Mississippi Blues (32 page)

Angling in front of him, Trey said, “I'm not going to let you do this. It's wrong.”

A grim smile covered the Chief's face. “I'm finally making things right. You don't have anything to say about it.”

“You're wrong. I'm not a kid anymore who you can send out of the country because it's not convenient to answer questions or dig deeper for the truth. I'm not going to be set aside again. Until I know the truth of what has happened, I'm going to stand right here. It's time you answered some of my questions.”

The Chief tried to shoulder past him. “Get out of my way.”

Trey spread his feet and dug in his heels. “No, sir.”

“Move, boy.”

“Why are you so set on Jace as the killer?” Trey wasn't going to budge an inch until he had some answers.

“Because he did it.” His face turned red and the vein in his forehead throbbed. He pointed to the pile of papers on the floor. “You saw the letters with your own eyes. That's proof enough.”

“They're no proof at all,” Trey shot back. “All they are is a bunch of threats. There's got to be another reason you want Jace so bad. What is it? Since the day he escaped, you've been determined to prove that he's the one whose wrecked havoc around here. What's behind your reasoning?”

“Are you stupid?” the Chief continued, “or just led by your dick? You're just as determined to prove that boy didn't kill your mother, to get Summer Hill's attention, that you'll turn your back on your own flesh and blood.”

“You're the one who turned your back on me,” Trey shouted back. “Leave Summer out of this. None of this has anything to do with her.” He calmed his voice. He wouldn't give into the anger. If he did, he would lose control and no one would win.

“You're spitting on your mother's grave,” the Chief insisted. “Every time you bring up that girl, stick up for her brother, you drive another knife wound into my Emily's back.”

“I just want the truth,” Trey said. “And, I think Mother would, too.”

“The last thing your mother would want is for you to be standing between me and her killer. I'm done with you.” He brought the gun in an upward arc, crashing it into Trey's face.

Trey blinked and groaned.

His head felt like one of the watermelons the kids smashed for fun in the park on the Fourth of July. He didn't know how long he'd been out. A minute or an hour? He started to stand and a wave of nausea rolled over him. Struggling, holding onto the edge of the desk, he pulled to his feet. He felt like he might spin off into space and he fell into the chair.

“What the hell?” Jody was kneeling beside him. How long had he been there? “What happened to you?”

“My old man was a little pissed.” It hurt to talk.

“You're bleeding. Did the Chief hit you?” Jody looked as if he couldn't imagine asking such a question.

Trey nodded and his stomach rolled. “Yeah.”

“Why? Never mind. I'm going to get you over to the hospital and get that looked after.” Jody reached for the phone. “You need some stitches.”

“No.” Trey forced himself to his feet, ignoring the dancing multicolored stars in front of his eyes accompanying the pain shooting through his temple. He touched his forehead with his fingertips and came away with blood on them. He swayed and held onto the desk with both hands. “You've got to find the Chief … he's going to kill Jace. I need you to keep him from doing something he'll regret the rest of his life.”

Jody's mouth fell open. “What? Why?”

“You heard my mother was murdered last night?” Jody nodded and Trey ignored the way his heart twisted. He didn't have time for pain right now. “The Chief is convinced Jace did it. I'm not as sure.”

“Man, that's too bad about your mama.” Jody patted Trey's shoulder awkwardly. “Why does the Chief think Jace did it?”

“He's blinded by some kind of rage I can't figure out. He's determined to pin this on Jace, refusing to look at any other suspects. The killer left a message on the mirror written in lipstick. I can't see Jace doing that.”

“What did it say?” Jody handed Trey a tissue from a box on the desk.

“It said, ‘Two down, two to go'.” Trey shook his aching head at the memory and shooting stars rocketed through his brain. “Lindy, Mother, the Chief, me.” He ticked off each one on his fingers as he named each of them.

“Do you think Jace is going to kill you and the Chief?” Jody looked skeptical. “I thought we were past believing Jace took Lindy.”

“I don't know what to think at this point,” Trey said. “Three people have died in the last few days in this town. I'd lay odds against something like that, unless a serial killer was on the loose. And the MO doesn't add up. Jimmy Ray was shot, Leroy hung himself, and my mother was suffocated.”

“Not only are the deaths different, the three people have nothing in common,” Jody agreed. “If the three of them had something that linked them, something to tie them together, it might be more assumable the same person was behind it. But it doesn't seem likely that Miz Emily, Leroy, and Jimmy Ray had any common denominator. I can't imagine Miz Emily knowing Jimmy Ray. And Leroy hung himself.”

“Jace wouldn't have any reason to hurt Jimmy Ray that I can think of,” Trey said, “or Leroy. Even if he did kill my mother, he wouldn't have had a reason to harm either of the others. And if Leroy died by his own hand, that leaves just Jimmy Ray. No link at all.” His head hurt so much he couldn't think straight.

“I better find the Chief,” Jody said. “I'll keep working this over in my head and see if I can figure it out. What are you going to do? Where can I reach you?”

“You can get me on my cell phone. I'm going to ask Summer one more time if she knows where her brother is hiding,” Trey answered. “And if she does, I pray she tells me before it's too late.”

Jody turned to go and Trey stopped him. There's one more thing.”

“What?”

“This.” Trey handed him the bottle with the red hair in it.

• • •

Summer, Glory, and Lilah stood talking at the desk.

They were gearing up for the day ahead when the front door burst open and Trey barreled through it. Before any of them could speak, he grabbed Summer's arm and half-dragged her toward the back room. “I need to talk to you. Now.”

She dug in her heels. “Let go of me. What are you, some kind of cave man?”

“Just come with me,” he insisted, propelling her forward. He slammed the door shut behind them, closing them in the storage closet. Barely big enough for the two of them, it squeezed them together like the bottles on the shelves around them. His thigh brushed her hip and she tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go.

“What's this about? I thought I made it clear the last time we spoke that we didn't have anything left to say to one another.” Summer crossed her arms over her chest. Trey was much, much too close. She could smell his musky aftershave. Her body tingled in response to the heady scent. Unnerved, she reached for the door handle. “Start talking.”

“Did you hear about my mother?”

“What about her?” Summer glared at him. He had a lot of nerve bursting into her work like this. For the first time, she looked squarely at him. He looked like he'd been through the ringer. He had a big lump and a trickle of blood on his forehead, and black rings rimmed his eyes. She handed him a red towel. “Here. Your head is bleeding.”

“She died last night.” He didn't sugarcoat it or try to soften the message.

The anger went out of her like air rushing out of a flat tire. She touched his hand. “I'm so sorry.”

“Thanks. She didn't just die, Summer.” He took a breath. “Someone murdered her.”

It didn't take a genius to figure out where he was going. She wanted to scream. “Oh, I get it now. You came tearing in here because you think my brother, who no one has seen in days, did it.” The sympathy she'd felt for him seconds before was replaced by rage. “My God, you just don't quit.”

“There was a message scrawled across the mirror in red lipstick. It said ‘two down, two to go.' The obvious conclusion is that someone meant Lindy, and now Mother. The Chief and me next. I was just with the Chief. He left the office with a shotgun, convinced Jace killed my mother. If the Chief finds him before anyone else does, he'll shoot first and ask questions later. I'm asking you one more time, Summer, if you know where your brother is, if you even have a clue, then you need to tell me now.”

“So you can send him back to Angola,” she cried. “You're trying to trick me. Make me sell out my brother.”

He grabbed her arms and gave her a quick shake. “Damn it, why can't you get it through your thick head that Jace killed a man? Why can't you face it? Do you think I like this any better than you do?”

“No,” she sobbed, twisting away. “I can't do this. I will not, cannot, believe my little brother stabbed someone to death.”

He dropped her arms like she burned him. His voice growled like sandpaper across a fresh piece of wood. “Do you think I like it any better than you do? My God, I was the one who found my best friend standing over Soloman's body with a bloody knife in his hands. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, do you think I could believe it either? But I did see it, Summer. I've never forgotten how he looked. Like a crazy person.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. Trying to block his words, the images. “Stop this.”

“Open your eyes.” Once again, he grasped her arms, but not as fiercely. “Look at me.”

Reluctantly, she did. His face, inches from hers, was set in harsh lines. His eyes and lips were narrow slits. “We can't go back and change what happened, but we can shape the future. Tell me now if you know where Jace is hiding. If the Chief finds him first there'll be blood on your hands next.”

“I don't know,” she cried.

“Tell me.” His eyes bored holes into her soul.

She couldn't lie any more. If something happened to Jace and she could prevent it, she wouldn't be able to stand it. Maybe if he was found or turned himself in, he'd have a chance to prove his innocence. If he was killed, that would be the end of him. She looked Trey in the eye. “He came to our house that first night. He took my tip money and left. I don't know where he went. I swear.”

He stepped back a step as if she were repugnant to him. “So, you have been lying to me. How many times have I asked you if you had seen your brother and you looked me in the face and told me you hadn't? Do you know anything about Lindy? So help me God, if you do I'll … ”

“What, Trey? You'll do what? What more could you do to me?” She ignored the tears on her cheeks. His disdain shouldn't hurt this much. She pointed at him. “I don't care what you think of me. But for the record, I have no idea where Lindy could be. She wasn't with Jace when he came to see me.”

“I'm supposed to trust you?” He looked at her like she was a stranger. “How?”

“Because I'm telling you the truth,” she insisted, the fight going out of her. “I asked Jace to stay. To see Mama, to turn himself in. But he refused. I had to protect him.”

“Like you're doing now?” he asked, his disbelief obvious.

“No. If I knew where he was, I'd go to him myself and tell him to hide, or to go back to Angola. Don't you see? I can't bear it if anything happens to my brother.” She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.

“While you've been protecting your brother, my sister is likely lying dead somewhere. If you had only trusted me enough to tell me this sooner, we could've been hunting for her. You have no defense for what you've done.” He sounded so cold, so distant, she barely recognized him.

His scorn burned more than she could've imagined. She stepped back again, and bumped into the shelves. There was nowhere to hide. “You aren't convinced he did it, then? Kidnapped Lindy and killed your mother?” She searched his face hoping for some sign, some crack. Just one iota of belief Jace hadn't done these horrendous acts.

His silence rang louder than words.

“I can't help you,” she whispered. “Just leave.”

Without replying, he turned and went out the door, leaving it open.

Blinded by a fresh rush of tears, Summer couldn't see him walk through the front door without a backward glance.

Glory and Lilah rushed in with her.

“My gosh, Trey looked like a thundercloud,” Lilah said. “I wouldn't want to be the next person he bumps into. They might not survive his mood.”

“Looks like he did plenty of damage here,” Glory commented as she dampened a washcloth in the utility sink and dabbed at Summer's face with it. “You okay, hon?”

Summer nodded, too choked up to speak. She had hoped somewhere down deep that Trey didn't think the worst of Jace, but it turned out he did after all. The grim reality was Trey thought Jace was not only a cold-blooded killer of anyone who got in his way, but also a kidnapper. She didn't know what she expected Trey to do when he found out she had seen her brother and lied about it, but look at her like he'd never seen her before hadn't been it. “I'm okay,” she managed.

“What's wrong?” Lilah took Summer's cold hands and held them in her own, warming them. Her amber eyes were filled with compassion.

Summer shook her head, unable to trust her own voice.

“What set him off?” Glory lifted a strand of Summer's hair and tucked it behind her ear. “He tore out of here like the seam in a fat lady's dress. Never said a word.”

Summer took a long, shuddering breath. “His mother died last night.”

“Oh, no,” Lilah cried.

“That's too bad,” Glory murmured. “The cancer finally beat her?”

“No, that's just it. It didn't.” She pulled her hands away from Lilah and twisted them. She looked between her friends, and seeing compassion there, blurted out the rest. “Someone apparently murdered Emily in her bed last night. Trey believes Jace did it.”