Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 23

Jack cracked his neck. "Look. You know I'm looking for Marisa, but some other people are, too. Could be only two guys, but I'm thinking maybe three or four."

"What do I do if I notice a group like that?"

"Call me. I have some free time on my hands." Jack sarcastically rolled his eyes.

He inhaled as Kendra moved her hands up his sides. He was used to her flirting, but he could tell this was something different. Her hands went back to his hips when he saw the color rise in her cheeks.

"Well, I was thinking, if we're not working together...and if you're not hot with her..." Kendra raised an eyebrow as she pulled him a little closer. He could tell she was a little bolder after a couple of drinks.

Great.

"Kendra, right now-"

"Don't tell me tonight. I'm still holding out hope you stay on the force."

Jack looked up and exhaled. "Me too."

He glanced back at the table where Replacement was still talking animatedly with Tina.

That's not good.

Kendra pulled Jack's chin around. He shrugged. "I gotta go check on her."

"Tina's with her."

"She could be upset about the email."

And I'm amazed she didn't go ballistic over me dancing with you.

Jack headed back for the table with Kendra in tow.

"Why would Alice get upset about the email?" Kendra asked.

She sent it. I can't tell her that either.

When Replacement looked up, her face said it all-she knew.

"That stupid email I sent, that's why you're suspended?" Replacement put her hands on the table and looked up at Kendra.

"You sent it?" Kendra put her hand on her hip.

"I was pretending to be Jack. I sent the email. Can I tell someone? Collins? They shouldn't...I'm so sorry." Replacement's lip trembled.

"Don't you start worrying." Jack put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll figure it out, kid."

Kendra looked at him to see Jack shake his head once.

Jack flagged down the waitress. "Two cheese pizzas. One for the table, one to go, please."

"Are we leaving?" Replacement asked.

Jack nodded. He was tempted to get another drink, but he had to get back to the apartment to see Kiku.

Tina sniffed. "Alice was just telling me about all you have done for her, and I just want to say...you're the nicest man."

Jack shook his head. "I'm not, really."

"Why don't you just tell Collins?" Kendra whispered.

Jack's hands went out as he glanced at Replacement. "What? I can't say she wrote the email."

The three women started to speak at once. All of them offered their opinions of what he should do. Jack held up his hands.

"Hold up. Let me explain something. I can't say anything. If I do, I jack up Alice and..."

Tina exhaled as she put her hand on her chest. "I understand. You'd never do that to your girlfriend."

Jack's eyebrows went up, but Kendra's went down.

"Girlfriend?" Kendra asked.

Tina nodded while Jack shook his head. Kendra glared at him.

He mouthed, "we're not."

Kendra shot him an "I sort of believe you look."

He leaned toward her. "Just do me a favor, don't say anything about that stupid email. Keep a lookout for those guys. I've got to go."

The waitress came over and put one pizza down before she handed a pizza box to Jack. Jack gave the box to Replacement.

He took out a handful of cash, pa.s.sed it to the waitress and then turned to Tina. "Nice meeting you."

"See ya." Kendra gave him a sideways sulk as he headed for the exit.

"What was all that with Kendra?" Replacement asked as they walked out the door, headed for the car.

"I don't get you." Jack put the pizza box in the trunk. "You're driving." He tossed her the keys.

"What did I do now?"

"I thought you were going to stop messing with my head."

"I'm not." Replacement started the car, but when she put it in reverse, she gave it too much gas, which made it hop back before she jammed on the brake.

"Well then, you're messing with my life. Don't tell people we're together," Jack cautioned her.

"Kendra? You go dance with a girl right in front of me and think I won't say anything? Kendra was all over you, and I could have made a huge scene or planted a little mine. So I planted a little mine and told Tina we're a thing."

"We're not. You said stop." He shook his head. "h.e.l.l, we never started."

Replacement gripped the steering wheel as she sat up straighter. "Stop doesn't mean end. I have my business going, but I still need to get established."

"Whatever. Seriously. No more showers. No bathroom. No bed. No kissing. No flirting."

"I don't flirt."

"You always do." Jack glared. Replacement scrunched up her lips and looked at the ceiling. "No anything."

"Fine." She wrinkled up her nose. "Okay. Stopped. That means you, too."

"Me?"

"You kissed me in the shower." She dipped her head down toward her chest.

"You got in and started was.h.i.+ng me. Come on."

"If I was a nurse would you kiss me?"

"If you were a hot-looking nurse who got in the shower with me and started was.h.i.+ng me with the water running all over your...yeah. Yeah, I would. I'd do a lot more than just kiss you."

"You thought I looked hot?"

"No...you're in my s.h.i.+rt, and it's all wet and clinging to your...and the water's on. You put your head back, and then you leaned in a little. Stop, just stop."

"It's your fault. You always get naked."

"What the h.e.l.l does that mean? In the shower, I get naked-that's right. What do you expect me to do, wear a scuba suit? Anyway, how's that my fault?"

"Well, don't ask me to come in when you're naked." She cut the wheel too hard, which made Jack grab the dashboard.

"Ask you? I don't ask you to come in. You just do it."

"Whatever." She jammed the gas down so Jack was pushed back into the seat.

Yeah. Whatever.

"Let's just get back to the apartment and wait for Kiku," Jack grumbled.

Replacement stared straight ahead.

Jack took his phones out. There were no messages on either one.

d.a.m.n.

Miss Manners Jack paced the floor in his apartment as he looked again at the clock: 2:15 a.m.

What's keeping her?

He stopped, dropped to the floor, and started doing push-ups. Replacement was typing away at the computer.

"Can you look up a translation for Orsacchiotto?" Jack asked from the floor.

"Orsa-what?"

"Orsacchiotto. It's Italian. Marisa called Paolo that."

Replacement typed, clicked, and started to read. A moment later, her shoulders slumped. "It means teddy bear."

Jack got up, walked over to his jacket, and took out the photo again. He handed it to Replacement.

"The guy in the middle. His name's Paolo."

"He looks like a teddy bear," she remarked.

Jack remembered the old man's eyes. "More like a Grizzly. That guy's scary."

He walked back, dropped to the floor, and started doing sit-ups.

"This Arber de Lorme is a sc.u.mbag." Replacement thrust one hand toward the monitor.

"I thought you said he was a supermodel."

"He's a rich, supermodel, sc.u.mbag. The translation on these pages isn't the best, but look." Replacement opened a few different windows on the computer. "He went to three different universities in France, but I think he was booted out of them. His father is loaded. That's where he gets his money. He has a huge s.h.i.+pping business in Europe."

"Why do you think he got kicked out of the universities?"

"I found him at two different schools he doesn't list on his biography."

"Maybe he switched schools."

Replacement shook her head. "Two of the schools were right around Paris. I did a search and found him listed on a French site called Girl Beware. Girls post about guys they think other girls should watch out for. The site got closed down, but you should read the posts about him."

"If the site was closed down, how can you still see the posts?" Jack hopped up.

"Nothing is ever removed once it goes on the Web. Nothing." She clicked a few b.u.t.tons and a page appeared. "There are plenty of sites that capture the data but the Internet Archive is the best. It's all about a free and open Internet. It allows anyone to upload and download anything digital to its data cl.u.s.ter, but the bulk of the data gets collected automatically by Web crawlers. The bots work to preserve as much of the public Web as possible. It's got a Web archive, the Wayback Machine, that has over one hundred fifty billion Web captures. Here it is."

Jack viewed the screen.

"Like I said, the translation sucks but the bottom line is a few girls accused him of getting them drunk and having S&M s.e.x: tying them down, that kind of stuff."

Jack read over the accounts. "That's not s.e.x. It's rape. Nothing happened to him?"

"Not there, but he left the schools. He posted to his Facebook when he switched. Then something did happen."

She clicked and a French newspaper article appeared. There was a picture of a huge house with crime scene tape across it.

"At a party at his father's summer house, a girl drowned in the pool. She was only seventeen. It was eventually ruled an accidental drowning. I guess the girl's family kept pus.h.i.+ng the police to reopen the case. They said he got off because he was rich. That was five years ago, and that's when he came to America."