I�m back here at the cabin for the first time in 7 years. Nothing has changed here. It�s still the same as it was. I guess mom and dad make sure it�s in good condition for emergencies like now. I wish I knew what to do to handle this better, but I don�t. It�s a comfort having Det. Carter here. He�s a wonderful cop and handles every situation with such�damn it I can�t think of the word I�m looking for. The point is Det. Carter is a really wonderful guy. I can honestly tell you that I believe that if it wasn�t for him and his concern I probably wouldn�t be here writing to you and 6 feet under like Brianna, Alexis, and Callen. He kept me safe from the psychos that were after me and I couldn�t be more grateful towards him. He�s a great guy and I care about him a lot. I guess it�s ok to tell you, at least, Diary, that I think I�m falling in love with him. I think he has the same feelings for me. I saw something new in his eyes last night. It was something I never saw before when he looked at me. Unfortunately there�s not anything we can do about it. At least for now anyway. In fact I don�t know if I�ll ever tell him. He doesn�t even know my current condition. I want to tell him about it, but it�s going to hurt him and I don�t want that. He deserves a chance to have a family and I�m not the one to give that to him. But I guess he has the right to know�I�m starting to believe that what�s going on now has something to do with what happened 9 years ago. I�m just getting this strong feeling about it. But why would they be connected? It didn�t make any sense. Maybe if I could just remember a little more about what happened then it would make more sense. Then again maybe it wouldn�t especially if they�re not connected. I can�t help but wonder though. I could just be over-reacting though. I do that a lot anyway. Maybe I should call Kevin and talk to him about it. Then again he probably wouldn�t care. He never really listened to me anyway so why would this matter any to him. Maybe a little it will since I�m his sister, but he never listens to me anyway. He�ll probably wait until the last minute to check it out.
�JJ, breakfast!�
Well mom�s calling me for breakfast. It was nice of her to come up here and make us breakfast. I actually miss her home cooking anyway. I hope mom and dad are getting along with Nick. It�ll mean a lot to me.
�Jenai, breakfast!�
�Coming mom!� Jenai closed her diary and walked back to the cabin. She saw Nickolas and her dad standing on the porch talking and she smiled. �Hey, Daddy.�
�Hey, Sweetie,� her father said, as Jenai walked onto the porch.
�Are you two getting along?� Jenai asked.
�Of course,� her father replied. �Why wouldn�t we?�
�No reason,� Jenai said smiling. �Let�s go eat.�
�You�re a very lucky girl to have someone like Nickolas protecting you,� her father said. �You have a promising career, Nick.�
�Thank you, Mr. Richardson,� Nickolas said.
�Call me �Gerald�,� he said.
�Ok,� Nickolas said.
�He doesn�t like to be called �Mr. Richardson� or �sir�,� Jenai stated. �And ma likes to be called Ann.�
�Gotcha,� Nickolas said.
�Now let�s go eat,� Jenai said.
�Miss your mother�s home cooking?� Gerald asked.
�Yeah,� Jenai said. �Plus I don�t want to leave ma alone with Detective Morgan.�
�They�re not getting along,� Nickolas said.
�I can�t stand the little tramp,� Jenai said going inside.
�JJ said Detective Morgan works Rio Grande,� Nickolas stated.
�Hollywood Boulevard!� Jenai yelled from inside.
�I�m not sure how true it is.�
�With JJ ya really don�t know what the truth is,� Gerald said. �She keeps things inside and tells ya lies to keep ya happy.� Nickolas gave a nod. �She�s not a bad person. She just wants people to be happy.�
�I�ve noticed that with her.�
�Are you boys coming?� Jenai asked and they looked at her. �The foods getting cold.�
�We�re coming,� Gerald said and they went back inside for breakfast.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
�I thought you went through this stuff already?� Jenai asked sitting beside Nickolas on the sofa and he looked at her. �At least that�s what I thought.� He grinned. �Unless these are different papers.�
�No; they�re the same,� Nickolas replied. �Kevin wants us to go over them again in case we missed something the first couple of times.�
�Oh,� Jenai said taking a sip of Nickolas� water and he shook his head.
�Besides we really don�t have anything to do,� Nickolas stated.
�Right,� Jenai said.
�I could think of something,� Kendra said looking at Nickolas and Jenai glared at her.
�Of course you could,� Jenai said. �There�s only one thing on minds like yours. So tell me, how�s business on Hollywood Boulevard?�
�I have no idea what you�re talking about,� Kendra said.
�Whatever,� Jenai said taking a strawberry from her bowl and she looked at Nickolas. �Strawberry?� She held up the bowl and he just looked at her.
�Uh�� Nickolas said, as he watched Jenai take a bite of hers.
�They�re really ripe,� Jenai said. �And juicy and sweet.� She grinned and took another bite, as he continued watching her.
�I, um��
�Why don�t� ya try a bite?� She held her strawberry up to his lips and glanced at Kendra. She looked back at Nickolas and continued smiling.
�I, uh, better not.� He looked back at the paper he was holding.
�Are ya sure?� Nickolas looked at her again, as she put the rest of the strawberry in her mouth. �You have no idea what you�re missing.� She licked her lips and he smirked, as he tried to ignore the hard on growing in his pants. �Perhaps I could do some persuading.� He just continued looking at her.
�Can you be any more desperate,� Kendra said and Jenai looked at her.
�Jealous because my acts of seduction work better than yours?� Jenai questioned. �Not that it�s any of your business, but we already hit the sheets. Pretty damn good if I may say so.� She smiled and Kendra glared at her.
�JJ, don�t do this,� Nickolas said trying not to laugh.
�I don�t believe her anyway, Nick,� Kendra said. �Little desperate twits don�t seem to be your type.�
�That leaves you out,� Jenai said grinning. �And you are so lucky you have a job to do right now or else I�d throw you a beaten.�
�JJ, please,� Nickolas said. �Just ignore her.� The two girls glared at each other and Nickolas shook his head.
�Ok, Jenai,� Ann said interrupting them. �The pool is ready for you and there are fresh towels in the closet by the pool.�
�I could�ve taken care of that, mom,� Jenai said.
�We don�t mind,� Ann said.
�We have to go though,� Gerald said. �We�re having dinner with Jackie and Harold and it�s almost a three hour drive back.�
�Give them my love,� Jenai said getting up and hugging her parents.
�We�ll be back up this weekend,� Ann said.
�Alright,� Jenai said. �And bring lots of goodies.�
�We will,� Ann said.
�Nice to meet the both of you,� Gerald said.
�Nice to meet the both of you too,� Nickolas said.
�Very nice to meet you,� Kendra chimed in and Jenai rolled her eyes.
�You better go so you�re not late,� Jenai said. �I�ll walk ya out.� She looked at Nickolas. �I�ll be right back.� He nodded and watched her walk out with her parents.
�Don�t hurry,� Kendra said after the door shut.
�I think it�ll be in your best interest to be nice to her,� Nickolas said. �She is Sergeant Richardson�s sister.� He looked at his papers again.
�Does she give you a hard on?� Kendra asked.
�Do you want to go back to the 10th?� Nickolas questioned not taking his eyes off his work. Kendra didn�t say anything and just looked at him. �I didn�t think so.� The door opened and he glanced up long enough to see Jenai walk in. She walked over and sat beside Nickolas again. �Did they leave ok?�
�Yeah,� Jenai said.
�Good,� Nickolas said.
�They�re going to call and get the phone and power turned back on,� Jenai stated.
�Ok,� Nickolas said looking at her.
�It won�t be until morning though and dad said there are some camping lanterns in the basement.�
�Ok.�
�I was just letting you know so you won�t have to keep using your cell to call home.�
�Ok.� They both reached for a paper and Nickolas� hand landed on top of hers.
�Oh sorry.�
�It�s ok, go ahead.�
�Are ya sure?�
�Yeah.� He grinned and she picked up the paper. �Uh, JJ.�
�Yeah.� She looked at him.
�Was Callen still with Detective Fatone at the time of her death?�
�No; I told you that. I don�t remember when it ended exactly, but they weren�t together when she died.�
�Right.�
�Why do you ask?�
�Because Alex told Kevin that Fatone was at Club Z the night before she was found. He said that Fatone threatened Callen that she would die first before she left him.�
�They weren�t together, Nick, and I don�t remember seeing Joe at the club the night before. I spent most of the night on stage and I would�ve seen him if he was there, because it wasn�t that busy. Unless he came when I was in the back and left before I saw him. I didn�t see him though and Callen never said he was there.�
�Alex said he had Howie throw him out.�
�Did ya talk to Howie?�
�Not yet, but I guess Kevin and Rich are going to do that.� She nodded and he got his notepad. �Who was all working that night? If ya can remember.�
�Um�me, Callen, Josette Knight was waiting tables, Laken Simpson�uh�Dani, Octavia Fisher, and we all filled in for Nikita Kremer, because she wasn�t feeling well that night.�
�Was Josette the only waitress?� Jenai nodded. �What about the bartender?�
�It was Bobby Hawkins as always.� Nickolas nodded and wrote it down on his notepad. �I�m telling you, Nick, Joe wasn�t there. I would remember if he was.�
�We�re just going to make sure.� She sighed. �JJ, we have to go every which way if we�re going to get Callen�s killer. You said Joe wasn�t there and Alex said he was. We have to ask the others if they seen him.�
�We were best friends and I just�I feel there�s something important I should be remembering.�
�If there is it�ll come to you.�
�She never gave me any details. All she said was that Joe was in some hot shit and I couldn�t tell anyone, because just knowing that much put me in danger. Maybe she did tell me more than that and I don�t remember since I was fearing for my life.�
�It�ll come to you.�
�Yeah.� They sat there looking at the papers a few moments. �Oh my God. I forgot about Heath.�
�Who�s Heath?� Kendra asked.
�He was Callen�s boyfriend at the time she died,� Jenai replied. �I can�t believe I forgot about him. She wasn�t seeing Joe she was seeing Heath Rimbauer.�
�Of the Rimbauer fortune?� Kendra said and Jenai nodded. �Yeah right.�
�Detective,� Nickolas warned.
�He was at Club Z the night before,� Jenai said. �We were sitting at the bar talking and he was trying to persuade me into working at his club.�
�How long did he stay?� Kendra asked.
�A couple hours,� Jenai answered. �He liked to watch Callen dance.�
�Would he have a reason to hurt her?� Nickolas asked.
�No way,� Jenai said. �She got with him to forget all the shit with Joe and they really cared about each other. I haven�t seen him though since the night before.�
�Ok,� Nickolas said. �I�ll call Kevin with this information.� He got up. �Excuse me, Ladies.� Jenai and Kendra both watched him walk outside and Jenai glared at her.
�Ya really shouldn�t be looking at that stuff,� Kendra said. �It�s police property.�
�Well if it wasn�t for me and my big balls,� Jenai began, �you wouldn�t be looking at it right now.� She continued glaring at her. �Besides my brother doesn�t mind.�
�I wonder how much he�ll mind if I went to the superiors with this information,� Kendra threatened. �I don�t think they�ll like the idea that their best Sergeant is letting a civilian work on a police case.� Jenai smiled. �I wouldn�t be so smug since Kevin can lose his job.�
�Go to them if ya want,� Jenai said. �They�ll just laugh you right out of that room since Kevin already got the ok for me to help.� Jenai continued smiling. �Now who�s the smug one�Kenya?� Jenai winked at her and looked back at the paper she was holding, as Nickolas rejoined them.
�I couldn�t get a signal,� Nickolas said.
�A storm must be coming then,� Jenai said. �That�s the only way ya don�t get a signal up here.�
�The sky is getting dark,� Nickolas said and Jenai looked up through the skylight.
�Damn,� Jenai said. �I wanted to swim.�
�Does she have authorization to help with this case?� Kendra questioned.
�Yeah,� Nickolas said. �She�s a key part of this so they gave her clearance as long as this case is open.�
�No one does that,� Kendra said.
�She�s almost an informant,� Nickolas replied looking at Jenai. �Didn�t you show her the paper?�
�It�s buried in my stuff and I don�t feel like looking for it right now,� Jenai said.
�Because you don�t have one,� Kendra said.
�Detective,� Nickolas warned and Kendra looked at him, as Jenai glared at her.
CHAPTER 9
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