Georgia glanced at the blank screen and then at the remote. For a moment she didn’t move as if the next step might carry her over into the abyss. Then drawing in a deep breath she hit play.
The grainy color image of the stage flickered on screen and in the background the crowd roared for Annie, whose smile was electric and bright. Blond hair framed a delicate face with full red lips and high cheekbones.
The band struck up a lively tune and Annie immediately started to sway with the music. She grabbed the mike, began to sing and the crowd cheered. Soon lost in the tune, her body and soul wrapped around the words and added a richness and depth not conveyed by mere words. At the end of the set she held up her hand and closed it into a small fist. “This was for you, Sugar!”
“Sugar,” Georgia said.
“Yeah.”
Both women sat in silence and watched the fourteen-minute tape. When it ended and the screen went to gray, Georgia shut off the machine. She glanced at the remote and then slowly released a breath. “Why did you bring this to me?”
Rachel had put most of the puzzle pieces together but still wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she’d figured out the image. “I thought you might like to have it.”
“Why?” The whisper sounded childlike, vulnerable.
Rachel glanced toward a framed picture of Georgia with her brothers. A riot of blond hair and backed up by three tall olive-skinned boys. “Because I thought you’d like to have a positive memory of Annie.”
Georgia rose and faced her. “Have you been talking to Deke?”
That almost made her laugh. “No, why would I?”
A frown wrinkled her brow. “How did you find out?”
“I figured it out. Deke never said a word.”
Georgia replied, “How?”
Rachel moistened her lips. “Buddy Morgan was the chief detective and Bill Dawson said the cops took the baby and a cop brought him the adoption papers to sign. You don’t look like your brothers and when you sang on stage, you sounded exactly like her.”
Tears pooled in her eyes and one escaped. “It’s not a huge secret. I’ve always known I was adopted and that Annie was my birth mother.”
“Deke is protective of you.”
She tipped her head back, corralling her tears. “I know. He always has been.”
“That’s part of the reason he’s been angry with me. I’m raising old questions.”
“He never doubted Buddy’s work. We all know Buddy was a great cop. But he worried that people would start to ask about Annie’s child and then I’d be thrust in the spotlight.”
“You don’t strike me as a wilting violet.”
A ghost of a smile reached her gaze. “Everyone knows it but Deke.”
“It’s good to have a brother looking out for you. Mine did when I was a kid.”
“It’s a bit overwhelming at times but it can be nice.”
Her heart pinched. “Yes.”
She nodded to the screen. “Where did you get the CD?”
“From Rudy. I talked to him the night you sang. He mentioned the tape, and I had it converted from VHS to CD. That’s for you.”
Watery eyes widened. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
“It was taped eight months before she died.”
“She would have been pregnant.”
“Yes. I thought you’d like to have something of her.”
“I have a couple of pictures but that’s about it. It’s nice to hear her voice and see her happy.”
Rachel tapped her finger on her thigh. “You’ve heard about the letters.”
“I’ve read them. Not a flattering picture. And I was worried at first.”
“I spoke to Bill. He knows he’s not your biological father.”
“I know. I insisted on testing when I turned twenty-one. He wasn’t happy to oblige but he did it.”
“So he knew who you were.”
“Yes.”
“He said he didn’t know.”
“He’s not a bad guy. Fact, I liked him.”
Rachel drummed her fingers on her thighs. “What about Jeb?”
“Funny you should ask. I cross-checked our DNA. No match.”
“So there was another man.”
“Yes.” She traced the edge of the remote with her thumb.
“Any thoughts on who Sugar might be? I would at least like that piece of my genetic puzzle.”
“I don’t know. Yet.”
“Do you think my biological father killed Annie?”
“In her last letters her tone grew threatening. Maybe he got worried and wanted to put an end to it.”
“But they’re fake.”
“Maybe he didn’t know that.”
“Who would forge letters from Annie and then create the illusion she’s demented?”
“That I do not know. But the letters are important to someone.”
“That’s why you were attacked.”
“And Lexis killed.”
Georgia pressed a trembling hand against her forehead. “This needs to be untangled.”
“I know.”
A ring at Rachel’s door had her lifting a tired gaze from a brief. She checked the clock and realized it was after nine. Rising, she moved toward the door and peeked through the peephole. Deke Morgan.
She opened the door, ready for him to rail on her for giving the tape to Georgia. “This is a surprise.”
No traces of humor or welcome softened his flinty features. “Why didn’t you tell me about the video of Annie at Rudy’s?”
Matter of time before he found out. The Morgan clan was a tight-knit bunch. “I’m defending a client. I have a right to protect what evidence I find. And I’d planned to drop off a copy with you in the morning.”
“Then why give the CD to Georgia?”
She folded her arms and drummed her fingers against her forearm. “A moment of weakness. I thought she’d like to have it.”
He didn’t make any attempt to pretend. “How’d you figure it out?”
Rachel cocked her head. “Once I heard Georgia and then Annie sing I wondered. From there it was a matter of putting pieces together.”
Silent, a small muscle tensed in his jaw as he seemed to chew on his next words. “She’s watched it about twenty times. It means a lot to her.”
Unexpected emotion tightened her throat. “So you’ll admit that good came out of my nosing around?”
He shook his head as if he’d rather eat dirt than agree. “The DNA came back.”
She drew in a breath and stepped aside so he could enter. “And?”
“Jeb’s DNA did not match.”
“Really?” Her heart raced as her mind ran through the possibilities. It was hardly a slam dunk but it was enough to get the case reopened.
“I can hear your mind working.”
“Over the sound of my thundering heart? And what is it working on?”
A half smile tweaked the edges of his mouth. “You want me to formally reopen the case.”
“For starters. Then I want Jeb out of jail.”
“My brother is working on the case. He’s digging through it.”
A laugh escaped. “He’s hardly partial. I’m filing a motion in the morning.”
“I’d like you to hold off.”
“Why?”
“Rick knows about the DNA. He’s digging into the case and I’m hoping he finds evidence of another killer.” He met her gaze. “This isn’t about Annie anymore. It’s about three women who were killed in the last week.”
That caught her short. “You believe the cases are connected?”