Obsessed (2 page)

Chapter Three

Two days before the crash.

“Heat wave temperatures have scorched the Bay Area.”

Jess heard Tom enter the room. She looked over as she frantically fanned her face with her hand.

“The radio said we reached the high nineties for the past two days now. I hope it breaks soon.” Tom loosened his tie.

For once Jess could tell being ‘suited-up’ tortured him. She turned back to the task at hand and sighed loudly. “Between this heat and my swollen feet, I’m not going to survive this graduation.” Jess pouted with another attempt to jam her swollen feet into the fourth pair of shoes she’d tried. 

“Wear the flats you bought the other day. You said they fit perfectly and are comfy,” Tom spoke patiently.

Jess rubbed her belly. She knew her feet were two sizes bigger like the rest of her. Tom embraced his pregnant wife. “You are the most beautiful expectant mother.”

He kissed her cheek. Jess forced a half-smile. Pregnancy had thrown the most fearless agent of serial killers for a loop. The first trimester kept her in and out of bed with morning sickness. The next trimester seemed to be a hormonal one. Jess snapped at everyone. And now the third trimester put her on an emotional roller coaster between bouts of tears and laughter. 

“You are so patient with me.” Jess buried her face under his chin. 

“I love you Jess. I love our baby.” His hand rested on her enlarged belly. He lifted her face to meet his lips. A soft kiss ended with a short peck at the tip of her nose. “I can’t believe someone convinced you to retire from the field. I hope you won’t regret your decision.”

Tom looked down at his hand rested on her bump.

Jess smiled with confidence. “I’m certain. It’s time. I will miss the team.” She placed her hand over Tom’s on her enlarged tummy. “I’m sure our baby will provide enough action.”

Tom’s lips reached for hers once more but they were interrupted. 

“Is everyone ready?” Tiffany knocked on the door gently. 

“Come in, sweetie,” Jess called out. She smiled proudly at the sight of a confident young woman. Jess met Tiffany Bennett almost a year ago. Tiffany’s parents came to her with concern for their daughter’s safety from a possible Internet stalker. Jess took the case to protect the seventeen-year-old. Unfortunately her parents were murdered. Not by their daughter’s stalker, but by the man Jess arrested for her own parents’ murder; the same man who stalked her as a teenager. To Jess, it was déjà vu. A horrible nightmare relived. Jess also knew about the suffering Tiffany would have to survive. She took the orphaned girl in and filed for adoption. Now she stood before Jess on her graduation day, eight months later. 

“You look beautiful, Tiff. I’m so proud of you.” Jess hugged her adopted daughter. 

“I’m proud of you too.” Tom kissed Tiffany’s cheek. “We still have to talk about your decision.” Tom spoke in a fatherly tone. He announced he’d wait in the car. 

Tiffany smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Think he’ll get used to the idea, Jess?”

Jess snorted half a laugh. “Tom will never get used to determined female agents. But he will accept it and then worry like Hell.”

Tiffany’s acceptance to Berkley for criminology worried Tom—not Berkley itself, but the application to the FBI academy that would follow.

Jess attempted the last pair of shoes and sighed heavily. “Guess it’s the flats.” 

Tiffany handed Jess the shoes. “They are cute and comfy.”

“Yeah, yeah; wish I was cute and comfy.” Sarcasm and sadness mixed in Jess’s voice.

Tiffany placed her hands on Jess’s belly. “You are cute. Soon you will be comfy.”

Jess smiled with thoughts of the baby.
Damn this emotional roller coaster,
she thought. Jess easily slipped her swollen feet into the comfy leather flats. “Let’s go. We have to pick up your sister on the way.”

Tom’s daughter Amanda lived with her mom a couple of blocks away. Amanda and Tiffany were tight. Jess always called them, ‘Sisters by Chance, Friends by Choice.’ She loved to hear Tiffany introduce Amanda to her friends as her sister. There’d been so much devastation in their lives; Jess loved how close they’d become. They were a family and one about to get bigger in a few weeks. Jess’s determination to have the baby at the beach house on the east coast forced Tom to hire a mid-wife. Her mid-wife, Lisa Henderson, would travel with them to the beach house and stay until the baby arrived. Tiffany and Amanda were thrilled and wanted to be at the beach house for their brother’s arrival. They were leaving the next day. Jess’s doctor confirmed she was safe to fly but this was the last week to do so.

“Jess, you look amazingly beautiful today.” SSA Mike Turner reached for Jess’s hands. He gave them a squeeze when he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. They’d worked together for a long time. Jesses trained him to profile and hunt the bad guys. Tom had created the ISTF, but stepped down as supervisor when he married Jess. She took on that role and led the team successfully. Agents Gina Edwards and Eric Matthews were still with the team, and Dave Malcolm had been with them the past year. The team endlessly searched and profiled Internet predators to protect young adolescents. Jess continued to deliver her spine-chilling seminars on cyber safety. Now that she’d retired, Mike led the team. 

“Thanks Mike. You don’t look so bad yourself.” Jess winked and his laugh joined hers. “So where is she? I’m dying to meet the woman who stole your heart.” The whole team had been waiting to meet her. Mike moved to one side and turned. There behind him stood a beautiful blue-eyed blonde. Mike had told Jess that Nikki worked in the FBI L.A. office as a senior computer analyst. Jess pictured her more so of a geeky, computer nerd with an eccentric style. Instead, Nikki looked like a model. The slender, long-legged beauty queen threw Jess for a loop.

What’s she doing with Mike?
Jess wondered. Not that she thought Mike didn’t deserve a beautiful woman, but Mike wasn’t the type of man that would make a woman look twice. But then again, Jess thought of Mike as the brother she’d never had. Mike had never been a ladies man like SA Eric Matthews. Jess pictured Nikki more so Eric’s type, not Mike’s. She pictured Nikki with a man whose body rocked, or a more sophisticated rich businessman.
Perhaps the computer genius thing sparked the attraction.
Jess hoped for that answer. She made a mental note to run a check on this Miss Nikki Dubois. Jess’s gut feeling told her something wasn’t right. 

“Nikki, it’s good to meet the woman who has made Mike so happy. He’s a gem and deserves it.” Jess wanted to get a protective dig into her welcome. She knew she’d been successful when Mike cleared his throat.

Nikki surprised Jess with a hug when she extended her hand. “I’m honored to meet the famous Agent Resario. I’m the lucky one to have found Mike. I hope I deserve his love.”

Mike smiled but Jess wondered whether Nikki’s words were genuine. 

“She seems nice.” Tom looped his arm for Jess to take as they walked to their seats. 

“My gut tells me there’s something not quite right.” 

Tom’s eyes met hers. 

Jess invited the team back to the house after Tiffany’s graduation for a barbeque.

“You’re a great chef, Tom.” Mike placed his hand on his stomach. The expression on his face was priceless.

Jess laughed. “And I thought I was eating for two.”

Mike sadly added, “Day-old-pizza just doesn’t cut it anymore.”

His comment made everyone laugh along with Gina’s sarcastic addition of, “Bachelors!
”

“Just burgers on the barbecue Mike, you should try it!” Tom yelled out as he cleaned the grill. 

  “It’s getting late. We should take off and let Jess rest. She has another big day tomorrow.”

Jess flashed him a “thank you” smile.

Tiffany and Amanda mentioned they’d clean up and excused themselves after they said their goodbyes to everyone. 

“They’re spoiling me.”

“Good. You deserve it.” Mike helped her up from her chair. Jess followed Tom and the crew around to the front of the house. The last to say goodbye was Mike. He gave Jess a big hug and whispered in her ear, “Call me as soon as the baby arrives.”

Jess promised she would. She followed Mike’s attention to a card stuck in the front door. He broke from the hug and walked toward it. 

“What is it Mike?” Tom called out. 

Mike didn’t reply. He held the postcard in his hand.

“Mike?” Jess asked him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Mike turned to Jess without a word. Jess reached for the card in his hand and gasped.

Tom immediately grabbed the card from her hand. “Is this is a sick joke?”

Mike finally spoke, “It must have leaked from the Bureau. The postcards were sealed in the case”.

Jess took a seat on the front porch. Her adrenaline rushed as memories of Trevor Marshall entered her mind, the horror of her parents’ deaths and the hunt for a serial killer who’d been her stalker. Then she thought of his prison break-out last year and the murders of Tiffany’s parents. It hit her hard. She believed that part of her life ended when she shot him dead in her kitchen. She felt sick. Tom sat beside her and reached for her hand. He assured her it had to be a joke and a sick joke at that. Jess knew he tried to calm her worries. She gently rubbed her belly, worried about her baby. She knew stress wouldn’t be good for the baby and took a deep breath. Jess asked Mike to deal with the matter.

He nodded, took the postcard from Tom and then leaned down to hug her goodbye.

“Don’t worry Jess, I’ll find out who did this.”

Jess watched Tom walk Mike to his car. Nikki had waited in Mike’s car. She’d been quiet. Jess wondered if maybe she felt out of place. The team did reminisce about cases over dinner. Still, she reminded herself to run a check on Nikki. Mike’s happiness and well-being mattered greatly to her.

Tom waved as Mike’s car left the driveway and walked back to her. He took Jess by the hand and led her through the front door. He suggested she go rest and he’d help the girls clean up. “It’s been a long day with the graduation. Why don’t you go soak in a bath and relax?” Tom didn’t mention the postcard again. She knew he only wanted to protect her. She wanted to protect their daughters.

“Please don’t mention the postcard to the girls, Tom. They’ll only worry. I want them to remain happy and excited about the baby.” Jess made Tom swear he would not worry the girls over this and he agreed to keep it from them for now.

****

“Mike, Is everything okay?” Mike appeared lost in thought as he keyed the ignition.

He turned to Nikki. “No it’s not.” He drove away from Tom and Jess’s home without another word. Nikki let it go for a few minutes but the silence worried her.

“I’d like to help, Mike, if you let me.”

Silence continued for a few more minutes. Mike reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the postcard. He handed it to her. “It was left at Jess’s front door. She doesn’t need this nightmare to start up again. Not now. Not with the baby coming.”

Nikki studied the postcard. She flipped it to have a better look at both sides. Without postage, Nikki figured it must have been delivered in person while they were in the backyard.

“Jess received postcards like this before?” Nikki knew about the postcards but only because she hacked into the sealed case file. She didn’t want Mike to know she’d snooped around. She only did so to find out what his friends were like. He had his team, and more so Jess, up on a pedestal.

“Sorry Nikki, you wouldn’t have known. The postcards are related to the Trevor Marshall case.”

Chapter Four

Mike propped open his laptop and the Trevor Marshall case. He briefly updated Nikki on about the case.

“What can I do to help?” Nikki stood behind Mike and massaged his shoulders. She could feel his tension.

“Someone must have hacked the file. The case had been sealed. Jess wanted it that way to protect the girls. I need to find out if it’s just a hacker looking for a good story or…” Mike didn’t finish his sentence. Nikki knew what he meant. She also didn’t want Mike to find she’d been the hacker. She only wanted to know more about the team. More so, she wanted to know why Jessica Resario was on that pedestal and not her. She’d been jealous of Jess for some time now. All Mike ever talked about was the great Jessica Resario. If Mike discovered she’d hacked into the case and released the sealed information to a journalist writing a book about Trevor Marshall, it would end their relationship. He’d no longer trust her.

“Let me help, Mike. I’m a better analyst than you any day.” Nikki laughed. She always told him that and he’d just smile and nod in agreement. She knew she was good, but so was Mike and that worried her at this moment. She pulled her laptop out of her bag and setup beside him.

“Let’s see if we can pinpoint the IP address that hacked into the site. The hardest problem is finding the source of the attack. It appears the source field has been set in a continuous loop to make it seem like it’s coming from someplace it’s not,” Mike spoke in a daring tone. He always let on she was a better hacker than he. She wondered if he meant it or just said so to compliment her.

Nikki smiled. “The bet is on. I’m going to try to break this continuous loop while you search for the IP address. It will speed up the search.”

The room went quiet as their fingers raced across their keyboards. She knew the only way to save her ass now was to at least give up the source she released the case information to, and hope Mike would stop there and concentrate on that. She never revealed herself to the journalist. She wondered now why she’d even done it. It wasn’t as if it would bring Jess down from that pedestal Mike had her on. Now she knew from the concerned look in Mike’s eyes, she’d only made it worse.

“I’ve got something Mike,” she announced out loud. She turned to him with a smirk. “Didn’t I tell you who the best analyst is?”

Mike chuckled and shook his head. “How did you break the loop?”

“I didn’t, but I found an IP address the case files were sent to.” She grinned and sent it to Mike’s computer.

“You’re not that good then,” Mike teased her. He typed the address into his database. “Ron Saunders. I know that name. He’s a reporter with the
San Francisco Times
. I could understand him wanting to write about Trevor Marshall, now that the man is dead, but it still doesn’t explain the postcard. I can’t believe he would want to harass Jess. Let’s run a check on him to find out what else he’s been up to,” Mike suggested.

“Already on it, sugar; take a look at this,” Nikki announced without a glance at Mike. She turned her screen toward him.

“He visited Marshall in prison a few times. Maybe he’s writing a story about him.”

“And you say I’m not that good. Check out this work-in-progress.” Nikki brought up another screen.

“I take it back. You are the genius in this relationship. Saunders is an easy hack?”

“Bingo!” Nikki highlighted an area where Marshall told Saunders about the postcards. Saunders described Marshall’s bragging about the exact words he wrote on the postcards. “And to answer your question, yes, Saunders home computer is poorly secured. A child could have hacked into his computer.” Nikki hoped this information would stop Mike from discovering she led Saunders to the case files.

“Any hacker could have easily managed to obtain the notes Saunders made about the postcards, but it doesn’t explain why Saunders has a copy of the sealed case files.” Mike stood and paced.

“He might have asked Marshall for help to obtain the sealed files. Wasn’t Marshall Computer savvy? Or maybe he had connections?” Nikki kept her composure. She didn’t want Mike to sense her anxiety about possibly getting caught.

Mike turned. “Marshall is tech smart. He could have helped Saunders.” Mike picked up his phone. “Ron Saunders, San Francisco. Thank you and yes please.”

Nikki watched in horror. She knew Mike had asked to be directly connected to Ron’s number. She hoped Saunders would be on his computer and receive the message sent before he picked up the phone. Nikki typed a few quick words from the IP address and fake email she’d used when she contacted him originally:
Tell FBI…Marshall was your only connection to get the sealed file.
She finished typing when she heard Mike leave a message for Saunders. A deep breath relieved her anxiety at the close call. Still, she hoped Saunders picked up his email before Mike’s message. She knew Saunders didn’t know she was the hacker, but at this point she wanted him to confirm to Mike that Marshall had been the only connection.

“I’m going to call Tom with an update then let’s head over to headquarters. I want to run the postcard for prints and search the prison visits. We need to find out who Marshall connected with.”

Mike called Tom’s number while Nikki packed up their laptops with a touch of relief for the time being. She followed Mike out the door as he updated Tom.

Nikki took her laptop into the situation room at headquarters while Mike took the postcard to the lab. She ran the prison visit report and began to cross-check the few visits Marshall had while in prison.

“Did you check the prison visitor report? I’d like to know who went to visit Marshall,” Mike asked as he entered the situation room.

“I did. It shows four visitor dates for Marshall. Two of which were Saunders. The other’s from a woman that signed in with the name Jane Smith, which I assume is fake,”

Nikki informed Mike and asked if there were any prints on the postcard. She hoped this woman would keep him focused away from her stupidity of hacking the case files. She hated lying to Mike, but knew she needed to cover her ass. She knew their relationship would end if he found out she’d visited Marshall, hacked the case files and gave them to a reporter. Nikki erased the portion of the tape that showed her sign-in to the prison.

“Of course,” Mike said with further frustration in his voice. He added, “Do we have a visual of this Jane Smith?” Mike took a seat beside Nikki.

“Bringing up the surveillance camera recordings as we speak,” Nikki answered then informed Mike she’d searched Marshall’s Internet access and easily found his conversations in a stalker’s chat room. She stopped typing for a moment and looked at Mike. “Why the hell did Marshall have Internet access at all?”

Mike shook his head. “Any access is supposed to be monitored and recorded, but Marshall would have been clever enough to get into whatever he wanted and hide it from the general search. It wasn’t until I searched Kyle Davidson’s computer that I discovered the stalker’s chat room.”

“Kyle Davidson? Isn’t he the man who stalked Tiffany and helped Marshall escape last year?” Nikki asked as though she remembered a brief part of the update Mike gave her earlier. She knew she had to appear naïve about the case.

“Yes, Kyle Davidson met Marshall through the chat room. Davidson discovered that Marshall had murdered Jess’s parents to get to her. He wanted to remove Tiffany’s parents out of the equation and agreed to help Marshall escape in exchange for his help. Unfortunately, we were unable to save Tiffany’s parents in time,” Mike updated Nikki on the Davidson case.

Nikki knew the case had been sealed as well for Tiffany’s protection, but she needed to play along as though she hadn’t read the files.

“This is the best shot of the woman who entered the prison to visit Marshall.” She turned the screen to show Mike that only a side view of a woman with her head down had been captured by the camera.

“Not much to go with,” Mike commented. “But send it through the system to see if anything is picked up.” Mike mentioned to Nikki he hoped to discover where the postcard had been purchased and attempted to track it through store cameras.

She knew it would be a long shot, but assured Mike she’d help search the store cameras once they discovered which ones the postcard could have been purchased from. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but it was all they had to go on, besides an unknown woman and Saunders who hadn’t yet returned Mike’s or Nikki’s messages.

“I shouldn’t keep you any longer, Nikki. I know you have to work tomorrow.” Mike leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Come on, I’ll drive you back to your car.” He promised to send the picture of the postcard to her.

Nikki packed up her laptop. “I’ll run a report on shops that sell that particular postcard in the Bay area. Since the card had no postage and hand-delivered, it couldn’t have been purchased too far away. I know it’s a long shot, Mike, but it’s all we have to work with. Let me know if you hear from Saunders too. Maybe he’ll be of help.” She stood and gave Mike a kiss. “I’m here to help any way I can.”

“I appreciate that. I trust you like I trust my team, Nikki.” He brushed the hair away from her face, leaned in and softly kissed her cheek. “Only two more days until we can be together again; this commute isn’t easy.”

Nikki nodded in agreement. “Let’s keep Jess safe and then we’ll figure that part out.”

Mike’s smile assured her their relationship was more than safe.

She hoped it remained that way.

      ****

Mike looked at his watch after Nikki drove away. It showed past midnight. He knew he’d scheduled the team to meet at seven o’clock in the situation room. He called them immediately after he left Jess and Tom’s with the news of the postcard. With Nikki’s help, there wasn’t much for them to do until they found a lead to work with. Mike hoped he’d hear back from Saunders in the morning and the man had something for them to work with. Mike grabbed a beer from his fridge, exhausted but determined to protect Jess. He had to know who sent that postcard.

Mike walked over to his computer and picked up the card. Back at the lab, he’d compared the handwriting to the original postcards Marshall sent. He hadn’t shared his findings with anyone, not even Nikki. It still haunted him. The handwriting on today’s postcard matched the ones Marshall wrote years ago. Mike knew it couldn’t be him, the man was dead. Jess shot him last year in her kitchen. Mike wondered if Marshall wrote the note on the postcard and gave it to someone. He brushed his fingers through his hair. Frustrated with the postcard, he tossed it onto his desk and picked up his beer. He barely got the bottle to his lips when he noticed the picture on the postcard. Mike picked it up again to have a closer look. The postcard had four small pictures on it with
San Francisco Memories
written in the center, but crossing over each picture. He never noticed it before until the light from his desk lamp caught an angle of the top left picture.

Mercy General before it was rebuilt.
The picture in black and white showed the old hospital. Mike remembered the hospital from his childhood. His parents took him there to visit his grandmother. The new hospital had been built about ten years ago. Mercy General had been the hospital Marshall dropped Tom off after he stabbed him two years before. The arrogant bastard even drove Tom’s car to take him to the hospital. At first, the team wondered why he took Tom to the hospital and didn’t leave him for dead. They figured Marshall didn’t want Tom dead when the doctor informed them Tom’s many stab wounds just missed internal organs. It was if Marshall knew where to stab without killing Tom. Marshall wanted control of his own sick game.

Mike took notice of the picture in the right corner: The old shipyard warehouse district. Kyle Davidson held Jess and Tiffany hostage in one of those old warehouses. Mike wondered if all pictures on the postcards were memories of Trevor Marshall, not San Francisco. The bottom left photo showed the private girl’s school in Presario Heights. Mike began to think about the Marshall case and remembered the undercover operation at the school. Marshall’s victims had gone to that school. The bottom right photo showed an old orphanage building. Mike knew he’d seen it before but couldn’t recollect if it still stood. What the hell did an orphanage have to do with Marshall—unless it was to reflect on the fact that he left Jess and Tiffany orphans
?

His phone rang and startled him away from his thoughts.

“Nikki, you’ve arrived home safely. Thanks for the call, you know I worry.” Mike filled her in on his views of the postcard and she promised to research the orphanage. He said good-night and decided to get some sleep.