Seth Harper would have done a better job at splicing the two images together, but she hadn’t found Harper yet. The guy she jokingly called her summer intern had vanished from her life without a word. Thinking about him made her sad. She sure missed her baby-faced computer genius, someone she had believed was her friend.
“But…what about my grandbaby?” the woman whined, her face knotted in a strange pout.
Jess had used Junior as bait for an old girlfriend or someone from Eddie’s family. The gamble had paid off in spades. Even though she hated coming between a mother and her pride and joy, after meeting Momma Smart, she figured they deserved one another.
That nut hadn’t fallen far enough from the tree.
Cursed by a name he could never live up to, Eddie Smart was dumber than a heaping pile of pea gravel. And taking him out of the gene pool, in any meaningful way, was too much to hope for. Men like Eddie always found a way to breed.
His original arrest had been in connection with an alleged assault of an old girlfriend. After taking his fists to that little snippet of a girl, Eddie didn’t like his odds with the court system, so he’d skipped. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be incarcerated long enough to do the world any good. As a Fugitive Recovery Agent, she’d seen this drama played out far too often.
“Lady, just knowing Eddie could unleash his progeny on the world scares the hell out of me. But after meeting you? Well, it explains a lot.”
The woman narrowed her eyes and pooched her thick lips, but she was done asking questions. She left the woman on the curb, still scratching her head over what had happened. Her boy walked slump shouldered down the sidewalk with his hands cuffed behind his back. She had her ride parked on the street, down the block.
Jess had figured right. It appeared Momma Smart harbored regrets about Eddie being the only legacy for her efforts as a reproducing human being. She craved a second chance to redeem herself with a brand-spanking-new grandbaby, fresh off the line.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen—at least not anytime soon.
And Jess breathed a sigh of relief, empowered by the knowledge she’d saved a woman or two from the shock of waking up next to Eddie Smart, a man who single-handedly put the ugly back in coyote. She’d done her part for the sisterhood and earned some cash to boot.
After she’d secured Eddie Smart into the back of the blue monster—an old Econoline van Seth Harper had loaned her three months ago after her car had been blown up—she ditched the pregnancy contraption in the front seat and climbed behind the wheel. She called in her arrest to the bail bondsman on the job, but when she was done, her cell phone rang. Caller ID pegged the incoming call as coming from her best friend, Samantha Cooper, a cop with CPD Vice.
“Yo, girlie. What the hell ya doin’?” She grinned, grateful for the reminder that humanity wasn’t wholly defined by the Smarts.
“Hey, Jessie. I know you’ve been looking for Seth.” Her friend got down to business, minus her usual smart- ass banter. Not a good sign.
Getting a call from a cop regarding a missing friend sent chills over her skin, a wave of needle pricks that cut deep. Seth’s sweet face flashed through her mind, a contradiction to the way her gut twisted under the grip of a dark premonition.
“Is he…is he still breathing, Sam?” It pained her to ask, but waiting for
“Yeah, he’s still with us, but he’s in a lot of trouble.” Sam gave her location, Pullman Station. “I’ll explain when you get here. Where do you want to meet?”
“Booking works. I’ve got an arrest to drop off. I’m heading in.” Before her friend hung up, she asked, “Sam, I gotta speak to Harper. Can you arrange it?”
“Already done. And Jess?” Sam’s voice grew more somber. “You’re gonna want to clear your plate. He’ll need your undivided attention. They’re booking Seth for murder.”
Cook County Jail
Chicago
Jess couldn’t claim to know Seth Harper well, but she’d be willing to bet big bucks that murder wasn’t part of his playbook.
After she’d gotten the skinny on Harper from Sam, Jessie went to see him in lockup at the Cook County Jail, allowing her friend to report for her shift. She walked down a long hallway with dingy ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights overhead, escorted by a cop on jailer duty. Her steps echoed down the corridor, a lonely sound that she’d always associated with institutions. While she was being raised a ward of the state, she’d seen plenty.
Bland cinder-block walls were painted the color of oatmeal. And a few signs on rules of conduct were posted, screwed into the wall as if someone would steal them even here. The holding-cell area carried a smell—a mix of ammonia, glass cleaner, and an underlying odor she didn’t want identified.
When her escort got to the end of the hall, he unlocked a door with a keycard and gave her instructions that went in one ear and out the other. Her eyes had found Seth Harper sitting behind a wall of Plexiglas at one of the five visitor stations. After the door slammed shut, they had the room to themselves.
Under the stark lights, Seth looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. Jessie hadn’t seen him in three months. And until now, she hadn’t realized how much the boy had taken root in her world, like a damned tenacious weed. He had severed their tie, and it hurt to know he had done it so easily.
Letting people into her life had never been easy.
From her earliest childhood memories, her best friend Sam Cooper had always been part of her, like a vital deep-seated bone marrow. And recently, Payton Archer had gotten under her skin, too, even though their paths had crossed in the blink of an eye. They still talked on the phone, but distance had taken its toll. He lived in Alaska, having chosen to stay and help his family mend, a choice she respected. Months ago, the abduction of his niece had given them common ground, but for them to move forward in a real relationship, they’d need more. She’d come to that conclusion far sooner than Payton. He still called from time to time, refusing to give up the ghost. And she missed him terribly.
Some people left marks, good and bad. But anyone who’d gotten under her skin had come away with a piece of her. And Harper had been no exception.
“So…it took handcuffs to get you to look me up?” She turned the chair around and straddled it, resting her chin on the heel of a hand.
“I didn’t exactly look you up, Jess.” He shrugged and avoided her eyes. “Sam did.”
“Thanks for reminding me you never lifted a finger. A woman doesn’t like hearing she’s been dropped from a guy’s speed dial, Harper. You didn’t give me much of a chance. I grow on people.”
“So do tumors.” He slouched deeper into his chair with arms crossed, fading behind smudged Plexiglas. His voice sounded tinny through the speaker, and it echoed in the room.
She’d seen Seth Harper in a diverse array of garments, from his signature jeans and Jerry Springer wear to slick upscale slacks and shirt suitable for a five-star hotel in downtown Chicago, the last residence she’d seen him. But in his red prison jumpsuit, he looked washed-out and sad. Warm puppy eyes had grown distant and lifeless. Jess didn’t think she had a maternal bone in her body, but seeing Harper like this made her think twice about that prospect. She wanted to hug him and tell him it would be all right, but she wouldn’t lie to a friend.
“You gonna tell me what happened?” When he didn’t answer, she pressed, “Look, Harper, I’m not seeing a long line of acquaintances outside, clamoring to help. And unless you’ve got one of those Get Out of Jail game cards they sell on the streets of Hollywood, I suggest you think long and hard about answering me. Your options are limited.”
When he resisted her considerable powers of persuasion, she made her point a different way.
“At the risk of stating the obvious, you’re not like the guys you’ll meet in prison, Harper.”
“Thanks for the visual.” He sat up and leaned forward. “You’re not exactly helping.”
“Then give me something. I thought we trusted each other.”
“Trust isn’t your strong suit, Jess. Who are you kidding? But I respect your privacy. Why can’t you do the same for me?” he pleaded.
