JACKS ARE WILD Page 5

  Jack walked away, whistling.

  Was?

  It was almost eleven when he looked in the door of the tattoo parlor for the fifth time. The tall, lanky guy was still there. He shook his head and held out his hands when he spotted Jack. Jack opened the door and quickly stuck his head in.

  “She’s still not here.” The tall guy shrugged as he made a face to a short girl dressed in all black, with black eye shadow, who sat at the end of the long counter.

  “Did she call?”

  “Nope.”

  Jack’s phone buzzed so he let the door swing shut as he walked back onto the sidewalk. It was a text from Replacement.

  U TALK TO MARISA YET? I NEED PICS!!

  That dumb graffiti job. Maybe the stupid nightmare is just freaking me out. I’ll finish my shift, go back to the station, fill out the paperwork, and then go to her apartment. She probably started a new painting and got sucked into it.

  Jack’s heels clicked as he marched down the sidewalk. At the intersection, he looked to his left and saw Thaddeus near the entrance of the alley. He rocked back and forth, from one foot to the other. He brought both of his hands behind his head as he turned in Jack’s direction.

  Jack waved. Thaddeus ran. Jack was so surprised he stood there for a moment and looked at the now empty entrance to the alley.

  Why would…?

  Thaddeus’s words rang in Jack’s head: “Ms. Vitagliano is a very nice lady.”

  Jack’s feet pushed against the concrete as he flew forward like a sprinter off the block. He covered the short distance to the entrance of the alley in ten long strides, just missing the wall as he rounded the corner. Thaddeus was just ahead, but ran as fast as his long coat would allow.

  Jack surged forward and bellowed, “FREEZE.”

  His voice was so loud in the narrow alleyway it echoed off the bricks. Thaddeus froze. Jack slowed to a walk and put his hand on his gun.

  “Turn around slowly and let me see your hands.” Jack stopped.

  Thaddeus turned, and raised two shaking hands. One look at his face, and Jack knew they weren’t shaking out of fear.

  He’s ticked.

  “Thaddeus, what’s wrong?”

  “You. You and the corrupt institution that’s been designed to ‘protect and serve.’ Serve? Ha. Protect?” He spat on the ground. Jack angled his body slightly as he held up a hand.

  It could just be another one of his rants.

  “Can you give me a little more to go on here, Thaddeus?”

  “I told you that girl was the sweetest thing.”

  Jack went suddenly cold.

  Was?

  “Marisa?”

  Thaddeus nodded.

  “What about Marisa?”

  As Thaddeus let his hands drop to his sides, the anger fell from his face. “I tried.” His voice was now soft and his shoulders slumped.

  “Where’s Marisa?” As Jack said the words, bands tightened around his chest.

  This is not happening. She’s fine.

  Thaddeus shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I told them what happened.”

  “Who? Who did you tell?” Jack took two steps forward.

  “The police. I told them, but…YOU LAUGHED AT ME,” he screamed in Jack’s face, and Thaddeus’s whole body went so rigid it vibrated.

  Calm. Soften your body language. Non-threatening.

  Jack tried to invoke his training, but instead threw it out the window. He leaned in and growled, “You’re not going to yell anymore. Got it? Now, when did you last see Marisa?”

  Thaddeus shrank down. “Last night. I was coming to get a ham sandwich. Ms. Vitagliano told me she’d have one for me, but there was a car near the back door.”

  “What kind of car?”

  Thaddeus scratched his beard. “Silver. Four doors.”

  “Did you notice the make of the car? Ford? Chevy? Honda?”

  He shook his head. “I saw two guys come out of Ms. Vitagliano’s, and then I hid.”

  “Did you see these guys? What they looked like?”

  “Only one. I think he was Asian.”

  “Asian? Anything else about him? What he was wearing?”

  “He had on a black shirt, but it was hard to tell because his whole body was tattooed.” He moved his hand all around his upper body. “And he had black, spiky hair, all pointed up.”

  “What about the other guy?”

  Thaddeus shook his head. “I couldn’t see him because of Ms. Vitagliano.”

  “Marisa was with them?” Jack tried to picture the three people and the car outside the door. “Was she standing in front of him?”

  Thaddeus nodded yes. “They brought her out, and when she saw me, she gave me a look, so I hid.”

  “Did they see you?”

  He shook his head no.

  “What did Marisa look like?”

  “Scared. She was really scared.”

  The Titans

  Sirens and lights filled the alley as cruisers continued to arrive. Jack stood outside the rear door until Sheriff Collins’s car pulled in.

  “Sheriff Collins, I didn’t think—”

  “You and that statement seem inseparable, Stratton! You didn’t think,” Sheriff Collins snapped in his twang.

  “Sir, I have a witness who—”

  “You have a witness who filed a police report last night, Jack. Last night. You’re not the only cop in the station, Stratton. Get yourself and your witness in my car. We’re going back to the station.”

  “But, sir—”

  “It’s not a request, Stratton.” Sheriff Collins spun on his heel and then marched for the car. Jack took Thaddeus by the elbow and followed after Collins.

  “It’s okay, Thaddeus. We just—”

  “Actually, it’s not okay, Jack.” Collins’s tan face was beet red as he waited for the doors to close before he rammed the cruiser into gear.

  “Sheriff Collins, Thaddeus saw—”

  “I know what he saw, Jack. You might not think it, but I do my job.”

  “I’m not saying that, sir, but this is a possible abduction and nothing was done.”

  “Nothing?” Collins strangled the steering wheel. “We checked it out, Jack, and that’s what it looks like—nothing. But something was done. I did report it to the state, and now I have two Feds sitting in my office. They want to speak to the both of you.”

  “Me?”

  “You called it in, Jack. They heard. Why the hell would you call for backup when he filed the report yesterday?”

  “I didn’t know he filed a report.” Jack’s hand went up.

  “I told him I went to the police station,” Thaddeus corrected him.

  Collins glared at Jack.

  “I didn’t think—”

  “There it is again, Stratton: I didn’t think.” Collins drove up to the steps of the police station. “I just got all the news crews out of my lobby, and now two Feds are taking their place. Go fix this.”

  “Fix this?” Jack snapped. “Marisa may have been abducted.”

  Collins turned quickly in his seat to look at Thaddeus. “Nice to see you again, Thaddeus.” The older man smiled. “Do you remember when you spoke with me last night?” He stressed the word and shot a quick scowl in Jack’s direction.

  Thaddeus nodded.

  “You told me about those men who walked out to the car with Ms. Vitagliano?”

  Thaddeus nodded.

  “You said she was walking and didn’t appear hurt?”

  He nodded again.

  “Was she struggling or fighting?”

  He shook his head.

  “You said you were upset because maybe she gave them your ham sandwich?”

  He hesitated and then nodded.

  “And you wanted a coffee because it kept you warm?”

  Another nod.

  “Then you asked me if I knew why this winter was so warm. I didn’t know, but you said you did. Can you tell Officer Stratton what you told me?”

 
Thaddeus smiled as he pulled himself forward. Jack saw Collins’s nose wrinkle at the smell but, other than that, his expression was blank.

  Thaddeus cleared his throat, and then spoke. “Well, the Russians and the Chinese have been drilling in both the North and South Poles in search of methane. This is very significant because only a little change in the amount of methane in the atmosphere will spell disaster for humans.”

  “Now…” Collins closed his eyes briefly and turned his head to inhale before he continued, “Why would the Russians and Chinese be purposely making the Earth uninhabitable?”

  “Uninhabitable for us.” Thaddeus held up a finger. “But not for the Titans.”

  “The Titans…you’re not talking about a football team are you, Thaddeus?” Collins directed the question to Thaddeus, but looked at Jack with eyes that would have made any drill sergeant proud.

  “No, no, no. They’re from Titan, the sixth ellipsoidal moon from Saturn.”

  “So, they live on one of Saturn’s moons—that would make them…” Collins held out his hand for Thaddeus to finish his sentence.

  “They’re aliens.”

  Sheriff Collins turned to look at Jack. Jack swallowed and shifted in his seat before he spoke. “Sir, I know it sounds crazy—no offense, Thaddeus—but he saw those men, and Marisa told me—”

  Collins looked at the ceiling as he loudly exhaled. “So you know this girl?”

  Jack paused for a moment. “Yes. And if you were aware…I know certain information.”

  “What information, Jack?”

  Jack’s lips pressed together.

  I wish I had earplugs.

  “I can’t say, sir.”

  As Collins looked at him, Jack watched the veins in his neck slowly expand. In a voice slightly lower than normal, and through clenched teeth, Collins asked, “Do I really have to remind you I’m the sheriff?”

  “No, sir.”

  Collins waited. Jack tried to stop it, but he could feel his right eyebrow arch.

  “Get out,” Collins said.

  He didn’t even raise his voice.

  Jack opened the door. Collins turned to look straight out the windshield before he added, “Take him with you.”

  That’s bad.

  Jack opened the door and hurried Thaddeus up the steps. A man and a woman were waiting for them. The man was close to six feet tall with a thin build. Judging by the gray hair and lined face, Jack guessed he was in his mid-fifties. He wore a blue suit, white shirt with a tie, and black shoes. The woman was dressed in a dark blue business suit. She was close to Jack’s age, if not a little older. She had short red hair with light makeup. Under different circumstances, Jack would have found her quite attractive.

  “Stratton?” The thin man’s voice was gravelly. Jack nodded and shook his hand. “I’m Walter Prescott. This is Jennifer Rivers,” the man said.

  She smiled and shook his hand.

  “This is Thaddeus…”

  “Ferguson,” Thaddeus added as he shook Jennifer’s extended hand, but Jack noticed Walter kept his hands at his sides.

  “Is there a room inside where we can speak?” she asked.

  Jack led Thaddeus down the hall by the elbow while Walter and Jennifer followed.

  “I’d like to talk to him for a few minutes, alone.” Walter’s tone left no question—it wasn’t a request.

  “We have a room right down here.” Jack stopped in front of an interrogation room. He held the door open, which Walter closed after Thaddeus went in, leaving the three of them out in the hallway. “There’s a viewing room right here.” Jack pointed to the door, trying not to frown.

  “Rivers, I got this. You watch. Stratton, you stay here.”

  Jack stood tall while he turned to glare at the older man. Walter seemed like an old, grumpy, by-the-book type of Fed.

  “I’m the reporting officer,” Jack protested.

  Walter moved closer to get nose to nose with Jack.

  “Let me explain a few things to you, son.” His low voice sounded like grating rock. “If it’s an abduction, I have jurisdiction. If it isn’t an abduction, I have jurisdiction, anyway. That means you have squat. I just spent a half hour with your boss and, reading between the lines, he doesn’t like you. Now, do you want to push this?”

  Jack’s hand tightened.

  “Listen.” Jennifer stepped forward. “We’re on the same side. If something happened to that girl, we want to know. If it didn’t, we all want to rule that out, too. Let us talk to him and we can go from there.”

  Jack nodded.

  Walter hesitated before he opened the door. “This isn’t my first dance. I’ll find out what happened.”

  He pulled the door closed while Jennifer turned to Jack.

  “Thank you for bringing him in, Officer. Walter wants me to observe so—”

  Jack shot her a look. “Wait, are you new to fieldwork?”

  Jennifer’s nostrils flared. “I’m a federal investigator.”

  “But you’ve never done fieldwork?”

  “There you go again. I’ve been an analyst for three years, but I’ve been reassigned to fieldwork.”

  “Desk analyst?” He shook his head. “But you haven’t been in the field? Is this the first time he’s brought you out? A kidnapping is your debutante ball?”

  She winced slightly at the jab. “Possible kidnapping. So far this is just a routine welfare check on a woman, but trust me, Walter’s been at this for twenty years. He’s very good.”

  She marched over to the observation room door, shot Jack a glare, and went inside.

  **********

  Jack paced back and forth for half an hour before his phone buzzed. He looked down to see a text from Kendra.

  JUST HEARD YOU’RE AT THE STATION. RAINCHECK ON DRINK? HOPE EVERYTHING IS GOOD. K.

  As he clicked the phone off, he went back to pacing. Fifteen minutes later, both doors opened. Jennifer’s lips were pressed together, Walter looked as if he’d drunk paint thinner, and Thaddeus looked sad.

  “Thank you for your time, Mr. Ferguson. Ms. Rivers will see you out.”

  Walter turned to look at Jack and tilted his head toward the interrogation room. “Inside, Stratton.”

  Jack brushed by him.

  “Have a seat.” Walter held his hand out.

  “I’m good.”

  “No, you’re not. We may have a problem, Jack. Have a seat.”

  Jack folded his arms as he glared at the man.

  “Fine. Be a hard-ass. I just spent an hour of my life talking to a fruit loop, and you want to cop an attitude?”

  “Listen. I know Thaddeus is out there—”

  “Out there? Out there is believing reality TV is real. Totally nuts is what that guy is.” He jerked his thumb back toward the door.

  “There’s more to it than what Thaddeus told you.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “With your access as a federal agent, if you look into Marisa’s background—”

  “What about her background?” Walter cocked his head.

  “If you have access, you need to look. It’s all there.”

  The door opened as Jennifer walked in. Walter turned toward her, and Jack caught the slight shake of his head. Jennifer walked over to sit down.

  “Jack, I just spoke with Sheriff Collins, and he said you had more information. What is it?” Jennifer asked.

  Jack looked down at her but didn’t say anything.

  “You have to be kidding me,” Walter snapped.

  Jennifer held up a hand. “She told you?”

  Jack tried to get a read on her, but her expression was neutral.

  They have to know. Why else would they have come out so fast?

  Jack nodded. Walter walked forward and placed his hands on the table. “I’m going to ask you a few questions, Officer Stratton.”

  “Ask away.”

  “Right now I have a witness who’s been in and out of institutions. All he’s saying is Marisa Vitagliano left with two guys. That doesn’t e
ven register as far as sending out a beat cop. So, how do you know Marisa, Jack?”

  “We’re friends.”

  “Friends?” Walter nodded. “Have you slept with her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you and Marisa still a thing?” Walter walked closer to the table.

  “No.”

  “Jack.” It was Jennifer’s turn to speak. “Can you try to see how this looks from our side?”

  “It’s not just Thaddeus.” Jack shook his head. “She was nervous. We were supposed to talk about why she was scared. Marisa Vitagliano isn’t her real name. She has a past. If someone found out who and where she was, it would be dangerous for her.”

  Jennifer looked at Walter.

  Walter nodded, and then rapped his knuckles on the table. “I know all about her past. I’m the guy who put her here. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on right now.”

  “Hold on.” Jennifer held up her hand. “We can go back and forth all night, Jack.” She shot Walter a shut-up look and turned back to Jack. “How about I start, and you finish. Angelica…”

  “Mancini.” Jack sighed. “Now you know why I’m worried.”

  Walter leaned down so he could whisper something to Jennifer. Her lips pursed; she crossed her legs.

  “I’ll tell you what I think, Jack.” Walter’s rock-chewing voice was back. “I think I’ve got a crazy homeless guy who was furious he didn’t get his ham sandwich and cappuccino. He goes to the cops, but they laugh at him, so he gets real mad. Then he comes to you, the jilted ex-boyfriend. You strike me as the hot-headed, jealous type. You get paranoid, and want us to track her down because you think she ran off and is banging her new guy.”

  “You’re an idiot,” Jack snarled.

  Jennifer stood up so she could walk between the two men. “Marisa is Severino Mancini’s daughter. She went underground eleven years ago. She’s had no contact with him, and nothing about her has been raised on any agency’s radar.”

  “Until last night, when you guys contacted the state and her name tripped a flag. That’s why we’re here, Jack. We even went so far as to make inquiries with Severino himself. Just to do our due diligence and for Angelica’s sake. Guess what? No one’s been in touch. Nothing. And that’s what this looks to be—a big fat load of nothing.”

  Jennifer folded her hands. “Jack, I understand your concern, but that is what this looks like. Right now all we have—”