Chapter Two

Knocking on the door was heard pretty early in the morning. George and Jessica had been awake for over an hour and outside of making use of the bathroom and brushing their teeth they hadn't showered or dressed. George was certain they would have a visitor and he wanted them to be authentic about just waking up. Jessica had smiled at his bed head with hair sticking everywhere.

George left the bedroom, closing the door behind him, and went to see who their visitor was. He had a faded robe over his pajamas. It was the woman Jessica described as Sarah and a man that wasn't Jason Lewis. He opened the door and looked out at them.

"Good morning," said the man. "We're your new neighbors across the way," He gestured behind him to the brown and tan, older RV that arrived yesterday. "Mark Robertson, and this is my wife, Sarah." He pointed to his wife who smiled at George.

"Good morning," she said politely. "We met your wife yesterday, Jessica? And she asked if we needed anything. Um, I said no but I realized we don't have any coffee…er…I mean…"

George smiled. "Well, come on in and let me see what I can find." He unlocked the screen door and held it open for them to enter.

Mark and Sarah stood in the entry staring at the opulence of Jessica's RV. Both of their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were wide.

"Oh my gosh," said the woman. "This is…is…you camp in this?"

"Jessica, who isn't my wife, is not going to rough it," he laughed. He moved into the kitchen area and reached above the stove. He brought out a new can of coffee and offered it to them. "Keep it, we have another one."

They continued to stare at the furnishings. Mark looked toward the closed bedroom door and then at the living room. It was obvious Jessica would be inside the bedroom, probably in her nightgown or in the bathroom. This RV was loaded with everything. A hundred times better than the 20 year old rust bucket they were staying in.

"Her publisher gifted it to her a few months back and now it's nearly impossible to get her to sleep at home.

"Her publisher?" asked Sarah.

"You don't know? She writes under the name of JB Fletcher," explained George. "She doesn't usually mention it but our other neighbors recognized her so she isn't trying to hide it. She's working on her next book so you won't see her much anyway."

After a few minutes he escorted them out and repeated how nice it was to meet them.

He pulled an object from beneath the counter and walked into the bedroom. He placed his fingers to his lips so Jessica wouldn't speak and pulled his bag out of the closet. He unscrewed the device and removed a flash drive.

"This is a listening device. It only works when there's speech. It records what's happening and you can go online and download the contents. I'm going to put it back where I found it but without the drive. I'll send it back to the Yard so they can find out where the information goes."

"I was listening to what everyone was saying," began Jessica. The sound of a door closing caused her to pause.

"That was our car door," whispered George. "They probably placed a bug in there too. When we go to Cheyenne today to mail this, we'll search the car but before that we'll have lots of fun singing tunes at the top of our lungs,"

"Are you sure they only put one inside?" she asked.

"Yes, I was watching them both and didn't let them inside very far. He looked at her significantly once and she immediately tried to get my attention. I pretended not to watch him but he didn't shake my hand when we introduced ourselves. I think he was palming the bug."

"We also need to pick up the things I ordered," she reminded him. "Do you think they'll enter while we're gone?"

"It depends on what Todd and Regina and their gang are doing," replied George. "I left the car unlocked just to see if they would go inside. There might be a tracking device on it so we'll go to the grocery store and take a cab to the places we need to go."

"That's very clever, Inspector." Jessica smiled and kissed his cheek. "Let's get ready to leave. I want to return early and stay inside for the rest of the day."

Jessica showered first and dressed while George showered. She fled the room as soon as she put on her shoes because she knew he wouldn't have any qualms about dressing with her in the bedroom.

She scrambled eggs and made toast and coffee for breakfast and within an hour they were on the road.

"Darling, find a good music station. We're going to be in the choir this year, aren't we?" Jessica was anxious and singing would not only irritate their listeners, if there were any, but she loved to sing and it would relax her as well.

Jessica hopped into the first cab and they were off to pick up her packages and then she was going to hurry back and buy groceries so it would seem it was the purpose for the drive. George was running a couple of errands but didn't explain anything to her other than his would take more time so she might have to wait at the car.

Jessica purchased items that wouldn't spoil, canned goods, bread, bottled drinks, etc and placed them in the trunk of the car. She couldn't help investigating what she could see on the underside of the car but she didn't spot anything that looked like it didn't belong.

Not knowing how long George would take, she walked along the street looking into shop windows and stepped into a small book store.

"Oh my stars! You're JB Fletcher!"

Jessica turned toward the voice. The store was empty so it was easy to spot the person behind the register. "Good morning!"

"This is such an honor! Oh my goodness, wait until everyone hears you were in my store!" The woman gushed for a few minutes with Jessica graciously speaking with her and she readily agreed to sign the books of hers that the woman carried. She also had a photo of the two of them taken so the lady could place it on her bulletin board.

The woman, Grace Furtch, was ready to call every person she knew but Jessica urged her to wait until she left. She was on vacation, after all. She purchased a couple of books on Wyoming and one on Cheyanne and left. She saw a taxi drive into the parking lot in front of the grocery store and George exited and headed for their car. She arrived moments after him.

He took her by the arm and led her into a small bakery. It was early for lunch so they had coffee and pastries while they talked. George didn't want to speak in the car about anything of substance. He also told Jessica that he wanted to stage a disagreement between the two of them so he could storm off and she could stay at the RV.

After their midmorning snack, they returned to the car and headed back to the campsite. It didn't appear that anyone was around but they unloaded the groceries and packages from the car and took them inside. George methodically searched the entire RV while Jessica put away everything. He motioned for her to start typing with hopes the tapping of the keys would be distracting. He unpacked and set up a device that would let them know if there were electronic or battery operated items nearby. Of course, the RV contained many so he had to check off each item. By late afternoon he had checked the car, RV, and the area immediately around the RV. There was a bug in the planter outside the RV that he disabled, along with the one inside the RV that was found earlier. There wasn't one inside the car, surprisingly. It must have only been searched.

"Won't they be suspicious if they never hear anything?" asked Jessica.

"They'll probably return and when they see the devices are still in place, they'll assume they're defective. Hopefully, they're brand new and never used so it would be more believable." George replied, looking around.

"What are you looking for now?" she asked.

"I want to extend the awning outside so we have some shade. I think I'll sit outside with a book so I can see when they return. I'm interested in knowing who is coming and going and see if they have a routine," he answered. Tomorrow when you're inside typing, I want you to do it at the window that looks across at them. I think it would be normal for you to stare out the window when you are thinking about something."

"So I can jot down who is coming and going after you leave?"

"Exactly, Jessie." He looked at her fondly. "I don't want you to take anything I say personally, love."

"I won't," she confirmed.

George went outside with his book while Jessica did some research on Wyoming and Cheyenne, specifically. Todd and Regina and company returned soon after and they made enough noise to have Jessica put away her research and go outside to greet them. She introduced them to George and spent a few minutes talking to the children. She went back inside and pulled out chicken to make for dinner. An hour later she brought out two plates of food and set them on the table. Pouring lemonade into the glasses, she sat down. They ate while chatting quietly. George finished and looked at Jessica when all four of their newest neighbors returned in a ten year old Dodge truck. Jessica waved at them, the women waved back, and they entered their RV. Jessica could feel eyes on her and George.

"Why can't we just enjoy ourselves?" asked George, raising his voice slightly.

"I just want to do a little more research, George." She put her hand on his but he jerked it away.

"Why am I here if you're just going to spend everyday inside researching and writing? You can do that at home." He crossed his arms.

"You knew I was coming out here to research and get exposed to the real Wyoming." She frowned at him. "I told you we could do things in the morning but I want the rest of the day to work."

George stood and pushed back from the table. He went inside slamming the door and Jessica looked after him before pushing her plate away. George returned with his car keys and drove off. Jessica slumped at the table and rubbed her hand on her forehead. She sat there. She could feel eyes on her. Not just the newest neighbors but also from Todd and Regina's RV. Less than five minutes after George left, both men, Jason and Mark, got into the truck and drove off.

She gathered up the dishes and took them inside before returning and wiping off the table. She folded the chairs and hung them on the hooks on the side of the RV before collapsing the table and storing it in the place assigned to it. She went inside and set up her computer at the window. She would lift her head and look at the road entering the campsite on occasion but mostly she did some research. She copy and pasted information on populations, towns, and county governments. She made note that Sarah and Marnie were outside moving around and they appeared to be watching her. She got up when the sun set and turned on lights inside and out. She cleaned up the dishes and set up the coffee pot for in the morning. She wasn't sure when George would return but she closed all the curtains in the RV except for the window she could look out while working. She would get up every fifteen or twenty minutes and sweep or dust, then sit again and do a little work. She looked every bit like a worried woman.

The noise from her neighbors quieted around eleven. There was country music coming from Sarah and Marnie's radio that was in the kitchen window of their RV but Jessica never saw them. Every time she heard a car she went to the window but it was never George's car. At midnight she closed the curtain at the window and dimmed most of the lights. She turned on the light in the bedroom and got ready for bed. She wished she knew what time George planned to return.

No sooner had the thought entered her mind, she heard a car pull up and park in their slot. A peek through the curtains found George slamming the door and coming inside through the RV's driver's door instead of around to the main door. Two minutes later the Dodge truck returned and parked and two men got out. George turned out all the lights inside the RV except the bedroom but left the outside lights on.

Jessica hugged him hard when he returned.

"You didn't have to worry, lass," he said softly.

"They followed you," she replied.

"I went straight to a bar in town. I saw them come inside to watch me so I stayed at the counter and drank something they called a beer but was, excuse my language, dog piss."

Jessica covered her mouth with her hand so her giggles couldn't escape. George's eyes were twinkling.

"I went to the grocery store and stood in front of the flower section trying to look like I was going to buy you flowers but instead I picked up a 24 pack of beer and drove through downtown pausing every few blocks like I was looking for an address. It was comical watching them try to follow me. They aren't professionals at all." George frowned. "I hope they consider me safe and harmless now."

Jessica told him about the women and what she observed.

"We will act like we made up tonight and in the morning you'll be loving on me." He smiled before winking at her. We can have breakfast outside and let them see we're lovey-dovey. I want to see if they stay inside and watch us or if they pretend to be camping finally." George went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth before returning and removing his shirt and pants.

Jessica got into bed and picked up her book on the nightstand. She couldn't stop the blush knowing he was undressing in front of her. George got in beside her and pulled the book away.

"Do you want to be making up now?" He teased.

"George, you're incorrigible." She kissed him lightly but he pressed firmly then deepened the kiss. His lips left her mouth and moved to her neck. "I think you should turn off the light," he whispered in her ear.

His voice in her ear brought her back to reality. She turned off the light and George rolled away. Her heart was pounding and she wished he was kissing her again.

"I would love to continue but I don't think you're ready," he murmured. And I don't know if I can stop, he thought.

Jessica sighed. This was true, she wasn't ready.

They were up early. Jessica showered and once again dressed quickly while George was in the shower. She took her time making breakfast while George went outside and set up the table and chairs. He brought out mugs and the coffee pot while she brought out the plates of food.

They dug in, eating and talking. He would smile at her while patting her hand and she was speaking while using her hands for emphasis. She kissed him lightly twice. He cleared away the table while she stayed outside. George rejoined her and brought his chair closer to hers. He lifted her hand and kissed it and she smiled at him. Noises were coming from the other two RVs so they knew everyone was waking now. They sat out for another hour, holding hands, before going inside. George led her back to the bedroom and closed the door.

"I want to give them a chance to check the listening device in the planter outside." George powered up his laptop and motioned her over. "I also set up the cameras. One is a view of the door and the planter, another is facing their RV, another is facing all three but you can see Todd and Regina's RV best from that angle. I was trying to pull out enough to see the Dodge truck but it is barely visible."

"I thought there were four cameras?" she asked.

"The fourth one is on the other side of this RV looking at the car and the windows and door on that side since it's hidden from the road."

They sat watching the laptop for a few minutes. Both Jason and Mark came outside and stood looking around. Jason called inside and the two women came out and joined them. They stood around looking until Jason eased his way toward the center of the compound. He walked around all three RVs as though he was just taking a stroll. He peered into George's car window but didn't open the unlocked door. As he completed his circuit he paused in front of the planter and looked inside. He walked away and rejoined the others. He handed something to Mark and they returned inside the RV.

The noisy family that included Todd and Regina left. They were dressed in swimsuits and flip flops so they were more than likely going to the lake. The other RV remained occupied but there was no sight of anyone. George remained looking at his laptop so Jessica decided to do some research. She had read everything she had on Jason Lewis but she decided to research Mark Robertson as well. Hopefully digging through yearbook pictures, social media and other resources she could find something important.

She started strolling through census records. She had addresses where Jason Lewis' parents were born and tried to go back far enough to find grandparents.

She found a site that had class pictures dating back to the fifties and she started with elementary school pictures. She couldn't help smiling at the cute faces. A first grade class was adorable and she looked at the index to check the names and there was Jason Lewis! He was standing next to a little boy named Robert Markham. Mark Robertson was Robert Markham, she was certain but she would have to search deeper. Thankfully Markham wasn't as common as Robertson.

Turning to land records and doing title searches she located the Markham family. They lived three houses away from Jason Lewis' grandparents. She couldn't wait to tell George but wanted to complete her searches first. She noticed another Markham family and began tracing them to see if they were related to Robert Markhams family. Tracing land records she found that Robert Markham's mother had a brother, Jerome and a sister, Regina. She knew Todd and Regina's last name was Brody but wondered what Regina's maiden was. Turning to marriage records, she quickly found it. Todd Brody married Regina Markham on April 3, 1972. Regina was Robert Markham's aunt.

"George, darling, could you help me for a moment?"

George came quickly. Jessica pointed to her notes while she went to the kitchen to make a salad for lunch. George looked out the window to check if any of the four adults in the RV were outside. He uploaded all the information to his email and sent it before wiping everything from Jessica's computer except her history of the state of Wyoming notes.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I really want to kiss you right now, lass."

Jessica turned and smiled at him. She pecked his lips but all it did was make his eyes darken with desire. "George, it's the middle of the day."

He grinned and tightened his hold on her. Nuzzling her neck, he began leaving a trail of kisses across her shoulders. "Jessie, I think you might get us the information we need. I'm so grateful." He turned her around and kissed her thoroughly.

"What are we going to do next?" she asked. She needed something to do before she got carried away.

George waggled his eyebrows at her and she smacked his shoulder.

"What else did you have in mind?" She shook her head as she settled back at her desk. She was happy she found some information, now to find more.