Chapter 62

Jeff hadn't done much for the rest of the day but wander around the house or snap at anyone who tried to talk to him down. He knew he was being a pain in the ass but he was frustrated with not being able to do anything. Every time he even went near the front door someone would appear to make sure he didn't leave. Jeff had already placed five calls to Agent Miller but all he could do was leave messages and so far he hadn't gotten a call back. He didn't know if that was good or bad. Right now Jeff would like to believe that meant Miller was too busy following leads. So with nothing else to do, Jeff stuck to hanging out back, doing his best to avoid Vince.

"Jeff?" He turned to see Linda at the doorway. "There's dinner on the table. Everyone's sitting down to eat."

"I'm not hungry, but thank you." He told her. He thought she would leave but instead she came out and stood next to him.

"We're all worried about her." She told him as Jeff looked away. "Even if she's not blood, as you keep saying, she still feels like it. Her mother was my closest friend and I raised Jessica when she couldn't. She's not like a daughter. To me she is my daughter, and to Vince too." Jeff looked at her and wanted to argue back but decided against it. It wouldn't do any good to argue with Linda. Besides she hadn't done anything to Jeff, she didn't deserve it.

"You know, Jess wouldn't want you sulking around and I imagine it certainly doesn't help make the time pass any faster. Come inside and eat. A little conversation is going to hurt anyone." She smiled at him before heading back into the house. Jeff decided it was best to join them before his brother came out to hound him as well. When he got into the dining room he was surprised to see everyone sitting down like it was a regular meal. Jeff sat down next to Matt.

"Keep the conversation light." Matt whispered to him, motioning to Stephanie's kids who were sitting across from them. Jeff nodded and gave a quick smile to the two kids.

They all tried to keep idle chatter, talking about the weather and sports. There was no mention of Jessica or Shane. Jeff found this pretending annoying so he quickly ate and then excused himself from the room. He got out into the hallway and took a deep breath. How was it possible that they could all carry on like nothing was wrong, when thoughts of Jessica consumed him? He overheard Vince excuse himself saying he had business to take care of. Jeff wondered what business he could possibly be conducting at a time like this. He quietly followed Vince to the study.

"I got the page. What's going on?" Jeff listened as Vince continued with his conversation. "And you're sure it was her? How long ago?"

Jeff couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was right all along, Vince was more concerned about finding Shane and he just put Jessica in even more danger. As far as he could tell, she had somehow managed to call for help but instead of it going to the proper authorities, Vince had figured out a way for it to come to him first. He was going to help Shane escape, and Jeff knew Shane had no intentions of going anywhere without Jess. He had to get to her first and fast.

"No, he won't hurt her. You did the right thing. Thank you." Vince wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Just give me an hour before you enter it. Don't worry, I can handle it."

Jeff waited as Vince left the study and went back into the dining room where the others still were eating. He thought of calling Agent Miller, but that would take too long and if he went to Matt, Vince would know that he knew. He had to act now. Not wanting to waste any more time, Jeff ran to the desk, grabbed the address that had been written down, and then went to Vince's jacket pocket for his car keys. He quietly went to the front door, sneaking out before anyone had a chance to notice.

As he headed towards the car, he knew that Vince's was going to be right behind him. He stopped at the other car in the driveway and using the key, he punctured the tire. That should slow him down a bit, he thought as he got into the car and drove away as fast as he could.

Everyone heard the sounds of the squealing tires pulling out of the driveway. Vince had been telling them about a problem with the alarm system at headquarters when they heard it and he knew right away what ha happened. They all ran outside and saw the car missing.

"That son of a bitch took my keys!" Vince yelled. "Linda go get yours."

"It won't do you any good." Matt said pointing out the flat tire on the other car.

"I got to go." Vince reminded them.

"Vince, don't you think a problem with the alarm system can wait?" Paul asked.

"This isn't good." Vince said heading back into the house. Matt looked at everyone skeptically then chased after Vince.

"What do you know?" He demanded stopping Vince from going any further. Vince looked away as everyone circled him.

"Dad." Stephanie warned him.

"I wanted this to end safely." Vince relented.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I paid someone off at the emergency response center. They were supposed to call me as soon as they heard anything."

"This was about saving Shane." Matt said angrily.

"No, it was about saving both of them. Who knows what would happen when the police show up. I just wanted to try to talk to him. Get him help." Vince tried to explain.

"Yea, well instead Jeff is on his way over there." Matt said.

"We need to get over there." Vince said. "I don't think Shane will be happy to see your brother."

"Maybe the police can get there first." Stephanie suggested. Vince shook his head.

"I told him them to give me a head start before they put it through." Matt wanted to punch Vince but he had to get Jeff first.

"He's right. We need to get there before Jeff does anything stupid. We can deal with this later." Matt said.

"Well our car is blocked in." Stephanie informed them.

"Paul, give me a hand with the tire." Matt and Paul went outside and changed the tire as quick as they could. As soon as they were done Vince went to the driver's side but Matt stood in front of him. "Where are they?"

"Somewhere on Oakland Street. I don't remember the house number. I wrote it down but your brother took it." Matt looked at him. "I'm telling the truth. We'll have to just look for the cars."

"Amy, call Agent Miller. Let him know what's going on." He told her before taking the keys from Vince and getting into the car. "Are you coming?" Vince barely made it into the passenger seat before Matt drove off.

"I was just trying to make it better." Vince said but one look from Matt cut him off.

"He's probably there all ready. If anything happens to Jess or Jeff, trust me, I'll make sure Shane pays."