Diplomats Read online

  “We’ll do it.” He glanced up at me from the paper in his hand. “Now you said you saw the girl drop the doll?” Bill wrote something down. “Did you say she was kidnapped?”

  “Yes, sir.” I recounted the entire story that I’d already told Peter, and finally looked at my hand where I’d written the license plate number. “Oh man. It’s almost gone. The water must’ve washed it away.”

  Peter pulled my hand upward and looked at my palm. “Yep, you wrote it, that’s for sure.”

  My eyes met his. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “Sure I do. But now I have physical evidence too.” He smiled at me and I was ready to slug him. Peter pulled a very wet notebook from his back pocket and tried to read the letters I’d spouted to him earlier. “It was K-something-something-6-4-something.”

  “Natalie, from what you describe, that sounds like some sort of diplomatic plate,” Bill said.

  One of Bill’s men took the items from the back of the ambulance and put them in a bag.

  “A diplomatic plate from Washington D.C.?” I asked. “I knew I saw one before from when my family lived there.”

  “Can you remember what letter was on the blue stripe?”

  I thought back, but the information just wasn’t there. “Peter asked me that too, and I just don’t remember.”

  The ambulance worker removed the oxygen, stuck a stethoscope on Peter’s back and chest, and asked him to breathe deeply. He coughed a bit, but tried his best. The man took his pulse and checked his eyes and throat. “You have your choice—”

  “I’m staying here.” Peter jumped off the back of the ambulance, wrapped in a blanket. “Thanks for the help, though. You guys worked wonders.”

  “Fine. We’ll send a bill to the department.” The man laughed, and Peter waved to him, walking away with his hand on my arm.

  We said our goodbyes to all the other officers and ambulance drivers, and Bill and his men left the area. Just Peter and I were left in the park.

  Peter put his arm on my shoulders. “Do you remember what you wrote on your hand?”

  “No, do you?”

  He pulled my hand back up to see if he could make out any more of the license plate. “I think the last number was a four.”

  “What can we do? That little girl is missing and her mother just killed herself. That is one dysfunctional family, for sure.”

  “We don’t know if the mother killed herself. She might have gotten out of the river near some trees. That also might have been the little girl’s father who took her. We know nothing about them yet.”

  “That wasn’t her father. The skin and hair coloring was all wrong.” I just couldn’t believe that happened in front of my eyes. “What are we going to do?”

  “Well, we can’t file a missing person’s report yet because we don’t know the names of the people missing.”

  “People?”

  He nodded. “Yes. People. Both the mother and the child. We’re kind of stuck unless we get prints off the doll and the pen.”

  “Some type of diplomatic plate, a missing child, and a mother who denied the whole thing. Then, that person grabbed you under water. Peter, is this some type of nightmare or something?”

  “Something, that’s for sure. I’m going home to change then I’ll meet you somewhere.” He glanced at his watch and tapped it with his finger. “I need to get another watch.”

  “Great. Meet me at the mall and I’ll get one for you.” I headed to the picnic table and picked up my books, my backpack, and my purse, followed by Peter.

  “Do you have a pen?” he asked. “I want to fill in that license plate digit before I forget it. My pen’s soaked.” He held out his notebook and shook it to remove some of the dampness. “Looks like my paper’s wet, too.”

  “Sure.” I opened my purse and looked inside, but something extra was there. “I think someone slipped me a note.”

  “Huh?”

  I took the blanket and covered my hand, then removed a piece of red paper from my purse. “I’ve never seen this before.”

  He covered his hand as well with his blanket and opened the paper. We both got close to it. It read, ‘Stay out of this or you’ll be sorry. It’s none of your business.’

  “Who would have put that in there?” I asked.

  Peter blew out a breath. “Weird. Did you see anyone other than the mother near here?”

  I thought for a moment. “There was a man walking past the playground, but that was it.”

  “What did he look like?” Peter asked.

  “He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. His hair was dark, and he almost looked Italian. I saw him from a distance, so I can’t be sure, but I think he had dark eyes that were inset, and he had a big nose.”

  Peter laid the red paper back in my purse and removed his cell phone from his pocket. Water dripped off and onto the ground as he opened it. He tried to turn it on, but nothing happened.

  I took my cell phone from my purse and handed it to him.

  “Thanks.” He phoned his boss and told him everything that had happened, including his missing gun, which he was very upset about losing.

  Instead of listening to him whine, I studied my beautiful diamond ring. At least it was still intact.

  “I’m going to change clothes and get a new watch and cell phone,” Peter said over the phone. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, so I can get another gun.” He listened for a moment. “She’s with me. Want to talk to her?”

  I shook my head. The chief of police wanted to hire me to work for him as soon as I graduated. But I was avoiding him like the plague. I didn’t want to think about it. I worked evenings at a hotel and wasn’t ready to get my résumé done yet.

  Peter shoved the phone into my hand. I shook my head in disgust, but didn’t seem to have a choice. I was ready to slap him upside the head, but put the phone to my ear anyway. “Hello.”

  “Natalie,” the chief said. “You had quite an experience.”

  “Yes, sir.” Even to an ex-New Yorker, the chief was a scary man and I had to call him sir.

  “Do you know I’ve left about six messages on your answering machine?”

  I cringed. “No, I didn’t.” I hated lying.

  “Well, I wanted you to come to see me about a job. We could really use someone like you. Didn’t Peter tell you that?”

  “Sort of, sir, but I’ve been working on finishing my classes.”

  “When are they done?”

  Too soon. I considered adding a year onto the end date, but didn’t think he’d appreciate that. “Next week.”

  “Come to see me as soon as you’re done. I have a job for you and I really want to talk to you about it.”

  “Yes, sir.” I hated this. “I’m done late on Wednesday. Will Thursday morning be soon enough?” I prayed he’d say no, that I’d have to wait until the following week.

  “Sure.”

  Darn.

  The chief continued. “I’ll put you in my appointment book for eight o’clock. Will that do?”

  I closed my eyes, dreading the thought. “Yes, sir.” Eight o’clock was really early for me, so that would be my best excuse for not doing well at the interview.

  “Do you mind if I get a copy of your transcripts in the meantime?” he asked.

  “No problem. I have very good grades, so that’s just fine. I’ll call them and have them faxed to your office.”

  He gave me the fax number and I wrote it on a piece of paper from my purse, making sure I didn’t touch the red paper. We said our good-byes and Peter just smiled.

  “What?” As I pulled my blanket around me, I juggled my books and purse and we headed back to the cars. He put his arm around my shoulders and massaged my back. Having a personal slave was a good thing.

  “You don’t want to work for him, do you?” He kissed my cheek.

  “You work there. How does that look? I mean, we’re engaged. Doesn’t it look like nepotism to you?”

  “Sure it does. But the chief wants to offer you something anyway. No one needs to know we’re engaged. Now if we were married like I wanted to do last January—”

  “They’ll know it, Peter.” I stopped dead in my tracks. “It’s really obvious and your good buddy Angela knows it, so anyone with half a brain could figure it out.”

  “She’s your buddy too.” He took my elbow and ushered me toward our cars.

  “Yeah, but you work in the same office with her. She’ll tell and I know it.”

  “You know how women are. They tell everything.”

  He definitely needed molding. That type of talk was going to get him into deep trouble.

  I glared at him with a set jaw. “Watch what you say, buster.”

  “It’s true. Tell me the name of one woman who has kept a secret for more than two minutes.”

  I sighed so he could hear me. “Me. I can certainly keep secrets.”

  “Oh, no. You tell things, too.”

  “No I don’t.”

  We reached my car and Peter pulled me to him. We were both still wet and had blankets wrapped around us, but it didn’t matter. He captured my lips and I wrapped my free arm around his waist, under the blanket. He was definitely on fire, and his kiss hit me in more places than just my lips.

  I finally pulled my head back from his and watched him. “That’s how you get me to shut up, isn’t it?”

  “Yep. It works every time. Always has.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “It didn’t work this time. I don’t tell things.”

  He kissed me again, and suddenly, I heard the screech of car tires. I looked around us and saw a car careening around the corner, heading right for us. Peter pulled me out of the way just in time, knocking us both to the ground and making my books fly from my hand.

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nbsp; The vehicle hit my car and pushed it into the car beside mine then up onto the curb. Peter was on his feet and yanked me upward. We both ran behind a few trees, while the car backed up and hit my car again with a crash, knocking it into the trees we were standing behind.

  One of the trees started to sway, so Peter grabbed my hand and we ran closer to the water. The car pushed my car even more, clanking and grinding bumpers as they met. The tree fell with a loud crash. Peter and I stood in horror as we watched the dark green car race away.

  Chapter 3

  “My car!” It rested on top of the tree that had been knocked over. “What am I going to do?”

  “Wow.” Peter examined the car, moving closer. “I think they’re trying to tell you something.”

  “I did nothing. This is just rude behavior. I think it’s time to take the job the chief is offering just so I can learn to shoot a gun and take out a few of these hoodlums.”

  “I don’t think they have computer people shooting guns.”

  “Well, they should. This is just unacceptable.” I touched the thick tree trunk sticking out from under my car, when a branch suddenly fell off, hitting the ground with a hollow thud.

  I jumped backward from the branch and Peter sighed. “Can I use your cell phone again?”

  “Sure.” I handed it to him, making sure I didn’t touch the red note inside my purse, yet again.

  “Chief, it’s Pete again. We have a problem.” He described what happened and glanced at me when he was done. “Yes, sir. It was a dark green four-door with no plates. I think it was an American car.” He listened and grinned. “Yes, she does.” He took my hand. “I’ll tell her. Thank you.” He ended the call.

  I grabbed him by the shoulders, so he’d listen. “Tell me what? What did I do now?”

  “You’re a little bit defensive, aren’t you?” he asked.

  I hated that Ph.D. he had sometimes and started to shake him. “Cut the psychology junk. What did he say?”

  A small smile crossed his face, and I could tell he was laughing at me in his head. I had a few choice New York terms all lined up ready to spew when he opened his mouth. “As soon as you get into clean clothes, we’re taking a little trip down to the station.”

  I let go of his shoulders. The enormity of the situation hit me. “Why? Am I being arrested? What did I do to get arrested? I’m an innocent bystander. Can’t he see that?”

  Peter cut my ranting short with a small kiss. He took me by surprise, then held onto both of my forearms, rubbing them gently while peering into my eyes…and my soul. My mouth just hung open, magnetized by this man’s ability.

  “No,” he said. “You’re going for that interview. You start work right away, and your first job will be to track down the green car.”

  I shook free of his hands and his magnetic eye control. “Huh? What about my job at the hotel?”

  He pulled me closer with his hands on my waist. “You just quit. He’s calling your boss and explaining it to him.”

  “Why? I can’t just quit my job. I have to give a two-week notice.” Even I noticed I was getting hysterical.

  Peter moved closer and planted a kiss on my lips again, but this time, it was a huge kiss and very hot. When he let me go, I couldn’t even open my eyes. Oh, he was good.

  “Calm down,” he whispered into my ear. “You’re fine. You’re under protective custody…again.”

  I opened my eyes and furrowed my brows, backing away slightly to see him. “No. Why?” I removed myself from his embrace and started to pace. “I don’t want to be in protective custody. Why do these things always happen to me?”

  He stopped me from pacing and pointed to my car. “In case you didn’t notice, someone’s out to get you.”

  “But they don’t know who I am. They just know my car…or what’s left of it.” I looked at the poor thing and wanted to cry. “We should leave now, before someone tries something else.”

  “We will. I wanted to wait for a tow truck and an officer, but you’re probably right. Besides, they know your face and that’s all it takes. They can follow you anywhere. They probably got your license plate number too, and after the last time you became the target for a madman, we’re not taking any chances.”

  The previous December, a crazy man crossed paths with me at my job at the hotel. I saw him right after he murdered a guest, so he made me his prime target. Peter protected me the best he could, but I ended up shooting the man in self-defense while the man was driving and I was in the passenger’s seat. I was hit by on-coming traffic and spent about two months in casts.

  “So let’s get moving.” I warmed my arms. “This place is giving me the creeps.”

  “Fine. Have it your way.” Peter directed me to his car, a few spaces down from where my car used to sit, two spaces down from the other damaged vehicle.

  I pointed to my car. “What about this mess?” I saw my books, unharmed, so I ran to them and scooped them into my hands. At least I wouldn’t be fined for littering…other than the pages of notes swimming with the fishes.

  Peter opened the passenger’s door to his Jeep. “The chief will take care of it. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Fine.”

  Just as I was ready to get into the car, a shot rang out from somewhere near the water. Peter pushed me inside, forcing all my books to the other side of the car with my purse still hanging on my shoulder. He ducked down behind the opened passenger’s side door and peeked around the corner. I crouched as low as I could and watched him. He still had my phone in his hand and dialed as fast as he could.

  “Tell Bill Jericho Pete’s in trouble at Voyageur Park. Someone’s shooting at us.” Peter spoke in a low tone. If that had been me, I’d have been hysterical.

  Peter thanked the person and crawled into the back seat of the car. Another shot rang out and went right through his windshield with a crash. A huge crack split the glass with the loudest ear-piercing screech I’d ever heard, making me cover my ears from the annoying sound. At least the sound of the sirens masked more of the cracking sound. I thought I heard more shots, but my head was hidden in my hands.

  “Keep down. Bill’s on his way,” Peter whispered from the back seat.

  I nodded and moved to lie on the floor of the car. Another shot pierced the windshield and I hid my head even more as glass tinkled downward to the floor right beside me. I glanced back at Peter, crouched on the floor as well. The sirens were very loud when the police cars drove into the parking lot. Tears of fear formed in my eyes, but I wiped them away, realizing I had to be tough.

  “Peter, if we don’t make it out alive…”

  “Quiet. I don’t want to hear that right now.”

  The sirens stopped, and some car doors opened behind us. No more shots were fired, but I stayed still just in case. After a long time, when I suspected they were making sure the shooter was gone, the doors to Peter’s car were opened.

  “Natalie,” Bill said. “Long time no see.” I looked up and noticed he’d changed clothes and probably had a shower after helping to rescue Peter in the river.

  “Is it safe?” Peter asked.

  “Yep.” Bill looked out the front windshield of Peter’s Jeep. “Someone doesn’t like you guys. Natalie, we’ve called a tow truck.” He glanced toward my car. “I heard what happened. That’s just nasty.”

  Nasty wasn’t a strong enough word, but I wasn’t about to argue. “Sure is.”

  Both Peter and I got out of his car and walked to the front of it with Bill. Other officers secured the area with their guns drawn, but no one else was in the area.

  “My windshield,” Peter said with a sigh. He looked at the front of the car. “The grill too? I only heard three shots, but it looks like a lot more in here.”

  Bill stood beside Peter and crossed his arms. “There are enough shots here for two guns. Maybe they had a silencer on one of them. Regardless, you don’t have a car now either. We’ll have you towed too.”

  Peter nodded. “Thanks, Bill. I’m worried about our safety. They probably pulled the plates from both of our cars.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ll put you at our office until we figure out what to do with you.”

  “We need dry clothes, too,” Peter said.

  “Change of plans, then. We’ll take you home and help you out.” Bill smiled at me. “Natalie, I’ll personally help you get dressed.”