Chapter 15 #2
“Seriously?” Eric clicked his tongue in disappointment. “There’s important information in the statement.”
“I know. I told myself that I needed to pay more attention, but it was easier to ignore it. A part of me just didn’t want to take responsibility for the Tap Room. Once I did, it would mean my dad was really gone and never coming back. Stupid, but that’s the truth.”
Eric’s expression softened, and a stab of guilt pierced Jesse’s heart. She was using that excuse with depressing regularity. Did she truly believe she should have a free pass for every poor decision she’d made over the past decade?
“I forget how difficult this must be for you,” Eric said in apologetic tones.
Jesse shook her head. “No. I’ve let things slide for too long. It’s time to step up and be an adult. Do you know where the storage unit is?”
“Crawdaddy’s Storage. It’s in the lot behind the lumberyard.”
Jesse nodded. She remembered when they started construction. It was a huge disappointment to discover they weren’t building a new restaurant or a tanning salon.
“Thanks. I’ll try not to bother you again.”
“No bother.” Eric smiled, but once again it failed to reach his eyes.
Making a mental note to avoid rushing to the lawyer without making an appointment that could be properly billed, Jesse left the office and crossed the street, keeping her pace steady as she headed to the lumberyard.
She’d attracted enough attention racing around like a madwoman since her return to Canton.
Whatever was in the unit had been there for years. It would be there ten minutes from now.
Futilely trying to imagine what her father considered so important he was willing to pay for it to be held in storage, Jesse rounded the corner and crossed directly through the back of the lumberyard, weaving her way through the bricks and paving stones that were neatly stacked to create a barrier between the adjoining lot.
Once through the building supplies, Jesse was able to study the rectangular cement structure painted a bright blue with metal roll-up doors.
A wooden sign strapped to a tall pole assured her this was indeed Crawdaddy’s Storage.
Unfortunately, there was no one around to tell her which unit belonged to her father.
She stopped, glancing around in the vain hope someone might appear.
When she accepted she was on her own she strolled past the doors, relieved to discover that most of them had combination locks or heavy-duty padlocks that were too large for her key.
Rounding the end of the building, she started down the other side, stopping when she reached the second unit.
It was the only one so far that had a small padlock and a thick layer of dust on the door that indicated it hadn’t been opened in a long time.
This had to be it.
Inserting the key, Jess smiled when there was a soft click and the padlock easily fell open.
She twisted it off and shoved it into her pocket before bending down to grab the handle at the bottom of the door.
With a grunt, she lifted the heavy steel that hadn’t been opened in years.
It was a struggle, but with grim determination, she at last had it fully open to allow the searing sunlight to banish the darkness.
She stood in front of the unit for a minute, taking a visual inventory of the items piled inside. The majority of the space was consumed by a large object covered by a heavy tarp. Along the back wall were stacks of plastic tubs with garment bags thrown on top.
Once she was convinced that nothing was going to jump out or fall on her head, Jesse cautiously entered the unit.
She squeezed past the covered object to unzip one of the garment bags, revealing a beaded cocktail dress and matching shawl.
She easily recognized it. It had belonged to Victoria.
The older woman had been forced to abandon a ton of stuff when she packed her bags and left.
Sports cars weren’t famous for large trunks.
She’d left behind more belongings than she’d been able to take. Now Jesse knew what’d happened to them.
A quick peek into the plastic tubs revealed more of Victoria’s things, along with a few that belonged to Tegan.
At last, she slowly turned to face the large object in the center of the unit, her heart sinking as she realized what it had to be.
Reaching out, she grabbed the tarp and slowly began to pull it to the side, coughing as a cloud of dust swirled through the air, aiming directly for her face.
She turned her head to the side as she continued to yank off the heavy canvas, her attention suddenly captured by something on the ground next to her feet.
Continuing to pull the tarp, she bent down to grab what turned out to be a business card.
ALLEN LUMBERYARD
LUMBER AND HARDWARE SUPPLIES
NOAH ALLEN
Jesse frowned. Noah’s business card? What was it doing in her dad’s storage unit? She turned it over, noticing the dirt that had been ground into the heavy paper. The card had been there a while, but how long?
With a shake of her head, she shoved the card into her back pocket along with the lock. It was a worry for later. Now she turned back to the car, wincing at the sight of the smashed front.
She hadn’t seen the vehicle since Victoria drove away from the Tap Room. After her wreck the sheriff had it towed to an impoundment lot, presumably to be searched for clues. Jesse hadn’t even known that her father had gotten it back.
Yet another thing he’d kept hidden from her, she acknowledged with a pang of bitterness.
With an impatient hiss, Jesse squashed the surge of self-pity. Her dad no doubt had his reasons. Maybe to protect her. Or just because he needed to lock away his painful memories. God knew she’d made more than a few sketchy decisions she wouldn’t want to explain to anyone.
It was all a part of being human.
Squaring her shoulders, she moved toward the side of the car, grabbing the handle to pull the passenger door. She was a little surprised when it opened easily. She’d expected it to be locked.
Lowering herself onto the soft leather seat, Jesse glanced around.
The air inside was musty, but a lingering scent of perfume made Jesse shudder.
She remembered that cloying scent. With an effort, she forced herself to remain in the car.
She didn’t know what she was searching for; the sheriff had stated during the preliminary hearings that nothing had been found in the car.
No bags or personal items; but then again, he’d never suspected there was foul play.
Unlike Adam Tillman, the older man was convinced that Victoria had taken her daughter and disappeared.
There was a chance he hadn’t done a thorough investigation.
Gathering her courage, Jesse opened the glove compartment and shuffled through the junk crammed inside.
There was nothing but the usual insurance cards and car manual that no one ever looked at, along with a pair of sunglasses and extra napkins.
She bent down, feeling under the seats, before lifting the floor mats.
Nothing. The same when she pulled down the sunshades and felt inside the cupholders.
On the point of conceding defeat, Jesse impulsively shoved her hand between the seat and the center console.
Anything she’d ever lost in a car had ended up in that awkward space. Keys, her phone, lip balm …
Her breath caught as the tips of her fingers brushed against something. A piece of paper? She struggled to twist her hand to get a grip on the damned thing.
At last she managed to slip the paper between her first and middle fingers, squeezing tight as she wiggled her hand out. Jesse sucked in a sharp breath as she realized she hadn’t dug out a piece of paper. It was a photograph.
Climbing out of the car, Jesse moved toward the door, tilting the photo until it was bathed in sunlight. It was slightly faded and bent in a couple of places, but the image of two young girls standing in front of the St. Louis Arch was unmistakable.
A flare of excitement raced through Jesse.
She didn’t know if the snapshot was deliberately hidden or if it had fallen accidentally between the seats, but she was certain that one of the girls was Tegan.
She was only five or six in the picture, but she hadn’t changed much by the time she moved to Canton.
And it was obvious she was in St. Louis.
Even better, she was wearing a short plaid skirt and a dark blue sweater with a badge sewn on the upper right chest.
It looked like a private school uniform.
Pulling out her phone, Jesse tapped on the magnifying app and hovered it above the photograph. It took a second to focus before she could make out the stitching on the badge.
“‘Saint Mary’s Elementary School,’” she read out loud. Her mouth went dry as she silently repeated the name. “Saint Mary’s Elementary School.”
It was a clue. A genuine clue to Tegan’s past. And, hopefully, Victoria.
Barely daring to hope for more, Jesse slowly turned the picture over, her breath catching as she studied the faded ink strokes on the back. Was it a name? She studied the scribbles, at last using her phone to magnify the marks.
It wasn’t a name, she accepted with a pang of disappointment, but it looked like initials.
K-LA? Yes, that was it. K-LA.
“Jesse?”
The sound of her name had her twisting around with a shrill squeak to discover Noah standing a few feet away. Instinctively, she shoved the picture in her back pocket, a tingle of alarm inching down her spine.
Noah wasn’t blocking her exit, but that didn’t keep her heart from slamming against her ribs. He appeared disturbingly large as she tilted back her head to meet his brooding gaze.
“Noah. I didn’t hear you coming.”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his work khakis. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Not your fault.” She managed a weak smile. “I’m a little on edge.”