manage to find him?”
“I finally made an uncanny connection between his victims and his transportation means. Just got lucky.”
“Lucky is not a word I would ever use to describe you. Your mind has a unique wiring that is beneficial to the job and causes envy among your peers.”
“Sometimes, I think it’s cross wired.”
Jaxon slapped Billy on the arm and then asked for a ride for both Peter (who rode with another officer) and him back to his car. On the short drive, Jaxon and Billy promised to schedule a lunch date to catch up. Jaxon silently wondered if this promise would ever come to fruition.
As the squad car pulled away, Jaxon finally felt like he could take a breath. He desperately wanted to find this woman who interfered and find out what it is about her that he couldn’t let go. The three drove by the area where he had run into her, but she was long gone. Jaxon had Billy pull over so he could look around and saw no sign of her, even taking time to look in the shops right near there. Unable to shake this woman from his mind, he reluctantly returned to the car and, ultimately, back to the station where he made a note of her description before heading in.
Back at the station, Jaxon and Peter walked into a joyful group congratulating them on a job well done. They sat down at their desks, facing each other, and communicated quietly and somewhat privately. Jaxon told Peter he needed to talk privately and recommended they go to the corner coffee shop. Looking confused, Peter agreed and followed Jaxon’s lead.
They meandered slowly to the corner coffee shop and ordered themselves a drink. Jaxon liked his coffee straight black, while Peter ordered a tea.
“I’m trying to cut down on my caffeine,” he stated after seeing the bewildered look on Jaxon’s face.
Oh, well, to each his own. Though it will be interesting to see how long this lasts, thought Jaxon.
The two found a table in the corner near the window where they could see everyone passing by on their lunch hour, some rushing to get every errand done as they could, and others strolling as they simply wanted some fresh air.
“I know I’m close to retirement, but I am beginning to feel like I’m losing my mind. I saw Johnny, or who I was pretty sure was Johnny, on the train. I knew we had him when he made eye contact with me and took off running. I’m getting old, but man, I ran with everything I had. He was fast and agile. I knew I probably would lose him, but I was determined to keep going. Suddenly, this woman blocked my way. Can you believe it? I was yelling at her to move, that she was letting a criminal get free. The weird thing was, she kept telling me she could help me. Like, what the hell? Do I look that desperate? Okay, maybe I am. Anyway, she put her hand on my shoulder. Very strange. Then I went to brush it off and had a sudden feeling that I couldn’t. At the same time, all of a sudden, I knew where to find Johnny. Does this sound really crazy? Because I can’t get over it. It was so weird.”
“Well, it sounds a little crazy, but you are a great detective, and I believe you would have found Johnny regardless. Maybe this lady thought you were cute?”
“Funny. She was young and athletic. I don’t believe she was hitting on me. Maybe I should visit the office counselors.”
“Man, you are really freaked out about this, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I was close to turning in my badge today, thinking that I have finally lost it.”
“Did you get her name or anything?”
“No. When we went back to the location where I ran into her, she was gone. I was honestly going to give her a ticket for interfering with a police chase,” Jaxon said with a chuckle.
“Well, buddy, I think you need to chalk this one up to a thirty-second date and move on,” Peter said with a smirk on his face. “It might be the last date you get in a while, so play it up really well.”
“Thanks for the support,” he replied as they both had a good laugh, threw their drinks away, and headed back to the office.
Chapter 5
Jaxon grabbed his keys and headed home to the train station to head home for the day. It was a tiresome day, with everyone going out of their way to wander to his desk and congratulate him. He preferred they all just left him alone, which he knew they would have preferred also. He turned on his favorite country station on his iPod and sang (badly) with the music. Jaxon began thinking of the next time he could take off for vacation and stay home alone, working on projects around his house. Jaxon stopped by his mailbox before heading into the house. A few bills and a handwritten note were waiting for him. He read the note as he walked inside. He stopped dead in his tracks, and the blood drained from his face, looking around the lot and up and down the street as he closed the door and locked it. The note had only one sentence on it.
Jaxon, I told you I could help you.
He knew who it was from, but how did she get his home address, or name, for that matter? For the first time in many years, Jaxon locked all the windows and doors. He searched his house, then after finding nothing out of the ordinary, placed his Glock on the table next to his chair and grabbed a beer. He thought of calling Peter but decided it could wait until the next day.
Sleep outwitted him that night. Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He went to his home office and turned on his computer. He tried reading his most recently closed case, looking for hints of the woman who had stopped him on the chase. She had to have met him or read about him somewhere, which means that she had to be affiliated with the case somehow. After thirty minutes of searching, Jaxon slammed his fist down on the desk, frustrated that he couldn’t find the connection.
Retirement still on his mind, he knew that he had to find another case and keep going before he began to think he was losing his mind and second guessing everything he was doing. His mind wasn’t ready to quit. Browsing all the optional cases, Jaxon found an outstanding search for Reginald Grey—kidnapped three women, held them captive for weeks, and then murdered them through asphyxiation. He was last seen three years earlier right in their hometown, but with no new/recent victims, he fell off the radar. Perfect case to begin questioning all witnesses again. It was a tough case. Hopefully, Peter would agree, but Jaxon knew that he had pull on Peter, and he would agree.
Chapter 6
Thursday morning was rough due to lack of sleep and a mind not shutting off. Jaxon brewed himself a large pot of coffee and filled his mobile cup before he left for work. This was one time when he wished he kept a box of donuts around because he sure could use some extra carbs to wake him up. He did a double check of all his windows and doors, then got behind the wheel of his car and headed toward the office.
“Wow! Jaxon, you look like crap! Did you have an all-nighter? And if so, why wasn’t I invited?”
“Thanks a lot, Peter. You know I have to work on my beauty sleep. It doesn’t come natural like yours. I had lots of things running through my mind all night, so I pulled up all open cases and started perusing through. I think I found the next case I would like us to work on. It’s a tough one, but it will definitely keep us occupied.”
“You know we’re allowed to have a couple days off before rushing into the next case, right? I’m glad to see you might have put retirement on hold, but take a breather and enjoy our success for a little longer.”
“Honestly,
