The Harvest Club Read online

  He noticed her face was wrinkled from where her hand had pressed into it. She was safe, but she really needed to be home where she could get comfortable. Her eyelids opened, and her blue eyes tried to focus on his face.

  “Hi.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Having trouble waking up, are we?”

  She nodded, swallowing convulsively, her cheek wet from drool, not yet able to put together a coherent thought.

  “Is she okay?” Dylan asked when he walked in the room.

  “She’s loopy from the meds and sleep.” Matt chuckled.

  “Watch who you call loopy, bud, that’s all I have to say.” Her voice was slurred.

  “It didn’t hurt her tongue any. It’s still sharp even when she’s half lucid.” Matt grimaced when she hit him. “You can go home now. Any work I have to do can be done from your house. Do you think you can stand, or do want me to carry you?”

  “Oh please…I can manage myself.” She glared at him.

  “You two are something else.” Dylan laughed. “Together you’re a lethal combination like fire and gasoline. Kaboom!”

  As soon as they got back to her house and were inside, Jessie sat down on the couch and was out in just a few minutes.

  Matt took the time to have Gary Madison show him all the equipment so each of the teams could be reached and call in. He hoped she didn’t mind that it was all set up in the spare bedroom.

  “How is it possible for anyone to fall asleep so fast?” Gary asked. “She sat down, said hello, and was out.”

  “I think it’s the pain meds she’s on.” Matt laid her down, covering her legs, and putting a pillow under her foot. He accidently banged her toe, and she moaned, mumbling something, but slept on. She even gave him hell in her sleep.

  “If I have to be stuck here for the next several days, at least I can enjoy the view.” Gary pointed at her.

  Matt frowned and was about to say something when the first calls starting coming in and everything else was forgotten.

  Dylan was outside of Rick’s house. Team A was following him from the airport. Cars were in place at Ed’s and Jason’s, and team B was following them from the airport. They had some addresses and names of the other Harvest Club members, but not all of them. So they followed those they could. There were about ten teams in the field now and ten ready to take over for the night shift.

  Matt heard Jessie’s phone and answered it when he saw that it was Jeremy.

  “Hey, Jessie, I’ve been trying to reach you. I’m on to something.”

  “Jeremy, this is Matt. Jessie had a run in with one of the suspects yesterday, and she’s sleeping with the help of some meds.”

  “Is she going to be okay?”

  “She’ll be uncomfortable for a few days, but will be fine. What did you find?”

  “I found a recruiting web site for the Harvest Club. I sent the link to Jessie’s email. It reads like a who’s who in America. There are thirty members in this particular group, but there seems to be an indication of other groups in Pennsylvania and on the West Coast. It seems there is one main guy controlling all of them.”

  “Does this guy have a name?” Matt asked.

  “I haven’t got it yet, but I’m working on it. I know this much, he might be a politician. In time, I’ll find out his identity. This site refers to the founder of the Harvest Club, but never gives his name. Most of the members are politicians, religious leaders, or lawyers. I’ve checked into the backgrounds of the men listed on the site. They are all model citizens, clean records, no trouble with the law, and are civic and community minded.”

  “Great, we’re dealing with freaking saints with criminal minds. These guys pose a danger, if not in this country, then to the poor of other nations who sell their own organs or worse yet, have them taken without their consent. It’s a real comfort to know these guys are the leaders and pastors in some of our towns.”

  “Weird, if you ask me.”

  “You haven’t found anyone with some background in medicine, have you?” Matt asked.

  “No, not yet, why?”

  “We’ve kept it under wraps, but when Gina was murdered her eyes and kidneys had been removed with precision. It would take a surgeon and someone skilled to have done the job.”

  “I’ll keep searching. Something more damning is bound to turn up. In fact, you gave me an idea. They obviously have had to check out the candidates who apply on line. I think I can do a trace. I’ll get back to you as soon as I find something.”

  “Thanks, Jeremy, stay in touch.

  Matt thought it might be time to pay a friendly visit to his old high school friend, Jason Cummings. All he needed was an angle. He didn’t want him getting jumpy or thinking he was on to him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  She was fully awake without the fog. Jessie could feel some pain but decided no more pain pills in the near future. It wasn’t worth the effect. She would have to get by with the over-the-counter pain reliever from now on. She could hear Matt and Gary, whom she vaguely remembered having met, talking in the other room.

  It was time to get moving. She grabbed her crutches and, standing up, hobbled to where their voices were.

  “I’m glad you chose this room, so when people stop by they won’t see the equipment.” She leaned her hip against the door.

  “Mrs. Morris should be here any time now. You also probably have several messages on your phone. It’s been going crazy the past several hours.” Matt couldn’t resist adding, “You were dead to the world.”

  “No more of that,” she said briskly. “Those pills knocked me out, so it’s over-the-counter stuff for me now.”

  “I think that’s the whole idea. Sleep so your body has time to heal. Hell, I would like a little time to sleep.” Gary smiled at her.

  “It doesn’t matter. I kept thinking if I needed to get away there was no way I could run, but even worse, I couldn’t wake myself up. I don’t like the feeling of having no control.”

  She turned and hobbled into her room and then back out to the living room. Jessie listened to her messages, answered texts, and checked her emails.

  Several ladies from the church arrived right at 6:30, bringing dinner, a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and a card signed by the church members. Andria sat down beside her while the other ladies were talking in the kitchen.

  “You didn’t just have an accident jogging, did you?” She looked around the room making sure no one was listening.

  “No, I was being chased by someone and fell down an embankment,” Jessie whispered. “But don’t worry, I was able to identify him, and they might already have him in custody. I wasn’t able to talk to Matt yet. I slept the afternoon away in a pain pill fog.” Jessie watched the ladies working and chatting away. “What is Mrs. Morris’ name?”

  “Her name is Beth.”

  “Beth,” Jessie called out to her. “Thank you for arranging all of this. I really appreciate it. Everything smells wonderful, and the flowers are exquisite.”

  “You are so welcome, Jessie. The wonderful chocolate cake is from Reba, and she wanted you to know she’ll be by in the next few days, but she’ll call first. We’re all taking turns in the office, and I’m doing the bulletin for Sunday. Of course, Pastor will be back in the office tomorrow, for how long no one really knows, but that’s neither here nor there. Let’s go, ladies.” Beth walked over with a beautifully appointed tray for her. The meal smelled delicious and included all of her comfort food favorites, pot roast, potatoes and gravy, a salad, broccoli, homemade dinner rolls, and chocolate cake for dessert.

  Get well wishes and goodbyes were said with another promise of a meal tomorrow. When the ladies left, it seemed to Jessie all the positive energy was sucked out of the room with them.

  Matt was summoned by the smell of the food. Filling his plate, he hurried passed her, barely acknowledging her as he went back into the guest room, and he was followed by Gary. Gary was filling his plate when Katie came through the door.

  Jessie wat
ched Katie stop, her eyes lighting up with interest when she saw Gary. Katie was really in a serious search for her soul mate.

  “Katie, this is Gary. He is the tech guy who’s been working with Matt.”

  “Hi.” Katie gave him her killer smile.

  Gary nodded and went on his way back to help Matt monitor the incoming calls.

  “Jeez, I just gave him my best smile, and he hardly acknowledged it.” Katie nudged her.

  “Seems to me there are two major things working against you. First is the call of food, and second is the technical equipment, which calls to the male mind as strongly as a pretty woman. Depending of course, on what he has need of most. Right now, Gary is hungry and monitoring incoming calls. When he’s full and bored, he’ll be back. You can say something witty then.”

  “Jessie, doesn’t all this testosterone and these good-looking men get to you?”

  “So far I’ve managed okay.” Jessie rolled her eyes. “I’ve been running from them, fighting with one, or sleeping through them. The nicest guy, my best friend is interested in, so he’s off limits. I would say my singleness is intact. Maybe when this is all over I can think of them as just guys again. Right now their presence reminds me I can’t be left alone, I’m in the middle of a nightmare, and I’m just trying to survive it.”

  “You’re right, I keep forgetting. I came over real quick to see how you’re doing. I had a few minutes down time. I was distracted by Gary. Is he married or do you know?”

  “I don’t, but I’ll try to find out. Feel free to stop by and see him anytime.” Jessie winked and forked up more pot roast.

  “I’ll let you finish your meal. Believe me, I’ll be stopping by again.” She popped up and headed for the door.

  “What about Bruce?”

  “What about him? I’m an equal opportunity employer. I want the best candidate for the job as my husband,” Katie said over her shoulder as she closed the door.

  Jessie was still smiling when Matt and Gary came in to fill their plates again.

  “Where’s your friend?” Gary looked around the room.

  “She blew in and blew out again.” Jessie smiled at his interest. He must be getting full and bored.

  Matt walked passed her into the other room. “Gary, it must be hard to be away from your family when you do these kinds of jobs.”

  “I’m not married. It actually keeps me busy. I don’t get a meal like this very often.” He carried his full plate past her.

  Jessie smiled at him. “Even so, I’m sure your girlfriend will miss spending time with you.”

  “I don’t have one of those right now.”

  “One of what?” Matt asked as he came into the room to get his glass of iced tea.

  “A girlfriend.”

  “Who’d want you?”

  The male bantering began, and she could hear them going at it for the next few minutes and tried hard not to laugh. She had gotten the information Katie needed rather nicely.

  Jessie finished her dinner and set the tray on the table. She went into her room and changed into some comfortable clothes. She was getting tired again, her body was aching, and she wanted to watch TV.

  She took two Advil and headed for the couch. She hopped, not wanting to use her crutches.

  Matt was standing there with her crutches in hand. “What are you doing without these?” His arrogance firmly in place, he glared at her.

  “It takes so much effort to use them, and I wasn’t going that far. I’m back in one piece as you can see.”

  “Use them.” He walked out of the room.

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “You’re not my father,” she whispered.

  “I heard that.” He laughed.

  “Since your ears are so good, what happened today?”

  “He was gone when we got there. We found pictures of you and Gina on his office wall along with some other photos. His computer was confiscated, and Gary is going through it now. I’m not sure if we’ll find very much though.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Waiting is always the hard part. It’s easy to let down your guard when nothing happens for a few days. They’re banking on you getting careless so they can go in for the kill.”

  “I understand, so you can stop the lecture.” She pointed at him. “I have a message from Pastor Rick. He wants to stop by and see me. What should I tell him?”

  “Tell him yes. I’ll hide my car, and Gary and I’ll stay put in the other room. You’ve got a nose for news, read between the lines.”

  Jessie sent Rick a message telling him he was free to come over. He responded he would be there by 8:00.

  True to his word, Rick was there at eight with a bouquet of red roses, which he put into one of her vases, a card, and a journal that he asked her to open after he left.

  “How are you?” His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her. He sat down in the chair across from her.

  “Tired, sore, and unable to summon the energy to do anything, but other than that, I’m fine.” She smiled adjusting the blanket around her.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  She had a moment to decide whether to tell him a story or part of the truth. Her instinct told her to tell him what happened. She told him about people talking to her about Gina, meeting with her parents, and writing a human interest story about her. Jessie recounted the story of Buddy chasing her, leaving out the details of his name and her being able to ID him.

  Rick was sweating, and his complexion took on an almost gray cast. His eyes darted around the room, and his foot tapped nervously.

  “Do you have some place where you can go to be safe until everything blows over?” he asked.

  “Until what blows over?” she asked innocently.

  “There were people who were angry at Gina. That’s why I didn’t want anyone talking about her. But now I can see it wasn’t a smart choice. I can’t stop these people. I don’t believe anyone can. Just by talking about Gina you’ve become guilty by association.” He stood up and paced. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m sorry for ever bringing you here.”

  “I don’t understand.” She questioned him with her eyes. “What people are we talking about?”

  “I’ve already said too much. You need to get out of here. It’s too late for me.” He bent his head to a few inches from her face. “I would have loved getting to know you. You’re funny, sweet, and kind. I’ve messed my life up, but I don’t want to add the guilt of destroying yours. Leave while you can.”

  “Why don’t you tell the police what you told me? You could be put in protective custody.”

  “You don’t get it. I’m in too deep. Death is the only way out for me. I’ve gone against everything I’ve ever known, and I’m an embarrassment to my father. My only defense is that I was told in the beginning I was helping people.” He rubbed his temples and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “If only you’d come into my life sooner. I have to go.” Agitated, he bolted out of her house.

  She yelled for Matt, and he came running out of the room. “You have to stop him.” She pointed at the door. Before Matt got the door opened, she heard the gunshot and knew what Rick had done.

  Matt and Gary ran outside and found Rick slumped over on a bench with a self-inflicted shot to the head. Jessie had managed to get as far as the door and heard Matt call for an ambulance.

  The rest of the evening was a blur for Jessie. Rick had been remorseful, and she knew John would need to know that. That poor church was going to go through yet another tragedy.

  She opened the card first and read his note to her.

  Jessie,

  I’m sorry for bringing you into this mess. The church loves you, and I must admit you’ve been the one bright spot to come into my life in a long time. Seeing you at work the last few weeks inspired me to try and be a better man.

  The church is going to fire me and rightly so. I was never a pastor. I’ve been using it as a cover for some illegal activities. You are reading this because I finally
made the right decision to end all the pretending. You’re free to give this to the police. Please let my dad know how sorry I am for everything.

  Sincerely,

  Rick Robertson

  When Matt came back in, she handed him the card. His glanced at it. “I guess he couldn’t live with the guilt any longer. What he saw in India had to change everything for him.”

  She held up Rick’s journal. “There is some pretty crazy stuff in here about a Harvest Master and Grimm Reaper.” With a shaky voice, she read a passage to Matt.

  “Today for the first time since I joined the Harvest Club, I’m scared, really scared. I think I’m going to be physically sick. I’ve never been in the field before—now I’m in India. The long flight, customs, and the crowded airport—I’m on sensory overload. Gulping for air, I want to escape the pungent aromas of food, exotic spices, and body odors that are making my stomach turn. The visual chaos, bright colors, and noises are battering my senses. I wish I could make it all go away.

  I’ve seen the cost of my choices in human terms, and I can’t live with myself. God, I wish for freedom from this awful guilt ripping my insides.”

  Jessie stopped reading, handed the journal to Matt. There were no words she could add. She pulled the blanket up around her. She was weary and closed her eyes.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It was a long night for Matt. The next of kin had to be notified, the horrific scene processed and cleaned. Rick’s house was searched, his computer confiscated, his suicide note found. His journal was filled with details of his illicit activities and his part in leading Gina to her death, but no information was found about any other Harvest Club members unless it was on his computer. One could only hope. Even death couldn’t free them from the monster running the group. Who was he and why were all of them so afraid? Grown men afraid of what? Sure, they would go to jail for operating in the black market, but what did he have on them to control them?

  He remembered the look on Jessie’s face. She knew what Rick was going to do and afterward she had looked devastated. How much could one person take? She had very little opportunity to adjust from one terrifying event to the next. Brad’s wife was murdered because of his participation in the group, and now Rick had killed himself.