Jamie-5 (11 page)

Would you also like to know that I plan to take a shower later? In my own home, in my own apartment?”

“You are not going anywhere. That man wants you dead and in the event that you may have missed it, I love you. And it’s my right to keep you—” Dane never hit. And she seldom let herself get so angry that she thought about it, but he just set her over the edge. Drawing back her small fist, she hit him right in the nose. When he staggered back and fell against the wall across from her, she turned, went down the hall and out the sliding glass door into the back yard, and screamed.

~~~

Damon helped him up and he started for the sliding door to follow Dane when Nick stepped in front of him. “I wouldn’t if I were you. Let’s go into the kitchen and have a beer. Morgan and Taylor can handle it for now.”

“I’m not through talking to her. Move, Nicky, or I swear I’ll hurt you. She could have been killed today and—”

“Yeah, we all heard. And I think she knows that more than you. If you actually love this woman like you said, then I’d give her some space right now. Besides, I think she might have broken your nose. Let Damon look at it. She fights pretty well for a girl. Didn’t see that punch coming, did you?”

Jamie looked at the door Dane had gone out and saw his two sisters-in-law out there with her. He knew that if he went out now they’d just argue more and then maybe one or all three of the women would beat up on him too. Jamie went to the kitchen where his brothers were. Pi was at the stove, quiet for once.

His nose was not broken, but he was going to have a black eye. Byron would not stop laughing and as soon as his mother came in the house, he retold the entire story to her—

including the curse words. She tsked at him and went out to the back yard too. Captain Tucker and Spencer showed up ten minutes later.

“Cait wants me to ask her some questions too. And I’m supposed to tell you that there had better be leftovers or she’s going to make sure you get a ticket every time you leave the house.

What happened to your nose?”

“She’s in the back with the other women plotting his demise, I bet. Dane hit him. It was the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. She just came out of the bathroom and socked him one.” Byron started again.

“Yeah, like the time Taylor knocked your nuts up around your ears? That was good too.

Leave off, ass, or you won’t get any dinner either.” Jamie was starting to realize that he might have been just a little too strong with Dane and that maybe, just maybe, he deserved to be hit. Of course he had no plans of telling these idiots that, but he planned to tell Dane. If she let him.

When the women came in a few minutes later, he stood up and met her at the door. She would not look at him and he cupped the back of her head and kissed her. At first, he didn’t think she was going to respond, but when she did, he thought he might be all right.

“I’m not your possession, you understand me? And I won’t be talked to like I’m five years old. I get followed a lot. Newspaper reporters, other families who think I can help them. They want a story and I like my privacy. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but—” He kissed her again, deeper this time, and when she leaned into him, Jamie wanted to tell his family to go away, but was also glad for their support.

“I’m an ass and I’m sorry. I love you. I know you find that hard to believe right now, but I do. I’ll try not to act like an idiot too much when we’re together.” They went into the kitchen again just in time to hear his mother talking about the food Pi was serving up.

“...fat as a house if I did. My goodness, Pi. This is delicious. You should open a restaurant.

I’ll be there every day. Wait until I tell Cait. Hello, Dane, honey. You feeling better? You have color in your cheeks again.” Jamie glared at Byron when he laughed.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry about the outburst. Some people need to learn their boundaries.

When Pi and I went by the house to get her wok, I picked up something for you and something for someone to take to the new baby. I also have a few gifts for the other children as well. Pi and I don’t get to shop…I’m not much of a shopper.”

Dane went over to one of the many bags he’d brought in and she began pulling things out.

He was surprised at the amount of things that there were and was just walking over to help when she stood up. She handed his mother a shoe box and then passed out things to the other children.

She gave Meggie a hand held game. “I’m not sure if you have one or not, but the clerk said that you’d have fun with it. Jamie, could you tell her I’m sorry, but I don’t know sign language yet?”

“She said that she doesn’t have this one here, that her mother wouldn’t let her have it when she came to live with Spence and Cait.” Spencer signed his reply to them both for her. “She said to tell you thanks and she’ll be more than glad to teach you sign language. She said she’s already teaching Ronnie and you can join in.”

“Oh, that would be great. This is for the boys. I know they aren’t children, but I wanted to get them something too. Someone can take them back to the mall so they can spend it, right? I don’t listen to music myself so I wasn’t sure what to…Jamie?” He went to her, took the bag, and finished handing out the gifts. Morgan and the twins were opening theirs when he finished. When one of the twins hugged her, Jamie nearly went to pull him away when Pi stopped him.

“Babies don’t hurt. She say they got no hurts yet and they don’t hurt her. I need talk to you, Mister Jamie. Later. I have much to say.”

Jamie nodded and wondered what she could possibly say to him and if he would understand her when she did. Then she announced that dinner would be in ten minutes. He did not know what else she could have. They had all been eating since they got there.

“Now, that’s just enough time for me to see what we have here. Come sit beside me, Dane. I want to see what you’ve brought this old woman.”

Margaret took off the lid and when she drew in a deep breath, Jamie leaned over to see what it was. Pictures. Lots of them too. They were in a filelike order with dates along the tabs and the picture in a neat order.

“They’re my grandmother’s pictures. I’ve made you copies of those. I don’t know some of the places, but you’re in most of them in the front. I think the older man is your husband. There are even a few of your oldest sons. If you don’t want them, that’s okay. You probably have most of them anyway.”

“Oh Dane, these are wonderful. This is my husband when we were dating. Look, Byron, it’s your grandfather here with your dad. And look, the oldest, Spencer. Oh, Spencer, you’ll love this for your new son. I’m going to have these framed. Won’t they look wonderful with the ones in the den? Dane, honey, this is the best…I don’t know what to say.”

“I found them among my grandmother’s things when she passed away. She had so many pictures that I’m having them put into albums. There are quite a few tintypes too. Those are the only ones that I’ve had a chance to go through. It hurt to…some of them still have…well, I can’t touch them anymore. I had to have someone do it for me.” Pi called them to the dinner table with a promise that she would tell them what they were being served. The table was huge, but not near big enough for them all. The adults sat at the table and the children crowed around in chairs from the kitchen.

They’d already eaten some pretty amazing dishes as she went about cooking the main course. There had been egg rolls and dumplings as well as something she called satay chicken.

She said that it was actually a Thai recipe, but she really liked it. As each dish was served around the table, she told them what it was.

“That Kung Pao chicken that Mister Jamie asked for. I make with no veggie. Some people don’t like. That Moo Goo Gai Pan, Missy Dane favorite. I make extra sauce to cover rice.

Vegetables are on side, but I make lots. Need to keep strength up. Some don’t like rice, but I have no time to make noodles so these bought. They be okay, but not fresh. Missy Dane like noodle with snap pea and she like almond cookies. I make them next time.” The dinner was great. And as soon as it was over, Captain Tucker, Spencer, Devin, and Dane met in the study. Dane was nervous and Jamie knew that he would be as well if it were him.

~CHAPTER 12~

Dane sat in one of the chairs. Jamie had told her that he wanted to talk to Byron, but he would be in shortly. She did not want to be here, but she knew that they had questions and she was the only one who could answer them.

“Mrs. Wallace, I know that you—”

“I’m sorry, Captain Tucker. I’m Doctor Danish Messenger Wallace. If you want to call me anything, please call me Dane. I’m no longer married, and only use the Wallace part when I’m trying to keep my personal life separate from my business one. And after today, I’m pretty sure you understand why I like to remain as far away as possible when it comes to the media and the police.”

“Yes, ma’am. O’Malley explained to me that you’re a tad unique. She said to tell you if I fucked this up—pardon, ma’am, her words not mine, that she’d kick my…well, O’Malley has a colorful vocabulary when it suits her. She didn’t explain too much, only said you’d tell me something that I might find hard to believe, but that you were trustworthy.”

“I don’t trust anyone much, especially those I just met. You be honest with me and I’ll be honest with you. I’m not going to go into detail that you don’t need, but I’ve had problems with the police before in the States. I’ve only just moved back here since my grandmother died and I was trying to make a fresh start. I’ve been followed before, not so much in China, but a few times I’ve come back to visit. The hit today was a surprise. I’m not sure what I can help you with concerning it.”

“Do you think that you were the target at the Quad? I mean, in light of what happened today, could you instead of Jamie have been the one they were been after in the first place?” Tucker pulled out his note pad as he asked.

Dane looked around the room. Two men she barely knew and she did not know if she could trust them. Devin hadn’t done anything but be honest with her and Captain Tucker didn’t seem to have any ill will toward her, but who knew what he would tell her just to make a quick buck. She got up to pace the room and that’s when Jamie walked in.

“Captain Tucker, before I answer that may I ask you a question? And I’ll know if you’re lying to me. The little boy who was killed by his mother, where do the police think you got that information? I know that Mr. Grant here told you that I’m the source, but what do your men know?”

“All right. I can see where you’re going. My men don’t give two rats’ asses where the information came from. We got his killer and we were able to bury him. Not many times can we say that when it comes to kids nowadays. I told them we had a tip, it paid off, and we’re happy.

You tell me how you knew, well, missy, I’m gonna believe you the best I can. If you’re asking me if I’ll tell anyone, then nope. You play in my sandbox.” He winked at her. “And so long as the cat don’t piss in it, we’ll be all right together. Pardon my language.” Dane couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. She thought it was the wink, but it could also have been the sandbox story. She decided she liked this man.

“I’m a telepath and an empath. I can’t read thoughts like they show you on the television, but I can get images, scents, and sometimes little snippets of movielike information. It’s not always enough, but it helps me narrow things down. The other night when you came to the apartment, I’d been searching for the missing boys. Though the boy had never worn it, his mother had touched the shirt. From there I was able to see what she had done.”

“Just from touching the shirt?” Spencer asked her.

“I’m a clairvoyant too. I can touch things that have been touched with a great deal of emotion tied to them. For example, this picture.” Dane tipped the picture over to its face, but didn’t look at it. “I know that a man put this in the frame. He had a cut on his index finger that was hurting him at the time and he was angry at his child. No, not at the child but for it—a male.

They had been…playing with paper, an airplane, and his son had been hurt. A tree, the plane is there. And a trip to the hospital, and there is pride there as well.” Devin walked over and picked up the framed picture Dane had turned over and looked at it.

His smile was radiant. He turned to the policeman.

“It’s the day Byron fell from the apple tree getting the paper plane Dad and he had made together. Mom has never let him forget that he walked to the hospital when he’d fallen rather than come home so she could take him. Dad had tried to be stern with Byron, but he couldn’t be.

He told him that a real man knows when the shortest distances between needing your mom and knowing to get help is pride. Dad had been very proud of Byr that day.”

“I know that James was the intended target that day because I can’t read me. Whenever anything happens to me, it’s just as much a surprise to me as it is to anyone else.” She sat down as she continued. “I’d had dreams about James and he was supposed to die that night. He was going to be stabbed to death and bleed out before anyone found him the next morning. I don’t remember touching those men, or James, but at some point, I had. I had to save him and it was within my power to do so.”

Devin handed her the picture and their fingers touched. She jerked back and the picture would have fallen to the floor, but he grabbed for it and caught it. When she stood back up and Devin looked at her, Dane looked at Jamie.

“It was him. They weren’t looking for you to die, but Devin. The connection is there. They were looking for your brother.”

“Dane, sit down. Tell me what you’re talking about. Who wants Devin to die and why?” Jamie pushed her into the chair that Devin had been in and the connection to him got stronger.

“You know the man who attacked Jamie,” she said to Devin. “He thought he was after someone else. I didn’t understand then, but now that I feel the similarities, I know that they were after you and not Jamie. You know the man who was there.”

“Do you know who he is? Or something we can use to get him? I don’t know anyone who would want to kill me. Well, my wife most days, but I don’t think she’d have me killed over not picking up milk on the way home from work.” The laugh was forced.