“I’m not sure. This case is about to grow cold, and there is nothing I can do about it, Kayla.” His frustrations were loud and clear.
“What about who bought the gun, or was that the same guy too?” Kayla bit her lip and waited for the detective’s answer.
“Same guy. He's really elusive right now.” Tyler’s voice went silent for a few seconds, then he yelled, “Stop, Buddy! I need to speak with you!” He was running with the phone in his hand and screaming at the top of his lungs. “I will use force to make you stop, Buddy!”
“Hey, man, I was only doing what was asked of me.” Kayla heard Buddy’s tone come through the phone. “What do you need, copper?”
“I need to know who made this gun with this number, Buddy.” Detective Tyler stopped talking and started listening.
“I did. It was for a woman, detective. I cannot really tell you much more. She wanted to carry it. That blond was afraid of something, man. Whatever or whoever it was, her pretty blue eyes cast a shadow over my fears, detective.”
“Can you describe this woman to me?” Detective Tyler flipped pages, and when he added, “In great detail, Buddy.” This guy spilled the beans.
“She was about five foot four or so, and she had the prettiest eyes I ever saw, detective. She was a knockout like ten years ago, but she mentioned something about her fiancé, and when she asked for the gun, she said he traveled a lot. That’s all I know.”
“Okay, did she tell you her name, Buddy?” Detective Tyler was becoming antsy over his lack of information. “I need to know more about this woman and who her fiancé is.”
“I’m not sure, but I did see them later that evening by the river. They’re arguing over something. That’s all I know, copper.”
“Could you tell what the argument was about?” Detective Tyler waited until he pressed him further. “What was it concerning, Buddy?”
“I couldn’t tell, detective. She was bent on getting the weapon. Oh, I do remember something about her and him.” Buddy’s elation was shining through.
“What was that?” He queried.
“They both had blond hair, detective, and the woman pulled the gun on her man. I totally remember that. I saw her brandish it, and when he became upset and talked her down, she hid it again inside her coat. That’s all I remember, detective, I swear.”
“Okay, did you hear all that, Kayla?” Detective Tyler asked her over the phone.
“Who’s that, detective? Is that your partner?” Buddy was rubbing his hands over his arms, and it sounded like sandpaper to Kayla, at least that is what she thought he was doing.
“Yes, she’s my partner, Buddy. Get going before I lock you up.”
“For what? Never mind, detective. I’m going home now. If you need any more information, you know where to find me.” His voice trailed into the distance.
“What do you make of that, Kayla?” Detective Tyler had a hint of confusion to his voice.
“I bet someone used it on him and on her. What do you think?”
“That’s far-fetched to me. I’m not sure what to think about Mary buying this gun. What for? Why did she need it? We keep running into too many unanswered questions, Kayla. Have another dream so I can solve this case, please.” He hung up on her after saying a quick good-bye.
“I will try. These things don’t just happen whenever I ask.” She set her phone down and thought about that a minute or so. “I will try.” She murmured to herself.
Chapter Thirteen
Kayla watched Harris walk beside the blonde woman over the sidewalk at dusk. The air was filled with moisture, and it clung to everything, including Harris’ beard. When they came to the river, each looked at one another, and that was when Harris got down on one knee and proposed to Mary. Delight sprang up from Mary, and she didn’t know what else to say, but, “Yes, I will definitely marry you.”
The next thing Mary did was encourage Harris to walk down to the water’s edge and hold hands while they talked about their impending wedding. She led him down the rocky embankment to the spot they first met.
“Right here is where I first laid eyes on you, Harris Blackwell. It was magic at first sight.” Mary wrapped an arm around Harris’, and together they gazed out over the calm, dark water. Not one watery wave was seen. A few people were still out late enjoying the view. “I believe it was love at first sight.”
Images of what happened flew past Kayla, and a week later, these same two people were arguing on the side of the river. Still alive, and inside deep in conversation in the early morning hours. Harris was attempting to sway Mary into believing he loved her with all his heart.
“My sister would like to meet you, Mary. Is there any way we can come to an agreement and have a sit down with her?” His voice cracked.
“I don’t believe you, Harris. You have never brought her up in any of our conversations and why now. Why is this happening to me now?” Her high tone was drowned out by the wind sweeping through them. It caused her hair to blow about and further anger her intent with Harris.
“She just wants to meet with you. I think she would like to meet the newest lady to become a Mrs. Blackwell, Mary. Please do this one thing for me.” His begging was in vain when Mary pulled out a gun and held it against her body with the barrel pointed at him.
“I have had enough of this, and I need to know who this woman is and why she desperately wants to meet with me. I have never heard of her before today, Harris.” Her eyes flamed with hate and jealousy, and Kayla thought she’d be the one to pull the trigger.
“We have been distant for years, but I know deep in my soul she would like to reconnect with me and get to know you, Mary. It would be nice if you could put down the weapon and talk with me.” His unease was written all over his face.
“Okay, let’s talk.” She replaced the gun to her pocket and sat on a rock nearby. “What is your sister like?” Her body was still highlighted with so much anger over what Harris was about to say.
Kayla saw Buddy standing on the road staring down at the couple. After a minute or so, he disappeared down the street shaking his head.
“She’s a great listener, at least when we were kids, she would listen to my plea about our father and his hatred of me.” Harris cringed when he mentioned his father.
“I remember you telling me about him. That man deserved to get what he got. I really believe that, Harris. You are the kindest person I know.” Mary pulled out lip balm, and when she rolled it over her chapped lips, Kayla smelled strawberry.
“Whenever I had an issue, she was there for me. It was nice to have someone who listened to me growing up. Nobody ever did. I was a child no one wanted, except my two sisters and our aunt. My aunt left when our mother died, and we never heard from her again. It’s sad really.”
“Wait! You have two sisters!” Mary was on her feet again.
“She wasn’t a sister, we just called her that. She was actually our father’s worst nightmare.”
“I don’t understand, Harris. You just said you have two sisters.” Mary shook her head and sat back down again. “What do you mean by his worst nightmare?”
“She was actually our mother’s sister, and she hated our father with everything she had inside. Our father would yell and scream, and that woman’s feathers never became ruffled. It aggravated him to no end. That’s how I learned to become so calm in desperate situations. I utilized my self-preservation to keep me from scattering to the wind, and when I met you, I met my soulmate.”
“I’m so glad to hear that, Harris. I feel the same way.” Mary leaned in and kissed his lips.
“Shall we meet with my sister later today?” Harris reached out to tickle her ribs.
“I think we should meet with her. It might be something really amazing. I bet she had great bath stories to tell about you and her.” Mary snickered under her hand.
“Let’s not go that far, Mary.” Harris smiled beneath the crescent moon. “There will be plenty of time to discuss our childhood and some of t
hose good times, even though they were few and far between.”
“I know, but I’m just saying, Harris.” She winked at him when his arms reached around Mary and held her in his warm embrace. “I love it when you hold me like this. It makes me feel safe and secure. You know how to make me feel good, Harris.”
“I certainly hope so. We’ll be married soon enough, and if I cannot make you feel great about yourself, we have nothing.”
Mary nodded and looked out over the water with a smile. “What will your sister think about all this?”
“I pray Mel will be pleased about our union. Not so sure about my other sister though, she has always been jealous of me. Not sure why, Mary.” He released her, and when she faced him, he inhaled.
“What’s up with your other sister? Why wouldn’t she be happy with this marriage?” Mary’s face revealed something changed between them.
“I’m not sure. My sister never liked me growing up, Mary. It’s strange. I know your brother is now estranged from you, and that’s what it’s like between my sister and me. She now lives far away in another place.”
“What happened with you two?” Kayla asked her question, but no one answered when
a ship’s horn blew, Kayla looked up at it, and a piercing bright light entered her eyes. She could barely keep them open when she discovered what she had experienced was only a dream.
Kayla Decker sat up quickly on the king-sized bed in the hotel room as blood rushed through her body and made her feel faint. She held a hand to her head to keep from feeling nauseous. “That’s it. Mel was the one Harris was talking about.” She grabbed her phone and thought about calling Mel. Whatever quickly changed her mind, it did with lightning speed, and she called Mel. When the woman didn’t answer, Kayla hung up, and slowly pushed the covers off her body, and sat on the edge of the bed thinking about what the two of them were discussing.
“They had a lot to say about his family. Mary wasn’t as happy to know he had sisters. What was it about those sisters that upset Mary, especially if she never met them before?” Kayla pondered, and after a few minutes, her phone rang.
It was Mel, Kayla answered and put her on speaker. “Thanks for getting back to me, Mel.” She sat listening to the background noise coming to her. It was water trickling down. After Kayla went to the window to see if it had rained or was still raining, no water was observed.
“Absolutely, what can I help you with? I believe you just called me, right?” Mel’s sweet tone clapped Kayla’s ears.
“Yes, absolutely. I wanted to ask you something, Mel.” Kayla waited for a response, and when nothing came, she spat it out, “Harris is your brother, correct?”
“I told you already, Kayla. What’s this all about anyway? Did you find new information I don’t know about?”
“Nothing new really, I had another dream about Harris and Mary. He proposed to her by the river. Did you know that?” Kayla wanted to keep digging for whatever answers she could pull out of Mel if any.
“What are you talking about, Kayla? Harris and I had not seen or talked with each other in years. We were estranged from one another.”
Kayla quickly spat out another query. “Did you two have another sister, Mel?”
“No, we didn’t have any other siblings. Some girls came in and out from time to time, but they were only family members. Why?”
“In the dream, Harris told Mary he wanted her to meet his sister, which is you, and he mentioned another sister he had. No name was said. This other sister was apparently his mother’s sister, and they acted like siblings, but there was another sister Harris mentioned.” Kayla waited for Mel to counter.
“Yes, of course, my mother’s younger sister who took no guff, by the way, did stay with us for over a year when her husband left her. It took her time to get back on her feet. Melinda was her name. With two Mel’s in the house, it was hard to tell us apart.” Mel laughed.
“I bet that was filled with excitement.”
“Not really. Melinda was distraught over her marriage, and no one could change her heart or her head.”
“How did your father deal with Melinda? Or better yet, what was their relationship like in the household?” Kayla dug right in.
“It was not good, Kayla. He actually hated Melinda’s guts. She was a strong headed woman, and he reminded her that if she were obedient, she might still be married. I heard her husband ran off with another woman and that was why she stayed with us. I really liked her, but I lost touch with her too.”
“That’s a shame. I wonder if Melinda can be found, and what if she were in touch with Harris. It’s worth a shot, right?” Kayla was going wildly all over the place.
“I’m not sure, but I do know this: she took on the Blackwell last name before moving out on her own. She was a seamstress and opened up her own shop somewhere in town, and when I did a search for it a few years back, she was nowhere to be found. That is all I know, but after researching Melinda Blackwell, and attempting to find her, no one in New Orleans knew where she went.”
“Not one person. That’s weird.” Kayla stood before the window overlooking the street below.
“Nope, remember, I have cousins by the dozens through my father’s family and my mother’s family because they are spread all over this state. It might take a while to track her down, if she were still alive, Kayla.” Mel sat on the phone tapping something at the other end.
“It was a shot in the dark. Thanks for letting me know about Melinda Blackwell. It would be nice to locate her for you.”
“Sure thing, Kayla. I hope you find what you need. Yes, it would be nice to know where she is. I truly miss my aunt.” She said her goodbyes and hung up.
Kayla sat thinking about what Mel told her. “What if Mel was not telling me everything about her brother? Mel might be keeping something from me, and I want to know what it is.”
Kayla went online and looked up Harris Blackwell and Mary. What if they got married in a secret wedding and somehow no one ever knew about it?” After searching through marriage records, she found Melinda’s marriage record. After searching for a photo of Melinda and her husband, Kayla came up empty. Nothing was online until she ran into Mel Blackwell’s website.
A picture of her entire family, except Harris, was there. He was not even mentioned whatsoever. When a photo of Melinda revealed itself once again, she looked an awful lot like Mel. They could have been mother and daughter. Elizabeth and Melinda didn’t like they were siblings whatsoever. Mel’s mother appeared pale, and Mel’s aunt was darker skinned, much like Mel. Old photos were also deceiving as Kayla was discovering.
After skimming through a few genealogical records online, Kayla discovered Melinda and Mel’s mother were cousins in one instance, at least that is what the documents were telling her. Sometimes they don’t understand the entire truth. After taking notes on everything she found, Kayla started to text Mel, but she thought better of it. Sometimes these online records held inaccuracies, and after skimming through more papers from previous years, Kayla found W. L. Blackwell and his wife, Elizabeth. In their first year together, it showed they were married with no children, and within ten years, they had two children exactly the same age. One was named Mel, and the other was Melinda. “That’s strange. How can that be? Why would they be the same age? I thought Melinda was a sister… maybe a sister to Mel but I was told Melinda was her aunt.”
After jumping ahead, Kayla found Liz’s grandmother, Eliza and her husband, Henry living near W. L. Blackwell in Louisiana. Could these two male Blackwell’s be brothers? After little research of Mel’s site, she was correct. They were brothers who often interacted over land disputes and lawsuits. Not a close family at all, apparently. Kayla found these two families living together in another census, but that was it. Henry was located in California ten years later much like Liz told her.
While both bloodlines were living near one another, Harris cropped up suddenly. He was around the age of Mel, and the record said the two were brother and s
ister, but nothing before that. After more research, nothing much came up. When Liz’s grandfather’s picture stared directly at her, that was Harris exactly. “You might be Harris’ father in that photo. Wow! This family had interrelations. I wonder what Harris thought about that or did he know.” Kayla went to pop a grape into her mouth where she chewed slowly.
Detective Tyler texted Kayla, and when she went to text back, Mel came through with something.
I need to tell you something, Kayla.
Kayla replied. Okay, what is it?
Harris was my half-brother, Kayla, or so I have been told. When he discovered who his father was, that was when he went absolutely ballistic and took off. His father left him a great deal of money, and my father wanted to take it from him. I believe his other half-sister could have done away with him to inherit that money. When I found out he was murdered, I immediately thought about his other sister.
Who is his other half-sister? Kayla’s teeth clenched together. She already knew who it was.
Liz Blackwell is his half-sibling. Her grandmother was her birth mother, and she has been getting rid of everything they hold near and dear to them. I genuinely think Liz wanted the money, especially after her father passed away and left a will, leaving it all to Harris.
This is something I should look into. Liz Blackwell lives in California, correct?
Look on my website, and you will see how we all fit together. Mel gave Kayla her website.
I’m there now. Kayla glanced through it and found an extensive family tree that led to Liz Blackwell. You two are related! That must be interesting.
Yes, and I’m not proud of it. I loved Harris like a full brother, even though he was my half-brother, I still loved him a lot. That money came from his father’s side of the family. Henry Blackwell was his dad. He made it legally, and now Liz Blackwell will reap that benefit. She doesn’t deserve that money, Kayla.
Kayla screenshot everything and sent it to Detective Tyler, without looking it up on genealogy. Nothing came up about Henry Blackwell being Harris’ father. What about the census records? Nothing says he was Harris’ father.
Kayla's Chronicles- Will Travel For Murder Page 15