he carried it, and he didn’t want that today. In truth, he was more than prepared without it. When Jack was twelve, he confided in a friend about his birth mother. The story that his mother was a prostitute burned through the school like wildfire. Jack got into three fights in one day and lost each one. The principal called his parents in for a conference. The school counselor simply chalked it up to “kids can be cruel” and Jack would have to learn to deal with it.

  Jack’s adoptive father was far more supportive. He signed Jack up for karate. Jack took to it like breathing. Martial arts were a natural fit for him. After a few months, no one dared mentioned his mother.

  Now what else is there?

  His checklists were becoming as scattered as the pieces of his life. The soldier he was six years ago would have beaten the crap out of him for being so sloppy.

  “Ready?” he called as he opened the door. He hadn’t needed to ask; Replacement was there waiting at the open front door.

  As she saw him, a flood of questions burst out, “Where are we going? Where do we start? Are we—?”

  “Kid, listen. This is what you do today, SHUT UP.” Her face fell. He felt bad in a weird way. “I have a job to do, and I can’t have you screw it up, okay?”

  Her face scrunched up, her hands went out, and she raised herself up on her toes and leaned in on him. “I won’t screw it up.”

  “If you get in someone’s face like you just got in mine, you will.” Jack took a deep breath and decided to try a different tack. “Can you do me a favor?” His voice, posture, and mannerisms all softened. “It looks like we have a truce going, right?”

  She nodded her head and set her jaw. “Just because you said you’d help.”

  “Can you try to follow my lead?”

  “Like we’re in it together?” Before he could stop that train of thought, it had already left the station. “Hell, yeah. Let’s go.”

  He rolled his eyes. That was his first mistake of the morning.

  Jack’s second mistake was in taking the front steps. Mrs. Stevens sprang out of her door like a lion. Her mane of red hair stood on end, and her flabby face was blotchy. She looked like she had waited all night at that door to spring her trap and he fell right into it.

  She was so crazy looking that Replacement dashed behind him and stopped talking.

  “Mrs. Stevens . . . I wanted to stop by and offer my sincere apologies . . .” He held his hands open and out as if he were handling a hostage situation.

  “You weren’t stopping.” Her eyes grew even larger.

  “I was going out to get you a little something so I could apologize properly.” He hoped that her mental image of the bribe would calm her down. Jack didn’t have much furniture, but he hated moving. There was a high probability that his landlady would throw him out.

  “How could you possibly apologize for all you’ve done?” All that was missing was the back of her hand held theatrically to her forehead.

  She’s laying it on pretty thick, but that could be a good sign. Jack tried to look apologetic.

  “Your lease is exceedingly specific about the level of noise. Last night . . .”

  She’s quoting the lease, that’s bad. Jack decided that he’d have to play on her emotions a bit. He started speaking before he fully thought it through, another one of his weaknesses. “I’m just so sorry, Mrs. Stevens. You see . . . this girl . . . she’s . . . she’s the sister of my friend who has passed . . . his younger sister . . .” Her eyes narrowed and her fat lips pursed into a puffy line but Jack kept talking. “. . . and she’s mental and . . . stunted emotionally . . . and I just wanted to get her to a place that would take care of her—”

  “What about the other one?” Mrs. Stevens started tapping her foot.

  “The other—?”

  “Girl.” He didn’t know how Mrs. Stevens even said the word as her lips pressed together so tightly they didn’t move.

  “The other girl is my, my . . . cousin—” He regretted the lie as soon as it passed his lips.

  “Crap.” Jack jumped as Replacement began twitching and swearing behind him. “Sorry, crap. Sorry, pretty lady.” Her head was spasmodically going back and forth as her arms and legs jerked. Even though Jack knew it was an act, it was quite unnerving. “Crap. Son-of-a—"

  “There, there. It’s okay.” Jack wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. He honestly wanted her to stop before he started laughing.

  Mrs. Stevens stepped back and clutched her robe to her chest. “Is she dangerous?” Her eyes were wide with fear.

  “No, no. She’s harmless.” His voice was reassuring as he began hustling Replacement down the hallway. “I just need to get her meds refilled right away.”

  They burst through the door. Replacement grinned from ear to ear, making a goofy face. He stared at her and put his hands out.

  “What was that? Are you trying to get me kicked out?”

  “You said follow your lead,” she protested.

  “Shutting up would have been following my lead.”

  “You told her I was mental. Where did you come up with that? And your cousin? You think she was gonna believe Miss Fake Boobs is your cousin?” She laughed.

  “If you wanted to act, how about trying to come off harmless and not like some twitchy little psycho?”

  “I called her pretty.” She shrugged like that should cover everything.

  Jack was speechless. He stared back at her not knowing what to say. Movement at a second floor window caught his eye. Mrs. Stevens pulled the curtain back to look down at them.

  “Okay act a little out of it, she’s watching.”

  Replacement went back to her fish-out-of-water dance. This time though, she toned it way down. He couldn’t help but smile as he led her to the car and noticed the odd looks they received from some people on the street.

  As they drove toward the college, Replacement behaved like a big puppy. Even though it was cold out, she rolled her window part way down and started touching all the buttons. When she went to mess with the radio, he swatted her hand away.

  “Stop touching everything.”

  She checked herself in the mirror and then almost climbed into the back seat. He looked over at her. She had the body of a nineteen year old but the social graces of a toddler.

  Twisting back around, she flopped down and pulled out the ashtray, causing some coins to spill onto the floor of the car. “Sorry.”

  “Sit still. You’re making me nervous,” he chided. She still acted like the ten-year-old puppy that chased Chandler and him around.

  Jack pushed the ashtray back into the dash of his semi-refurbished, blue, dented 1978 Chevy Impala. He had picked it up at a police auction for short money. It had way too many miles on it. Jack and the car were twins in that regard, but the Impala seemed to be running better right now.

  Replacement made a face. “This car is—”

  His look must have been cutting because she shut right up.

  You don’t say anything about a guy’s car. It’s like ranking on someone’s mother.

  Jack saw her shiver, frown, and roll the window back up. After a few miles, she asked, “Where are we going?” She’d kept quiet a lot longer than he thought was possible.

 
“White Rocks. First stop is Michelle’s apartment, and then we’ll go to the college.”

  “Why don’t you go see what the cops have?”

  Jack kept his eyes on the road.

  Because my boss is so by-the-book he’d go crazy and tell me to follow proper channels and let Fairfield P.D. and Joe Davenport handle it.

  “We’ll start at her apartment. Do you have the address where she stayed?”

  “Yeah, but I was there once, and they didn’t know nothing.” She tapped her knuckles against the car door in frustration.

  “Didn’t know anything.”

  “Sorry teacher.” Replacement poked out her tongue. “I’m just visiting the college, not enrolling today, right?” Replacement settled into her seat and crossed her arms.

  Jack laughed. “Good line, kid.”

  She smiled, put her hands behind her head, and stretched her feet onto the dashboard. Jack made a mental note to give out positive reinforcement.

  “How are we going to start looking into this?” she asked.

  “You want to start at the end of the trail—” he began, but she cut him off.

  “Why don’t we start with the cops then?”

  “That’s not the end of her trail. Besides . . .” He was about to go on about Detective Joe Davenport and the fact that he liked to go over case details while he was baiting a hook, but he thought better of it. “I don’t want to muddy the waters. We’ll start at her apartment. And I’ll quietly call over to Fairfield’s sheriff’s department and see what they have.”

  She remained silent for the rest of the ride except for the occasional “turn left” and “turn right” as she gave him directions.

  They arrived outside an upscale apartment complex, close to the college and in a great part of town.

  How could Michelle afford this and school?

  Just one look with a raised eyebrow conveyed that question to Replacement. “She got a full scholarship.” He could hear the ring of pride in her voice. “Free everything.”

  “Scholarship?” Jack didn’t remember Michelle playing any sport.

  “It was a work scholarship for computers. She had to work here, but she could take classes. She’s super smart.”

  Jack drove past the apartment. His car would stick out wherever he parked it in this neighborhood, and he wanted to create the illusion that he was an approachable, normal, guy. He swung into a parking space and shut off the engine.

  “Just keep quiet, okay?”

  She pantomimed a key locking her mouth again and flashed him an impish grin. Jack frowned. That smile said she was going to do what she wanted in the long run.

  I should lock her in the car. But, if I have a young girl with me, I’ll be more approachable to college students.

  Jack debated and decided to take her along. She made no effort to hide her grin.

  Yeah . . . lost that one Jack.

  “Does she have a roommate or a boyfriend? Was she in a sorority? Did she talk about friends?” He fired off questions as they walked toward the apartment, angry he hadn’t asked them on the car ride over.

  “Yes, she has a roommate. No boyfriend. No sorority. And no she didn’t talk about friends.” She fired the answers back with a triumphant grin. “Missy Lorton.” Her smile widened as she guessed his next question before he asked.

  He ran his fingers through his hair and scanned the buzzers. He hesitated when he noticed that Missy’s was the only apartment with one name, LORTON, typed on a fancy tan paper that was slightly darker than the others.

  The paper is newer; the paper from the other apartments has faded. Someone doesn’t think Michelle is coming back.

  “You’re sure this is Michelle’s apartment?”

  “It said LORTON and CAMPBELL when I came out before.” Replacement jabbed the paper with each word.

  Jack pressed the buzzer.

  “We’ll talk to Missy first and then to the neighbors, okay?”

  Someone buzzed them in.

  They jogged up the stairs. Jack didn’t have time to catch his breath before the door to apartment 328 swung open. A rather short, extremely plump girl stood in the doorway.

  “I thought I was going to meet . . .” Her whiny voice trailed off, and she took a step back.

  “Miss Lorton? My name—,” Jack started to say as he worked up his most dashing smile.

  It didn’t work. Missy’s mouth flew wide open, and she tried to slam the door shut. Jack’s foot paid the price of acting as a doorstop.

  “Miss, I’m just here to ask you a few quick questions.” He tried not to clench his teeth from the pain.

  “A salesman?” Her pudgy face relaxed, and the fear on it changed to barely hidden disgust. “No solicitors,” she whined.

  This time he caught the slamming door with his hands and his foot.

  “We’re looking for Michelle Campbell.” He said the last part with a forced smile because it was surprisingly difficult to keep the door open with the heavy girl pressing against it.

  This girl weighs 250 pounds easily.

  “He said she transferred to a different school.” Missy hesitantly stepped back from the door.

  Jack grabbed Replacement with his left hand and encouraged her forward so Missy could see he was with a girl, hoping that would soften her up.

  “I already told the police everything I know.” Missy shrugged.

  “Missy, I’m sorry. Can we start again?” Jack was trying to pour on the charm. He hoped he still had a little left. “We’re old family friends, and we just came by to get Michelle’s things.”

  Missy’s face was expressionless.

  “She took it all.”

  Jack examined her posture: hands turned out, shoulders relaxed, back stiff, and she looked straight in his eyes.

  She’s lying.

  “That’s fine.” He lowered his head and his voice. “The college informed us she transferred. When did she tell you she was transferring?”

  She hesitated for a moment too long. Missy stood blinking while she looked at Jack. Her lie would reveal something, and Jack waited for it.

  “Tell me where Michelle is, or I’ll kick your fat—” Jack caught Replacement as she lunged at the portly girl.

  Missy fell backward and rolled, squealing, into the kitchen.

  With one girl hurling a string of obscenities and threats that would make a mafia hit man proud and the other girl shrieking as she struggled to sit up, Jack called out, “Thank you very much Miss Lorton, we’ll be going now.”

  He lifted Replacement bodily from the floor and stormed out of the apartment. She stopped struggling by the second floor, but he didn’t let go as he carried her out. He was beyond mad. As they got to the car, he dropped her to the ground, and she had to grab the car to avoid falling.

  “IN.” He yanked her door open.

  She hopped in.

  Jack marched over to his side and slammed his door shut. The tires screeched as he hit the gas and pulled out.

  “I could have gotten her to tell us where Michelle’s stuff is,” Replacement began.

  “What’s the matter with you? You can’t just take potshots at people that tick you off. And what would Aunt Haddie say?”

  He didn’t like swearing at a woman, but he was so mad he couldn’t stop himself from making some sound. His low growl made Replacement back off. She moved as far away from him as the large seats in the Impala would allow.

  “Of all the stupid things to do. With a girl like that, you let them lie.”

  He veered to the side of the road, slammed on the brakes and glared at her. Jack’s anger burned hot, but his skin went cold.

  “Something is wrong. That girl was lying. It was obvious,” Jack pointed out.

  “And her stuff? Michelle didn’t go anywhere, so someone took her stuff.” Her voice was small now.

  “Missy said he told her, not Michelle, or she.”

  He had followed enough missing person cases. Simple ones sometimes had happy endings. Missy di
dn’t want to talk and was lying about something. This wasn’t a simple missing person case.

  He looked at Replacement and sighed. “Maybe we can use that meltdown. Who knows? If I need to talk to her again, I can always say if she doesn’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll bring you back to have a chat with her.”

  Replacement smiled slightly, but her eyes were gray. They rode in silence. She propped her head up on her hand and leaned up against the window. Jack noticed she kept her eyes closed.

  What did she think? Once I started looking then Michelle would suddenly appear? I show up and everything is fixed because I’m the superhero?

  This is reality kid, and reality sucks.

  Chapter 5 ~

  You Will Know Pain

  They headed to the Campus Police Station. He’d been there for various calls in the last six months. Usually it was for noise complaints and the odd drunk. Sometimes he’d earned overtime with traffic duty for events.

  They called it Campus Police, but it was only a couple of rungs up the ladder from the official high school hall monitor's office. The “force” consisted of less than ten guys and two gals who were either just out of high school or already retired. They were a nice quiet group for a nice quiet college.

  White Rocks Eastern College was an old, private institution with less than 2000 students. Although small, it was the source of a very large portion of the county's tax base, a fact that Sheriff Collins never let anyone forget. With this in mind, and his constant desire to stay under Collins’s radar, Jack was getting ready to try locking Replacement in the car.

  “I won’t say anything.” She must have been reading his mind because she was still looking out the window. The fight had gone out of her, and she appeared even more downcast.

  “I’d be very appreciative if you didn’t.” He parked the car. “Unless of course you want to wait here?”

  “No. I’ll come in.”

  The security office was a small building, consisting of a few rooms. They walked up the cement ramp and could see a large main desk through the windows. A woman with an immense hairdo greeted them before the little bell over the door even finished ringing.