by Mary Burton
“No. She refused to tell. I was hoping as her pastor, you might have known his identity.”
“She never confided in me. I didn’t realize Bill wasn’t the father until about thirty seconds ago when you told me.”
“You don’t remember her hanging around with anyone at the church? No one showed her any special interest?”
“A lot of men showed her interest. She was beautiful.”
“But no one special?”
“No.” He frowned. “And I’m not comfortable having this conversation with you. Annie is with the Lord now and she does not deserve to be maligned. She may not have been perfect but those who are without sin can cast the first stone.” The minister stood silent as he might have done at the end of a sermon.
Instead of an amen, she asked, “Who took Annie’s baby?”
“Even if I knew I wouldn’t tell you. She was a total innocent in that terrible mess and she deserves to be left out of it.”
“She has a right to know what happened to her mother and the identity of her biological father.”
“We all wanted that child to have a happy life. And it is my fondest hope that she received one. Don’t dig it up.”
Rachel shifted tactics. “Kate misses this place.”
A ghost of a strained smile played on his lips. “Kate is a beautiful soul. She helped build this church and we won’t be the same without her. I saw her yesterday.” He let the words trail. “How is she doing?”
“The cancer is taking a toll.”
“Yes. It’s tragic.” His voice dipped, like the low note in an opera. “I need to get by and pay her another visit.”
“I’m sure she would appreciate that.”
His tone hinted of deep annoyance rarely seen. “Why did you go see Kate?”
She studied his face closely. “I was sent letters written by Annie. I thought she might know who sent them.”
“Letters?” The lines in his face deepened. “Who did she write them to?”
“I don’t know. She was careful not to name the man she called Sugar.”
He tugged at his white, crisp cuff. “All evidence pointed to Jones.”
“Maybe, but I want to find this lover and see where he was when she died.”
Cuff links winked in the light as he smoothed hair back from his temple. “That doesn’t mean your client is innocent.”
A woman appeared at the door. In her midfifties, she was tall, slim, blond, and dressed in a neat red pants suit that matched her lipstick. “Gary?”
Gary stepped away from Rachel and moved toward the woman. He kissed her on the cheek. “Jennifer, I’d like to introduce you two. Ms. Wainwright, this is my wife Jennifer.”
The woman’s bright smile fell short of warming her eyes. “You are representing that man in prison.”
Rachel nodded. “That’s right.”
“Gary has an active prison ministry. He tries to save as many lost souls behind bars as he can. Several have since been released and are working in the church. Good men, bad starts, but happy endings.”
Jeb could have been one of those men thirty years ago.
“Ms. Wainwright was asking me about Annie Dawson. She is playing detective and trying to find more suspects for the police to consider.”
“That was thirty years ago. That can’t be easy.” Jennifer’s Southern drawl coiled around the words.
“No, not easy.”
“I was a member of the church then and had begun dating my first husband.” She smiled as if sensing Rachel’s next question. “Gary and I married about ten years ago after my husband died and his first wife died.”
Curiosity poked Rachel. “Did you ever meet Annie?”
Jennifer adjusted the diamond watch on her slim wrist. “Saw her sing in the church once. Lovely, lovely voice. But we never formally met. I remember I helped search for that poor woman. Those first days we had hope and then, well, we all realized this story wasn’t going to have a happy ending.”
Gary laid his hand on Jennifer’s shoulder, causing her to smile up at him. “Ms. Wainwright, if you don’t have any other questions, I promised I’d take my wife to an early lunch.”
Jennifer preened. “He’s been working many long hours and I told him he had to make time for me.” She arched a playful eyebrow. “I won’t be ignored.”
Gary kissed her on the cheek. “No, I know you can be bossy.”
Rachel studied the two, wondering if the emotion was a brilliant stage performance or genuine. “Thank you for your time.”
“Would you keep me posted on what you find out?” Gary asked. He followed her toward the main door and reached for the large door handle. “It may have been thirty years ago but Annie was a good soul and I don’t want to forget her.”
“Sure. I’ll keep you informed.”
“I will pray for her. And for you.”
She nearly told him to hold the prayers on her behalf. She’d spoken to God often enough when Luke had been in jail but she’d been ignored. “Thanks.”
She left the office, the choir hitting a high note, their notes chasing her out into the sun.
March 30
Sugar,
I hear you were asking after me. I always said bees can’t stay away from honey. Remember, bees sting.
A.
Chapter Seventeen
Thursday, October 20, 4:45 PM
Deke waved Brad into his office. “Tell me you have the DNA.”
Brad closed the door behind him, a breath easing from his lungs. “I do.”
Deke rose, all but ready to bolt across the room, even as he held steady, too conditioned to let emotion run the show. He’d never questioned his father, but now as he waited for the test results and stared at Brad’s solemn face he feared Buddy had made a terrible mistake thirty years ago. “Spit it out.”
Brad opened the file. “Two blood samples were found on the tire iron. The first is Annie’s. The second is not Jeb’s.”
The news hit Deke like a fist to the gut. For a moment, he didn’t speak as his mind tripped through the scenarios. “Are you sure?”
Brad held out the report to Deke. “That’s why the results were late in coming. They ran it multiple times. Results came back the same each time.”
Deke took the file but didn’t bother to study the numbers and charts. “What can you tell me about the second sample?”
“It’s female.”
“Female?”
“Correct.”
“Did you run the DNA through CODIS?” CODIS was the Federal DNA database.
“I plugged it in, but no hit yet.”
Deke released a breath and imagined Ms. Wainwright unleashing a firestorm over the news. Knowing her, she’d have a release petition before nightfall. She might not get her client right out of prison but it was a matter of time now. Buddy’s case would be publicly picked apart.
He rubbed the tense muscles banding the back of his neck. “Thanks, Brad.”
Seconds after Brad left, Georgia burst into the room. “What were the results?”
Deke rested his hands on his hips and gave her the rundown.
Georgia’s pale face flushed with color. “That attorney is going to bust this case wide open when she hears.”
“I know.”
She shook her head. “The press could eat Buddy up.”
“We won’t let that happen.” He and his old man had locked horns often enough but he’d go to the mat for Buddy and his legacy.
The sun had long set when Rachel clicked off the CD and placed the disc in a case. She realized if she analyzed what she was about to do, she’d stop.
Jesus, Rachel, don’t be a blabbermouth.
“Shut up,” she whispered.
A short drive later, she found Georgia as she’d finished her run. Sweat dampened her forehead and the collar of her shirt. She jerked her earbuds free. “Ms. Wainwright. What brings you here?”
She hesitated, unable to scrounge up any small talk. “You know I was at Rudy’s
bar the other night.”
Georgia lifted her chin. “Yeah.”
“Is there somewhere we can talk? I’d like to show you something.”
Blue eyes flashed with suspicion. “Like what?”
“Better I show you than explain out here.”
Georgia hesitated and then fished keys out of a jogging top pocket. “Yeah, sure why not. Come inside the house.” They climbed the stairs and she unlocked 3B. She shoved open the door to a small apartment furnished with overstuffed furniture covered in pale shades. “What’s on the mystery CD?”
“Might be better to play it.”
She frowned. “Sure.”
Rachel handed the CD to Georgia who inserted it in a player under a flat-screen television. She reached for the remote but hesitated. “What am I about to see?”
“It’s Annie Rivers Dawson singing. At Rudy’s.”
Georgia glanced at the blank screen and then at the remote. For a moment she didn’t move as if the next step might carry her over into the abyss. Then drawing in a deep breath she hit play.
The grainy color image of the stage flickered on screen and in the background the crowd roared for Annie, whose smile was electric and bright. Blond hair framed a delicate face with full red lips and high cheekbones.
The band struck up a lively tune and Annie immediately started to sway with the music. She grabbed the mike, began to sing and the crowd cheered. Soon lost in the tune, her body and soul wrapped around the words and added a richness and depth not conveyed by mere words. At the end of the set she held up her hand and closed it into a small fist. “This was for you, Sugar!”
“Sugar,” Georgia said.
“Yeah.”
Both women sat in silence and watched the fourteen-minute tape. When it ended and the screen went to gray, Georgia shut off the machine. She glanced at the remote and then slowly released a breath. “Why did you bring this to me?”
Rachel had put most of the puzzle pieces together but still wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she’d figured out the image. “I thought you might like to have it.”
“Why?” The whisper sounded childlike, vulnerable.
Rachel glanced toward a framed picture of Georgia with her brothers. A riot of blond hair and backed up by three tall olive-skinned boys. “Because I thought you’d like to have a positive memory of Annie.”
Georgia rose and faced her. “Have you been talking to Deke?”
That almost made her laugh. “No, why would I?”
A frown wrinkled her brow. “How did you find out?”
“I figured it out. Deke never said a word.”
Georgia replied, “How?”
Rachel moistened her lips. “Buddy Morgan was the chief detective and Bill Dawson said the cops took the baby and a cop brought him the adoption papers to sign. You don’t look like your brothers and when you sang on stage, you sounded exactly like her.”
Tears pooled in her eyes and one escaped. “It’s not a huge secret. I’ve always known I was adopted and that Annie was my birth mother.”
“Deke is protective of you.”
She tipped her head back, corralling her tears. “I know. He always has been.”
“That’s part of the reason he’s been angry with me. I’m raising old questions.”
“He never doubted Buddy’s work. We all know Buddy was a great cop. But he worried that people would start to ask about Annie’s child and then I’d be thrust in the spotlight.”
“You don’t strike me as a wilting violet.”
A ghost of a smile reached her gaze. “Everyone knows it but Deke.”
“It’s good to have a brother looking out for you. Mine did when I was a kid.”
“It’s a bit overwhelming at times but it can be nice.”
Her heart pinched. “Yes.”
She nodded to the screen. “Where did you get the CD?”
“From Rudy. I talked to him the night you sang. He mentioned the tape, and I had it converted from VHS to CD. That’s for you.”
Watery eyes widened. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
“It was taped eight months before she died.”
“She would have been pregnant.”
“Yes. I thought you’d like to have something of her.”
“I have a couple of pictures but that’s about it. It’s nice to hear her voice and see her happy.”
Rachel tapped her finger on her thigh. “You’ve heard about the letters.”
“I’ve read them. Not a flattering picture. And I was worried at first.”
“I spoke to Bill. He knows he’s not your biological father.”
“I know. I insisted on testing when I turned twenty-one. He wasn’t happy to oblige but he did it.”
“So he knew who you were.”
“Yes.”
“He said he didn’t know.”
“He’s not a bad guy. Fact, I liked him.”
Rachel drummed her fingers on her thighs. “What about Jeb?”
“Funny you should ask. I cross-checked our DNA. No match.”
“So there was another man.”
“Yes.” She traced the edge of the remote with her thumb.
“Any thoughts on who Sugar might be? I would at least like that piece of my genetic puzzle.”
“I don’t know. Yet.”
“Do you think my biological father killed Annie?”
“In her last letters her tone grew threatening. Maybe he got worried and wanted to put an end to it.”
“But they’re fake.”
“Maybe he didn’t know that.”
“Who would forge letters from Annie and then create the illusion she’s demented?”
“That I do not know. But the letters are important to someone.”
“That’s why you were attacked.”
“And Lexis killed.”
Georgia pressed a trembling hand against her forehead. “This needs to be untangled.”
“I know.”
A ring at Rachel’s door had her lifting a tired gaze from a brief. She checked the clock and realized it was after nine. Rising, she moved toward the door and peeked through the peephole. Deke Morgan.
She opened the door, ready for him to rail on her for giving the tape to Georgia. “This is a surprise.”
No traces of humor or welcome softened his flinty features. “Why didn’t you tell me about the video of Annie at Rudy’s?”
Matter of time before he found out. The Morgan clan was a tight-knit bunch. “I’m defending a client. I have a right to protect what evidence I find. And I’d planned to drop off a copy with you in the morning.”
“Then why give the CD to Georgia?”
She folded her arms and drummed her fingers against her forearm. “A moment of weakness. I thought she’d like to have it.”
He didn’t make any attempt to pretend. “How’d you figure it out?”
Rachel cocked her head. “Once I heard Georgia and then Annie sing I wondered. From there it was a matter of putting pieces together.”
Silent, a small muscle tensed in his jaw as he seemed to chew on his next words. “She’s watched it about twenty times. It means a lot to her.”
Unexpected emotion tightened her throat. “So you’ll admit that good came out of my nosing around?”
He shook his head as if he’d rather eat dirt than agree. “The DNA came back.”
She drew in a breath and stepped aside so he could enter. “And?”
“Jeb’s DNA did not match.”
“Really?” Her heart raced as her mind ran through the possibilities. It was hardly a slam dunk but it was enough to get the case reopened.
“I can hear your mind working.”
“Over the sound of my thundering heart? And what is it working on?”
A half smile tweaked the edges of his mouth. “You want me to formally reopen the case.”
“For starters. Then I want Jeb out of jail.”
“My brother is working on the case. He’s digging throu
gh it.”
A laugh escaped. “He’s hardly partial. I’m filing a motion in the morning.”
“I’d like you to hold off.”
“Why?”
“Rick knows about the DNA. He’s digging into the case and I’m hoping he finds evidence of another killer.” He met her gaze. “This isn’t about Annie anymore. It’s about three women who were killed in the last week.”
That caught her short. “You believe the cases are connected?”
“I do.”
She stepped back from her excitement and studied the big picture. If days could catch the man who’d killed Lexis, she had to give him those days. “I’ll give you three days. Not a minute more.”
“Understood.”
“I was about to make coffee. Would you like some?”
“I’d love a cup.”
They crossed the large open space and moved behind a partition to the industrial kitchen. She took two mugs off a shelf, filled the coffeepot reservoir with water and loaded coffee in the machine. She hit brew.
“Did you watch the CD?” she asked.
“I did.”
“I studied it a dozen times searching for some glimpse of someone that might have been the killer.”
“Great minds think alike. I didn’t see anyone that caught my attention.”
“She mentioned Sugar.” She sipped her coffee.
“Too bad she didn’t offer up his real name.”
“You know Sugar is likely Georgia’s biological father.”
“It’s crossed my mind.”
“Has Georgia met Margaret?”
“Georgia knows about her but she’s not made contact. She’s nervous.”
A need to disclose again to the enemy rose. Maybe she was losing her touch. “I met with Bill Dawson.”
“You get around.”
“He said . . .” She paused and fought the urge for honesty before saying, “He said that Annie made him swear when she was pregnant that he’d never leave the baby alone with Margaret.”
Deke frowned. “Why?”
“Annie never told Bill. But he remembered her warnings clearly.” Rachel sipped her coffee. “Keep the fact in your back pocket.”