Tracking Payton

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Payton just stood there gawking at Alex wondering if she was hallucinating. She hadn’t seen him in fifteen years. fifteen years without a single word or visit. Not since he enlisted in the army went off to basic training. “What are you doing here?” She asked thought she already knew the answer. Her father. Though how he knew before she did, she didn’t know. She didn’t know where Alex was stationed now but she knew it wasn’t Colorado.

“My friend told me about the accident. I flew out on the first flight I could get.” He said sticking is hands in his pockets. She remembered him doing that when they were younger. A tell he was nervous. To see her? She didn’t know why. He’d done everything in his power to avoid her their entire adult life. As soon as she’d hit puberty, she never saw him anymore.

It was a shame he looked damn fine. He was cute when they were teenagers, every girl in their school was half in love with him. her included. But now he was devilishly handsome. He lost that youthful face, his cheeks now more angular. His lips were still plump and he still had bright emerald eyes. Alex’s form changed a lot since high school too. His chest filled out and she couldn’t stop staring at his wide chest and muscular biceps.

“I didn’t know you still spoke to my father.” She was proud her voice stayed steady when inside she felt breathless.

Get a grip. Alex Grant doesn’t care about you. He’s only here because of your father.

“Not as often as I’d like. How about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you still close with the Colonel?”

Payton almost laughed. Still close? She’d never been close to him. It wasn’t from lack of trying. She’d moved to Colorado Springs to be closer to him and she still saw little of him. “As close as we ever were.”

“I’m glad to hear. You look good.”

Payton tried not to beam under his praise. She shouldn’t care what he thought. “Thank you. You look fine as well. I see the army is treating you well.”

Alex gave her a boyish grin that made her stomach somersault. “I can’t complain. Well I could but what good would it do.” He looked over at the man standing next to him who returned his grin as if they were sharing a private joke.

She remembered Colin from when he and Alex met in high school. They’d become fast friends and became inseparable. She hadn’t seen him in years. Her father told her he worked on base now.

“Hello, Colin. It’s good to see you, though I wish under better circumstances.” She held her right hand out to him to shake. She wasn’t squeamish about prosthetics. He most likely lost it serving their country, for that she owned him her thanks not disgust.

“Payton, I’m sorry about your father.” He returned her handshake after a beat. He was probably used to people avoiding that hand.

“Thank you.” She smiled warmly at him.

“I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by more since the Colonel got me a post here.

“When dad wakes up, we’ll plan a dinner of something. It would be nice to catch up.” Colin had always been kinder to her than Alex. With his warm, caring green eyes. She noted he’d aged well too. His face was more angular loosing that boyish look and appearing every bit a soldier. She could see scars on his face and arms but it in no way hindered his appearance. If anything it made him more devilishly handsome.

Colin had always been broader than Alex’s leaner frame. Now they were about the same size. She couldn’t help but compare the two as they stood side by side.

“So what report were you demanding?” Alex asked her stepping between them blocking her view of Colin. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was jealous.

“My father’s accident report.”

“Why?”

“I want to help.” She said as if it should be obvious. They weren’t close but he was still her father and someone had tried killing him. Investigating was what she did for a living. She’d be invaluable to the case.

“You can’t. You’d only get in the way.”

“Why, because I’m not Mr. Bad a*s GI Joe like you?” She said defiantly fisting her hands on her waist.

“No, but—”

“But what? Because I’m a woman.” If he said yes, she might have to punch him in his sexist face.

“That’s not it at all.” He sputtered then looked to Colin for aid but Colin didn’t look in the mood to rescue his friend. Good. Alex dug himself into the hole. He could dig himself out.

“Then what. He’s my father, Alex.”

“Exactly, your too close.”

“But I suppose you’re going to investigate his accident.” It wasn’t a question.

“Payton,” He groaned her name. “Leave this to professionals.” She knew he didn’t want to tell her and he didn’t want to lie to her face about it. Payton could tell when someone was lying to her and she knew Alex well enough to know his tells when he was lying or omitting.

“So you’re saying I just sit at home like a good little woman and wait for the big men to take care of everything for me? To just walk away when someone just tried to murder my father.”

Alex didn’t so much as blink. “What do you mean murder? It’s being ruled out as an accident.”

Payton c****d an eyebrow giving him a ‘duh’ look. “Alex, you don’t believe that any more than I do. Car accidents are one thing but—”

“Miss. Weber.” A man called behind her.

Payton inwardly groaned at the interruption, but maybe it was officer she snapped at earlier and had some results. “Yes,” She looked over her shoulder.

There were two men. Ones she didn’t recognize. One was a big meat head that looked like he had more muscle than brains and the other looked like an underwear model. Both of them looked out of place. It set her senses on high alert. “I’m detective Jones and this is detective Smith. We’re investigating the accident of your father and had a few questions for you.” Jones held out a badge but Payton didn’t look at it.

These guys weren’t detectives. Everything about them was off. They reminded her more of military police than actual detectives. “Of course. Anything I can do to help.” They obviously didn’t know she was a detective. Might as well see what they wanted. They might give something away to her as to who they really were. Payton dropped her shoulders and looked the part of the sad and worried daughter. “Alex, Colin, if you’ll excuse us.”

She led the ‘detectives’ down the hall to the small waiting area. No way was she letting these men anywhere near her father. “So what can I help you with?”

“First, I’d like to say how sorry I am for the loss of your father. When was the last time you saw him?”

Her father wasn’t dead. Only in a coma. How would these guys not know that if they were working his case? “Thank you. Yesterday.”

“And where was this?”

“A diner off I-25.”

“Which diner?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Try. Was it near the mountains? What shops were nearby?” Jones pressed.

Why did they care about where they ate? “I think there was a Best Buy near it.” She said pulling something out of her a*s.

“Thank you.” Jones smiled. He probably thought himself handsome and that smile would get him anything. It had no effect on her. Not like Alex’s did. Dammit, she needed to stop thinking about his and his silly grins.

“How did he seem when you saw him?”

“What do mean?” She c****d her head to the side, trying to play off dumb. By the looks of the scowl on Jones face she was playing it off brilliantly.

“Did he seem in good spirits? Was he angry?”

“He seemed fine. He was a little late to our lunch.”

Jones eye lit up like the fourth of July. “Did he tell you why he was late?”

“No and I didn’t ask. Daddy was late to our lunches sometimes.”

And the scowl was back. Payton had to bite the inside of her cheek so she didn’t laugh. It was too easy to mess with this guy.

“Did your father receive any calls or text messages while you were together.”

Her mind played back to that text her dad got. Report early and debrief you. She didn’t think it had anything to do with his accident. Her dad was involved with so many projects it was probably nothing. “Not that I remember.” She let a lone tear track down her cheek. “Why are the police looking into an accident? You don’t think there’s something more to it, do you?” Her eyes widened looking fearful.

“No, it’s just routine. We are curious why he would be on the roads so late. You wouldn’t happen to know, would you?” He gave her what she was sure was his award winning smile that charmed most women. Not her.

“No, daddy kept odd hours for the military. He got stuck at the office a lot.”

“Did he ever work from home?”

“Not as often.”

“Would he keep paperwork at home?”

Now she really was getting suspicious. “I suppose he could have. Though like I said, he was at work more than he was home.” His office at home was off limits. She’d never been inside of it before, but she didn’t think he’d keep government paperwork there.

“Thank you for your time, Miss. Weber. We’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you. Aren’t you going to give me your business card and tell me to call you if I think of anything else.”

“I’m actually out of business cards but if you give me your phone, I can program my number.”

So he could put an app or something on it and spy on her. No thanks. “It’s in daddy’s room.” She looked around the room and found a napkin and a pen. “You can write it on this.” She pasted on a smile and walked them out when he was done.

She wasn’t surprise to find Alex and Colin already gone. They probably left the minute she turned her back. Fine, if they didn’t want to help her, she’d do it herself. This wasn’t the first crime she’d solved. It was better this way. She always worked better alone.

~

“He’s going to be pissed, you know.” His partner fidgeted next to him in the passenger seat. They sat in the parking lot of the hospital watching the door. “When he finds out we didn’t get the location.”

He took a long drag of his cigarette playing off casual when inside he was quaking. He knew his boss was going to be furious with him. Him and his partner. Their boss didn’t tolerate failure well. “Shut up, Lenny.”

Lenny turned in his seat to glare at him. “Don’t tell me to shut up. He will probably kill us.”

Not him. He was to valuable. Lenny on the other hand was expendable. The kid was only good for muscle and had nothing for brains. “We’ll get the location.”

“How? Only the Colonel knew and we killed him before questioning.”

He took another drag of his cigarette. The Colonel wouldn’t haven’t told them even if they had captured and tortured him. The man was a decorated war hero. The Colonel knew how to take secrets to the grave. He saved himself the wasted time and swollen knuckles. He had a better idea.

“I asked how?” Lenny shook his arm, his body rattled and sent ash from his cigarette flying. Some landing on his shirt.

He whipped his head around and slammed his right fist into Lenny’s face. “Don’t touch me.”

Lenny groaned as he touched his bleeding lip. Little s**t. He was dusting the ash off his sleeve when his cell phone rang.

“Did you get the intel I required?” His boss said as a way of greeting. Always to the point.

“No, it was a dead end anyway so we just took care of him.”

“You were supposed to get the intel then kill him.” His boss snapped then started grumbling about idiots and rent-a-cops.

He didn’t blink at his bosses rants. The guy had a short fuse. It reminded him of a spoiled child when he didn’t get his way. Wailing and crying. Woe is me. Stupid high rank officials. Always thought the sun shone out of their a*s.

“He wouldn’t have given up to the location sir even under duress.” He defended. “I have a buddy that can get me a list of staff members—”

“Don’t bother.” His boss cut him off. “They won’t have the access Nick does. We need his codes.”

He was clueless as to why his boss needed codes or some location and his boss wasn’t the giving type so he never asked. “Lenny and I will check his house.” Maybe they’d get lucky and the Colonel left the codes or clues behind. The man couldn’t keep everything in his head. Even he needed to write stuff down from time to time.

“What about the daughter?”

“No need to bother with her. She’s clueless as to what the old man was involved in.” Stupid dumb b***h. It had been a waste to ask her questions.

“Alright, get to the house get results. Or else.”

“On it.” He hung up and took a final drag from his cigarette before flicking it out of the window.