The Belles of Desire, Mississippi

by M. L. Bullock

  “Here you go. So, you rode over from Desire? Not much left of that little town, if you could ever call it that. Did you know that their old downtown area is nothing but a ghost town now? I guess you’ve seen it. Just three or four empty old buildings. Kudzu vines all over the place. It’s sad. Where you staying, on the river? They’ve got some cute fishing cabins over there.”

  “I’ve never been fishing,” I confessed. “I’m actually staying at Summerleigh.”

  “Summerleigh?” I couldn’t help but notice that a few eyes were on me now. Including Renee’s wide brown ones. “Why would you stay there? That place is…” I thought she was going to say haunted, but she caught herself and said, “falling down.”

  “Actually, I’m in the caretaker’s cottage, but I do have plans to fix up the house. It’s not that bad inside, but it does need some repairs to the flooring for a start. Do you know a good handyman? I have some skills with a saw, but I could use an extra pair of hands on this project.” Jesse arrived with my breakfast plate, two eggs, bacon and a pile of grits with a biscuit. My stomach rumbled at the sight. I didn’t often eat grits, but these looked delicious. “Thank you,” I said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Renee blurted out, “This is Jerica, and she’s staying at Summerleigh.”

  Jesse wasn’t impressed, but he didn’t sound surprised either. “You plan on restoring it?”

  “Yes, I do. I would like to make some basic repairs to start with. I promised Harper I would tend to a few things. I guess you know she passed away.”

  Renee shook her head at hearing the news. “I hadn’t heard that. How sad. That whole Belle family, such a sad ending for all of them. But then again, I guess you’d expect that. They were a wild lot, by all accounts. Wait, are you a Belle?”

  “Oh no, I’m not. Just a friend of Harper’s.”

  “Shoot. Looks like Humble is ready to go. I’ll go check him out. Hey, Jesse, she’s looking for a handyman. Might be one way to get your boat fixed. You’ll never make the money you need slinging eggs here.”

  Renee excused herself, but her cousin lingered. “That true? You need some help up at Summerleigh?” He tossed a semi-clean white rag in his hands a few times before he slung it over his broad shoulder.

  “Mostly carpentry work to begin with. As I was telling your cousin, I know how to work a saw, but it would be nice to have an extra pair of hands. I wouldn’t want to take you away from your work here, though.”

  “What work? Carpentry is my second love.”

  “Oh, what’s your first?” I asked curiously. “Cooking?”

  “No. I’m just filling in for Norman. That would be writing. I’ve done quite a bit of research on Summerleigh and the disappearance of Jeopardy Belle.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, but I should let you eat your food before it gets cold. I’ve got a few orders to cook.”

  “Um, okay,” I said, totally curious about his research on Jeopardy. “Why don’t you ride up to the house later? Maybe take a look at what I’m talking about. It’s a pretty big job, and I’d feel better if you knew what you were in for.” And I’d feel better if you could show me you could actually handle a board.

  “Sounds great. I get off at three if that’s okay.”

  “Great, I’m in the caretaker’s cottage in the back. You can’t miss it.”

  “I’ll be there about four. I’d like to get the aroma of food off me first.”

  “Four it is, thanks.”

  As he walked away, I didn’t question what I was doing. Even if he wasn’t interested in the work, I was interested in him. I mean, interested in his information.

  I ate a few bites of my plate and left. I had a lot to do before four o’clock.

  Chapter Eleven—Jerica

  When I opened the door, I was surprised to see that I had two visitors standing on my doorstep. Before I could greet either of them, Renee waved and said, “Surprise! I couldn’t let him come without me. I’m dying to see the place. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Sure, the more the merrier. Come in, please.”

  I was glad I’d opted for jeans and a fresh t-shirt instead of that sundress. This was supposed to be a business meeting, not a date. But Jesse Clarke was even better looking without his stained apron. He too wore blue jeans and a soft t-shirt. Get it together, Jerica.

  “Do you guys want something to drink? I have some tea made.”

  “None for me,” Jesse and Renee said almost simultaneously.

  “Let me get the key and we can take a look at the house.” Well, this wasn’t how I thought things would go, but hey, I guess you have to learn to roll with the punches. Does Renee think her cousin needs a bodyguard or something?

  I grabbed the keys off the rack, and we left the cottage behind. I made it a point to show them the memorial stone. “I nearly tripped over this yesterday. Any ideas what this stone is for? I assume for Jeopardy Belle, but I can’t be sure.”

  Renee shivered in the sunlight. “I don’t know. What do you think, Jesse?”

  “Could be.” He squatted down and examined the stone closer, rubbing the concrete. “Doesn’t look all that old, as far as monuments go. I guess it could be for Jeopardy, but then again, there’s been a lot of tragedy here—even a murder or two, with the Belles and the McIntyre family before that.” He got up, and the three of us continued on toward Summerleigh. Like my earlier trip, I decided to go around to the front of the house. Going through the back door felt like I was intruding.

  “Who was murdered? One of the Belles?”

  “Nobody knows what happened to Jeopardy; she disappeared in the summer of 1942, not long after her father died. That was a tragedy, but the murder I mentioned was Mariana McIntyre. She lived here long before the Belles, in the late 1800s. She died on her sixteenth birthday. The story goes, she went upstairs to get ready for her birthday party. When she missed her grand entrance, her aunt went up to check on her and found her dead. Someone had cut off all her hair and stabbed her with her own sewing scissors. It was a gory murder, and quite shocking for 1870s Desire, Mississippi. So shocking that the town almost folded after that. Then Bull McIntyre, that was Mariana’s father, had a stroke. Not long after that, he died too. Mariana’s younger brother inherited the place, but he went crazy. Gosh, I can’t remember his name. Bull McIntyre had been the mayor of Desire, but there was a lot of speculation about his role in his daughter’s death. The place stood empty for a while, then it was sold a few times, but nobody really tried to make it a home until John Belle won Summerleigh in a poker game.”

  “I heard the story about how he won this place,” I said with a laugh. “He must have had quite a hand.”

  “Full house, from what I hear.”

  “You know quite a lot about the house. Have you ever been inside?”

  “Yes, but not legally.”

  Renee touched my arm. “He wrote a book about this place. If you ever want to know anything about Summerleigh, he’s the guy to ask. Jesse is obsessed with old houses. And not just this one.”

  “Well, here we go.” My mind was full of bloody scenes. To think, a girl had been murdered in this house, and then not a century later, another vanished. Maybe it was the house.

  I opened the door and we stepped inside. It felt better in here now, although the staleness hadn’t improved. I didn’t hear any footsteps, thankfully, but I wasn’t any more comfortable than I had been earlier. As if the dust knew I had a thing for it, I started sneezing.

  “Bless you,” Jesse said.

  “Thanks. This dust has me sneezing my head off.”

  “Ugh, that’s a horrible thing to say in this house,” Renee said.

  I blushed. “Sorry.”

  Jesse strolled around and examined the flooring. “The flooring in this room looks pretty good. Have you been under the house?”

  “No, I have a thing about spiders,” I confessed with an awkward shrug.

  “I can do it. Which floors are you concerned with th
e most?”

  “I think the parlor just to the left here might have some issues, and the upper balcony and some of the stair treads need replacing.” I walked toward the parlor with Jesse in tow, but Renee was walking the other way. “You coming, Renee?”

  “If you don’t mind, may I wander around? I won’t touch anything.”

  “Um, sure.”

  Jesse shook his head and said in a low voice, “Renee thinks she’s some sort of psychic. I guess I should have left her at the diner, but she really wanted to come. This place is kind of a curiosity to the locals. Not many folks have been inside. Your friend Harper was pretty protective of the place.”

  “Psychic, huh? I wouldn’t have thought that, but then again, I’ve never met a psychic before.”

  “You’ll find the Clarke family a strange bunch. Hey, I see what you mean.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah, looks like you might have had a leak at one time.”

  “Sure, that makes sense. I noticed the roof damage when I drove up but didn’t put the two together. So, roof first over here and then the floor. I don’t suppose you can do roofs too.”

  “No, but I know an excellent roofer. With all the summer storms we have down here, you learn to have a roofer on speed dial.”

  Hearing footsteps again, I glanced at the door. “You sure she’s okay?”

  “Yeah, what about the kitchen?”

  “Alright.”

  We went from room to room and found plenty of things that needed the attention of a few competent pairs of hands. By the sound of it, Jesse Clarke knew what he was talking about. There was evidence of rodents in the kitchen, the parlor floor was damaged, and some of the windows in the west wing needed replacing before they fell out. “It’s all lead paint, anyway. They’ll have to be cleaned and repainted. But overall, I’m surprised there’s not much more damage. It’s never good for a house to sit empty. I don’t mean to be nosy, and I’m not trying to discourage you—God knows I need the work—but are you sure you’re up for this? This is going to be one helluva project, and a long one, not to mention expensive.”

  “One step at a time was my Dad’s motto. Mine too. I’m willing to try.”

  He smiled, but it didn’t last long. I could see that Jesse was more on the serious side. “That’s all I need to hear. Let’s check out the upstairs.”

  “Did I hear your cousin say you own a boat?”

  “No, I own the hull of a boat. I have plenty of work ahead of me. Just like we do here.”

  I tucked my hair behind my ear, suddenly very conscious that I had skimped on my makeup and hair care today.

  Renee met us on the stairs; her face was pale, and her worried expression bothered me. “I’ll be in the truck, Jess.”

  “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen…”

  “I have, and I don’t want to see another one. I’ll be in the truck.” We both stared at her as she walked out of the house and slammed the door behind her.

  “Um, should we go after her?”

  “No. Like I said, Jerica, we’re a weird bunch.” For the first time today, he used my name. I liked hearing that. “Is this the floor?” Neither one of us talked about ghosts, and I didn’t hear any jacks or footsteps, thankfully. We finished our tour of the house and walked to the front porch. Did I really want to work so closely with someone I didn’t really know? Jesse was right, this was going to be an expensive project. I mean, Harper had been very generous, but it wouldn’t be hard to drop that hundred grand here. I’d been so shocked to receive the life insurance check in the mail. I’d never imagined Harper would make me her sole heir! Again, the responsibility of it all weighed on me. Yes, I had to be wise about this. One step at a time, I reminded myself.

  “Well, let’s start with the roofer. If you could call him and maybe have him come out Monday? I hate to get anything started at the end of the week. Then we’ll start on the parlor floors. Let’s get the bottom floor tended to and work our way up. What are your hours? I’ll be happy to work around them.”

  “I’m all yours. I mean…” He cleared his throat. “I mean I was only helping out at the diner temporarily. I’m an owner, but I don’t work there all the time. I can go at this full time if you need me.”

  “Let’s start Monday, eight o’clock. We’ll see what the roofer has to say and go from there.”

  “That sounds like a plan. Hey, I’m playing at a benefit tomorrow night at the Community Center in Lucedale. Why don’t you come out and meet some of the locals?” We walked down off the porch and stepped into the hot sunshine.

  “Maybe, what time?”

  “Starts at seven. It’s a fish fry for a young lady who needs medical funding. A friend of the family.”

  “I might surprise you,” I said with a smile. “Thanks for the invite.” We went back to my cottage and found Renee sweating in the truck.

  “Renee, you could have waited in the caretaker’s cottage,” I said. “It’s too hot to wait out in the heat.”

  “I’m okay. I just want to go home.”

  Jesse frowned at her but cranked up the truck. Before I could ask her anything else, she rolled up the window and the truck lumbered away.

  As they passed the corner of Summerleigh, Jesse turned his head my way and waved once, and I waved back.

  That’s when I saw Ann standing at the kitchen window. She didn’t look happy to see me. I ran into the cottage and locked the door.

  Chapter Twelve—Harper

  Daddy’s homecoming parties had always brought the Belle family together, until this one. Momma didn’t cook Daddy’s favorite dishes. Aunt Dot was unofficially banned from Summerleigh, at least until Momma said otherwise. No one from the church called to inquire about any party for Daddy—usually, some of the First Baptist ladies came by to bring a dessert or something. Even Miss Augustine begged off tonight citing the horrible weather, which was strange because Momma left early in the afternoon in the Master DeLuxe. I thought for sure she was spending the day with Miss Augustine, maybe going to the beauty shop before Daddy got home. And now it looked like she hadn’t even gone to the bus station to pick him up. Someone must have dropped him off at the road. At long last, he walked up to the house, arriving drenched and grim-faced. If I had known he needed a ride home, I would have ventured out on the road myself in his old truck. I’d faithfully cranked it for him every week, just like he’d asked me to in his one and only letter to me.

  Loxley opened the front door wide and danced on the porch as he approached. “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!” Addison and I clapped our hands too. The three of us couldn’t stop smiling. Yes, Daddy was home, and all would be right again.

  All would be right!

  I looked around for Jeopardy; she was normally the first one out the door. At previous homecoming celebrations, she would declare, “I’m the oldest,” as she grabbed Daddy’s hand first, but she was nowhere to be found this evening. I knew she was here, probably creeping around in the attic. She’d taken to staying up there. Even though I took a belt for going with her to the river, it had been worth it. I’d seen a whole other side of my sister. She was popular and smiling when she was with her rebellious crowd, and there wasn’t a boy there that didn’t call her name or whistle at her when she splashed around in the water. Even Troy Harvester made goo-goo eyes at her, but she acted like he wasn’t even there. That was strange because she used to kiss her pillow like a movie star and call his name to make me laugh. I knew she liked him. Or she used to.

  “Jeopardy,” I called once before I helped Daddy bring his bags inside. I couldn’t imagine why she’d miss this. Addison helped me carry his things in while Loxley climbed up into his wet arms and cried.

  “No crying now, and you’ll be wet through if you don’t let me change my clothes. Where’s your mother? I waited for her for hours.”

  “She left this morning,” Addison said as she wiped at her nose. I closed the door before she got sick again. “We thought she was bringing you home.”

 
; He kissed each one of us on the top of our heads and removed his hat before he went to the phone. He made a few calls, but nobody seemed to know where Momma had gotten to. I couldn’t hide my worried expression. There was so much I wanted to tell Daddy, but now I just couldn’t.

  “Where’s Jeopardy? Did she go with your mother?”

  “No, Daddy, I think she’s upstairs.”

  His smile disappeared, and he kissed me on the top of the head again. He glanced up at the ceiling and then said quietly, “Addison and Loxley, do you think you two could manage to haul my bag to my room? It’s very heavy now and very wet.”

  “Yes, Daddy.” They beamed and scrambled out the door to make Daddy’s wish come true.

  “What’s happening, Harper? Are you girls okay?”

  A fat tear fell on my cheek, and I pawed it away as I fell into Daddy’s arms. I didn’t care that his clothing smelled damp and sweaty. Everything tumbled out of my mouth at once. I told him about the falling out between Aunt Dot and Momma, about Momma and Jeopardy fighting at church and…I even told him about the few nights that Momma slipped out when she thought we were all asleep. I told him more than I should have; I could tell by the way his jaw popped when he looked at me.

  “Daddy, are you going to stay home now? Please, stay home.”

  He hugged me tightly but didn’t give me the answer I wanted. “Harper Belle, I love you. It’s going to be alright. I need you to be strong just a while longer. You think you could do that?”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “You got something in the fridge you could heat up for supper? I’m hungry, and it’s been a long time since I ate anything.”

  I thought about it for a minute and wiped the tears away. “Yes, sir. There is some rice and gravy left over from supper. I can make you some biscuits too.”

  “No biscuits. Rice and gravy is plenty. Did you girls eat yet?”

  “Yes, sir. I made the rice and gravy.”

  His jaw popped again. “I’m going up to see your sister. I’ll be back for that delicious meal. Thank you, Harper.” I loved how Daddy always treated me like a grown-up. Always. Even when I was really little, he talked to me like I was big. And now I was.