Jackpot

by Mairsile Leabhair

  Kenny held her elbow out, and Chelsey wrapped her arm around it. “I didn’t see anyone who looked like my mother,” Kenny said as they descended the stairs.

  “I didn’t either, and I looked at every face I could see.”

  “Well, let’s keep our eyes open as we charm the big shots,” Kenny said.

  “You forget, you’re a big shot now,” Chelsey reminded her.

  “Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right.”

  “You get started charming and I’ll check on Sophie.”

  “Come find me, okay?” Kenny asked as she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, who looked geeky dressed in black shorts, white shirt, and purple bowtie.

  “Sure. Won’t be long.”

  Kenny tilted the champagne flute back and gulped half the glass without even tasting it. Then she went to find the police commissioner.

  Instead, she found Felisha, or rather, Felisha found her. “You wanted to talk with Alvin McGee and he just arrived.” She pointed at a tall man in a black suit wearing a white shirt and black loafers.

  “Who’s that?”

  “The director of the VA,” Felisha explained.

  “The Veterans Administration? Oh, yeah, I do want to meet him, thanks.”

  Kenny walked toward the director, but just as she was about to introduce herself, she spotted the commissioner. Showtime.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Commissioner Weathersby. Thank you for coming tonight,” Kenny said as she held out her hand to the short, rotund man.

  “Thank you for inviting me,” he replied, shaking her hand. “Please, call me Michael.”

  “And please call me Kenny.”

  “And where is your lovely grandmother?” he asked as he looked around.

  Oh, shit. I forgot. “Grandma was, uh, call away at the last minute. Her sister, who lives… in uh, Ireland, is very ill, and she’s gone to be with her.”

  “Oh,” he said disappointedly. “I hope she’ll be all right.”

  Kenny got the feeling he wasn’t talking about her fake aunt. “She said she hoped you’d give her a raincheck.” A tiny white lie that her grandmother probably would have said if she hadn’t been kidnapped.

  He perked up and squared his shoulders. “Yes, of course, I will. Thank you. And I’m glad to hear that you’re using your money for good causes. It’s very noble of you.”

  “Thanks. Part of my reform is finishing college and getting my criminal justice degree.”

  “That is impressive. Do you plan to work in the field?” he asked.

  “I haven’t decided yet. I mean, I don’t need to work period, but I do want to finish what I started. Besides, if something should happen to my money, at least I’d have a degree to fall back on.”

  “That’s smart. And you’re young, you might get bored spending millions of dollars on cars, women, and Vegas.”

  She laughed. “I already have, that’s why the party tonight. That’s also why I need to ask a favor of you.”

  “Oh. What kind of favor?”

  “I’m not able to attend classes anymore because of my, uh, notoriety, so I’m being homeschooled, as it were. The problem is, I need access to, uh, the police database to do my research and I can’t do that online. I was hoping you could help me.”

  Michael shifted his weight and crossed his arms. “Didn’t they teach you how to tell when a person was lying? I counted four uhs and each time you said that, you looked to the side trying to come up with the lie. I’ve been a cop for a lot of years, and I know a lie when I hear a lie. What’s really going on, Kenny?”

  Cornered, Kenny looked down, searching for something to say. “Uh… damn.” She looked up at Michael, who was still glaring at her. “I can’t tell you.”

  “What can’t you…” He looked around again. “It’s your grandmother, isn’t it? Something’s happened to her.”

  Kenny nodded and finished off the champagne, looking for the waiter. A busboy showed up and offered to take her empty glass. She waved at a cocktail waitress who came over immediately. “Can you get me a whiskey sour, please?”

  “Make that two,” Chelsey said as she walked up.

  “I’ll take a whiskey neat,” Michael added.

  The waitress hurried off and Kenny looked back at Michael.

  “So, what did I miss?” Chelsey asked.

  “Kenny was just about to explain why she’s lying to me,” Michael said condescendingly.

  Chelsey looked at Kenny. “Oh, um...”

  He shook his head. “Not you, too. Ladies, if you want my help, you’re going to have to tell me what’s really going on. Where is Deidre really at?”

  Kenny inhaled, then exhaled slowly. “Look, I’m sorry I wasted your time. Please, enjoy the party.” Kenny turned to leave but Michael stopped her.

  “She was kidnapped, wasn’t she? You won the lottery and someone kidnapped her, threatening to hurt her if you went to the police. I’m right, aren’t I?”

  “Enjoy the party,” Kenny repeated.

  “Yes, she was,” Chelsey stated.

  “Chelsey, no,” Kenny barked.

  “We need him, Kenny,” Chelsey insisted, turning back to Michael. “We need to search NDIS looking for suspects. I’m studying to be a forensic scientist and know how to collect fingerprints and DNA. We need your help.”

  “I categorically deny everything she said unless you can help us without involving your officers.”

  Chelsey punched her playfully in the arm but Kenny’s rigid face told her she was serious.

  Michael looked at Kenny for a moment. “Okay, I understand your reasoning, but we can help you.”

  “Someone put a tracker on my car, and… other stuff. Trust me, they would know. I can’t risk it,” Kenny said, looking away. “Like I said, Grandma’s in Ireland with her sister.”

  The cop in him wouldn’t let it go. “Okay, say I believe you and give you access to the database. What would you do with the information if it’s not to look for Deidre?”

  “Find my mother,” Kenny answered. “She was in McPherson Unit for drugs but by the time I learned that and went up there, she had already been released.”

  “And you think she has your grandmother?” he asked.

  “I told you, Grandma is in Ireland,” Kenny repeated. “The truth is that I’ve never met my mother and just want to find her. But I really am going back to school so it would help with that, too.”

  He looked at her intently and she knew he was making his decision. “I can give you the password to the database that the colleges use, but I cannot give you access to NDIS. I’m sorry. That’s the best I can do unless you tell me the truth. The real truth.”

  Kenny’s eyes brimmed with tears but she was too angry to notice. Instead, she stood there, red-faced and stupefied, clenching her fists. She had failed. She may never see her grandmother again all because she wasn’t a good enough detective. She had been kidding herself. She released her anger and lowered her head in defeat, fighting the tears about to spill over her cheeks.

  “Commissioner, would you excuse us just for a second?” Chelsey asked, taking Kenny’s hand.

  “Of course,” he replied. “I’ll be at the bar.”

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Chelsey tucked her finger under Kenny’s chin and raised her head up. She leaned in so close Kenny could feel her breath on her face. “We are going to get her back, do you hear me?”

  “How did you—”

  “Because I would be feeling the same way. Now, we’ve still got a few tricks up our sleeves. Tobias is capturing everyone’s picture. We can do facial recognition on the Internet. Sophie’s collecting DNA and you have a deal with a company to process them. We’ll figure out how to match them up some other way. We can also communicate with the kidnapper now and maybe you can trick them into revealing themselves. Plus, the woman who gave birth to you might be here somewhere. You need to concentrate on finding her.”

  Kenny smiled. A smile that filled her heart wit
h hope. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

  “Well, the next time you give up, I’m going to slap you silly instead.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I’ll look forward to that.”

  “Oh, kinky,” Chelsey teased.

  “You do know I can hear you, right?” Tobias said in Kenny’s earbud.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I forgot,” Kenny replied.

  “Forgot what?” Chelsey asked as a waiter refreshed her champagne glass.

  “Tobias can hear us,” Kenny explained after the waiter left.

  “Oh.” Chelsey lifted Kenny’s hand and said, “Yeah, sorry, Tobias.”

  “Wait, Kenny,” Tobias said. “A man wearing a fedora just walked in, and I can’t get a clear shot of his face.”

  “Switch cameras and see if you can pick him up in the foyer,” Kenny suggested, nodding at Chelsey to follow her.

  “I did that, but the hat is still blocking his face. The hat is purple, Kenny,” Tobias added.

  Kenny stopped and repeated what Tobias said to Chelsey.

  “Coincidence?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. This wasn’t a theme party,” Kenny explained.

  “Ms. Whitt, I’m Joe Kelly with KZTV news. Can I get a statement from you?” It was the guy wearing the purple fedora.

  Kenny relaxed and smiled as he lifted the camera to his shoulder and stuck it six inches from her face. It felt like six inches but he was actually standing a foot away. “Sure.” She tried to pull Chelsey closer but she shook her head and stepped out of reach.

  “Just look into the camera here,” he said, pointing to a red led light across from the boom mic above the camera lens, “and tell us a little bit about what it felt like to win the lottery and then segue into why you are having this party.”

  I’m going to kill Felisha. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head and she grinned. I’m going to owe Felisha. “Sure, no problem.” She pulled out her cell phone and tapped on an app.

  “Great. When I point at you say your full name and age, and then start talking, okay?”

  Kenny nodded and inhaled, quieting the butterflies in her stomach. Her emotions were all over the place and she was starting to lose patience. The red light on the camera began to glow and a moment later, he pointed at her.

  “Makenna Whitt and I’m twenty-four.” She waited and he pointed at her again. “I won a few bucks in the lottery and on the advice of my beloved grandmother,” she lifted the phone up with a picture of Deidre, “I am going to put the money to good use helping people through a foundation I’m forming. I’m hosting this party for some of the programs my foundation will support, like the Salvation Army, the Veterans Administration, and the Little Rock Police Department. If I may, I’d like to do a shout out to my grandmother, who couldn’t be here tonight. Say hi to Mom for me, Grandma. I know she’s taking good care of you. Love you and can’t wait to see you both again.”

  “And… cut.” Joe proclaimed. The red light went out, and he lowered the camera. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a business card.

  “Dang. Producer, reporter, and videographer. Nice,” Kenny said as she read the card. “Listen, Joe. I’ll give you a thousand bucks right now if you’ll air my piece in its entirety.”

  He stopped and looked at her intently. “It’s not illegal, what you said… right?”

  Chuckling, Kenny slipped her hand inside her jacket and pulled out a flat, oblong wallet. Then she pulled out a hand full of hundred dollar bills. She counted out ten of them and handed them to Joe. “No, it’s not illegal. I just hate my words being twisted around.”

  He looked around and quickly stuffed the money in his pocket. “This will air on the morning show tomorrow between eight and nine.”

  “Thanks,” she said and turned to Chelsey. “So, what did you think?”

  “Very sly,” she replied, her eyes twinkling with pride. “Making your mother feel guilty just might work.”

  “I hope so. Without the commissioner’s help, we’re grasping at straws now.”

  “But we’re not giving up, right?”

  “Hell, no, we’re not giving up. Come on. Let’s go find that bitch who gave birth to me.”

  “Where do we start looking?”

  “At the bar. I need another drink,” Kenny replied.

  They walked hand in hand through the foyer and into the formal dining room that had been converted into a cocktail lounge with two bars, lots of mirrors, and tall tables with white table clothes draping over them.

  They walked up to the bar and stood beside the commissioner. I figured he’d have left by now. “Hey, Commish. Enjoying the party?” Kenny asked as she held up two fingers to the bartender.

  “I heard what you said to that reporter,” he said, setting his shot glass on the counter.

  Oh, shit. “How? You were in here?”

  “I just walked in right before you did,” he replied. “So, you think your mother, whom you’ve never met, has taken your grandmother hostage.”

  “Once a cop, always a cop, right, Commissioner?” Kenny asked sarcastically.

  “Damn straight,” Michael replied. “How much are they asking for?”

  “Would it help if I called Grandma in Ireland and had her talk with you?” Kenny asked.

  “Yes. Yes, it would,” he countered.

  Oh, shit. Okay, he called my bluff. Think! Kenny pulled her cell phone out and holding it in her hand where the commissioner couldn’t see the numbers, she started to dial Sophie but realized her accent would blow it. “No, wait. I can’t call her. It’s six hours difference in Dublin. She’s asleep right now.”

  “Well, that’s convenient,” Michael scoffed. “Which just brings to question why you would say hello to your grandmother on a local TV news station that would never air in Ireland.”

  “Uh, she’ll see it on the Internet,” Kenny said unconvincingly.

  “Uh-huh,” he said, gulping his drink, then turning to Kenny. “I’m keeping my eye on you, Whitt.”

  Much to Kenny’s amusement, the commissioner actually did the two-finger V sign, pointing from his eyes to hers. She was tempted to do the Three Stooges eye poke but restrained herself. As soon as he walked away, Kenny picked up her drink, waved to Chelsey, and ducked out of the room and down the stairwell to the game room.

  Lined up on the bar were clear plastic bags of beer, whiskey, and flute glasses, individually wrapped and marked with a photo of the user taped to the bag. Sophie stood at the bar and thumbed through the photos Tobias had printed out and when she found the face she was looking for, pulled it out and taped it to the plastic bag. She had developed a rapport with the busboy and he made sure she saw who the empty glass belonged to.

  Tobias was sitting at the computer bay, running facial recognition on one computer as he captured faces on another. The other computers were connected to the cameras and capturing everything on video. Empty plates of hors-d'oeuvres were stacked up behind one of the monitors where he was sitting. His soda can was empty and crushed into a flat pancake.

  “How’s it going, guys?” Kenny asked as she entered the room.

  “Well, I could use another soda… oh, that’s not what you meant. We’re doing great,” Tobias said. “Mamá and I have a pretty good system going here.”

  Sophie smiled at him over her shoulder.

  “Any hits yet, Tobias?” Kenny asked.

  “No, sorry. But I’ve still got five photos left to run through facial recognition.”

  Kenny eyed the monitors, watching the party-goers laughing and drinking. Tobias zoomed in on one woman and followed her with the camera. As soon as he had a clear shot of her face, he clicked the mouse and capture her photo.

  “Are you getting the party staff and band members?” Kenny asked.

  “No, I didn’t know I was supposed to,” he replied, rotating a camera at the bartender.

  “That’s because I didn’t think about it until just now. I’ve been so focused on the guests, I did
n’t think about somebody sneaking in on the work force.”

  “Yeah, but you thought of it in time, that’s what matters,” Chelsey declared.

  “Uh-huh. Come on, we’d better get back up there.”

  “Kenny, wait,” Tobias bellowed. “There’s a woman at the front door. Isn’t she kind of late to the party?”

  It was almost eleven and the party was already starting to wind down. That was one of the reasons Deidre suggested having it on a Thursday. It was a school night, as they say, and most of the people had to work the next day.

  “And really underdressed for it?” Chelsey mentioned as they stared at the monitor.

  “I’ll bet she wasn’t invited,” Sophie speculated.

  “Actually, she was invited, Sophie,” Kenny argued. “That’s the bitch who gave birth to me.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Everyone looked from the video monitor to Kenny with their mouths hanging open. She frowned and pulled out the paper the warden had printed for her with her mother’s picture on it.

  “That could be her, I guess,” Chelsey said. “It’s hard to tell from this angle.”

  “Well, there’s another way to be sure. I’ll just go find out what the bitch wants.” There was no doubt in Kenny’s mind that the woman at her front door was her mother. Something about her mannerisms that reminded her of her grandmother.

  Kenny walked behind the bar and retrieved her pistol from its hiding place. She tucked it in her jacket pocket.

  “Do you really need that?” Chelsey asked.

  “It’s just for show,” she replied.

  “I’m going with you,” Chelsey announced. “If there’s a problem I’ll run and get Commissioner Weathersby.”

  “Fine, you do that,” Kenny snapped, her eyes narrowed with anger. “But not before I find out where my grandmother is, understand?”

  “Understood,” Chelsey said firmly. “If indeed that’s your mother.”

  “Tobias, run a facial recognition on her and confirm that’s Jaylen Whitt,” Kenny ordered, walking toward the stairs. “Prisoner number 685493. Also, can you record the audio from my mic?”