Garvey's Revenge

Chapter 13

If Matt could duplicate himself, he would. The sting was going down tonight. He should be at the sawmill setting up with the men. He also should be tailing D.J. and Dex as they explored the town. He should be at the station holding down the fort. He should be with Jodi with her legs wrapped around him.

Since he couldn't do all of that at the same time, he had chosen to help Williamson tail D.J. and Dex. According to procedure, one deputy had to be at the station and on duty at all times. Matt got Carter to stay behind since he had the least amount of experience being a cop. George, who Matt deputized so he could legally work undercover for the department, was at the sawmill waiting for the Joneses. Goldman was acting as George's wingman. The rest of the boys were in position in various spots at the sawmill.

The meet up was happening at nine. It was 7:30. Matt walked along the sidewalk in jeans and a blue polo shirt. He didn't want to spook these guys by wearing his uniform. He would stand out like a sore thumb. Matt kept his distance. He was in communication with Williamson through a small earpiece that was in his ear. Williamson followed them from a distance in his truck.

D.J. and Dex had walked into Joe's diner ten minutes ago. Matt sat down on a yellow bench on the sidewalk and opened his newspaper.

"Sheriff," the voice whispered in his ear.

"I hear ya, Williamson. Come on back," Matt answered.

"Looks like they are going to eat inside," Williamson said. "There aren't any other customers in there."

"All right, keep your eye on them. Make sure they're not harassing the locals."

"10-4," Williamson said.

So far, the Joneses had been on their best behavior. They had been spotted in town around five o'clock by a deputy on traffic duty. The first place they went to was Garvey's, which made Matt's heart jump in his throat. They were there for forty-five minutes.

Matt had called Garvey's after they left. Trina had told him that they just had a couple of drinks, flirted with her, and left. D.J. had given her his business card and told her to call him if she was ever in Phoenix. They didn't get a room. Then, Matt had spoken to Jackie. He had told her that under no circumstances to rent them a room if they came back. He wouldn't tell Jackie why, but promised he would tell her later. Jackie had promised Matt that she would call him if they came back. What really gave him a sigh of relief was that Jackie had told him that Jodi left for Phoenix early that morning and she wouldn't be back until tonight.

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Jodi parked her red jeep next to a meter on the street in town. It was almost eight o'clock, and she was famished. She knew most of the locals were home around this time, so she didn't have to put up with women staring her down because she was proud to run orgies in her bar.

She had met with the OBGYN. He had told Jodi that she was eight weeks pregnant. Jodi was blunt with the doctor. She had told him that during that time she didn't know she was pregnant. She had been drinking alcohol and smoked a little weed during the last couple of weeks. He did an ultrasound. He assured her everything looked fine, but he wanted to keep monitoring her. He had given her a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a coupon for a book about pregnancy. She had made an appointment for next month. Jodi had gone to the bookstore and bought the book. She had also stopped to hang out with some old friends.

Now, Jodi was looking forward to a home cooked meal and some girl talk with Bonnie. Rita and Bonnie had made a deal. Bonnie had agreed to run the diner and Rita would split the profits with her fifty-fifty.

Bonnie had stopped doing her dominatrix work when DA Jacobs started getting jealous. The DA had told her that he loved her, but if he left his wife it would cost him a fortune and re-election.

Jodi entered the diner. Two black guys were sitting in a booth. She had never seen them before. All of a sudden she felt light-headed.

"Hey, Jodi," Bonnie greeted.

Jodi put her hand up to say hello, but nothing came out. Everything went dark.

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Matt's eyes bulged when he spotted Jodi walking up the sidewalk. He quickly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed. Matt put the phone back in his pocket since he had the earpiece.

Williamson picked up. "Yeah, I see her."

"What the hell is she doing here?"

"You want me to get out of the truck and ask her?"

"No," Matt said with disgust. Then, he held his breath as he watched Jodi walk into the diner. "Shit."

"Maybe she's picking up an order," Williamson said.

"She couldn't eat dinner in Phoenix? Of all the nights for her to eat at the diner."

"Calm down, I'm sure she's just - oh shit!"

"What!"

"I think she just passed out."

"What!" Matt said. He couldn't go running across the street; it would bring too much attention to him. "I can't go. Go in and see if she's okay and find out what the hell she is doing there."

"You got it," Williamson said and hung up.

Matt hated this. He felt helpless, but too much was on the line to let his emotions take over.