Journey Online

Christmas and New Years had gone by in a whirlwind, and Jason and Courtney had spent every stolen moment they could together. The only black cloud on their happy holidays was the Alcazar murder investigation. Taggert and Baldwin had regularly come sniffing around, but Jason and Brenda were still pretending to be married because they knew other suspects would have to fall on top of D.A. Baldwin before they took their focus off Jason and Brenda.

Jason paced up and down the dock; he was waiting for Max who was late fore their meeting. Max had been looking into some information about the night of the shooting. They were trying to find an overlooked source of information or witness. Brenda swore she didn’t kill Alcazar as much as she might have wanted to kill him.

So far there were only two facts that they could be sure of. The first was that Brenda had attempted to stab Alcazar, but had only managed to give him a scratch on his hand. The second was that Skye had been in the bedroom while Brenda was there, and she was there when Alcazar was murdered.

After going over what had happened that night they were almost positive that Brenda couldn’t have killed him, but there was someone out there who know who did know what had happened.

Max walked across the pier looking triumphant, “I got exactly what you wanted! It’s all in here.” Max handed Jason a manila envelope, and inside were pictures of everything that could be seen from the balcony and therefore could see the balcony. “I think there might be something in these pictures that we could use.”

As Jason looked at the pictures he saw that there was an apartment complex kitty corner to Alcazar’s balcony. Sitting on one of the fire escapes was an orange tabby cat, and just inside the window he could barely make out a pair of binoculars. Jason knew it was just a hunch, but there may have been someone in that apartment that had seen Alcazar’s fateful fall.

“Max did you see this?” Jason pointed at what he had been looking at in the picture. “I want you to watch this apartment and see if there is anyone that actually uses those binoculars on a regular basis. Also try to pay attention to the rest of the building and see if anyone seems to follow the same routine all the time.” It was definitely a long shot, but Jason was willing to just about anything to clear Brenda and therefore him also. Max nodded in understanding and walked away to complete his assignment. Jason knew he could count on Max to get the job done right.

The sun was setting and the shadows on the pier were getting darker. As Jason looked at his watch he realized Courtney would be getting off work soon. He decided to head over to Kelly’s, and make sure Courtney got home okay.

As he walked through the door he was greeted by the sight of A.J. sitting at the counter. “Courtney, the landlord says you haven’t been at the apartment in weeks! Where have you been staying?” A.J.’s voice was steadily climbing. He was pissed off because he thought he had a pretty good idea of who she had been with now and he just wanted to know where. He had to know where.

“A.J. where I have been or where I go is absolutely none of your business! Now I suggest you leave before I find someone who is willing to help me throw you out of here!” At that moment Courtney saw Jason. She had been a little nervous about how she was going to get rid of A.J. but now that she knew Jason was here she wasn’t worried anymore. “Get out A.J!”

Jason walked up to the counter and A.J. saw him. “Well, well if it isn’t my brother here to rescue my wife from her evil husband.” A.J. was getting ready to start pushing all of Jason’s buttons and maybe a few other things too, but at that moment Bobbie walked in.

“A.J! I thought I told you that you are not welcome here, especially when Courtney or Carly are here!” Bobbie was sick of A.J. causing trouble in her diner. Whenever he showed up he seemed to drive the customers away. He just made it unpleasant for people to sit and enjoy their coffee or Ruby’s famous chili. “You have less than five seconds to get out of here before I call the police who will escort you out!”

A.J. looked back at Courtney. “You should go home sometime, and check on the apartment. Then again maybe you’ve decided to make someone else’s apartment homey!” A.J. gave Jason a dirty look and left like a pouty child.

“Courtney, the next time he comes in and starts bothering you just call the police. He can’t come in here disrupt my business and chase away my customers.” Bobbie walked back to the kitchen.

Courtney looked at Jason and smiled. Jason asked, “Are you almost done for the day?”

“Yeah, I was just finishing up my shift when A.J. showed up, and I didn’t think it was fair to leave and make Penny deal with A.J. by herself.”

Penny walked by and said, “Courtney thanks for dealing with A.J. I think I’ve got everything under control so you can go now if you want.”

“Thanks Penny! See you tomorrow.” Courtney grabbed her purse and coat. Jason followed her outside. The air was cool and crisp, but it was definitely the right temperature for a nice leisurely walk home.

“Why don’t I walk you home?” Jason said with a smile. He held out his had and Courtney put her hand in his.

As they walked away they didn’t see A.J. lurking in the shadows, but he saw them and decided to follow. He wanted to know where HIS wife was sleeping, and he needed to figure out how he was going to get her back.

Jason and Courtney walked to the loft, enjoying the evening and the time they were able to spend together. Every once in awhile they would stop and kiss in the moonlight. Courtney knew that even though they said they were going to take things slow things were going to heat up sooner or later.

A.J. followed them to the loft. Now he knew where she went every night. Now he knew where to find her. Now he needed to come up with a plan that wouldn’t backfire like the last one, and he knew just who he would have help him out.