Read Online Dangerous Passage (Southern Crimes Book #1): A Novel by Lisa Harris - Free Book Online Page B

“I’ve never seen this photo. That is Tala, but the other girl . . . no. I don’t recognize her.”
    “So you’ve never seen her before?”
    “No.” Mrs. Sourn handed the photo back to Avery. “Like I said, Tala was a private person. She tended to avoid the camera.”
    “What about her parents?” Mitch asked.
    “Her parents were killed in a car accident about six months ago, which is why Tala decided to come live with us.”
    “Where was her family originally from?” Avery asked.
    “Vietnam.”
    “Does she have other family either here or in Vietnam?”
    “Distant family, but Tala lived in the US her whole life. She didn’t even have a passport.”
    Avery and Mitch followed the older woman out of the room and back down the stairs to the living room. “Any brothers or sisters?”
    “No. She was pretty much alone in the world. My husband and I felt sorry for her and believed the least we could do was let her live here.”
    They stopped in the middle of the living room, and Avery caught the older woman’s gaze. “Mrs. Sourn, I do need to ask you, where were you Monday morning between two and four?”
    Mrs. Sourn sat back down in her chair. The reality of the situation had begun to sink in. “I was here with my husband. He can verify that.”
    “I have one last question for now, Mrs. Sourn. Your niece had a tattoo on her shoulder. What can you tell us about it?”
    “The tattoo . . .” Mrs. Sourn’s fingers grasped the edges of her chair. She shook her head. “I don’t know. I think she had it when she moved here.”
    “So you don’t know when or where she got it?”
    “No, I’m sorry.”
    Avery pulled a business card from her pocket and handed it to the older woman. “Thank you for your help, Mrs. Sourn. We’ll be in touch again soon, but if you think of anything else that might help us find Tala’s killer, please call.”
    “Of course.”
    “We will need to speak to your husband as well. Do you know when he’ll be available?”
    “He told me he’d be home for dinner.”
    Mrs. Sourn didn’t move from her chair, her face pale.
    “Are you going to be all right, ma’am?” Mitch stepped forward. “Can I call someone for you?”
    “No. I . . . I’ll be fine.”
    Avery nodded at Mitch. “Then we’ll see ourselves out.”
    Outside, golf carts buzzed along the green in the distance, a world away from the stench of death and loss.
    A few moments later, Avery gripped the steering wheel as she drove out of the neighborhood with Mitch beside her.
    “What do you think?” he asked.
    “She seemed genuinely upset.”
    “And afraid. Nervous,” Mitch added.
    “Why wouldn’t she be?” Avery wasn’t sure she should defend Mrs. Sourn, but she had been on the receiving end of a call like they’d made today. “The woman just found out that her niece was murdered. I remember after Ethan died, I couldn’t stop thinking that if death could take him, then why not my parents, or my sister . . . or Tess. The thought tormented me for weeks.”
    “You could be right, but I still think we need to dig deeper.”
    Avery nodded. “I agree. I want you to go with Tory and talk to the husband. He might be in meetings all day, but we need to know if their stories match, and if you can get any new information out of him.”
    “So you think Mrs. Sourn knows more than she’s saying?”
    “If she is involved, she’s quite an actress.”
    “And there’s still the matter of the tattoo. That isn’t exactly insignificant. The exact same tattoo and crime scene setup as the other girl.” Mitch turned up the air conditioner in an attempt to get rid of the humidity that hung in the car. “I know you don’t believe in coincidences any more than I do.”
    Mitch was right, but they needed more pieces before they could put the puzzle together. Which meant that for now, finding out the identity of their Jane Doe had left them with far more questions than answers.
    Avery’s phone rang, and she pressed