Mississippi Blues (15 page)

Lilah's eyes grew bigger. “I'm thirsty. You girls thirsty?”

Glory seemed intent on pressing the issue. “Maybe his treachery came from caring about you? Or did it go deeper? Something really heinous?”

Summer leveled her gaze on Glory. “Yes, it's awful. I can never forgive him. Trey doesn't care about me. If he did, he wouldn't have sat on that stand and said what he did. You're supposed to be my friend. Why are you sticking up for him?”

“I am your friend. You know that. But I guess I'm missing something. What did Trey do that was so wrong in your eyes? Didn't he find your brother standing over the beaten body with blood all over his hands?” Glory looked at her own hands and shuddered.

“Yes, that's true. But the final nail in Jace's coffin was that Trey testified Jace planned the murder.” There. That's what had destroyed her trust in Trey. He shouldn't have shared that Jace swore to him he'd see the man who beat and raped Mama dead. Jace had trusted his best friend. Of course he'd say something crazy in front of him. Why hadn't Trey realized Jace was just blowing steam? She knew Jace hadn't killed Deke Soloman. Why didn't Trey trust him, too?

“He should've lied by omission?” Glory raised her over plucked eyebrows.

“Yes.” Summer met her friend's eyes with a steady look. “I guess he should've, because it would've preserved Jace's freedom.”

• • •

Trey sat with his mother on the wraparound porch of the big three-story mansion she'd inherited,
LeFleur.
They overlooked a rose garden, the sweet scent of the flowers rising to them. The sun hung onto the sky, refusing to fall. Etta had gone to see her new grandbaby and the Chief was hunting Jace. Trey took advantage of the chance to spend some time with his mother.

If Jace was headed to Juliet, Trey wasn't going to upset his mother with the news. Although warm outside, Emily Bouché shivered and snuggled under the homemade quilt she'd stitched herself. Trey reached over and smoothed the edge of the fabric. His mother's cancer was terminal. There wasn't anything he could do for her. Still, he asked. “Do you need anything?”

Leaving her eyes closed she said, “Just your company.”

“I'm happy to provide that.” They had once been close. Until the Chief and sent him away to the military and driven a wedge between them. Facing her now made his heart hurt. Once a dark-haired beauty queen, Emily had always protected her appearance. Now, she looked like a living skeleton. Heavy lines crisscrossed her face, her brown eyes had sunk deep into her skull and her once long, shiny hair was now a cap of gray. She looked twenty years older than her true age. There wasn't much time to mend old hurts.

“I'm glad you're here.” Her fingers fluttered like a wounded butterfly.

“Me, too.” He took her hand his, careful not to crush delicate bones. “Are you hungry? Etta left some chicken salad in the fridge.”

“I don't want food. But I know you have to be starving. Go ahead.” She slipped her hand from his.

“Will you be okay while I get some?” Reluctant to leave her side for even a second, he wasn't sure she'd still be here when he returned.

As is she'd read his thoughts a faint smile crossed her creased face. “Of course. I'm not going to die while you're fixing your supper.”

Startled, he didn't know how to reply. Placing her hand in her lap, he went to the kitchen. He filled two glasses with tea, made three sandwiches, added chips and carried a tray back outside.

His mother slept. He set the glasses beside her elbow, the food on the table next to him. Sitting, he took a big bite of Etta's famous chicken salad and almost sighed. There were a lot of things he missed about home.

“It'd be a blessing if Jace Hill came here and put me out of my misery.” Emily's voice was so low, he wasn't sure he'd heard right.

He swallowed a big hunk of sandwich without chewing. He faced her. “Ma'am?”

“Just because I'm dying, doesn't mean I'm deaf.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

His appetite fled and he set the sandwich aside. “We didn't want to worry you.”

“I'm carrying so much pain inside. Death will be a welcome relief.” Her deep-set eyes didn't blink.

Trey forced down the lump in his throat. Marines didn't cry. “Can I get you some more morphine?”

Her chest rose and fell. “My sins weigh on me, not the disease.”

“You don't have anything to feel sorry for.” Watching her struggle to breathe was almost more than he could endure. His heart felt like it was collapsing. “Do you want me to get a priest?”

“A priest can't make it all right. What we did was so, so wrong.” Her hand fluttered and he took it. “I hurt you, my own son. I deserve this and much worse.”

He loved her no matter what she had done. He held her hand in both of his, praying to bring the right words to mind. “It doesn't matter now.”

“We shouldn't have sent you away. We only wanted to protect you.” Her eyes begged for forgiveness. She needed his absolution.

“I don't blame you. The Chief made me go into the Marines, not you.” Forcing him out of the family had been the Chief's decision alone. Like Trey himself, she had been powerless back then to stop it.

Her gaze found his face. “No … no. I wanted you to go, too. You had to grow up so fast here. I'm … so … sorry.” Her dry fingers curled around his for a moment.

Shock waves reverberated through him. All these years, he had thought it was only the Chief who wanted him sent away. He didn't know how to answer.

She touched his cheek for a moment. “Samuel loves you. He just doesn't know how to show it.”

He didn't respond. Words wouldn't squeeze through his tight throat. This request was harder. The Chief had sent him halfway around the world with no more than a nod. “We're fine,” he managed.

“MiLann … how is she?” Her weak voice held something — longing?

Why had she jumped from his father to MiLann? The drugs she took for pain must be messing with her mind. “She's doing okay.”

Her breaths came in shallow gulps. “If only that terrible night had never happened.”

“None of us can change it now.” Regret filled him that his mother and MiLann couldn't repair their friendship in time for both of them.

Her chest heaved. “Find the truth. For me.”

“What do you mean?” he asked carefully. What truth? His heart pounding in his ears made it hard to hear.

Her head lolled to the side and he feared she'd fainted. Heart racing, he took her pulse. The beat, faint and irregular, was there. She was asleep. Relieved, he picked her up and carried her into her makeshift hospital room. The medicinal smell reminded him of a hospital. Another scent, one of cancer and death, lingered there, too. Gently, he tucked her into bed, kissed her dry forehead, and then flipped off the light switch.

He walked into the kitchen, puzzling over his mother's words. What truth was he supposed to find? He shrugged it off. The drugs had to be talking.

The Chief sat in the breakfast nook eating his own share of Etta's chicken salad.

Trey spoke to him. “I didn't know you were here. Mother's asleep.”

He nodded. “I'll check on her later. Did you have any luck locating your sister?”

“No. I went everywhere I could think of.” Trey straddled a chair backwards. “I even went to Shantytown. Lindy's got a friend out there. But no dice.”

“There's nothing out there but a bunch of sluts. No one this family would associate with any of them. Stay the hell away from there,” the Chief ordered. “Talk to Mary-Gray and Becca. Those are Lindy's friends.”

“Yes, sir. I already did. They don't run around with Lindy any longer.” Trey wondered how the Chief could be so out of touch with his own daughter. Maybe Candy was back home. He would talk to her as soon as possible. “Have you heard anything about Lindy or Jace yet?”

“Not so far. So far, he's evading even the dogs.” He took another bite and chewed.

Trey's mother's words rang in his head. “Did you ever think Jace might not have killed Soloman? That someone else might have been the culprit?” He watched his father carefully for signs of doubt or regret. If he showed anything but self-assurance, it would be the first time Trey could remember.

The Chief shook his head. “I can't think like that. Besides, you know what he did. You're the one who found him.”

Trey bit his thumbnail. “I know Jace was crazy mad, but I still have a hard time believing he would kill Deke Soloman in cold blood. The person I knew wasn't capable of that kind of violence.”

“His fingerprints were all over the weapon. Live long enough, boy, and you'll find out people have the capacity to do most anything.” The Chief chewed thoughtfully. “Sometimes, folks still surprise even me.”

“Then you believe Jace did murder Soloman? No doubts?” Trey knew the answer before the Chief gave it. But he wanted to hear it again.

“No doubts at all.” He got up and placed his plate in the sink. His voice held steady. “I'm going to put that boy back where he belongs.”

Trey dialed a number. “Yeah, Jody, listen. I need your help. Meet me in ten. I'll wait at the Dairy Queen. Okay, see you in a few minutes.”

While he waited, he thought about the last two days. He never expected his life to go this way. He hadn't wanted to leave Juliet like a sneak in the night. That had been his parents' idea. Why? What had made them hustle him out of town in such a hurry? Yes, he had to testify against Jace, but he'd been old enough to understand the consequences of that action.

Had they somehow found out about Summer and wanted to separate them? Shipping him halfway round the world seemed a bit excessive. So what remained to make them send him away?

Now he wondered about the reason he'd left. What was so important he had been exiled from his family? From his home? A nagging hunch had begun to form in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to believe it. Maybe Jace hadn't really killed Deke Soloman. Did the Chief know who had really done it and he thought Trey did, too? The idea was too terrible to contemplate. If Trey had sent Summer's brother to prison, and he was innocent, she would harden her heart even more.

The idea was crazy. Jace had been standing over the body of Soloman with blood on his hands. The murder weapon had his prints on it. Trey had seen both with his own eyes. Who would the Chief be protecting? There hadn't been anyone else at the scene and no evidence to the contrary. Trey stirred his chocolate sundae, lost in thought.

Jody drove in and parked his patrol car. He got out, came inside, and slid across from Trey. “What's up?”

“Have you found out anything about Lindy? Or Jace?” Trey forced the words out. His heart felt like a chunk of lead and he had a hard time catching his breath. The chicken salad he'd consumed earlier felt like a pot of boiling sewage stewing in his stomach. “She's been gone more than twenty-four hours.”

“I know. Your old man has every man and woman in the department looking for Jace. He's convinced he's holding Lindy prisoner. The Chief won't listen to any other possibility.”

“Look, I want to help. If I can find them first maybe I can prevent another tragedy.”

“What can you do?” Jody sounded dubious. “You're not a cop. Or a trained negotiator.”

“Jace was my best friend. I can talk to him.” Trey refused to acknowledge history was repeating itself.

“Do you think he's got something to do with Lindy's disappearance? You think he nabbed her?” Jody put on his cop face, all business. “Why?”

Trey forced himself to consider the evidence. There was none beyond a few letters. Just the Chief's suspicions. If he was right, Jace had changed more than any of them could've imagined. Trey dragged in a deep breath and held it for a moment. “All I know is that Lindy hasn't been home since late yesterday afternoon and Jace is on the loose. I've talked to a couple of her friends and they haven't seen her either.”

“Which friends?” Jody reached for a pen and notebook in his pocket.

“Mary-Gray Bennet, for one.”

Jody made a face. “Any others?”

“I've heard Lindy runs with Carlene Carter's daughter. I went to talk to her, but she wasn't at Shantytown.” Trey took a bite of ice cream, but it slid over his tongue without him tasting it.

Jody whistled. “Oh, man. Your old man is gonna shit a brick when he finds out about this.”

“I already told him, and he ordered me to stay away from Shantytown. He said no member of our family would be caught out there.” Trey slapped the table. “That's it! I knew I saw that woman before. Carlene Carter was coming out of the Chief's office when I went in.”

“The hooker?” Jody grinned, but didn't say more. “What was the Chief doing with her? Relieving stress?”

“I kind of doubt she was there on a business call. You can say what you like about my old man, but he loves my mother. Worships her would be a better definition.” Whatever faults the Chief had with his children, he didn't have the same issues with his wife. Emily had always been the sun, the moon, and the stars in his world.

“Maybe a john got rough with one of the ladies,” Jody suggested. “For some reason, no one in the department has ever been able to figure out why, but the Chief leaves Shantytown alone. They mind their business and he looks the other way.”

“Yeah, I know.” Trey changed the subject. “When the Chief finds out how wild Lindy's become he's going to hit the roof. He might even send her away … ”
Like me.

“He's going to come unwound when he finds out Lindy's running with white trash like that.” Jody's dark eyes were troubled. “I don't want to be anywhere close when he finds out.”

“If you'll help me, maybe we can find Lindy before he finds out.” Trey pushed his melting sundae away.