JESSICA
I think I might be losing it. It almost seems like everytime I look at Luke he is watching me. Not in a bad way. Like with longing. But nothing like Sydney. He doesn’t seem to just want to keep me locked away. I have been wrong before, but that doesn’t mean that Luke is like that. For one he protected me. He has been for the last month. Not that we don’t know that Sydney knows exactly where I am. He has shown up at the gate a few times, demanding that I come out. I don’t even get how he found me.
Justin is petting Reeko out in the yard, but it seems like he is looking at his collar. “Hey, Jess, where did you get this collar?”
“I didn’t. Sydney bought it. It was the only thing that he bought me that I actually liked.” I was actually really surprised when he gave it to me. I thought he hated Reeko. It’s really nice leather with his name burned in the leather.
Justin looks confused. But he pulls off Reeko’s collar. “What are you doing?”
He flips it over so he can look at the inside. “When did he buy this?”
“A while ago, a couple of years ago.”
“Did he ever ask for it back?”
I think back, only because it seems important to Justin. Honestly I can’t think of why he would need it. Then I remember a time when Sydney did ask for it back. “Yes, once, he said that he thought it was looking a little worn and he wanted to make sure that it would last. So he wanted to take it to a shop that works with leather.”
Justin smiles. “I think we just found our smoking gun.”
I look at him confused. “What?”
He brings the collar to me. He shows me an indent in the leather. Or rather a part of the leather that bubbles out. “You see this part here. Touch it.”
I do, figuring that it would have air in and probably mush, but it doesn’t, It’s hard. Like something is inside it. “What is that?”
“I think it is a tracker. I think he had it put in the dog’s collar because he knew you would never leave without your dog. You would most likely leave everything else behind, because it was all monetary. But your dog is like your best friend. He knew that and he made sure that if you ever left that he had a way to find you. I don’t know the range of it or anything, but I would bet my entire fortune that this is how he keeps finding you.”
I feel like crying. The one thing I didn’t ditch. I should have gotten Reeko a new collar, but I didn’t even think that it would have anything. I could have been gone a long time ago. Realization suddenly hits me. I wouldn’t have met Luke and his family if I did. Maybe this all happened for a reason. “We should call William and Luke. Let them know what you found.”
Justin nods. “I don’t want to just take it to them, because then he might know that we found it. I think it would be best if that guy doesn’t know that we know his secret. At least for now. Let him think he still holds all the cards.”
I nod in agreement.
Justin called his brothers and they arrived with a couple of other detectives. One holding a computer in tow. William takes a knife and cuts the leather around the object in the collar.
It looks so small and simple. This little thing was the ruin of me. This made it so that I would never be free. William shows it to the detective with the computer. He nods. “That’s a tracker all right. It doesn’t record sound or anything like that. But with the right set up he could be able to find her within a thirty mile radius.”
I shiver. “That is why sometimes it took him longer to find me than others.”
Luke puts his arm around me. “Now we know. He won’t be able to do this again. Your next steps are entirely up to you.”
I lean into Luke. Suddenly I don’t want to leave his side. I have the choice but I don’t want to make the one that is going to put distance between us. “What do we need to do to put him behind bars?”
Another cop steps forward. “We have looked into all of his activity, it appears that he keeps it all pretty close to the belt. But he has slipped up a few times. It appears that when he finds you, he loses a bit of control and acts erratically. We can use this device to think that you are somewhere that you aren’t. But we have to plan it out perfectly. We don’t want him to think it’s a trap. Then hopefully he will make chase. If that happens we can pin him down. We are still gathering evidence, so this may take a little longer.”
William pats him on the back. “Kyle, Dex and I are working on it. I know it can’t feel very good to be cooped up here all the time. You probably feel like a prisoner. I promise that he will get far worse when we are done with him.”
All I can do is nod. I feel so stupid. The answer was right in front of my face this whole time. I mean the only thing that was constant was Reeko. “Is it possible that he could have put a microchip or something in Reeko when he was kenneled?”
William thinks for a moment. “I don’t think so. But we can check. Mostly those are only checked at vets and things, so he wouldn’t be able to put a tracker like this in him. If that was possible people would be clambering for them. They lose animals all the time. But we can have him checked and make sure for you. But hopefully after this it won’t matter.”
I look up at Luke. “I think I need a minute.”
He nods. “Take all the time you need.”
When his arm slips away I feel a loss. I shouldn’t. We haven’t known each other all that long, but we do spend a great deal of time together. It’s like we have been on a month-long date at this point. We do things together, watching movies, walking in the back garden. He only leaves to check on his bar, but other than that he is here with me. I think it is clear at this point that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Although I was worried at first, at this point he wouldn’t have time for one.
I am walking down the hall to my room, or rather the guest room because I don’t actually live here, I run into Jasmine. “Are you alright? You look stressed.” She is so sweet. She has looked after me just like a sister would. Not that I have a sister to compare but if I did have a sister I imagine that she would act just like Jasmine.
“I feel so stupid. The thing that Sydney has been tracking this whole time was right under my nose and I missed it. I just hate to think there is something else that I am missing.”
Jasmine loops her arm through mine. “I will tell you this, no one is perfect. Sometimes things happen and there isn’t anything that you could have done differently. Obviously he put it somewhere that he knew you wouldn’t suspect. From what I gather he is a smart enough man not to get caught. Smart men, do smart things. You are not an idiot for not seeing it. But you are someone who thought they were in love. That makes people a little blind sometimes. It’s not a bad thing to open up your heart. You were smart enough to realize that it wasn’t a good kind of love and get out. That is what is important.”
I nod. “I know you’re right, but part of me wonders if this is my life. Am I doomed to be an idiot for life? Will I keep making the same mistakes for the rest of my life?”
Jasmine smiles. “I doubt it. I mean Luke isn’t anything like Sydney.”
I blink. “What?”
“Oh, was it supposed to be a secret that you were crushing on my brother?”
I can’t believe the blush that is spreading on my face. “Does everyone know?”
Jasmine giggles. “No, my brother is completely oblivious. Actually I think they all are, but you didn’t hear that from me. I am pretty sure that my mom knows. Isabelle hasn’t really been around to notice. So pretty much just me and my mom.”
“I don’t really know what to do. I mean I feel for Luke, but I am scared that I am making a mistake. Or rushing things.”
“Then don’t tell him. Give yourself time to get your head on straight. Make sure you know what you are doing before you do anything that will hurt either of you. Right now, I am thinking of a rom-com and chocolate. Let the hard decisions wait.”
“Are you suggesting a girl’s night?”
“I am. I have to leave here for this thing, but as soon as I get back you and I have a date. Don’t stand me up, it will make me cry.”
I can’t help but laugh. Jasmine is a character. “Tonight I am yours.”
“Awesome. I always wanted to date a hot chick. Megan always turns me down.”
I laugh even harder. She laughs too. “You are too much.”
“But I made you laugh.” She smiles. “Chin up, it’s all downhill from here.”
“I’ll trust your judgment.”
“That’s ’cause I’m awesome. Don’t you forget it.”
She waves to me as she leaves. No one knows what it is that she does all day, but she treats it like a job, whatever it is. I really hope that after all of this I can keep Jasmine as a friend. She is someone that I have come to like very much. I don’t think she is someone that I would ever want to lose touch with.