Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 39

"That's what I was coming to tell you before you pigheadedly stormed off and we ran into that guy." Jennifer stood up. "They found a car on Woodlawn. A jogger called it in. When the fire department got there, they found a body in the back."

"The county ME isn't there yet?" Jack asked.

Jennifer shook her head. "He was at some family thing upstate. He's on his way back, and they taped off the car."

"I bet that's the guy Paolo shot." Jack looked at Kiku.

She nodded, walked over, and picked up her jacket.

"Wait a minute." Replacement looked for her coat.

"You need to stay." Jack slightly raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not staying." Jennifer limped over for her coat. "I'm not going to be used as an excuse for babysitting."

"You're the one who needs a babysitter, you clueless-" Replacement snapped.

"Knock it off." Jack held up his hand. "I need to check this out. Your ankle is in no shape to go right now. Ice it because I'm going to need you." Jack walked over to Replacement's bag and rummaged inside.

When he pulled out the GPS device and slipped it into his pocket, Replacement's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything.

Good girl.

"We'll be back within an hour."

Jack looked at Kiku, and she gave a sharp nod. He walked out the door and headed for the parking lot.

"Transportation?" Kiku looked at the parking lot that was now lacking the Impala.

Jack stopped.

"I don't want to drive around in my car right now, but we need to get to Woodlawn, which is over toward Big Blue, and then to Hometown Suites near the police station."

Kiku nodded over to the garage across the street. "Come on."

I can't believe I'm doing this.

Kiku walked at a casual pace beside him. "The cars on the left should be the ones they finished working on but haven't been picked up yet. You stay on the pa.s.senger side and talk naturally. Give me a minute." She smiled.

"I know how to steal a car."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I learned. I figured if I knew, it would help me catch car thieves."

"If it makes you feel better, Officer, I plan to bring it back."

"Great. Now I feel just fine."

Kiku walked past two cars and over to the third. Jack's mouth fell open when she opened the door in a flash, slipped in, leaned over, and started the car.

He blinked quickly, yanked his door open, and jumped in.

"How did you do that so fast? That was..." His voice trailed off when he saw the keys dangling out of the ignition.

"When they work on the cars, sometimes people pay by credit card and the mechanics just leave the key under the seat so the guy can come get the car after hours." She grinned broadly. "You tend to over-complicate things, Officer."

"And here I thought you were some master car thief."

"I am." She pulled out and Jack pointed to the left.

"Woodlawn is east. It's also heading out of town. I'll have Replacement check if there were any cars stolen out there."

Kiku clicked her tongue. "You think they only had the one car?"

Jack nodded.

Kiku adjusted the rearview mirror. "They ditched the car with the fatally wounded man and stole another."

"It's what I'd do."

"If you were that kind of man." Kiku smiled. "You are a dangerous man, Officer. It would be a scary thing if you were not caged in by your principles."

"Letting something out of a cage sometimes isn't the best idea." Jack pulled out the burner and dialed Replacement. "Hey, kid. Can you check for a stolen car for me while that thing is running? Great. Check if anything was reported out near Woodlawn and call me? Thanks."

"You keep her at a safe distance." Kiku checked her mirrors as she sped up.

"What?"

"Calling her kid. Having her stay with Jennifer."

"I want her to be safe."

"She doesn't want that."

Jack leaned against the door. "Really?"

Kiku nodded. "She likes the danger. Did you see her face during the shootout? She had a hard time keeping her head down. I like that."

"I'm not keeping her at a distance. Just safe."

"If you build a cage, it won't keep her."

Jack opened and closed his mouth. He was about to argue the point when he saw Woodlawn Avenue approaching quickly up ahead. He pointed to the left, and his phone rang.

"Hey. Did you find out anything?" He looked out the window.

"No cars reported stolen today at all. I'm running the report on the cars from the tollbooth, too. Where are you?"

"Pulling onto Woodlawn. I'll call back. Thanks."

Kiku tipped her head up, but Jack already saw the cruiser on the side of the road.

"Pull up behind it." Jack pointed.

Kiku put her hazards on and stopped behind the cruiser.

"This time I'm not asking. Stay in the car." He grabbed a flashlight from the glove compartment and hopped out.

"As you wish, Officer."

As Jack approached the cruiser, Tom Kempy walked around the police car. "Hey, Jack. Great to see you-"

"Hi, Tom. Looks like you're babysitting until the ME arrives."

"Jack, Sheriff Collins gave me one order. One direct order." Tom swallowed.

"I just need a quick look." Jack held up his hand with his index finger and thumb close together.

Tom shook his head. "I can't, Jack. Did you hear about Donald and Kendra?"

"We'll be one second. Just look the other way." Jack smiled and hurried around Tom and the cruiser.

The car was a four-door sedan parked at an angle just off the road. It was now just a sh.e.l.l after being completely engulfed by fire. The trees nearby were blackened from the flames.

Jack pulled back the tarp draped over the car. He flipped on the flashlight and shone it on the corpse in the backseat.

The fire must have been intense. All the clothes had been seared off the body, and it was hard to see where the corpse left off and the remains of the backseat started. He tried to breathe as little as possible as he viewed the remains. He looked at the man's shoulder and the broken teeth in his mouth.

As Jack focused the light on the man's chest, a golden twinkle flashed. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the small blob of gold.

Jewelry. It melted.

He aimed the light above the glob of gold and it gleamed off a two-inch piece of white ivory shaped like a curled horn. Jack held the light on the man's chest and slowly nodded.

"Italian," he muttered.

Flicking off the light, he pulled the tarp down and walked back.

Tom Kempy shuffled over to him with his hands in his pockets. "Sorry about everything." He cleared his throat. "If you need anything, just ask."

"Thanks, Tom." Jack patted his shoulder as he pa.s.sed by. "I appreciate it."

"See you around, Jack." Tom nodded and waved.

Kiku looked up as Jack jumped in. He didn't say anything as he started the car and turned it around. As the flashing lights from the cruiser faded in the distance, Jack turned to her.

"It must be the guy Paolo shot. It looks like the shot almost took off his shoulder. Someone smashed his teeth out. They wanted to delay identification."

"Could you determine anything else?"

Jack nodded. "The body was in really bad shape, but he was Italian."

Kiku's lip pouted and one eyebrow went up. "I saw the car. With a fire that hot, even you couldn't tell if he was Italian."

"He was wearing an Italian horn. It was gold plated. The gold melted, but the ivory didn't."

Her eyes widened, and he knew she understood. "A cornicello." The corners of her mouth turned up.

"The guy's not Swedish."

Jack stopped at the main road and continued on.

"The way back to town is south. North is Big Blue. It's a huge hiking mountain with a single ski run. There are plenty of houses and cabins all over it. They could have taken her anywhere around here but it has to be close."

"How can you be sure?"

"Paolo ran into the kidnappers. I think it was by chance, and Replacement may have been right."

"About what?" Kiku interrupted.

Jack exhaled. "The Italian restaurant."

"You think they went and got something to eat?" Kiku scoffed.

"We're not dealing with soldiers. I don't know why they went into town, but Paolo ran into someone he recognized and got into a shootout. He hit the guy with that cannon and the kidnappers took off. When people are scared, they run in a direction they know. They ran this way."

"The man dies and they burned the car. So you think they're probably not far from here?" Kiku asked.

"I don't think they would ditch their ride if they still had a long way to go."

"There are lots of places to hide around here. Lots of cabins." She frowned.

"That's the problem. Too many. But we won't have to check them all out. We're going to Hometown Suites."

"Can you clue me in on the why?"

He held up the GPS device.

"I need to plant this. We'll stick to the back roads. We'll be-"

"Stop," Kiku shouted, and Jack hit the brakes as his headlights reflected off the eyes of a deer on the side of the road.

Kiku opened the door and jumped out.

"What the h.e.l.l? Kiku?" He threw the car in park and walked over to her.

There was a bright moon, and Kiku stood with one hand on a tree and looked down into a small clearing.