by catt dahman
At the station, were three quick conversations that were significant and surprising. The sheriff gave Virgil his theory, and Vigil only nodded. Vivian gave her theory and showed pictures from the year book. He nodded.
Everyone looked to Virgil, but before he said anything, a deputy came in and handed the sheriff a file, and he read it, frowned, cursed under his breath, and handed it to Virgil. “How does this fit properly into my theory?” He grinned good-naturedly at Vivian. “Agent McLendon, I bet you’ll fit it into yours first, and then I can admit that I am fully bested.”
She laughed. “Awe, Sheriff, you’re a good sport. I think you’re too close to the case, and like the kids, you are too much involved to be as neutral as you could be. It’s normal.”
“And your being a female….”
“Yeah?” Vivian tensed, worried she had lost points because of that.
“I mean you have an advantage, right? Shoot, I’ve been married a long time, ma’am, and I can say my wife always knew when our kids were up to mischief and when I sneaked ice cream. I think women have a way of seeing things from the gut and brain, and we men look from the heart, maybe. So, what does this mean?”
Vivian read the information and said, “Jerry and Jennie both had gonorrhea. Michael as well. Is that common around here?”
“No, ma’am. First I’ve heard from here, but we can check with the doctor.”
“So the theory is Jerry and Sandy might have slept together. She didn’t come across as the type to get around; in fact, she looks to be the opposite. And Jerry had a long-term girlfriend whom I am really ready to talk to now,” Vivian said.
“I know nothing is perfect, but I never knew we were as big-city as having diseases all over,” the sheriff said. “This is nothing new...it happens all over...but it's hard for me to handle. I can take a lot, but I prefer to not go lookin' into someone's underwear drawer so to speak.”
Vivian nodded, “It's not easy to look at personal secrets. It's a shame that so many secrets are uncovered when someone dies...and they can't defend themselves or explain. I think we all hate to know the bad things.”
“Just when we think we understand this thing….” Nick mentioned as he read over the report for Jennie’s death. “You were right about Jennie’s being more of a player in this.”
“It doesn’t mean I like it or suspected this connection. I’m not sure I like where this is headed, either.” Vivian chewed her lip.
“You suspected a lot.”
Vivian nodded, “Yeah. I never guessed this. Three kids connected in this way makes the case stranger, but it's something we don't have to guess about. One way or another, those three had something in common, sexually.”
Jean, Jerry’s girlfriend, came in and took a seat. Her hair was braided neatly, and she stared at the table mostly, occasionally wiping her nose with tissues; her eyes were red from crying.
She was scared.
“Hi, Jean, I’m Agent McLendon. I know this is terribly difficult for you, but we really need to find who did this.”
She nodded. “Sure but I know I can’t help you. I can't help anyone....”
“Don't think that way. Of course, you can help...even if it's just something small. Everything helps us. We want to find out who is killing people and we want to keep you safe, so we're on the same side, right?”
Jean nodded hesitantly.
“Let’s start with some really rough issues, okay? Were you and Jerry intimate? I mean….”
“I know what that means, Agent McLendon,” Jean said softly. She had a certain air of confidence and intelligent. “Yes, ma’am. We were intimate. It’s a decision I didn’t take lightly, knowing about the responsibilities that it encompasses. I can assure you that he was the first and only boy for me and that I was very loyal to him. I’m only admitting this because I’m sure it will come out that I am a few months pregnant. I’ll save you from having to dig that up. My parents don’t know, so we can rule them out as murderers.”
“Oh, did Jerry know?”
“Not yet. I was waiting to tell him, but we never know how things will turn out, do we?” She felt huge. She wondered if they could all see how fat she was.
Marcus thought he heard far more in that statement than the words implied as he listened and asked, “As in telling him might have been unnecessary?”
She blinked and wiped at her nose again. “I don’t know, Agent Jones.” It was as honest as she could be. She hadn't thought it out fully.
“Did you know Jerry had gonorrhea?”
“I was aware, Agent McLendon,” she told Virgil. “I had to get treatment because I am pregnant, and it isn’t good for the child.”
“So you intend to have the baby?” Virgil probed.
She looked as if he had slapped her and replied, “Why certainly. I’m not like that.”
“Even if you sometimes hated Jerry?” Marcus asked.
Jean shook her head and responded, “I never hated him. Angry? Furious? At times, I was. No, unfortunately, I loved him.”
“Even if he cheated on you with Jennie Dome?”
“Jennie do-me?” Jean burst out. She saw their faces and bit her lip, closing her eyes for a second. “I sure didn’t care for her. Agent McLendon, ma’am, I knew he cheated with her. Once. If not for her, well, I wouldn’t have had to get treatments for a venereal disease and then admit I was pregnant, right? It could have all stayed a secret until...I guess I dropped the baby at the grocery store or at school...who knows? It was insult upon injury.”
“I see,” Marcus said. He didn't really, but he wanted her to talk. The young generation was a little bit of a mystery to his ways of thinking. Hadn't the days of shame gone away? Did girls still really get this embarrassed over a baby? Or was it over a disease? Or being cheated on?
“I was doubly angry with her, Jennie, I mean, but I didn’t kill her, if that is your next question because I’m not lying. I swear I didn’t kill Jennie, and you can believe me.” She dared them to challenge her.
“I believe you,” Vivian told her. She really did, and this was more rapport-building. “As far as Jerry, I have my doubts. Outside the bathroom windows, officer found small footprints, and to my eye, they match very small feet, and yours are extremely small.”
“Yes, they are. I suppose you’ll compare prints?”
“We’d like to.”
Jean nodded, “I figured so. One may be brilliant, a plan may be properly executed, but still a person can make mistakes.”
Vivian blinked and glanced at Marcus. Had Jean almost confessed? “Was there a plan to kill all the young people?”
Jean didn’t answer. “Arrest me and convict me; it’s all fine, but I refuse to discuss the how or why of the matter, agents.”
“Jean, if you swear you didn’t kill Jennie, then we have to wonder who did.”
“I heard it was a suicide.”
Vivian nodded, “You heard that, but we know it wasn’t. it wasn’t even faked as one very well.”
Virgil leaned closer and whispered, “I am like a fortune teller. Want to know how? I know the murders of Jerry and Jennie were along the same lines and a part of a conspiracy. We’ll find your partner in crime, so when you and this partner find out the facts, one of you will turn on the other when you both realize you’ll be charged as adults because you are seventeen and that the death penalty may be an option.”
Jean’s caramel-colored skin went pale, and she quickly said, “I’m pregnant.”
“You won’t be in…let’s see…less than nine months from now.” Virgil leaned back. “Death row won't be fun.”
Jean gulped.
“When did Jerry cheat on you? Was it before, during, or after that big party you went to?” Vivian asked.
“I didn’t go to that party.”
“Why not?”
“Agent McLendon, it was with those simpering cheerleaders, a few sluts, and druggies and slugs. Why would I want to go?”
“Because your boyfriend went?”
Vivian snapped, “and was Jennie Dome a slut or a slug?”
“Both,” Jean snapped back, “she gave the boys VD, so wouldn’t you say she was a slut?”
“You have VD. Are you a slut?”
“I didn’t sleep around.”
“Maybe she didn’t either. Maybe she got it from Jerry or Michael.” Marcus brought up a point.
“Jennie was a bad, slutty, sleazy, nasty girl at the party.”
Vivian felt vindicated. She was right about knowing something at the party connected the boys. “I doubt that, and so do you, Jean. We know how Jerry caught if from her, right?”
“It only shows Jennie was a slut for sleeping with all those boys that night and giving them VD,” said Jean as she sat back, her arms folded, thinking she had made a point.
“All those boys? I named two. I guess we’ll find that maybe Tommy, Jasper, and Wayne had gonorrhea? Or didn’t they catch it?”
Jean tightened her lips.
Sheriff Briggs leaned close to Jean and said, “Say, Jean, is your father still bee-keeping? Is he still removing hornets and wasps for people? Say, you sometimes go along and help him, don’t you?”
The agents saw why he was sheriff as he took a hard tone and went for the heart of the matter. Briggs was smart and not nearly as kindly as some thought. He was a true lawman. Virgil looked at the sheriff with respect.
Jean’s face went paler, but her anger was replaced by fear. She answered, “If you don’t mind, I would like an attorney now.”
“Sure, Jean. You can leave and tell your parents everything and have them call the right one for you. You aren’t under arrest, honey. Yet.” The sheriff’s eyes twinkled dangerously. “Get on home, now.”
Jean stood and smoothed her blouse and skirt, attempting to retain her innocent attitude, but she looked like a lost little girl. Outside the room, she glared at Steve and his girlfriend malevolently. Steve smiled, “Hi, Jean.”
“Whatever, Steve.”
“Keep the faith, Jean.”
“Go to hell.”
Chapter Ten: Unhinged
Steve came in to the room and sat across from Nick who had taken Vivian’s place. Steve’s father joined him, sitting next to his son. “We’re terribly upset to hear about Jerry. He was one of Steve’s best friends. They were very close.”
“It's disturbing for anyone to be murdered, especially a kid. Thank you for being here. I know this is upsetting.”
“Upsetting? Steve is...is...unhinged. Those boys were close. They shared so much....”
“Did they share everything? Like girls maybe?”
Mr. Turner chuckled. “No, you met Jerry’s girlfriend. Steve dates Terri. Steve would never date Jean because…well….”
“She’s what?”
Mr, Turner held his hands out.
“She's what? I don't follow....”
“Black. No offense, Agent Jones.”
Marcus shrugged and continued, “Hey, it doesn’t bother me. No offense taken. I guess it wasn't apparent to me until you clarified. I don’t notice color, myself, like God doesn’t notice, and neither do our pets, or gonorrhea, for instance.”
The other agents struggled not to laugh. It was well-played.
“I beg your pardon?”
Steve’s face went bright red.
Nick took a chance and responded, “I’d rather not give away medical secrets.” He gave Steve a wink.
“What? What is it?”
“We’ll come back to this. Steve, did you date Jennie Dome?”
“No, sir.” Steve sounded affronted. “I date Terri. I mean...Jennie? Really? Me?”
“Oh, is she the girl who killed herself this morning?” Mr. Turner asked.
“Last night, actually, and yes. But she didn't kill herself, Sir. She was murdered, just like the boys were.” Nick said.
“She was killed?” Steve asked, “Jennie was? We heard she killed herself.”
“The gossip is wrong. You know that game where you whisper a secret and the next one whispers it and it goes around a circle? By the time it comes back, the secret is different. That's how this is. Jennie was found dead and it looked like a suicide, but the facts prove it was murder.”
“We didn't know,” Mr. Turner said.
“Gossips rarely worry about getting facts right. We have the boys and one girl dead,” Marcus said. “That means it is murder that is cross gender and cross race. It makes this a very different case than what we thought it was.”
“Steve, five of your friends have been murdered. Do you have any concerns about your safety?” Nick asked.
“Kind of. I...well...should I? Why should I worry? Is there likea list or something? Why would I be next anyway?”
“That's what we want to know. If you can tell us why you would be, then we'd have the case solved.”
“Agent Swanson, I know what you mean about the...STD, and I told my father about me being with that girl, and he took me to the doctor. I tell my dad everything. He knows.”
“He knows you were with Jennie, who is now dead?”
“Not exactly, Sir. He knows some....”
“Well, that makes this easier.”
“Dad, Jennie was the girl,” Steve said.
Mr. Turner let a breath out, “Oh, I see. She was the one you caught that from? Maybe she was your murderer and killed herself because it bothered her?”
“Interesting theory, Sir. A few boys caught it from her, we think. Maybe all the ones who have died? Or at least some of them did.”
Roy Turner stretched his legs and crossed them as he leaned back and said, “Gentlemen, we know how that works. Boys experiment, and a girl like that….”
“A girl like what?” Vivian spoke. Her eyes went dark. Everyone seemed to be quick to point fingers and to blame Jennie for everything, and to assume she was easy. To Vivian, it looked as if they were all having sex and passing around a disease, but only calling the girl names.
“Like her. Come on, it’s clear a nice girl wouldn’t have a disease like that, so she evidently slept around. She did that night, right? I mean she was with all of them, and I can tell you Steve learned a hard but valuable lesson.”
“I guess Tommy, Jerry, Michael, Jasper, and Wayne learned the same lesson but in a harder way?” Nick asked.
“I…is that why those boys were killed?” asked Mr. Turner, looking worried.
“It’s possible there is a connection. I think the boys did have sexual contact with Jennie at the party and caught VD. I also think some of the kids found out and gossiped, but when the third or fourth victims were killed, they figured it all out. Before we did. They know, right, Steve?”
“Some, I guess. I thought about it a little ,but then why would someone kill the boys? Who? Even if a girl was jealous, why kill the rest? Over VD? I mean...you get some medicine and move on.”
Nick sniffed and said, “I wondered that, too. How many times had you boys had sex with her?”
“Just that night. Once. Never before or after, but they wanted to,” Steve blurted.
“They?”
“She. She. Jennie. Jennie wanted to. We were drunk and didn’t think about, you know, how nasty she might be.”
“Nasty?” Nick poked more.
Vivian was stiff, holding back a tirade.
“She had to be if she had VD,” said Mr. Turner, thinking he scored for his side.
Nick asked, “How did you know she wanted to have sex?”
“She danced sexy and touched us. Then she said it and got things going,” Steve said, embarrassed. He stared at the floor, uneasily. Up until then, he had made eye contact.
“Where was the party?” Nick asked.
Mr. Turner huffed and explained, “At my house and we’ve punished Steve for doing that when we were away.”
“Jennie said she wanted to have sex with all of you boys?”
“Yes, Agent McLendon. She flirted with all of us and said she wanted to …yanno…with all of us. That was just how it was...she want
ed it.”
“And all of you did it? Even if you had a girlfriend, you had sex with her?”
“I was very drunk, Agent Jones. We all were, and as I told my father, it was like she seduced us? I can’t say we fought it, but she was the aggressor and the one who started it. You aren’t going to tell Terri are you? I mean, please don’t. There’s no need to hurt her, and what happened that night won’t happen again.”
Secrets.
“Steve,” Vivian asked, “what did Jennie wear to the party that night?”
“I have no idea. I don’t remember.”
“Jennie used to be pretty, didn’t she? Last year?” Nick asked. “In fact, she was cute the night of the party, right? The night all of you had sex?”
“I dunno.”
“What are you saying, Agent Swanson?” Mr. Turner asked.
“That Jennie was a cute girl with cute clothing, and she was not part of the popular crowd, somewhat on the fringe of it. After the party, she began to wear tacky clothing and to fail classes. What happened to her that night? What did you do to her?”
“She slept with a bunch of boys and gave them a disease and was ‘outted’ for being a slut,” said Mr. Turner as he raised his voice. “If you are going to ask these questions, then we’ll take our leave. Sheriff Briggs, I have always supported you, but if this is what you allow in your own town, then we need a new sheriff.”
Sheriff Briggs sighed, “I am allowing the truth to be told, Roy. If you dislike that, then you’re not the man I took you to be, but then I am learning a lot about quite a few people.” His shoulders slumped a little. This was a bad turn of events.
“I resent his being asked what was done to that girl when she was the one who initiated sex and gave them a disease.”
Steve and his father stood.
“We’re going. I expect you to find out who is killing our boys.”
“Children,” Vivian said, “the children are being killed, both male and female. The boys and a girl. Who would be mad enough to kill the cheaters and the girl they cheated with?”
Steve and his father kept walking.
Terri stood nervously when they came out of the room..
Steve gave her a fearful look. His father whispered to Steve’s girlfriend, and she nodded and left with them, refusing to speak to them without her parents or an attorney.
