“Then go. Now.” Lisa pushed him toward the stairs.
Jack asked all the parent-type questions as Lisa followed him down the stairs. “Will you be okay? Do I need to call someone to stay with you? You’re not planning on going anywhere, right?”
As he reached the front door, he stopped and turned back to her.
“I love you, Kiddo. I’m sorry, okay?”
She embraced him in a quick hug then pushed him again. “I love you, too, Uncle Jack. Now, go!”
Jack stepped out the door and Lisa pushed it closed behind him, but he stopped it with one thick palm.
“I know.” She made an exaggerated face at him and used her best parental voice. “Lock the doors. Turn on the alarm. Don’t let anyone in. Blah, blah, blah.” When she finished, a smile stretched across her face, and this time it even reached her eyes.
He smiled back at her. “Such a smart Alek!” Then he headed for his car, pausing only long enough to hear the deadbolt snick into place.
TWENTY-SIX
Jenna pulled the BMW into a slot at the public access beach parking. She climbed from the car, and started toward the Ingram logistics compound. She had purposely parked several blocks away. She didn’t want her car seen by anyone who happened by. She was thinking about the call she received from Greg Harrington. He wanted to meet her, and he wouldn’t say why.
It seems strange that he wanted to meet at Ingram. More specifically, it seems strange that he wanted to meet in the administrative offices of warehouse two. It was the farthest one from the main corporate offices.
The walk took a few minutes, but she knew there were cameras around the warehouses and she didn’t want to be caught on tape. At the warehouse, Jenna stayed in the shadows until she entered through a side door and then climbed the stairs to the offices. She was still turning over what Greg might want with her at this time of night. Maybe he wanted to confess his affair with Beth. What would she do with that? And why would he want her to know?
With these questions turning over in her mind, she pushed into the office where Greg said he would meet her. He sat in one of the desk chairs watching the door. As soon as she entered he stood up. He reached to hug her and Jenna stepped back.
“Why did you call me here?” She wanted to get this business, whatever it was, over. She had more important things to tend to.
Like figuring out what Beth was up to.
“I called you because I need to tell you about Beth and I.” Greg shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step backward.
I knew it.
Jenna didn’t respond. She waited, and Greg continued.
“Beth and I were seeing each other. Off and on. But there’s more to it than that.” Greg turned around, faced the back wall of the office and drew in a deep breath. When he turned back, his face was a mask of regret and fear. “Beth and I are - were - also involved with an organization called Locos Mamoncetes.”
Jenna had heard of the organized crime ring. They trafficked in drugs and anything else that might bring a dollar. Did Greg really think she would believe that? Her doubts must have shown on her face.
“It’s true. Beth was tracking smuggled goods through our shipments. I’m here to make sure that nothing goes wrong.”
“Clearly, you’ve failed.” Jenna didn’t hide the disbelief from her voice.
“It’s true.” Greg paused for a moment then continued. “Beth is related to a family member of one of the local bosses. I’m not sure, but I think that they may have killed her, and they may be after me next.”
Jenna cringed at the weakness in his voice. Could he really be telling the truth? She wasn’t convinced he even had the imagination to come up with such a story if it were a lie. Greg was not a man she would consider manly. But maybe Greg Harrington wasn't the poster boy for boring accountants, after all? And that little tramp Beth? Who knew there was so much to her?
Jenna wasn’t sure she believed him. Was Greg trying to mock her? Maybe he’d figured out she killed Beth and he planned to blackmail her? If he knew why, he would know she had money.
None of it made sense. Jenna decided to play along and see where Greg was going with this. She thought of the knife she’d tucked into her belt. She could handle whatever happened.
“Fine.” Jenna decided not to challenge his story. “Why do I care?”
“Because, Jenna. I know your secret. I know what you've been doing here.” Greg swept his arm around to indicate the entirety of the company. His demeanor changed in the time it took to make the gesture. He was no longer the sniveling, pathetic, weakling he appeared to be. In that other man's place was a cold, calculating criminal. His eyes were dead, the brown having gone flat and turned nearly to black.
A shiver tried to crawl up Jenna's spine, but she refused to give in to fear. She could play this game. Better. “What exactly do you think you know about me Greg?”
A slow leer blossomed on Greg's lips. “I know it all. “Stone Mountain. Coastal Trading. All the other companies you've been embezzling from. I know how much money you’ve taken. I've known for a long time.” He took a step toward her. “What’s more, I have proof. And now, you're going to help me. No, you're going to fund my new lifestyle, or I'm going to take everything I have to the police and you'll spend the rest of your life in prison.”
“You know NOTHING.” Jenna felt the anger explode from her center. She shoved Greg. How dare this husk of a man threaten her?
Greg stumbled backwards. Lost his footing. His head smacked the edge of the desk, causing a hollow metal thunk as he slid to the floor. He lay motionless. Jenna stood over him. Waiting. Nothing.
The anger drained from her. Panic tried to claw its way out of her center, but she pushed it back down.
“Stay calm, girl,” her mother's voice echoed in her ears. “You have to stay in control.”
It's a little late for that, mother.
Jenna knelt beside Greg and felt his neck for pulse. It was weak, but there. The angle of his head was strange, as if he craned his neck too far to the right. That wasn't good. He was still alive, and he could identify her. He knew her secrets.
A noise out in the warehouse caught her attention. She slid into the shadows behind the desk, pulling Greg with her and slipping the same knife she had killed Beth Martin with from the sheath on her hip. A thick figure passed by outside the office window. The door cracked open and then a large head appeared through the crack. Whoever it was glanced around the dimly lit room and the head disappeared and the door swung shut.
Jenna sat. Tense. Knife ready. She would fight for her life if necessary. After a few minutes, all she could hear was Greg's ragged, shallow breathing. She glanced in his direction. The angle of his head was even more askew and his gaze was locked on her. His eyes followed her every move, but his body remained eerily still.
He was alive, and conscious. Jenna felt the rage return, burning her insides like lava flowing through her veins. He could ruin everything.
Greg's lips worked but only a rush of air came out. He tried again. “Help me.” The two words were barely audible.
The soft plea was enough to set Jenna in motion. She saw her whole world crumbling around her. “No.” The words came out in a soft cry. She scrambled on top of Greg, and placed the tip of the knife against the side of his neck, but stopped, as it bit into his flesh. A trickle of blood rolled down the side of his neck and dripped to the floor.
When she killed Beth, she got lucky. She was behind the woman and most of the blood arced away from her. Sitting on top of Greg when she cut his throat would mean she would be covered in his blood.
The anger subsided enough for Jenna to think clearly.
See Mama. I am in control.
She slid over Greg's head, taking some pleasure in knowing that her body was the last smell he would experience before that of his own blood. When she sat above his head, she leaned back and placed the blade against his throat again.
“Why should I help you?” She pushed th
e knife into Greg's neck and watched the blade slip into the flesh. Blood welled around the blade. Greg's eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth. Jenna pushed the knife deeper. Ripped it forward. Greg’s throat opened like a sinkhole, and blood arced through the air.
“You won't even help yourself.” She sat back and watched the blood spurt from Greg's neck. The waterfall droplets getting closer to his body with each beat of his dying heart.
His gaze stayed locked on her. She smiled as his eyes deadened, their color flattening in a way that was completely different from what she had seen before.
“You were a waste of life, Greg.” Jenna wiped the blade on a dry spot on his shirt and shoved it back in the sheath. She pushed herself up and stepped carefully around the room, staying out of the blood.
“No one will miss you.”
She peeked out the door, glancing in both directions before she stepped out of the office and pulled the door shut behind her. She was thankful she had the foresight to wear tennis shoes and jeans tonight. The rubber soles barely made a sound on the concrete walkways.
Jenna stayed in the shadows as she walked back toward the stairs she come up earlier. Just as she pulled open the door to the stairwell, the main entrance into the warehouse banged open and a young, uniformed police officer rushed in on the heels of the security guard Jenna had never seen before.
Adrenaline coursed through her, narrowing her line of vision and making her ears feel full of cotton. She tried to hear what the men were saying, but couldn't make out the words.
The cop rushed toward the stairs that led to the second-floor offices where Jenna was hiding. She slipped through the door to the stairwell and pulled it together so it was only open a crack. She waited.
How did they know? Had Ingram installed security cameras inside the warehouses?
Her brain switched to planning mode. She would have to leave everything, but she was prepared. She had money stashed everywhere. Michael was replaceable. She'd been planning an escape for years. The possibilities she would get caught were slim, but there was the chance.
The police officer turned back the way he had come. Jenna pushed the door open a little further, and spotted the security guard standing at the edge of a maze of shipping containers. A flashlight beam bounced from one container to another and stopped, as they made their way through the maze. Then she heard a radio crackle.
What was going on?
Jenna pushed back out of the door enough to change her angle of view. She was taking a risk, but she doubted the men would look up. They were too focused on something between the shipping containers.
Jenna leaned over and pushed herself onto her tiptoes and then she saw it. A man, tied to a chair, with blood pooled around him. The site brought a wash of relief. They weren’t after her, but she needed to go. Now. This building was about to be overrun by cops. With renewed urgency, she slipped back through the door to the stairwell and tiptoed to the ground floor.
Who was that? Who murdered him? She thought of the security guard she’d just seen. He wasn't the same man that stuck his head into the office. She could tell even from her vantage point. He was much smaller. Someone else had been in the warehouse the same time she was. Murdering the other man? She almost giggled. How ironic that she should be murdering Greg Harrington at the same moment someone else was committing murder just a few yards away? Jenna had been careful, but from what she could see of the other body, that murderer had not.
Maybe the cops will assume the same person killed both men?
Jenna's brain buzzed as she reached the bottom floor and pushed the exterior door open an inch at a time. No one was in the alley behind the warehouse. She pushed out into the humid air and sprinted through the shadows to a dumpster where she could hide. She glanced out toward the street. No vehicles moved.
If she could make it to the board walk on the beach without being seen, she was safe. Anyone that saw her there would assume she was out for a late-night beach stroll.
Satisfied she had a chance, Jenna pushed away from the dumpster at a full run, and didn't slow down until she made the boardwalk. Even then, she tried to stay in the shadows. Frustrated with the number of lights along the boardwalk and the flashing lights of passing emergency vehicles, she stepped into the sand and made her way to the water's edge. A warm damp breeze did nothing to dry the sweat on her forehead. The water lapped gently at the sand.
The farther Jenna got from Ingram logistics and the bodies in the warehouse, the easier it got for her to think. By the time she reached her car in the beach access parking lot, she had methodically thought through the events of the night from every angle, and she kept coming back to one thought.
Locos Mamoncetes, the gang Greg Harrington said he was involved in – the same one Beth was working for – must be cleaning up loose ends. Did they know about her? Did they know she had killed Beth Martin? Was she a loose end?
TWENTY-SEVEN
The evening seemed to drag on. Cocktails, dinner, the speeches after dinner. Occasionally, Kate would glance around and see Caleb standing with a person or group of people, talking. A few times, it seemed as if he was staring at her, watching her. When she got breaks in conversation she would start in his direction. She wanted to talk to him. To hear his voice. Each time, she was interrupted by someone else that wanted her attention.
Kate enjoyed doing her part for the community. She even liked dressing up for these types of events, but as always, before the night was over, she found herself wishing for a few moments of solitude. Especially as the evening wore on and the effects of alcohol started to set in among the guests.
The final straw had been the conversation with McKenzie. She thought he was a friend of Jack’s. Evidently, Jack had as few friends as she did. She headed for an exit door. She just needed a breath of fresh air, to collect herself and calm down before she had to try to carry on one more conversation with someone whose cleverness was marred by intoxication. She glanced around on her way out, but didn’t see Caleb anywhere. She had left him standing with McKenzie, and she hoped he wouldn’t follow her out.
It’s probably better. I’m not sure I could event talk to him right now.
Yet, she wanted to. She knew this wasn’t a date and they barely knew each other, but she wanted to be near someone that she trusted. For some reason, she couldn’t put her finger on, she did trust him. She shouldn’t. How could she know if he was trustworthy after only a couple of days?
Her thoughts warred inside her head as she walked through the brightly lit corridor that led outside. She hated that she wanted to be near him.
Outside, she leaned against the side of the building and inhaled air fragranced by the salty water of the Gulf and cigarette smoke from those who had wandered out to satisfy their cravings. To get away from the smoke, Kate pushed off the building and walked to a small island in an empty section of the parking lot. There was a tree she could lean against.
The night air had cooled over the last few hours and was enjoyable after being surrounded by people for the last few hours. The moon hung low over the Gulf, it’s light reflecting off the smooth, almost glassine waters. Kate sucked in a deep breath and then counted to ten as she exhaled slowly.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Kate jumped. She hadn’t heard Caleb walk up behind her.
“You scared me.” She turned back to the water. She didn’t want to talk about what happened inside. Instead, she answered Caleb’s question and pretended that everything was normal. “It is beautiful. I love the serenity of it. To be honest, all I want to do right now is go over to the beach, take off these horrible shoes, and walk on that cool sand. It’s a shame to live this close to the beach and not get there more often, you know?”
“So, let’s go. Right now.” Caleb placed a hand on her waist. “I need a break from all these people.”
His touch sent warmth spreading across her midsection. Kate shivered. “I have…” She searched for a reason that she shouldn’t go across th
e beach and couldn’t really come up with anything that didn’t sound lame or contrived. “I probably should get back before someone misses me.” The excuse fell as flat when she said it as it sounded in her head. She could tell him the truth. She didn’t trust herself to be alone with him.
“I doubt anyone will notice,” Caleb said. “Everyone is past the point of uptight social morals at this point. They’re so focused on their drinks they won’t pay much attention to the only two sober people at the party.”
Kate laughed. Caleb was right, of course. Not that she really cared if anyone noticed her missing. The beach was enticing. So was Caleb. The tux he wore was tailored to fit his athletic frame and accentuated his broad shoulders. She wouldn’t have believed that anything could make him look more handsome, but that tux did. More than that, how comfortable he was in it added to the attraction.
What about Jack?
The question nagged at her and she felt anger rising all over again. What about Jack? He’d already made it clear that she was not his priority. She might not even be of interest to him anymore. She didn’t know. And she didn’t want to care, but she did.
“What do you say, Kate? Let’s go have a walk on the beach.” Caleb moved his hand from her waist and captured one of her hands in his. He pulled gently as he started across the parking lot.
Oh, why not?
If it became necessary, she would make certain Caleb understood that they were just partners.
Would you?
Kate tried to block out the doubting thoughts filling her mind. She didn’t want to question whether she trusted herself right now. She just wanted to go walk on the beach and let the sand and water scrub away the stress of the last few days. It was such a nice night. She may as well take the chance while she had it. If the humidity from earlier in the day was any indication, they wouldn’t have many more nights like this. Before long, the heat would be so oppressive that the Mississippi Gulf Coast might as well be right in the center of Hades.
Biloxi Blue (The Biloxi Series Book 2) Page 17