Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 28

"One second." She made it to the bathroom and closed the door before he got there.

"Are you kidding me? I've been calling you for over an hour." He tried to turn the handle, but she'd locked the door.

"Sorry, I shut my phone off," she yelled before he heard the water turn on.

Jack straightened up and sniffed.

Gasoline.

The odor was strong and distinct. He reached on top of the doorframe to push down the little rod to unlock the door. His hand shook in anger as he jiggled the lock until it opened. Replacement shrieked as the door swung open. She stood in the shower, fully dressed, with the water soaking her clothes.

"I'm in the shower," she pleaded.

"With your clothes on." Jack stomped in and slammed the door shut.

"I'm going to take them off, so you have to leave."

"Where were you?" Jack's body shook.

"We...Kiku and I...we had to do stuff."

"Stuff? Stuff? I just heard a 10-70 over the scanner at 18 Winston."

Replacement's shoulders slumped. "Is a 10-70 a car fire?"

"Yes. Yes it is. And since you wouldn't know a radio code if it bit you on your a.s.s...did you torch that car?"

She lowered her head sheepishly.

"That's arson. Do you realize that?"

"I didn't do it." She held her hands up and waved them back and forth.

"Kiku set the car on fire? d.a.m.n IT, d.a.m.n IT!" Jack pounded the sink; everything on it jumped. His hands balled into fists as he pressed them against his forehead. "You drove my car. My Impala. You drove my car to go...commit arson."

"I didn't know that she was going to do that." Replacement looked down and rubbed her hands together. "At first we headed over to Arber's. She said she was going to pay him a visit, but he wasn't home so we headed over to his mother's house."

"Why did you go there? Do you realize how big of a mistake that was?"

"It would have been worse if I didn't go." Replacement stuck her chin out.

"Worse? How could it POSSIBLY be worse if you DIDN'T go?" Jack threw his hands up.

"Because if I wasn't there, Kiku would have put Tina IN the car and THEN lit it on fire."

d.a.m.n it.

Jack shook his head in frustration. Her lip started to tremble.

"Don't cry. Please don't." Jack's hands went out.

Replacement's hand smacked into her wet jeans as she burst into tears.

"Stop. Stop." Jack pulled the curtain back and then shut the water off.

She grabbed him and pulled him close. Her wet clothes instantly clung to his. She buried her face in his chest as he rubbed her back. After a couple minutes, he leaned back and lifted her chin. "You okay?"

She nodded.

"You should get out of those clothes."

"I will. You have to get out first."

Jack shook his head.

"Please don't tease me." She pouted.

Jack let go of her as he walked to the door. "Why did you jump in the shower with your clothes on?"

"I got gas all over them. I didn't know what to do. I was afraid to just leave them on the floor."

"They're not gonna burst into flames." Jack exhaled. "Where's Kiku?"

Replacement shook her head. "She said she needed to go back to her hotel room."

As Jack walked out, he shut the door and then stormed into the kitchen to grab his phone. He stared blankly down at it before he stomped back to the bathroom. As he reached for the handle, he hesitated. He knocked on the door.

"Stay out," she answered.

"I know. Do you have Kiku's number?"

"It's in my phone."

"Where's your phone?"

"Kitchen counter."

Jack thundered back into the kitchen to search her address book for Kiku's number. The phone rang once before she picked up.

"How mad was he?" Kiku answered.

"WAS?" Jack growled. "I'm beyond mad."

"I am sorry, Officer."

"You made her an arsonist."

"Accomplice. She just drove."

"Not funny, not funny at all," Jack snarled.

"I respect you, Officer, but you are not my keeper."

"Listen, we're looking for Marisa. Until then, don't kill anyone."

Jack shut the phone off and tossed it on the counter.

Watch your back Jack paced the floor while Replacement sat at the computer. Every few minutes, the police scanner would click on; Jack would stop and listen. Afterward, he'd resume his pacing. He checked both phones again before he set them down on the counter. "Nothing," he said with disappointment, and then opened the cabinets.

Where the h.e.l.l is that bottle of vodka?

"Have you heard from Kiku?" Replacement called out over her shoulder.

Jack looked at the stove: 9:45 p.m.

"No."

"What're you looking for?" she asked as he started to close each cabinet a little harder every time.

"The vodka Kiku brought by. I want a Kamikaze."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Jack let the cabinet close with a thump.

"I need your head in the game. You drank last night. No."

"You don't get to dictate if I drink or not."

Replacement swung around in the chair. "What if something happens and we need to go out? Do you want to be one hundred percent or sloppy?"

Jack glared at her.

"d.a.m.n. Fine. Where is it?" he persisted.

Replacement turned to the computer. "I drank it."

Jack laughed. "Shut up. There was more than half a bottle. You'd be-"

The police scanner kicked on. "Car 17. Code 13 at the Imperial."

"10-4," a man's voice responded.

Jack walked over to the scanner while Replacement looked up.

"What's that in English?" she asked.

"Suspicious activity at the Imperial Motor Lodge. I think it was Tom Kempy."

Jack walked over to his phone, but before he could pick it up, it started to ring.

"Jack?" Kendra asked as he answered.

"What's up?"

"Are you anywhere near the Imperial? Just got a 911 from a guy who saw an Asian woman being chased by three big guys. He described all three as looking Italian."

"On my way." He grabbed the police scanner.

Replacement was already moving for the door. Jack snagged his jacket as he flew down the hallway, out the door, and over to the Impala. Replacement leapt in, and the tires squealed as he sped away from the curb.

"The Imperial is on the west side of town. If I head around downtown and cut by the graveyard...six minutes."

"Do you think it's Kiku?"

"Has to be. I should have had her stay."

The light was red but Jack hit the gas and whizzed through it. The roads Jack selected were deserted, but they also had some sharp curves. The Impala could fly, although she tended to slide into the corners, so Jack frantically worked the gas and brakes as he barreled forward. He hit redial and waited.

"Jack?" Kendra picked up. "Tom's driving around but he saw nothing. They're ghosts."

"He get any description of the car? Direction?"

"No."

If they're at the Imperial, downtown is east, Hillside Downs is west, and the highway's south.

He turned the Impala toward the graveyard as he sped up. The Old Meeting House graveyard was over two hundred years old and consisted of small hills cut into terraces. The small, single-car road twisted through the middle of it while the Impala now shrieked as Jack struggled to keep it on the pavement.

"There." Replacement pointed to the right. Jack saw the sweep of headlights briefly gleam behind one of the small hills.

He'd driven through the cemetery on a hundred patrols, scaring off teenagers who used the solitude of the graveyard to hide from prying adult eyes. He gritted his teeth as the wheels slid next to the edge of the road, skimming a ten-foot drop-off. Replacement clung to the ceiling handle, and he could see the color drain from her cheeks.

As he rounded the corner, he saw a large sedan come the other way. He slammed both feet down on the brakes. The Impala growled in protest as it tried to grip the pavement. The other car did the same. He heard Replacement gasp as she pulled herself up and braced for impact, but the Impala's nose dipped so low the front b.u.mper sc.r.a.ped the ground; sparks flew. Jack gripped the wheel with both hands, and the car finally stopped.

As the car settled back, bouncing off the shock absorbers, Jack looked into the terrified faces of the two men in the car in front of him. He saw Fat Man driving, and Big Nose in the pa.s.senger's seat.

The Mancinis are in town.

"Move over to the driver's seat," Jack said quickly. "If anything happens, get the h.e.l.l out of here."

Replacement looked at him, her face still pale, but he knew-there was no way she'd leave without him.

He opened his door at the same time the back door of the sedan opened. The cars were stopped at a dip between two hills, and Jack noticed there was less than six inches between them.

I cut that a little close.

Paolo stepped out of the rear door and closed it behind him. The big fat guy driving let the car slowly roll back as Paolo walked forward. The car stopped after ten feet, but no one else got out.