14. Elle
I’d only just finished putting the vacuum cleaner away when the sharp knock on the door came.
Detective Jury had texted me yesterday asking to meet up with me for an informal interview. He called it a chat, but I wasn’t born yesterday. Informal or not, Jamison was in Blessings to find out where Jake had gone or if he was involved with something more sinister. Either way, I was number one on the suspect list, and that made me angry.
If anyone was guilty of anything it was Jake.
My family knew what I wanted them to know, even my sisters, whom I adored and loved more than anything, and shared everything with didn’t know a few details of my marriage. The one’s I didn’t want to share with anyone. That however was about to end because now the law was involved, my private and personal life was about to become public freaking knowledge.
Checking the living room, and happy with how clean and acceptable it looked, I swung open the front door to see Jamison Jury standing on my front step looking more like a biker than a policeman. Had I not become some jaded when it came to men and if Gisele wasn’t dreamy eyed over Jamison, I might just allow myself to flirt with him. Unfortunately, though I was jaded, but more importantly I would never do something so cruel to Gisele. I loved my sister with all my heart, and it was wonderful to see her come out of her shell every time Jamison’s name was mentioned.
“What, no Dimples?” I joked, standing aside to allow him to enter.
“It’s ten in the morning, I don’t drink during office hours,” he answered with a small smirk. Damn he really did look like my favourite squad 3 Lieutenant. Gisele really hit the jackpot with him. They had not actually made a move on each other, but something was definitely brewing between the city cop and my baby sister, town gossip already had them holding hands yesterday. And I was eager to have a front row seat to watch it go down. The wish that Gisele was finally ready to let the silliness of the family curse go and allow herself to find happiness.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere Detective Jury,” I quipped, hiding my nervousness with my smart mouth. A habit I was known for if you were in my tight circle. Others simply saw me as a sarcastic bitch. That didn’t worry me, I had thick skin thanks to my mother. She too had a mouth on her, but under that tough exterior was a woman with a heart bigger than a lion and she was just as fierce as one too.
“I’ve been informed about your proclivities to lean towards sarcasm to protect your privacy Elle, please don’t feel like you have to be on the defence with me. This is just me trying to get a picture of the kind of person Jake Cunningham is, simple as that.”
I was thankful he didn’t refer to Jake as my husband. Truth was our marriage fell apart six months after the wedding. The past two years was nothing but a sham, two people sharing a dwelling because neither wanted to give up a house. Legally it was mine, when my parents handed it over to me, they insisted the deed stayed in my name and my name only. A sore point with Jake that was the root of his hatred towards my dad in particular. However, I knew Jake had rights and capable of making me sell it to give him what he believed was owed. It wasn’t the house or money he wanted, rather the damage he could inflict on my family.
Nodding at his insight and impressed, I steered us to the lounge room where it was cooler to sit and have what I knew was going to be an uncomfortable conversation.
“Okay Jamison, how do we start this?” I asked, the nerves starting to set in. Did I go overboard with the number of flowers I had placed all around the room? Did the room smell too girlie for city copper that wore a black leather jacket and worn jeans? Where was the sassy smart arse proud Blessing woman go? Christ on a cracker I was screwed.
“How about we start with you calming down and relaxing Elle. I’m not the enemy, or here to entrap you to confessing anything. I just have some questions and all I need from you is truth.” Jamison suggested gently, the kindness in his gravelly voice bringing my anxiety down more than a few notches.
“Okay, yes, I can do that.” Pointing to the tray of slices and the jug of iced tea, I look at him expectantly.
“Something to eat or drink?”
“Sounds good, I’ll take whatever you have on offer.” Thankful for the brief moment to gather myself, I poured him a glass, put a few different slices on a plate, and handed them to him.
“Gisele made these this morning, she dropped them off on her way taking Miracle to school. My little sister is an excellent cook, but baking is one of her specialities.”
“She has many specialities, she is a great tour guide, and a wonderful mum to Miracle. I love the name she chose for her, suits her perfectly.”
Hmmmm, if he was expecting brownie points for heaping praise on my sister and niece, he was doing an excellent job.
“You mean that don’t you?”
“I do. I never say anything that I don’t mean. I’m not that cop that bullshits to get a case solved. It’s the truth one hundred percent of the time. I believe that is the only way to do my work to the best of my ability. I’m not into smoke and mirrors to get my job done.”
“Good answer detective. Now where do you want to start?” I asked as he took out a small notebook and pen.
“First, let’s start with you calling me either Jamison or Jury. Or Jami if you prefer, most people call me Jami and my work colleague’s stick with Jury.”
“What does Gisele call you?”
His face reddened, and I couldn’t help my glee. He liked Gisele more than he was letting on.
“Gisele calls me Jamison,” he admitted, the warmth in his voice even more telling that about his feelings for my baby sis.
“Jami it is.” Grabbing a homemade Iced Vo-Vo. I took a bite and made a mental note to put the rest away and not share anymore. Damn Gisele was talented.
“When was the last time you saw Jake?”
“Two weeks ago, was the last time I spoke with him, we had a fight and I told him take himself to his mate’s place for the night. I saw him around town for two days after that but that was the last time, I actually saw him. I heard from his friend Nate that Jake borrowed his car and left for reasons I wasn’t privy to.”
“This mate, his name is Nate Jackson correct?”
“Yes. Nate and Jake have been friends since they started high school. They have been friends on and off for fifteen years, having fall outs here and there lasting anywhere from a week to a few months. Mainly due to money owed or something like that but never anything too serious.”
Jami nodded as he took notes, his expression not giving me a clue what he was thinking.
“Did you ever suspect Jake was into something illegal, like unsanctioned gambling or drugs?” Well, Jami certainly didn’t beat around the bush, obviously he had been doing his research.
“I personally haven’t seen Jake with anything other than a bag of weed but nothing more than that, and never here in my house but I will admit I have seen evidence that he was using something. He would come home with blood shot eyes on more than one occasion. But to say from what kind of drugs I have no idea.”
“And the gambling? Is that something you ever suspected?”
“Yes. I notice a few months ago there had been missing money from our joint account. Two thousand dollars went missing, when I confronted him about it, he got very defensive.” Lacing my fingers, I tried not to touch where Jake had put his hands on me. It wasn’t the first time Jake got physical with me, but it was the first time he left my skin marked.
“He hit you?” Jami asked quietly, his jaw ticking.
“Not hit, but he grabbed me around my upper arm, and squeezed tightly, leaving some marks. The next day I moved my share of the money from our joint account and put it in my personal one. I didn’t leave him without money, but I made sure he couldn’t take any more of the money I earned.”
“Smart lady. Do your parents or sisters know any of this?”
“No and for now I would like it to remain that way. I know I won’t be able to keep the abuse quiet for much longer, especially if he isn’t found soon, but for now I would rather not fuel my father’s hatred for Jake.” Telling Jami about dad not liking Jake wasn’t throwing my father under the bus. Jami had been in town for over twenty-four hours already, I was fairly certain that news had already been outed.
“I understand and I assure you that story will be yours to tell and yours alone.” Jami promised and I believed him.
“Thank you, Jami, I’m not stupid, I realise domestic abuse can make me a suspect?—”
“I haven’t found any evidence of a crime, Elle. This is not me trying to build a case against you. What I am doing is gathering information about the kind of person Jake is.”
“But his parents,” I argued, a little annoyed he kept cutting me off. The longer Jami stayed in Blessings, the sooner he will figure out Blessing women like to let their opinion known. We do not like to be interrupted, even though we constantly interrupt each other.
Go figure.
“Mr and Mrs Cunningham have been forthcoming only with positive characteristics of their son. They seem to think he was born under a silver star; they assured me Jake has never touched drugs in his life and he wouldn’t know how to gamble.”
I scoffed the whole way through Jami’s parents’ assessment of their son. Of course, they would think Jake was nothing short than perfect. Whenever they visited us, which was no more than three times in the past two and half years, Jake turned into a model husband, even going so far to lie about how perfect our marriage was. Sprouting shit that we were trying to have a baby. All bullshit. The last thing Jake wanted was a kid to be responsible for, and definitely not financially responsible. That would require Jake to give up living the carefree life my money allowed. Where I brought groceries and paid bills, Jake collected video games, expensive fishing equipment and if the rumours were correct, lap dances at a strip club in Gracefield.
“I take it you disagree?” Jami inquired; his lip curled in disgust. For Jake, not me.
“Wholeheartedly detective. Jake’s parents had been thrilled when he and I married, choosing to settle here rather than follow them to Gracefield. They saw it as a gift from God to finally keep Jake from stiffing them for money on a weekly basis a bonus.”
“So, they aren’t the grieving worried family they are pretending to be?” Again, Jami was taking notes, pages of them. Only problem was he wasn’t sharing what the notes were, and for a sticky nose such as myself, it was hard not to snatch the notebook and read them.
“I’m sure they are worried about Jake. He is their son and the baby of the family. He has three older sisters and one older brother. As far as family units go, they are close, not as close as my family,” I allowed, “but they wouldn’t have a clue about what Jake’s habits are.”
“Habits, not drugs but his day-to-day activities,” Jami interpreted correctly.
Smart man.
“Yes. For example, they would have no idea how many times he calls in sick so he can go fishing with his mates. He knows my income can sustain both of us, the only reason his boss hasn’t sacked his arse is solely because of my dad and their years of friendship.” Jake’s cushy job mowing the council owned land handed to him out of respect to my dad and his family. Four days a week he sat on a ride-on mower, going in a loop of the town’s nature strips, the central park area and the school’s football oval. Easy peasy right?
Apparently not for Jake.
I worked hard keeping up with my shifts at the grocery store, I was also the appointed Postal postmistress plus I owned the building where the salon was. Not the business, just leased out the building. I made a decent living, and worked hard maintaining that living, something Jake never appreciated. He saw easy money which equalled an easy life.
Well not anymore buddy.
Obviously, Jake had not checked our joint bank account, otherwise he would be screaming bloody murder. Suddenly a horrible thought passed through my mind.
“What?” Jamison asked, leaning forward as if on alert.
The man was too damn smart for his own good, hiding anything from him was going be a useless exercise.
Good luck Gisele.
Resigned that Jamison was going to find out another way, I let him in on my newly discovered problem.
“Jake would know by now about our joint account balance,” I explained slowly, “so?—”
“So, if he is off playing hooky with stripers or fishing with his buddies, he knows there isn’t any funds in the account.” Jamison annoyingly finished for me. Again,
“You have a very annoying habit of interrupting my moments, Detective,” I grumbled giving him my best stink eye face.
Not looking the least bit repentant, Jami just gave me a shrug. “Blame it on being a cop. Saves time and saves me listening to people stammering out the truth. In my line of work, it can take more time than I have to get to the truth. Time that can be spent elsewhere.”
“Like spending time with my baby sister?” I grinned, enjoying the blush Jami was now sporting. Oh boy Georgina and Claudia were going to have fun with this little tidbit.
“Yes, actually. I enjoyed the day we spent together touring around Blessings. Her enthusiasm for your hometown is commendable, rare. She has a way about her that intrigues me, calls to me.” I could tell telling me that was hard for him, his tough exterior essential for his job, but under that hard shell Jamison Jury was definitely a big softie.
“Can I give you a little advice, where my sister is concerned?” I asked simply out of politeness because he was going to get it whether he wanted it or not.
Holding is hands up in surrender, Jamison’s stoic expression didn’t waver. It was his blue eyes that gave me to thumbs up.
“Gisele is the baby of the family. We all have the same weird sense of humour, to sassy comebacks and she is unquestionably Georgina’s daughter. However, unlike Claudia and I, she didn’t inherit the Blessing thick skin. She feels hurt deeper, she has a sensitivity that is both good and bad.”
Jamison didn’t say anything for a whole minute, I know because I counted each second. “Why are you telling me this Elle?”
“Because I’ve seen you two together, and I’ve seen what happens when someone mentions your name around her. There is something brewing between you and Gisele. I’m jaded when it come to love but Claudia isn’t, and she assures me you and our sister have a chemistry.”
“I’ve known her for two days, she intrigues me, that’s all,” Jamison tried to reason but I wasn’t having any of that B.S.
“I believe you said she is rare and that calls you to her,” I reminded him, adlibbing. “Don’t interrupt me,” I growled when he opened his mouth. “Don’t bother denying what you meant by what you said that. My sisters are very important to me. Our dad said we should’ve been triplets we are that close, so shut up and listen to what I am telling you.”
Thankfully, Jamison was not only a smart cop, but he was also a smart man. He remained quiet and waited for me to keep going.
“Miracle’s entrance into this world was nothing short of miraculous. Those details will be left to Gisele to share. You’ve met the baby daddy, a waste of space in my opinion and many others. What she doesn’t need is someone coming into town and twisting her up, she gets enough of that from the narrowminded locals. Again, her story to tell.”
“So, what exactly can you tell me, Elle?”
“Don’t mess with her Jamison. Don’t add to the narrowminded gossip. Don’t start something you have no intention of continuing.” With that said, I picked up the plate from the table and offered him another delicious treat, ending the serious conversation. If Jamison thought I was overstepping he didn’t give any indication, not that I gave a shit if he did. My family was everything to me, something the detective would learn sooner rather than later.