Druid Hills, 12:20 p.m.
"That"s the one." Jess stared at the house where her aunt had lived for more than thirty years. The house was clad in dingy white siding. At least the lawn was freshly mown. The last time Jess had driven by the gra.s.s was ankle deep.
How she had hated this place. For months she and Lily had been angry with their parents for dying and leaving them with nowhere to go but this h.e.l.lhole with an aunt who spent what little money she had on booze and most of her nights on her back under a different John. Not once had she done a single thing to help two young girls devastated by the loss of everything they knew and loved. The aunt the court had relied upon to see after Helen Harris"s children had already spiraled so far downhill that she"d hit rock bottom.
Not any more. Now Wanda Newsom had G.o.d.
"Do you want to go in?"
Jess flinched at the sound of the lieutenant"s voice. For the life of her, she couldn"t stay on point with a d.a.m.ned thing. "Yes." She steeled herself for the battle with her newest team member. "I"ll need you to wait out here, Lieutenant."
"I"m afraid I can"t do that." He reached for the door handle.
"I wasn"t asking you, Lieutenant." She was not debating this with him or anyone else. "You can watch me from here." d.a.m.n Spears. d.a.m.n this whole d.a.m.ned situation! People were dying and she couldn"t stop it. The weight on her chest multiplied by a thousand. She felt like the guy in that commercial with the elephant on his chest. "Just like the uniform sitting in that cruiser ten yards behind us."
She was so sick of this!
"How about I walk you to the door, have a look inside, and then I"ll wait on the porch." He sent her a sideways glance over the top of the Ray-Bans he wore. "Does that work for you?"
She bit her tongue. Jess reminded herself that he was right and she was wrong. Her emotions were controlling her instead of the other way around. They were keeping her distracted and hampering reason. She needed someone watching her back. He was here to do that.
"Fine."
Hayes emerged from the car, surveyed the neighborhood, and walked around to her side. He opened the door and she got out. As difficult as it was to admit that she wasn"t fully capable of protecting herself at the moment, it was true. Her detectives intended to keep her safe. She appreciated their efforts.
Somehow that admission didn"t make her feel one iota better.
"Thank you." Jess braced herself again, only this time for facing her aunt. She ran a hand through her hair and smoothed the front of her skirt. The sooner she had this over with the better. Since Wanda"s ancient Toyota was in the drive, Jess presumed she was home.
Hayes knocked twice before the door cracked open. Jess leaned toward the narrow opening. "I need to speak with you." Her voice sounded thin and a little high pitched.
"Jessie Lee?" Wanda drew back the door. She looked up at the man beside Jess. Her forehead furrowed in confusion.
"Lieutenant Clint Hayes, Ms. Newsom," he announced. "I"ll just need to come inside with Chief Harris and have a look around."
How did he know her aunt"s name? Maybe Lori had told him. That was another feeling Jess didn"t like-the one where you knew everyone was talking about you and not to you.
"Come on in." Wanda shuffled back, drawing the door open wide. "There"s n.o.body here but me."
"It"s just a precaution, ma"am."
"Well, all right." She closed the door after them and stood in the middle of the room wringing her hands.
Jess waited impatiently as Hayes walked through the small house. She wasn"t saying a word until he was outside. If there was nothing to this, then there was no need to share it with the world.
The smell of fried chicken lingered in the air, invading Jess"s senses. Her stomach rumbled. Wanda glanced at her. Jess wished the floor would open and swallow her. She didn"t know why she cared what this woman thought of her or her stomach.
"The house is clear," Hayes announced as he reentered the room. "I"ll be right outside, Chief."
Jess waited until he closed the front door behind him and then she turned to Wanda. "I have a few questions."
"Here." Wanda hurried to move the newspapers spread across the sofa. "Sit down, Jessie Lee. Anything you want to ask is fine by me. Would you like a gla.s.s of water?"
"Thank you, no. I don"t have a lot of time."
"You don"t have time to sit for a minute?"
Jess looked at her aunt. Really looked at her for the first time since returning to Birmingham. Until recently, she hadn"t seen the woman in over thirty years. Wanda Newsom looked old, far older than her sixty-some years. The drugs and alcohol had taken a toll. Not to mention she"d probably suffered every STD known to man.
Jess"s stomach started that frustrating churning again. Her knees felt weak. If she didn"t sit down she would likely regret it.
"I guess I have a minute." She perched on the edge of the sofa. Wanda took a seat in a well-worn chair to Jess"s right.
"What is it you want to talk about? Is it about your father and what I told you? It"s the G.o.d"s truth. I-"
"It"s not about that." The antic.i.p.ation in the older woman"s eyes made Jess look away. Whatever hopes Wanda had that one day Jess would forgive her and they could be friends was a waste of energy.
"When did you move into this house?" Jess asked, turning back to the woman once more.
"After my Paul died, I couldn"t afford the payments on the house we built. I wandered from pillar to post for a few years. Eventually I got this place." She glanced around the room. "It"s not much but it"s home."
Dread coiled in Jess"s belly.
"We didn"t have any children so at just twenty-two I wasn"t ent.i.tled to social security benefits. I didn"t know how to do a thing. I"d never had a job besides being a wife." She shook her head and made a sound that might have been a laugh. "I was a mess. The good Lord is the only reason I survived those years."
Marshaling all her powers of restraint, Jess managed to not roll her eyes or say anything unpleasant.
"We had all these plans," Wanda went on. "He was going to build me a white picket fence. My job was to stay at home and have babies." She blinked rapidly at the moisture shining in her eyes. "But I guess it wasn"t meant to be."
"Life can be that way sometimes." That was the closest thing to sympathy Jess had to offer. "Where was this house you and your husband built?" She held her breath.
"It was over on Raleigh Avenue in Homewood. It was the neatest little thing. There were just two bedrooms but it was all we needed. At the time there were lots of other young couples just starting out in the neighborhood."
Jess needed to breathe but somehow the air wouldn"t go into her lungs. Her eyes burned but she refused to cry.
"You wouldn"t remember, but your mother and Lily were staying with me when she went into labor with you."
Air rushed into Jess"s lungs. "Why were they staying with you?"
"Your father was out of town." Wanda shook her head. "He was always out of town. Anyway, Helen knew her time was close. Since she"d delivered Lily so cotton pickin" fast she didn"t want to be alone that night. She had a feeling you were coming."
Emotion flooded her and Jess licked her lips to conceal their trembling. "So, you drove my mother to the hospital?"
Wanda wagged her head side to side. "No sirree. Once you started coming you didn"t want to wait. I called an ambulance but by the time they got there, you were already in my hands." Wanda brushed back tears even as she laughed. "Popped right out of there with your eyes wide open and screaming at the top of your lungs in indignation."
"I was born in that house?" Jess knew the answer, for Pete"s sake. The woman had just told her but somehow the reality of it wouldn"t sink into her brain. Her body had gone ice cold.
"You most certainly were. In the bigger of the two bedrooms, right there on the bed your Uncle Paul worked an hour overtime every day for months to pay off."
Jess pushed to her feet, the air she"d managed to drag in rushing just as quickly out of her. "Thank you for your time. I have to get back to the office."
Her head was spinning. Spears had found a new way to use her as a catalyst for murder. Selecting people based on locations and events in her life.
"What"s this about?" Wanda asked. "Is something wrong?"
As if he"d had one ear to the door, it opened and Hayes walked in. "We ready to go, Chief?"
"Has she had lunch?" Wanda asked. "I think she needs to eat. She looks a little pale."
"I"m fine." Jess cleared her throat. She really could use a cold gla.s.s of water. Anywhere but here. "I"m ready, Lieutenant."
"I hate to see you run off like this," Wanda persisted. "I just fried a whole chicken. Cooked up mashed potatoes and green beans. I"ll never be able to eat all that myself."
"I"m sorry-"
"I love fried chicken," Hayes said, abruptly cutting Jess off. He flashed that charming smile of his at Wanda. "I don"t know about the chief, but I"m starving."
Jess wanted to kick him. She just wanted out of here! What the h.e.l.l did he think he was doing?
Wanda grinned. "Well good. Come on into the kitchen and I"ll pour up the iced tea."
Jess shot the lieutenant a glare. He had the audacity to smile.
Still steaming, Jess settled at the table that looked as worse for wear as the ones in the BPD interview rooms. She considered the many ways she could make Hayes pay for this. All the while he kept the conversation going with Wanda.
No wonder the man had done so well as a gigolo, he could charm anyone. Or maybe the two felt a kinship since Wanda had spent most of her adult life as a low rent prost.i.tute.
Guilt overwhelmed Jess. One of these days she was going to have to give the woman a break whether she wanted to or not. Maybe she had done the best she could. Jess banished the crazy thoughts whirling around in her head. Some other time she could sort all that out.
A gla.s.s appeared in front of her. Jess managed a smile for her aunt even though she felt like running out of the room screaming. The iced tea cooled her throat, and as much as she didn"t want to admit it, tasted good.
"You should like this chicken, Jessie Lee," Wanda placed a drumstick on Jess"s place, "your mother taught me how to fry chicken. All these fancy cooks you see on TV got nothing on Helen Harris."
Maybe it was the idea that the chicken was her mother"s recipe, whatever the reason Jess found herself nibbling on the chicken leg. The breading was amazingly crisp, but the meat beneath was tender and juicy.
"Told you it was good."
Jess looked up. Wanda and Hayes were watching her, smirks on their faces. "It is." Jess dabbed at her lips with a paper napkin. Whether she had moaned out loud, or just the fact that she was devouring the chicken that drew their attention, she couldn"t say. "Delicious. Really... delicious."
By the time Jess pushed away from the table, to say she was stuffed was putting it mildly. "That was-"
"Incredible," Hayes finished for her. "I don"t think I"ve eaten that much since the last time I had Sunday dinner at my grandmother"s house."
Wanda insisted the lieutenant was welcome to have Sunday dinner with her any time. "You too, Jessie Lee." The hope in her expression was undeniable.
Jess didn"t have to work too hard to present a smile. As much as she hated to admit it, she did feel better now that she"d eaten. "Thank you. I"ll remember that."
Not anytime soon, but there was no need to mention that part.
"You tell your sister, too," Wanda urged as they moved back into the living room and toward the front door. "I"d love to have y"all over so we could catch up."
Jess clenched her jaw to hold back the retort that came immediately to mind. She"d put the past aside for a moment, but she couldn"t hold it at bay for long. There was nothing between her and this woman except hurt. Why in the world would she pretend otherwise? She appreciated her efforts-or at least she tried to-but no amount of fried chicken and potatoes was going to change the past.
What was with all this waffling back and forth?
"When you have more time," Wanda went on, oblivious to Jess"s irritation, "I"ll show you the photos I have from when you were a baby." She literally beamed. "I didn"t realize I had so many. But when your friend dropped by, we started talking about those days and the next thing I knew I was digging out all kinds of family photos."
Uncertainty made it impossible for Jess to move. "A friend of mine stopped by?"
Wanda nodded. "He did. A very nice man. He said he was doing a feature on you and all the work you"re doing to keep Birmingham safe."
"Was his name Gerard Stevens?" Jess didn"t know the man but she disliked him immensely for trying to make Dan look bad in a recent interview with Corlew, of all people. The thought made her mad at her old friend all over again.
"Oh no. It wasn"t that reporter fella," Wanda a.s.sured Jess. "It was your old friend from the FBI in Virginia. His name was Ross. Ross Taylor. Said he was retired now and doing some writing for some big newspaper in Washington D.C."
Fear blasted through Jess. Special Agent Ross Taylor was dead. Eric Spears had murdered him.
"When was he here?" It took everything Jess had to keep her voice from shaking. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hunt Spears down and rip him apart with her own two hands.
"Must"ve been about two weeks ago. Right about the same time that policeman"s wife killed his partner"s wife. That case was all over the news."
Jess quieted the storm of emotions whirling inside her. "Wanda, I need you to start at the beginning and tell me everything you told him."
12.
Birmingham Police Department, 1:30 p.m.
Dan signed the last requisition form and closed the folder. It was already half past one and he hadn"t heard from Jess or anyone in SPU. Hayes should have checked in with him already. He scrubbed at his eyes and exhaled a weary breath.
The idea that Jess was out there on the streets-an open target-was driving him out of his mind. He understood her reasoning for staying on the job. She needed to be working. h.e.l.l, he needed her on the job. But the reality that any one of the warped fans Spears had watching her could so easily reach her was killing him.
Add to that the undeniable reality that the FBI was getting nowhere on the Spears investigation. They had no idea where the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was. He could be right here under their noses. Dan closed his eyes and forced away the images that came with that thought. Spears had touched Jess at Friday"s press conference. He had been close enough to hurt her-or worse-with cops all around him.
How the h.e.l.l were they going to protect her if they didn"t know where the son of a b.i.t.c.h was?
He stood and walked to the window that overlooked the city. Ensuring the safety of the citizens of Birmingham was his responsibility. Taking care of Jess was his responsibility. He"d never felt more helpless.
With everything that was going on, he hadn"t even managed time for lunch with Andrea before she went back to college for the fall semester. So much had happened this summer, starting with his stepdaughter"s abduction. Those had been some scary days. But Jess had come when he"d called and she had found those girls. No one else could take credit for that incredible feat. She was a hero.
He wanted to be hers.
If anything happened to her- The intercom on his desk buzzed and was followed by, "Chief, Mayor Pratt is on line one for you."