long moment of thought, Riggs asked, “Hit the waves now?”
“Oh yeah.”
The two of them catapulted to their feet, grabbed their boards, and took off toward the blue-gray Santa Monica waters whispering their names, leaving Frank looking after them, paw-deep in the foamy surf.
***
Leaning against Piper’s Jaguar, Jessie peered through the streak-free front window, watching Amber inside as she collected the remnants of their marathon cleaning session.
She glanced over at her friend. “It looks so shiny and new,” she remarked, twirling the handle of the broom she’d just used to clear the sidewalk in front of the store.
“Just like the fresh start it’s giving you. Do you feel like getting some dinner?”
Jessie giggled. “We do eat a lot together, don’t we?”
“Hey. It’s the solid foundation on which this friendship is built.”
Jessie pushed herself to her feet. “I’m tired. Nothing fancy, ’kay?”
A shiny green four-door sedan rolled into the parking lot and slowed behind Piper’s car. As the driver’s window lowered, an increasing wave of dread bubbled inside Jessie’s chest.
“Oh no.”
Dark, squared sunglasses, thick waves of hair, familiar chiseled jawline . . .
“Jessie. Talk to you a minute?”
“What is he doing here?” she seethed under her breath.
Piper jumped and reeled to get a better look and, without a moment’s hesitation, dug into her pocket and produced her cell phone.
Jessie took a few short steps toward the hybrid Accord, stopping at the back door of Piper’s car. “Jack, you’ve got to stop this.”
“I’d like to speak to Rafe Padillo, please,” Piper bellowed from behind her. “It’s urgent.”
Jessie suppressed the surge of amusement threatening with the tickle of a smile.
“I won’t even get out of the car,” he said. “I just wanted to tell you—”
“No!” The volume of her objection surprised even Jessie herself. “Stop it. Get out of here, and don’t ever come here again.”
“Yes. Detective Padillo, it’s Piper Brunetti. Danny Callahan gave me your number and said we should call you if Jack Stanton showed up again.”
Jack lowered his head and sighed. “Jess. Come on.”
She spun on one heel and marched toward Piper. “Give me the phone.”
“Thank you,” Jack muttered, and she realized he’d jumped to the wrong conclusion, thinking she planned to put a stop to the call.
Grabbing the phone, she spoke loudly enough for Jack to hear every word. “Rafe, it’s Jessie Hart. Jack just pulled up in front of my store and says he wants to speak to me.”
“He’s nothing if not persistent,” Rafe commented. “But stupid trumps persistent every time. Is he in the same rental?”
“Yes. Dark green Accord.”
“Good. Go inside and lock the door. I’ll have someone there in minutes.”
“Thank you, Rafe,” she said, disconnecting the call. Snagging Piper’s arm, she headed straight for the door. “Let’s go. Lock the door.”
“Jessie,” Jack shouted as the door’s bell jingled. “Come on.”
Once inside, Jessie bolted the locks and glared at him through the shiny window. Her heart stopped as he shook his head, raised the window, and peeled out of the parking lot, tires screeching.
“What is wrong with that jerk?” Amber cried, and Jessie realized Piper must have filled her in.
“Danny says he’s learning impaired,” Piper replied with a bitter chuckle.
“What did he want?”
“Does it matter?” Piper asked.
“Guess not.”
Jessie knew better than to admit in this company that her curiosity actually felt somewhat piqued. What on earth could keep Jack defying a court order, even while wearing that ankle jewelry and with federal charges pending?
Two police cars appeared on the other side of the window, fragmenting her wonderings. Several officers emerged, along with Rafe, and Jessie eagerly unlocked the door and opened it.
“Rafe. Thank you for getting here so quickly.”
“Did you see which direction he went when he left?” he asked directly.
She nodded. “He left the parking lot over there,” she said, pointing after him, “and made a left.”
Rafe nodded at the officer standing next to him, and two of them headed immediately back toward their cruiser.
“This is Officer Brank,” Rafe said of the policeman left behind. “He’ll take your statement. You’ll want to tell him every word Stanton said, from the moment he pulled up until the time he left the lot.”
“Okay. Come on inside, both of you.”
Jessie remained at the front of the store with the uniformed cop who reminded her a little bit of the actor who married Tori Spelling before coming undone. Rafe joined Amber and Piper at the back counter.
“There’s not a lot to tell,” she said. “We were out front—”
“We?” he broke in.
“Oh, sorry. My friend Piper,” she clarified, pointing at her. “My store is opening tomorrow, and we were just tidying things up. That’s when Jack pulled into the lot and called out to me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he just wanted to talk to me for a moment and wouldn’t even get out of the car, but he had something he needed to say.”
“What was it?”
“I have no idea. Piper called Rafe—I mean, Detective Padillo—and we came straight inside and locked the door behind us, just like he told me.”
“So that was all the contact you had.”
Jessie took a moment to replay what had happened. “He said something like, ‘Oh, come on,’ but we just went inside and closed the door.”
“How long before he left?”
“Just a matter of a minute, I think.”
He scribbled on the pad inside a small leather folder. “Good that there
