“Do you know how many DNA companies there are that will-fast track DNA for the right price?”
“But how will you match them up?” Chelsey asked. “The NDIS is for law enforcement use only.”
Sophie tilted her head at Chelsey. “NDIS?”
“It stands for National DNA Index System,” Chelsey answered. “It’s what the cops use in their crime scene investigations.”
“And that’s where Commissioner Weathersby comes in,” Kenny stated. “I’ve got an elaborate story made up about wanting to finish my college education but not being able to attend regular classes because of the notoriety. I’ll explain that I’m being privately tutored but need to do research on DNA. I think he’ll be open to the idea of my using their database.”
Wiping his mouth, Tobias asked, “Why can’t you just tell him that your grandmother was kidnapped?”
“Because he’s first and foremost a cop and would have to report it. It’s his sworn duty. The only reason I think he’ll consider letting me using the database is because of Grandma. I’m pretty sure that she’s the reason he’s coming to the party in the first place.” Kenny had no qualms about lying to Weathersby if it meant getting her grandmother back, but she had a twinge of nervousness about facing the man afterward.
12:05 a.m. Thursday, Day Four after the Kidnapping
“It’s after midnight, where’s the damn text?” Kenny barked, pacing across the floor in the game room.
It was just her and Chelsey waiting on a text from the kidnapper, as it had been the last few nights.
“Give it a minute,” Chelsey advised, watching her walk back and forth like a caged animal. Kenny’s broad shoulders were drooping a little more, and her long stride seemed gated, unsure. The kidnapping was taking a toll on Kenny’s health, and Chelsey was loath to stand by and watch that happen. But short of grabbing her up and holding her, infusing some of her own strength into her, there was nothing she could do. And waiting on a text that could provide the clue they so desperately needed was not the time to think about holding her. Unfortunately, that didn’t keep the vision of the hungry look in Kenny’s eyes when she saw her naked from making her heart skip a beat.
“So, tell me about our first date,” Chelsey said, trying to distract her. “I feel compelled to tell you that I was named the pool shark champion in high school.”
Kenny stopped pacing and looked at her. Her face broke into a wide grin, and she raised an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”
“Yep, got a trophy and everything. So, I was thinking that I’d let you break first and—”
“Oh, I don’t think so. Since we’re being so honest, I paid my way through my first semester of college shooting stick. So game on, sweetheart.” Kenny held out her hand.
Laughing, Chelsey took her hand and they shook on it.
Taylor Swift began singing and Kenny hurriedly tapped on the incoming text and enlarged the photo.
The text read; “Thirty million bucks, cha-ching!” But Kenny wasn’t concerned with the text. She looked at the picture of her grandmother first. Deidre had shadows under her eyes, and it wasn’t because of the lighting. She was in the same room, standing in front of the same wall, back in the same clothes she wore to the hospital.
“Where’s the sign? She’s not signing anything,” Kenny cried.
“Let me see it,” Chelsey said, snatching the phone out of Kenny’s hand. She enlarged the picture around Deidre’s hand. “There! Her right hand.”
Kenny leaned in closer and looked. “It’s a C, right? Does that mean something?”
“It’s the sign for medal,” Chelsey said, demonstrating by cupping her fingers into a C and bringing it to her chest.
“Medal… what is she trying to tell me? What about her other hand”
Chelsey scrolled the photo and then pinched it back to the thumbnail. “Her other hand is behind the paper with just a finger holding the corner. She’s not using it to sign anything.”
“So, what is Grandma trying to tell me?” Kenny mumbled to herself. She sent the photo to the printer and waited impatiently for it to print out.
“Did you win a medal that meant something to her?”
Kenny picked the picture up off of the printer and stared at it. “Yeah, a few in track and field, but that was in high school. Why would she be thinking about that now?”
“Was there something significant with those medals? Maybe something happened during that time?”
“No, not that I can think of. I don’t even think I have those medals anymore.”
“Maybe your grandmother kept them.”
Kenny’s eyes grew large and her mouth gaped open. “Wait! I think she’s saying something else. Come on.”
“Where we going?” Chelsey asked, rushing after Kenny who was halfway up the stairs.
“To get some answers.”
Chapter Twelve
Kenny and Chelsey ran up the stairs from the game room and across the foyer to Deidre’s bedroom. The room, which Deidre fell in love with the moment she saw it, had dark burgundy curtains with a light mauve shell that matched the comforter and bed skirt on the four-poster bed. The chase lounge was a light blue and the armoire and dresser were dark mahogany. The generation gap between grandmother and granddaughter was evident when they first saw that room. Kenny thought it was too dark and depressing and Deidre thought it was calm and inviting.
“What are you looking for, Kenny?”
“My grandfather’s medals,” Kenny said, opening the door to the walk-in closet. “Check that bureau over there, okay?” Kenny pointed over her shoulder at the chest of drawers across from Deidre’s bed. “She usually kept his medals in a fireproof security box, but I don’t see it on the shelf in here.”
“I feel funny about going through her things, Kenny,” Chelsey said, opening the top drawer of the five-drawer bureau.
“It’s okay, Chels. Grandma won’t mind if it helps us find her.”
“All right, but if she says anything, I’m blaming you.”
Kenny laughed. “Deal.”
Deidre didn’t have a lot of clothes in her closet. Kenny had taken her on a shopping spree when she first won the lottery, but Deidre wouldn’t allow her to waste money on frivolous things for her. Kenny coaxed her into promising that after her surgery, when she felt better, they would fill her closet with clothes, shoes, Sunday bonnets, whatever she wanted.
“So, Your Grandchild is Gay. Now What?”
“Huh?” Kenny yelled from the closet.
“I found this book in the bottom drawer,” Chelsey said, thumbing through the pictorial. “Aw, that’s so sweet.”
“What’s so sweet?” Kenny asked as she walked over and stood beside her.
“This last page. Someone circled just love them on the last page using a red marker.”
“I didn’t know she had this book. That is so cool.”
“Did she take it well when you came out?” Chelsey asked as she slipped the book back into the drawer.
“I never officially came right out and said that I was gay. When I started my first period, Grandma sat me down and told me about the facts of life and why I should protect my chastity until I met the right person whether it be a boy or girl. I think she knew before I did.”
“That’s because she accepted you before you accepted yourself.”
Kenny glanced at Chelsey. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She turned and swiped at a tear in the corner of her eye before clearing her throat. “Okay, let’s keep looking.”
“Try looking under the bed.”
Kenny knelt beside the bed and pulled the skirt up. “Here it is!” She pulled the heavy black metal box out and placed it on the bed. Made with Perlite, the box was just a little bigger than a shoe box, but three times as heavy and could withstand up to four hours at two-thousand degrees. Deidre wasn’t taking a chance with one of the last treasures she had of her husband. Kenny snapped the latch and opened the box. The medals were inside another bo
x, made of the same material, and Kenny pulled it out and opened it. “Okay, here’s Grandpa’s bronze star and purple heart medals, and a few other medals.” She laid the smaller box on the bed and looked back in the larger box. Rifling through the photos and papers, she pulled out a picture of her grandfather.
“That’s my grandpa, in uniform, wearing his medals,” Kenny said, pointing at a handsome man with dark brown hair, square jaw, steely blue eyes, and broad shoulders.
“You look just like him, Kenny,” Chelsey said.
“Thank you. And here’s another picture of just his medals. We lived in the apartment then and Grandma arranged them in a shadow-box and hung them on the wall. She was so proud of that shadow-box that she took a picture of it. She hasn’t had a chance to hang them up here yet.”
“You really loved your grandfather, didn’t you?” Chelsey asked. “Your face glows when you talk about him.”
“Oh, yeah. I idolized him,” Kenny replied, setting the photo aside and pulling out a bundled pack of envelopes. “These look like letters.”
“And this looks like a birth certificate,” Chelsey stated, pulling out a piece of parchment. “Your birth certificate, to be exact.”
“Really? I’ve never seen that before.”
“Most people don’t until they need it for some reason. My mom has mine in a safety deposit box at the bank. She told me where it was but I’ve never seen mine, either.”
Kenny tossed the letters back in the box and took the certificate from Chelsey. She scanned over it. “Date of birth and all that stuff. Mother’s name is Jaylen Whitt, father’s name is… blank. Damn.”
Chelsey picked up the letters, a rubber band bundling them together and studied it. “Kenny, um, you should look at these letters.”
“Why? See something?”
“I think they’re from your mother.”
Kenny dropped the certificate on the bed and snatched the letters from Chelsey. “The return address is from the McPherson Unit in Newport, Arkansas. That’s a women’s prison. I did research on it in college for one of our assignments. It’s also the state’s death row for women.”
“Oh… um, the letter on top was from two months ago.” God, I hope she isn’t on death row.
“Oh, my God.” Kenny slumped on the bed, dropping the letters on the floor.
Chelsey picked them up but didn’t try to give them to Kenny. “Are you all right?” Kenny’s eyes look so sad that Chelsey’s own eyes began to well up.
“Just a bit confused.” Kenny looked at the floor, but she wasn’t seeing the Persian rug.
“Did you know she was, um, in prison?”
Kenny shook her head. “No, I hardly know anything about her.”
Chelsey sat down beside her and rubbed her shoulder.
“Why didn’t Grandma tell me?” Kenny asked, raking her fingers through her hair.
Chelsey knew Kenny wasn’t expecting an answer, but she wished she could give her one anyway. “Want me to read one to you?”
Kenny cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
Chelsey flipped through the canceled stamps and pulled the top letter from the stack. “Okay, this looks like it was the last one your grandmother received.” She placed the stack on the bed and pulled the letter from the envelope. “It’s dated July eighteenth. ‘Mom. Thank you for the birthday card and putting money into my account. I thought it would have been more, considering how rich you are now. You know, maybe to make up for the six months you committed me to rehab when I was seventeen. I’d probably still be there if I hadn’t turned eighteen. Anyway, I’m getting out in six months, and I want to see her. She’s my daughter, Deirdre, you can’t keep her all to yourself. I’m clean and sober now, and she’s an adult. I have every right to see her.’”
Kenny’s mouth fell open. “Damn. Grandma had her committed. Too bad it didn’t help.”
“She wants to see you. That’s a good thing, right?”
Kenny shrugged, her eyes darting back and forth as she processed the revelation. Is that where she’d been all those years? In prison. And Grandma knew but didn’t tell her. Why? Kenny went through a phase as a teenager where she questioned her grandmother about her mother. Deidre always told her she didn’t know where her mother was, and Kenny eventually stopped asking. Had her grandmother lied to her?
“No, it’s not a good thing. Why did Grandma hide these letters and now all of a sudden want me to find them?”
“Hmm. Good question.”
“I’ve got more questions than I did before. Let’s read another letter, maybe there’s something in one of them.”
Chelsey thumbed through the letters. “Want to start from the beginning? Counting the one we just read, there are three from this year. There’s a couple from two years ago and one from three years ago, and so on.”
“Let me have the other two from this year,” Kenny said, holding out her hand. Chelsey pulled two envelopes from the stack and handed them to her. Kenny looked at the stamp on each one. “Both of them are dated after I won the lottery. Yeah, she wanted to see me, all right.”
“Maybe that’s not it. Read them first,” Chelsey suggested.
“Fine, but don’t hold your breath,” Kenny replied sarcastically as she opened one of the letters. “This was the first one of this year,” she explained as she unfolded the letter. “‘Mom, congratulations. I heard on the news that Makenna won the lottery. Maybe now you can afford a lawyer to get me the hell out of here. I shouldn’t be here, and you know it.’ Well, that was short and sweet,” Kenny said as she tossed the letter on the bed and opened the second one. “‘I got your letter, Mother, and was deeply hurt by it. Of course, I’m only looking out for Makenna’s best interest. Why would you think otherwise? I’m in SATP now, that’s the Substance Abuse Treatment Program. I’m getting my head on straight, so I can help her. So I can help you both, Mom. You’ve been carrying the load too long. It’s time for me to step up and be responsible. Love you. Jaylen.’”
Chelsey shook her head. “Wow… that was quite a turnaround. But at least she’s trying.”
“She’s not trying. You read the last letter. She’s only after my money like I figured.”
“Now, you don’t know that for sure.”
“Don’t I? Grandma kept all her letters and as you can see, there’s maybe ten or eleven in total. She’s been gone for twenty-four years, and all Grandma has to show for it is ten letters? That’s bullshit.”
“You can’t know what’s in her heart, Kenny. Maybe she has turned her life around.”
Frowning, Kenny asked, “Why are you defending her?”
“You don’t really know who she is. You should talk with her, get to know her, and find out for sure what kind of person your mother is.”
Kenny’s eyes lit up as an idea popped into her head. “You are totally right. I’m going to go see her right now and get the truth out of her.” She jumped up and rushed out of the room, followed closely by Chelsey.
“What? Now? Can you even get in at this hour?”
Kenny slowed down so she could explain. “Well, technically, visiting hours are only on the weekends, but I’m going to talk with the warden and see if I can persuade him to let me in. It’s an hour and a half drive up there and it’s one-thirty now, so by the time I get there it’ll be three.”
They walked into the game room and Kenny sat down at a keyboard and brought up Google maps. Plotting the fastest route to the prison, she sent the map to her cell phone.
“What about the party?” Chelsey asked. “You’ll be too exhausted to concentrate.”
“I’ll grab a nap in the car and—”
“Look, you’re already running on empty,” Chelsey admonished. “And I’m coming with you, so I think we should get some sleep, eat a good breakfast, and then head out for Newport.”
“You want to come with me?” The thought of facing Jaylen alone scared her emotionally. Kenny knew meeting her mother for the first
time, in a prison cell no less, wasn’t going to be easy. She had no idea what she’d say to the woman who gave birth to her and then abandoned her. Part of her wanted to punch her in the face, and the other part wanted to hug her and be her child.
“Yes, I do. We’re a team and I’ve got your back. Now, go to your room and get some sleep. We’ve got a rollercoaster of a day ahead of us.”
“I’m too wound up. I couldn’t possibly sleep right now,” Kenny declared.
Chelsey looked at her and frowned. She walked over to the laptop, clicked on a few keys, and soon soft music filled the air. Then she walked over to the light switch on the wall and turned the lights off. The only illumination in the room was the glow from the computer monitors. “Lay down with me,” she said as she pulled on Kenny’s arm.
“If I had a dime for every time a woman said that to me…”
“Yeah, yeah. You’d be a rich woman. Now, lay down.” Chelsey was wearing a flower-print blouse with a sleeveless white shell underneath. She removed the blouse and sat down on the oversized throw pillows.
“Actually, I’d be twenty cents richer,” Kenny confessed, her voice rising an octave as she sat down beside her. Her mind flashed back to when Chelsey was au naturel with those voluptuous creamy white shoulders. “I don’t really get asked that much.”
“That kind of surprises me.”
Kenny tilted her head toward her. “It does?”
“Yes, it does.” Chelsey opened her arms and said, “Now, lay your head on my chest.”
Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Kenny wet her lips, stared at Chelsey’s chest, and said, “The reason I don’t get asked much is because I’m usually the one doing the asking.”
“Now that doesn’t surprise me. As droopy as your eyes are though, I know my virtue will be safe.”
Kenny turned on her side and laid her head on Chelsey’s chest just above her breasts. Catching herself before she laid her arm across Chelsey’s stomach, Kenny let it rest on her side. Then she looked down the valley of Chelsey’s breasts and watched her tummy rise and fall with each breath. “Hey, your heart is beating really fast.”
Jackpot Page 13