His dreams were as turbulent as his sleep, replaying that fateful day of the IED explosion over and over again. To add insult to injury, his brain placed Avery in the Humvee with them, reminding Jonah what—or who—was at risk if he fucked up again.
“What the hell are you doing?” Marla asked when she entered his room one day toward the end of the week. “You’re not supposed to be on your phone.”
Jonah glanced up from his phone, then grinned from ear to ear. “Am I convalescing or attending a Reba McEntire concert?” He lived for her multiple wardrobe changes each day. The red satin, floor-length gown worthy of an Oscar appearance didn’t disappoint.
“Reba?” she scoffed. “You mean Celine Dion, right?” Marla crossed the room and snatched his phone away.
Jonah would’ve shaken his head, but he still had a headache. “This is Georgia, so Reba reigns supreme here.”
Marla tsked. “We’ll just have to agree to disagree. And for your information, I’ve amassed these amazing outfits over the years and want to wear them all again before I die.” Then she started a Reba-versus-Celine debate, which lasted at least thirty minutes. Typically, Jonah would’ve surrendered much quicker, but seeing her riled up was the best entertainment he’d had since leaving the hospital.
“Marla, I’m bored,” Jonah whined.
“Fine. I’ll talk about my recent weekend in Atlanta.”
“Okay.”
“I needed to atone for my stupidity and arrogance,” Marla said. “That’s what wise people do. You see, my family reacted badly to finding out I’m genderqueer, although we didn’t call it that back then. They eventually wanted to understand and even made attempts to set things right, but I rebuffed their efforts. It was too little, too late. I felt like they had rejected me, so I gave them a taste of their own medicine. For more than three decades, I deprived myself of spending precious time with my family because of my foolish pride. I should’ve given them time to come to terms with things and allowed them the opportunity to get to know who I am. Instead, I ran off and didn’t look back. It took a death sentence for me to acknowledge I’d made mistakes too.”
Marla smiled wistfully. “I got to meet my nieces and nephews and hug my mama and daddy. I tell you,” she said, covering her heart. “No one gives better hugs than my daddy.” Marla nudged Jonah’s shoulder. “You come really damn close though. You’ve been my family for the past three years, and I love you more than I can ever express.”
Jonah closed his eyes, but the tears still spilled down his cheeks. If he thought that would stop her, he didn’t know Marla very well.
“And my Amos…” Her voice wobbled, so she cleared her throat and continued. “The man has the patience of a dozen saints. For decades, I’ve felt unworthy of love and pushed that man away. He kept coming back time and time again. Amos’s love is unrelenting.” Marla patted his chest. “Your feelings for Avery are strong, and I know they scare you. Resolve whatever demons are haunting you, cut those fucking chains, and allow yourself to love and be loved in return. You deserve it, baby.”
Did he? God, he wanted to believe it was true.
Rocky and Felix showed up later that afternoon, saving Jonah from drowning in his misery. Felix was doing his best to run down leads because he wasn’t about to let Jude Arrow gain the upper hand on the investigation. Jonah liked to listen to The Straight Shooter’s segments on the evening news so he could rile Felix up with what he heard. Rocky was still caught up in the cheating spouse case but intensified his efforts to get dirt on Trexler after Jonah got injured. Both of them were keeping an eye on Avery for Jonah. The three of them agreed it wasn’t safe to investigate the case alone because someone wanted to keep the truth buried at all costs.
Later that night, Jonah was awoken by a solid thud. He just figured Kendall brought someone home again. He rolled over and buried his head under his pillow, hoping they’d finish soon so he could go back to sleep.
Someone suddenly opened his door and flipped on the light. “Jonah,” Kendall yelled out. “Are you okay?” Then he burst into laughter. “Oh, it’s you. I heard someone climbing on the roof outside Jonah’s window and figured they were coming to finish him off.”
“What the fuck?” Jonah groused, tossing the pillow aside and gingerly sitting up. Avery was sprawled on the floor beneath his open window. Jonah turned to Kendall. “Finish me off?”
Kendall shrugged. “I can see you don’t need my help. Goodnight.”
He was dreaming, right? Jonah rubbed his knuckles over his eyes. He looked down, and Avery was still there.
“I can explain,” Avery said as he sat up.
Jonah lifted a brow. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
Avery heaved a sigh. “I just needed to see for myself that you’re okay. You were sleeping when I stopped by earlier, and I didn’t want to wake you. Then you didn’t respond to any of the texts I sent.”
“Marla took my phone away. This was the most I slept at once. I must be healing.”
“Oh, good. I, um, will just head back home and let you get back to sleep.”
“Avery.”
“Yes?”
“Come here,” Jonah said, patting the pillow beside him.
Avery looked hopeful but also afraid to move. “Um, is that you talking or your medication?”
“I’m only taking ibuprofen,” Jonah replied, patting the pillow again. “I want you in my bed.”
The tension faded from Avery’s lithe body. He stood up and stripped down to his underwear before crossing the room to flip the light switch off.
Jonah sighed in relief when the bed dipped beneath his weight. “You’re a stealthy hacker, but you’d make a horrible cat burglar.”
Avery giggled. “Don’t quit my day job, huh?”
“Yeah,” Jonah whispered. “Avery?”
“Hmmm?”
“Scoot closer,” Jonah whispered.
“I don’t want to jostle you,” Avery said, sliding into Jonah’s open arms.
Jonah melted into Avery’s warmth and kissed the top of his head. All was right in his world again.
Avery didn’t respond, only cuddled closer.
In the morning, Jonah woke up with a hard-on, a sense of purpose, and an empty bed. He started to believe he’d dreamed Avery’s late-night visit until Jonah saw the impression in the middle of the pillow he’d used.
Jonah ran his fingers over it, then brought the pillow to his head to breathe in Avery’s shampoo. Jonah’s sense of purpose grew stronger as did his determination to make peace with his past.
He’d need some allies since he wasn’t allowed to drive.
“Good morning, baby. You’re looking much better this morning,” Marla said when Jonah came downstairs fully dressed for the first time in days. She raked her eyes over him from head to toe. “Might it have something to do with your late-night visitor?”
“Did Kendall tell you?”
Marla snorted. “Honey, you know I’m a night owl. I watched the entire thing. I sent Amos out there to spot the silly fool and to catch him if he lost his footing.” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Amos is a good man,” Jonah said. He’d enjoyed getting to know Marla’s husband better over the past week.
Marla nodded. “He’s the best.” She scrutinized Jonah’s face some more. “You look determined. You weren’t thinking about driving off someplace, were you?”
“Ellie is on her way to pick me up. I’m taking your advice and resolving my demons.” Trying to anyway. Jonah gestured to Marla’s plum purple ballgown with a plunging neckline and strappy silver heels, which made her nearly as tall as him. “What exactly is the vibe you’re trying to establish this morning? Are you entering a beauty pageant?”
Placing her slender hand on her throat, Marla tilted her head back and laughed. “Oh, honey,” she said, daintily rubbing a knuckle beneath her artfully painted eyes to brush away mirthful tears. “It wouldn’t be fair to the others if I did.”
“Too true.”
“Where are you and Miss Ellie heading off to so early?”
“Bonaventure Cemetery,” Jonah said. “We want to get there before the guided tour groups start.”
Marla arched an elegant brow. “Please tell me your activities won’t involve voodoo or resurrecting actual demons.”
“Not today,” Jonah quipped.
Bonaventure Cemetery was the burial place of several famous and infamous people from military generals to the award-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer. The book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil made the serene resting place a hot spot for tourists when the cemetery’s famed Bird Girl statue appeared on the cover.
Jonah was only interested in visiting two of the cemetery’s residents—his grandparents. Their grave markers weren’t as macabre as the grim reaper statue that drew so much attention, nor were they thought provoking like the angels tucked in among the Spanish moss-draped live oaks, or as austere as some of the crypts belonging to some of Savannah’s wealthiest families.
He shared a cup of coffee with Marla on the porch while waiting for Ellie to arrive. Jonah stood and kissed Marla’s cheek when his aunt pulled into his driveway.
“Watch out for ghosts,” Marla called out as he walked away.
Jonah waved to acknowledge her advice, although he was more concerned with the specters haunting his soul than some ethereal beings traipsing through the cemetery.
“You look so much better today,” Ellie remarked when he got in the car.
“I feel better,” Jonah admitted.
“Good,” Ellie said. “Now that you do, we need to discuss the Earl Ison investigation.”
“I’m not backing down.”
His aunt scoffed. “You think I don’t already know that? Quitting isn’t in your DNA.”
Jonah carefully turned and looked at her since sharp movement still triggered debilitating headaches. Ellie kept her eyes on the road, but Jonah could tell by her stiff posture that she was worried about him.
“I just need to know what you’ve discovered to trigger such a violent reaction. Do you have a lead?”
“Didn’t I promise to share vital information with you?” Jonah asked.
“Yes,” Ellie acknowledged, “but surely you can understand my concern.”
“Am I talking to the police commissioner or my aunt right now?” Jonah asked.
Ellie stopped at a red light and glanced over at him. “They’re one and the same. I am concerned about your safety and making sure I find out who really killed Earl Ison.”
“Honest, Aunt Ellie. The only trouble I’ve stirred up is at work.”
“Explain.”
Jonah told her the sequence of events that culminated in his suspension and the restricted access. “After Trexler suspended me, someone slashed my tires. Trexler restricted my access, so I went to the storage facility to look through the evidence, which is now missing, by the way.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ellie growled.
“Then I got bashed over the head when leaving the facility.”
“What about the homeless guy? Could he have hit you?”
“He could have, I guess, but to what purpose?” Jonah asked. “Hank didn’t steal my wallet or my phone. In fact, he helped Avery find me. It wasn’t him.”
“Who knew you were going to the warehouse?” Ellie asked.
“No one.”
“Someone must be following you,” Ellie said, then instinctively checked her rearview mirror. “But who? Trexler?”
“Who else? He’s the common denominator in all of this.”
“Butch Trexler can be an absolute asshole sometimes, but I find it hard to believe he’s trying to kill you.” Ellie took a deep breath. “We can’t afford to rule anyone out at this point.”
“Rocky is digging into his background to see if Trexler has ties to anyone connected to either investigation.”
“Tell me everything you’ve uncovered so far in your investigation.”
Jonah started at the beginning and recanted each of the interviews, starting with Sandy Jasper at The Cockpit and ending with Milton and Morrissey slamming the door in their faces.
“The only one left to interview is the guy Earl dated after he broke up with Jerry,” Ellie said. “Any idea who it might be?”
“None,” Jonah admitted. “Nothing I uncovered would want to make someone kill me. I’m not any closer to solving this case than when I started.”
“They might not know it.”
“How’d they get inside a GBI facility to steal the evidence?” Jonah asked.
“We can’t say for certain someone recently took the evidence, Jonah. There’s a vacant spot on the shelf where Ison’s evidence box could’ve been. Maybe it was a different investigation from the same year, which would have a similar case file number. We can’t possibly store the evidence from every investigation.”
“Maybe,” Jonah admitted. “Any luck on finding my attacker?”
“Nope,” Ellie said. “Locke and Key have talked to the owners of the surrounding warehouses and none of them have exterior security cameras. They haven’t been able to locate your friend Hank either.”
Jonah hoped to run into the homeless man again someday so he could thank him. He also wanted to find a way to get Hank off the street, if possible.
“My vice cops are asking around too,” Ellen continued. “So far, we’ve got zilch.” Jonah wasn’t surprised. “The official police report for your mugging is temporarily stuck in our internal reporting system. Modern technology is great when it functions properly.”
Jonah chuckled. “Is that the official excuse you’re going to give if anyone requests the incident report?”
“Yep,” Ellie replied. “I can’t tie it up forever. How do you want me to proceed?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if someone at GBI requests a copy of the incident report, they’ll see you were attacked at one of their storage facilities,” she said. “I’m sure many questions will follow.”
Jonah thought about it for a second. “I emailed the doctor’s orders to HR. It detailed the injuries I received from the mugging, the number of days I’d need to miss, and the limited activity I’d need to adhere to upon returning. That should be enough, and I can’t see why anyone would go beyond that to request the official police report. If they do, so be it. I’ll let the chips fall where they may. I won’t ask you or anyone else to lie and fudge a police report to protect my job.”
Ellen reached across the console and covered his hand. “Just be careful. You’re my favorite nephew, and I love you so much.”
“I’m your only nephew,” Jonah quipped.
She giggled. “And I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Aunt Ellie.”
By the time they reached Bonaventure Cemetery in Thunderbolt, Jonah’s head was starting to hurt from thinking too hard.
Ellie looped her arm around his as they strolled through the serene grounds. “We’ll make this right, Jonah. I promise.”
That was all he needed to hear at the moment. Ellen Rigby was a woman of her word. That too was built into their DNA.
Jonah was momentarily struck speechless when they arrived at the black marble gravestone marking the burial spots for Oscar and Maeve St. John. These two people had molded and shaped him, but with such different methods.
“How’d you forgive Oscar?” Jonah asked, breaking the silence after a long pause.
“I just did,” Ellie said. “I got tired of feeling like I’d never live up to his expectations no matter what I accomplished. I grew weary of never feeling like I was enough. No matter how many times Sherry or the kids expressed their love, I never felt worthy. How could I be if my own father didn’t love me?”
Jonah put his arm around Ellie’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“I woke up one day and said enough is enough. By that time, Daddy was already gone, so I started writing in a journal about all the complexities of my relationship with him. I expected
to just write about all the things I resented about Daddy, and I admit it started out that way. Then, I noticed a shift in tone. I started including all the little things Daddy did for Mama to make her happy, and the way he smiled when you graduated high school as the valedictorian.” She took a deep breath. “I realized he was imperfect and flawed, but I still loved him. Daddy did the best he could, considering he grew up in a generation where men weren’t allowed to be sensitive and considerate. I ultimately made the decision to forgive Daddy for my own good.” Ellie turned in Jonah’s embrace and looked up at him. “I just showed up here one day and said, ‘Daddy, I forgive you.’ My spirit felt so much lighter afterward, and I’m a better person for it.”
Jonah stared at the tombstone until his eyes watered, allowing himself to remember the good parts of Oscar St. John. He remembered Granny giggling girlishly when Oscar snagged a bundle of wildflowers from the lake when he went fishing. Jonah recalled the compassion he’d shown to the homeless man. Then there was the time Oscar went with him to the recruitment office to enlist in the army. Flawed. Imperfect. Human.
Jonah placed his hand on top of the cool marble. “I forgive you, Pop.”
“Feel better?” Ellie asked.
Jonah nodded. He couldn’t deny his soul felt lighter, but the thunder inside him still rumbled softly.
“Good,” Ellie said. “Now you need to forgive yourself, Jonah.”
Felix’s old Woody Wagon was parked in his driveway when they returned. Ellie had a meeting with the mayor, so she didn’t stay to say hello or bust Felix’s chops.
From the porch, he heard Felix’s and Rocky’s voices followed by Marla’s throaty laughter. Jonah entered his house and found Marla sitting in Rocky’s lap, running her fingers through his blond hair.
“You sure are a pretty one,” Marla told him. “Ruggedly handsome looks and a devil-may-care gleam in your light blue eyes.” She ran a fingertip over the PI’s scruffy jawline. “Tell Mama, has someone already claimed your heart?”
“Someone has already claimed yours, Mama,” Jonah said, snagging their attention.
Ride the Lightning : Sinister in Savannah Book 1 Page 21
