Liz Johnson - Code of Justice

Jeremy glanced at Heather out of the corner of his eye, instantly catching her sideways peek. She nodded at him, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. They didn’t even have to look under the sheet to identify the dead man.

“Where’d you get that sample you gave to Tony?” Rob asked.

Jeremy shrugged in response, but it was Heather who took control of the conversation again. “I think we should see if we recognize him.”

Rob immediately turned his attention to Heather, apparently forgetting the question that he’d just asked. “Are you sure? He’s been dead awhile, and he was on the street at least overnight.”

Holding out her hand to the doctor, she said, “I’m sure. Will you help me up?”

Jeremy flipped the brake on the old chair and offered her his arm as well. She placed her left hand on his forearm and held fast. When Rob pulled the sheet back to uncover the pale face and ragged features of an old man with long, matted silver hair, Heather’s grip intensified for a moment, but her face never flickered. She squeezed again, as if confirming that she knew this man.

The old man’s face wasn’t familiar to Jeremy, but that wasn’t surprising. He’d only seen the back of the homeless man’s head that day in the hospital.

“You know him?” Rob asked them both.

“I think so,” Heather responded. “When did he die?”

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, as he was in the elements for at least one night. But as close as I can tell, five days.”

“And where was he found?” Jeremy offered this question, hoping Rob would answer it even if it didn’t come from Heather, his new favorite person.

“About two blocks east of Immanuel Lutheran.”

“I know what you’re thinking.” Heather stared at Jeremy through the reflection in the rearview mirror. “Just say it.” He shook his head before letting off the brake and easing through the four-way stop.

Well, if he wouldn’t verbalize it, she would.

“Whoever hired that John Doe to kill me, killed him to keep him quiet.”

Not meeting her eyes again, Jeremy nodded. “Why would someone be after you?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. Leaning back, she tried to relieve some of the pressure in her head by rubbing slow circles in front of her ears.

“Are you sure this is all related to Kit’s drug case? Were you working on any cases that this could be linked to?”

“No. I’ve been on desk duty for months. I had hip surgery, and I’d just been given the go-ahead to return to regular duty when I took a couple days off to spend some time with my si-ister.”

She hated that her voice broke. Hated that tears threatened every time she even thought about Kit. The ache in her heart felt like it would never subside, never even dim.

He cleared his throat, keeping his head facing forward, as he turned on to her street. “Which hip?”

“Hmm?”

“Which hip? The same one as your knee?”

She let a soft sigh escape. “Thankfully not.”

After parking the car and walking around to her door, he cocked his head to the side, as if asking permission to assist her. She lifted her hand to wave him off, but thought better of it and offered him a quick nod.

As his broad arms wrapped around her waist to help her out of the car, she braced her hands on his shoulders, admitting that once upon a time being this close to a handsome man might have sent her heart racing. But it kept a steady rhythm, just another indication of its brokenness.

He handed her the crutches and walked behind her as they made their way toward her home. She unlocked the door and shuffled through, making a beeline for the couch, immediately propping her throbbing leg on the pillow.

Jeremy followed her in, closing the door behind him and perching on the edge of the overstuffed chair near the foot of the couch.

“Listen, Heather. I’m worried about you.” He rubbed his hands over his face, ruffling the short curls at his forehead.

“I can take care of myself.”

He shook his head. “I know you can. I saw you in there with Dr. Rob.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She tried to keep the pleasure out of her voice. He might have meant to chide her, but she took it as a compliment to be recognized for controlling the conversation as she had.

He let out a soft laugh, meeting her eyes with humor. “Let’s just say, I think I could learn a few things from you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But that doesn’t change the fact that someone is after you, and you’re not…shall we say, moving at your normal speed?”

She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him. “I can get around just fine.”

“Is that with or without the wheelchair?”

Her lip curled, and she glared at him, wishing he would go. Wishing he were wrong. He didn’t say anything, just held her gaze with a look of assurance. “Fine. All right. Maybe I’m not at normal speed. But I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Against someone who’s sending people to kill you? And then killing the would-be assassins?”

She groaned, covering her face with her hands and shaking her hair over her shoulders. “Let’s just say I conceded the point. What can we do about it?”

“You need someone with you twenty-four seven.”

“Like a bodyguard?” She shook her head.

His head rocked side to side, lips pursed to the left. “More like a deputy protector.”

“Nope. No way.” She shook her head violently, lowering her hands to look into his brown eyes. “You’re out of your mind. We already agreed that you’d take me along to investigate the crash, so I’ll already be with you most of the time.”

“Yes. But this way, I’ll tag along wherever you’re going outside of the investigation, too.”

Was he serious? “What on earth do you think you can do that I can’t?”

“This very moment? Run. Walk normally. Drive a car.”

She harrumphed and tried to seriously injure him with her eyes, but his annoying smirk stayed in place. Why did he have to make so much sense? She wanted to do this on her own. As much as she could while recovering from major surgery and without the aide of her Bureau connections. Having to count on him to help figure out why the chopper went down was bad enough. Letting him tag along on every errand? Unacceptable.

“If I say no?”

“I’ll take care of the investigation on my own.”

“But we had a deal.”

“The rules changed.” He rubbed his palms over his knees. “I’m not saying that watching you try to maneuver those crutches isn’t painful even for me, but I don’t want to see you killed, either. What if your sister had more info than we know now? I might need some help getting ahold of that. I need you around.” His mouth quirked into half a smile, and she knew he was teasing her.

She punched the pillow supporting her back. “Can’t we just agree that I won’t leave my home without telling you?”

Jeremy lifted his hands in what she quickly realized was a faux surrender. “Sure. We’ll just leave a note for the perp that you’ll be home alone from eleven to eight every night.” He rested his hands on his knees and leaned toward her. “He knew where to find you at the hospital. I’m not willing to bet that he doesn’t know where you live.”

A chill ran across her shoulders, and despite the scowl she gave Jeremy, she knew he was right. She might need more protection than she could give herself at the moment. And no matter what, she couldn’t risk Jeremy backing out of their agreement to let her help with the investigation.

Resigning herself to the inevitable, she grumbled, “All right.”