Biloxi Sunrise (The Biloxi Series Book 1)

by Jerri Ledford

  “Exactly. And Lisa?” Dana waited until Lisa’s gaze had locked onto her own. Then she held her hand out.

  Lisa took it.

  “You’ll never be able to count on your Uncle Jack again. It’s all up to you now. He blames you and your mother for his wife and daughter’s death. The Uncle Jack you knew is gone. The only person you can trust besides yourself is me. And I’ll never steer you in the wrong direction.”

  TWENTY

  Jack parked his car in front of the gray sided house. It was a small house, probably built in the early 70’s after Hurricane Camille. Mildewed siding and dirt patches showed through a trashy front lawn. To one side, a junk car sat beside the house, propped up on concrete blocks. It could have been a quaint home, had it been taken care of.

  Jack waited for Kate to pull herself out of the car. He resisted the urge to help her. Instead, as soon as she closed the door he walked to the front porch and rang the bell. Inside he could hear music blaring and voices. No one answered the door, so he pounded on it, hard. A few seconds later the music quieted and a teenager appeared at the door.

  She looked at him through dark eyes, but did not speak.

  “Is this the home of Karen Whiteside?” Jack noticed a small diamond stud in the girl’s nose.

  “Yeah, but she ain’t home.”

  “Do you live here?” He heard Kate walk up beside him, breathing hard.

  “What are you a cop or something?” The girl’s eyes were bloodshot, and she didn’t seem to even notice Kate’s late arrival.

  “I am. Special Investigator Jack Roe and this is my partner Kate Giveans. Can we--”

  “Who is that, Jenny?” A rough voice sounded from somewhere inside the house. “You’d better not be talking to some boy. I told you…” The voice trailed off as a large woman appeared behind the teenager. She wore a stained tank top over shorts. Both looked to be several sizes too small for her considerable girth. Stringy, graying hair framed a pudgy, angry face.

  “Who are you?” She elbowed her way past the teenager, no trace of kindness graced her voice.

  “We’re special investigators, ma’am.” Jack held out his badge for inspection. Kate followed suit.

  “Jack Roe.” Jack thumbed his own chest. “This is my partner Kate Giveans.” No indication in her direction. “We’re investigating the murder of Karen Whiteside. We need to look around, see if there’s anything that might be useful to the investigation.”

  The woman eyed them warily past bushy, black eyebrows. After a moment, she backed out of the doorway pulling Jenny back with her.

  “Come on in, I guess. Ain’t like we’ve got much of a choice anyway.”

  “Thank you, Miss…” Jack let the question suspend between them, waiting for an answer.

  “Cummins.” The woman threw the answer over her shoulder as she waddled back into the house and passed through the first doorway at the beginning of a hall. Jack followed her and looked into the dark room as she dropped herself into a worn, ancient recliner. The recliner groaned under her weight, but held fast. On a small table beside the recliner sat an ashtray, overflowing with cigarette butts.

  The rest of the room looked equally dirty and worn, though there were only a few pieces of tired furniture in the room.

  Jack turned back to the young woman that had opened the door. “And who are you?”

  “Jenny. Whiteside.” Despite her earlier lack of interest, the teenager now had all of her attention focused on Jack and Kate. She watched every move they made. “Someone really murdered my mom?”

  Kate stepped forward. “Yes, they did, Jenny.” She laid a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but we really need to know more about your mom. About the people that she hung out with.”

  Jack forgot how angry he was with Kate as he marveled at how she handled the young girl. She always knew where to step in and how to make people comfortable. Even bruised and banged as she was, she was a good investigator.

  One who almost got you killed. The thought pulled anger back into the front of his mind, shutting admiration for Kate completely out.

  “I don’t know a lot about her friends. She worked nights at the Beau.” The Beau Rivage, a casino in Biloxi, employed a number of the people in this neighborhood. “I was by myself most of the time. When she wasn’t working, she was out partying. It’s been that way since her and Dad split up.”

  Jack spotted a cluster of pictures on the wall in the hallway and walked over to look at them. There were pictures there of a pregnant woman he thought might have been Karen. A man stood with her, he was dark tanned and smiled broadly. Both of them held beer bottles tipped toward the camera.

  “This your Mom and Dad?”

  Jenny came to stand close to him. “Yeah, that’s them. Mom wanted to cut Dad out of the picture after we moved out, but I wouldn’t let her. Dad’s screwed up, but so is she. And I still love both of them.”

  “How were they screwed up?” Kate asked the question even though she was in the living room, looking around. As much as she could look around with Miss Cummins sitting in the chair, staring at the television.

  “My sister was an idiot,” the woman growled without looking up from the TV. “She had a knack for choosing losers, but I guess that’s to be expected when you don’t have the good sense God gave a gnat.”

  “What do you mean?” Jack looked around the doorway into the living room.

  It was Jenny that answered. “Dad used to hit Mom. He’d get drunk, they fought, he hit. That’s why we moved out. Mom used to get drunk with him and egg him on, but one day she just got tired of the game.” It was a statement of fact. Jenny sounded bored, as if she’d repeated these facts so often they didn’t have any meaning to her any more.

  “I guess that’s why you’re not staying with your dad. What’s his name?” His voice was calm and low, but electricity zinged through Jack’s nerves. This could be the lead they needed.

  “His name is Paul Whiteside.” The woman in the other room spat the name out as if it were a curse, then she followed it with a few foul words of description. “And we can’t track the bum down. That’s why I’m stuck babysitting in this God-forsaken hell hole.”

  Jack looked at Jenny. She dropped her gaze to the floor. “He never hit me.”

  “Who’s this?” Jack pointed toward another picture. In it, Karen was much thinner, her skin tanned golden brown, and she wore a pair of cut off shorts and a tank top. Beside her, there was another woman. A blonde. She too was well tanned, and was dressed similar to Karen.

  “That’s Patty, one of my Mom’s friends. That was when they went on vacation. Before Patty died.” The girl turned away from the wall. She seemed bored with the conversation.

  “When did Patty die?” Jack asked.

  “A couple of weeks ago. Mom was pretty upset about it. I figure that’s why she hadn’t been home. I thought she was out drinking it off until…” For the first time since she opened the door, Jack saw emotion dig into the features on Jenny’s face as she turned away from him.

  “Jenny?” Kate stood in the doorway between the living room and the small hallway. “What was Patty’s full name?”

  “Patricia Ann Simms.”

  Jack stared at Kate as Jenny walked to the end of the hall into what looked like a small bedroom. He raised his eyebrows and Kate nodded. Now they had something to tie the two women together. And a suspect. This was turning out to be a worthwhile trip.

  They followed Jenny down the hall in silence. She stood just inside the doorway she’d passed through.

  “This is Mom’s room.” As soon as they had both entered the room, Jenny edged silently around them and left.

  Jack leaned out the door and watched Jenny enter another room through a door about halfway down the hall. He assumed it was her own bedroom.

  He leaned back in and surveyed the room. An unmade bed stood on a simple metal frame and was pushed to one wall. The sheets on it looked as if they hadn’t been changed in a while.<
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  The only other furniture in the room was a cheap, discount store dresser with one missing drawer front and clothes flowing out of all the remaining drawers.

  Clothes mounded across the surface and fell in piles on either side and in front of the dresser. A box in one corner served as a table. It held empty soda cans, empty beer bottles, crumpled receipts, and paper cups that could be days or weeks old.

  “Closet’s empty.” Kate stood with the double doors of the dark closet open behind her. “No clothes. No shoes. Not even boxes. Just nothing.”

  Jack ignored her and pulled the rickety drawers open to poke around. “Nothing,” he said and walked from the room without even looking up at Kate.

  Maybe she would get the hint and just go back to the car. He really didn’t want to deal with her right now, and he didn’t need her help.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Jack raised his hand to knock on the door he’d seen Jenny enter. Standing behind him, Kate could hear quiet sobs coming from the room. She knew Jack heard them, too, because he stood with his fist suspended in mid-air just inches from the cheap wood door.

  After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and knocked softly. When Jenny opened the door, her face was red and swollen. Her high, sharp cheeks glistened with the moisture of tears that still rolled down her face. She hid her eyes with her hands. A soft sob escaped from her throat.

  “Jenny, I’m sorry we had to do this.” Jack’s voice was softer than Kate had ever heard it. She could tell that he was having a hard time dealing with the teen’s emotions.

  Over Jack’s shoulder, Kate took in Jenny’s room. It looked like a typical teen room. Sparse furnishings, an old computer on a much older, wobbly-looking desk, and pictures everywhere.

  “Thanks for your help today. We’ll be in touch if we find--”

  “Jack.” Kate touched him lightly on the shoulder and he stiffened under her touch. He snapped an angry gaze in her direction and she pointed toward the dresser. It had an attached mirror that was almost completely covered with pictures.

  Nearly all of the pictures included Jenny and someone else. Jenny with her parents. Jenny with her friends. A few were of groups that didn’t include Jenny, and Kate assumed that she was the one taking the pictures. But the one that caught her attention was Jenny with Tim Burris.

  Kate knew when Jack spotted the picture she was pointing out because he strode across the small room in four long strides. He was staring at the picture when Kate hobbled up behind him and plucked the picture from mirror. No surprise, it was printed on standard copy paper instead of photo paper. Jenny had probably printed it herself, right here in this room.

  “How do you know that man?” Jack spun on Jenny fast enough to startle her and knock Kate slightly off balance. As Kate regained her footing, fear pushed the sadness from Jenny’s face.

  Jenny laced her hands together and then unlaced them. She picked at her cuticles, and looked everywhere but at Jack.

  “Jenny?” Kate prompted her.

  Jack glared at her.

  “We’re together.” Jenny said very softly. “Like a couple.”

  Kate nodded. She’d expected as much the instant she saw the picture. “How long?” She asked the question quietly, fully aware that Jack was at his boiling point.

  “A couple of months. We met through Mom, and then one night he came over and she wasn’t home. He talked to me like an adult. Like a real person, not just some little kid. And things happened. He asked me to go out with him. I did. And we went out a lot after that.”

  “What’d your mom think of that?” Kate watched her intently. She seemed to be telling the truth, and kept glancing at Jack as if she were afraid of him.

  “She wasn’t thrilled. She even tried to keep me from seeing him, but it’s not like she could stop me. I like him. He likes me. We’re together.” Jenny was looking straight at Jack, her blue gray eyes challenging him to contradict what she had been led to believe was acceptable.

  “Jenny, were you with Tim the night your Mom died?” Kate stood poised, ready to spring between Jack and Jenny if he lost his temper.

  Fear flashed over Jenny’s face. She picked up a stuffed animal from the pile on her bed and hugged it close to her chest.

  “No. We were supposed to go out, but he didn’t show. And I didn’t hear from him for a couple of days. I was really worried. But then he called and said he was having some family issues.” Kate could see Jenny doubted Tim’s story, even as she told it. It was tough to be a teen girl. Self-confidence wasn’t something you’d discovered yet, especially coming from Jenny’s background. It was hard to believe that someone could love you enough to be faithful.

  “When was the last time you talked to him?”

  “Last night. But I haven’t seen him in a while.” Jenny rushed the words together, as if defending Tim’s actions. “With everything that’s happened…” She began to cry again.

  Kate pulled her into a hug, murmuring softly that everything would be okay, although it would be a long time before everything was okay. What Jenny really needed right now was someone to reassure her that she would get through this whole terrible mess.

  Finally, the slender girl stepped out of Kate’s embrace and wiped her face with the palms of her hands, like a two-year-old that had just finished a tantrum.

  “Jenny, you’re doing really great. You’ve helped us more than you realize, but I have to ask you a couple more questions, okay?” Kate had a hunch there was something more. Besides, it might be good to leave Jenny after talking about something not related to Tim. She didn’t want the girl to think too much about the questions that they’d asked, because she didn’t want her telling Tim. It looked more and more like they needed to talk to him again. And not about Lisa this time.

  “Ask.” The girl slumped onto the edge of the bed, still holding the stuffed animal close to her heart.

  “How did your Mom know Patricia Simms?” Jack should have asked this one.

  Jenny’s head came up and her shoulders straightened the slightest bit. She seemed glad to be off the subject of Tim, and her answer came easier. “They were friends from a long time ago. Mom and Patty used to hang out together when she first met my Dad. That was in Florida I think. But when Patty moved here a few months ago they reconnected.”

  “Did they tell you why Patricia came here?”

  “No. But Mom pretended I wasn’t here most of the time, and I overheard them talking. Patty’s boyfriend beat her. So, Mom suggested that she move here to get away from him. And I guess she did.”

  “I know Patty has a daughter that lives with her Dad. Do you know where he’s at?” Kate didn’t really care about the location of the daughter. She was safe, that was really all that mattered.

  “I never met her.” Jenny dropped to the edge of the bed and pulled her legs up to her chest. “But I know that her real dad wasn’t the same man that beat Patty. She never married him.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  Kate shook her head. “They never talked about it. I heard Mom really pushing her to go see this counselor one night though. Mom thought the counselor might help Patty get her daughter back now that she was away from the abusive jerk.”

  Was that how Patricia Simms ended up with Dana as a counselor? Or at least was it a contributing factor? If so, they had another thread that connected the two women together and Kate didn’t like this one at all: Dana. The woman raised the hackles on Kate’s neck, but she didn’t know why. It could be because Jack seemed to like her, but it might be something else. And now she was seriously considering the something else angle.

  “Did your mom recommend a specific counselor?” Kate suspected she already knew who the counselor was, but she wanted to hear it from Jenny rather than making a snap judgment that could be wrong. She leaned against the door frame and fought the weariness that threatened to turn her muscles to mush. This whole trip was taking much more out of her than she thought it would. She glanced up and caught Jack looking a
t her for the first time since they’d exchanged glances in the hallway. At least he knew she was still alive.

  “I don’t know the counselor’s name.” Jenny was staring at the picture that Jack had handed back to her. “I only saw her one time. It was the same counselor that the court made Mom go see. She thought that lady was perfect until she and Dad started talking about getting back together. I guess the counselor didn’t like that. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but that’s about the time Mom quit going to see her.”

  Kate’s head buzzed. What was Dana’s connection to all of this? She knew both victims. She counseled them. Was there more to the connection, or maybe she knew something that might help them find this killer. Before someone else got hurt.

  One thing was for certain. They needed to talk to Dana and find out how she fit into this picture. ‘They’ meaning her and Jack both. Together.

  TWENTY-TWO

  They’d barely settled into Jack’s car before he spun on Kate.

  “Do you want to run this investigation on your own?” Anger burned through his veins. He gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles hurt. He almost wanted to strangle her.

  “Jack, stop it.” Kate’s voice was calm, soft. The contrast to Jack’s anger only made it worse. “You know I wasn’t out of line. Jenny was scared. If I hadn’t jumped in, we wouldn’t know that Dana might be involved in this somehow. At the very least, she may know something that could help us.”

  “What?” Anger morphed to fury. “That’s what you got out of this whole conversation? I think that accident might have scrambled your brain.” He resisted the urge to get out and walk away from the car. Instead he twisted the key in the ignition and slammed the car into reverse.

  “How could Dana be involved in this? She’s a crisis counselor. It’s not beyond the scope of reason to believe that she would be counseling two abused women. I talked to her about Patricia Simms. And she was forthcoming.” Jack was just ramping up. He took a deep breath and continued. “And what about Tim? Did you not catch that he’s involved in this clean up to his eyebrows?”