Behind The Veil, page 21
“Margo, I’ve got to go. I just wanted to share that with you in the event—”
“Don’t go now. We’re on a roll. Are you going to call the police?”
“No.”
“Well, good day.” And Margo slammed the phone in its cradle, causing it to fall to the floor. Plastic and metal pieces flew across the floor like an unexpected meteor shower. The nerve of that woman, who only hours earlier had confessed her love for my husband. Now she’s about to rat him out. Serves Jefferson right. Angelica made the break, so can I, if need be. Let me call my girl and see what she’s into.
“Hey girl, you free now?” asked a tickled Margo. Angelica was keeping secrets. “Can’t keep girlfriend out in the cold.”
“No girl. It really wasn’t like that.”
“So what was it like, huh?”
“Get out of here, Margo.”
“What are you doing tonight in the way of celebrating?”
“More than likely, I’ll be going to Durham to a party. Would ask you to go, but I’m sure you and Jefferson have a big night planned.”
“Right. I haven’t seen Jefferson since twelve-thirty a.m. this morning. Am I worried?”
“What?”
“You heard me, and guess what, Angie? He’s having an affair with my nextdoor neighbor, Linda Montgomery.”
“Girl, stop. Not the same Linda Montgomery who fainted in the middle of your living room last Sunday?”
“One and the same.”
“Get out of here. What are you going to do? Cuss her out, beat the hell out of her? Girl, I don’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“Well, believe it. She said she loved him. He told me he thinks he loves her. Don’t choke, girl, this is for real. She and I have already had words. Then she had the nerve to call me back later to tell me she believes Jefferson is involved in something that could mean big trouble.”
“Big trouble like what?”
“She didn’t tell me much. She overheard him talking to someone last night about some kind of trouble. Then she went on to tell me that she and Jefferson were together last Friday. They went to Richmond Heights. That must have been when you saw him. And she said they met up with a sinister-looking bunch. One of them carried a machine-gun.”
“My goodness, Margo. Do you think Jefferson could really be involved in something illegal?”
“That’s what Linda seems to think.”
“What else did she say?”
“She mentioned a name—Sundee, Santee, no it was Santiago. Yeah, that was it.”
“Who is that?”
“She didn’t say. I don’t think she knows, either. I believe she heard Jefferson call his name to whomever he was talking to.”
“And guess what else?”
“What, Margo?”
“Linda said she would tell the police the truth as she knows it.”
“But what does she know?”
“Nothing. Just a hunch that Jefferson may somehow be indirectly responsible for Blake’s murder.”
“Get out of here! But we were all at the house when Blake was murdered. How did she come up with that equation?”
“You asking me? I say it serves Jefferson right. You know Angelica, even though you’ve been married to someone for over twenty-five years, you never really know what lies beneath the veil. I thought I knew my husband. We had a wonderful marriage, four beautiful children, good jobs, traveled all over the world, and now look at us. It boggles my mind.
“Then take Linda Montgomery, this so-called perfect specimen of a friend who I put all of my faith and trust in, the epitome of the loyal neighbor. She was all that I considered to be good in a person. Just goes to show, you can’t trust anybody. If you can’t trust your best friend, then whom else are you going to trust?
“It saddens me, Angelica, because these were people I trusted so much. I trusted them with my life. I’m so grateful I have you as a friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you. This has been hard for me because I’ve been so trusting. And the one person above all others who I would have laid down life and limb for, has made a mockery out of everything we were as husband and wife. I hope to never lose you as a friend. I guess this is life and I’m learning some of life’s hard lessons.
“And all these things people are saying about Jefferson. I can’t believe they’re true. If he really is dealing with unscrupulous people, why haven’t I been able to see the signs? I live right up under him, and there has been nothing, to my knowledge, that would indicate that anything other than our daily lives was happening.”
“You didn’t know about Linda,” Angelica said. “And that was happening right under your very nose. You’ll get through this, Margo. And I want you to know, I love you. I hate to leave you hanging, girl, but I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I get back. We’ve got some serious talking to do.”
CHAPTER 37
Ebony lay sprawled across the bed. She couldn’t sleep. Her dreams were so vivid—and she tried to block out Marsha’s face.
She reached over and picked up the card that Sergeant Broadnax had given her from the nightstand that Sergeant Broadnax gave her. She stared at it and twirled it between her fingers, allowing her subconscious to revisit the scene on Fuller Street after her mother’s body had been brought down. There seemed to be something honest about Sergeant Broadnax. She felt it in her heart. He seemed to genuinely care for her mother. She twirled the card again and decided to make the call.
Sergeant Broadnax answered on the first ring—almost as if he anticipated her call. He had a pleasant voice, Ebony thought—a calmness that was quite soothing.
“Sergeant Broadnax?” Ebony asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, I’m Ebony Wilson, Marsha’s daughter.” She could hear the surprise in his silence.
“Uh, Ms. Wilson, I’m so glad you called. How are you feeling today?”
“As well as can be expected,” she said. “I’ll let you know when the arrangements for my mother have been made.”
“Thank you. I’d like to pay my respects. You know,” Carl continued, more hesitantly than before, “I thought your mother was someone special, even though I only knew her a short period of time—I do mean short. She had a way about her, and I believe she needed someone besides her children who could really love her.”
“You realized all of that in just a short period of time?”
“I did. That’s why I went back there yesterday afternoon. Was gonna ask her if she wanted to celebrate the New Year … with me.” Carl sighed. Again he saw Marshal’s blood-soaked body.
Ebony listened thoughtfully and then spoke up. “She was special. She didn’t have the opportunity or the chances to make her life right.” Ebony paused again, reflecting. “I think you would have made my mother happy.”
Sergeant Broadnax was glad Ebony couldn’t see him through the phone. He had the broadest smile on his face. If only he’d had the chance to possibly make Marsha happy.
Snapping out of his daydream, Sergeant Broadnax realized Ebony didn’t call to see if he had feelings for her mother. “Is there something I can do for you?” he inquired.
“Hopefully, you can,” Ebony replied. “If you have a minute today, I’d like to meet with you. I have some suspicions that I’d like to share. I feel that I can speak candidly to you about them.”
“I’m off today. Any time would be good for me. Where would you like to meet and what time?”
“Would noon be okay at Mi Casita’s on Ramsey Street? I have this sudden taste for Mexican food.”
“That would be fine.”
“I’d like to bring my sister along, if that’s alright with you.”
“Sure. That will be fine. Will see you at noon.”
“See you then.”
Jefferson looked at his watch. It was ten-fifteen a.m. What a morning! He couldn’t believe his luck.
He weaved in and out of traffic, not sure where he was going, but he knew he needed to get home. He didn’t feel like fighting with Margo, but after the kind of morning he’d had, he felt he could conquer the world.
“Got to make some phone calls,” Jefferson mumbled aloud. “Can’t avoid them forever.”
He decided to call Malik first. After several rings, Malik finally answered. Malik was concerned after he had returned Jefferson’s initial phone call and didn’t get a response. He tried subsequent times into the wee hours of the morning and still no response.
Jefferson gave Malik the 4-1-1 on all that had transpired. Malik was astonished at Jefferson’s revelation and shook his head as Jefferson gave him a blow-by-blow account. Malik felt sorry for Jefferson. There was little else he could say or do to cause Jefferson to see the light of day. Malik had warned, pleaded, and talked until there was nothing left to negotiate. Now Jefferson must face the consequences of his actions. He loved Jefferson like a brother, but Malik wanted no part of his friend’s self-destruction.
Realizing that he would not find any solace with Malik, Jefferson ended the conversation. Some friend, he thought. But Jefferson knew he couldn’t blame his troubles on Malik.
He dialed another number, partly because he was running out of options and needed to know if he had a lifeline left, and because any voice other than Margo’s was comforting regardless of the danger he was in.
“Hey, Hamilton…”
“Where in the hell have you been, Jefferson? I’ve only just called you ten dozen times in the last eight or nine hours.”
“Hold it, man,” Jefferson said matter-of-factly, trying to bring calm to a very irritated Hamilton Barnes.
“Hold it? What do you think I’ve been doing for the last ten hours? Even a full bladder has to have release sometime.”
“I’m sorry, man. I was detained, and my cell battery was dead,” Jefferson lied.
“Where have you been? I spoke to your old lady, and she said she hadn’t seen you in a while.”
“You spoke to Margo?”
“You do still speak English, right?”
“What did she say, man?”
“She said you weren’t there! What’s up with you? Oh, you were with your white mistress from the neighborhood. I get it now—and poor Margo still doesn’t know.”
“She knows. I don’t know how she found out. Maybe she suspected and put it all together. After last weekend, she seemed to be ready for me.”
“You’re completely screwed up, Jefferson. If I had a hot number like that, my radar wouldn’t be looking for any more lost ships.”
“And certainly you have room to talk … the emperor of whoredom … player of the week,” Jefferson roared back. “And for your information, Margo is not a hot number. She’s every bit a lady.”
“Testy for someone who has the taste of someone else on their mouth.”
“Look, I didn’t call you to discuss my life situation. I’m returning your phone call. What did you want?”
“You have an hour and half to obtain two hundred fifty-thousand dollars. The bank closes at noon, which means you only have one hour to have the transaction complete. Santiago is accepting no excuses. By the way, I’ll handle the process from this point.”
“Absolutely not!!” Jefferson shouted.
“What part of what I said did you not understand, Jefferson? One hour or no excuses?”
“I can’t tap into those accounts again. I do not have any guarantee that this will be a successful drop.”
“If you don’t take care of it, you’ll never know. My cell is on, and I better hear from you in fifty-five minutes or less. Got that? … And oh, one more thing. I’ve got a package you’d be interested in—account transactions.”
Silence lay between the two of them. Hamilton didn’t wait for Jefferson to respond. “Fifty-three minutes. Can I give that beautiful wife of yours a call since you don’t seem to be interested?” And the line was dead.
CHAPTER 38
It was eleven fifty-seven a.m. Ebony was going to be late. If the traffic light would only be kind and allow her car to slide through, she’d be all right. Ahh, she made it. She’d only be a minute late.
She pulled into the parking lot and scanned the area, hoping to get a glimpse of him. Sergeant Broadnax spotted her first, peering through the smoky glass door from inside the restaurant. He didn’t want to appear anxious, standing outside and become the topic of an unwanted gossip of lunchtime customers as they strolled into the restaurant. Ebony looked so much like her mother—Ebony the diamond, Marsha the diamond in the rough.
“Hi, Ms. Wilson,” Sergeant Broadnax said, opening the door when Ebony approached.
“Hi, Sergeant Broadnax,” Ebony replied.
“You can call me Carl.”
“Okay, Carl. Sorry I’m late. I tried to be on time.”
“Late? Late by a minute?” He chuckled.
“It could mean the difference between life and death,” Ebony said in a strained voice.
Carl became somber. If only he had gone to check on Marsha earlier, he might have saved her.
This was the first time Ebony got a real look at Carl Broadnax. Civilian clothing replaced his uniform, but he was a handsome man. He appeared to be in his mid to late forties—a little salt and pepper sprinkled throughout his crew-cut head with more pepper sprinkled along the temples. He stood at least five feet eleven inches in a medium frame with a nice round behind. It must have been the result of all that walking—beating the streets. Most remarkable was the small gap between his slightly protruding two front teeth when he smiled. It was priceless.
Rich, dark chocolate would appropriately describe the color of his skin. Ebony melted when she gazed into his round, medium-brown eyes. Slightly thick lips that were definitely made for kissing sat just above Carl’s chin, and a long, slender nose met at the top of his lips, flaring a little at the nostrils.
“This treat is on me,” Carl said, retreating from his thoughts. “Where’s your sister?”
“She wasn’t able to come, so I guess it’s you and me.”
Carl was glad Ebony had chosen to come to Mi Casita. They ordered the chicken taco salad with plenty of guacamole and sour cream. They picked at their food, prolonging the purpose for their luncheon, neither of them displaying any signs of real hunger. They continued to play with their meals until Ebony suddenly and without warning broke the silence—her eyes looking deep into Carl’s.
“How well did you know my mother?”
Carl looked up and put down his fork. She sure was pretty. Her cocoa color and long, curly lashes that begged him to come near were so much like her mother’s. Marsha. And those thin sweet lips that Carl longed to taste made him quiver. He glanced away, unable to keep his thoughts in check.
“As I’ve said before, I didn’t know Marsha but for a little while, a few hours to be exact. I saw a light sparkling in her eyes, a heart big as a water-melon, and a smile to die for. She spoke kindly of her girls that she loved with all of her heart. She’d longed to be the kind of mother they would be proud of. But Marsha was dark inside. She harbored a lot of secrets—secrets that may have cost her life and are possibly connected with the murder of the man in the Explorer.”
“She shared that with you even though you just met?”
“I believe your mother sensed my kindness. She sought me out. We laughed and talked so easy-like. I believe she wanted to tell me something … something she wanted someone else to know … Someone who might take the information and do something with it.”
“What did she tell you?” Ebony asked. She needed to be sure that Sergeant Broadnax could be trusted, even though her instinct and gut feeling told her that he was all right.
“She hinted that she might have seen someone that I know near the scene of last Sunday’s accident-murder. She spoke mostly in riddles.”
“Did she mention Lieutenant Barnes?”
Ebony watched Sergeant Broadnax’s reaction to her question, although Carl tried to camouflage it.
“She hinted that Lieutenant Barnes may be tied to the murder. I’d rather we not speak about that in public. Marsha was not the only person who suspected that Lieutenant Barnes might be involved in some unscrupulous activity. I even have my suspicions.”
“I believe he killed my mother,” Ebony blurted.
Carl looked at her wearily. He wished he had an answer for her. Inasmuch as it could be true, he hoped that Hamilton Barnes wasn’t stupid enough to commit such an act. He knew of Barnes’ reputation with women and of his sometimes abusive behavior—but to kill Marsha?
“Why do you believe that?” Carl asked.
Ebony moved her lips slowly, formulating her words so Carl would not misunderstand. “Lieutenant Barnes visited with my mother earlier in the week. Asked her all kinds of questions about what she might have seen. After Momma told him she hadn’t seen anything, he threatened her. Said he’d take care of her if she’d lied.”
“My mother loved Lieutenant Barnes once,” Ebony continued. “He would have sex with her and used her to satisfy his lust, and with Momma being so enamored, she allowed it to happen. He even tried to put the make on her the other day.” Ebony noticed the disappointment etched in Sergeant Broadnax’s face, but she wanted to continue.
“There’s more. I believe my boss is also involved somehow. My mother told me she saw the two of them across the street from the house, along with some sinister individuals, the Friday night before that guy was killed. The crazy phone calls and Captain Petrowski’s visit to my office aroused my suspicion. My boss may be involved in some type of misconduct.”
“Catch your breath, Ebony. So … Captain Petrowski from the Fayetteville Police Department came asking questions?”
“Yes, and I’m not finished. I started checking some of the client accounts—I’m not sure why—but guess what I discovered? I noticed that large sums of money had been taken from several key accounts. I keep ledgers on all transactions, and there were at least ten profile accounts that showed transactions that did not make the ledger. They were all done on the same day.”
