felt her
pulse jump beneath his fingers, and he sighed in frustration. He'd wanted to be
present at the first meeting between them. He didn't know exactly why, but he
suspected there was an old, unsettled problem he should know about. Yet he was
uncertain about how to get the information from Jesse. She could be so damn hardheaded.
"And,"
she continued, gently pulling her wrist from his grasp, "I'll try to be
more careful. I promise."
King didn't know
whether she meant she'd be more careful about where she went barefoot, or more
careful around
Duncan
.
But it was too late to ask as Maggie's impatient voice hurried them both
inside.
King quickly
washed and changed into a fresh shirt, brushed most of the dust and grass from
his pant legs, and hurried to the table. He'd kept them waiting too long. It
didn't pay to pull this stunt with Maggie many times. She'd fed leftovers to
the barn cats more than once rather than put up with tardiness at the table.
He'd eaten dozens of baloney sandwiches because of it.
The food was
good, the cool comfort of the house a welcome relief, and the conversation was
casual and very ordinary. Yet King had never sat through a more uncomfortable
meal in his life. Maggie talked on and on about the weatherman's repeated daily
warnings of fire danger due to the extreme drought.
Duncan
alternated between charming Maggie
and looking at Jesse with an expression King felt almost obliged to punch off
his face. He reluctantly decided that would not be wise, and sat silently,
fuming over a situation he didn't understand.
Jesse blithely
refused to look at either Duncan or King. Instead, she talked too much about
absolutely nothing. King didn't know whether to shout or leave in disgust. The
decision was shelved as the shrill peal of the telephone startled the quartet
around the table.
"I'll get
it," Jesse offered, anxious to get away from the antagonistic atmosphere
hanging over the table. She scooted her chair back so quickly, King didn't even
have time to blink as she grabbed the wall phone by the kitchen cabinets.
King watched the
expression on her face change to one of disbelief and then terror. He debated
with himself for about half a second until he saw her chin quiver. That was
all it took. He rose from his chair with a violent move and grabbed the phone
from her hand.
"Who the
hell is this?" he asked. But the voice that answered him was not what he'd
expected.
He sighed as he
pulled Jesse gently into his arms, and absently rubbed his thumb against a tiny
mole behind her ear. The ill-concealed elation of Captain Shockey's voice and
the message he had for them were what they'd all been waiting for, yet at the
same time, fearing would come.
"Do you have
him in custody?" King asked, and then turned and frowned at Duncan as he
abruptly stood upright, knocking his chair over backward with a loud bang. He turned
away too soon and missed the look of pure panic that accompanied his uncle's
odd behavior.
"Okay,"
King said, after listening to Captain Shockey's request. "I want to
propose an alternate solution to this new turn of events. Since all you have at
this time are pictures, couldn't you send copies to the
Tulsa
police department so Jesse can view
them there? I don't think she's up to a trip back to
St. Louis
just yet."
King felt the
breath leave Jesse's body as she stood stiffly beneath his hands, waiting
anxiously for an answer to King's request.
"Great!"
King said. "That's even better. And Shockey," he said after a pause,
"thanks."
He hung up the
phone and turned to face his waiting audience.
"The
St. Louis
police, acting
on a tip from a store clerk, think there's a good possibility that their
suspect was caught on videotape as he entered and exited their store. They are
sending a copy of the tape here for Jesse to see. You don't have to go back to
St. Louis
, sweetheart.
You don't even have to go to
Tulsa
."
He felt her relaxing against him. "It's going to be okay."
"Well,
that's wonderful
pulse jump beneath his fingers, and he sighed in frustration. He'd wanted to be
present at the first meeting between them. He didn't know exactly why, but he
suspected there was an old, unsettled problem he should know about. Yet he was
uncertain about how to get the information from Jesse. She could be so damn hardheaded.
"And,"
she continued, gently pulling her wrist from his grasp, "I'll try to be
more careful. I promise."
King didn't know
whether she meant she'd be more careful about where she went barefoot, or more
careful around
Duncan
.
But it was too late to ask as Maggie's impatient voice hurried them both
inside.
King quickly
washed and changed into a fresh shirt, brushed most of the dust and grass from
his pant legs, and hurried to the table. He'd kept them waiting too long. It
didn't pay to pull this stunt with Maggie many times. She'd fed leftovers to
the barn cats more than once rather than put up with tardiness at the table.
He'd eaten dozens of baloney sandwiches because of it.
The food was
good, the cool comfort of the house a welcome relief, and the conversation was
casual and very ordinary. Yet King had never sat through a more uncomfortable
meal in his life. Maggie talked on and on about the weatherman's repeated daily
warnings of fire danger due to the extreme drought.
Duncan
alternated between charming Maggie
and looking at Jesse with an expression King felt almost obliged to punch off
his face. He reluctantly decided that would not be wise, and sat silently,
fuming over a situation he didn't understand.
Jesse blithely
refused to look at either Duncan or King. Instead, she talked too much about
absolutely nothing. King didn't know whether to shout or leave in disgust. The
decision was shelved as the shrill peal of the telephone startled the quartet
around the table.
"I'll get
it," Jesse offered, anxious to get away from the antagonistic atmosphere
hanging over the table. She scooted her chair back so quickly, King didn't even
have time to blink as she grabbed the wall phone by the kitchen cabinets.
King watched the
expression on her face change to one of disbelief and then terror. He debated
with himself for about half a second until he saw her chin quiver. That was
all it took. He rose from his chair with a violent move and grabbed the phone
from her hand.
"Who the
hell is this?" he asked. But the voice that answered him was not what he'd
expected.
He sighed as he
pulled Jesse gently into his arms, and absently rubbed his thumb against a tiny
mole behind her ear. The ill-concealed elation of Captain Shockey's voice and
the message he had for them were what they'd all been waiting for, yet at the
same time, fearing would come.
"Do you have
him in custody?" King asked, and then turned and frowned at Duncan as he
abruptly stood upright, knocking his chair over backward with a loud bang. He turned
away too soon and missed the look of pure panic that accompanied his uncle's
odd behavior.
"Okay,"
King said, after listening to Captain Shockey's request. "I want to
propose an alternate solution to this new turn of events. Since all you have at
this time are pictures, couldn't you send copies to the
Tulsa
police department so Jesse can view
them there? I don't think she's up to a trip back to
St. Louis
just yet."
King felt the
breath leave Jesse's body as she stood stiffly beneath his hands, waiting
anxiously for an answer to King's request.
"Great!"
King said. "That's even better. And Shockey," he said after a pause,
"thanks."
He hung up the
phone and turned to face his waiting audience.
"The
St. Louis
police, acting
on a tip from a store clerk, think there's a good possibility that their
suspect was caught on videotape as he entered and exited their store. They are
sending a copy of the tape here for Jesse to see. You don't have to go back to
St. Louis
, sweetheart.
You don't even have to go to
Tulsa
."
He felt her relaxing against him. "It's going to be okay."
"Well,
that's wonderful
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