Chapter Four

Lew stayed suspicious and alert as Jenny led him through the darkened town side streets and alleys. It sounded like the bloodthirsty mob was yelling from all sides, closing in on them, but Jenny knew several slippery tricks to avoid them. Or at least, it seemed that she did.

Lew wasn't a man who could be fooled easily, or for long. Although he had gone with Jenny, and had been relieved for her to appear rather than someone who wanted to murder him on the spot, he really didn't trust her. After several minutes he said, "You certainly have your ways of staying away from them. You must get a lot of practice."

"Yeah." Jenny sounded vague again, keeping hold of Lew's hand as she led him down another alley.

"It couldn't be, could it, that you're some kind of a plant meant to lure me into a false sense of security?"

Jenny didn't even stiffen. "It could be," she said noncommittally. "I told you I'm not with the townspeople, so I guess it's your choice whether you believe me or not."

"I want to believe you," Lew said. "I just don't know if that's practical. Especially considering both that you're the sheriff's daughter and that you threw a pitchfork at me."

"I made sure it wouldn't hit you," Jenny said. "I wanted to see how on the ball you were. I guess you could say I was being playful."

Lew gave her a sharp look. "And you expect a man on the run for his life to find it amusing when a deadly weapon is heaved at him?"

"I guess not." Jenny was still speaking in that same vague, matter-of-fact tone, as though nothing in the world could faze her.

Lew found that oddly disturbing too. "Are you always this emotive?" he said sardonically.

"It usually serves me fine." Jenny came up on the back of a two-storey white house and took out a key. "Here's my place."

"Is it your father's place too?" Lew asked with a definite amount of unease.

"Yeah, but I'll take you to the second floor," Jenny said. "He isn't up there much."

"He'll probably search everywhere for me," Lew retorted. "Including in your house. If I'm on the second floor, I'll be trapped. I don't think I should go in there. Why don't you just get the first aid kit and come back out here?"

"Somebody could come around before I get back out," Jenny pointed out.

"I'll take my chances. I'll have a better chance of survival if I'm not in a home where the sheriff is most likely to come above others." Lew walked over to the back wall. "I'll stay here and wait, unless he or someone else starts coming."

Jenny shrugged. "Okay, if that's how you want it." She unlocked the door and vanished inside, closing it behind her.

Lew shifted his weight, feeling more unsettled than ever. She could have gone in the house to call her father, instead of retrieving a first aid kit. He had already determined that he could not trust anyone here, so while he agreed that she did not seem to fit in with the town, he did not know that it really meant she could be the one exception.

The fact that she remained so detached from everything bothered him. That was more or less how he imagined Joe had thought of him before they had actually met—detached, efficient, and unaffected. Instead, Joe had discovered that he was warm and could be emotional (as well as efficient). He was more human than machine. But this Jenny, with her strange nature, almost seemed more machine than human.

Lew frowned, eyeing the pitchfork that she had left standing just beside the door. On the one hand, he could look at it as her leaving him something to defend himself with. On the other hand, if he were attacked and used it, the town could twist it around and lie, saying that Lew had attacked without provocation. And Jenny surely knew that. Lew would have to not use it, unless it became an absolute necessity.

He tensed at the sound of footsteps, pressing himself against the wall. Nearby, someone shouted to check on the sheriff's house. After all, Lew wouldn't know which house was his and he might wander into it thinking he was safe. A second person responded that they would scour the entire area, including the house and behind it.

That was that, then. Lew certainly couldn't stay here. He was about to push away from the wall and flee into the shadows when the door opened and Jenny slipped out, the first aid kit in her arms.

"We have to get out of here!" Lew hissed. "People are coming to check this area."

"We'll go," Jenny said, again taking Lew's hand to lead him through the alleys. He remained tense, not certain if she was going to really lead him away from his enemies or towards them. But the voices grew farther away as they vanished and Lew hoped it was safe to relax. Nevertheless, he didn't anyway. It could still be a trap.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Back to the barn, maybe," Jenny said. "It's a safe place, at least."

"They'll get around to it eventually," Lew objected.

"And by then you should be on your way out of here," Jenny said.

"I'm not leaving without Mannix," Lew insisted. "The last I knew about him, he was here."

Jenny frowned. "I'm not sure if he still is or not. I thought he was leaving."

"I'm out here because I received a telegram that he'd been killed," Lew said. "I don't believe he's dead, but they might be holding him captive." Or he was trying not to believe Joe was dead, anyway.

"They might be," Jenny said slowly, "but it seems like I would have heard about it. He could've escaped and they just sent the telegram to you, figuring you'd get here without running into him first."

"Do you know everything your father and this town plan to do?" Lew retorted.

"No," Jenny said slowly. "But I know a lot of it."

"Look. There's only one road leading from here to Los Angeles," Lew pointed out. "If Mannix got away, how could the two of us not have encountered each other on that road?"

Jenny shrugged. "He could've stopped in some other town. Or he could've reached the city and been going through all that heavy Los Angeles traffic while you were leaving to look for him. There's lots of ways it could have happened without him being here and hurt."

"You know they want to kill me," Lew said. "Do you think they'd just let Mannix go, knowing what he is to me?"

"I can't answer that," Jenny said, sounding vague again. "Would they know?"

"They've had a year to research me," Lew said. "I can't believe for one moment that they wouldn't have learned all about Intertect and Joe Mannix."

Jenny pulled him around another corner and pressed her hand against his chest, silently telling him to get up against the wall.

Lew needed no coaxing. He did as she wanted, soon hearing two more voices nearby.

"There's still no sign of him."

The second voice cursed. "He's a crafty one. He's been a detective for years. He could find places to slip into where we wouldn't think to look until he was long gone. And he knows how to manipulate people. Don't count out the idea of him figuring out how to make a few good buddies, even here."

"I'm not counting out anything. I just wanna make sure we get that lynching. I wanna see him hanging from that old tree, his neck all broke. Or maybe we should use that other way of doing it, where they strangle instead, you know? It'd be a lot more painful and lasting."

Lew couldn't help but cringe at the thought of either fate. His hand subconsciously went to his throat.

For the first time, Jenny showed some emotion. "Pain-loving animals," she murmured darkly.

At last the two men passed and Jenny pushed herself away from the wall. Lew went with her, following her down several more alleys before they finally found themselves arriving back at the old barn.

Jenny pushed open the door and stepped inside, still guiding Lew with her. He went willingly, closing the heavy door behind them.

Suddenly Jenny was upon him, pushing him back into the door as she ran her hands down his vest. She had set the first aid kit on top of a horse's stall, now not seeming to care a thing about it.

Shocked, Lew at first could not find his voice. "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed when she started to loosen his tie. He reached up, grabbing her wrists.

"Justified or not, you did send Burton to his death," Jenny said quietly. "We were going to be married, so I think you owe me something for that." She leaned in, trying to kiss him. "I'll be happy to marry you as payment."

Lew pushed her back, desperately trying to snatch the first aid kit that she had abandoned. "You're out of your mind!" he cried. "I'm not going to marry you or anyone else just because I may or may not owe them something!"

Jenny shrugged. "It's either me or the town," she said. "Don't you see? You're my ticket out of this place. I marry you, I marry into a multi-million detective operation in the big city."

"And you might decide to murder me so you'd inherit it all," Lew retorted.

"I'm not a murderer." Jenny pulled free of his grasp and tried to run a hand through his hair. "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I guess that's why I never could figure out how to get out of this fighting place."

"I won't be your way out," Lew snapped. Taking up the first aid kit, he started to open the door.

Jenny held her hand over the crack separating the two doors. "That's your final decision?"

"Yes!" Lew insisted. "If your help comes with that price, I'm not going to pay it. I'll get out of this mess on my own."

Jenny took her hand away. "Good luck."

Lew opened the door slowly, making certain that no one was around. Then he stepped out, fleeing into the night.

xxxx

Lew's car was the first familiar thing Joe saw as he approached the town of Pine Lake. He slowed, peering at it from a distance.

Lew definitely wasn't in it. And no one else was around, either.

Joe frowned. Lew was probably in the sheriff's office; the light was on in there. But if that were true, why was he getting such a bad feeling?

Slowly he got out of the car, shutting the door as quietly as possible as he tiptoed up to the window. No one was inside. And every rifle was missing from the rack.

Chilled, Joe turned away. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Maybe a town mob had got together and had gone after Lew, and maybe the sheriff had gone after them. But if the sheriff wasn't in on things, why had he sent Lew that telegram? No, he was probably involved up to his neck. And that probably meant that Lew had no friends in town. Joe knew these types of controlled towns all too well. If anyone wasn't aligned with the political machine, they were too scared to speak out against it.

When a shotgun barrel suddenly poked in Joe's back, it was half-expected. "Get your hands in the air, Mannix," an unfamiliar voice drawled. "We were expecting you'd be back."

Joe obliged. "Let me guess," he said. "You're the sheriff." He had only heard Sheriff Algers' voice briefly, but he thought he recognized it, and anyway, the most logical candidate for who would be lying in wait right here was the sheriff.

"You're sharp." The barrel poked him again. "I'll just keep you with me and then we'll use our P.A. system to call to your boss and tell him he'd better give himself up if he wants to keep you alive."

That was all Joe needed to hear; he wasn't about to ask questions. Furious, he spun around without warning and snatched the rifle, wrenching it out of the stunned sheriff's hands. Pushing the man back, Joe kept the shotgun and turned to run.

That was when something came down on the back of his head without warning. Stars exploded in his vision and he collapsed to the wooden planks surrounding the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Algers sneered, pushing his hat back on his head. "Good work, Myers," he said, congratulating his deputy as the man emerged from behind Lew's car. "Take him inside."

"And lock him up?" Myers said with relish.

Algers nodded. "See that he can't get out. If he's running loose through town, it could really stir things up. He's Wickersham's best agent, and for good reason."

"He won't get out," Myers insisted. A cruel grin split his features as he bent down, grabbing Joe under his arms and dragging him across the planks.

Joe didn't stir. He was thoroughly unconscious. And Lew, who was on the other side of the small town, had no idea of Joe's current plight.

xxxx

Peggy perked up as the door opened and a tired but satisfied Marcus stepped inside. She hurried to him in relief, reaching to take his hat and coat. "Welcome home," she greeted with a tender smile.

Marcus smiled too. "Hey, I thought I told you not to wait up," he scolded lightly.

Peggy shrugged. "Well . . . you were gone, and Joe hadn't made it over for dinner, and all in all, I was lonely."

"You had Toby," Marcus replied, bringing an arm around his wife as he kissed her.

"A baby isn't much company when he's sleeping most of the time," Peggy returned, hitting him lightly on the chest.

"Okay, okay." Marcus led her to the couch and they sat down. "So did you ever find out why Joe didn't make it over? I bet Mr. Wickersham put him on some new assignment that gobbled up all of his time."

"That's close," Peggy said, relaxing against him. "Joe was on assignment, but it was supposed to have been finished. Mr. Wickersham was worried too." She frowned. "Later on, Joe called and told me that he was back, but he had to tie up some loose ends. He didn't want to tell me anything more right then, but he sounded so tense and worried that after a while I called Intertect again and talked to Chris. She told me that Mr. Wickersham had gone looking for Joe and Joe had to go out and find him."

"Oh boy." Marcus shook his head. "What a tangled web."

"And Marc? There's something else." Peggy sat up straighter, looking into his eyes with worry. "They're out at Pine Lake." Marcus stiffened. "Isn't that where that murderer Burton Davis was from?"

"It sure is," Marcus said. "Oh man, I remember that case all too well." He shuddered. "Finding those five mangled bodies here in L.A., and Davis right on the scene, not even denying he'd done it. . . ." He started to get up. "I was sure glad when the jury came back with a verdict of Guilty on that one. I know we're supposed to be impartial, but sometimes it's a lot harder than others."

Peggy pushed herself off the couch as well. "Do you think that case has anything to do with why Joe and Mr. Wickersham are out there tonight? That town seemed awfully protective of Davis. I can't believe they would've just let things go so easy."

"I don't know," Marcus admitted. "It could be a coincidence that they're there. But maybe I'd better call Intertect and talk to Chris too."

"And if they are in trouble, what then?" Peggy worried.

"Then we'd better get the state police, if they haven't already been called," Marcus said.

"And you'll want to ride out with them, won't you," Peggy said quietly.

"I'd hate to just stand on the sidelines," Marcus said. "Joe's our friend."

"But they might be glad to get their hands on you too!" Peggy cried. "And speaking of standing on the sidelines, isn't that what I do every day?"

Marcus looked into her frightened eyes. Finally he gave a small smile. "Okay. I guess maybe I could stand to wait it out with you one time, since Pine Lake is kind of out of my jurisdiction."

Peggy smiled too. "Good."

But she still had to wonder if that was what would play out in actual practice. Even though Pine Lake was out of the city police's jurisdiction, Joe was their friend, and really, they would both like to be there to make sure he and Mr. Wickersham would be alright.

She prayed a silent prayer that no matter what happened, they would all come out of this safe.