A woman in a dark blue sweater had a huge microphone to her mouth, and she spoke and pointed to the apartment building every once and a while. I finally got the volume to the point where I could hear. The woman was saying, “This shooting took place last night right in the apartment the man shared with his girlfriend. We cannot disclose the name of the young man that was brutally murdered because his family has not been notified yet. The police will not discuss if there were witnesses and they will not mention if they have suspects. We will bring more details as soon as they are available.”
The one time I do watch television and was truly interested, I get nothing from it. I exhaled wishing they would give more details. Damn, I really wanted to know if they knew who did it. I figured by the end of the day, the news would be telling what the police knew. What if they knew it was me? What if someone saw my face, and they were describing what I look like to the police at that very moment? I felt like I was about to have a panic attack. This was too much. Now, I wish I hadn’t turned on the television because I started flipping through the channels looking for more news. I did find another news channel, but nothing was said about Alex. I found a couple more news programs, but they were talking about weather and traffic.
When Tanie came out of the bedroom, I told her about what I heard on the news and she told me not worry about it. They had no idea who was responsible and I was panicking for nothing. Easy for her to say. She seemed so confident about it like she knew exactly what the police had. I wish I had her confidence. My confidence was long gone, almost like it didn’t exist.
It’s strange how when Jason died, I had no worries at all. I didn’t feel the same way I feel now. I had the confidence. Even with all those people at that party, someone had to of seen me with Jason and saw us talking, but yet and still, I was never worried. This time it was just me and Alex. No one else was in the apartment. I didn’t see anyone, and now I am going crazy out of my mind worrying about getting caught.
Tanie remarked, “We’re going out. Go get dressed.”
Without protesting, I did what she said. I wanted to get the whole ordeal out of my mind, but I knew that was going to be a challenge. Before long we were in the car, and Tanie was driving towards the highway.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
I still had Alex heavy on my mind. The way his body fell when I shot him. I saw the life go right out of him. I’ve never seen anything like that before. It wasn’t amazing or glamorous. It was horrible. Blood and guts flew out of the back of his head, and his body hit the ground so hard. I couldn’t believe how quick and sudden it was. One second passed and Alex was gone. Did he even know he was dead? Can he tell the difference between his life on this earth and the moment of his death?
I was so much into my thoughts and stressing that I didn’t know where Tanie was driving. We arrived at a parking lot that had tons of cars and people walking with their kids. When she parked the car, I didn’t move right away. I was still daydreaming.
“We’re here.” Tanie said with excitement.
“Where is here?” I asked.
“We are at the zoo.”
What in the world was she thinking? I didn’t want to go to the zoo.
“Have you ever seen a gorilla?”
I asked, “Why would I want to see a monkey?”
“There is a difference between a monkey and a gorilla, Angela.” Tanie said smartly. “Come on lets go make a day of this. It’ll be fun.”
“I can tell you’ve been here before. You like coming here?”
“We’ll get some fresh air, watch the animals, and watch the kiddies. It’s better than sitting in the hotel room all day.”
We went into the zoo, and I was really impressed. I’ve never seen or heard of some of the animals before. I saw a lemur, and it had a black and white coat. It reminded me of a skunk. The kangaroo looked really weird. How an animal can jump around on legs like that is beyond my understanding. I saw a duiker. Who ever thought of a name like that for an animal? They looked like deer. Some had spikey horns coming out of their heads, and others didn’t have any. There were two or three different kinds of monkeys in different caged environments, and their eyes were huge, like they could see everything. I even saw a gorilla. The thing is incredibly big. It’s amazing. The other animals were cool looking, and I began to appreciate the place more.
I envied the people that had the chance to take care of them. I can’t imagine the knowledge it would take to know what to feed them, how to care for the animals, and how to create the right living environment. Then I was impressed with Tanie. I would never picture her going to a zoo and actually appreciating a place like this, but it shows how little I knew about her.
We enjoyed watching other people at the zoo, too. There were people wearing silly hats that had horns or silly looking decorations or cartoon animals. Kids were running around, some as fast as they could with balloons trailing behind them. Baby strollers and babies on colorful leashes were all over. It was like a baby traffic jam.
I honestly could have spent all day there. It got my mind off my problems, and it was a beautiful day. There was no rain and the heat wasn’t that bad. Tanie’s advice reigned true again, and I didn’t want to leave when it was time to go. All of the animals were so neat to look at. Even though, they didn’t do anything spectacular or amazing. They were just interesting to see.
After the zoo, I was ready to return to the hotel. I wanted to get some rest before going to the club. That was one of the reasons for coming up to Atlanta so early, anyway. I wanted to see what an Atlanta club looked like. Was it different from the National Guard Armory back home, where the party usually ended around midnight? Tanie and I would make our grand entrance at 11:30 p.m. into the Armory, and sure enough, it always ended at midnight with the Sheriff Department clearing the entire place out with sirens and bull horns, and their thunderous orders to go home. We spend half the night getting dressed thinking we were going to party to the break of dawn, and the party doesn’t even make it half way through the night. So, this was going to be a treat.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
We went back to the hotel, and just like the zoo, the hotel lobby was full of people. There was a huge crowd of women dressed in pink, every single one of them, and everyone’s jacket fit them perfectly, from the overweight blonde to the skinny red head that seemed to be the leader of this group. They had beautiful jewelry on, hair fixed with curls, or in buns, or straight flowing down their backs. Their make-up was heavy caked on and matching to each lady, and they all were talking at the same time. The noise erupted from them into one huge confusing sound, and I wondered if they truly understood what each other was saying. Pink luggage populated every inch of the hotel lobby. Tanie watched them with a big smile on her face as we waited for the elevator.
The noise was gone the moment the elevator doors closed. I asked Tanie, “What was that all about?”
“I have no idea. You think they love the color pink?” She asked with sarcasm.
I laughed and shook my head. I should have asked one of the ladies to find out what they were about. They were the happiest women I’ve ever seen in my whole life. Tanie and I returned to the hotel room, and it was cleaned. The bed was made, the sofa was straightened up, the table beside the window was wiped down with a vase of fresh daisies, and the carpet was vacuumed with perfectly straight lines. It smelled like jasmine floated in the air.
Tanie noticed immediately. “Oh good, they cleaned the room.”
“I’m taking a shower first.” I yelled as I rushed into the bedroom and straight to the bathroom. I turned on the hot water and let the steam take over.
The shower was an amazing invention. I could stand in there day and night. I found happiness in the sound of the water, and the feel of it warming my skin. When I got out, Tanie was sitting comfortably with her legs on the sofa, giggling and talking on her cell phone. I envied her. She didn’t have any worries in the world.
Tanie had the volume low on the t
elevision, and every once and a while I would glance over while getting dressed to see what was playing. It seemed like a lot of commercials from antacids to zippers. A sitcom came on next, and not hearing what was going on made the whole thing look stupid. I decided to spend some time curling my hair. I wanted to look good when I hit the town tonight. My goal was to have fun the entire time.
When I was in the middle of curling my hair, Tanie screamed my name. I jumped nearly burning myself. I set the curlers down and rushed into the living room. Tanie was sitting on the edge of the sofa, and this time the volume was high. The news was on, and a man was speaking about Alex.
The man announced, “Alex Westing was murdered by an unknown assailant in his apartment last night. Hannah Crayson, his live-in girlfriend, found the body when she returned home in the early part of Thursday evening. The police haven’t turned up any new leads. The apartments they lived in are brand new. They were the only tenants living in the entire unit. So, the police have no witnesses.”
Tanie and I stared at the television. So far I was in the clear. I was relieved.
The newscaster kept on, “Alex Westing’s parents are here in Atlanta hoping to find answers. They are residents of a small town in Alabama called Colum. His father’s name is Richard Westing, and he is a prominent business owner in Alabama, and his mother, Elaine Westing, is a lawyer. His family has sent this statement, and this is what they wrote: ‘No words can express how we feel with the loss of our son, Alex. Our family is in the deepest pain because of this tragedy. We want to thank everyone who has sent their condolences and kind words through this extremely tough time. To those that are responsible for his death, you have not gotten away with this. We will work continuously with the police to make sure you will answer for this crime to the fullest extent of the law.’ In the state of Georgia the death penalty is the fullest extent of the law for a person convicted of first degree murder. This family wanted it publicly known to whoever has taken the life of their son that they will be pursued. They will be highly active in the investigation of this murder. This is a powerful message from the family. Alex Westing was survived by his parents; of course, Mr. and Mrs. Westing, and, his younger siblings, a brother and a sister. We will update you more as information is made available on this story.”
Then the newscaster started talking about a deadly accident on the bypass, and my attention immediately turned to Tanie. She sat back further on the sofa and smiled seeing my relief.
“Were you scared?” Tanie asked.
I had a coy smile on my face and said, “For a minute there I was, but looks like I don’t have a reason to be scared anymore. No one saw a thing.”
Tanie said, “I bet their questioning his girlfriend.”
“Maybe, they’ll put her in jail.” I laughed. “I mean, she was the last person to see him.”
“I’m tired of talking about your dead ex-boyfriends.”
“I am, too. You want to get drunk?”
“I’ll get the booze!” Tanie jumped up with a big smile and ran to the bedroom to get the liquor from her luggage.
I started laughing. She never missed a beat when it came to a party or even talk of a party. Tanie turned on the music and ran out of the bedroom with two bottles, one in each hand. I suddenly remembered that half of my hair wasn’t curled. I told Tanie to pour me a tall glass, and I would finish my hair before I started drinking. She was already well into her drink by the time I was done, but that’s okay. We would soon be drunk all the same together. We were dancing and singing. I wanted to go to the club right then, but it was way too early. We would be the only ones there for no reason. The best music wouldn’t start until late anyway.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
The club had a line outside that stopped at the end of the block. We arrived in a cab right at the front door. Tanie had on peep toe black stilettos with straps around the ankles, absolutely loved those shoes. She had on a cute short black dress with the back out and a single strap going across, and spaghetti straps on the shoulders. She knew she looked good with her hair perfectly styled, make-up the perfect shades of sexy, and the perfume she wore emulated hot woman on the prowl. I had on heels, and a short red dress that Tanie picked out for me the day before when we went shopping. My dress wasn’t as good as Tanie’s dress, but she thought I looked damn good anyway. She practically yelled it as we were leaving the hotel lobby, which captured everyone’s attention. I could only laugh as a reaction.
By the time we were both out of the cab, a huge guy at the front door called Tanie. She looked at me with a little smirk, and I heard groans from the line. Tanie walked right up to the guy, passed two other gigantic bouncers, and I was right behind her. I could feel evil stares burning into me. Tanie gave the guy a hug, and he stood back and checked her out from head to toe. She gave him a full show by turning around so he definitely wouldn’t miss her exposed back. He said something in her ear, she giggled, and he opened the door for her. Tanie took my hand, and she led the way. The guy was checking me out, as well. He was good looking with his muscles busting out of his shirt.
Tanie took me through another door, and the music was blaring to the ceilings. The club was full from the door all the way to the back, and the music was thumping hard against the walls. The dance floor was packed full, and the balconies had tables and chairs where people were sitting and drinking and talking. I have never seen so many people in one place. This place was ten times better than the National Guard Armory. Tanie held tight onto my hand, and we went through the crowd of people. I had no idea where she was going, but I held on tight like my life depended on it. We eventually started going up a winding stair case, and we were on the balcony where there wasn’t as many people. Tanie went up to another guy who was wearing the same shirt as the bouncers at the front door, and he smiled and hugged her. We followed him to a table that was set up only for me and Tanie, and we had a great view of the first floor. We could see everything from there. We had two glasses and a champagne bottle chilled on ice waiting for us. Tanie immediately opened it, poured both of us a glass; and we toasted to having the times of our lives.
The club was exhilarating. I danced and sang to almost every song. Tanie and I talked about everything from what people were wearing to the way people looked at us when we didn’t have to wait in line. I don’t know how long we were there, but I didn’t want it to end. A couple of guys were trying to holler at us, but I wasn’t interested, not with the extreme drama I caused with the last two boyfriends. Tanie flirted with everyone that flirted with her, but that’s as far as it went. She had no intention of getting with any of them, despite their hopes and tactics. The club stayed open until 3 a.m., and the cops didn’t even shut it down. I had so much fun.
Tanie and I caught a cab when we were ready to leave. She kicked off her stilettos in the lobby of the hotel. I guess they won the war of who was going to give in first, but she lasted all night in them, which I was surprised. She was still dancing and wiggling as we went towards the elevator. Eventually, I started singing and she joined in, and we were partying in the lobby and right into the elevator. When we got to our room, we lost all energy. The singing stopped, the dancing stopped, and I got in the bed closer to the bathroom. I didn’t change clothes or anything. Tanie fell into the other bed beside the window, and she stared at the ceiling.
We were quiet as we both drifted off to sleep.
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2009
CHAPTER SEVENTY
I awakened with images of Alex’s face in my mind. I dreamed he was smiling, and his face was shining, glowing. I was backing away from him. I could still feel the anger and the hate. Why was he smiling at me? Was he making fun of me? I tried to walk away from him, but he was everywhere I turned. I’m so glad it was just a dream.
I shook it off. I washed up and went down to the lobby to eat the free continental breakfast. Tanie was sleeping, mouth wide open, slobbering all over the place. Sometimes she started laughing while she slept, and I would laugh,
too. I wanted to have her dreams. She was having a good time.
The area near the buffet was small, but a lot of people were in that little space. I simply waited for my turn. Once I got what I wanted, I sat down on one of the many sofas that populated the large marble and glass lobby. My breakfast consisted of a warm blueberry muffin and orange juice. I crossed my legs and settled into the ultra-soft sofa.
When I returned to the room, Tanie was still sleeping in the same position. I couldn’t believe she was still slobbering. There can’t be that much spit in that little body of hers. I laughed. I went to sit down in the little living room and watch cartoons. I haven’t seen cartoons in so long, and I didn’t realize how much it had changed. Some of it was simply ridiculous, and others were somewhat funny. Nonetheless, I watched it. Eventually, I was asleep again and this time I didn’t dream of anything or anyone. I slept much better.
A little later, I woke up and saw Tanie looking out the window. A cup of coffee set on the little table beside her.
I asked her, “How many times have you stayed in this hotel?”
Tanie thought about it and answered, “I can’t even tell you, too many times to count.”
“I wanted to thank you for a nice day yesterday. I really needed it.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that, Angela. You know, we still have today, too.”
“You got something else planned?”
“Of course, I do.”
Tanie took me to an amusement park. I did not like rides, and this place was full of them. I had a feeling Tanie was going to try and get me on some. I wasn’t doing it. Tanie knew how to change my mind, though. With a lot of begging and a whole lot of loud pleading from her that had people staring at us, Tanie talked me into getting on a couple of roller coasters, and by the time I was in the middle of the second one, my stomach was churning. That wasn’t a good sign, and I wanted off that thing as soon as possible. Within a few minutes I was back on the ground and eventually my stomach settled down.
The Ex Killer Series Page 29