Текст книги "Favor for a Friend"

Автор книги: Kate Kane

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Chapter 9

Confession is good for the soul

Ben hadn't told Lane the reason he needed to go to the station was that the man they'd arrested was his brother. His youngest brother, Paolo Raffaelle Bellini was in med school at Saint Louis University and Ben stood outside the interrogation room wondering how the hell Pauli was mixed up in all of this.

Ben didn't know what was going on, but he was sure that Pauli wasn't involved in a drug ring. Pauli had better not be involved; their mother would kill both of them. First Pauli for being involved then Ben both for letting Pauli get involved and for getting Pauli caught. If he didn't handle this right, they'd both need a lawyer before morning.

He opened the door and avoiding Pauli's eyes he nodded to Detective Boyer. "I'd like a word with my client, alone." He waited for the detective to leave the room, then turned his chair so that his back was to the camera in the corner of the room and told Pauli to do the same. Then, calmly in Italian, he began talking to his brother.

"So, tell me what you were doing at the warehouse Pauli. They're going to charge you with possession and intent to distribute. There was enough meth in that building to put you away for a very long time."

Pauli rubbed his hands over his face and began in English "Ben, it's not what you think."

"Parla Italiano!" Ben snapped as he slapped his right hand hard into his left. He knew that conversations between lawyer and client weren't supposed to be recorded or eavesdropped upon, but he knew the chances of whoever might be listening understanding a conversation in Italian would be small.

"Me lo dica che cosa è successo." Ben said.

Pauli started again this time in Italian. "It's not what you think. There was a girl."

Ben nodded. Of course, there was always a girl.

"She came into the clinic earlier today with her uncle. We talked. She didn't want to give me her number, but she took mine. She called me tonight and asked me to meet her. She said she was in trouble and needed my help. When she gave me that address in the warehouse district, I knew it wasn't a safe place for her to be, and I had to go." He sighed loudly. "She was a really pretty blonde, Benito."

Ben shook his head. Nonna had told all of her grandsons "Pretty is as pretty does." Pauli hadn't figured out what that meant yet. To him, pretty was just pretty, and if she'd given him a lady in distress story, Pauli would have done anything she asked.

Pauli was as tall as Ben and there was a strong family resemblance. Since Pauli was five and carried their four-year-old neighbor Hannah Stevens home after she fell off her tricycle, Pauli had been attracted to beautiful women in distress like a compass pointed true north, unwaveringly.

"I had her text the address to me. When I got there, the door was open and I went inside. The next thing I knew I was on the ground, my hands in a zip tie and my rights were being read to me." He shook his head. "That's the truth, Benito. I've told the police, but I don't think they believe me. But you believe me, don't you?"

In English, Ben said, "Yes, I believe you." But, he knew his brother and Detective Boyer didn't.

Then in Italian, he asked where Pauli's cell phone was. Pauli replied he'd left it in his car. Ben needed to find out if the police had impounded the car or if it was still parked on the street by the warehouse. He rapped on the door.

Detective Boyer came into the room. Ben asked, "Are you charging my client?"

"Not yet, but we are holding him while we check his story. We need that cell phone, Bellini."

"Yeah, I know. Have you impounded his car or did you leave it on the street to be stolen or stripped?"

"It's where he left it. I can give you his keys. But, if you recover that phone, we need to see it. You know I can get a warrant for his phone records, but having the phone would be faster." They walked back to the desk and retrieved Pauli's personal effects. Boyer handed over the keys and Ben called Tanner who was still staking out the warehouse.

"I've got the kid's keys. You got eyes on his Beemer?"

"Yeah, the idiot parked it in front of the warehouse. The kid's not involved in this is he?"

Ben walked toward the door. "No, he got suckered in by some chick. Do you have that app on your phone that Lane used to open the Donaldson kid's truck? Pauli's cell phone is in it and the phone will corroborate his story. The sooner we get it to the cops the better." Tanner had the app and they used it to open the car. Tanner got the cell phone and scrolled through the calls and text messages.

"Yep, there's a text message with the warehouse address and a call just before that. Want me to bring the phone to you?"

"I'll get a cab and come to you. The police abandoned the surveillance after they grabbed Pauli. I don't want to take a chance that the real drug lord comes while no one's watching."

Ben called for a cab. He checked the time, eleven o’clock. He wondered if Lane had left the hospital yet. He decided to take a chance and call her while he waited.

"Ben. You must have ESP." It was weird, but he often called when she was thinking about him. "I'm just leaving the hospital and realized I don't know where the Navigator is parked."

"Hey, Red. You know I'm always at your disposal." He gave her the information on where he’d parked the SUV. "Did you get a chance to talk to Jeff? Did he tell you how he happened to end up in Saint Louis?"

"Yes, it seems he was kidnapped by and I quote here, a really hot blonde."

Those were almost Pauli's exact words. While the world was full of hot blondes. Ben would bet it was the same girl.  "Listen, I know it's late but I really need to talk with you tonight. I can meet you at the hotel in an hour. Will you wait up for me?"

"Sure, since we're in adjoining rooms, you know where to find me." Lane clicked the remote access to unlock the SUV. "I'm at the SUV now, I'll see you later."

Chapter 10

A tale of two guys and a girl

It was almost three hours before Ben was able to get to the hotel. He opened the door between his room and Lane's and wasn't surprised to find that the door on her side was already open. She was sitting in bed and had was reading her e-reader, but looked up when she heard the lock on his side click.

"You're a little later than you expected. Did you run into trouble along the way?" She patted the bed indicating a spot for him to sit.

"Not trouble exactly." He sat next to her, leaned over, and gently brushed his lips against hers.

"I have a little story to tell you. It's a tale of a couple of twenty something hormone charged guys being duped by a really hot blonde." He reached over and took her hand in his.

"The police staked out the warehouse and arrested a guy when he entered the door. The guy was my youngest brother Pauli." He paused giving Lane time to let that tidbit soak in.

"Pauli's in med school at Saint Louis University. He was in a clinic earlier today, well yesterday now, when, and I quote here, a really hot blonde came in with her uncle. Apparently, through some flirting, he gave her his number. She called him tonight, said she was in trouble, and needed his help. Then she texted him the address for the warehouse. When he showed up, there was no blonde in sight and the police grabbed him. When you told me Jeff said a really hot blonde had kidnapped him, it seemed unlikely that there was another girl. I retrieved Pauli's phone and gave it to the police. That's where I've been."

"So, they used the phone to what, track the girl? Did they find her?"

He gave her hand a squeeze and turned to look at her.  "They sure did. Turns out her uncle was more a sugar daddy drug lord than he was a relative. I don't mean to be a sexist, but apparently, she really is a dumb blonde. Good thing she wasn't smart enough to use a burner phone to call Pauli. They tracked her location and found her and her sugar daddy "In flagrante delicto." Legally speaking, in the act of doing something illegal, not colloquially in the sexual act. They were loading up an SUV with what appeared to be all clothes and drugs they could carry."

"Was it the drugs from the warehouse?"

"No, those haven't been picked up yet. Apparently, meth from the same batch and cook has a unique signature and once the forensics team is finished, they'll prove the drugs they were loading came from the same cook as the ones in the warehouse. Not only that, but the drug lord should have chosen his girlfriend better. I understand she's singing like a canary. She has already admitted to kidnapping Jeff because her boyfriend thought Jeff might have seen something at the meth house. She lured Pauli in so they could see if the police had the warehouse staked out. She's hoping to make a deal, but she'd already confessed to kidnapping Jeff before she lawyered up. At least Pauli changed from being a suspect to being a material witness, so the police released him. Mama would have killed me if he'd been arrested."

"So, where's Pauli now? Did he go home?"

"No, he's in my shower washing off the police station smell. I'm not letting that kid out of my sight yet. He already picked the girl out of a line-up. I'm sure they'll want Jeff to confirm too. They'll either do a photo line-up for him or have him go to the station tomorrow if he's out of the hospital. Of course, if she is able to cut a deal, maybe neither Pauli nor Jeff will have to do anything else."

"Yo, Ben have you got something I can put on?" Lane looked up to see the back of a naked Pauli Bellini standing in the middle of Ben's room with a towel over his head. Lane reached up and covered her eyes with her right hand.

"Pauli. Cover yourself, we aren't alone."

Pauli moved the towel from his head, wrapped it around his waist, and turned around. "What do you mean we aren't alone?" He looked up to see his brother in the adjoining room sitting on a bed next to a really hot red head. He needed to take lessons from his brother. How had Ben found a woman, so hot, so fast? How long had he been in the shower anyway?

Ben looked at Lane. "Lane, may I present my brother Paolo Raffaelle Bellini. Pauli, this is my friend Lane Parker.

Lane held out her hand thinking washboard abs and dark curly chest hair must run in the Bellini family. Pauli approached the bed.

"That's Dr. Bellini." He said as he flashed a smile not unlike the one she called Ben's perfect smile. He shook her hand. "I apologize for my appearance. Ms. Parker."

Lane smiled. "Think nothing of it Dr. Bellini; I've often met doctors not wearing much more myself. I must say it's nice to finally have the tables turned."

Ben laughed. "Let me get some clothes for you." He said as he got up and urged his brother to follow him.

"Ben, I've got two queen sized beds in here, and you've just got that king do you want to trade rooms?"

The truth was what he really wanted was to share her bed and leave Pauli alone. But, he was sure that even if they had been sleeping together that she wouldn't have shared his bed under the circumstances. He pulled some clothes from his suitcase, shoved them toward his brother, and motioned him toward the bathroom. He turned back to Lane's room. She'd gotten out of bed and stood there in a nightshirt that barely covered her ass. He covered the distance in three strides, pulled her to him, and kissed her. She had her arms around him in a nano-second and her hands in his hair a heartbeat later.

Which is how Pauli found them when he emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of Ben's sweats as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. He heard Lane moan. He'd never had a woman moan just from kissing him. He really did need to take lessons from his older brother. Ben was the oldest of five children, four boys and a girl in the middle. The brothers had grown up knowing that Ben drew beautiful women like flowers drew honeybees. Pauli had never witnessed his brother in action though. While he felt like he was intruding, he couldn't look away, nor did he want to make any noise to disturb them but he turned away and cleared his throat.

He heard Ben whisper hoarsely "Don't you have a robe or something? You can't parade around in front of Pauli like that."

Lane laughed. "The hell I can't, he paraded around in less." She said as she walked past Pauli into the room with the bigger bed, pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed.

"We can trade rooms back in the morning so I can shower and get dressed." As he turned around, he heard her say, "Turn off the lights, and close the door on your way out, will you Dr. Bellini?"

Chapter 11

All's well that ends well

Lane woke the next morning to sounds of someone quietly rummaging through luggage. There was no light coming through the curtains as she turned to see Ben bent over his suitcase no doubt grabbing workout clothes.

She threw a pillow at his backside and whispered, "What are you doing? It's o-dark-thirty." She ducked and laughed as the pillow came back at her. She had thrown another pillow before she heard a voice booming not so happily from the other room.

"What's going on? Lane are you okay?"

Uh-oh, the boxer clad behind that she'd been having a pillow fight with was Pauli. She turned on the bedside lamp and looked up to find Ben standing in the doorway looking very unhappily at his brother who held a pillow in his hand.

He pointed to Pauli.  "You, get the sweats and get out." He pointed to Lane as he approached the bed. "And, you, stop flirting with my brother."

She smiled. "In my defense, counselor all I saw was a tall dark handsome muscular man wearing nothing but boxers bending over your suitcase. Naturally, I thought it was you."

He was at the bed in a flash. "And if I'd been two minutes later, would you have invited him into bed with you?" He said as he sat on the edge of the bed and turned off the bedside lamp.

"You know better than that, counselor." She laughed.

Pauli grabbed the sweats and turned to leave "I'm going to need someone's room key to get into the gym and back into the rooms. Lane leaned around Ben who was holding her in his arms. "Use mine; it's on the dresser in there."

As Pauli walked toward the room where he'd spent the night he heard his brother call out to him, "Close the door on your way out, will you Dr. Bellini?"

Pauli closed the door. Definitely, he needed to get his brother to give him lessons. He heard the family talk about Ben's friend Lane Parker. As he recalled, his grandparents had met her when they were in Kansas City during the Christmas holidays a few months earlier. He remembered Nonno saying something about a "bella donna dai capelli rossi", a beautiful red haired woman. Guess he knew now what or whom his grandfather was talking about and Pauli had to agree, she was certainly a beautiful red haired woman. Ben had introduced her as his friend but it sure didn't look to him like they were just friends. Friends with benefits maybe. Yep, lessons, he needed lessons.

Ben kissed Lane and nudged her over so he could join her in the bed. He lay next to her holding her in his arms kissing her, being kissed, when a ringing coming from the other room disrupted them. Lane groaned, "That's my phone. I need to get it." She reluctantly pulled away and got up. She looked at the clock next to the bed; it was 7:45. She hoped Pauli wasn't naked in the next room as she opened the door. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table it wasn't a number she recognized. "Hello?"

"Lane, it's Maggie. I hope I didn't wake you. I'm in Chicago and have some time between planes. I just wanted to check on Jeff. Any update?" Lane looked at Ben and mouthed Maggie.

Ben rolled onto his back and plumped the pillows behind him as he watched Lane. She had answered the phone and was walking back toward him as she talked. She was gorgeous even with no make-up and with bed hair and she had the most amazing legs. Five months ago, he'd introduced Lane to his grandparents who were visiting from Italy. When Ben had told them that he and Lane were just friends, his grandfather had said "Just friends, ha! You'd be a fool to let that beautiful red haired woman get away." Nonno was a smart man. Ben didn’t intend to let her get away.

"No, you didn't wake me. He's doing fine. I imagine he'll be released today, maybe tomorrow. I'm going to let Jeff tell you the whole story. He's looking forward to having you here. You know how boys are, all macho, but when they're hurt or sick, they like to have their mommies there." She laughed. “I'll be waiting for you when you get in. Did you check luggage? Call me when you land and I'll be sure I'm at the curb when you get out. I don't know if Ben will be with me or not. He's had some business come up here in Saint Louis." She laughed again, "Sure, I'll tell him."

She clicked off, and looked at Ben. "Maggie says she can't thank you enough for your help." She climbed back into bed. "She thinks that Jeff would have died if you, Liz, Blake, and Tanner hadn't gotten involved." She snuggled into him and put her head on his shoulder. "It's a pretty scary thought. Do you think they'd have killed Jeff after they moved their drugs?" He ran his fingers through her hair and bent to kiss the top of her head.

"I hate to speculate what they'd have done.”  He kissed her and whispered, “As much as I wish we could stay in bed, Pauli is going to be back soon. You need to get up and be showered before he gets back. He's seen as much of your nearly naked body as I have and I don't want him see any more.”

Lane laughed as she got up. "Okay, I'll grab my things and get into the shower. You guard the door, won't you? I promise I won't come out until I'm decent."

Ben sat on the bed he'd slept in and turned on the TV. He surfed though the channels looking for local news wondering if there would be anything about the drug bust. He suspected that they might be withholding the information to allow the sheriff in Nebraska to bust the meth house.

He heard the door open and heard Pauli pause before he entered the room "I'm back. Is everyone decent?"

"You idiot, come in. Lane's in the shower in here. Go into the other room, get your shower, and get dressed. I've laid out my clothes on the bed; you're welcome to anything else in the suitcase. What time do you need to be at the hospital today?"

"I'm not on duty until tonight. Are you and Lane heading back to KC today or are you going to wait until her friend's son is released?"

Ben followed Pauli into the other room and closed first Lane's door and then his adjoining door.  "I imagine it will depend on what the doctors have to say about Jeff's condition today. You could come to the hospital with us have a look and tell us what you think. You might like to meet Jeff anyway. Since you seem to have the same taste in women."

Lane always did some of her best thinking in the shower. She was washing her hair, thinking about how things had changed in the last 24 hours. Yesterday morning, she certainly didn't think that she'd be lying in bed kissing Ben this morning. They'd run into one of his ex-girl-friends at his father's restaurant, Bellini's, about six months ago. Her name was Liza. Lane guessed her to be in her early 30's. She was a beautiful woman who was about five feet six inches tall, had long brown hair and big brown eyes. She was a former KC Chiefs cheerleader who was now a Psychologist. Ben had smiled, introduced Lane as his "friend" and told Liza it was nice to see her again as he put his hand in the small of Lane's back and guided her into the private dining are called The Board Room where the family ate. Lane thought at the time, that Liza would have fallen back into Ben's arms in a heartbeat if only he'd given her the slightest sign that he was interested. After they sat, she'd asked Ben about Liza. He said they'd dated for a while a couple of years ago. She asked him that night why he'd never been married. He said he couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life with any of the women he'd dated.

She dressed as she mused. She knew Ben had dated a number of women, and she knew him to be monogamous. Serially monogamous is how she'd say it. She on the other hand, hadn't dated much. When the kids were younger, she hadn't dated because she didn't want to take a chance of messing up their lives any more than the divorce had done already. Of course, that hadn't been her idea. And, even though it took years of therapy to convince her, it hadn't been her fault either. Her husband, Phillip had discovered, or come to grips with the fact that he was gay. Either way, it really had nothing to do with her. It was all about Phillip. Just as Gus’s infidelity was all about Gus, not about her. But, the two experiences still made her, perhaps less than trusting where men were concerned.

Still, she'd moved three years ago and she'd met Ben they had become friends. And, even though neither of them called the time they spent together dating, they did spend every Saturday night together. They talked together on the phone several times a week. When either of them was out of town during their Saturday night, they'd get together as soon as everyone was back. That was, unless it was on Ben's Friday night date night. As far as Lane knew, in all of the time she'd known him he had never had a free Friday night until three nights ago. So now what, she wondered.

She wondered if Pauli had returned and if the guys were dressed and ready to go. She wondered if she should pack or if they'd be staying another night. She was supposed to be back at work on Wednesday, so no matter what she'd have to head back to KC Tuesday. Lane knocked on the door between their rooms.

Pauli opened the door. "Ben's in the shower. You can come in if you're not worried about being accused of flirting with me."

She laughed. "I'll just sit over there in that chair and read. That should be safe."

She walked toward the chair as Pauli sat on the sofa. Who knows what possessed her, she picked up the throw pillow from the chair and threw it at him. They both laughed, but he left the pillow next to him where it had fallen. Ben came out of the bathroom completely dressed.

"I was thinking we could grab some breakfast before you need to meet Maggie at the airport.” He walked to Lane and bent to kiss her but paused to whisper in her ear "I could get used to waking up this way, you know." Then he brushed his lips across hers.

He looked at Pauli. "Wasn't that pillow in the chair earlier?"

Both Lane and Pauli looked at him with all the innocence they could muster. "I think it might have been." Pauli said.

Lane looked at the Bellini men. "Maggie gets in at 9:45. So, we only have about an hour. Shall we try the hotel restaurant? It's only a few minutes from here to the airport and we could wait until she calls to leave."

Ben handed her his keys. "Why don't you pick her up? I'll ride with Pauli and we'll meet you at the hospital.

They were seated quickly, ordered breakfast and were able to talk while they enjoyed coffee and Diet Coke.

"So, Dr. Bellini, what's your specialty?"

"I'm doing my ER rotation right now, but I hope to go into orthopedic surgery. I'd like to do sports medicine. What do you do, Ms. Parker?"

She smiled at him "Please, call me Lane. I'm the Chief Privacy Officer at Telco Unlimited."

Before Pauli could ask what a Chief Privacy Officer did, Ben asked. "With all of the other excitement, I forgot to ask, did you talk to the kids last night?"

Pauli looked at his brother. He was dating a woman who had kids, interesting. As he recalled, kids had always been a showstopper for his brother. He must really have it bad for Lane if he was willing to overlook kids.

"Jess called to say they'd made it to L.A. They had everything unloaded and all was well. I'd been able to let them know we'd found Jeff. Jake especially was happy to hear it. Jamie told me Jess had let him have a turn driving through the desert. "

Pauli looked from Lane to Ben. Her kids drove to L.A. How old were her kids he wondered. Was it impolite to ask the ages of a woman's kids, the same way it was impolite to ask a woman's age? Maybe they were visiting their father in L.A. That had to be it; he had to have misunderstood something.

"Are your kids visiting their father in L.A.?" Pauli asked as their meals arrived.

"No, my daughter, Jess is a student at UCLA. My sons drove out with her to help move into the condo I bought for her." She could have been evasive, could have said that their father lived in Chicago. But, this would be the test Lane guessed. Ben had gotten used to their 12-year age difference, but how would he take it when he realized that she had children about the same age as his youngest brother. What the heck, just as well get all of it out in the open.

"My son, Jake is a grad student at KU, Jess is a sophomore at UCLA, and my youngest Jamie will be a senior at Rockhurst this fall. They're quite old enough to drive across the country or so they convinced me, not without a great deal of help from your brother, might I add."

Pauli was doing some quick math in his head. Ben was 36 and Lane couldn't be much more than that so she'd had her first kid when she was what 12? He shook his head. He didn't know what a Chief Privacy Officer did, but he did know that "C" level positions were very high in a corporation. Not that it couldn't be done, but most teenaged mothers didn't grow up to have "C" level positions he was sure about that.

Ben's phone rang and he excused himself to take the call. Lane smiled at Pauli. She could tell he was, either trying to figure out how old she was or how she got kids who were almost his age. She was trying to decide if she should just tell him her age, or if she should let Ben deal with it. If nothing came of her relationship with Ben, then it didn't matter.

Ben rejoined them. "That was Tanner. Blondie made a deal. She rolled over on Daddy and neither you nor Jeff will have to testify. In fact Jeff won't even need to pick her out of a line-up."

Before she had a chance to comment, Lane's phone rang. "Looks like this is Maggie, excuse me." Lane said as she stood and stepped away from the table.

Ben looked at Pauli. "Here's the deal, I know she doesn't look it, but Lane is 12 years older than I am. Yes, she has grown children and I don't care. It's no one's business other than ours, and I've convinced Lane it doesn't matter, so don't you dare make a big deal out of it. Got it? If you have anything and I mean anything to say about it, you hold it until Lane's gone to get Maggie."

Pauli was speechless. He was a doctor. While he hadn't examined Lane, based on his observations, he would swear – that is testify in court – that she wasn't even 40 yet. In the short time he'd spent with her, his observation was she was beautiful, sexy, smart, and funny.

Lane returned to the table. "Maggie's flight has just landed, and I need to take off. I'll see you at the hospital. Dr. Bellini."

Both men stood. Ben gave her a quick kiss. "Drive carefully."

Pauli smiled. "My friends call me Paul, as you know my family call me Pauli. Please feel free to call me by whichever name makes you most comfortable."

Lane leaned forward and hugged him. "I think Pauli doesn't sound right from someone who hasn't known you your whole life. See you soon Paul." She grabbed her purse and left the restaurant.

Ben looked at his baby brother. "Okay, let me have it."

Pauli shook his head.  "She's amazing, bro and that's all I've got to say. Oh, and I can't wait to meet her kids."

Since their hotel was at the airport, it was a very short trip to pick up Maggie. Lane parked and got out to help Maggie store her suitcase in the cargo area. Once they were both belted in, Lane put the SUV in gear and then explained that Ben and his brother were going to meet them at the hospital.

"Paul is a doctor here in Saint Louis. He might be able to offer some professional assessment on Jeff's condition if you'd like."

Lane parked the SUV and they were walking into the hospital. Maggie was obviously worried, and would be until she could see Jeff for herself.

"I am so anxious to see him. Tell me, does he have tubes and wires everywhere?"

Lane laughed. "No, but he did have an IV last night because he was dehydrated. Of course, that could be gone today. When I talked with him last night, he was drinking water fine. As I told you this morning I'm going to let Jeff tell you what happened himself, but I should warn you that there might be a police guard outside his door. The guard was put there for Jeff's protection, but the kidnappers have been caught now so he should be safe."

As they exited the elevator on Jeff's floor, Ben and Pauli were waiting for them.  “Maggie, this is Dr. Bellini. Paul, this is Maggie Donaldson."

Maggie and Pauli shook hands. "Have you seen my son Dr. Bellini?"

"No, I thought you'd like to see your son first. Then if he'd like, I can review his chart, but none of that may be necessary. I understand that it's entirely possible that he'll be released today."

Ben hugged Maggie. "It's good to see you again, Maggie. You two go on back. Pauli and I will be in the waiting area."

Lane showed Maggie the way to Jeff's room. The police guard was still in place and Lane nodded to him and had Maggie precede her into the room. Jeff was sitting up. The IV was gone, he'd shaved, and he looked like a different person from the one Lane had left the night before. She hung back as Maggie practically ran to the bed and embraced her son.

Lane waved to Jeff and said, "I'll leave you two alone to talk."

She joined Ben and Pauli in the waiting area. "The police guard is still at Jeff's door. I thought he'd be gone since they've caught the kidnapper and the drug dealer."

"I imagine they wanted to keep the guard in place until things are taken care of in Nebraska. There are still some arrests to make concerning the meth house. And, the girl had help getting Jeff to Missouri. As I understand it, the negotiations and interrogations went through the night."

"I was thinking that if they release Jeff today, perhaps he and Maggie could follow us home and they could spend the night at my house and leave for Omaha Tuesday morning. While I'm sure both he and Maggie are anxious to get home, seven plus hours in a car might be too much for Jeff all at once."