Biloxi Sunrise (The Biloxi Series Book 1)

by Jerri Ledford

  “Leslie? What’s wrong?” Dana maintained the sleep confused sound of her voice for another beat. Then, sounding more alert, “Is Lisa okay?”

  “She’s. Uh. I think so.”

  She thought so? Dana’s ears began to ring as she wondered if Leslie had even gone to check on the girl. “What’s going on?”

  “Someone broke into my house. They painted…” She dragged in a deep breath. “They painted some nasty stuff on my walls. I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “Leslie, call the police. I can help you through this, but the police need to file a report. It was probably Tim.”

  “It wasn’t Tim!” Another deep, ragged breath. “And I can’t call the police.” Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper.

  “Leslie—”

  “I can’t, okay? If I call the police, they call Jack, and Jack doesn’t need to know this. It’s bad enough already. But I know this wasn’t Tim, Dr. McNally. The things written on my walls? They’re terrible.”

  Dana could imagine why Leslie didn’t want to call Jack. She didn’t want Jack to know what was going on, because he would assume it was some game Tim was playing, and it would just make him angrier. What Leslie didn’t know was how angry it made Dana that she just assumed Tim wouldn’t do something like this. She fisted her free hand and gripped the phone tighter.

  “Leslie, Jack needs to know about this. Tim is not a good man. I wish you could see that. And I haven’t seen what you’re talking about, but it’s my professional opinion that he’s capable of anything if he feels like he’s not in control. He needs to be in control, and if you let him back into your life, he’s just going to start in on Lisa again. Do you really want that?”

  “I don’t need a lecture, Dr. McNally. I just need…I don’t know what I need. But I do know it’s not my brother.” Leslie words were tighter, clipped. Dana needed to get control of the conversation.

  “You just need a friend, Leslie. And that’s okay. Tell you what, I’ll come by okay. I’ll help you clean up if that’s what you need me to do.”

  “Yeah, ok.”

  “Just do me a favor and go check on Lisa. Make sure she’s okay.”

  *~*~*

  Leslie met Dana at the door. She had a cigarette hanging from one shaky hand. The smell of alcohol hung in the air when Dana stepped into the house. She couldn’t be sure if it was because Leslie had been drinking or if it was the fumes of spray paint hanging in the air.

  “Where’s Lisa?” Dana added a note of worry to the question.

  “Not here. She probably snuck out again.” Leslie didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned.

  “You don’t know where she’s at? What if—”

  Leslie smashed her cigarette out in an already full ashtray. “Don’t. She probably snuck out with her friends. She does it all the time. She doesn’t know I know it, but I do. I’m not worried about her. I’m worried about this.” She swung one arm wide in the direction of a wall that had been spray painted.

  The sins of the daughter are the fault of the mother was painted in black. It covered the whole wall. Beneath it, CHANGE OR DIE had been painted in bold red letters with enough paint that it dripped down the wall. Dana was pleased at the affect. It looked like blood. The price Leslie would have to pay if she didn’t change her ways.

  “I don’t even know what to say.” Dana bit the inside of her lower lip in an effort to maintain a shocked façade. “You should really call Jack.”

  “I told you, I’m not calling Jack. And I don’t want a lecture. I just want to know what’s going on.” Leslie picked up a spray bottle full of cleaner and a sponge that she’d evidently been using to try to scrub the paint off the wall. She sprayed and scrubbed but nothing came off.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work. You’re going to need to repaint.”

  “Why did they do this? Who did this?” Leslie’s voice squeaked on the last word. Her arms dropped to her side, but she made no move to walk away from the wall she’d been trying to scrub.

  “I don’t know. Maybe someone is just trying to warn you that things need to change. I would interpret it to mean that someone is angry about what happened to Lisa, and they’re blaming it on your relationship with Tim.”

  “That’s ridiculous! What happened between Tim and Lisa happened because Lisa threw herself at him. He told me how she’s been coming on to him for a long time. How she’s tried more than once to get him to sleep with her. She did this. Not him.”

  No wonder Leslie wasn’t worried about Lisa. She still blamed her. She hadn’t learned anything.

  “Leslie, you have to know that Lisa is the minor in this situation. It doesn’t matter if she was the one making advances on Tim. He should have been the adult and he should have told you about it before he ended up in bed with her.”

  “I don’t need this. You need to leave. Now!” Leslie stomped toward the front door. “I don’t even know why I called you.”

  Dana remained standing in the spot she’d occupied since walking into the room. Leslie would never learn. It was time to deal with her, before Lisa got hurt any more. Fire scorched through Dana’s veins and she took a step toward Leslie. This was going to end tonight.

  Her mind worked quickly. She could knock Leslie out and take her somewhere else. It wouldn’t be difficult. Leslie had been drinking. And she was distracted. Dana fisted her right hand.

  Something bumped in the back of the house and Dana stopped. Listening. Leslie’s head turned toward the sound. For a few seconds there was nothing more, and then Lisa poked her head around the corner.

  “Mom? What’s going…Dr. McNally?” Lisa looked from one woman to another.

  Leslie simply pointed at the wall.

  Three steps brought Lisa fully into the room and then she gasped. “Oh my God. What happened? Who did this?”

  Lisa’s reaction brought Dana fully back into the moment. “Lisa, it’s okay. It was just some idiot being an idiot. Everything is okay.” She reached for Lisa’s hand. “It’s all going to be okay.”

  “Did you call the cops?” Lisa directed the question to her mother.

  “No. And I’m not going to. And where have you been? I thought you were upstairs asleep.” Disgust dripped from Leslie’s words.

  “I just went for a walk. I couldn’t sleep. And when I left, you were on the phone. I didn’t want to bother you.” Lisa wouldn’t look directly at Leslie. She alternated looking at the ruined wall and the floor. “Why aren’t you calling the cops?”

  “There’s nothing they can do.”

  “Then call Uncle Jack.”

  “There’s nothing he can do either. It was probably just some punk who thought he was being funny. Maybe even someone you know.” A look of understanding slackened Leslie’s features. “This was one of your friends, wasn’t it?”

  “What? You can’t be serious.” Lisa spun on her mother. “Why would one of my friends do this?”

  Dana stepped between Leslie and Lisa. “We don’t know who did this. But we’re pretty sure that whoever did wasn’t interested in hurting anyone. They’re just trying to make a statement, no matter how wrong that statement might be. Vandalism doesn’t often lead to violence.”

  Leslie and Lisa remained quiet, so Dana continued. “You should get some rest.” She looked pointedly at Lisa, who took the cue and started toward the stairs.

  When she’d disappeared onto the second floor Dana turned back to Leslie. “It’s not likely that her friends did this.”

  Leslie didn’t offer any kind of response.

  “Tomorrow, call someone and have them come repaint this room. That’s the only way to get rid of it. And then come talk to me.”

  “Ha. Why? What can you do about this? What can you do for me?”

  “I can’t do anything about this, Leslie, but I can help you through this. I know you’re frightened. But taking it out on Lisa isn’t the right thing to do. You know that. Come by my office in the morning and you can take it out on me.”
/>   “Yeah, whatever.” Leslie pulled open the front door.

  “And I think you should at least call Jack.” Dana walked through the front door. Standing on the steps, she turned back toward Leslie. “I know you don’t want him involved, but he needs to know what’s going on.”

  “No.” The door slammed before Dana could say anything more. She looked at her watch. She was going to be late meeting Jack for breakfast.

  TWENTY-NINE

  Jack listened to the conversations going on around him as he waited for Dana to join him for breakfast. They had arranged to meet at the restaurant at seven-thirty. It was almost eight and still she wasn’t here and she hadn’t called.

  Jack glanced at his watch again, and finished off the second cup of coffee. The waiter stopped at the table. “Sir would you like some more coffee or are you ready to order?”

  Jack thought about it for a minute and then nodded. “Coffee, yes.”

  “Great. I’ll be right back with that.” The young waiter hurried away.

  Jack played with his napkin. When the waiter returned, Jack looked up, and found Dana standing behind the young man. The waiter poured fresh coffee into Jack’s empty mug and then backed away, almost bumping into her. He apologized then turned to walk away.

  “Could I get some of that?” Dana eyed the steam rising from Jack’s mug.

  She seated herself across the table from Jack. “Sorry I’m late.” She cleared her throat. “I was with Leslie.”

  “Why were you with Leslie?” Jack looked at his watch. It was too early in the day for a regular appointment. He glanced at Dana. She focused on the strap of her purse, wrapping it around her hand and then unwrapping it.

  “Someone broke into her house, Jack. They vandalized it pretty badly.” She described the messages painted on the walls.

  Jack was stunned. “She didn’t call me. How did you know?”

  “She called me. She was pretty upset. And she didn’t want you to know because she knew it would upset you. I thought you needed to know.” Dana still had not looked at him, and Jack felt rage growing in his stomach.

  He pushed himself out of the booth and dropped enough cash onto the table to pay for their coffee. Then he rushed out of the restaurant, without another word.

  Dana sat, as if glued to her seat for a full ten seconds considering her options before she jumped up and dashed after him. She called to him once they were both in the parking lot. “Wait, Jack! Where are you going? She doesn’t want to see you.”

  Jack turned to face Dana. “You should have called me,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Jack, if you go over there she’s going to be angry with both of us. You’ll just make things worse.”

  *~*~*

  Leslie’s front door stood open and Jack walked through without announcing himself. He could just see her sitting on the couch staring at the painted wall. Dana was right. The wall had been nearly completely covered with hateful words and death threats. “Where’s Lisa?” he demanded.

  Leslie jerked and jumped up from the couch. “She’s at school.” Her hands went to her hips. “What are you doing here?”

  Jack stared at the wall for a long time. “Leslie, let me help. Whoever did this is serious. These threats could become more. You could be in real danger. And how are you going to protect yourself? How will you protect Lisa?” Jack wasn’t sure what he could do to protect them either, but he could try. He needed to get the police involved.

  Without waiting for Leslie to answer, he pulled his phone from the holder at his waist and started dialing the precinct. If nothing else, he could get someone to come and take a report. Then it would be a matter of record.

  “Jack, stop. I’ve got this under control. Dr. McNally said this probably wasn’t a serious threat. If I need help, I’ll call someone.” She turned back to the wall. “Now leave. I have things to do.”

  Anger swelled outward from his gut. “Dana said this wasn’t serious?” He would let her know just how much he did not appreciate her sticking her nose into his family business. She had no right!

  A thought occurred to him. “Tim did this, didn’t he?” They might not be close anymore, but Jack could usually read Leslie, and he was pretty certain that’s exactly what she thought. “Leslie, he could be dangerous!”

  “See, I knew you would automatically blame this on him. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. Dr. McNally should have kept her mouth shut!” Leslie pulled her hair into a sloppy ponytail and wrapped it with a rubber band she had around her wrist.

  “I knew you would assume he did this. He didn’t, Jack. Okay? You just want him to be guilty of something. And I really don’t think you care what. You can’t let it go, can you? You just don’t want me to be happy. You still blame me for Susan and Lilly.”

  Jack took a step back. He did still blame her, but how did she know that. He’d kept that anger buried for so long it had become part of him. “Leslie, don’t turn this around on me.” His voice was low, more growl than anything. He took a deep breath.

  “You can’t know Tim didn’t do this. In fact, it’s likely that he did.” Jack took pictures of the wall and everything around it with his phone.

  “I know he didn’t do it, Jack.” Leslie was quieter now. Calmer. And completely convinced she was right. When was she going to understand that she didn’t see Tim for who he really was?

  Jack walked through the house, snapping pictures of doors, door frames, window frames, and every place he thought might give him some evidence to nail Tim to the wall. He was sure Tim did this. It fit with the story that Jack had pieced together about the lowlife. Leslie couldn’t know that it wasn’t him. Unless…Thoughts ping-ponged through his brain.

  “You saw him last night?” Jack had returned to the living room where Leslie was moving stuff away from the wall. He was glad he’d managed to get pictures before she began moving things. “Stop, Leslie. We need to get someone here to check this out before you move everything.”

  Leslie didn’t stop. She continued clearing furniture away from the wall, setting vases, books, and ashtrays on other surfaces. “It’s none of your business, Jack. And I’m not calling the police.”

  Jack knew that tone. Leslie was done talking to him. She had made up her mind, and nothing would change it. But he had to try anyway.

  “It is my business. You are my sister and Lisa is my niece. It’s my job to protect you, and I can’t do that if you won’t help me out.” He might not be able to do that anyway, but he was going to try. He was going to do a better job of protecting them than he had done protecting his own wife and daughter.

  “Les, listen, I really am trying to help you. We think…It’s possible…” Why was this so hard? Why was he stumbling over everything he needed her to hear? She needed to know about Tim. She needed to know what kind of a man he really was.

  “What Jack? What now? Are you going to tell me that Tim’s a murderer?” Leslie’s eyes had gone wild and she shook from head to toe as she screamed at him. “You’d make up just about anything to tear this family apart. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You don’t have a family anymore, so you don’t think I should either.”

  “Leslie, he might be.” Jack had dropped his voice to a quieter tone. He wanted her to pay attention. He wanted her to understand that he wasn’t just trying to destroy her life.

  “We’ve had some facts come to our attention that suggest Tim might be involved in this murder case I’m investigating. If he is, Leslie, he could be the person that did this. He could be much more dangerous than you realize.”

  Leslie picked up a chair to move it away from the wall. Jack tried to help, but she jerked away from him. “What facts?” She spewed the words with pure venom.

  “Can you come sit down?” Jack half sat, half leaned against the arm of the couch. Leslie kept moving furniture, never even looking up at him. He wondered if she would even hear what he was trying to tell her.

  The television was next. She struggled with it,
but Jack wasn’t going to offer help again unless she asked. Instead he continued with what he wanted to tell her, hoping she might hear some part of it.

  “Lisa wasn’t the only girl Tim was sleeping with. There was at least one other girl her age. Maybe two.”

  Leslie sat down the knick-knack table she had hoisted over her head. “Stop it Jack. Don’t make things up because you don’t like Tim or because you want to make me miserable. Don’t. Do. That.”

  “I’m not, Leslie.” Jack took a step toward her, but she stepped away from him, so he stopped. “I talked to the girl. Kate was with me. You can call her if you don’t believe me. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that now both of those girls’ mothers are dead.”

  Leslie remained quiet.

  “This girl told me she had been going out with Tim for a while. And then her mom found out and refused to let her see him anymore. And now she’s dead.”

  A gasp behind them caused Jack and Leslie both to spin around. Lisa stood in the doorway. Her face was whiter than usual and dark circles traced hollows under her eyes which were filling with tears. She dropped her backpack on the floor. “You. Are. A. Liar!” She screamed the last word.

  “Lisa, I thought you were at school.” Jack’s mind raced, trying to find a way to make Lisa understand what was happening. If he had known she was standing there, he might have said things differently. Why didn’t he close the door when he came in?

  “Lisa, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to hear that. Not like that, anyway. But it’s true. All of it.”

  “No!” She took the stairs fast, skipping the first one completely. “Go away!” she shouted at the top landing. “I hate you!” Then a door slammed and another piece of Jack’s heart tinked to the floor. How was he ever going to repair the damage done to Lisa? How was he ever going to make her see that he wasn’t the bad guy in all of this?

  “Great.” Leslie sounded exhausted. “Thank you, Jack. You just can’t be happy until everyone else is miserable can you?”