Jamie stood. “I’ll get dessert plates and forks.”  He said as he left the table.

After Lunch, Jamie packed his bag for the overnight stay in St. Louis and put it by the door to the garage so that someone would be sure to load it with the rest of the family’s luggage when they left for the airport.

Chapter 26

Jamie was still a little steamed that Tanner was going to follow the bus to St. Louis, but Ben had made it very clear.  Either Tanner followed the bus or Jamie wasn’t on it. This would be Jamie’s last high school football game and there was no way he was going to miss it.  Not that he’d have missed the game, he knew Ben would have called in any favor necessary in order to ensure Jamie was safe, and if that meant convincing someone that Jamie, or the whole team for that matter, would fly to St. Louis with his family then that’s what Ben would have done.

Ben pulled into the parking lot and he, his wife, and his son all got out of the SUV.  He’d parked next to Tanner and as Lane stood talking with Jamie, Ben walked toward his investigator.

They nodded at each other in typical male fashion.

“I’ve gone over every inch of the bus.  It’s clean.”  Tanner smiled and nodded toward the bus.  “And, I called in a favor.  The regular driver has suddenly come down with a bad case of the flu and they have a substitute.  He’s a friend, also retired from the force.”

Ben nodded, “Have you talked to Duncan.  I get the impression he’d rather have a root canal without Novocain than talk to me.”

That solicited a hearty laugh from Roy Tanner.  “It’s not personal.  He went through an ugly divorce a while back.  He’s hated all lawyers ever since, but he seems to be fine with ex-cops.  Yeah, I talked to him.”  He inclined his head slightly toward a group of the players who were about to board the bus.  “They’re sure it was someone in the Evans family, but they don’t have enough to narrow it down to an individual, let alone get a warrant.  You know how it is, they’ve sent some trace evidence to the lab, but it’s not like the movies. Nothing’s back yet. They’re going to see how things play out this evening.  He’s given a heads up to the St. Louis PD.”

Ben smiled as he watched his wife walk toward him.  “Hey, Red.”  He put his left arm around her waist and bent to kiss her cheek.

“Hi, Roy.” She shook Roy’s hand and looked up at Ben, “Do you two have any last words for Jamie before he boards the bus?  I told him to call when he was ready to leave the locker room after the game so we can figure out where to meet him.”

“You stay and chat with Tanner; I’ll go say good-bye to Jamie.”

Ben walked away leaving Lane and Roy Tanner alone.  Lane looked at Roy, “Tell me the truth Roy, is Jamie in any danger?  Ben seems to think the police have a suspect in mind.”

Roy smiled at Lane calculating both how much Ben had already told her and how much he should say before he spoke. “I don’t think Jamie’s in any danger.  I’m following the bus as a precaution.  I spoke with the detective, in charge of the case, earlier, and I agree with Ben.  Often the police have a suspect, and they’re sure about what happened; but they still have to dot their ‘I’s’ cross their ‘T’s’ before they can get a warrant.”

Lane may have stood next to Roy as he talked, but her eyes never left her husband and her son.   “So, that’s what the police are doing now, dotting ‘I’s’, and crossing ‘T’s’?”   Will there be Kansas City police presence at the game? She wondered.

Roy nodded, “I know it’s easy for me to say, but try not to worry.  The bus driver is a retired cop, I’m following the bus, Detective Duncan has contacted the St. Louis police, and there are always staties at the championship game anyway.”  He reached to pat her arm, “Jamie will be fine.”  He said, thinking, Ben will kill me if he isn’t. 

“Staties?” Lane asked almost absent-mindedly as she watched Ben walk toward them, his stride was strong and confident.  She thought that even without the body count, her life had changed drastically in the last few months.

“State Police.” Tanner replied as Ben joined them.

Ben bent and kissed Lane’s cheek.  She smiled, thinking she wouldn’t change a minute of it even if she could.

“State Police are always in attendance at the state championship.  The Bambino’s going to be fine, Red.”  He looked at Tanner, “We’ll be heading to the airport around five o’clock, but call me if anything comes up.”

Ben took Lane’s hand and they walked toward the Escalade to wait until the bus pulled out of the parking lot.  Lane gave Ben’s hand a squeeze as Roy Tanner’s SUV passed where they stood.  “You really do believe Jamie’s not in any danger, don’t you?  Roy’s just following as a precaution, isn’t he?”

Ben’s heart felt like it was in a vise grip when she spoke.  He turned her to face him and gently placed his hands on her upper arms.  “I promise; Jamie is safe.”

Lane looked into his eyes. She knew Ben didn’t make idle promises, but she had no idea how he could be so sure.  She leaned into him and he put his arms around her and held her.

It wasn’t that she had ever actually felt unsafe in her life, but in Ben’s arms, she felt like nothing bad could touch her.  “I love you.” She murmured into his chest.

“TI amo, mia bella.”  He replied.  Ben opened the passenger door and held it as Lane got into the SUV.  He walked behind the vehicle, thinking, “Have I really done everything I can?”  He opened the door and climbed in.  After starting the engine, he took Lane’s hand and pulled it to his lips.  “Come on, let’s go home.”

He thought that Lane looked tired and could probably use a nap before they headed to the airport.  His suspicion was confirmed when she leaned her head against the window and fell asleep.

He pulled into the garage, got out of the SUV, and opened the door into the house before opening Lane’s door, releasing her seatbelt and lifting her into his arms.  As he walked through the house toward the master suite, he passed the family gathered in the hearth room.

Pauli shot out of the chair where he was sitting.  “What is it?  I’ll get my bag.”

Ben sent him a look and not missing a step, he replied in a stern whisper, “Ease off, and quiet down you idiot.  She’s asleep and if you wake her, I swear, I’ll snap your neck.”

Evie and Jess exchanged a look as Jess stood up.  Jess walked to close the garage door, and she looked at Pauli as she quietly said, “and believe me, I’ll help him.”

Ben got Lane settled in the master bedroom and returned to the hearth room.  He stood and surveyed the room for a moment before his gaze landed on Pauli and he spoke. “The pregnancy has sapped her energy, but nothing is wrong.  When she falls asleep while we’re out, I carry her to bed and let her sleep.”

Evie laughed to herself, just hours ago, Lane had told her this was a common occurrence lately.  Lane had also said that she had told Ben he had to stop carrying her to bed and he’d told her she was just going to have to get used to it because he wouldn’t wake her up.

Evie looked at the group.  “Let’s go into the kitchen and play some Nebraska Hand and Foot.”  They’d learned the card game years ago.  The Parkers loved it and the Bellinis could learn.

Jess looked at Joey and Gabe, neither of whom had said a word during the exchange, as she retrieved the appropriate number of decks of cards, she said, “It’s like Canasta.  You’ll catch on quickly.”

The six of them played Nebraska Hand and Foot for almost two hours before Ben went to wake Lane. By the time, Lane had showered and dressed, Uncle Sal, along with Mama and Papa Bellini had all arrived at the house.  And, the limo, that would take them to the Johnson County Executive airport where they would board the Luck Bets jet, was waiting in the driveway.  The men carried the luggage outside and waited as the driver loaded it.