Obsessed (4 page)

Chapter Seven

“Push Jess, I can see the head.” Lisa smiled at her.

Jess squeezed Tom’s hand and screamed as she pushed harder.

“That’s it, Jess. I have his head. Now give me another push.”

Lisa’s calmness and continued coaching kept Jess focused. The pain she felt became worth it when she heard Lisa’s next words of excitement. The hours that had exhausted her body and mind suddenly disappeared.

“You did it, Jess. Congratulations, your baby boy has arrived!”

Tom pulled Jess’s hand to his mouth and kissed it. She turned and smiled at him.

“It’s time for your part, Dad.” Lisa looked at Tom to cut the umbilical cord. She then wrapped the baby in his blanket and placed him in Jess’s arms.

Jess cried with happiness as she looked at his beautiful little face. She looked at Tom as he sat beside her and their baby and smiled. “He is so beautiful, Tom.”

Tom leaned in to kiss Jess and then their baby. He touched Jess’s cheek gently. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Get the girls,” Jess told him. She knew they’d been so excited for the arrival of their baby brother.

Tom nodded. He opened the door and waved for the girls to come in. Amanda and Tiffany raced into the room. Tom shrugged. “Where are the Roberts?” When Amanda told him they went home to get more food, Tom chuckled. “We all know Mrs. Roberts would never want anyone to go hungry”.

“I’d like you to meet Thomas, your baby brother.” Jess grinned with excitement and happiness. Tears of joy filled her eyes with pride as she introduced the girls to their brother. She felt so lucky to have Tom and the girls with her. Her family was all that mattered to her.

“He’s so beautiful Jess, can I hold him?” Tiffany held out her hands.

“Me too,” Amanda said impatiently.

Jess laughed, “Of course.” Tiffany and Amanda sat on the bed beside Jess and took turns holding Thomas in their arms.

“I hope they remain this excited and helpful for the middle of the night feedings,” Tom said and laughed.

Jess laughed. “I hope so too.”

Tom called the Roberts to give them the news. He put the phone on speaker. “Thomas has just arrived.” Jess heard Marilyn’s excitement when Henry gave her the news.

“Congratulations. Tom. Are Jess and the baby okay?”

“They’re both fine,” Tom informed Henry. “Lisa’s making sure everything is good, but I’m certain Jess will want you in there.”

“I’ve got the cigars, Tom,” Henry then said they’d be back once Marilyn finished cooking enough food for an army. Henry’s comment made Tom laugh. “That’s Marilyn; she always makes certain we’re fed.”

Tom thanked him and pressed End.

Lisa said she wanted to check the baby and Jess, so Tom took the baby from Amanda and kissed his forehead. He then placed him back in Jess’s arms and led the girls back out to the family room.

Jess felt completely drained and needed to rest. She asked Lisa to put Thomas in his bassinet. Jess thought of one person she wanted to talk to before she rested—Mike. She reached for her phone and called his number.

“That’s odd,” she said.

“What’s odd?” Lisa asked.

“Mike’s phone went straight to voicemail. He never turns it off and he wouldn’t today. Tom called him already to let him know my labor had started.” Jess called again with no luck. She tried Gina’s phone and the same. “Something isn’t right.” She called out to Tom.

“Maybe it’s a connection problem on the plane.” Though Lisa’s calm voice usually relaxed Jess, this time it didn’t.

Tom opened the door, “Everything okay in here?”

“No. I tried Mike and Gina’s phones but they go to voicemail. I’m worried something is wrong. Have you spoken with him recently?”

Tom walked over to Jess’s side and sat down. “I’ve tried a few times myself. I didn’t want to worry you, Jess, but I’m not having any luck with any of their phones. Even the jet communication line is down. I’m about to contact headquarters to see if they’ve been in contact. The jet’s schedule to land has passed but it could be weather. A storm watch is in effect and the winds have picked up.”

“This isn’t good, Tom.” Jess sat up farther in bed.

Tom took her hand. “Try not to worry, Jess. I’ll go make that call now.”

****

Tom’s phone rang just as he was about to contact headquarters. A number he didn’t recognize. “Hello?”

“Are Jess and the baby okay?”

Tom recognized Mike’s voice and sighed with relief. “Where the hell are you? I’ve been trying to contact you. Jess is certain something’s wrong.”

“The jet crashed about twenty miles outside the airport. Someone hacked the coordinates of the plane. Tom, it wasn’t an accident.”

Mike’s words hit Tom hard. Now he knew the postcards weren’t a sick joke. Someone was trying to get to Jess and his family.

“Jesus, Mike! Are you okay? What about the others?”

“Gina and I survived. The others didn’t.”

Tom closed his eyes. His hand brushed through his hair as he paced the floor in the kitchen. He took a moment to attempt to digest Mike’s news.

“Tom?”

“I’m still here. What do I tell Jess?”

Tom worried more over Jess’s reaction. She’d just delivered their son. This news would destroy her. The team was her family and two of them were just taken from her.

“Tell her I’m on my way. Is Mark there?”

“Not yet. He should be here shortly. The weather has probably delayed him. Who do you think is behind this Mike?”

There was a long pause.

“Mike?”

“Sorry. Tom, I think it’s Nikki.”

“Nikki? Why the hell would she want to bring down the plane? Wait a minute Mike; do you think she’s the one behind the postcards?” Fury and confusion raced through Tom.

“I’ve no idea, Tom. I received a text message from her just before the plane lost all control. All it said was to have a hard landing. If anyone could hack into the coordinates, Tom, it would be her.”

“How well do you know this woman, Mike?” Tom’s anger grew. He was now in over-protective mode. His family was in danger. The beach house was isolated, the weather wasn’t cooperating and the five FBI agents to help were not there. Two would never make it. He knew he had to calm the emotions that crept through him. He needed to protect his family.

“Not well enough. I’m sorry Tom. I brought her in and now Jess is in danger. Tell Jess we’re on our way. Airport security is personally escorting us there. I’ve called the local authorities and the FBI. We will be there shortly.”

Tom sighed heavily. “Just get here, Mike. I can’t hide this from Jess. You know her as well as I do.” He disconnected the call. He was thankful the girls had retreated to their room. At least he didn’t have to tell them yet.

“I could stand here and watch the two of you forever,” Tom said as he stood at the doorway to their bedroom and smiled.

Jess looked up and smiled too. “He’s perfect, Tom. Can you believe he’s here? I’m so happy we decided to come to the beach house. Our wedding here started a chain of happy memories again. Now we’ve added the birth of our son.” Jess beamed with pride and happiness as she touched Thomas’s cheek.

Tom took a deep breath and wondered how he was going to tell her.

Jess looked up at him. “Tom? What’s wrong?”

He moved closer to the bed and knelt down at her side. His hand touched her arm and he closed his eyes briefly.

“The team jet crashed. I just received a call from Mike. He’s okay. Gina is too and with him. They are on their way—” The sound of a crash made Tom stop mid-sentence and turn.

Lisa began to pick up the pieces of the glass she’d just dropped. “I’m sorry,” she said when she stood with the broken pieces in her hand. “Is everyone else okay?”

Tom shook his head and turned to Jess. She hadn’t said a word. Tears filled her eyes. Lisa immediately took the baby from Jess. Tom took Jess in his arms as she cried.

Jess pulled back from Tom’s arms. “Are Mike and Gina on their way here now?”

Tom nodded. “They walked for miles to reach the airport. They should be here soon. The weather is getting worse.”

“Do you have any details of the crash?” Jess reached for a tissue and dried her eyes.

“Not much. Mike mentioned something about the controls being hacked into and he can’t get a hold of Nikki. He thinks Nikki is behind the hack into the plane’s coordinates. That’s all I know for now.” Tom brushed Jess’s hair away from her eyes.

Jess pushed Tom out of the way to get out of bed.

“Jess, you should rest.”

“Not now, Tom.” Jess turned to Lisa and asked her to stay with the baby. Lisa nodded. Lisa had agreed to stay for a few days after the baby’s arrival and then her job would be done. She turned back to Tom. “What the hell does Nikki have to do with all this? I told you my gut told me there wasn’t something right about her.” Jess’s tone grew angry as she walked out of the bedroom.

“I’m not sure if this is Nikki’s doing, Jess. Mike just mentioned he received a message from her before the plane lost control.” Tom followed her and then stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

“What message?”

“Have a hard landing.” Tom watched the horror grow in Jess’s eyes.

She began to climb the stairs. “I need a few minutes.” She headed for the loft upstairs. Tom knew the one place she could think—her father’s desk. It always made her think more clearly. As if the disturbing news of the crash wasn’t bad enough, now he wondered why he hadn’t listened to Jess and run a check on Nikki Dubois.

****

  Jess sat at her father’s desk, angry and upset. She picked up her favorite picture on the desk, the last one taken of her and her parents that last summer together. Jess looked over at her father’s reading glasses and smiled. She’d found them there ten years later after the murders and decided she wanted them to remain on his desk. For some odd reason, it gave her comfort and no longer upset her as it had the first time she’d returned to the beach home.

She thought back to her first visit to the beach home after the murders. The simple sight of her parents’ belongings only deepened the horror in her heart. Although going back to the beach unraveled past secrets that had been hidden for years, it also helped crack the existing case that sent her to the beach for safety. Trevor Marshall. The man who unbeknownst to her at the time; stalked her as a teenager. The same man she’d been tracking for the murder of three young girls. And then to discover that he’d been responsible for her parents’ deaths because they tried to protect her, finally gave her the closure she needed. Now Jess wanted to keep the good memories alive in her heart and love the beach home the way her mother had.

“Jess, are you okay?” Tom startled her from her thoughts. His tone touched her heart. The man she adored and loved more than life had always been her best friend.

“I don’t know. I just needed a few minutes to get my head straight.” She set her father’s glasses back on the desk. Tom placed his hands on Jess’s shoulders and she felt a loving squeeze. He moved his hands to the back of her neck and she sighed in delight with his touch. She remembered what Tom said about Nikki. “Do you think Nikki is behind this?”

“I called her office but they said she hadn’t shown up for work in two days. Her supervisor went to her place to check on her and she wasn’t there and neither was her car. He said he put out an APB on her and her car. They are worried too. He mentioned it wasn’t like her.”

“Did you try her cell phone?” Jess still figured she had something to do with it, but why she couldn’t get a grasp on.

“Just about to, but I wanted to check on you first.”

Jess motioned for him to go ahead.

Tom searched for the number Mike texted him and hit the Call button. He heard it ring three times before her voice message started. “No answer. Should I leave a message?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “Tom, call the number again.”

“Why?”

“Humor me.”

Jess watched Tom hit the button again. She reached down for the backpack on the floor beside her father’s desk. Lisa had been staying in the study; Jess knew it was her backpack. Jess unzipped the front pouch and pulled out a phone that was vibrating. She flipped the phone to show Tom the call display, ‘Tom Erickson.’

Jess looked at Tom in horror. “What the hell? Why does Lisa have Nikki’s cell?”

Jess set the phone on the desk and reached into the backpack. In one hand she held a vile and the other, a body spray. “Oh Shit! Tom she wants the baby!”

She moved quickly toward the staircase and called out Lisa’s name repeatedly.

Jess opened the door and saw the bassinet, empty, with no sign of Lisa or the baby. “No!” she cried out and dropped to the bed in horror.

Tiffany and Amanda ran into the room.

“Where’s Lisa?” Tom asked the girls.

“Isn’t she with the baby?” Tiffany looked confused.

Amanda spoke up, “She told us we should go to our room while the baby slept and you guys needed some time alone.”

“Where’s the baby, Tom?” Tiffany asked as she looked around the empty room and bassinet.

Jess began to tremble as the fear set in that her baby had been taken. Tiffany sat beside Jess as Tom frantically called out Lisa’s name, then said he and Amanda would search the house and the beach.

When he returned to their bedroom, Tom shook his head. “She’s nowhere in sight.”

Jess gasped with her hands over her mouth. Tiffany continued to hold Jess.

“I’ll call 9-1-1,” Tom told them. “Our midwife just kidnapped our newborn, Jess heard him say.”