C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent (10 page)

She parked in the thirty-minute parking in front of City Hall and walked inside with Sam grasping her arm. Julie had never known Sam to be clingy, but figured maybe the building looked intimidating from his point of view.

“You okay, Sammy?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he mumbled.

“Let me know if you need something okay?”

Sam nodded silently.

Julie walked up to the front desk and waited a moment for the receptionist to acknowledge her. After a few seconds of being ignored, she cleared her throat to get her attention.

The receptionist didn’t bother to make eye-contact. “Yes?”

“Could you direct me to the Clerk’s office?”

“Down that hall there,” said the woman, motioning to a hall to Julie’s right, “the Clerk’s office is the last door on your left.”

“Thank you,” Julie said, and started off down the hall, wondering how some of the people she’d met so far in Dupont had been extremely kind, and others had been very rude. She shook it off as she reached the entrance to the clerk’s office, finding the door wide open. There was an older woman sitting behind the desk with a sharp look on her face. She seemed peeved about something, and Julie took a big breath, determined to be nice.

“Hi,” Julie said brightly.

“How can I help you?” asked the clerk, with a tone suggesting Julie’s very presence bothered her greatly.

“I need some information about my house,” she paused for a moment thinking how best to phrase the next part. “There was a murder there twenty years ago, and I’d like to find out what information was recorded.”

“What’s the address?” the clerk asked, seemingly unaffected by Julie’s mention of a murder.

“1724 Dale Street.”

The clerk entered the address in her computer, got up from her chair without a word and headed toward a door in the back, opening it and disappearing behind it as it closed. A minute or so later she was back, empty handed.

“I’m sorry,” she said without a hint of sincerity. “Unfortunately, the files containing the information you’re looking for have been sealed.”

“What do you mean they’ve been sealed?”

“That information is confidential.”

Julie was extremely annoyed. “But it’s about
my
house.”

“Not my problem. They’re sealed from everyone.”

“Fine,” Julie said, leaving the desk without thanking the clerk.

Julie exited the building quickly, with Sam practically running after her. She was tired of people she hadn’t even met being rude to her, and upset that she hadn’t gotten the information she wanted.

Then an idea popped into Julie’s head. She knew how she might get the file. It was extremely risky, but she thought with Skye’s help she might be able to pull it off.

She and Sam hopped back into her truck and headed toward the hardware store. On top of recruiting him for her risky mission, she also wanted to tell him what she had discovered while looking through the old articles.

They arrived at the store and, once inside, Julie looked in the direction of Skye’s workstation. She started to smile at him, but then she saw Chief Langley there too, looking disgruntled with both hands on the counter, tapping her foot. Julie walked up to the counter, careful to keep a good distance between herself and the chief, but strained her ears to hear to their conversation.

“I just need a new duplicate key made,” she said, handing him a small key.

“Sure thing. Give me a minute, and I’ll get you one made up.”

Julie watched Skye disappear into the back room and hoped that Langley would just ignore her, but it was too late. The chief turned and eyed her suspiciously.

“So, what did you find out about Jacob Leigh during your visit?”

“How did you—” Julie began, but the chief cut her off.

“Word travels fast in this town. So what did he say to you? If that crazy fool can speak at all,” she added with a callous laugh.

“He said quite a few things, actually,” Julie said, wrestling with a sudden surge of anger. “And he was very coherent.”

Julie stood there fuming, irritated that the chief had evoked such a reaction from her. She needed to keep cool. She turned away from Langley, who apparently had nothing more to say, and stared at the counter.

Why was Langley so hateful toward her? She hadn’t done anything disrespectful. Something about her, though, thoroughly irked the chief, and she wanted to figure out what it was.

Skye reappeared holding a small key, and handed it to Langley. “There you go.”

“Thank you very much.” She took a few steps away from the counter before turning back to Julie. “I already told you to stay out of this town’s business.”

“It’s not a crime to visit someone in a hospital,” Julie countered. “I don’t have to do what you say.”

“Someday that could get you in some trouble,” Langley answered menacingly.

Before Julie could respond, the chief had turned and left.

“What was that about?” Skye asked, finally meeting Julie’s gaze.

“I was hoping you would know.”

Julie felt a small tug on her arm and looked down at Sam.

“We’re almost done, Sammy. What do you need?”

“I’m starving,” he whined.

“Just give me a few more minutes and we’ll go. I promise.”

Sam just nodded, pouting now. Julie sighed and turned her attention back to Skye. After the chief’s warning, Julie’s idea of how to get the file would be more risky, but in her mind it was the only way.

“Skye, remember I told you I was going to go to the library today?”

“I remember. I also remember that I was supposed to come over after work.”

“I found something,” she said excitedly.

“I figured you had. You had a triumphant look on your face the moment you walked in,” he said, grinning at her.

Julie rolled her eyes at him, but continued. “Yes, well you’ll never guess what it is,” she said and recounted everything she had read in the archived papers.

“Dang, I read that article when it was first released, but I never figured that the kid could have been involved.”

“Well, that would make sense, when they had a crazy man in custody as well. But I’m positive the paper was talking about D.”

“Did you check the city’s records to find out anything?”

“As a matter of fact, that’s the other reason I came over here.” Julie paused, hoping he wouldn’t refuse her idea altogether, because she couldn’t do it without him. She leaned in to whisper so Sam couldn’t hear her. “I want to break into City Hall.”

Chapter 18

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Skye said, keeping his voice low. “Langley will hunt you down and skin you alive if she finds out.”

“Well then, we can’t let her find out. Please, Skye, I can’t do this without you.”

“But…you can’t be serious,” he said. “This is dangerous, Julie. It’s not like just visiting someone in a hospital. It’s probably a federal crime.”

“Think about it,” Julie said, trying to persuade him. “It’s worth the risk, at least to me. I’ve got to find out the truth of what happened.”

Skye just stood there, dumbfounded, thinking the situation over. If they didn’t go, his part in the search for the murderer would stop, and he wouldn’t have to deal with any potential trouble. Then again, she would probably try to do it without him anyway, and he thought she would have a better chance at success if he came with her.

He looked into her eyes, and they seemed to be silently pleading with him. He relented. “If I help you with this,” he said in his most serious voice, “you have to do everything I say, got it? I say jump…”

“And I jump, got it,” Julie said, finishing his sentence. “Listen, I have to go get Sam something to eat, but come by my place after work, okay?”

“I’ll be there.” He watched Julie leave the store and then looked at the clock. He had three more hours until he was off, and he knew watching the clock wasn’t going to help any. Instead, he threw himself into his work and before he knew it, five o’clock had come.

Skye shoved his notebook and a few tools into his bag and headed out to his truck, wasting no time now. He was no longer sure about Julie’s ability to stay out of trouble. He arrived at her house, and walked up to the door hoping she had decided against breaking in to City Hall. He knocked three times, and Julie opened the door with a determined look on her face as she ushered him inside.
So much for her deciding against it,
thought Skye.

He sat on the couch in the living room and suddenly heard an out-of-tune piano being played behind him. He turned around to see Sam making an effort at “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” with little success. Sam seemed to find the sound just as annoying as Skye did, because he stopped playing after only a minute and looked over at Skye.

“Sounds pretty bad, huh?” Sam asked.

“It just needs some tuning. You should get that thing fixed,” Skye said to Julie as she sat down across from him in her recliner.

“I would if I had the money for it. I still need to find a job. We’re doing all right for now, but in a few months we’re going to be struggling.”

“I’m going upstairs to play, since the TV doesn’t even get cable,” Sam said, emphasizing Julie’s point.

“What type of work are you looking for?” Skye asked her.

“Well for now anything will do, but like I said, I want to be a private investigator. I don’t want to talk about work right now, though. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

“About that,” Skye began. “It’s a stupid idea, first and foremost, but I also know that this is no ordinary case we’re working on. What’s more important is that we need a plan. We can’t just go bursting in there thinking we’re okay because it’s dark. Nothing is that simple.”

He paused, letting this sink in. He wanted to stress just how risky an idea it was.

“More than anything,” he continued, “we’re going to need to keep an eye out and really scan our surroundings. I’ve broken in to a few places before, and the one time I was caught, it was because I hadn’t looked behind me often enough. Needless to say, a broken nose, bloody lip, and two knocked-out teeth taught me a good lesson.”

“Why were you breaking into places?”

Skye smiled wryly. “It’s not what you think. They were favors for others. People without money tend to be in need of the most expensive things, so I helped out a few families once and got them the medication they needed.”

“You stole from a pharmacy?”

“I’m your everyday Robin Hood,” Skye said, standing and bowing for dramatic effect. “And, even in a small town like Dupont, there are
some
secrets that can be kept.”

“Some secrets,” Julie repeated. “Like who Tara’s real killer is.”

“Probably,” Skye agreed.

“Well, I suppose I feel a bit safer now. I mean, you’ve got a successful record for breaking and entering. Tomorrow night should be a piece of cake.”

“Tomorrow night?” Skye asked, shocked.

“No sense in wasting time.”

“There’s a little sense in it. You think you’re ready? I don’t even know how stealthy you are. I was going to train you a bit before we did this. And tomorrow night is supposed to be our date night. You haven’t forgotten, have you?” Skye asked teasingly.

Julie was embarrassed at Skye’s words, but regained her composure. “Of course I haven’t forgotten,” she said, a bit too innocently. “I was just thinking we would go afterward.”

“Right,” Skye said. “Sort of like an after-party?”

“After-parties are the best kind.”

“Oh, I’m sure they are,” Skye said, who had never been one for parties, let alone a second one after the first. “Here’s the deal. If we don’t talk at all about any of this murder business on our date, then the after-party is on.”

“Deal,” Julie said, beaming at him.

Chapter
19

It was Friday afternoon, and Julie sat in her worn-out recliner, nervous. Tonight was the night, for many things. Now, she pulled stray threads from the chair as her mind ventured to a place she hadn’t allowed it to go in a long while. What was she going to wear tonight? How should she do her hair? As the questions ran through her mind, she began to feel a little guilty for being so self-absorbed.

She had a date, and then she was going to commit the crime of breaking into City Hall, to try to find information. And then…her cheeks flushed, remembering saying goodbye to Skye the night before.

He’d stayed until after Sam went to bed, and Julie almost gave in to him. She probably would have if it hadn’t been for her little brother.

Ever since Sam had become her responsibility, she had taken on the role of mother, and although she felt she was only doing an adequate job, she was at least comforted by knowing she was doing the best she could.

Tonight was going to be a little different, however, and the prospect excited Julie. She heard Sam upstairs pretending to blow up colonies of aliens, and knew she had a little time to pick out an outfit.

She went up to her bedroom and began rummaging through her closet, throwing random pieces of clothing on the bed as she searched for a good color palate to work with.

Thirty minutes later, Julie was ready and, if she did say so herself, looked stunning. She had chosen a light blue sleeveless dress that showed off her shapely, long legs. It was made of a silky material that flowed around her as she moved. She felt overdressed, but figured it was because she hardly ever wore anything fancier than jeans and a t-shirt.

She fastened a diamond pendant necklace around her neck, one that her father had given her, and slipped on a pair of sparkly white flats. She didn’t even own a pair of heels, and doubted she ever would. Once in front of the mirror in the bathroom, she lightly applied makeup, and observed the final product.

Julie felt more beautiful than she had in months. It had been a long time since she had put effort into looking nice for someone she had feelings for, and she enjoyed it. She checked her watch and felt her stomach lurch into her chest. It was almost eight.

“Hey, Sammy, you’re going to spend some time over at Gloria’s tonight, okay?” she called out to him.

“Woohoo,” exclaimed Sam, making his way out of his room. “Her house is awesome.”

“I’m glad you like it,” said Julie, pulling him into a quick hug. She hurriedly went back to her closet to get a change of clothes for after dinner. She packed a black ensemble of a sweatshirt, jeans, socks, and running shoes into a small brown bag and carried it down the stairs just in time to answer Skye’s knock at the door. She fussed with her hair a little before opening it.

“You look amazing,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“Thank you. You look pretty good, yourself,” Julie said, taking Skye in. He was wearing a blue-and-gray striped button-down shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes perfectly. His usual worn blue jeans had been replaced by crisp black slacks, and black leather shoes.

Skye pulled a single red rose from behind his back and held it out for her.

“It’s beautiful,” Julie said, taking it from him and lifting it to her nose to smell.

“A beautiful rose for a beautiful young woman. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m just waiting on Sam,” Julie said, crossing over to the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, Sammy, come on. It’s time to go.”

Sam appeared moments later wearing a cowboy hat, and holding a fake Western-style gun. He pointed it right at Skye and pretended to fire it. “Gotcha,” he said, as Skye slumped over and groaned.

Sam dropped the gun to his side, looked up at Skye with a serious expression, “Be careful with her.”

“I’ll be very careful. I promise. Shall we go?”

Julie locked up the house, and the three of them got into Skye’s truck. As they headed to Gloria’s, Julie noticed more police cars than usual on the road.

“Is something going on with the police?” Julie asked Skye.

“I’m not sure,” said Skye. “There usually aren’t this many, though, unless there’s a manhunt.”

Julie suddenly recalled the footprints outside her house, and felt a chill run through her, but said nothing. She didn’t want Skye thinking she wasn’t brave. And she had promised to not talk about the murder, or anything related to it.

Once at Gloria’s house, Julie quickly ushered Sam inside, the uneasy feeling still lingering. She knelt down in front of him, taking both his hands in hers.

“Be good for Gloria, okay? And remember that I’m always safe, so there’s no need to worry, all right?” she said, kissing his forehead.

Sam nodded his head and walked off into the living room. Julie was still thinking of City Hall, and the possible outcome she hoped wouldn’t occur. “Gloria? Um, do you think it would be alright if Sam spent the night tonight? We might be out late.”

She realized how awkward this sounded, but Gloria only laughed. “Of course, he’s welcome to spend the night anytime,” she said warmly. “I know how dates sometimes go,” she added with the wink of an eye.

“Thank you,” Julie said, feeling the warmth rise in her cheeks. She took Skye by the hand, hoping he would get the hint that she wanted to leave, and inched her way toward the door. Skye got it, and thanked his mother before closing the door behind him.

“She can be a little blunt sometimes.”

“It’s alright,” Julie said, wanting to forget the comment altogether. “So, where are we going?”

“There’s this restaurant called India Gardens that I’ve wanted to try for a while. I’ve heard great things about it. Does that sound good to you?”

“That sounds great. I love Indian food.”

“Oh, you’re going to love this, then.”

India Gardens was set up on a hill that overlooked miles of city lights. Their illumination was captivating, and if the restaurant had not been equally so, Julie thought she could have watched them twinkle all night.

Skye led her up the steps into the paved marble entryway, which had beautiful statues of Hindu gods in the corners of the room. Behind the front desk was a short, fast-talking hostess taking names and assisting those with reservations, so Skye walked over to tell her of theirs.

Within a minute, they were led down a staircase into a large high-ceilinged room with small tables surrounding a beautiful garden. The hostess led them to a table near a gorgeous stone waterfall, set down their menus on the table, and politely excused herself.

Skye pulled out Julie’s chair for her, sliding it in as she sat down. He made his way back over to the opposite side and Julie instantly felt the mood change. He was staring at her differently than he had been the past few days. This gaze was deeper, as if he was trying to see a part of her that was invisible to everyone else.