Someone was waiting for me.
Chapter Twenty-Four—Jeopardy Belle
Troy Harvester slept through my kiss. I didn’t want to leave him, but I couldn’t stay here and bring my misery down upon him. Troy was right—I was his girl. I always had been, but I couldn’t tell him anything. He didn’t deserve it. When I came to the Harvesters’ house, I had every intention of asking Troy for a gun. Just a small gun that I could use one time, and then I’d give it back to him. But then he told me he loved me, and how much he loved me, and all that changed.
I loved Troy Harvester almost as much as I loved Harper and Daddy and Addison and Loxley. Too much to get him into trouble. When I shimmied down the wisteria vine, I had no idea what I would do. All I could do was go back to Summerleigh, maybe sleep in Daddy’s potting shed until I could sneak back into the house. When I didn’t have to see Momma, when I knew she wouldn’t come after me.
She’d hated me all my life, and I didn’t know why. I couldn’t understand it. For a long time, I did everything right. I said ma’am and please, I made good grades in school, cleaned my room, tended the garden…but it didn’t matter. She never saw any of it, so I quit. I quit trying and she noticed me then, but she still didn’t love me. Not even a little bit.
What made it worse was she wanted Daddy to hate me too. She wanted everyone to hate me. I think most everyone did, but I didn’t care. Daddy loved me until the day he died. He told me he did; he promised he did even when I told him about the Horrible Thing.
He was so mad, but not at me, he said. “You’re my daughter, Jeopardy Belle. You always will be. I’ll make this right. I’ll take care of this, Jeopardy.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“You don’t have a thing to be sorry about.” He held me as I cried out my heart and soul. I remembered how strong he felt. He kissed the top of my head and told me to wait for him. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
But he never came back, except as a ghost.
No, I wasn’t sure what I would do when I began walking down Hurlette Drive, down to Summerleigh, but then I saw a white rock in the road. I remembered the bird I’d killed accidentally. Maybe if I hit Grandpa Daughdrill with a rock, he would die too. I picked up the rock and put it in my purse. Yes, that’s what I would do. I would hit him, once, twice, maybe three times if need be. And then everyone would know what a Horrible Man he was and what Horrible Things he did to me.
I was almost home now. The sun would be coming up soon. And then I saw the lights coming down the road. Those were the lights of a Master DeLuxe. Grandpa Daughdrill had one, and so did Momma. They bought them together, and I think Grandpa gave her the gift in exchange for me. He never told me that, but he promised me many things and he always gave me money afterward. I hadn’t spent any of it, except to buy cigarettes.
How strange that I wasn’t allowed to call him Grandpa until after the Horrible Thing. “None of your sisters can call me that. Only you, sweet Jeopardy. My special girl. Just like your Momma. She was always my favorite, like you.”
I cried as he told me these Horrible Secrets. And then he pawed at me and I floated away and thought about swimming in the river until it was over. And now he was coming again. That had to be him. I dug my hand in my purse and held the rock.
My grandfather pulled up beside me and rolled down the window. “Get in the car, girl. Your mother is worried about you. What do you mean running out of the house like that?” I didn’t answer him but obediently got into his car. I started to get in the front seat, but he shook his head and clucked his tongue. “No, you ride in the back seat. I am afraid you’ll have to be punished, Jeopardy.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” I said with my hand still on the rock. Panic rose in me. I didn’t want this! Why had I gotten in his car? I couldn’t have run from him; he was too tall and big and strong. I started to cry, and he began to scold me and threaten me. Suddenly, I took the rock and banged it against the window and glass shattered everywhere. I was getting out of this car one way or another.
He swore at me and the car stopped. I reached my hand outside and opened the door. I tumbled out but not fast enough; Grandpa Daughdrill was grabbing me off the ground, and I started to scream. His hand clasped my mouth, and I kicked and punched him. I’d lost my rock but managed to grab it again before he carried me off into the woods behind Summerleigh.
“No! You won’t touch me again!” I screamed behind his hand. I even bit it. He snatched his hand away because of the pain, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Daddy! Help me!” I hit Grandpa Daughdrill in the head with my rock, and he hit the ground.
But he didn’t stay down. He got back up, and I began to cry as he staggered on his feet. “You little bitch! You’ll pay for that. I’m done with you, Jeopardy Belle. It’s time to find a new favorite!” He hit me like a man and knocked me out. When I woke up, I was bound and gagged and in a sack. I must be in the trunk of his car. I heard a woman’s voice too. Was that Momma? I kicked around in the trunk of the Master DeLuxe and screamed through the gag. Nobody could hear me, but I had to try.
Finally, when I grew tired, I heard the voices again, outside the trunk now. “It was an accident, Ann. She went wild, there was no reasoning with her. I think she was drunk, or something. She fell and hit her head. She’s dead.”
“No, that can’t be right. She can’t be dead. I never meant for her to die. Father, how could you do this?”
“Now, now, Ann. You know your father would never do anything to hurt you or Jeopardy. Trust me. I’ll take care of her body, but you have to keep quiet, no matter what.”
“Okay, Father. I will let you handle it.”
“Good girl, Ann. Now go home. Go home and take care of your girls. Jeopardy is mine.”
I twisted and kicked in the bag, but nobody heard me. Then the trunk opened, and light filtered through the rough burlap bag I was in. Grandpa Daughdrill picked me up and took me somewhere. Where? I could smell pine and rain. I kicked, but he said, “Shh…it’s too late now. You are a great disappointment to me. I have something to tell you, Jeopardy. You aren’t a Belle at all. You’re my daughter. All mine. That man, John Jeffrey Belle, he was nothing to you. I was your father, all the time. I wanted you to know that before you die.”
I cried and screamed but couldn’t talk. My mind screamed at him, railing against him, but then I heard the gun cock and I knew what was about to happen. My prayers had been answered. I was about to die, and it wouldn’t be by my own hand. Grandpa thought he was punishing me, but he was really setting me free. I would be free to be with Daddy. My own Daddy!
I didn’t hear the gunshot. Suddenly, I wasn’t in the bag but standing beside it, watching Grandpa’s grim face. He picked up the bloody sack, tied rocks to it with ropes and carried me out into my precious Dog River and sank me beneath a log.
I didn’t feel sadness. I felt free, and I wanted to go home now. Home to Daddy. I walked along the road, and nobody saw me. I walked up to the door at Summerleigh, but I could not get in. The door wouldn’t open! I walked around to the back door too but couldn’t get in there either.
A little boy was in there, an angry boy. He told me my Daddy was here at Summerleigh, but he was his Daddy now. He wanted me to go away. He was strong, so strong that he could keep me out forever. And he said with an evil smile that Momma would die soon too, and he would make sure she would never let me in. He laughed at me, and I walked toward the potting shed. I turned back once and saw my Daddy upstairs. He couldn’t come to me, and I couldn’t go to him.
I didn’t think dead people cried, but I did. I cried because even after everything, I couldn’t be with Daddy.
We would be apart forever.
***
I woke up immediately and called Jesse. It was after eleven o’clock, but who else could I tell? “Hey, Jesse. I had a dream. I saw Jeopardy Belle…I know who killed her. I know where she is.”
“I’m on the way.”
Five hours later, the George County Sheriff Department was searching for her body. It took them only four hours to find her. I cried the whole time. Jesse held me, and I didn’t care that I hardly knew him. He was here and I needed him, just like Jeopardy needed Troy.
When it was over with, we went home and Jesse persuaded me to eat by whipping up his famed Double Slam. I didn’t eat much, but it was nice to have someone care for me. I needed it.
I walked outside after supper and stared up at the attic window. “I wonder if he’s there right now, just watching and waiting for Jeopardy.”
“She’s not far. She’s in the potting shed.”
“We have to bring them together, Jesse. We have to!”
“I’ll call Hannah and Renee. Let’s bring them in, and they can tell us how to do it.”
“Okay, sounds good to me.”
Jesse hugged me, and I loved every second of it. “You’re amazing, Jerica Poole. You found her even when everyone else had failed. You did it.”
“I think it was just time, and Harper helped a lot. All I had to do was put the pieces together.”
“So, is your work done here?”
“No, we’re just getting started. There are two other ghosts at Summerleigh. They deserve to be at peace. All we have to do is…”
“I know, put the pieces together. Do you do this all the time, Jerica?”
“No, I’m a nurse. Not a psychic or anything else.”
“You’re a mom and a sensitive, I’d say. Are you sure you aren’t a cook too? We could use a hand at the diner,” he said with a wink.
“Definitely not,” I replied with a laugh. “One more thing, Jesse Clarke. I like you.”
“I like you too, Jerica. I’m hoping to get to know you better.”
I liked hearing that. I smiled and said, “Well then, stick around. We’re just getting started.”
Epilogue—Jerica
“Now, Jerica. Tell her what you know,” Hannah said as she held my hand firmly. “We have to reveal her secret or she’ll never leave.”
“Ann Belle, I know—no, we know—what you did. I know what you did to Jeopardy.” The dusty red velvet couch shifted a few inches. “Did you see that?”
“Don’t let her scare you. Stand your ground, Jerica. This is the only way Jeopardy and John will ever be reunited. Ann has to move on,” Renee said in a soft voice. I glanced at Jesse, who watched me protectively. At least I wasn’t doing this by myself.
“Okay,” I said as I held hands with Renee and Hannah even tighter. “I’m sorry for what was done to you, I am sorry your own father was such a horrible man. I know what he did, but what you’re doing isn’t right.” The couch bumped again, and I heard footsteps upstairs; they sounded like heavy boots. Hannah looked troubled, but I pretended not to notice. I kept talking. I had to get through to Ann. She had to let Jeopardy come home!
“Ann, you can’t change what you did in life, but you can change what you’re doing right now!”
The front door flew open, and an evil wind blew in blasts of wet leaves. “Keep going,” Hannah encouraged me.
“Ann, the secret is out. All the secrets. You can’t hide them anymore!” The chandelier above us began to sway, and the footsteps upstairs sounded louder and close. Were they coming down the stairs?
“You can’t hide it anymore! We know the truth!” Tears streamed down my face now. Images of Marisol flashed through my head. My baby’s smiling face as I stuck my tongue out at her in the rearview mirror that moment before the crash. Her cries for me when the truck struck us, the absolute silence when the train hit us. My own Horrible Thing.
“I know the truth, Ann. You can’t always protect your children, even though you want to more than anything.” The door slammed shut, and the leaves fell around us. I closed my eyes, determined to stay focused. “But you can’t blame Jeopardy for what happened to you. I know if she could, she would forgive you, Ann. She would forgive you with all her heart.”
And suddenly everything stopped.
“She’s gone. You did it, Jerica. Ann is gone.”
I opened my eyes again, and everyone except Jesse was crying; he was staring at something over my shoulder. “Holy heck! That’s John,” he said.
We all looked at the staircase, and sure enough, an apparition appeared. It was solid for a few seconds, then it faded, but I could still see him standing there waiting for something. No, someone.
The front door of Summerleigh opened slowly. No more wind, no more leaves and swaying chandelier. Everything was calm now. I didn’t see her, but I could feel her.
Jeopardy Belle was home! A warm breeze pushed past us, and my hair fluttered as the breeze blew up the stairs. The strips of wallpaper fluttered with her passing. They were together now, Jeopardy and her Daddy. The place felt lighter, and it was easier to breathe.
They would always be together.
Read on for an excerpt from the next book in the series,
The Ghost of Jeopardy Belle
“Momma, Loxley is talking to her ghosts again,” Addison announced sourly. The three of us girls were in the parlor reading the magazines that Mrs. Hendrickson gave me after her granddaughter left them behind when she returned to Mobile, but Addie was in a bad mood. Mostly because Loxley refused to move out of her current spot on the couch. Their bickering frustrated me. I wanted to finish this article about dreamy Frank Sinatra. I loved all his songs, especially Stardust, and I thought it might be a hoot to start a fan club right here in Desire. Other girls liked him too, but only I knew all his songs by heart. Whenever one of Sinatra’s songs came on the radio, I sang it with all my might. I’d been saving up to buy a few of his records, maybe a whole album, but my record player would need a new needle soon. Aunt Dot gave me her RCA Victor because she bought herself a Wellington record player and radio for her birthday. It played three speeds and had a shiny wooden case. That was the last time I’d seen Aunt Dot, weeks ago. I missed her.
“Addison, stop,” I warned her again in a whisper. My sister rubbed her nose with a hankie, but it didn’t do much good. Her nose ran perpetually nowadays. Probably because it had rained for a whole week straight. Any kind of mold made her sick, and there were plenty of moldy spots in the old plantation we called home. Although I felt sympathy for her, I wished she would heed my warning. Instead, it appeared that her ill mood and Loxley’s mischievousness would put us all in harm’s way.
“No, I wasn’t, Momma,” Loxley called out innocently. “I was talking to Lenny, my pet.”
“You girls keep quiet in there,” Miss Augustine barked at us as she and Momma continued their gossiping and gin drinking and card playing at the kitchen table. I peeked around the corner from my spot on the floor. No, Momma wasn’t moving, and she looked terrible today. Ever since Jeopardy’s disappearance, something about her seemed wrong. Ann Marie Belle had always been a proud, pretty woman, beautiful like a model. Not anymore. She wore too much makeup, so much that it bordered on clownish, and she often had lipstick on her teeth. Her blond hair showed dark roots, and today she was still wearing her robe and pajamas. That was unheard of around here. Momma had always been the first one up in the morning and always dressed to the nines like a proper lady, especially on Sundays. But we didn’t go to church anymore, and no one from First Baptist came to visit us. It was as if we were living on an island here at Summerleigh.
“Want to see my pet, Addison? I’ll show you he’s real.” Loxley hopped off the loveseat but didn’t budge from in front of it. With a perfectly innocent smile, she held out a pocket of her pinafore and offered Addison a peek inside.
Addie rubbed her nose again and waved her away. Her pale face crumpled miserably, and although she spent much of her time in bed, I thought perhaps she really needed to go for a lie-down. “Take your pet outside and give me my spot back, Loxley.”
Loxley poked out her bottom lip and stomped her foot. “It’s not your spot. I don’t see your name on it. Isn’t
that right, Harper?” I didn’t offer her any help. She was only making matters worse. I flipped the page of the magazine and tried to ignore them both. “Don’t you want to see Lenny, Addison?”
Before Addison could reply, a green tree frog with big red eyes hopped out of Loxley’s pocket and onto Addison’s shoe. Addie screamed, and before I knew what was happening Momma stormed into the room with Miss Augustine in tow. Momma grabbed me first, picking me up by my hair, uncaring that I had nothing to do with the hoopla. Miss Augustine scolded her, “Now, Ann. Calm down. Remember what the doctor said about your nerves.” But Momma didn’t listen. She swung at my behind with her free hand, striking me not once but three times before she let me go. I yelped in surprise and pain while my sisters scrambled up the stairs.
“I told you to keep those girls quiet! Why don’t you ever listen to me, Harper? You never listen!”
“I’m sorry, Momma. I’m sorry!” I yelled back, shocked at her violent attack. Miss Augustine stepped back and watched us from the doorway as if she too were afraid of Momma. Momma stomped toward me while I tried to back away. It was no use. There was no sense in fighting her, and I couldn’t bring myself to raise a hand back. I closed my eyes and waited for the blow, thinking she’d slap me across the face. She liked doing that when I spoke an ill word to her. Or what she considered an ill word. A knock on the door put a stop to her intentions, and she squeezed my arm one good time before releasing me and tidying her robe. Without waiting to see who had arrived, I raced up the stairs to hide. The creaking floors moaned at my steps, but that did not slow me down. It was at that moment I decided Jeopardy’s castle would become my castle, at least until she came home.
I ran up the attic stairs and closed the door behind me, tears streaming down my face. I didn’t know where Addison was, but Loxley sat on Jeopardy’s pallet crying for all she was worth. Her pretty face was streaked with dirty tears; her usually tidy braids were sagging in the heat of the attic.
The Belles of Desire, Mississippi Page 14