Chapter Nine

What Does Johnny Know?

Jordan helped Nigel bring the burnt body back upstairs to the morgue. Or helped as much as he would let her. Ever since she began her sixth month of pregnancy and her "baby bulge" became much more pronounced, everyone she worked with had gone into protective hyper drive. She would find fruit, milk, and water on her desk…and only Nigel knew her secret craving….and on occasion she would find a post-it note on her computer telling her to look in the freezer. It was there she would find a Hershey bar with Almonds. It had to be Hershey's. And it had to be frozen.

But once they got the body in trace, Nigel let her loose to do her thing…except for any x-rays, which he was doing now. Full dentals, in hope that somewhere out there a match could be found. The face was burnt beyond recognition, but even if it was in pristine shape, Jordan would bet her next Hershey's this was a homeless man with no records in their data base or CODA's.

"Done?" she asked Nigel before she stepped back in trace. He had made her leave when he started taking x-rays.

"Complete. You can come back in, love."

Jordan stepped over to the exam table and began running an ultraviolet light over the man. And stopped cold when she got to the hands. The light turned purple. "Nigel…this guy has accelerant on his hands…."

"Do you think he maybe got in the way of the arsonist…tried to take the man out or stop the fire?"

"Or started the fire himself?" Jordan raised one eyebrow at Nigel. "Have you got a match with his dentals?"

"Not yet, but the system is still searching."

Jordan moved to what was left of the man's face, gingerly examining it and once again stopping cold. "Nigel…I may be wrong, but I don't think the fire killed this man."

"Smoke inhalation, love?"

Jordan shook her head. "No. More like a .22 caliber. To the head." She pointed the entrance wound out to Nigel.

"Curiouser and curiouser…" Nigel said, looking at the wound with great interest. "And with the accelerant on his hands…"

"Either we're looking at a homeless person who put up one hell of a fight…"

The computer dinged. Nigel took a long look at it before turning the screen around for Jordan to see. "Or we're looking at the arsonist himself." A match was found: Joey "The Kid" McPherson. Known Irish mob affiliate. Known Irish mob arsonist.

"Yeah. So we know who started the fire…." Jordan began.

"But who killed Joey?" Nigel followed up.

Jordan sighed. She had no real evidence, but she would wager Little Johnny was behind it, if he didn't pull the trigger himself. Just who the hell has Woody got himself wrapped up with? she thought while hearing her heart break just a little more. And why?

"Any clue yet as to what happened?" Woody whispered into his cell phone. As soon as he had finished at the bar that night and had returned to his apartment, he called the DA. He wasn't sure why he was whispering, other than the fact that he was growing increasingly uneasy about being at the bar. Until now, other than some racketeering and some prostitution, Little Johnny had presumably been fairly innocuous as mobsters go.

Woody's perspective changed when he saw Nigel bring a body out of the ruined warehouse. It became clearer when he saw Jordan…and realized she was pregnant. With his baby.

"We can't nail down everything exactly…but Jordan and Nigel have identified the arsonist as Joey "The Kid" McPherson. I e-mailed you a mug shot. Do you recognize him at all? Has he come to the bar any at all?"

"Hang on." Woody took a minute to boot up his laptop and download the mug shot. "No. As far as I know, this man has never come into the bar and I haven't seen him at any of the meetings Johnny has asked me to go to with him."

Woody heard Renee' let out a long sigh. "You're sure?"

"Positive."

"The kicker is this, Hoyt. Joey didn't die from being burnt or from smoke inhalation. Jordan found a .22 caliber bullet wound in the back of his head."

Mob execution. Joey knew too much about something… Woody thought, rapidly trying to tie all the ends of the case together.

"Does Johnny own a .22?" Renee' asked.

"I'll be honest, Renee'. I know his henchmen carry guns…mainly .22's. But I've never seen Little Johnny even handle a gun. He has someone else do it for him."

"But you said he was the one that made the phone call…the one that probably told Joey to 'do it'."

"That doesn't mean he executed Joey."

"That doesn't mean he didn't do it, either," Renee' countered. "He more than had the capacity to get a gun…and if this was just between he and Joey, it would have kept it clean. Bringing in another henchman to do his dirty work would have muddied the waters even more. If the only two people he wanted to know about torching that old McMartin warehouse were himself and Joey, then Johnny killed Joey. The question is, do you think Johnny only wanted Joey to know about the arson….and would Johnny kill Joey?"

Woody took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then softly he replied. "I don't know. I can see it going both ways…but off hand, right now…I'd say yes. Johnny could have killed Joey."

"Any chance you can get him to confess? Johnny puts a lot of trust in you…"

"I can try."

"Would you be willing to wear a wire?"

If I'm found out…Johnny would kill me. He wouldn't hesitate to make an example out of me. And my kid will grow up without a father…like I had to. "What kind of back up would I have?"

"The best. I'll get with Freeman tomorrow and we'll begin to set it up…all under the table and hush-hush."

Woody sighed. "Then this means the assignment is winding down…"

"Sure is. You ready for Kewuanne, Hoyt?"

The thought jolted Woody back to reality. He hadn't thought of Kewuanne in weeks…months… not since he had made love to Jordan. All he had focused on was completing the case and telling her why he had to affiliate himself with the Irish mob…that he hadn't turned bad….he was undercover. "No," he said sharply.

"But I thought…"

"I need to see Jordan. Now," he interrupted.

"Can't it wait until this is over?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because…because….the baby she's carrying…it's mine."

Woody heard Renee' suck in a deep breath. "So you've seen her before now….obviously."

"All done discreetly and secretively. No one knew. Not even you."

The breath was blown out. "Okay, Hoyt. Just be as discreet as you were last time…and keep it short. And don't tell her you're undercover…at least not yet."

"Will do."

Woody hung up the phone with satisfaction. At least this mob nightmare was coming to an end…soon, maybe his life could return to normal…whatever that was going to be now.

Sundays were normally laundry days for Jordan. She'd pack all her dirty clothes, towels, and bed sheets up and head for the laundry mat down the street, arriving early while most of the other good citizens of Massachusetts were in church. She sighed as she hefted her laundry bags from the back of her El Camino and into one of the buggies at the Suds and Duds. This would have to stop. Soon. I need to see about getting my own washer and dryer…she thought as she sorted her clothes. I know with a baby I'll probably be washing everyday…and night…I probably need a bigger apartment, too….eventually, anyway. I can't see raising a child in a loft…Apartment or condo…or townhouse…or dad's house? Jordan sat down, suddenly dizzy at the array of necessities she abruptly realized she would have to attend to with the baby.

Alone. She would have to do all of this alone. Woody was not going to help her…not a bit, it seemed. She had hoped when she answered the call at the warehouse across the street from the Rose that he would at least see her…but that didn't happen. Now fully into her sixth month, she still hadn't heard anything out of him. Very unWoody…and her already fractured heart broke a little more every time she thought about it.

But she could do this. If she was a big enough girl to get pregnant…then she was a big enough girl to handle it. All of it.

At least she hoped so.

She stood back up and began to sort her laundry again when a movement caught the corner of her eye. A man, in a hooded sweatshirt, ball cap, and sunglasses came in from the back. That's odd… she thought a little uneasily.

But when he walked up beside her she knew…the aftershave gave it away long before she glanced at his face. Woody…only he would remember I always skip mass and do my laundry on Sunday.

He dropped a load of clothes beside of hers. "Do you know if they have a wash and fold service here?" he asked casually, as if he was speaking to a stranger.

"Su…sure…" Jordan managed to stammer, still somewhat in shock. "Over there…at the counter."

"Thanks." He turned to her with a smile and grabbed his dirty clothes. Jordan watched him walk to the counter and leave his laundry with Mr. Askani, then just as casually stroll out of the laundry mat.

It was then she noticed he had dropped something at her feet. Awkwardly bending down, she picked it up. A piece of paper…a note…She unfolded it and read: Be sure to leave your bedroom window unlocked tonight. We need to talk. Woody. Jordan carefully refolded the note and stuck it in her back pocket. She'd finish here and go home…and wait for night to fall.

This time Jordan didn't fall asleep…nausea was still keeping her up most of the night. She had just sat back down on her bed after another round with the porcelain pony when she heard her unlocked window slowly being raised…and then one leg slid in. Woody climbed inside and quietly slid the window shut.

He stood there for a moment, nearly a silhouette in Jordan's lamp light, before he moved out of the shadows to sit in front of her on the bed. "I don't have long, Jor…what happened?" he asked. Then was immediately struck by the innateness of his own question.

"That's fairly obvious, don't you think?" Jordan replied, gesturing to her expanding belly.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I mean..."

"If you're trying to ask if the baby's yours….it is."

"No…that's not it…." Damn she was pissed and for the life of him Woody couldn't understand why. Not exactly anyway. Then it hit him. "You were going to tell me you were pregnant the afternoon you came back to the Rose."

"The day you told me to 'Get the fuck out of my bar and the fuck out of my life'? Yeah, I was…"

Woody grinned, trying to get her to lighten up a little. "Jordan, you should really be careful about the language you use around our baby…"

"Yeah, well you should have been careful…oh, hell…excuse me." Jordan bolted up off the bed as nausea rolled through her body again. She barely made it to the bathroom. Despondently she retched and retched, her stomach giving up its contents yet one more time. She had been told most women's morning sickness only lasted through the first trimester.

Evidently she wasn't most women. She retched again, praying her stomach would at least right itself long enough for her to have an intelligent conversation with Woody.

From her bedroom Woody heard what was going on and wondered just how long she had been sick like this. Quietly, he got up off the bed and joined her in the bathroom, kneeling beside her and holding her long chestnut hair out of her face, and rubbing soft circles on her back. When it seemed the nausea had subsided, he got a wash cloth, wet it with cool water, and bathed her heated face. "How long has this been going on?" he asked, helping her to her feet, bearing her weight against him.

"Since the night your DNA met my DNA and we created junior…or Sally…or whoever…"

Woody smiled. At least she hadn't lost her sense of humor. He opened the medicine cabinet and found her toothbrush and toothpaste. Spreading the toothpaste on the brush, he handed it to her and turned on the water in the sink. Grateful for his attention, she brushed the sick taste out of her mouth.

"Are you able to keep anything at all down?" he asked, eyeing her middle. She was obviously pregnant, but Woody had seen women larger than Jordan at six months of pregnancy.

"Some. I do eat. And I'm gaining weight." She finished and returned her toothbrush to the medicine cabinet.

"Let me fix you something to eat now," Woody said coaxingly. Her nearly violent retching had frightened him.

"No…I'm fine…" But he was nearly dragging her to the kitchen bar and then was rummaging through her cabinet.

"Chicken noodle soup. Just what the doctor ordered…." He dumped it in a bowl and set the bowl in the microwave and then in front of her. "Now tell me …. Everything."

For the next half hour Jordan went over what was going on…who her doctor was…the frequency of the visits to the prenatal clinic…everything. Woody listened attentively, watching as she finished her soup. "Okay…bed," he finally said, swinging her up in his arms to carry her into the other room. He settled her on the bed and tucked the covers in around her. Then he sat down beside Jordan and took her hand. "We're going to be parents…."

Jordan nodded, suddenly shy at the intensity of his gaze.

"Can I?" Woody asked, placing his hand over her middle. He wanted to touch his baby…or at least get as close as he could.

"Yeah." Jordan bit her lip. His touch still made her nerve endings stand on end. "But you can feel it better without the sheets." She pushed the bed clothes down and placed his hand on her extended abdomen. Woody lightly ran his hand over it and was rewarded with a small, fluttering feeling to the inside of his hand…barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. He closed his eyes and silently promised God anything if only his assignment would soon be over. His hand lingered for a moment longer.

"I have to go now, Jordan. I don't want to….but I have to…"

Jordan nodded, her throat tightening uncomfortably. "I know. The Rose…."

"It's more than that, sweetheart…but I do promise you, you'll be taken care of…"

"But we can't be together?" she whispered, lowering her eyes from his and blinking back the tears.

Woody swore inwardly and cursed his assignment for what he hoped was the last time. "No. Not now."

"Ever?"

He sighed then. "I don't know," he lied.

Jordan nodded, as she felt him ease up from the bed and then bend down to lightly kiss her lips. He was nearly to the window to open it and leave when she stopped him again. "Can I ask you one more question?"

His hand halted on the window sill. "Sure…."

"Why did you wait so long to see me after you knew I was pregnant?"

Woody did a double take. "What? I mean, I just found out the other day."

Jordan's forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. "I don't understand…"

"I don't know what you mean…" Woody was equally as confused.

"The last time I came to the Rose….I left the positive pregnancy test on the bar for you to find after I left. I figured you'd turn back around and make sure I was gone and you'd find the test…."

Woody swallowed hard. He hadn't. He hadn't turned back around…he had gone to make sure the alcohol had been delivered.

And he'd bet everything he held sacred that he knew who did find the test….Little Johnny.