Page 39 of Seaside Strangers
“I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
They all turned as Brian came around the side of the house and stepped onto the patio, arms crossing over his chest, his focus locked on her. “She’s wanted for questioning in a triple homicide case—her mother, sister, and five-year-old nephew.”
“No!”
Her cry of denial came at the same time he and Dan reacted. “What?”
The word left both men, sharp with disbelief, and for a moment, everyone started talking at once. Dan cut through the noise with a piercing whistle, then held up a hand.
“Hold it. Everyone, calm down.” His gaze moved between them before settling on her, his expression searching. “There’s more to this. Maura… did you kill your family?”
He raised a hand when Brian tried to interrupt, silencing him without looking away from her.
“No! Absolutely not! L-Leo did!” The words came out broken as she fought through tears.
None of it made sense. KC's thoughts scrambled as he tried to piece things together. “Leo? Your ex-boyfriend?”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend,” she said, shaking her head. “He was my sister’s.”
“Your sister’s? Wait a minute…” He blew out a breath and gestured toward the seating around the fire pit. “I’m missing something. Sit down and tell us what’s going on.”
Maura, Dan, and KC took seats while Brian stood behind his uncle, still glaring at Maura as if he was ready to haul her off to jail, no questions asked. Jinx lay at her feet and, at the moment, was the only one who appeared to be entirely on herside, even though Dan seemed to be more than halfway there.
KC dropped the duffel at his feet and leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees. After a moment, he glanced up at his brother. “First things first—where did you get this information?”
“Yesterday morning, when you introduced us, I noticed she went pale when you mentioned I worked for the SBI. You didn’t catch it, but I did. It set off alarms.” Brian shifted his stance slightly, still watching her. “When I went inside for the coffee, I saw her purse. Checked her license and discovered her name isn’t Maura Jennings. She's Moriah Jensen from Chicago.”
KC’s jaw tightened.
“I went to the station after I left here to run her through the system,” Brian continued, “but got pulled into a road rage case that turned into an armed robbery. By the time I wrapped that up, it slipped my mind. I went back this morning and ran her name and date of birth.”
He paused, letting that hang for a few beats.
“Four months ago, her family was shot to death. She disappeared right after. She hasn’t been named a suspect yet, but she’s listed as the primary person of interest.”
KC turned back to her, forcing himself to look past her tears and distraught expression. The shock from a few seconds ago hardened into something sharper in his gut, something harder to control. He kept his voice level. “What happened?”
She swallowed twice, trying to steady herself. Her hands twisted together in her lap as she stared at the empty fire pit. “My nameisMoriah Jensen. I lived in a three-bedroom apartment with my mom and younger sister. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, but it was all we could afford after my father left. Susan… she ran with the wrong crowd, drinking, doing drugs, and always getting into trouble. But when she got pregnant, something changed. She stopped seeing those people and started taking care of herself.”
Her voice softened, the memory pulling at her. “When Nicholas was born, Mom and I helped as much as we could. Susan got a waitressing job and started working toward her G.E.D. Things were… good.” A fragile smile surfaced for a moment, then slipped away. “He was a beautiful baby. Susan loved him. We all did.”
She paused, her fingers tightening together before continuing. “A few months ago, I noticed the signs that Susan was using again. That’s when Ifound out she was seeing a local drug dealer—Leo Simmons.” A flicker of anger broke through the grief. “I lost it. I told her I’d call Child Protective Services and have Nicholas taken away. I don’t think I could’ve gone through with it, but I needed her to believe I would. She promised she’d stop seeing him.”
Her voice faltered. “The day they were… killed…”
She drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly while the men remained silent.
“That morning, I went into her room looking for a pair of shoes she’d borrowed. Instead, I found that duffel.” She pointed toward the bag at KC’s feet. “With all that cash… and a gun.”
“I—I couldn’t believe she’d brought something like that into the apartment with a five-year-old there! I mean, what if he found the gun and… and…” She shook her head, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “I didn’t want to wake my mom—it was her day off, and she hadn’t been feeling well. I thought I could handle it myself. Susan had already taken Nicholas to preschool, but he’d be back by eleven. I didn’t want the bag there when he came home, so I took it with me to work.” Her expression tightened. “I don’t even know why. It was a terrible decision.”
She glanced toward the beach, as if gatheringherself before continuing. “I put it in my locker and called her around nine-fifteen during my break. We argued. She was furious I’d taken it, and I was even angrier that she had it in the first place. That’s when she told me it belonged to Leo. She swore she didn’t know what was inside—said he’d told her to hold onto it for a few days, and she didn’t question it.” Her voice cracked. “I—I told her it was drug money and that I was going to the police. She said if I did, he’d kill her. That he had connections in the department.”
She paused, her focus slipping for a moment before she pulled it back.
“How did she know that?” KC asked quietly.
“S-she’d seen a man at Leo’s apartment once and recognized him as a detective who came into the diner sometimes with other officers. She didn’t know his name.”
