by Unknown
“Works for me.” Chet deposited his empty bottle on the table as well.
“Sergeant Horace Beard was a decent guy and a damned good cop,” Buddy began. “But he made a bad mistake when he married LaNita Kirkpatrick. The woman was nothing but a gold digger.”
Lori watched Chet’s jaw tighten. She hoped Buddy didn’t push too far. Beard had been Chet’s first partner.
“She’d slept with half the cops in the department. Everybody knew it but Beard. If you tried to talk about her to him he just got angry. So we let it go.”
“Whatever she was,” Chet argued, “that gave you no right to have an affair with her.”
“True enough.” Buddy shrugged. “That’s why I didn’t.”
Chet’s gaze narrowed. “Horace told me you slept with her.”
“Many times,” Buddy agreed. “Before she married him. Hell, man, why do you think Internal Affairs cleared me?” Buddy held his arms out wide. “Because I was innocent. There aren’t many times in my life I can say I was innocent of whatever I was accused of, but that’s one of ‘em. I drank too much, got rowdy too many times, but I never messed with another man’s wife. Not all the guys on the force felt that way.”
Fury painted a path up Chet’s neck and across his face. “Who was it then?”
“The same detective who planted that evidence in Horace’s home to get him out of the way. The dumbass didn’t have sense enough to know that as soon as LaNita got her hands on a little money, she was gone. Sure enough, when Horace died, LaNita took the insurance money and split. She used him the way she used anyone who gave her half a chance.”
“I want his name.”
Buddy braced his hands on the table. “I tell you what, as soon as Burnett’s troubles are cleared up I’ll give you his name. But remember, you can’t bring Horace back by doing something stupid and screwing up your own career.”
“So the guy who did this to Chet’s partner is your source,” Lori concluded. “The guy was dirty all those years ago and he’s still dirty.”
Buddy nodded. “The difference is this time he’s going down.” Buddy stood. “I appreciate the pizza and beer, but I’m gone. I got places to go and people to see.” He thrust his hand across the table toward Chet. “We good?”
Chet stared at him for a long moment before he stood and then accepted the offered hand. “We’re good.”
Lori managed a deep breath for the first time since Chet brought up the subject of his first partner. “You’re nudging your contacts about Lee Harris?”
Buddy turned to her. “I’ve got a guy I’m hoping can find Harris’s name in one top secret database or the other. We’ll see what he comes up with.”
“We appreciate the help.” Lee Harris had been in some form of law enforcement. Lori was sure of it.
“This guy,” Chet said as he followed Buddy to the door, “is he in the FBI?”
Buddy shook his head. “Retired NSA. He still has connections. If he can’t find Harris then he was the kind of employee they don’t keep files on.”
The idea made Lori shudder. She had a feeling they had only scratched the surface when it came to Jess’s father.
When Buddy was gone, Lori locked the door behind. When she turned around, Chet trapped her against the door, one muscled arm on either side of her.
He leaned in close. “You know what tonight is, don’t you?”
Lori grinned. “Saturday night.”
He nodded. “We haven’t had sex in two nights because of work.”
“We could have this morning except Chester called.” Lori licked her lips. Chet’s gaze followed the move. “As much as I love sex with you, it was good to hear his sweet little voice.”
Chester was Chet’s three-year-old son. He and his mother had left Birmingham until this Spears business was over. In the beginning Lori hadn’t appreciated the way Chet’s ex had snuck out of town with their son, but she’d done the right thing. Chester was safe this way.
Chet smiled. “I can’t wait until he’s home.” He leaned closer still and kissed her neck.
Lori shivered. One day she and Chet would be making babies of their own. That, too, would have to wait until this Spears nightmare was over and there was time for Chet to have his vasectomy reversed. She could wait. Right now, just knowing how much Chet loved her and that she was going to be his wife was enough.
She reached for the buttons of his shirt. “We haven’t had sex in the shower for ages.” They usually ended up in the big, jetted tub in the master bathroom.
“The shower it is.” He shrugged out of his shirt and lifted her into his arms.
Lori wrapped her legs around his waist as she peeled off her blouse. While he carried her to the bathroom she removed her bra. She was so wet she could hardly stand to wait another second.
Chet reached into the shower and turned on the faucet. Lori allowed her legs to slide down his body until her feet were on the floor. They tore off the rest of each other’s clothes and climbed beneath the hot spray of water. He lifted her against his chest once more. Her legs locked around his waist and she sank down onto him. She screamed with the incredible sensation of being filled by the man she loved with her whole heart.
Whether it was fifteen minutes later or thirty she couldn’t say, by the time the water had cooled he’d made her come three times. When he came, she closed her eyes and imagined the time when this incredible act of pleasure would give them a child.
She and Jess would be first time mothers together.
Lori thought of Chad lying in that hospital room and what a miracle it was that he’d survived. She hugged Chet tighter and whispered in his ear. “I love you.”
He smiled, his lips tickling her forehead. “I love you.”
Spears would not take this man from her.
6
9911 Conroy Road, Birmingham, 8:15 p.m.
Jess sat on the floor snuggled up to the coffee table with Lily. The puppy was curled up under the table. They’d been studying the pages of their mother’s journal for the past hour and a half and found nothing that solved the mystery of who Lee Harris was or what he did when he was away from home.
Lil pushed aside her empty bowl. She’d made the most wonderful salad with all sorts of tender greens and delicious fruits. Jess couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a meatless salad more. The puppy had munched on croutons. Lil had prepared an extra salad for Dan and tucked it in the fridge. Jess wasn’t sure what time he would be home. Since he couldn’t be a part of the official investigation, he was helping with the boots-on-the-ground search for Nina like hundreds of other private citizens.
Calling Dan a private citizen felt wrong. He’d been a cop and a public servant for far too many years. He didn’t deserve this humiliating treatment.
“These entries go right along with what I remember about life before Mom and Dad died.”
Jess flipped through the plastic encased pages. “You’re right.” She read a few entries. “The pages read exactly the way I remember things. There isn’t a single entry that explains anything really. All the trouble is woven into Reverend Henshaw’s notes, and none of it makes sense.”
“Like a puzzle or a riddle.”
Jess nodded. “If we discount the possibility that the reverend may have gone off the deep end, that leaves us with the scenario that as a man of God bound by rules of privilege, he was Mom’s only outlet. She couldn’t tell anyone else her fears. All she could do was keep friends and Wanda away as the situation became worse.”
Lil seemed to consider Jess’s words for a moment. “I don’t remember Mom having any friends. Dad was never home enough to have friends over. Work kept him away, or at least that’s what she always said.” Lil laughed, the sound derisive. “I don’t remember any holiday dinners or barbecues with friends gathered around like the photo you found.”
“Neither do I.” Jess stared at the pages again. “What I remember is right here. In the journal pages.” Jess bit her lips together, hesitate
d to say what she was thinking. She had to say it. “Do you think this,” she placed her hand on the binder of pages, “is what she wanted us to remember?”
Lil’s eyes widened. “The truth was too terrible and she wanted to protect us from it so she only let us see and hear the fairytale she wished was real.”
Jess made a face. “A sort of well-meaning brainwashing?”
Lil nodded. “They never let us hear their private conversations about the fear or the worries related to whatever was going on. It was a way of protecting us, I guess.”
“She warned Wanda off so she wouldn’t ask questions or stumble onto anything that might have her demanding answers.” Or, that would get her killed, Jess didn’t mention.
Lil hugged herself. “How awful that must have been for Mom.”
“Stuck at the house alone with us for days and weeks while he was God knows where.” Anger stirred in Jess. “What kind of husband and father does that to his family? Where was Mom’s outrage? Her husband cheated on her. Fathered a child with another woman! Whatever he was involved in took both of them away from us.”
Lil made a pained face. “Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt until we know the whole story.”
“If,” Jess reminded her, “we ever do.”
“He was always good to us, Jess. Mom never tried to take us and leave. She never spoke badly about him. Those things have to mean something.”
“Where would she go? To live with Wanda?” Jess shook her head. “Fear is a powerful motivator, Lil. Maybe he wanted her scared so she wouldn’t leave him. From what I know, so far, he was involved with Margaret—with that family—for more than a one-night stand. If he really loved us, I can’t believe he wouldn’t have found a way out.”
“He loved us. I know he did. He was trapped somehow. That’s the only possible explanation.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Jess closed the binder. Despite the bits and pieces she had learned in Scottsboro, she had no ironclad evidence of anything other than two undeniable facts—their father was somehow involved with the Brownfields and he’d had a child with Margaret. “Lieutenant Hayes and I went back to the Irondale house this afternoon, but we found nothing. No secret hiding place where the music box might be stashed. Not one thing that prompted any memories.”
“Do you think Spears has the music box?”
“Yes. I do.” To Jess, it was the only scenario that made any sense. “Otherwise, why would he have the key?”
“Do you believe he was really in that house on Argyle Drive?” Lil chafed her arms as if she felt a chill. “That’s not so far from here, you know.”
“He was there. Buddy saw him.” Lil was right. It was too damned close. “We caught him off guard.” Jess smiled. “I can just imagine how furious he is at the idea that one of his trusted followers dared to defy him.”
“Will he try some kind of payback?” A new worry clouded Lil’s face. “Does that put you or Dan in greater danger?”
Jess considered how best to answer her question. Nothing she said would be particularly reassuring. “It puts a kink in his plan, that’s for sure. Spears is a sociopath with a grandiose sense of self-worth. For one, he’s a perfectionist. He’s controlling and obsessive.” She shook her head. “Not to mention an extreme narcissist. He believes he’s too brilliant to be caught. He doesn’t take responsibility for anything. Someone else is always responsible when things go wrong. This failure could set off a chain reaction of erratic behavior or it could make him more determined to ensure there are no more mistakes—no matter the cost. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict how he’ll react.”
“But you almost caught him once before,” Lil reminded her. “How did he react that time?”
“What happened before was one of his games. He set me up to find him. This time is different.” Whatever came next Jess fully understood that it would be over the top. Spears would need to prove his superiority. Her sister was correct, vengeance would be a priority.
The warning that someone was on the stairs outside had Jess popping up to check the security monitor. The puppy raced to the door in that uncoordinated lope of his. Jess smiled. “It’s Dan.”
“And my cue to go home.” Lil got up and grabbed her purse. “Blake won’t be home until around midnight.” She draped her purse straps on her shoulder. “But that’s okay because I have my nice young officer to escort me home and watch out for me.”
Jess gave her a hug. “I’m hoping this will be over soon.”
Lil nodded. “You’ll get him and then we can all sleep at night.”
“Text me when you get home,” Jess ordered.
“I will. Promise.”
Lil and Dan exchanged hugs at the door. He tried to convince her to stay a while longer, but she begged off. Lil could see how tired he was as well as Jess could. This whole situation was taking a heavy toll on him. No matter that he and Meredith had been divorced for sixteen or so years, he had still considered her a friend. He scarcely had time to grieve for her with Spears playing his games and with Nina missing.
The puppy dancing around them, Jess hugged Dan hard and then she searched his face. “Still nothing?”
He shook his head. “It’s like she vanished into thin air. Nothing on the security cameras at the center where she lived. None of the residents or personnel saw or heard a single thing. Not one valid report of a sighting from the public despite the huge reward the Senator is offering.”
“I keep hoping the clinic somehow fell down on the job and that Nina is just out there wandering around lost. The alternative is unthinkable.” Jess shuddered. The idea that Nina could be with Spears was even more disturbing given her mental illness. The longer she was off the meds she needed, the more unstable she would become. Wherever she was, Nina was going through hell.
Jess closed the door and locked it. “I saw Gina’s special about Nina on the news. She did a really great job. I can’t imagine anyone seeing her story and not being moved to act.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Gina Coleman was Birmingham’s award-winning television investigative reporter. She was the best at putting heart into a story and at conveying it in a way that tugged on the emotions. It didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous as well as respected and immensely popular. She was a good friend. To Jess and to Dan.
“Lil made you a salad. Sit and I’ll do the serving.” Jess glanced back at him as she padded to the fridge. “Fair warning there’s no meat, but it’s scrumptious.” Never in her life had food tasted so good. Lil had warned that changes in taste and cravings were part of being pregnant. So far Jess’s favorite snack was still M&Ms, but everything she put in her mouth tasted better lately.
Dan pulled out a chair at the table and had a seat. The puppy hadn’t stopped vying for his attention since he walked in so Dan scratched him behind the ears. It was strange having him come home dressed in jeans and a casual shirt rather than his usual elegant suits. Even on Saturdays, if he went to work, he dressed the part of chief of police. Not today. So not fair.
“Gina wants to do an in-depth feature story on my life to go with an exclusive on my career when I’m reinstated.” He made a sound that was far too dry to be called a laugh. “I warned her that might be a little premature.”
Jess placed the salad and dressing and a cold beer in front of him. “You listen to me, Daniel Thomas Burnett, you will be cleared and reinstated. Soon.” She placed a fork and napkin next to his bowl. “Gina’s smart to get the ball rolling on a feature story. Birmingham loves you. When this is over, they’re going to want the whole story. And then they’ll love you more.”
He leaned over and left a soft kiss on her cheek. “I love you.”
Jess smoothed a hand over his beard-stubbled jaw. “I love you more. Now eat. We have houses to look at.”
“We do?” He added dressing to his salad and dug in.
“Your mother’s realtor friend, Nancy Wolfe, emailed me several potential homes.” Jess hadn’t mentioned rea
ltors to Lily. The last time a friend of Lil’s had been lured into showing Jess a house she’d ended up a victim of Spears’s protégé, Matthew Reed. Besides, Lil would insist on showing Jess only houses close to her. Though Jess loved her sister she didn’t want to live next door to her any more than she wanted to live too close to Dan’s parents.
“Great.” He stabbed a tomato with his fork. “Did you see one you liked?”
“Three actually,” Jess admitted. She’d gone into this house hunting business with serious reluctance only to discover that looking was addictive. The more houses she toured the more she wanted to see. “All in our preferred neighborhood.”
Dan set his fork aside. “Our preferred neighborhood?”
That was another thing Jess had realized. “I kind of like Mountain Brook. Once you realize most of the Brookies are just regular people, it’s not so bad.”
A grin spread across his handsome face. “So we’re not all snobs?”
She stole a cucumber. “Not all.”
“Why don’t you bring the laptop over here and we’ll have a look at these three houses you like so much.”
Jess scooted back her chair and went for the laptop. “Lil and Blake hired an attorney to begin the adoption process.”
“That’s great. They’ll be terrific parents for Maddie.”
Jess readied the laptop and resumed her seat. “They will. She said the kids are excited about having a little sister.”
Blake Junior and Alice were off at college, and Lil was not adapting to the empty nest situation very well. It was the perfect solution. After all, Maddie was their niece. She belonged in the family. It was impossible to think of Maddie without thinking of Amanda. Jess had already asked Lori to secure some of the family photos taken from the Brownfield farm so they could be saved for Maddie.
“So here we go.” Jess clicked on the details section of the first house. “This one is nice. I think my favorite part is the nursery.”
Two of the houses were brick with Georgian style architecture and one was a Tudor with a rock facade. They were all quite stately, but not pretentious. Big yards and easy commutes into the city.