Page 53 of Wired Justice

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jake pulledthe Jeep out of the breakfast restaurant’s parking lot and out onto the busy thoroughfare leading through Hilo. Sophie had eaten a good breakfast. Her color and energy were better.

Jake felt victorious. His chest gave an almost painful twinge every time he thought of why they were late getting on the road. Happiness this extreme was hard to take.

He had made her feel better. He had brought her out of that coldness. She had turned to him, initiated making love. He couldn’t think about it much or his skin would burst with exhilaration.

Was this what being in love was like? He’d thought he’d experienced love before, but he’d never felt anything like this.

Jake stole a glance at Sophie, and she met his eyes. A little smile played around her mouth. “What?”

Anything he said would only reveal what a sap he was, and it might even scare her off. “Nothing.”

“What is going on between you and Antigua?”

Jake frowned. “I told you. We broke it off.”

“Why?”

“She wanted more. I didn’t. The usual.”

“The usual. Aha.” Sophie rubbed her cheekbone where the scar was. “Then you’re okay with our arrangement being more of that ‘usual’?”

Just like that, she crushed him.

Jake opened and closed his hands on the steering wheel and lightened his voice with an effort. “Sure. Partners with benefits. Thought we were clear on that already.”

“Good. Just making sure there are no misunderstandings.” Sophie’s hand dropped to his thigh. She massaged the thick muscle there. “Because I have every intention of making use of those benefits. Often, in fact.”

His body was not averse to this idea even if his emotions were out of control. Jake forced a laugh, removed her hand. “You’re distracting me. I don’t even know where we’re going. I have to pull over and program the GPS.”

Jake navigated to the side of the road and fumbled with his phone.

There was a buzzing in his ears. The exhilaration of a moment ago felt like a heart attack as pain shortened his breath and stabbed his chest. Was this how Antigua had felt when she broke up with him? If so, holy shit, ow!

Tank thrust his head forward from the back seat and nudged Jake’s elbow, as if sensing his distress.

Regroup, retrench, re-strategize. Never give up. You can win her, Jake, but not head on. You have to accept where she put you; she doesn’t feel safe having feelings for anyone right now. You understand that. It has to be okay. You’re strong enough to do this. Don’t lose sight of the goal.

Sophie was his mission. He knew how to do missions.

“Tell me about this witness.” Her voice was cool and businesslike, and that helped.

Jake cleared his throat. “Don’t know much. Bix gave me the name, address, and phone of a female contact, Shirley Mandig, who claims to have seen our victim after she disappeared from the park.”

“So you told Bix that this was likely before they abandoned Julie in the forest area?”

“I did. Bix seems to think it was after, by the timing the witness described—it was dark, the night of the day they took her. The witness was unclear on when that was, exactly.”

“I wonder how she recognized Julie Weathersby.”

“Bix confirmed that the Weathersbys have hired a firm that specializes in PR campaigns for missing people. They’ve plastered the area with posters of Julie. They’ve got a lot of social media going.” Jake shook his head. “What a thing to find a market niche for.”

Sophie shrugged. “As long as it helps. All of these kinds of things take time, resources, and manpower. I’m glad they don’t expect us to do all that, too.”

They wended through downtown Hilo towards the suburbs at the back. The houses became small ranch style dwellings, many of them with fenced yards and opulent displays of orchids, ferns, and other tropical growth. The warm humidity of Hilo lent itself to supersized plants and shades of green everywhere.

Shirley Mandig’s home was typical of the area. Set off of a small, residential side road, the dwelling was a plantation style cube with a lanai in the front, thick with potted orchids. They parked in the driveway, settled the dogs with cracked windows and water, and walked up three wooden stairs to the front porch. A small yappy dog announced their arrival from inside the house.

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