The Last to Die. Beverly Barton

chuckled, the sound just a bit off. She hoped nobody but Ludie heard the nervousness in her voice. “Yes, I’d know. And if you’re thinking there’s any chance you and Jazzy are sisters, then get that notion right out of your head. My younger sister—Jazzy’s mama—had one baby girl. That’s all.”

      “I see.”

      Sally could tell by Reve Sorrell’s heaving sigh and her tentative smile that she was relieved not to be related to Jazzy. Judging the woman by the fancy clothes she wore and the expensive sports car she drove, Sally figured Ms. Sorrell came from money. Big money. And big bank accounts usually came attached to big snobbery. More than likely this gal was mighty glad to find out that she wasn’t blood kin to the likes of Jazzy Talbot.

      “What did Jazzy say when you two met?” Ludie asked, and Sally wanted to slap her friend senseless. Damn it, Ludie, leave well enough alone.

      “We really didn’t get a chance to talk,” Reve said.

      “I’m afraid Jazzy and I had a little difference of opinion,” Caleb admitted.

      “Let me guess.” Sally huffed. “It was over Jamie Upton coming around last night, wasn’t it?” Sally reached over and patted Caleb on the back. “You keep on giving her hell about it. When she told me she’d let that rascal in last night, I sure gave her hell for being so stupid.”

      “Jazzy told you that she was with Jamie?” Caleb asked.

      Sally eyed him speculatively. “She didn’t let him spend the night, you know. She ain’t that stupid. She swore to me that it’s over between them. And I believe her.”

      Reve cleared her throat. “If y’all will excuse me—”

      “Ms. Sorrell is a friend of Jamie’s, too,” Caleb said. “He’s the one who told her that she had a look-alike here in Cherokee Pointe.”

      “God help you, gal.” Sally pinned Reve with a warning glare. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll steer clear of Jamie Upton. He’s nothing but trouble for any woman. Somebody should have skinned him alive years ago.” Sally puckered her lips and spit a hunk of brown tobacco juice on the sidewalk. When she heard Reve Sorrell gasp and noticed her jump backward, Sally grinned. “Damn, I should have killed that good-for-nothing polecat back when he was a teenager. I could have saved Jazzy a heap of heartache.” Sally slapped her hand down on Ms. Sorrell’s shoulder. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to scare the woman off. No sirree, not a bad idea at all. Even if Ms. Sorrell thought she might be Jazzy’s sister, knowing somebody like Sally might be her aunt would run her off pronto. “If you been fucking around with Jamie, then you got my sympathy. Take my advice and stay away from him from now on.”

      “Ms. Talbot, I can assure you that I have not been—”

      “Call me Sally. Everybody does.” Sally interrupted before Reve finished her sentence, which undoubtedly was a denial of a sexual relationship with Jamie Upton.

      “Sally, it’s been…interesting meeting you. But I really must go.” Reve backed away several feet. “Having met your niece…and you…and finding out that she and I are not related, despite our resemblance—”

      “Did you really come here just to see if you and Jazzy might be related?” Sally asked. “Or did Jamie mention Jazzy and you came here figuring to see if she was competition? She ain’t. Her and Jamie are finished. But you do know he’s engaged…to be married.”

      “No, I didn’t know, but I’m pleased for him. Believe me, Jamie Upton doesn’t mean a thing to me. Now, if y’all will excuse me, I’ll be going.”

      Sally spit again, this time creating a lot of noise before doing so, making the event seem even more gross to someone unaccustomed to being around an old woman who chewed tobacco and occasionally dipped snuff, too.

      “Don’t run off,” Caleb called after Ms. Sorrell.

      The lady in question didn’t even bother saying good-bye. She unlocked her car, got in, and backed out of the parking place, all in a powerful hurry.

      “So, what’s going on?” Caleb asked Sally. “Why did you try to hard to run her off? Is she really Jazzy’s sister?”

      “What a fool thing to say,” Sally told him. “My Jazzy ain’t got no sister. My sister gave birth to one baby girl. Says so right on her birth certificate.”

      “Mm-hm…if you say so.”

      “I say so.”

      “Well, it’s been quite a day already and it’s not even ten o’clock.” Caleb nodded cordially. “You ladies have a good one.” Smiling, he turned and walked away.

      Just as soon as Caleb was out of earshot, Ludie grabbed Sally’s arm. “You might have run that Sorrell girl off pretty easy like, but we both know that Jazzy’s going to ask you about her. And you just remember that Jazzy knows you. She’ll be able to tell if you’re lying to her.”

      “I didn’t lie to that Sorrell woman and I won’t be lying to Jazzy when I tell her that my sister, Corrine, gave birth to one little girl. Not twins. Corrine’s baby didn’t have no brothers or sisters.”

      “That’s only a half truth and you know it.”

      “It’s all the truth Jazzy ever needs to know.”

      “Something tells me that sooner or later Jazzy and that Sorrell girl are both going to start wondering more and more about why they look so much alike.”

      “There could be another reason, another explanation,” Sally said. “I swear to you that I don’t know nothing about there being two babies. All I ever knew about was my little Jasmine.”

      “I believe you.” Ludie patted Sally on the back. “I been around all these years, all of Jazzy’s life. I know everything you know.”

      Not quite everything, Sally thought. There was one thing I never told you, my old friend. One thing I’ll never tell a living soul.

      Morning sunlight warmed her as it streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows and caressed her body. She’d been thinking about what she had to do to protect her child. No more, no less than any mother would do to keep her child safe. Jamie Upton was a danger she planned to eliminate. He didn’t deserve to live.

      She had to be very careful. Her plans had to be well thought out, meticulous in details, so that not only would Jamie die a horrific death, but so that Jasmine Talbot would be accused of his murder. They were both sinners. Fornicators. They both deserved to die. Why did men think they could betray the women they professed to love and never be punished?

      She had to act quickly. The wedding was in three weeks. Any time before then would be soon enough, but she didn’t think she could wait. The thought of tormenting Jamie excited her. She didn’t dare wait much longer. What if someone else killed him before she got the chance? And it was quite possible that might happen, because so many people hated Jamie. Even his beloved Jazzy professed to despise him. But she hadn’t turned him away last night, had she? And for that alone, she deserved all the misery that was in store for her.

      Chapter 4

      Jamie felt damn good. He’d scored a direct hit on the old man. Even if Big Daddy knew he hadn’t fucked Erin, some little fragment of doubt would remain in his mind about whether or not his mistress found his grandson a more interesting prospect. The more his grandfather worried about his own love life, the less time he’d have to interfere in Jamie’s.

      Of course, he’d have to cool things with other women for the next couple of months. Last night had been his final fling before walking down the aisle. After the honeymoon, he’d gradually ease back into Jazzy’s life and into any other woman’s bed he chose to pleasure him.

      Jazzy might have convinced herself that they were through, but she was just kidding herself. The two of them were bound together forever, and nothing