Obsessed (3 page)

Chapter Five

One day before the crash.

Jess woke early. Between the baby kicks, attempts to get comfortable and the postcard; she hadn’t slept well. The morning sun poured through the kitchen window as she made tea. Thoughts of the postcard and Trevor Marshall raced through her mind. She stopped her thoughts and rubbed her belly.
No one will hurt you. I will protect you with my life.

The sound of the doorbell startled her.

“Good morning Lisa, come in.” Lisa’s warm smile always calmed her instantly. Lisa’s personality lit up the entire room. Her gentle nature confirmed to Jess that she’d be nurturing to both her and the baby.

Tom insisted on hiring a mid-wife when Jess announced she wanted to have the baby at the beach house. They interviewed numerous mid-wives from a few agencies before they met Lisa. She’d not been a mid-wife for long, which worried Tom. Jess adored her from the moment they met. Jess always went with her gut instinct and Tom knew he’d never win an argument when it came down to that. She’d been a nurse for a couple of years before she decided to pursue a career as a mid-wife. To Jess, she had enough experience to help deliver a baby. Her credentials showed she safely helped deliver seven babies. Tom had wanted a more experienced mid-wife, but Jess argued Lisa’s training and experience would be enough to help her.

“Good morning, Jess. I thought I’d come a little earlier in case you needed help packing.”

Her concern touched Jess’s heart. After the postcard arrived the night before, Jess couldn’t bring herself to pack. Even the relaxing bath Tom suggested hadn’t helped her sleep. She hugged Lisa and thanked her. “You are a blessing, Lisa. I haven’t even started.”

Jess didn’t want Lisa to know about the postcard. Tom kept his promise and didn’t mention it to their daughters. Jess didn’t want any of them to worry. This was supposed to be a happy time and she was determined to make that happen. She trusted Mike to figure out how or who accessed the case and found out about the postcards. She’d stepped down from the job and left Mike in charge. She knew she had to let it go. It wouldn’t be good for the baby.

“No worries, Jess, I’ll take care of everything.”

Lisa followed Jess into the kitchen for a cup of tea before they packed for the beach. Jess couldn’t wait to get back to the beach. By the time they finished their tea, the girls and Tom were up and excited about their trip to the beach and the soon-to-be addition to their family. The beach house would be the best medicine. It had become Jess’s paradise once again. For ten years she’d let the beach house sit empty. She couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it after her parents’ murders, but memories of her parents never allowed her to sell it. The arrest of Trevor Marshall put closure to the unexplained deaths of her parents. It brought her peace and allowed her to fall in love with the beach home all over again. She knew it would be most restful for her and the baby.

No one allowed Jess to lift a finger when they arrived at the beach house. The arrival of the postcard the night before, was no longer discussed, except for the fact that Mike informed her he’d found a leak to a journalist who was writing a book about the Trevor Marshall murders. Jess knew it would be public knowledge now with a book about the case. She convinced herself not to worry and that the postcard had just been a sign of the story to come. It was out of her hands. She focused happily on the excitement of her son’s arrival. Her due date was at least three weeks away.

June 26, 2015

After another restless night from baby kicks, Jess decided to get up earlier than usual and make a cup of tea. It would soon be time for the sunrise. She remembered her mom and how they loved to watch the sunrise together, all cuddled up on the deck lounge chair, wrapped in a blanket, with their tea. The beach house was quiet with everyone still asleep. Jess kept a light on in the kitchen and one outside the girls’ bedroom beside the front door in case a late night snack kept teens awake. She remembered being a teenager and her mom had always kept a couple of lights on. Jess looked in that direction and something caught her attention. She tip-toed toward the door and discovered a postcard on the floor just inside the front door. Memories of other postcards crossed her mind as she bent down to pick it up. Her hand trembled as she read her name on the front of the postcard. She turned it over slowly. A tear formed and hit her cheek as she read the words written on it
:
I Crave You.

The sudden jolt of shock that hit her caused her to scream Tom’s name as the postcard fell from her hand.

Tom came running from the bedroom. Jess’s scream must have woken the others as well, because they all hurried to the front door. Jess couldn’t speak, but pointed to the welcome mat where the postcard lay. Those three words, “I Crave You” could be read as plain as day. Before anyone could say a word, Jess’s water broke.

Lisa quickly told Tom to take Jess to the bedroom. She took her vitals and measured. “You are already six centimeters dilated, Jess. I believe your baby is soon ready to make a grand entrance.” She squeezed Jess’s hand.

Jess felt both excitement and horror, but Lisa’s calmness and gentle words relaxed her. She looked up at Tom. “Tell the girls not to worry, that it’s just a sick joke.”

Jess worried the girls would freak especially since it had only been eight months since Trevor Marshall put them through such horror. She nodded to Tom who leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“I will. Don’t worry. Stay focused for the baby.”

“There’s still time, Tom, if you want to be with your daughters. I’ll come get you once Jess is fully dilated.” Lisa spoke with such concern about the girls that it relaxed Jess more. She knew she’d made the right decision to hire Lisa as her mid-wife. If anything, the woman could relax Jess and that was most important for the baby right now. Tom looked to Jess and she nodded for him to go to the girls. She worried how upset they would be.

     ****

“She’s fine and focused on the baby. She wants you to remain the same and not worry.”

Tom hugged his daughters who stood outside the bedroom door in horror. He reassured the girls that Jess and the baby were fine and Lisa had everything under control. He told the girls about the postcard delivered at the house the night before. He mentioned Mike discovered a leak in the case files to a journalist. Tom told them it was just a sick joke and not to worry.

“A leak might explain the first postcard, but not the second. Shouldn’t we be taking this a little more seriously, Tom?” Tiffany spoke up rather sarcastically. Tom understood her fear too well. His thoughts were the same. He nodded and dialed Mike’s number.

“Tom, everything okay with Jess and the baby?” Mike didn’t say hello. Tom could tell everyone was on edge. He knew Mike would continue to investigate the postcard that had been found.

“They’re fine. The baby is coming earlier than expected. Lisa seems to have it all under control. But…” Tom took a deep breath.

“Tom?”

“Another postcard arrived this morning. Jess found it and it caused her water to break.”

“This isn’t good, Tom. I’ve come up empty-handed. The journalist swears he didn’t mention the postcards to anyone. He doesn’t have a name for his informant about the case. He tried to leave a message at the phone number he had for the informant, but the phone number no longer exists. Whoever hacked into the system knows how to do it without being traced. All I get is an untraceable IP address that bounces around. I won’t give up.”

“I know you won’t, Mike, but can you do it here? I’d feel better knowing we were all here to protect Jess and the baby. And the girls are shaken up.”

“I’ll round up the team and we’ll be on our way. In the meantime, call Mark. He’s closer to you and can get there quicker. He planned on vacationing on the east coast to be close when Jess’s baby arrived.”

“Thanks Mike.”

Tom ended the call and searched for Mark’s number. Mark Withers had been with the Washington FBI as Jess’s father’s partner for years. When her parents were murdered, he kept a watch on Jess. He’d known about the so-called stalker her father had been convinced existed. It was Mark who’d tracked Trevor Marshall and helped bring him to an arrest. Since then, he and Jess remained in close contact. To Jess and Tom, Mark was as much family as the team.

“Hi Tom, does this call mean we have a new addition to the family?”

“Almost, Mark. Jess’s water broke about an hour ago. But I’m more concerned about the postcards Jess received, the last one this morning at the beach house. Mike and the team are on their way. Are you close by?”

“I’m a few hours from the beach house and on my way. What postcards, Tom?”

“The same ones Trevor Marshall sent her. It has to be a sick joke, Mark. Mike is investigating a leak to a journalist.”

“Is Jess okay?”

Mark’s concerned tone touched Tom’s heart. Mark became family since they worked on the Marshall case. He knew he cared for Jess and her well-being. Tom mentioned her focus was on the baby but he knew deep down the postcards got to her.

“She’s strong, Mark. We both know that. I think she’s being strong for the baby’s sake. You and I both know how Marshall got to her.”

“I do, Tom. We both know her strength but I’m sure the postcards struck a nerve. Any idea of who would have sent them? Marshall’s dead.”

Tom wasn’t sure either. He only hoped it was a sick joke. “I trust Mike will uncover the leak and find out where the postcards came from. More importantly, who sent them? I’ve contacted the local sheriff to keep watch on the beach house.”

Mark asked Tom to give Jess his love and said he’d be there as soon as he could. Tom thanked him. He felt some relief. Within hours a team of highly-trained FBI agents would arrive to protect Jess if the postcards were of any real threat.

Lisa poked her head out of the bedroom door. “Tom, it’s time.”

He turned to the girls and assured them everything would be fine. There were five agents on their way. Still, Tom warned them not to answer the door or any calls. They nodded with fear in their eyes when someone knocked on the door. Tom told Lisa he’d be right there. He looked through the peephole and smiled.

“Henry and Marilyn, come in. The time has come.” The Roberts had been second parents to Jess since she was little. Tom apologized and said he needed to be with Jess. Mrs. Roberts told him to go to Jess. Tom felt better the girls wouldn’t be alone. He asked the girls to fill them in on the postcards and again reminded them not to answer the door or phone.

Tom opened the bedroom door and smiled when he saw Jess. For now, all that mattered to Tom at this moment was his wife and son.

Chapter Six

Twenty miles outside Vineyard Haven - June 26, 2015

Mike opened his eyes slowly. He reached for his head and he felt something warm and wet. He looked at his hand and saw blood. That would explain the pain he felt. He looked around the plane for his team. Seats were torn, compartment doors were open and he noticed a few sparks near the cockpit. He remembered the pilot announced an emergency landing after he scrambled to regain control of the plane. The speed increased in their descent and he remembered Gina’s words that they were going down. He searched and found Gina had been thrown from her seat. He checked and found a pulse.
Thank God!
He found superficial wounds but no apparent breaks or life-threatening injuries. He tapped the side of her face. “Gina, can you hear me?”

Her eyes opened and she smiled at Mike. “We survived.”

Mike returned the smile and helped her up. They were lucky. They were the only survivors.

“Eric? Malcolm?” Gina asked.

Mike shook his head. “They didn’t survive. Neither did the pilot and co-pilot. Can you move?”

Mike warned Gina of the sparks and possible explosion. They gathered a few necessities and began to walk away from the plane, then realized they were in the middle of nowhere with no connection to the outside world. Both their cell phones had been destroyed in the crash and since the plane’s radios were also tampered with, they had no way to warn Jess. Mike figured they were less than ten miles from the airport since they were twenty miles out before descent began. The beginning of their descent triggered the sabotage of the hack into the plane’s computer. From there, they lost radio contact and control of the plane. Mike remembered the pilot mentioned something about a hard landing. Suddenly he remembered the text message from Nikki. He messaged her before he boarded the plane to let her know Tom had requested the team to come and that Jess’s life was in jeopardy. Now his criminally investigative mind questioned it:
Have a hard landing
. If anyone could hack into the plane’s coordinates, Mike’s first guess would be Nikki.
But why would she?
He asked himself. But then he’d only known Nikki for a little over three months.

“No
,
” Mike whispered. He fought to ignore the facts in front of him, but he couldn’t. Mike sighed with frustration and anger. He allowed this woman into his life. More so, he allowed Nikki into Jess’s life and put her in danger. Blinded by her beauty and intelligence, he knew he should have seen it. Mike thought back to the day of the graduation. He remembered how excited Nikki acted when she met Jess face-to-face.

“
I’m such an idiot. I should’ve seen it.”

“Should have seen what Mike?”

Mike turned to Gina. “It’s my fault. I brought her into our lives.”

Gina asked, “Who?”

“Nikki.”

“What do you mean? What does Nikki have to do with all of this?”

“Her text message to have a hard landing, remember the one I showed you?”

Gina nodded.

“The cyberattack to throw off the plane’s coordinates was professionally done. She is the one person I know capable of a near impossible hack. She bugged me to meet Jess for two months. I should’ve seen it, Gina, but I was lost in love. It blinded me to the facts right before my very eyes. Shit! I’m so stupid!” Mike ran his hands through his hair “Ouch.” Mike felt pain and remembered the blood when he first woke after the crash. He wiped the blood from his hand onto his sleeve.

“It’s not your fault, Mike. If Nikki is behind this, we’ll worry about the why later. First, we need to get to Jess.”

Gina’s few words brought Mike’s focus back to the danger-at hand: Jess.

Gina searched her bag. She pulled an emergency kit out of the bag and opened the gauze packet, then tended to Mike’s injury.

“Thanks, Gina.”

“It will have to do for now, but I think you’ll need a few stitches. It’s a deep cut, Mike.”

“I estimate we’re about seven or eight miles from the airport.” Mike looked at his watch which had a compass in it. Jess gave it to him on his last birthday. He hoped it still worked after the crash and hoped it helped him get to her in time. Gina followed behind Mike without a word for some time. Mike’s thoughts drifted between Jess and Nikki, who’d helped him the night before search for possibilities of who delivered the postcard to Jess. He couldn’t believe she’d played him.

“Damn fool,” Mike’s mumbled the words he’d been thinking out loud.

“You’re not a fool, Mike. You trusted this woman.” Gina stepped up beside him as they walked.

“I’m a profiler, Gina. How did I miss it?” Mike stopped and turned to her.

She touched Mike’s arm gently. “Love is blind.” She smiled at him.

“And where did that get me?” Mike asked sarcastically.

Gina laughed, “In the middle of nowhere.”

She threw him off subject and he had to laugh too. “Thanks Gina.” Mike placed his arm around her and began to walk again.

“For what?” she asked.

“Thank you for being my friend.” Mike squeezed her arm gently but she still whimpered. “Oh sorry, are you hurt there?”

“Probably just another scratch, but let’s get the Hell out of nowhere and back to civilization.”

Her comment made Mike chuckle. “In a few more miles we should see the outskirts of the airport.”

They walked for another hour before he saw lights in the distance.

“Oh thank God,” Gina said.

The small airport outside Vineyard Haven appeared quiet as they reached the edge of the runway. Mike noticed a security guard in the distance and hollered out to him. Once inside, the man took them to the head of security. The man behind the desk stood and introduced himself.

“Ron Devlin, Head of Security. There were no survivors at the crash. But when we received the report of how many were onboard, we just sent a team out to search for you. We need to get you two to the hospital.” Ron stopped talking when his security guard came back in the room with water and warm blankets.

Mike shook his head. Mike remembered checking Eric’s and then Malcolm’s pulse. Half his team had been taken out by someone he trusted. Mike felt responsible for their deaths. This angered him further. He had to get to Jess and then deal with Nikki. Mike reached for the badge still attached to his jeans and showed it to the security guard.

“No time for a hospital visit. The plane that crashed is an FBI jet from San Francisco. We’re on a case which we believe is why we crashed. I need a phone and police escort to an address in Vineyard Haven. A woman and children are in danger.”

“Take mine. I’ll take you there myself.” Ron handed his cell phone to Mike and told them he’d go get his car.