Page 47 of Justice for Aleta

“Yeah. I’ll let you know when I know more. Until then, keep me informed if there’s anything I should know. I may be down here, but I’m still attached to this investigation.”

“Sure thing. And thanks, Cruz. I appreciate it. Good luck extracting her.”

“Thanks. I think we’re going to need it.”

Jack laid his phone on the washer’s lid and stood there for a minute. Things were getting more and more convoluted as time went by, and he was worried. While they knew where the Stone girl was, it didn’t seem anyone had a workable plan for getting her out of Ortiz’s grasp. If they could do that, they could deflect attention from Aleta, and maybe he could get her out of town and somewhere safe until Moss was apprehended.

Her voice brought him back from his thoughts. “You okay?”

“Yeah. That was Cruz. They found the Stone girl, but they don’t know how they’re going to get her away from Ortiz.”

“That’s bad.” She opened the dryer door, felt around in the clothes, closed it again, turned the knob, and pressed the button. “I’m sure they’ll come up with something. What are we going to do for the rest of the day?”

He shrugged. “Finish this laundry, I guess, and then I have no idea.” The words were barely out before the doorbell rang. “Stay here.”

When he got to the door, he opened it to find Amos and Matt standing there. “Hey, little brother!” Amos said and barged in right past Jack.

“What the?”

“UK’s playing today, or had you forgotten?” Matt asked, grinning.

“Oh, shit! Yeah, I totally forgot. My mind’s kinda been elsewhere,” Jack said, thinking back to all the phone calls he’d gotten over the last week.

Amos was busy loading beer into the refrigerator. “Yeah, and she’s enough to keep you busy too, right?”

“Who’s enough to keep who busy?” Aleta asked as she entered the kitchen from the laundry room.

“Uh, hi,” Amos stuttered.

“Hi to you too. I suppose you were talking about me?” she asked, her smirk barely visible.

Amos blushed. “Um, yeah. You’re keeping him busy, right?”

“Ask your brother what kind of shot I am,” she announced.

“Damn good one,” Jack called from the living room.

Amos’s cheeks were flushed. “That’s good.” By the time he got back to the living room with a beer apiece for Jack, Matt, and himself, his face was blood red.

Jack was laughing. “Whatsa matter, big brother? Open your mouth and stick your foot in it? You do realize she’s living here, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I just forgot, I guess.” He turned to look at Aleta standing there in the kitchen, smirking. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

“Coming to watch the game with us?” Jack called to her.

“Nah. I’m going to the bedroom.” She disappeared, and Jack felt bad. She was stuck there, and as much as he appreciated what Amos and Matt were doing, it would’ve been nice if they could do something she would enjoy.

Five minutes into the first half, Jack excused himself to go to the bathroom, but that wasn’t really what he had in mind. Aleta was propped up in the bed when he opened the door, reading a book of some kind. “Hey, babe, what’s up?”

“I’m just reading this. It’s not very interesting, but it’s something to read.” She held up the book:Luther’s Manual of Handguns and Long Guns.

“Yeah. It’s mine and I couldn’t make it through the thing. I’m sorry there’s nothing else for you to read around here. But I’ve got a tablet over there, and you can order some ebooks and read if you want. I don’t mind.” Jack grabbed it from its resting place on his nightstand and handed it to her. “You’ll have to download the right app, but then you can read anything you want.”

She looked up at him from under her brows. “You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. Pick out some books that you think you’ll like and knock yourself out. And just remember,” he said, patting her foot before he turned to go into the master bath, “you’re still welcome in the living room.”

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