“Sir, I don’t know if he is here or not.  There is one girl here that seems a little out of place, and I might have seen her at the school.  She could be his date.  But I can’t say that I’ve seen Paul Murphy.  And we’ve had pretty good eyes on the cars coming in.  All are local,” Jenkins told her boss.

“How many people are there?” Bill asked.

“Probably about three dozen, give or take.  And there has been a turn-over, so there might be fifty different people that have been here at some point or are here now.  Without knowing more about how he currently looks, it’s tough.  And, of course, everyone is in costume.”

“Keep up the good work, Melody.  We don’t even know that he’s here.”

“Roger that, Sir.”

She kept up her watch.  She scanned the rooms with binoculars.  She was sure that she’d seen the girl in the tight black dress before… in her mind she called her Morticia.  She thought her date was Zorro, but Riley, dressed as Davy Crockett, had been hitting on her pretty hard.  Morticia didn’t seem to be interested… she had to be with Zorro. 

After watching the house for an hour, she decided that if anyone in the house were Paul Murphy, it had to be Zorro.  And she needed to figure out how to keep an eye on him.

She called out to the front team, “Do you know what car Zorro came in?”

“Big blue Bronco.  Came with a sexy little chick in a black dress.  Butt-wipe didn’t even help her down from his truck.  She just shimmied down.  I thought she was going to end up on her ass,” Billings replied. 

It was more information than she’d asked for, but it was also helpful.  She felt that her feeling was becoming a hunch. 

“If he leaves, call me.  I want to pick up coverage on him and see what he does.  If you have to leave station to get me on him, you can do that.”

“Roger that, ma’am,” he replied.  He was a little resentful that she had become the teacher’s pet, but she had pulled a couple of really good leads out of nothing. 

Melody Jenkins kept up the watch, then noticed that Zorro and Morticia disappeared for a little while from the living room.  She thought she saw movement in one of the upstairs bedrooms but couldn’t be sure.  Even if there was movement, that didn’t mean it was Paul.  She was pretty sure that was his bedroom, though.  She wanted to call in a capture team, but if she was wrong, it would be a huge problem. 

After about twenty minutes, the couple reappeared in the living room, then looked like they might be getting ready to leave.  Morticia went into the bathroom and Zorro went into the kitchen… probably to grab another round of snacks. 

Melody decided to change position so that she could get to her car faster if needed.  Just a couple of minutes later the call came from the front team.  “Jenkins, Zorro is on the move.  Morticia looks a little wasted, though.  I think he is going to have to pour her into the passenger seat.  Let me know if you need me to pursue.”

“I think I have it.  I’m getting in my vehicle as we speak.”

A couple of minutes later the Bronco drove past the street she was on.  She pulled away from her stop sign and dropped in behind it.  “I have the target in sight, Billings.  I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

She followed the Bronco through downtown Hampton, and it turned headed in the direction of the Prince house.  There were still a lot of other places it could go, but her gut was screaming at her to call the boss.

“Boss, you on freq?” she asked.

“Go, Melody.  I’m here,” he replied. 

“Bill, I’m behind a vehicle that my gut tells me is Murphy.  We are on Kecoughtan headed south, just passing the river and coming up on Sunset.  I think he is headed toward you, sir.  I’m not a hundred percent sure it’s him, though.”

“I trust your gut, Jenkins.  I’ll take steps.  Keep me in the loop.”

Bill Prince called out to his wife, “Call Sharon.  Get Ed over here.  Tell him to ‘dress.’  Stay in the house.  Lock the doors.”

“Bill, you’re scaring me.  What’s going on.”

“I don’t want you to be scared, but you need to be on edge.  Grab your weapon and don’t be afraid to shoot if needed.  Turn on the lights so you can identify your target and stay away from windows and out of sight.”

Bill jogged out the front door and around the corner to the Caprice he had parked there.  He had a vest in the trunk, as well as a few weapons locked in a special safe.  He grabbed his gear and headed back toward his house.  He was keeping an eye on the street between his house and the Moody’s, watching for a vehicle. 

“Bill?” came the call on the radio.

“Go, Melody.  What do you have for me?”

“Lifted blue Bronco.  We’re on Clyde by Bay Avenue.”

“Copy that.  Drop if you need to.  I’ll pick him up and you can come in the other way.  If you are right, it’s less likely to spook him, and if you are wrong, it won’t matter.”

“Copy, sir.”

She followed another block, then turned off to pick up a parallel street. 

Not one to argue… at least with her… Jack dropped behind the wheel and keyed the Chevy 302 to life.  It didn’t have the roar of his Shelby, and not even the staccato bark of the Boss Mustang, but it had a very satisfying burble coming from the dual exhaust. 

“Walk on the beach, my love?” Jack said… not really intending to drop the L-word.

“Absolutely,” she responded, suppressing a giant grin.  Him using that word had not snuck past her unnoticed. 

As they made their way to Buckroe Beach to take a moonlight stroll, neither noticed the black BMW skulking along behind them.  Paul hadn’t forgotten that he wanted revenge, he just knew he needed to be careful of when he took it.  He had no desire to be caught… and it was something he thought about.  But it wasn’t enough of a deterrent to stop him completely from seeking his revenge.  He was still enjoying the lessons he had taught that stripper and her friend.  These two weren’t going to get the same treatment, but he was still looking forward to it. 

***

As Amy and Jack walked on the beach, she turned to him and said, “Do you remember on the day that we confronted Paul… I was telling you how I felt?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jack replied with a gentle smile.  “You told me that you liked me and one of the things was that I made you feel like a princess.”

Amy smiled.  “That is probably about what I said… but what I meant was that you made me feel like a valuable person.  I know I shouldn’t have felt the way I did before, but I didn’t feel like I had value.”  She reached her arms up around his neck and Jack wrapped his arms around her lower back.  “But when I was talking to you, I stopped short.”

“I remember… something about what your mom said.  You said you’d tell me later.  You can tell me anything.  I’ve fallen in love with you, Amy.  I knew I liked you.  I knew that in fourth grade.  I’ve known that every time I saw you in the hall at school.  But I didn’t know you would make me feel the way you make me feel.”

“I love you, too, Jonathan.  I always hoped I would have the chance to know you like this… and to love you.  Thank you for giving it to me.”

“So, Amy, what did your mom say?”

Amy smiled.  She kissed him gently on the lips.  Then she laid her head on his chest, looking up at him.  “She told me that night… that very first night when you asked me out…  She told me that after she talked to you, she knew that you were the kind of boy I should marry.  I don’t know what life holds for us, but I know that I want us to spend it together.”

***

In the parking lot, Paul sat in his darkened car.  He was holding a rifle scope in his hand.  From his vantage point, all he could see above the seawall was Jack’s head.  If he thought he could make the shot, he would get the rifle from the trunk and take it.  But he knew better.  He’d been practicing, but he wouldn’t be able to make a head shot at this distance, especially not without even a warm-up shot, or some way to tell how close the shot was and how to adjust. 

***

A block away sat another car.  In the driver’s seat sat a young woman named Melody Jenkins.  She was holding binoculars and watching the driver of the BMW.  She knew his name was Paul and he was her mark.  She had been following him for a couple of days.  She was pretty sure he’d not spotted her.  But she took her training seriously and knew more about him than anyone else.  She had taken one of her shifts off and had a teammate cover for her.  That had given her the chance to gather some other intel. 

In fact, I have 6 different books in various stages of development. Only one of them doesn’t have crossover characters. (all titles are working titles and may or may not reflect actual titles):

Skater – This one is set before Planning Vengeance, and has cameos by Jack Dixon, Nicole Dixon, Sherry Cross and Terry Gates. Terry and Nicole are the ones that figure the most prominently of the cameos.

Grafton – This is after You Don’t Know Jack, and obviously revolves around Gunny. Most of the good guy crew is involved, and we are introduced to several new characters, including Mali. She’ll kind of be a surprise.

Jenny’s Death Star – This is also after YDKJ, and has a couple of cameos so far… Gunny and Melody Grafton. Dirk Bryce is most involved in the story as well. Not just a cameo, but a supporting player.

New Life – This one is still pretty early in its development, but Bill Prince and Dirk Bryce will be prominently featured. It is also of the newer generation, after YDKJ.

The Call – This one is contemporary. Jack and Amy have a son, and Nicole and Rolf have a son and a daughter. Jack and Amy’s son is center stage on this one. It looks like Nicole and Rolf’s son might be prominent, too. Jack and Amy are certainly around, and we have mentions of Dirk, Jenny and Ellen (from Triple Cross)

The one that doesn’t have any of the core Dixon-Prince characters is called The Cruise.

His father had talked him into buying a Sarge green Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, and so far, he was loving it.  It had made his dad a little crazy that he couldn’t leave it stock, but the old man had also been willing to hang out with him as Jack and his son installed the lift and a few other accessories.  He’d even told him that the Jeep looked good when he was done. 

Thinking about his dad made him a little wistful.  As Jack had been sweating and cussing under his Jeep, working with his son, Ed had chosen to flop out a camp chair and spectate.  In no way was Jack upset that Ed was watching instead of wrenching.  The man deserved to sit back and relax.  He had turned eighty-one a few months before.  And while Ed was a hale and hearty eighty-one, that was still a lot of candles on his cake to be sliding around on a cold concrete floor. 

For his whole life, Ed Dixon had been a rock.  He’d been Special Forces, and among the most elite of the elite.  He’d survived being shot, running head-on into a van on purpose, and too many things for Jack to count… and those were just the things he knew about.  So much of his father’s life had been a classified mystery.

But the reality was that his dad was slowing down.  His mind was still as sharp as ever, but his father had become something he’d never thought to associate with his old man.  Fragile. 

On the other hand, he knew how lucky he was.  Jack had lunch with his dad almost every week.  Just the two of them.  Where wasn’t important… it could be sitting at a picnic table with a couple of burgers from Smitty’s or sitting at the marina watching the boats come and go as they enjoyed fresh lobster, or more lately because of the pandemic, sitting on his deck overlooking the Chesapeake Bay while they ate homemade sandwiches.  What they talked about wasn’t really important, either.  Sometimes it was business, other times it was about Jack and Amy’s son, Colt.  His favorite conversations, though, involved him listening to his dad’s stories.  For the most part he’d heard them a hundred times, but every once in a while, a new detail would worm it’s way through.  But he just loved to watch his dad get excited about the old days.

Jack knew that what was important was that they both took the time to be together.  As much as he hated to face the thought, those days might be limited.  Could be a year, or it could be twenty, Jack thought, but I want to take advantage of every one of them. 

Jack’s cellphone rang, popping him out of his train of thought.  He glanced at the radio display, but it just showed the number of the caller.  That was highly unusual.  Even if they weren’t in his address book, his caller ID usually had a name.

The phone rang again. 

He could count the number of people that had his cell number.  Probably on two hands.  Even his lawyers didn’t know the number to his cell.  Wife, sister, kid, parents, wife’s parents, a few others.  He looked at the number on the screen. 

The phone rang for a third time. 

He didn’t recognize the area code.  He couldn’t place it… he knew it… but he couldn’t think of where the number originated.  Of course, now, people had numbers from all over.  Area codes meant little. 

His hand hovered over the two buttons as the phone rang for the fourth time. 

Accept.  Reject.

He didn’t like talking to people he didn’t know.  And he hated getting spam calls.  He didn’t need to renew his car’s warranty… he’d probably voided it anyway… and he knew that the calls telling him he needed to update ‘whatever’ information were scams. 

His gut said to answer the phone. 

“Hello.  This is Jack,” he said, unconsciously leaning forward.  The microphone for the hands free was near the top of the windshield, on the left. 

“Hi… Jon?” he heard the soft voice of a woman answer him through the Jeep’s stereo.  She’s hesitated, like she hadn’t expected him to answer.

He didn’t even realize he’d lifted his foot off the throttle and steered to the shoulder until he felt the rumble of the “wake-up” strips along the side of the road.  It had been forty years since he’d heard that voice, and she sounded different.  But he knew exactly who it was. 

“Jon,  is that you?  Are you there?” she said.

“Nancy?”

“You remembered.  That’s amazing,” she said.  Jack could hear the smile behind her voice.  Her image flashed into his mind.  Medium length, jet black wavy hair.  Her blue eyes were so bright that he thought they glowed.  For a moment, he could taste their last kiss, the last time he saw her or talked to her.  He could feel her tears on his chest, and her arms wrapped around him, clinging to him as she felt their last hug before she climbed into her parent’s car and disappeared from his life.  “Jon, are you ok?”

“Yeah… I’m here.  I’m fine.  How about you, Nancy?  Long time.”  A little anger crept into the back of his mind.

“It has been a long time.  Some days, though, it feels like yesterday,” she said. 

“Yeah,” Jack responded, his mind back in that day in Nineteen-eighty.  November twenty-second.  Her dad was being transferred to California. 

“Forty years, two months and seventeen days,” she said.  “But who’s counting, right?”  He heard a sadness in her voice.  It tugged at his heart, more than he expected.  Any anger he felt evaporated.

They had been together off and on… mostly on… for almost three years before she moved.  And aside from the time leading up to her move, she had almost always been full of joy.  Nancy was the girl that would laugh and dance around even when she was caught in a cloudburst.  She would look up at the sky, watching the rain zoom past her and drink it in. 

“What happened?” Jack asked, layers of meaning behind the question. 

“I tried.  I wanted to write.  I wanted to call.  I just couldn’t,” she said, her voice halting and unsure.  Jack could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, even through the phone as she talked.  He could hear anguish in her voice.  “Every time I tried…” she trailed off.  “When I was eighteen, I flew back to Virginia.  I was looking around for you, but I found out you and Amy Prince had just gotten married.  I knew you had always loved her.  I was happy for you.”

“What prompted you to call me now?” Jack asked. 

“I need to see you, Jon.  I can get up to Virginia, but I need to talk to you in person,” she said.  He could hear desperation in her plea but had no idea why. 

“What did you need to talk with me about?”

“I can’t go into it on the phone.  I just need to see you.”

“Where are you now?” Jack asked, desperate for a subject change.  Part of him desperately wanted to see her, to look into her eyes.  The other part of him was scared to death of Nancy Jordan.  The idea of sitting down with her filling him with excitement and dread. 

“I’m in Savannah.  In Georgia.  I’ve been here about twenty years.”

“There is a little restaurant on River Street, across from the Market Place,” Jack said. 

“You mean Lizzy’s?”

“That’s the one.  Meet me there in two hours,” Jack said.  “We can have an early dinner and talk.”

“Where are you?” she asked. 

“Obviously about two hours away,” Jack laughed.  “I need to go, Nancy, but I’ll see you there, ok?”

“I can’t wait,” she said, her voice back to the velvety smooth tone he remembered.  “Bye.” 

The stereo changed back over from the call to music.  Atomic Punk by Van Halen blasted through the speakers as he pulled back onto I-95.  He passed the exit for I-26 a few minutes later. 

He tapped the screen a few times and waited for the phone to ring. 

“Hi gorgeous,” he said when Amy picked up.

“I was just thinking about you.  How’s the drive?” she said, her smile shing through the phone. 

“Good.  It’s nice to have the time just sitting here with my thoughts.”

“I missed you.  I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to the drive down to Key West.”

“Me, too, Amy.  I just wanted to hear your voice.  I love you,” he told his wife.

“I love you, too.  And you’re so sweet, calling just to hear me.”

She hung up.  He knew that she had a big project getting ready to go out, which was part of the reason he was driving alone. 

***

The lifted Gladiator rolled through the streets in the old section of Savannah, by the river.  It wasn’t the most well-suited vehicle to a narrow, crowded area, but it handled the bumpy streets well.  Jack had tried to park in a garage at one of the hotels, but he was a couple of inches too tall to fit, so he had to find a surface lot or street parking.

After a few minutes he managed to find a spot that wasn’t too long of a walk from the restaurant.  He backed into his space and hopped out of the truck, locking it as he walked away.  He glanced at his watch.  It was almost four-thirty, a few minutes early.  He slipped on his facemask for the short stroll on the crowded sidewalk.

Walking into Lizzy’s, it was just how he remembered it.  They had a carefully curated “dive” look, but he liked the food and the atmosphere.  He walked up to the bored hostess.  

“I’m meeting someone here,” he told her.

“Sugar, you are the only one here, so I can take you to a table, if you’d like,” she said, her accent sweet and very southern.

“That would be great,” he replied before she grabbed a couple of menus and the wound through the restaurant. 

“Do you have a booth?  Maybe one that is quiet and out of the way?” he asked her as they stopped in the middle of the floor. 

She smiled at him, “I sure do.  Heck, you can pick anywhere you want to sit, but this booth right over here will probably fit the bill.”  She led him to the back corner. 

“Thank you,” he said, taking the menu and slipping into the booth.  His back was against the wall, and he had excellent sightlines through the whole place.  Old habits.

He looked down at the menu.  He knew he would be ordering a burger, and he knew exactly how he’d be ordering, but he wondered if there might be an appetizer or dessert that might catch his eye. 

He was lost in the menu when he felt the presence next to him.  He looked up.  Nancy’s blue eyes still glowed, and while there were a few streaks of gray, she still had the same wavy, jet black hair.  He stood up to greet her.  She pulled him into a hug, holding him as tightly as she had the last time they saw each other, if only for a moment.