The Opium Room

by Charisma Kendrick

  It was barely detectable, but Roman’s eyes dulled the tiniest bit. “It’s no wonder you wanted her around. You did it to keep her quiet, all the while knowing I couldn’t stand her.”

  “Big deal,” Roman said, crossing one leg over the other. “Now you know; fire her.”

  “No, I’m not going to fire her. She’s not that bad of a person after all.”

  Roman shook his head. “Fifty percent of your genetic code is Kemp. I’d expect a little more gumption out of you.”

  “This isn’t about gumption. I actually take care of the people I like, and you can safely assume, Roman, that you’re not one of them.”

  “Why, because I didn’t give you a hug every day of your life?” He scowled. “You always have been a problem child—feeble, needy just like your mother.”

  “Don’t you dare,” Fox said, his fists clenched at his side.

  “Dare I? You wouldn’t mind me speaking ill of your mother if you knew she was cheating on your father with the lowly gardener.”

  “Mother was cheating on you because you were an abusive dictator. She and the gardener probably shared a spiritual connection that you could have never had with her.”

  Roman laughed, and it reminded Fox of The Joker, every bit as evil. “There’s no such thing as a spiritual connection between lovers. That kind of thinking is for saps.”

  “There must be,” Fox countered. “You had a connection with Bobbie, and she conspired with you to murder my mother.”

  Roman grew quiet. After a minute, he said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Save your breath.”

  A sly grin grew on Fox’s lips. “I can see you sweating, Father. You know it’s because I’m onto you. You’re up to your elbows in Mother’s blood.”

  Roman clenched his teeth. “You have no proof.” His tone now was not as calm and aloof as it had been.

  “Don’t I?” Fox tossed the yellowed journal entry that he’d retrieved from the mansion onto Roman’s desk. The one Britta had directed him to.

  Roman unfolded it and read his own handwriting. Ways to dispose of Frances’s body: One: At sea; Two: By fire; Three: By acid; Four; Landsite; Five: Poison.

  As Roman slowly raised his head, Fox said, “I guess number five looked like the best way to you.”

  Roman uncrossed his leg and rolled back his chair a little. “I admit, Foxworth, to having dark thoughts, but I was very depressed at the time. Frances…she said she didn’t love me anymore, but she’d like to keep the house, the children, and an income to keep her and you children in the style she had become accustomed to.”

  “So there’s your motive. Are you supposed to be convincing me you didn’t kill her, because your plan is backfiring?”

  “No, I’m saying she drove me to those dark thoughts, but I did not murder her. For God’s sake, her body was never recovered. She may be living abroad under an assumed identity for all we know.”

  Fox shook his head. “Deny, deny, deny. Just like you’ve done every time you’ve faced a jury. Oh, I know all about your various crimes. I’ve done my homework.” He counted on his fingers. “Money laundering, lying on tax returns, illegally manipulating markets to financially benefit your tile company.” He paused, gave Roman time to soak this up. “The thing is, Father, witnesses testified at your trials saying you were a man of great character who lived an honest and peaceful life. But see, I know better. I lived with you. You gambled, you drank, you cursed, you lied… but you never loved. You were anything but honest and peaceful. And Dad, you can’t pay this jury member off.”

  Roman spread his arms wide. “So, what are you going to do? Fire me? Fine.” He began straightening papers on his desk and pulled his briefcase from beneath the desk.

  “For starters. Then you’re going to turn yourself in for killing Frances.”

  “You’re out of your mind. I don’t have to listen to this,” he said, standing, briefcase in hand.”

  Fox pulled his gun from his inside coat pocket and aimed it at Roman. “Sit down old man. I’m calling the shots now.”

  Roman didn’t hesitate. “I can see why you doubt my proclamation of innocence,” he said, sitting in his chair. “But on your mother’s grave, I swear I had nothing to do with her death.”

  Tired of hearing the lies, unsure if he could battle against his own anger a second longer, Fox pulled back the hammer.

  Roman blinked fast in apparent disbelief. Then the look on his face changed from surprise to foreboding. For a moment, Fox couldn’t see Roman’s hands. Was he reaching underneath his desk? Fox almost pulled the trigger, and then he noticed Roman wiping his palms on his pants. He was nervous. His face looked angry, but his body language called his bluff.

  “Why the scowl, Father?” Now Fox wanted to toy with his emotions. “A bullet lodged in your chest will never hurt you as much as you’ve hurt this family. It will only hurt for a second, unlike the lifetime of pain you’ve inflicted on so many.”

  “I’ll die laughing before you kill me. You can’t do it. You’re too weak.”

  His words were calm, but Roman’s hands were shaking. Fox had never seen an ounce of fear in his father, until now. Everyone else could be paid off; Fox could not. And that was the difference. What Roman had done to his mother could not be made right with money. Roman knew that Fox’s killing him was the only way to avenge her death. “No jury in the world is going to commit me after all the atrocities you have committed, Father.” Roman swallowed, hard, sweat beaded along his eyebrows. “Where’s your backbone now? All I see is a scared, weak old man. Guess your past finally caught you to you.” Fox pointed the gun away from Roman’s head and directed it toward the large wet spot in front of his crotch. “Apparently your bladder did, too.”

  There was a hard knock on the door. “Fox!”

  It was Jill. What was she doing here? “Go away, Jill,” Fox said, keeping his eye, and his gun, on Roman.

  “I won’t. Let me in now.” She wiggled the locked doorknob back and forth. “Fox, you need to let me in. I have solid evidence here.”

  Fox cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm. I wonder what she has, Roman. What do you think it is?”

  No reply.

  With his gun on his target, Fox walked backward to the door and opened it up. “Quickly,” he said, to a wide–eyed Jill as she moved past him. He closed the door and locked it back.

  “Go ahead, Jill, tell Roman what you know.”

  “Well…” Jill was having trouble keeping her eye off the gun. Fox felt just as awkward holding it, pretending to be some gangster, but he loved the panic it arose in Roman.

  “It seems that Earl saved Frances’s ashes for a day just like today.”

  Roman had no reaction to Jill’s words; he kept his eyes glued on the gun in Fox’s hands.

  “According to Earl—I paid him a visit today—Roman paid him twenty–thousand dollars to dispose of Frances’s body and keep quiet about it. I guess it never occurred to Roman to request her ashes after the deed was done. So, right now, Earl Branson is still in possession of Frances’s ashes.”

  “That’s outrageous,” Roman finally said. “Why would Earl just divulge that information to you? You’re nobody.”

  “Aren’t I, Daddy? I mean, you’ve paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep my identity a secret. And you should know that money talks.”

  Roman’s lips parted as if he was trying to speak but his mouth had dried up with the words he’d meant to come out of it. Then there was a hard knock at the door. One that sounded like an object banging against the door, not a fist.

  Fox backed up to the door, keeping an eye on Roman. “Who’s there?”

  “Atlanta P.D.”

  Fox put his weapon away and let the two uniformed police officers inside. “You’re probably looking for him,” Fox said, pointing them to Roman.

  “Roman Kemp?” said one burly cop who more closely resembled a bodybuilder.

  Roman didn’t answer, so Fox did for him. “Yep, that’s your gu
y.”

  The burly cop and his thin, but muscular, counterpart each pulled Roman from his chair by one arm. “Roman Kemp, you’re under arrest. You have the right to an attorney. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law…”

  As the officer read Roman his rights, Fox stood off to the side, smiling, happy this was all over. But what had Roman been arrested for? Had Jill already supplied the authorities with physical evidence? If she had, he owed her a huge apology for underestimating her.

  As Roman was leaving his lavish suite in the custody of the police, Fox said, “Better enjoy the daylight when you go down, Roman. Probably won’t see it again for a very long time.”

  For once in his miserable life, Roman was speechless.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  —Lea

  Fox and Lea were sitting on a plush, leather bench waiting for a table at the swankiest restaurant in Atlanta, Seventy–Two Queen. They were celebrating a Kemp family victory. Erickson, Karrigan, and Jill would all be joining them tonight.

  “I still can’t believe your dad boons waggled two Atlanta Braves infielders to invest into a fake company,” Lea said.

  “I can,” Fox said. “That’s Roman Kemp for you.”

  It’d been three weeks since Roman had been arrested. Lea still couldn’t believe all the dirt Fox had dug up on Roman. But it turns out the authorities had been investigating Roman for months, and they’d finally gotten enough evidence to make an arrest. Now she could forget about what he’d done to her father, or at least, put it behind her.

  “At least I got my answer as to how Roman could afford to give Jill so much money,” Fox said. “It wasn’t his to begin with. That, combined with Jill’s findings, means Roman will probably never see the light of day again.”

  Lea laced her fingers with Fox. “I can’t believe I’m about to have dinner with Jill. Not long ago, I thought she was my arch nemesis.”

  “I did too. Crazy to think that she’s my half–sister.”

  “I know. And pretty soon, my sister–in–law.” Lea flashed her three–carat, princess–cut diamond ring at Fox. I still can’t stop looking at it. It’s so beautiful.”

  “But not as beautiful as you,” Fox said, and tightened his grip on her hand.

  It was getting cramped in the waiting area of the restaurant. Couples were huddled in corners stiffening their shoulders as to not touch the stranger standing next to them. The door swung open and Fox and Lea scooted over to make room on the bench for the couple walking in. Fox didn’t look up; Lea did.

  Not because of the handsome brunette wearing the Navy suit, but because of the woman on his arm. It was Bianca, in a strapless dress the same shade of red Lea had seen her in before.

  Bianca’s lips parted when her gaze landed on Lea’s. A tiny smile formed on her lips. Bianca’s date walked ahead to put their name on the list. Bianca gestured with her head for Lea to come here. Lea poked Fox in the side. “Look who’s here.”

  Fox looked up, and Bianca did a tiny wave at him. “She gestured for me to come over. Would you be offended if I left you alone for a minute?”

  Fox grinned, big time. “By all means. It’s not like we’re doing anything but waiting. And as packed as this place is, I bet we have to wait for a loonnnggg time.” He winked.

  “Be back in a minute,” Lea said. She heard Fox call after her, “Take your time.”

  Bianca excused herself from her date, and took Lea by the hand, leading her to ladies’ room.

  “Who’s your date?” Lea asked.

  “Eh, just some guy I met online,” Bianca said. “He’s cute though, isn’t he?” She did her cute, girly laugh.

  “Yeah, but that’s risky, you know. He could be a serial murderer.”

  “Well, tonight’s our first date, and at least it’s in public.” Bianca pushed open the door to the oversized ladies’ room. Wonderfully, there was no one else inside.

  Lea checked herself in the mirror. “He looks decent; you’re probably safe. But if it doesn’t work out with him, you should stick with dating someone you know—offline.”

  Bianca stood behind Lea, spread her fingers through Lea’s hair, pushing it off her neck. She rested her chin on Lea’s shoulder and looked at her in the mirror. “Like who? You?”

  Lea grinned. “You know what I mean. You need a good man. Like Fox.”

  Bianca crossed her arms and leaned against the edge of the granite sink. “Good luck with that. There aren’t a lot of single guys like him.”

  “I know one.”

  Bianca raised a brow. “Who?”

  “Erickson.”

  “Please. Erickson stays super busy with the restaurants. I’d never see him, and I work in the same building. Besides he’s quite a bit younger than me.”

  “No he’s not. There’s only like three years difference in your ages.”

  “All right, Ms. Match Maker. That’s enough. You might as well get the idea of Erickson and me out your mind right now. Ain’t gonna happen.” A pause. “So things are going well for you and Fox I take it.”

  “Couldn’t be better.” Lea smiled, and their eyes met for an extended glance. She remembered their kiss, Bianca’s soft lips. Even with Fox’s permission, she felt guilty for wishing Bianca would kiss her again. “Well I better get back out there.”

  Bianca grabbed her by the wrist as Lea turned to leave. “Hey?”

  Lea spun around. Bianca touched the cottony fabric of Lea’s dress, traced her hand along Lea’s side. “I like your dress. It hugs your body, and really accentuates your beautiful curves.”

  “Thank you.” Lea couldn’t understand why Bianca’s compliments meant so much to her. She guessed it was the validation that she wasn’t so homely looking after all. Bianca had nothing to gain by saying those things, because obviously, Lea wasn’t leaving there tonight with anyone but Fox.

  “Remember what I said before about if things didn’t work out between you two,” Bianca said.

  “I will.” Lea so wanted to kiss her one more time.

  Bianca put her hand on Lea’s neck, and pulled her face next to her own. She peppered her cheek with tender kisses. Lea smelled Bianca’s fresh facial moisturizer, and the feel of her soft, baby–like skin against hers set her nerves aflame. Lea closed her eyes and waited as Bianca’s lips finally found Lea’s. Lea parted her lips and Bianca slipped her tongue inside, kissing her slowly. It didn’t last long, but it was enough to keep that fantastic memory alive a while longer. She’d almost forgotten how exciting, erotic, a woman’s kiss was.

  “That was nice,” Lea said.

  Bianca smiled, pleased. “If you ever need me, I’m only a phone call away.”

  “Thanks. Better not keep Fox waiting.” As Lea walked out, her lips still wet with Bianca’s saliva, she thought to herself, Fox was the only person—man or woman—she ever wanted to make love to again.

  Fox was standing waiting for Lea. He led her to the table where everyone was seated. “I want details later,” he said out the corner of his mouth.

  “As you wish,” Lea said, giving him a nudge with her elbow.

  Fox and Lea sat across the table from the siblings. “Hi everyone,” Lea said. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

  Karrigan had dressed nicely for the occasion. She had on a very appropriate black dress with a sweetheart neckline. Her hair was sectioned and pinned up in the back. It was beautiful with baby’s breath at the top of each section.

  Karrigan was seated next to Jill who looking… well, like Jill. Jessica Rabbit in the flesh. Some things never changed. And Erickson was looking handsome tonight wearing a crisp black suit.

  Fox put his arm around Lea’s shoulder and she scooted into his embrace. He flashed her a sexy smile that spelled out his favorable opinion on her short time away from him. Lea blushed. She couldn’t help it. She’d been a naughty girl; her mother would need the paddles to shock the life back into her if she ever found out.

  For the next hour, over more than a few glas
ses of wine, the five of them chatted and laughed like they’d been a family for years. It was so perfect, Lea thought. She couldn’t wait for her mother to meet every single one of them, especially Fox. Early this morning her mother had called and asked if Lea and Fox could make it down today. It was a Saturday, she’d stressed, and reminded Lea that Augusta was just a short drive away.

  She told her mom she couldn’t, but promised she’d bring him next weekend. Her mother was going to have to adjust to the distance, Lea thought. The next time she went home, she planned to clean out her apartment and relinquish the lease. She was moving in with Fox, and together they would plan their upcoming wedding.

  Karrigan tapped on her glass and stood. I have an announcement to make. This is my last night of drinking. She looked at Fox. I hope that makes you happy, big bro.”

  Fox smiled. “It does, very much so.”

  “In fact, I haven’t done any type of substance for the last three weekends. I’m cleaning up my act and going to law school.”

  Erickson stood, picked up his glass, and touched it to Karrigan’s. “Congrats, baby sis.”

  “Baby my behind,” Karrigan said. “I was born two minutes after you.”

  “Still, I’m older than you,” Erickson advised.

  Karrigan put her palm up to Erickson’s face. “Whatevs.”

  Lea laughed beneath her breath. She could see Karrigan using invented language in front of the witness stand. She wondered if Karrigan planned to wear her Converse pumps beneath her business suit. Lea got up from her seat, walked to the other side of the table and gave Karrigan a hug. “I’m so happy for you. I know you’ll go far in whatever you do. You’re truly a star.”

  “Thank you. And I’m happy to you have you in my family,” Karrigan said, still embracing Lea. She gasped and went rigid beneath Lea’s grip. Lea let go. “What’s the matter?”

  Looking in the distance past Lea, Karrigan said, “Who is that handsome devil walking this way?”

  Lea turned and put her hands to her mouth as he approached arms wide open. Oh, how he’d grown. She hadn’t seen him in months, and his shoulders had filled out, and he’d grown another inch or two. He was as tall as Fox—not a little brother anymore by any stretch. “Oh my God, what are you doing here?”