Bait, page 7
Caisey didn’t move, or open her eyes. “I’m going on vacation.”
Jenna coughed. She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “To get abducted by a serial killer again?”
Caisey flinched.
“Please tell me that’s not what you’re doing.” Jenna hated that her voice was small. She sucked in a long breath and blew it out. Her friend had a dangerous job. She knew that, but it didn’t mean she didn’t worry Caisey would go too far one day and wind up with a worse injury than a limp she was trying to hide.
Caisey opened her eyes, dark and full of a pain she didn’t let anyone except Jenna see. Certainly no one she worked with.
“Where are you going?”
Caisey hesitated.
“You really think I’m going to tell anyone? How long have we been friends?”
“No I don’t think you would, but you still can’t say.”
“At least one person should know where you’re going.” Jenna voiced the foremost question in her mind. “Why can’t you tell Liam?”
Caisey shrugged again. “I’m gonna use the rest of my vacation time to head up to Dad’s old hunting cabin.”
“But that’s in the middle of nowhere.”
Caisey’s mouth curled up at one side. “I remember. That was a fun trip.”
“Borrowing your dad’s car to go hide out in the woods at sixteen, huddled in front of a fire drinking way too much soda so we were sugared up and wired from the caffeine, telling ghost stories all night until we were screaming that some crazy axe murderer was going to knock the door down and get us?” Jenna laughed. “Sure, it was super fun.”
“How come we never do that stuff anymore?”
“Oh I don’t know.” Jenna tapped her finger on her chin. “Maybe because I have a kid, we have a mortgage and we’re supposed to be adults?”
“Right.” Caisey sighed and her smile dropped. “I’ll probably be gone before you get home tonight.”
Jenna bit her lip. “Are you going to eat your burrito?”
“I’m not really hungry.”
Jenna stood up and held out a hand. Caisey didn’t go for too much frou-frou stuff, she was way too down to earth for that, but Jenna knew plenty about how to get a woman to feel better. “Come on. I’ll give you a trim. Give yourself some time to relax before you go.”
Caisey frowned, but she still took Jenna’s hand. The salon had two stylists currently on staff that were both occupied with clients, and a younger girl who worked part time sweeping floors when she wasn’t in class. As soon as she graduated, Jenna intended to hire her full time.
She settled the cape around Caisey’s shoulders, opting to spray her hair with water. She wasn’t going to push it and try to get her to shampoo. She would know that meant more than a little off the ends. Jenna got to work, neatening up the cut and adding some layers to the body of Caisey’s thick blonde hair.
Maybe she could get Caisey’s cut done before the two o’clock appointment arrived. Why did her mom have to show her face now? Maybe she wouldn’t even recognize Jenna. She’d never been in the spa before. Maybe she heard about it and decided to check it out. Get her hair colored. Was she still a redhead? It was hard to remember her aside from the last time; the day she found out Jenna was pregnant with Jake. She would never forget her mom, red faced and screaming like a banshee, telling her to get her stuff and get out of the house. According to her mom, the Cartwright’s were not a family who sinned. At least, not so that anyone could see.
Jenna’s dad had been at work so she’d been packed and gone before he got home. He’d called Caisey’s house later that night, but Jenna refused to talk with him. She hadn’t wanted a repeat of the conversation with her mother.
“Isn’t this place just darling?”
Jenna froze.
A redhead settled herself into the chair beside the one Caisey was in. A cape was swept over her shoulders and the stylist asked her what kind of cut she wanted.
Jenna walked around Caisey’s chair and separated the front of her hair, combing it through before she cut Caisey some bangs. The shorter hair fell against Caisey’s eyebrow.
“What did you—”
Jenna moved so Caisey could see herself in the mirror.
“Jenna that looks awesome.”
She caught her friend’s gaze in the mirror, held her friend’s eyes and then flicked them to the side. Caisey shifted in her chair. Her eyes darted to the mirror beside her and then her face shot back around, eyes wide. Jenna bit her lip and nodded.
Nancy Cartwright told the stylist she wanted honey highlights and a re-style into a sleek bob to accentuate her cheekbones. Caisey’s body jerked. She was laughing? Jenna’s eyes flicked to the woman whose body had nurtured her for nine months. If her cheekbones were any more accentuated she’d be able to cut paper with them.
Nancy Cartwright gasped. Jenna stepped back, half aware Caisey had ripped off the cape and stood. Not behind her, taking her back; Caisey moved so her right shoulder was in front of Jenna.
“Jennifer.”
The stylist glanced between them, probably wondering why Jenna looked about to revisit with her burrito. A glance in the mirror told her that her face was green. Her stomach jumped off the high dive and she felt like she was going into premature menopause. Was the air conditioning broken?
The room went quiet. Jenna swallowed, trying to get her lunch to go down. “Mother.”
“Wassup, Mrs. C.”
Jenna jabbed Caisey with her finger, but got ignored.
Her mother’s eyes flickered and took in Caisey. The corners of her mouth curled up in a sneer. “Caisey Lyons.”
“It’s FBI Special Agent Caisey Lyons, actually.”
Her mother made a noise in her throat like that wasn’t too impressive. “You always were a tomboy.”
Caisey turned her head back to Jenna. “You’re done with my hair, right?”
“Y-yes.” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes.”
Caisey turned back to Jenna’s mother and the stylist. “I’m sure…Tina here, does a fine job or Jenna wouldn’t have hired her, but Jenna really is the master.” She glanced at the mirror and grinned. “I mean look at me, she made me a girlie girl.”
Jenna nearly groaned. Caisey meant well, but sometimes her incessant need to defend everyone went over the line. She grabbed Caisey’s hand and yanked on it. “It was lovely to see you, Mother. But I’m afraid I don’t have time to chat. I have a spa to run.”
Her mother’s eyes gleamed. “Yes, we do what we must to get by.”
Like live large off your husband’s money? Spend all day getting your hair and nails done, mud wraps and facials and lunch with the girls at the country club? Then parading your family into church on a Sunday dressed to the nines just to make everyone else feel bad?
Caisey’s back went straight. “Yeah, especially when you get pregnant and your mom throws you out on the street and the baby’s father turns his back on you so you have nowhere else to go except to rely on the charity of people who would, in fact, like nothing more than to have someone they love become a permanent part of their family. To watch that baby be born—well, that wasn’t so much fun. It was kind of gross actually. But seeing that little life grow, and take his first steps, and snuggle up to you when he’s tired. Watching him go out and explore what it means to live in this world knowing at home there’s a family who loves him one hundred and fifty percent. No exceptions or reservations.”
Caisey sucked in a breath. “I’d ask if you know what I mean, but I know you don’t. All you understand is what it’s like to have a shallow existence and live every day knowing you have a daughter and grandson who have lived happy, blessed lives because they refuse to acknowledge you exist.”
Jenna gritted her teeth. “Case.”
“I did not come here to listen to this…abuse.” Nancy Cartwright stood up on her four inch heels and ripped off the salon cape. “This is unconscionable. You can bet I will be telling the ladies at the club never to come here.”
“Fine.”
“Case—” Jenna’s voice was a warning. Both of them stood still while Nancy teetered to the hall and disappeared.
Jenna put her hand on her hip. “Did you have to do that?”
“You wanted her to say that stuff to you? Make you feel small, like you’re still governed by her opinion?”
“No, but you could have at least waited until after she handed over her credit card before you did your big, “you’re missing their lives” speech.” Jenna sighed. “Her money’s as green as yours.”
Caisey’s eyes were apologetic, but she smiled. “I thought I got best friend’s discount or something.”
Jenna shoved Caisey’s shoulder. “Get out of here. I have to fix all this with the other customers you treated to your show.”
Caisey took a step back, ready to leave. “See you soon.”
Their earlier conversation came back to her. Jenna rushed over and gave her a tight hug. “If I don’t see you before you leave, be careful.”
When she pulled back, Caisey looked at the mirror again. “You didn’t do a horrible job of it.”
Chapter 10
CAISEY STOPPED AT the door to Gram’s living room later that afternoon. The TV was tuned to a decades old British show that featured a group of old men who spent episodes walking around their country village and getting up to mischief. They reminded Caisey of how precocious Jake had been at grade school age. Grams sat in her armchair, her chin dipped as she snored lightly. The air in here was warmer than the rest of the house, since Grams ran her floor heater all day.
Caisey saw the open Bible on the coffee table, but didn’t look to see what verse of Luke Grams had highlighted. Instead she eased down onto the couch, trying to be as quiet as possible. There was something about being here that made what constricted her chest ease. It felt more like home than her bedroom, probably because it wasn’t just her in here. Living in an apartment alone in Utah had been torture, when here she had the richness of annoying, in-your-face family.
She toed off her brown boots—the ones with the orange design stitched on the sides—stretched out and closed her eyes. Why had Jenna been so ticked that Caisey stood up for her, anyway?
She got that customers were important. The spa kept Jake in winter coats and jeans that didn’t show his ankles. Jenna’s salary paid the utilities too, while Caisey took care of the mortgage. It was a good system, but her mom was in the running for Worst Mom of All Time, so what was the big deal about one sale? Caisey sighed and squirmed deeper into the ancient couch. At least they were good now. Jenna never would have hugged her if they weren’t.
She should tell Liam her travel plans, but it could turn out to be just a vacation where she provided support for the team. There was only a slim chance the killer would make his move in Buckshot when he could be anywhere by now and may not have even taken the missing girl anyway. But if he had and he did come for her, Caisey was going to take care of this in a way that meant no one else got hurt—especially not Grams, or Jenna or Jake, Liam or Andrea.
She could still feel the thud of a man’s fist hit the bones of her face, her ribs. There was no way she would let anyone hurt her family. She wouldn’t fail. She couldn’t. It was enough that Jenna knew where she was going.
Caisey’s eyes flicked open, pulling her mind from the depths of the impromptu nap. Grams stood over her. She set a full mug down on the coffee table and sat. “All right, ducky?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”
Grams stared at her. “Maybe because you were stabbed in the leg two weeks ago?”
Caisey swallowed. “I’m trying not to take anything for it.”
“It’s not a wonder. Your dad never liked painkillers either and I’ve never liked them.”
“Guess it’s genetic.”
Grams made a non-committal sound. “Wouldn’t be the only thing.”
Caisey waited.
“Your father was stubborn right down to the marrow in his bones. Never let anything go. Never let anyone get away if he thought there was more to be done.”
“I know that.”
“You also know what it did to him to see a case go the wrong way. To see someone hurt when he should have protected them. A handful of the people he arrested wound up walking free. Your dad would come in here, fuming, pace the room and when he settled he’d lift you out of your crib in the corner and sleep on that couch with you on his chest.”
Caisey squeezed her eyes shut.
“After he got you back from your mom he’d always check on you when he got home. He’d come in with that look, like he’d seen something he needed to erase from his mind. Didn’t matter what time it was, he would kiss your cheek and touch his hand to the side of your neck to feel your pulse under his fingertips.”
Caisey’s chest felt like an elephant had taken up residence there, pushing her heart to her throat and tears to her eyes. “But he—” Her voice broke.
“It as good as killed him, what they did to you.”
She clenched her teeth. “I know.” Too little, too late. “He said he was sorry, but it didn’t erase what happened.”
“He failed you. He didn’t protect you.”
A tear slipped down Caisey’s cheek. “You have to forgive him.”
“I have.”
“Because he took Jenna in when she needed a family? There was no way he was going to say no to you given the state you were in. If Jake’s big wide eyes were staring up at you, rimmed in bruises and asking you for the impossible, are you telling me you wouldn’t do anything and everything you could to get it for him?”
Caisey swiped her cheeks, stood and grabbed her boots. “I have something to take care of, I should be back in a few days.”
Grams studied her face. “You are driven by your need to not fail to protect this family. I can see it in your eyes, because I saw the same thing in your father.”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”
Grams pressed her lips together. “All things in moderation.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Caisey crossed the room and kissed Grams on the cheek. “I’m sorry. I am trying.”
Grams started to chuckle.
“What?”
“I said the same thing to your grandfather.” She touched Caisey’s cheek. “No one is expecting miracles. But answer me one thing?”
Caisey nodded.
“If your dad’s job as an agent meant you got hurt, why would you decide to do the same thing? Aren’t you worried something could happen to me, or Jake, or Jenna because you’re an FBI agent?”
“I won’t let it.”
“You can’t control what happens, Caisey. It isn’t up to you.”
She straightened and took a step back, her boots swinging in her grasp and looked at the empty cup on the table beside Grams. “Maybe not, but I’m going to do everything in my power to level the playing field. I became an agent because it’s what I was born to do. Dad might have failed once, but every other day of my life until the day he died he was right there one hundred percent. I forget sometimes, when the memories try and suck me under. I’m glad you reminded me. He always did the right thing and that’s what I’m going to do, too.”
She’d known it already, on some level, but saying it out loud clarified it in a way that was inescapable. “Goodnight, Grams.”
“I love you, dear.”
“I know you do.”
**
Caisey was loading the backpack stuffed with extra shirts and jeans in the back of her car, wondering if she needed to bring extra blankets when her phone rang.
“Lyons.”
“Going somewhere without me?”
“Conners.” She sighed and glanced up and down the dark street looking for his car. Liam was parked two houses down, smoke pumping from his exhaust. He flicked his lights on. “You know you’re supposed to shut the engine off when you’re on a stakeout.”
“It’s cold out here.”
His engine revved and he parked blocking her drive.
“Smooth.”
He walked over with a grin on his face, tucking his phone back in his pocket. “Andrea seems to think so.” His eyes narrowed. “So where’re you going?”
“My dad’s old hunting cabin.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Then you’re not going to like this, either. It’s in Buckshot.”
Liam actually growled. She must be rubbing off on him.
“You don’t have to like it, but I’d rather you supported me since I’m going to do this either way.”
He shook his head. “Charming.”
“What?” Caisey lifted her chin. “If you want me to beg you to agree with me, or not do anything until you approve of it, you picked the wrong partner.”
“You think I picked you?”
“I’m just saying.”
Liam folded his arms too and stood toe to toe with her. “I’ll just follow you.”
“You could.”
“It just so happens I already have a bag packed in my trunk. I’m supposed to head to Buckshot today with the team and I could stand to get a head start. Maybe I’ll confirm it’s not our guy and they won’t need to make the trip.”
Caisey pushed out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine, you can come. I guess.”
**
Jenna set her coffee down and lifted the ringing phone, her finger hovering over the answer button. She knew the number well, but hadn’t dialed it in years or seen it on her display. She used to sit on the carpet floor of his office with her toy ponies while he made calls. When she got older they went out once a month to dinner, just the two of them.
“You gonna answer that?”
She jerked so hard she dropped the phone. Jake swiped it up and looked at the screen, so Jenna made a grab for it. “Give me that.”
He didn’t. “Who was calling?”
“No one.”
“Seriously?” Jake unlocked it and pressed buttons, probably going to her call history. “You’d never let me get away with that.”
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