Kamira tiredly looked at Jack. “Thanks, Jack. I will see you in the morning.”
Jack drove back to the department to check in and make a phone call. Calling the Greyhound bus terminal, he found out Willie Mae was not on the bus to Jackson. Instead, she rode the bus up to Parchman Farms.
Realization hit him. Willie Mae went to visit George Buchanan.
Looking at his watch, he figured it was too late to call Kamira. This kind of news she wouldn’t take lightly over the phone. It would be best if he told her in person.
Walking out his office door, Jack said goodnight to the officer on duty and went home to bed.
At 3 am, Jack, sleeping soundly, hears his cell phone ringing. Reaching for his phone, he said, “Jack Thomas.”
“Jack, it’s Tom. We just got a call, Jack. Billie Gordon’s house is on fire.”
Chapter 8
Kamira hung up the phone, screaming, “Terrance, get dressed. Billie’s house is on fire!”
Terrance woke up shaking his head, not quite believing what Kamira had just said. “Kamira, you‘re having a nightmare.”
Terrance looked around the bedroom, seeing Kamira quickly throwing on jeans and a tee-shirt. He jumped out of bed, and the duo was out the door in less than five minutes.
Racing to Billie’s house, they saw the orange flames licking at the air. Kamira jumped from the car, running towards the burning house.
Jack, seeing Kamira, ran to stop her from going into the house. “Kamira, Billie and Keisha are safe.”
Kamira looked at Jack, her eyes streaming tears with a fierce look of terror.
“Billie, where is Billie?” Kamira screamed.
“Over by the ambulances. I will take you to Billie.”
Jack quickly led Kamira to the ambulance site. Kamira, seeing Billie, breathed a sigh of relief.
“Billie, are you alright? Keisha, is she alright?”
Billie smiled through the pain while the paramedic carefully wrapped his right hand and arm with a dry, sterile dressing.
“It’s alright, Kamira. Keisha and I are alive. That is all that matters.” Billie grimaced at the paramedic as she wrapped his left hand and arm.
Kamira stared at Billie’s hand and arm. They were burnt and blistered.
Taking a deep breath, she brought her emotions under control and transformed into Detective Kamira Jackson.
Looking at the paramedic, she asked in a calm but stern voice, “Can you tell me the degree of the burns?”
The paramedic replied, “Second-degree burns of the hands and lower arm area. We will transport Mr. and Mrs. Gordon to the hospital in Gulfport, Detective.”
Kamira nodded. “Where can I find Mrs. Gordon?”
Before the paramedic could reply, Billie’s eyes filled with tears. “They have already taken her to Gulfport, Kamira. Keisha’s in labor. Can you call mama? Get her to the hospital?”
The paramedic looked at Kamira, stating, “We need to get Mr. Gordon to Gulfport, Detective.”
Kamira, nodding, replied, “I will get auntie and…”
Jack had walked up to stand next to Kamira. “I already have Tom transporting her to the Gulfport hospital, Billie. She should be there in five.”
Billie sobbed. The paramedics lifted him into the waiting ambulance. Looking up, he gazed at Kamira, anger rising in his eyes.
“Find out who did this, Kamira.”
Kamira’s heartbeat sped up with fear, tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched the ambulance race off towards Gulfport.
Turning, Kamira saw that the fire had already reduced the house to a pile of rubble, ashes, and smoking wood in just those few minutes since she arrived.
There was a rotting smell, like a lousy barbecue gone wrong.
Kamira walked over to Terrance, who was talking with the fire chief.
“What do you have, Chief?”
The chief turned to Kamira and replied, “They used an accelerant on your cousin’s house. Gas, highly flammable. One of the most dangerous accelerants. They doused all four sides of the house. You’re lucky Mr. Gordon was still awake and smelled the gas. The outcome could have been much worse. Someone is sending your family a message, Detective.
“Thank you, Chief.” Kamira turned to look at Terrance and Jack.
“Let’s get to the hospital. Terrance, can you drive?”
Terrance took Kamira’s arm, leading her to their car. Jack followed, jumping into the back seat.
As they drove to the Gulfport hospital, Kamira stared out the front window. Her eyebrows pulled together. The crease was deep and clear.
Slamming her hand against the window, she turned in her seat to face Jack.
“What has Willie Mae done, Jack?”
Jack looked Kamira in the eyes and said, “She wasn‘t shopping, Kamira. She took the bus to Parchman. Willie Mae had a visit with George Buchanan at the prison. By the time I verified she was on the bus register and the visitors log at Parchman, it was almost midnight. I figured I would tell you in the morning.”
Turning around in her seat, Kamira crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes narrowed, a flat look coming on her face. She was quiet the rest of the trip, thinking, George Buchanan will regret the day I came to Shadowbank.
At the hospital in Gulfport, Willie Mae looked through the window at her new grandson. She knew she couldn’t turn back now. Her family’s safety depended on it.
Picking up her phone, she dialed Vittoria DeLuca.
“Willie Mae, it’s 5 am. What’s wrong?”
“The State Line Mob burned Billie’s house down tonight. Keisha has had the baby, and Billie’s hands and arms have complete second-degree burns, Vittoria. I need help to protect my family till I can finish this.”
Vittoria, by this time, was sitting up in her bed. “Willie Mae, tell me what and who brought this on.”
Willie Mae shuddered. “I went to pay George Buchanan a visit and told him to leave my family alone, or I would destroy the State Line Mob single-handedly.”
Vittoria smiled, “You didn‘t?”
Willie Mae held her head up high. “I did. But now his message is obvious.”
Vittoria walked to her office. “Willie Mae, you stay at that hospital till I get there. Do not leave that hospital. I am leaving immediately. I will bring Frank, Giovanni, and Nicko with me. We should be there in 3 hours.”
Willie Mae, trying to hold the tears back, replied quietly, “Thank
