She wouldn’t look at him.
James got up but he didn’t head for the door. He moved to stand over her. He bent over and placed a hand on either side of the back of her chair, bringing his face down to within inches of hers. “I’m a cop, Jaylynn. You keep forgetting that. Talk to me or I’m calling the station to send over an on-duty officer, and you can explain your connections to criminal activity to him.”
Her eyes grew big in defiance, then her mouth went crooked in defeat.
“He said he was doing a job for Big Bog—that’s the nickname of the con I’ve been corresponding with. He said he was doing it for free because he owed Bog. But that it had occurred to him that he didn’t owe me a thing. And how about I show him some respect by paying for his work from now on.”
“What kind of work?”
“How should I know? I told him I didn’t know who he was or what he was talking about, and to leave me alone.”
James levered away from her, afraid he might throttle her if he stayed too close. And he needed to know everything. “Go on.”
“So then he says he could go to a source he has with the police and they might be interested in what he had to say about being asked by a mutual friend on the inside to take an interest in my case. That’s when I knew who he was.”
“And?”
Jaylynn folded her arms, expression going pouty. “So, I told him I would meet him in a public place. We met at the Reedy Creek Park, by the dog park yesterday.”
James stared down at her. “Describe him.”
“He was ugly. Big. Not tall but thick like a brick. Black hair, scruffy, like a street person.” She wrinkled her nose. “He smelled.”
She glanced up at James. What she saw was enough to keep her talking. “He said he wanted ten thousand dollars to keep quiet and keep scaring her. I told him I didn’t have that kind of money. He said in that case, he wanted five thousand not to—to hurt the person. That’s when I got scared.”
“Only then? What do you think he’s been doing to Shay up till now?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I tell you, I didn’t authorize any of this.”
“But you didn’t say no to the idea.”
“I guess I thought, what if the little bit—woman decides it’s not a good idea to testify against me? Then I can go back to my career, which I worked very hard for, and get on with my life.” She looked up at James, peeking through her false eyelashes. “I didn’t do anything to her. But she could ruin me. She brought this on herself by interfering.”
“Bullshit, Jaylynn. You deserve what’s happened to you because of what you’ve done.”
She looked at him with incomprehension. “You think I deserve this?” She pulled back her kimono top and he saw bruises on her neck and shoulders. “I told him I’d give him some money to just go away. I’d bring it to the park today at noon. But he came to my door this morning just as I was leaving and forced his way past me. I only gave him five hundred dollars. I told him that’s all I could get together overnight. So then he…”
James licked his lips, his mouth having gone dry. “Did he rape you?”
“He tried to.” She flinched. “But I then remembered about Big Bog. I said Big Bog would not be happy if he heard that he’d done anything to hurt me.”
“That stopped him?”
She nodded. “I guess he owes the guy big-time.”
“Or Big Bog knows people deadlier than him.” James tried to think like a policeman. But his brain was working like a boyfriend now. Shay was in trouble! All he knew was that he was too far away. He needed to get closer fast.
He looked down at Jaylynn. “You didn’t deserve to be attacked. But you started a shitball of trouble rolling downhill. You’re to blame for that.”
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I was just protecting myself.”
“You were protecting your image. Who you really are sent a criminal after an innocent, unsuspecting woman.”
Bogart bounded to his feet as James reached the door.
“Be careful, James. He knows where she lives and has been threatening her with phone calls and other stuff for a week.”
James flinched as her words hit home. Shay hadn’t said a word about any threats from any source but Eric. But then, would she? She was too accustomed to taking care of things herself. That hurt him more than he expected.
“James? If you can handle this, and get my money back, I swear I’ll withdraw my civil suit against Shay.”
James looked back from the door.
She nodded. “It would ruin me if it got out I knew anything about her being harassed by an ex-con.”
“You’re still thinking of yourself.” That much he believed.
*