Free Teresa Watson by Death Stalks the Law Page A

find her on your own.”
    “If you ask me, you’re the common denominator in all this,” Jake said.
    “No one asked you,” I said, glaring at him.
    “Right, not helping.”
    “I think he’s right,” Owen replied.
    “I didn’t ask you, either, and I don’t care what you think at this point.”
    “I know you’re mad at me, Lizzie, and you have every right to be. But for now, can you put aside your hostilities and hurt feelings to help me find T.J.?”
    “What makes you think I know where he is?”
    “She’s your aunt!”
    “Everyone seems to forget I barely know the woman! I don’t know how she thinks, or what her motivation is in all this. Go ask Hopkins. Talk to the Feds. Finding him is their job, not mine.”
    “Well, that’s the other thing. He wants to talk to you.”
    “What for?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “This is crazy.”
    “Lizzie,” Jake said, “if you have any feelings for T.J., and I know you do, you owe it to him to help. It’s not going to hurt anything to go talk to Hopkins, is it? I’ll even go with you, if you want me to.”
    “I can’t allow you to interfere in this, Mr. Mathias,” Owen said.
    “Wait a minute. You’re asking her, a civilian, to help you find a federal agent, but you won’t let me go with her to talk to someone who can help us find him? And how is offering her some support interfering? It’s more than you and Deputy Dawg have done the last few months, from what I’ve heard. She at least deserves to have someone with her who won’t use her for some ulterior motive.”
    “You’re right, Jake,” I said. “I do deserve to have some moral support.” I went to the phone and dialed a number. “Hey, are you busy? No? Do you think you could meet me down at the hospital in fifteen minutes? Great, see you there.” I hung up and looked at them. “I don’t trust either one of you as far as I can throw you, which isn’t very far since I have one arm in a cast. So this is what is going to happen: Owen, go do whatever you’re supposed to be doing. Jake, you’re going to drive me to the hospital, and wait outside for me.”
    “Who did you call?” Owen asked as we walked to the front door.
    “Who else?Your sister. And when I tell her what you did…” I shook my head and whistled.
    Yeah, it was petty, and a low blow, but a girl’s gotta hit below the belt once in a while.
     

 
    Chapter Eighteen
    Trixie was waiting for me at the entrance of the hospital when we pulled up fifteen minutes later. Jake got out and opened the door for me. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?”
    “It’s nice of you to offer, but I think we can handle this,” I told him. “We won’t be long.”
    Trixie gave me a hug before we walked in. “You look like you’ve had a pretty rough day.”
    “You have no idea, girl, no idea at all.”
    “Tell me about it before we get up there.”
    So, as we rode the elevator to the third floor, I told her everything. By the time the doors opened, she was livid. “I can’t believe my brother did that!” she fumed. “I swear, I am going to kick his…”
    “Hold on, Trixie,” I said, putting a hand on her arm. “I’m mad at him, but he was put in a position where he didn’t have much of a choice, I think.”
    “Why are you defending him?”
    “I’m not. They all have one goal: to catch my aunt. When you’re desperate, you’ll use whatever means necessary to achieve this goal, even if it means screwing your family and friends in the process.”
    “You’re being rather calm about this,” Trixie said. “If it was me, I would be thoroughly ticked off.”
    “Who says I’m not? Trust me, I am. But I have to put that aside right now to help them find T.J. before Debra does something to him.”
    “You think she has him?”
    I nodded. “I have no doubt about that at all. I just don’t know where she is holding him.”
    There was a different man sitting outside of Hopkins’ door. “I’m Elizabeth