by Tyora Moody
A memory flashed in Toni’s mind. She could still see Paul’s face contorted in rage as he stood above her. That image often haunted her in her sleep. She shook away the memory and gazed at the television. The NBC Nightly News with Les Holt was on instead of the local news. She pulled her iPhone out of her bag and clicked Safari to find her bookmark for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
There it was. It was always amazing to see her composite sketches posted for the world to see.
She passed her phone to Cori. “Take a look. Does that look like anyone you know?”
Cori stared at the image on her phone. “I don’t know. Nobody comes to mind.”
Toni didn’t know whether to be relieved or exasperated. Cori had spent more time around her and Paul than her other siblings.
He asked, “Who does it remind you of?”
She bit her lip. “Paul.”
Cori’s eyes opened wide. “What?” For a minute, he studied the image on the phone again. “I mean, I guess there is some resemblance.”
“Or he was just on my mind. I told Cam I thought the sketch looked like Paul.”
Cori raised his eyebrow. ”Why?”
Toni waved her hands. “I’ve been around Asia, Jo and you enough to know unshared details can wreck a case. I just didn’t want my composite to be a problem later.”
“Calm down, Sis. You’ve been trained and you’re good at what you do. Remember you only sketched what the victim told you and she had to confirm what you sketched, right?”
Toni slumped in the chair. “She said it was him.”
“Okay. You know just because the sketch resembles Paul doesn’t mean it’s him.”
“So, I made a fool of myself in front of Cam for no reason.”
“I’m sure that’s not how he saw it. Cam was just as angry as all of us after what Paul did to you. I never told you, but both of us confronted Paul while you were in the hospital.”
Toni’s mouth dropped open.
“Yeah, Cam can be a big intimating guy and believe me… We didn’t touch Paul, but I know we scared him.”
“I had no idea.”
The doorbell rang.
“That’s Cam now. Are you staying?”
Toni shook her head. “Uh, I probably should go.”
“You didn’t eat anything.” He lifted the lid on the other pizza box. “I ordered spinach and chicken for you. At least take the box home.”
She hadn’t eaten since lunch so she wasn’t going to refuse her brother. When she was worried, she had a tendency to forget about eating. Toni picked up the box and turned to see Cori open the door. Cam stepped in dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.
Oh my!
Even in casual wear, Cam looked like he stepped out of a fashion magazine.
He grinned at her. “Good to see you twice in one day.”
“Yeah. Sorry I can’t stay, busy day tomorrow. I’m just checking in with my brother.” She held up the pizza box. “Oh, and getting a free meal too.”
“Next time the meal is on you.” Cori pointed at her and walked back towards the kitchen leaving her to face Cam.
“You did good today. Captain gave the approval to release the sketch to the public. You should start seeing it tonight on the eleven o’clock news.”
Toni looked at Cam. “Good, I hope someone recognizes him. Jade needs to be able to get justice. She has a difficult time ahead.”
“I have every intention of catching this guy.”
Toni sensed he wanted to talk more, but she really couldn’t stay much longer. “Sorry, I have to go.”
“Let me help.” Cam reached over and opened the door.
She squeezed by him towards the door feeling like an electric current jolted her. Good thing she had a good grip on the pizza box or she would have dropped it.
Cam followed her as she started walking to her car. She wasn’t expecting that, but it was probably a good thing because she wasn’t always good with juggling items in her hand. “Can you hold this?”
He reached out and held the pizza box as she dug for her keys in her bag. Once she retrieved them, she clicked the locks. “I appreciate your help.”
He stared at her. “Are you still worried this guy is Paul?”
Am I that obvious? “It’s bothering me a little. I’m sure I just made a big deal out of nothing.”
“Well, I wanted you to know I’ll look into his whereabouts. Discreetly.”
She looked at him. “Thanks, Cam. I appreciate it.”
Cam waited until she climbed inside the car and started the engine. He waved goodbye and headed inside Cori’s apartment.
Toni backed out of the apartment complex feeling a bit calmer than she did when she arrived. She came for her brother’s support and drove away with comfort from a source she wasn’t expecting.
Chapter 5
Thursday morning, June 8 at 11:32 am
Toni was determined to stay out of Cam’s way though she was really curious about any response to the composite. When she watched the eleven o’clock news last night, the anchorman mentioned there was a robbery at the Niles Foundation and that a staff member had been assaulted. Toni wondered what the person had stolen.
To curb her curiosity, she busied herself with her brand new venture, designing jewelry. Unlike her siblings, Toni was a bit more entrepreneurial. She just couldn’t hang at a nine-to-five job. She started selling her art as prints and soon moved into creating everything from greeting cards to handcrafted bags. With some business pointers and web design help from her childhood friend, Angel Cade, she’d launched her online business a year ago. Angel had arrived earlier to help Toni take photos of the latest additions for her store.
Toni turned from her kitchen table, which often served as her workspace more than her eating space. She watched Angel pack her DSLR camera.
Angel grinned, “I uploaded the images to Dropbox for you. You should be able to size them in Photoshop in a few minutes.”
Toni clapped her hands. “I can’t wait. I’ve been working on these bracelets and necklaces for three months. I’ve had some good feedback from my Instagram followers on the earlier pieces.”
“I saw. You’re going to be sold out once you upload these images to your Etsy store.”
“I hope so! I enjoyed working with the various stones. This was a different experience than painting. I needed a change.”
Angel nodded. “There’s healing and peace that comes from being creative.”
Toni watched as Angel waddled over to the couch. “You know, between you and Jo, I feel surrounded by pregnant women.”
Angel laughed. “Well I’m due in a few weeks so that will soon change. I can’t wait to deliver this baby.”
“I guess I’ll have my hands full with babysitting requests.”
“Good training for when you have your own child one day.”
“Sure would be nice to find a husband first.” Though Toni hadn’t been dating, she still longed for a family.
Angel walked over and hugged Toni. “God knows your desires. In fact, He may have already placed the man for you in your life. That’s kind of how it turned out for Wes and me. We knew each other when we were kids. Who knew we would later get married and have a baby boy on the way?”
Toni smiled as Cam’s face flashed in her mind.
“Somebody or something is on your mind,” Angel commented.
Toni shook her head. “No.”
“You know, as I was taking photos this morning, I was thinking these would make great pieces for a wedding party. You should ask Lenora Freeman about placing these in her bridal shop.”
Toni tilted her head. “I hadn’t thought about that. I need to make you my marketing person too.”
“You’re doing just fine. I’ve seen your Instagram following. I got to go. Wes wants to get lunch today before we head to our appointment with our obstetrician.”
Toni hugged her friend again. “I’m so happy for you two.”
After Angel lef
t, Toni decided to do what she’d been dying to do for two days. She settled onto the couch and grabbed her phone.
Cam answered after the third ring, “Hello?”
His voice warmed her. “Hey Cam, it’s Toni.”
Cam cleared his throat. “Hey, Toni. Let me guess. You’re calling about an update.”
Toni suddenly felt like she shouldn’t have called. “Is this a bad time?”
“No, no. I just hate to disappoint you. There’s been no real leads yet.” Cam paused. “I was able to get a handle on Paul Lambert’s whereabouts Tuesday evening though.”
“You were?” Toni took a deep breath.
“He has an alibi.” Cam grew quiet.
She swallowed. For some reason, Toni felt like Cam was leaving something out. “Okay. I’ll let you go. It’s not like you don’t have a ton of cases in front of you.”
“Wait, Toni. There is something I found out. I’m not sure if you want to know.”
“Is it about Paul?”
“Yeah. Paul has a fiancée. I didn’t know if you knew.”
Fiancee.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just wondering if this woman knows what she’s getting into.”
“Well, maybe he’s changed. You didn’t back down from filing charges.”
“He got off easy as far as I’m concerned.”
Toni realize she sounded bitter. It wasn’t her intentions to go there, but Paul could easily go off his meds again and cause damage during a manic episode.
“Cam, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. I do hope you find out who attacked Jade. I hope I haven’t interfered in your investigation.”
“Not at all. You did your job. The composite will jar someone’s mind. Don’t worry about it anymore.”
“Thanks, Cam.” Toni hung up the phone.
She knew Cam was trying to comfort her, but unlike the other night, she was still troubled. Paul had moved on with his life. Despite her growth in other parts of her life like her business and her work with the police, she was still alone. She simply couldn’t bring herself to trust another man.
She’d never experienced that kind of rage from someone else before and didn’t want to again.
Toni got up from the couch and picked up her iPad off the kitchen table. When her mind went in a negative direction, she tried to busy herself with work. She swiped through the photos Angel had uploaded. After fiddling with one of the photos, she uploaded a sneak peek post of her new collection to her Instagram account.
She remembered Jade mentioning being a social media manager. What was the name of the organization?
The Niles Foundation.
She switched over to Safari and searched for the organization on Google. After she selected the search results, she watched as a pretty coral themed website loaded. Toni surfed through the website noting that the foundation was named after a woman named Juliette Niles. The founder was a young woman who appeared to be close to her own age.
Toni didn’t see any mention of Jade on the website’s staff page, but saw the Instagram icon. When she pulled up the profile page, Toni assumed the photos were from the same place where Jade was attacked.
As she scrolled down the feed, there was a pattern of photos that consisted of scrumptious food and well-dressed people. Her eyes stopped on one photo that was about six weeks old. It was a picture of the founder Olivia Niles. But what really caught Toni’s eye was the man next to her.
It was Paul Lambert.
“No way!” Toni blew out a breath.
The more she stared at Paul and the woman in his life, the more it dawned on Toni.
If Jade worked for Olivia Niles, perhaps she knew Paul.
Cam had mentioned Paul had an alibi, but he didn’t provide any further information.
Toni prayed the direction her mind was taking her wasn’t going to lead down a path she would soon regret.
Chapter 6
Friday, June 9 at 10:32 am
There had been many nights after Paul’s brutal attack when Toni couldn’t sleep. She woke up Friday morning after one of those types of nights. In the past, she’d stared at the ceiling questioning if she did something wrong, even wondering why God allowed Paul to cross her path. Why was she charmed by him in the first place? She often wondered over the months after Paul’s rehabilitation sentence if he would hurt another woman. How diligent was he really about taking his meds now? Was his fiancée even aware of Paul’s mental illness?
With those thoughts hounding her most of the night, by morning, Toni had decided she needed to see Jade again. She didn’t want to question the woman about the attack, but she did want to learn more about her boss, Olivia Niles. After a shower, Toni armed herself with a cup of coffee and browsed her iPad to find out more about the Niles Foundation. She noticed the address was located downtown Charlotte so she pulled up the route on her iPhone.
Despite it being mid-morning, it still took Toni time to navigate I-77 due to an earlier accident. She’d almost lost her nerve and wanted to turn around twice before she reached her exit. It wasn’t like she didn’t have plenty of things to do, but when something bothered her, she just couldn’t let it go.
Toni found the office building where the Niles Foundation was located. After securing parking in a nearby garage, she sprinted across the street and entered the building. The first thing she noticed was the security desk setup. An older man with white hair smiled and waved. Large monitors hung on the wall. As she walked by, she glimpsed herself walking towards the elevator.
She stopped to read the wall directory near the elevators. The Niles Foundation was located on the third floor. She also noticed the Juliette Niles Gallery was also on the same floor.
Was this where Jade was assaulted?
Toni pressed the up elevator button and crossed her arms. The building’s cold air penetrated straight to her bones causing her to shiver in her sundress. She could have blamed her shakiness on the cold, but she still wasn’t sure coming unannounced to Jade’s workplace was a good idea.
Toni stepped on the elevator and pressed the number three. As the elevator doors closed, she rubbed her goose bumped covered arms. How often had her mother and siblings warned her about her impulsiveness? It wasn’t like she didn’t try to think her ideas through. She just often ended up overthinking and choosing the wrong path anyway.
God, I just want to do the right thing here. I don’t know why this is bothering me so much. I trust you to lead me in the right direction.
When Toni exited the elevator, it took her a moment to comprehend her surroundings. The Niles Foundation gold embossed logo hung on the wall across from the elevator above the receptionist desk. It appeared the foundation took up the entire third floor. Toni noticed the young woman behind the desk staring at her.
Okay, I need to stop looking crazy.
Toni smiled and walked towards the desk. She peeped at the nameplate, which read Annie Myers. Annie appeared to be near Toni’s age. Her thick reddish wavy hair was styled in a side French braid. She wore horn-rimmed gold-plated glasses that sat low on her freckled nose. The woman peered over the frames and flashed a cautious smile, “May I help you?”
“Yes, I met your social media manager the other day. She was telling me about your foundation. I was wondering how I could get involved.”
Annie reached for a brochure on the side of her desk. “Would you like to volunteer?”
Toni took the brochure from Annie’s outstretched hand. “Volunteering would be great, but I noticed you featured local artists. What’s your process for accepting art for your fundraising events?”
“Oh, you probably want to talk to Olivia. She’s always looking to work with local artists.” Annie frowned, “Who did you say you talked to?”
Toni’s heart leapt. She didn’t think about having a chance to talk to Olivia directly. “Um, Jade? Jade Lewis.”
“Jade?” The young woman’s eyes questioned.
Before Toni could resp
ond, a door opened off from the right of the receptionist area. A group of people swarmed outside of what appeared to be a conference room. One of those people looked very familiar. Toni had studied her Instagram profile several times last night.
The woman walked out of the conference room and approached the receptionist desk. Her long, black hair was slung across her shoulders. It was hard to determine Olivia’s background. She had exotic facial features influenced by an Asian heritage.
She briefly glanced in Toni’s direction. “Annie, do you have any messages for me? Mr. Stewart was going to call me on my cell phone.”
“Nope. No calls.” The receptionist glanced at me. “I do have a local artist who’s interested in the foundation.” She smiled at me. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
For a split second, Toni was unsure about sharing her name. This was going way too fast and in a direction she hadn’t anticipated. She turned to the woman who was engaged to Paul and held out her hand. “Toni Reed.”
Olivia hesitated for a moment.
Toni observed Olivia. Does she know who I am? Has Paul ever mentioned me?
Olivia held out her hand, “Toni, it’s always a pleasure to meet local artists. I’m Olivia Niles. Are you familiar with our foundation?”
Good thing Toni had done her research so she could pitch her idea to Jade to take to her boss. Now it looked like Toni would have to pull together her elevator pitch herself. She exchanged a handshake with Olivia. “Yes, I know you deal with women’s issues. Would you be interested in some pieces that highlight domestic violence or abuse?”
Olivia placed her hands on her chest. “Oh my. You know, we haven’t planned an event quite like that yet. We focus mainly on bringing awareness and funding research for breast cancer and other illnesses like heart disease in women. But I will say with both Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness being in the month of October, I have thought many times that we should do something. It’s just so hard to pull these events together.”
“I can imagine. Well, if you’re interested, my collection is about healing so it’s possible the pieces could work for any of your causes. They’re a series of seven watercolor paintings.”