Heinous (12 page)

Jess leaned toward her, uncaring that Sylvia obviously knew already that Jess had asked Gina for help. “And?”

“Mayor Pratt is spearheading the anti-Dan campaign. He’s been calling in all his markers with the city council and prodding the movers and shakers in Birmingham. He wants Dan out. Now.”

Jess sagged back against her seat. “We’ve pretty much established the mayor’s motives already.”

“What about Dority?” Sylvia asked. “How does she fit into this?”

“Dan and I haven’t figured that one out yet,” Jess admitted.

Gina leaned forward and spoke for their ears only. “I tried to interview Meredith Dority. She won’t talk to me. She won’t talk to anyone.”

“Daddy spoke to Joe,” Sylvia assured Jess. “He warned him that he’d better be able to back up whatever he starts or he would wish he’d never set this nasty business in motion. Joe Pratt didn’t reach the office of mayor alone. Daddy cautioned him to remember that.”

Emotion tightening around her again, Jess greatly appreciated Dan’s friends—her friends—helping. “Dority coming forward now, after all these years reeks of coercion.”

“My guess is,” Gina confided, “Pratt has something on her. He’s bound to have something. She was his assistant for fifteen years.”

Sylvia made a derisive sound. “That’s what we do—most of us anyway. Those with power keep secrets, particularly about those we might one day need. We watch for missteps so we can use those mistakes to our advantage. It’s ugly, but to some power is all that’s important.”

“I’m staying on Dority,” Gina promised. “I will get the truth out of her or, at the very least, a story.”

Good reporters were relentless and Gina was the best.

By the time the ladies were ready to call it a night, the shopping spree had made a sizeable dent in Jess’s credit card. Though she’d enjoyed the company and actually had a nice time, she needed to see Dan.

Outside the café, Sylvia hit the key fob disarming the security system on her car and unlocking the doors. A BPD cruiser waited behind the Lexus. For the first time since this started, Jess was acutely aware of how much she appreciated the backup.

As they walked the short distance down the block to the parked car, Jess thought of all the times she and Dan, as teenagers, had strolled this street. Coffee shops and martini bars were all the rage now. Back then, the establishments hadn’t been quite so sophisticated. Dance clubs and pool halls had dotted the blocks.

“Do you have a due date?” Sylvia wanted to know.

“April twentieth.”

“We’ll have to plan a baby shower,” Gina said with the smile that captivated her audience on a regular basis.

Jess laughed. “I think maybe the wedding should come first.”

“Don’t be old-fashioned.” Sylvia blew off the idea. “Just because you and Dan aren’t married yet doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the fact that you’re pregnant. That’s a big deal.” She made a face. “In fact, it’s a huge deal.”

“I certainly didn’t have a baby penciled in on my calendar,” Jess admitted. “We still have to figure out the house situation.”

“I know a really good realtor,” Gina said.

“I think Dan and his mother have the—”

“Are you all right?”

A man’s voice had all three women looking behind them.

Meredith Dority and a man Jess didn’t recognize had exited the Bean House coffee shop. Dority stared at Jess, her face horror-stricken. To Jess’s knowledge she’d never met the woman in person.

The man looked from Dority to Jess and back. “We should go, Meredith.”

Meredith shook her head, her attention still fixed on Jess.

“Let’s go, ladies,” Sylvia suggested.

Jess wanted to. She really did, but something about the way Dority stared at her kept her feet glued to the ground.

“I didn’t know,” Dority pleaded as if asking for Jess’s forgiveness.

Her friend or boyfriend, whatever he was, took Dority by the arm and started urging her in the other direction. “Don’t say anything else, Meredith.”

“The truth would be nice,” Gina called out behind the two.

Dority glanced back one last time as the man Jess now presumed to be her attorney steered her away. The pain on her face was something Jess wouldn’t soon forget. Meredith Dority hadn’t known that Jess was pregnant. Of course, she hadn’t. Hardly anyone did. Learning that news had distressed her somehow.

There was only one motive for that sort of reaction...
guilt
.

9911 Conroy Road, 11:20 p.m.

Dan hauled the last of the shopping bags inside and locked up. “Sylvia said to tell you goodnight.” He armed the security system.

“Umm-hmm.” For a moment, Jess stared at him. He’d met her at Sylvia’s car wearing nothing but those old sweatpants that hung low on his hips. As ready to collapse as she was, she could stand here all night and do nothing except look at him. Her feet argued the point. She kicked off her shoes and sighed at the sheer bliss of feeling the cool floor beneath her aching feet.

Dan pulled her into his arms and held her close. “Tell me about what happened in Scottsboro.”

She didn’t ask what he’d heard already and who’d told him, she closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest. If only she could forget today. Sylvia and Gina had kept her distracted for a while, but now the horrifying discoveries of the day were back, taunting her.

“For one thing Gant exiled me from the Spears investigation.” It wasn’t the first time her former boss had kicked her off the case, but that didn’t make her like it this time any better than she had the last time. A big breath shuddered out of her. “Sheriff Foster located the owner of the car Spears used to send me a message.”

She told him about Mooney and his shop of horrors. Keeping her emotions at bay proved particularly difficult as she shared the part about the baby in the jar and how her mother may have been pregnant making the child—a boy—her brother. Confounded tears rolled down her cheeks anyway. She couldn’t hope to stop them.

Before she realized he’d moved, Dan swooped her up into his arms. “Enough talking. I’m taking you to bed.”

Dan settled her onto her feet next to the bed and began removing her clothes. He kissed her tears away. She’d never in her life been so emotional. This pregnancy was turning her into a blubbering fool.

She opened her mouth to apologize for falling apart, but all she could do was stare at the gorgeous man attending to her so gently. His muscled chest and strong arms made her ache desperately for him.

“Make love to me, Dan.”

He kissed her tenderly. She closed her eyes and lost herself to the feel of his hands moving over her body. One by one, he released the buttons of her jacket and slipped it off. His arms went around her waist and he unfastened her skirt. It fell to the floor. His fingers slipped beneath the catch of her bra and liberated her from the binding satin. He dropped to his knees, his palms sliding down her torso. She shivered as his fingers tugged her panties down her thighs.

He kissed her belly and she gasped.

Lifting her into his arms once more, he kissed her so softly, over and over. He lowered her to the bed and came down on top of her. The weight of him had her body moving restlessly and she forgot all about being tired.

He made love to her slowly, whispering sweet words to her until they were both gasping for breath and clinging helplessly to each other.

When their breathing had quieted, she held him tightly and told him about running into Meredith. Jess felt the tension in his body, and she wished she could make it go away.

She wished all of this would just go away.

9911 Conroy Road, Wednesday, September 8, 7:00 a.m.

Jess stared at her reflection. The dress was sleeveless and formfitting from bust to waist then flared into a loose pleated skirt. Gina had raved about the sapphire color brightening Jess’s pale complexion. Sylvia, on the other hand, had pointed out how the flared skirt and the matching three-quarter sleeve cardigan would help camouflage subtle weight gains.

Then there were the shoes. Jess cringed a little when she looked at her new shiny black shoes. They were the Mary Jane style she loved but with only two-inch, sturdy heels.
Shoes for the woman on the go
, that was what the label on the box said. The look of classic pumps, the shop owner had lauded, with the feel and sensibility of running shoes. The extra cushioning inside felt nice to Jess’s feet, but the pumps looked like old lady shoes.

This was precisely why she had always shopped alone. Who knew having friends could be so painful to the ego? She surveyed the dozen new dresses and suits hanging in her closet. Or so damaging to the credit card?

Dan came up behind her. His arms went around her waist and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “You look amazing.”

Jess lifted one foot and twisted it side to side. “You like my old lady shoes?”

“I find them sexy as hell.” He slid one hand over her belly. “Everything about you is sexy as hell.”

Jess turned in his arms and searched his face. She still winced a little each time she looked at the small bandage. “You might not like what I’m about to do.”

A smile slid across that tempting mouth. “Do I ever when it comes to work?”

She sighed. “I need to know how all this connects to my parents.” Jess shook her head. “And Maddie. I have to make sure she’s okay. If Lil and I are related to her that gives us legal grounds to protect her.”

He gave a somber nod. “You do what you have to do as long as you take all the necessary precautions to protect
you
.”

Jess reached up and touched his forehead, careful of the bandage. “I’m glad you’re not trying to put me under house arrest.”

“You need the truth.” He caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I understand.”

She hugged him hard. “You deserve the truth, too. I can’t believe we ran into Dority last night.” Jess thought about the horrified look on the other woman’s face. She drew back and met Dan’s expectant gaze. “But I’m glad we did. She’s hiding something, Dan. Guilt was written all over her face. What does Pratt have on her?”

“I don’t know.” A frown tugged at his lips. “Whatever it is, she won’t return my phone calls.”

“If Pratt wants you out so badly, why doesn’t he just fire you?” As the mayor, the old coot had the power to select as well as to dismiss a chief of police. Jess reached up and adjusted Dan’s collar.

“There would be repercussions for him and he knows it. The city council and most of the power in the city are people who’ve known me my whole life.” He reached for his jacket and slipped it on. “He’s walking a tight rope.”

Jess chewed her lip. “He turned on you when you stopped listening to his suggestions. About me.”

“He was wrong, Jess.”

“Still.” She searched his eyes for any sign of regret. “This started with me.”

“It ends with me,” Dan said firmly. “If this city doesn’t stand behind me, then I don’t want to be chief of police, but I believe they will.”

To see that determination and confidence made her smile. “I’m certain they will.”

He pulled her back into his arms. “I’m glad you’re not angry with my mother for telling Sylvia and Gina about the baby.”

“She’s excited. How can I hold that against her?” Jess had made up her mind about Katherine. From now on, she was keeping Katherine’s good points front and center. A woman who could raise a man like Dan undoubtedly had many good points beneath that need for a certain image.

The clang of her phone echoed. Jess made a face. “And it begins.”

Dan released her. “Go be deputy chief. I have to find my blue tie.”

Jess hurried to the kitchen counter. “It’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door.” She unplugged her phone from the charger and accepted the call she’d been waiting for. “Did you get lost, Corlew?”

Buddy chuckled. “So it’s Corlew this morning, is it?”

“Considering I called you several times yesterday and you never called me back, you’re on my bad side this morning. Did you talk to McPherson?”

“You bet. And I talked real fast cause he had a gun to my head.”

Jess cringed. “Do I want to know how that happened?”

“Probably not. Anyway, it worked out and he had an interesting theory about the Brownfields and your father—for what it’s worth. Based on what he told me, I think we should talk to Wanda. Can you arrange that?”

“Of course. What did he tell you?”

“McPherson claims he knew your father, Jess. He doesn’t believe Lee was part of what the Brownfields were doing. He says this is a setup of some kind.”

Jess leaned heavily against the counter and willed her heart to slow its pounding. “Does he have any evidence? Did he know my father that well?”

“That’s all he was willing to say, but I saw photos of him with your family. He definitely knew them. He booted me off his property with a strong warning not to come back. I’d already had a look around and found nothing in the house. He has an office of sorts in a building out back, but there was nothing related to the case other than those photos. If he has any kind of proof of whatever he knows, he plans to keep it to himself.”

“Did you get the impression he was telling the truth?” There was never a doubt in her mind that he knew plenty. What reason could he have for refusing to cooperate other than the fear of exposing his own actions?

“Yeah,” Buddy confirmed. “I believe what he said about your father is the truth. I also think there’s probably a hell of a lot he’s not telling.”

“All right. I’ll set it up with Wanda and call you back.”

“Make it soon,” he recommended.

“Definitely.” Jess ended the call and reached for the glass of water she’d left by the sink. Her throat felt suddenly too dry.

Was it possible that her father was nothing more than a cheater? The concept was a bit more palatable than the thought that he might be a murderer... but it all felt wrong.

What happened to the idyllic childhood she remembered?

“You okay?”

Jess turned in time to watch Dan adjust his tie. She wanted their child to have a normal, happy childhood. She wanted a happy, normal life with Dan. If all that she remembered was a lie, how could she trust anything to be real, much less normal?

There was one thing she knew with complete certainty: she could trust Dan. No matter what else happened, that truth was unshakable.

Summoning her determination, she mustered up a smile for him. “I am, yes. That was Buddy. He wants to meet with Wanda to go over some things he learned from the ABI guy who claims my father was setup somehow.”

Dan tugged at a strand of her hair. “You need me there?”

“You have enough fires to put out without me dragging you into the ones blazing around me.”

“Your fires are my fires.” He kissed her cheek. “Hayes is here, by the way.”

Jess frowned at the idea Hayes took it upon himself to decide who would be her ride today. “I didn’t call anyone yet. I swear that man gets on my last nerve some days.”

“I asked him to come by early,” Dan explained. “I thought since you were with him yesterday you would be today, and I have to leave for the office earlier than usual.”

“In that case, I won’t chew him out.” She gave Dan a peck on the lips. “You be careful, too. I’m not the only one Spears has his sights on.”

When Dan was out the door, Jess made the call to Wanda. Her aunt was happy to help in any way she could. Jess should appreciate her attitude more but forgiving Wanda was a work in progress.

Her next call was to Sheriff Roy Griggs. The Jefferson County sheriff was about to provide her with a way around Supervisory Special Agent Gant.

Druid Hills, 10:00 a.m.

Wanda Newsom sat in her well-worn chair, hands clasped in her lap. While Buddy chatted with her about days gone by, Jess studied the woman. Gray had overtaken Wanda’s blond hair. A few fleeting strands of the honey color she had shared with her sister remained. Both Wanda and Helen had brown eyes, just like Jess and Lil. Despite having no real desire to acknowledge it, Wanda and Jess’s mother looked as much alike as Jess and Lil did, but the two women couldn’t have been more different.

Helen Harris had been a devoted wife and mother. Wanda had practically lost her mind when, at age twenty-two, her husband, Johnny Paul Newsom, was killed while advising on a military operation. She’d chosen to drown her sorrows in alcohol and zone out on drugs rather than deal with the reality of life and loss.

Wanda’s decision had been her own until Jess and Lil’s parents died. Then, the childless widow had suddenly become the caretaker of two little girls. Rather than meet the challenge, she’d stuck with the drugs, the booze, and the bringing johns home with Jess and Lil in the next room.

Jess doubted she would ever be able to forgive Wanda completely for her part in casting two kids into the foster care system, but at Lil’s urging she was trying. After all, Wanda had found God and professed she was a Christian now. Who was Jess to pass judgment?

“We’d like to have a look at whatever family photos you have that belonged to Lee and Helen,” Buddy was saying now.

Wanda got to her feet. “I’ll get them for you. Would you like coffee or tea?” She gazed at Jess hopefully.

Jess shook her head. “Do you recall my mother ever mentioning anything at all about my father’s work?”

Wanda blinked, her hopeful expression falling. “We really didn’t talk about Lee’s work. We were—”

“Estranged,” Jess finished for her. “That’s right. My mother didn’t agree with your lifestyle at the time.”

Wanda lowered her gaze. “She wanted to protect you girls from me. I can’t blame her. Years later, I tried to see her. She refused. That time it was because of your father’s associates, but she wouldn’t give me any details.”

Hard as it was, Jess set aside her personal feelings and said what needed to be said. “She would be very proud of you now.”

The emotion that danced across Wanda’s face moved Jess. She didn’t want to feel anything toward this woman but there it was.

“Thank you, Jessie Lee. I hope so.”

Wanda disappeared down the narrow hall of her small home. Jess closed her eyes and attempted to block the flood of bad memories associated with this place.

“That was nice of you to say, Jess.”

She opened her eyes and met Buddy’s. “I just hope we’re not wasting our time.”

Wanda reappeared with a shoebox. “This is everything I have.” She handed the box over to Jess. “Keep it as long as you like. I hope you find something that helps.”

Jess stared at the box. “This is it?” Her parents’ lives had been culled down to nothing more than a shoebox. How could that be?

“That’s everything,” Wanda said, her head down again.

Oh hell. There she went, being insensitive again. “Thank you.” Jess took a breath. “I appreciate you taking care of these all this time.”

Wanda nodded. “I wish I’d done better.”

“This will help,” Jess assured her.

She and Buddy sifted through the pile of old photos. He teased Jess from time to time about the ones that included her. The talk and the teasing lapsed when they encountered a photo at what appeared to be a family gathering.

“Where was this taken?” Jess offered the photo to Wanda.

Rather than take it she moved to the sofa and sat down beside Jess. “That was at the Irondale house where your mom and dad lived with you kids.” She pointed to something in the background. “Remember the swing set?”

The swing set was still there. Jess had seen the old rusted out thing last week.

“Your mom and dad had a big Fourth of July cookout that year.”

Jess turned the photo over and found the date written on the back. “That was a couple weeks before the accident.”

Wanda nodded. “I wasn’t there since they didn’t want me around, but I tried to salvage all the photos I could.”

“What do you mean salvage? Weren’t you the one who packed up their belongings?”

“Yes, but there was a robbery sometime after the accident.”

Jess glanced at Buddy. “At the house?”

Wanda fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. “It was a few days before I went back there. I had the funeral to arrange and you two girls to take care of.” She shrugged. “I guess it was four or five days after the funeral. I went to the house and someone had broken in. The place was a mess.”

“So you don’t know any of these people?” Jess asked, moving on. She would find out what she could about the break in later. Surely there was a police report.

Wanda shook her head. “Just Helen and Lee and Reverend Henshaw.”

Jess stared at the group gathered in what was her childhood backyard. Several she recognized immediately. Reverend Henshaw. Randall McPherson. Her parents, of course, but there were three other faces she didn’t recognize. The reverend she could understand being invited to a family barbecue, but McPherson? Buddy had told her about the photos he’d seen in McPherson’s shed-turned-office. Clearly, the retired ABI agent had known her parents better than he’d wanted to admit to Jess. Did this mean he was telling the truth about her father?

Every time she thought she was getting closer to answers, she found more questions.

Her cell rang. She passed the photo to Buddy and dug for her phone.
Harper
. “What’s going on, Sergeant?”

“Chief, we found where Henshaw has been staying. I think you need to see this before we call for the evidence techs. We’re downtown at one of the old hotels, the Redmont, on Fifth Avenue.”

“I’m on my way, Sergeant.”

“FYI,” Harper alerted, “Cook and Wells are headed back from Scottsboro. Agent Manning asked them to leave the scene since SPU isn’t on the case anymore. Chief Black backed him up.”