Letters to Jane (Mississippi Book 1)

by Brooke Miller

  They both froze, unsure of what to say until Xander came to see why the door was open and saw them. A large smile graced his handsome face and stepped up to Peter, slapping him on the back. “I see you met my nephew. Pete this is Jane Hunter and her son Luke. This is our old friend Shawn’s girl.” He slapped his much taller nephew on the shoulder and gestured, “And this is Colt’s oldest, Peter Donovan.” Jane looked up into Peter’s eyes and made the connection. Every time she had seen Colt something about his eyes reminded her of something, now she knew why.

  That afternoon Jane was at her desk, looked over the files for the hundredth time, frustration coloring her face. She was missing something here; she just didn’t know what it was. A few days she made a break in the case with the murder of an elderly woman three towns away, two weeks before Gina died. But since then, not much. Initially the only things the cases had in common were they were both elderly women murdered in a home invasion.

  She looked over the police report again, her frown intensified as she re-read it, she grabbed Gina’s file and compared the photos and report, to the other victim, Alice Gilbert. Suddenly it clicked, she stood abruptly, nearly knocking her chair over and grabbed the files and jacket before running out of the precinct.

  Not seeing the unopened envelope flutter from its place on her desk, to the floor, her name in type on the front.

  Alex was in her kitchen when she heard a frantic knock at the back door. She turned and saw Jane standing there. “What-” she walked to the door and opened, letting her excitable cousin in. “Jane, what are you doing here? Your shift has another two hours, is everything okay?”

  She slammed a couple of files down on the counter, spreading the separate contents side by side. “I think I figured it out!”

  She pointed to the reports, “Both murders happened within two weeks of one another. Alice was first, she didn’t put up much of a struggle,” she pointed to the autopsy report, “her autopsy shows cause of death was stab wound to the heart. Her house was stripped of anything of value.” She gestured to the crime scene photos that showed multiple rooms ransacked and stripped of anything of value.

  She showed her Gina’s file, “Gina was strangled and stabbed repeatedly; cause of death was a stab wound through the heart. But few things were taken,” comprehension dawned as Alex began piecing the puzzle together. “Like her grocery money and the living room TV and stereo.” Jane nodded, “While leaving behind the jewelry she was wearing and the more expensive pieces-”

  Alex picked up,

  “Like the Brown family necklace that was probably worth more than my Harley.”

  Jane stood back, “I think Gina’s death was a hit. They made it look like a string of robberies gone bad. It probably wasn’t meant to be so brutal with Gina,” Alex finished her thought, “But he was expecting a frail, old woman. Not a former combat-trained Army nurse.”

  Jane stood silent for several minutes before speaking, “Alex, if this was a hit, the question is who hated-or wanted her dead enough to order a hit?” “Who would benefit the most from her death?”

  Alex had a thought that led to a sick feeling in her stomach, the look Jane sent her said she had the same thought; Sam Hunter was a mean drunk and was prejudiced against the Brown family. He was strongly against Shawn being friends with the Donovan’s and by association, the Browns. Jane had no doubt he would have hit the roof if he had known about her parents dating and Jo becoming pregnant. That kind of crazy prejudice could make a man desperate; make him not think clearly.

  Jane sank into the bar chair at the counter, rubbing her temples, knowing the path her train of thought was a likely possibility. She sighed and looked up at Alex, “I think it’s time I paid Colt Donovan a visit.”

  Alex frowned at her, “Why, from what we heard over the years he and Shawn were close, but Dad and Shawn were closer.” Jane nodded, “Yeah, but Colt can tell me things Cole can’t.” Alex didn’t bother holding back the wince that came across her face; she knew Jane meant nothing by it, just like she didn’t with mentioning Shawn.

  Jane sighed, “Sorry, Ali. But Colt can answer some things I won’t get from mom and Aunt Rose or from the police reports. I need to find out what Dad was up to after Mom and aunt Ro left town, Colt may have the answers.”

  The next morning Colt was sitting down to his morning coffee, when the doorbell rang. When his wife, Olivia, came back she had a surprise visitor. Jane smiled at the man and stood at the kitchen doorway, “Hi, Colt. Was wondering if I could talk to you about a few things, do you have a minute?” Colt stood, taking his coffee, “Sure, we can talk in my office.” He gesture to her and led the way down the hall to his study. Jane laid her bag on the couch and handed him a file folder, he opened it and felt his knees go weak making him sink heavily into the chair beside her. “What can you tell me about what happened with Dad and Cole after Gina was murdered?”

  The man slammed the phone down in the cradle, forcefully. Swearing he stood up from his desk and began to pace the length of his office. His contact had just informed him of the little upstart bitch putting feelers out for other cases like the Brown one. He couldn’t let the case continue further than it already was. It was time to up things. She needed to learn some things buried in the past needed to stay in the past. Or they could end up burying you.

  Chapter Seven

  Jane drove home that day, thinking about what Colt told her about what happened from the time Gina was murdered until her dad and uncle died in the car crash.

  Colt sat still for several moments, stunned before he moved. He got up going over to the cabinet behind his desk and pulled something out of it. He turned around with a folder and a bottle with a familiar black and white label on it. He poured a shot of it into his coffee cup and handed her the file while he took a drink. She quirked an eyebrow at him then turned her attention to the file in her hand. Inside she found a newspaper clipping of Gina’s murder. The file had several more newspaper clippings, two of them following the case of Gina’s death before it went cold, but the one that really caught her attention was the one that talked about her grandfather-Sam Hunter-his death and with no new leads the case was cold. He too was killed in his home, cause of death was a stab wound to the heart. She looked up at his with wide eyes, “Colt, how did you get this? His case isn’t in the Cold Case archives!” she exclaimed.

  Colt nodded his head, “Yeah, that’s because ol’man Hunter picked up stick and moved to California a year or two after Shawn died. I found this by accident.” He sat down next to her, “I always thought it was odd he died in a similar way to Gina. But he was not well-liked around here and was known for skipping out of debts, collectors, you name it. I figure maybe that followed him to California or maybe he got involved with people that weren’t so tolerate of him like they were here.” He shrugged, “I do know he hated the Browns something fierce, Eli especially. I don’t know if it was ever found out why he hated the man so much, but he would have hit the roof if he found out Shawn and Jo were dating and having a baby.” Jane had initially suspected he had something to do with Gina’s death, but now she was starting to think he might have either arranged a hit or killed her himself.

  As she pulled into the driveway, she turned the car off and sat there in thought, thinking about what he told her next. “As for what Cole and Shawn were up to after your mom and Rose left,” he sighed, running his hand threw his hair. “I don’t want you to think badly of them,” she leaned forward, putting a hand on his arm, “Colt, I came for answers; even if those answers aren’t what I thought they would be.” He put his hand on hers and looked up at her, his grey-green eyes staring her down. “When your mom and aunt left without a word, we didn’t know what to think. Cole and Shawn were about to lose their minds until we got the letter they were alive and were going underground until it was safe.” She nodded, she remembered her mother telling her of working jobs that paid under the table, using fake IDs the first two years they ran away. Her thoughts went back to Colt sp
eaking, “Well, Cole and Shawn were eighteen. Legally they had nothing holding them here. Except they had no money.”

  “Cole ended up losing his job at the store because he spent every minute, looking for Rose. Was terrified something happened. But anyway, he lost his job and had used up all his savings so was broke. That was when they started looking into alternative ways of getting some fast money,” Jane drew back at what he was implying. His eyes widened and shook his head, “No! No drugs. After seeing the mess around the neighborhood and what Shawn’s parents went through, they wouldn’t touch it.” He leaned back in his chair, “They were street fighters. They got into doing underground fights and getting paid. I can’t tell you a whole lot about it, they kept it pretty much to themselves. I know Danny and Tony knew about because they saw them one night at the fights.” He gave a wry smile, “I was the youngest of our group, so they tried to shield me from a lot.” His smile faded, “Don’t hurt, some of us were considered a rough crowd and the social services was looking into us closely after our parents died and Connor got guardianship of me.”

  After that they talked some more but he had nothing new to add to what was already on the case and what she knew about her father and uncle. She got out of the car and walked to Alex’s side of the duplex and knocked, she smiled when she saw Luke answered the door, greeting her enthusiastically wrapping his arms and legs around her in a hug.

  “Mommy!”

  Laughing, she walked them into the house and the wonderful spicy scent filled the air as she walked them to the kitchen where Alex and Sim where sitting hot dogs, buns, condiments, and to her delight-Sim’s famous chili out on the counter, buffet-style. Alex smiled, “You got good timing, Sim just took the chili off the stove and we’re fixing to sit down to supper.” Jane’s stomach rumbled at the thought of the delicious three-alarm chili and a big foot long covered in it. She smiled at her son then at her sisters, the case could wait for now; she had a good dinner and company to get to.

  Peter rolled over on the bed, and to his delight, found a feminine body wrapped around him. Before he opened his eyes he knew who it was. The scent alone told him, orchids and summer nights; he had never met another woman that smelled like his Jane. He stilled.

  His Jane?

  The more he thought about the more it felt right. He knew from her letters over the years Jane cared about him, and he cared about her. But did she love him, like he loved her? Finding her in real life made him care for her more. He could honestly say, he was in love with Jane after meeting her and getting to know her outside of the letters and occasional phone call and meet the real Jane. He cuddled her closer to him, smiling as she wrapped around him more, he thought about how to make this a occurrence that happened all the time. He smiled down at the dark head resting on his chest. This was a sight he could get used to waking up to.

  Peter’s eyes snapped open and were wide awake. Sitting up he scrubbed his hands over his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He hadn’t thought about that memory in years. It was their last night together and he realized he loved Jane. Not the way a friend did, or affection for a long-term fling. He loved her the way a man loved the woman he wanted to spend his life with. Right after that was when he left to go back to Nadirem and things went to hell. He hadn’t brought up the letter or the events that let up to it and after to Jane yet. He was just happy to have his old friend back and didn’t want to stir things up. But it looked like he was going to. He lost his heart to her once, he couldn’t survive doing it again and she breaks it once again.

  Jane met with Danny the next day at the bar and grill he owned, it was early-only a couple of tables had people at them and it looked like they were having an early lunch. She sat at the bar and a tall, good-looking bartender came over, “Sorry, sweetheart we don’t serve underage here.” She arched a brow at that; she was used to it though with her small frame and youthful face. She pulled her badge off her belt loop and held it up.

  “Detective Jane Hunter, Cold Cases. I’m here to meet Danny Fletcher.”

  The man frowned, “Sorry, Detective, teenagers nowadays, hard to tell.” She shrugged, “Happens.” A smirk twitched her full mouth, “I’ll take it as a compliment.” He laughed and shook his head, “I’ll go get Pop, he should be in his office,” the man turned to leave when he looked back at her, “Jane? You share a house with your cousin, Alex?”

  She frowned at the man, it wasn’t a secret, but with her petite and dark and Alex tall and light, not many realized they were related. She said, “It’s not a secret-but yes-do I know you Mr.-” he held his hand out, “Sorry, Fletcher. Jesse Fletcher. I ask because my buddy Pete is seeing a detective named Jane.” A small, but bright smile graced her face as she shook his hand, “That’s me.”

  He smiled back, then a cocky look in his eye said, “But he didn’t say how beautiful you were.” Danny comes back from his office and chuckled, “Jesse-boy, you know better than hitting on another man’s woman. Petey might look all quiet and unassuming, but that boy is meaner than a gator if you get him riled and you would by messing with his woman.” Jane smiled inwardly; she knew that to be very true.

  Danny gestured and walked to end of the bar, “Come on, we’ll talk in my office.” They walked back down a hall and a door with bold red letters saying, ‘OFFICE’. She sat down in the chair before a desk while Danny took the other. She wasted no time and got down to business, “Danny, I was wanting to talk to you about the fights Dad and Uncle Cole were in.’ Danny was silent for several minutes, a unreadable expression on his face. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh and a weak laugh, “You don’t pull any punches, do you?” He shook his head, “Just like your old man. I’ll tell you what I know, which isn’t a lot.” He leaned back in his chair, running a hand threw his still dark hair.

  “I didn’t know they were in the fights, until that night me and Tony saw them. We saw Shawn first.” He shook his head, “Ol’ Hunt was up against a guy that could’ve broken Connor over his knee,” Jane arched a brow, as big as Connor was she doubted that, but said nothing.

  He continued, “But your old man didn’t know when to back down, he got the hell beat out of him, but managed to kick the guy’s ass and win the fight.” His grin faded, “We saw Cole after a couple of more fights. I don’t know what was said, but the guy Cole was fighting had him spitting mad. He laid him out with one punch and it took Shawn and another guy to get him off him before he did some real damage.”

  “They saw Tony and me that night; asked us not to say anything. All they said were they needed the money the fights brought in.” He paused, “but I know the couple of times I went-and Tony too-we both saw them talking to Tommy Petersson, after the fights. He might be able to tell you more. I know he owns a pawn shop across town.”

  Jane is pulling into the parking lot of Tommy Petersson’s shop, giving the information she pulled up on him another glance. What Danny hadn’t told her was that Tommy had spent most of his teens and twenties in and out of juvie and prison. His last stint was a ten year sentence for B&E; he served eight of the ten years. Since then, not a peep. Was married and had a son while he was in prison. Nothing saying he was dangerous now. She got out of the car as the store door opened and to her surprise, saw Simone coming down the steps, walking to her car. Jane walked over to her calling out, “Hey. What brings you out here, Sim?” Sim stood half in, half out her car and paused, “Same as you Janie. I’m working a case.” She got in, speaking through the open window. “Don’t forget it’s your turn to cook tonight. I’ll see you at your place.”

  She walked up the steps and into the store. The bell rang overhead as the door shut drawing a man from the back. He walked around behind the counter, “What can I do for you, Detective?” She arched brow at that, walking to the other side of the counter, “That obvious?” he smirked, “I’ve been around cops my whole life; you guys have a certain…feel about you.” She gave a shrug and got to her visit, “I’m here about the fights, Shawn Hunter and Cole Williams,” she
said, making it clear she was here in the official capacity. He straightened up, “No one died in them, and everyone that fought agreed to enter. There’s no limitation on gambling.” She held up a hand, “I’m not here for that. I want to know about Cole and Shawn. I was told they went into the fights to make some fast money.” He sighed, “Yeah, well they got it half-right. Ol’Hunter was in the fights long before Gina died. I heard at one time he started when his mama and him left his daddy, to help her make some money. But then I heard another reason.” He gave her a long look, “heard he was saving up to buy your mama a ring. Don’t know if that’s true or not. What I do know is that he didn’t make no friends at the fights.”

  He sighed, running a hand over his chest, “You gotta understand, Hunt was maybe sixteen, seventeen tops, when he started in these fights. He was up against guys twice his size and age, but could not only beat the hell out of them, but a lot of times, win. Some of them didn’t appreciate being showed up by a kid, more than one was waiting to jump him after the fights. Sometimes they got him, sometimes they didn’t.”

  Jane was starting to see a picture, “Could one of them wanted to make that point a little clearer?”

  He gave her a hard look, “What do ya mean?”

  She tapped her pen against her notepad, “I mean, could one of them arrange a hit.”

  His eyes went wide, then narrowed, “You’re talking about Gina.” He sank back onto the stool behind him. “That story about a robbery gone wrong never sat right with me. Nothing was really taken, Gina killed the way she was. Not to mention what Gina meant to all of us.”

  Her puzzled look made him elaborate, “It was well-known in the neighborhood if you couldn’t go to the hospital, you went to Gina to get patched up.”