by Tyora Moody
Toni gasped. Jade had manipulated her the entire time she was sketching. “I don’t understand. What’s your involvement here?”
Annie’s smile quivered. “I know you tried, Toni. I was in the courtroom when they had him on trial. I tried to talk to your lawyer and tell him about Amber.”
Toni shook her head. “Who’s Amber?”
“My sister. She wasn’t strong like you. After what Paul did to her in high school, she was never the same. She finally killed herself six years ago. I told your lawyers. Then, I saw how he just got a slap on the wrist again. I felt bad for you. I wanted to do something, but what could I do?”
“Then I came to work for Liv here. I loved working here until the day she introduced me to her fiancée. The same man responsible for killing my sister.”
Olivia’s face crumpled, “You said she killed herself.”
Annie yelled, shaking the gun towards Olivia. “After he raped her! He never paid for what he did. She suffered. My parents sent her to a psychiatric ward because she couldn’t cope. And I watched him go on with his life. That miserable creep!”
Toni clasped her hands together. Father God, protect us.
“ You know what, Toni.” Annie continued. “He really didn’t get rehabilitated. Poor Jade. Jade fell in love with him. They were in the same rehabilitation place. He used her and threw her out like trash when he was finished with his little sentence.”
Toni was confused. “Jade? Jade knew Paul? And you… you helped Jade with the robbery?”
Annie narrowed her eyes. “That was all Jade and her friends. She’d been snooping around here. Carol trusted her with everything. I haven’t figured out how someone like her got access to the security though.”
Annie shrugged. “But Jade did do something right for a change, even if her plan was a bit misguided.”
Toni shook her head. “She described Paul’s face.”
Paul was looking so close to death right now, Toni wasn’t sure he could be saved. The guy did some horrible things, but this was not the way to handle it. He needed to be behind bars to think long and hard about his ways.
Annie twirled the gun. “And she wanted to get back at Olivia. That girl thought Paul was supposed to be hers. At first, I was angry because she really wanted to hurt Olivia so much that her pea brain couldn’t remember Paul had left with Olivia.” Annie smiled. “But it worked out better than I could’ve planned. When you said your name, I knew who you were and I knew why you were really here.”
Toni narrowed her eyes. “No you didn’t.”
“You were looking for Jade. Which means you wanted to know who really attacked her. You wanted to find out if it was really Paul,” Annie said.
Toni took a deep breath, “And you’ve been the person harassing him. You’ve been after him all this time to get vengeance on your sister. It wasn’t a mere coincidence when he showed up the other day when I was leaving. Just like today. You saw I was coming to see Olivia and you wanted a confrontation.”
“I know this man. You have to bait him for the real Paul Lambert to show up. Just in time too, since Liv here came to her senses and finally gave Paul his ring back.”
Toni and Liv stared at each other. They’d both been played.
Or had they?
Toni didn’t have time to complete the thought. The lights blinked. Annie and Olivia both screamed. Toni dropped to ground.
The lights flickered again and she heard, “Put your hands in the air.”
Toni pressed her hands to her head as a spray of gunshots rang out.
God, let this be over soon.
Chapter 20
Friday, June 21 at 5:31 pm
Toni sat crouched for what seemed like forever. She thought she heard her name, but she was unwilling to move.
“Toni. It’s me, Cam. You’re okay.”
She peered up. “Oh my God. I should’ve listened to you.”
“You’re alright, now. God was looking out. I got your text. It came just as we were cracking open some other things. Look, let me get you out of this location.”
“What happened to Annie?”
Cam held her gaze and shook his head. “You don’t want to see. She didn’t make it.”
“But…”
“She had a firearm, Toni. Nothing good comes from that. Let’s get you out of here.”
Toni looked to see paramedics arriving in the elevator.
Cam encouraged her inside.
“Is that for Paul?”
Cam sighed. “He’s still breathing. Barely.”
Toni nodded. When the elevator stopped, Cam walked her to a room behind the security desk.
The white haired guard stood at the door.
Cam said, “Take care of these ladies.”
“Yes, sir. Ma’am, come in here. Can I get you some coffee?”
Toni shook her head. She looked over and found Olivia crumbled in the corner, twisting her fingers. Her face was wet with mascara streaks. Toni noticed the blood spatter on Olivia’s pink blouse.
Not knowing what else to do, Toni sat beside her. “It’ll be okay.”
Olivia trembled. “I can’t believe any of this. They won’t tell me anything about Paul or Annie. I wanted to go with him. There was so much blood. Do you think he’s going to make it?”
“I don’t know,” Toni swallowed, “Olivia, did you know who I was all this time?”
Olivia shrank back like she was afraid of getting hit. “Not at first. I wasn’t a part of any of this, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She hung her head low. “My mother would be ashamed if she knew I was with Paul. When I started thinking about what my mother would say if she were here, I knew I couldn’t marry Paul. He was nice one minute, and then he—”
“Would turn on you the next. Did you know he was bipolar?”
Olivia shook her head. “Your name was familiar to me. It wasn’t until I looked up your name that I saw the articles about the trial. I started trying to get a grip on Paul’s behavior and I looked for his pills.”
Toni nodded, “I’m glad you found out about him before you walked down the aisle.”
Olivia shuddered. “My dad had issues. I didn’t understand why my mom left him when I was a little girl. But later, when I was in college, she explained how my dad’s behavior was too much.”
Toni patted Olivia’s hand. “Believe me. You don’t know someone until they show their true selves. Paul was good at hiding.”
Olivia asked, “Did you know who I was? Were you here to help?”
Toni laughed. “I knew you were Paul’s fiancée, but I honestly didn’t know what in the world I thought I was doing. I have lived my last two years in recovery mode.”
They sat in silence.
Olivia asked, “I still don’t want him to die.”
“I don’t either, but I also don’t want Annie, Jade, you, me or anyone else to have to experience someone going free for doing us harm.”
“Poor Annie,” Olivia whimpered. “I always thought she was a little bit overprotective.”
Toni gave her a side eye, “Girl, you think? She was packin’. Can you say Annie Oakley?”
They snickered quietly as Toni’s joke fell flat.
She was grateful to see Cam peek in. “How are you two holding up?”
Olivia didn’t respond.
Cam made eye contact with Toni before stepping aside to let a female detective enter the room. The woman spoke to Olivia, “Ms. Niles, I’m Detective Gwen Matthews. Are you ready to let me take your statement, Ma’am?”
Olivia nodded.
Cam looked at Toni. “Detective Matthews will want a statement from you too. I asked her to give you some time. I can call someone to take you home. It might not be a good idea for you to drive right now.”
Toni stood and waved her hand back and forth in the air as if she were erasing his suggestion. “I’m fine. I can talk to her. Tell me what you know.”
Cam sighed. “This is not the time.”
“Ye
s, it is. Annie set this whole thing up, all to get back at Paul. You got to admire her tenaciousness on seeking revenge for her sister.”
Cam cleared his throat. “You’re right. She’s been slowly going after him.”
“I walked right into her plan.”
“Let’s sit. I’ll tell you what I have pieced together.”
Toni sat. “Start with the robbery because that still doesn’t make sense.”
Cam sat beside her and rubbed his hands together. “The robbery was Jade and her friends. She’s been under the influence of a group of friends for a long time. She let them know about what the gallery had and they set up a plan. One of her friends had a brother who worked at the security company. That’s how I was able to start connecting dots. I think the only reason why Jade was supposedly assaulted was to prevent her cousin from catching her in the act.”
Toni frowned. “She was probably also setting up a decoy for her friends to conveniently get away with the painting.”
“That would be correct. The good news is we brought Jade in a while ago and asked her to give us the whereabouts of her friends. So we expect to pick them up along with the painting soon. I don’t know what they were thinking. There was no way they could sell that painting. It was a one of a kind.”
Toni said. “I think it was more about Jade trying to hurt Olivia. From what Annie said, Jade was in love with Paul. Speaking of Annie, what’s her story?”
“Remember when were talking about your case and how it would’ve been nice if other women came forward.”
“Yes. You looked up other women?”
Cam nodded. “I did. The crazy thing is there were quite a few cases before you. I think your lawyer reached out to them, but they just didn’t want to come forward.”
“Annie said she did.”
Cam nodded. “She did. Your lawyer, for whatever reason, chose not to bring her forward.”
Toni frowned. “Why?”
“Possibly because Annie was convinced Paul killed her sister.”
“She committed suicide.” Toni sighed. “Still, her voice probably should’ve been heard. Maybe Paul would have served some real jail time. And none of this would have happened. I mean look at Jade. She met Paul in rehab.”
“Wow, you know about that too.”
Toni narrowed her eyes. “When did you find out?”
“When I talked to Carol again. She mentioned Jade had spent time in rehab and that she had a hard time getting her husband to let Jade stay with them.”
“I bet. So you’ve been working out all these leads. How did you know to come here with backup?”
“My gut.”
“Really?”
“I told you yesterday I didn’t have a good feeling about you meeting with Ms. Niles, especially after the run-in with Paul. Her phone call was just a little too…”
“Suspicious. You think she had any ideas about any of this?”
“No. I think you both were pawns in some other women’s quests for justice. It just happened that your quest was good and I believe there was a higher purpose.”
“Letting that Reed trait take over wasn’t a bad thing.”
“I like that about your family. I especially like it in you. So why don’t we get your statement so we can get you home?”
Toni nodded. She hooked her arm inside Cam’s and allowed him to lead the way.
Epilogue
Three months later, October
Toni took a breath before stepping into the gallery. She’d left the stage about thirty minutes ago where she delivered a passionate speech on domestic violence. Her voice was full of emotion from the past few years and recent months, but somehow she’d managed to get through it. The Reed family was all there lending their support, including her half-brother, Jax, who drove up from Atlanta.
She smiled and greeted people as they walked up to her. This was all still surreal to her to see her paintings framed on a gallery wall. After all that happened, it was indeed a God thing.
She looked across the room and saw Olivia walking towards her. In the past few months, the two women had become friends. They had experienced more together in a few months than many people experienced in a lifetime.
Olivia reached Toni and embraced her. She looked different from the last time Toni saw her a few weeks ago. She’d cut her long black hair and opted for a more stylish cut with bangs that hung to the side.
Toni grinned, “I love the new cut. It suits you.”
Olivia clasped her hands together. “Thank you. I’ve been dreading doing it. But, it felt like I needed something new, especially with your event approaching. I really loved your speech. It was…”
Toni reached for Olivia’s hand. “…what needed to be said. I couldn’t have done this without you. I appreciate you pulling all this together in such a short amount of time especially after…” Toni’s voice trailed off. She gently squeezed Olivia’s hand and said, “You’re braver than you think.”
Olivia nodded. “I visited Paul’s grave yesterday. I just felt like I needed to say some things even though he couldn’t hear me.”
“Sometimes you need to speak what’s on your heart. God heard you.”
Toni caught Cam looking at her from across the room. She wanted to go over to him, but could tell Olivia had more to say.
Her and Cam had been trying out the dating thing for a few weeks now. He was her date tonight for the fundraiser. Ever since the incident, he’d been by her side.
Toni let go of Olivia’s hand, folding her arms across her waist. “Have you talked to Carol? I heard that Jade has a trial date now.”
Olivia shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Do you really believe she didn’t know the whole time what her cousin was up to?”
Olivia looked at her. “In my heart, I know Carol is a good person. I honestly don’t think she knew about Jade. She loved her cousin and just wanted to help her. Maybe one day I’ll talk to her.” She turned her head away from Toni’s gaze. “Just hard to trust anyone right now.”
“I get it. You’ll be happy to know I’ve been working with a therapist. I wanted to be sure I removed any old baggage.”
Olivia clasped her hands. “Good for you! By the way, I see your boyfriend giving us the eye, so I’m going to get out of his way. Thanks again for everything, Toni.”
Toni hugged Olivia, her mind still on that word.
Boyfriend.
She liked how that sounded.
Cam glided over. “Finally, I get you to myself.”
She grinned. “We’re surrounded by people.”
“I only have eyes for you. Your speech was breathtaking, by the way. I saw a few folks blotting their eyes. I had to find something to stop the water leakage going on in my own eyes.”
“Oh, Cam. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. When I think about that day and Annie… I don’t know.”
“You’re a smart woman, Toni. You knew something wasn’t right and you were persistent. I’m proud of you.”
She raised her eyebrow. “Are you sure? I mean I was sticking my nose in places I shouldn’t have. My mama says that inquisitive nature is a Reed thing. But, it’s also a gift.”
Cam laughed, “I totally agree. You’d make a great detective.”
“Nah. I’ll leave the detective work to my boyfriend.”
“Mmm, I liked the sound of that. Maybe in the future we can adjust that title a bit to something more permanent sounding.”
“I like the sound of that, Mr. Noble.”
Cam bent down. Despite being in the middle of a crowd of people, Toni had no trouble accepting his kiss.
RELENTLESS HEART
Reed Family Series
Book 3
Relentless Heart
Reed Family Series, Book 3
Copyright © 2017 by Tyora Moody
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.
&nbs
p; Troubled Heart is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Tymm Publishing LLC
701 Gervais Street, Suite 150-185
Columbia, SC 29201
www.tymmpublishing.com
Cover Design: TywebbinCreations.com
Copy Editing/Proofreading: Felicia Murrell
Chapter 1
Wednesday, November 16 at 12:15 p.m.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney’s office could not find sufficient evidence to press charges against Officer Roddy Lane in the officer-related shooting of Danye Lester this past summer. Officer Lane allegedly thought Mr. Lester was reaching for a gun in his pocket. In this life or death situation, due to the fact Mr. Lester ran from the police, Officer Lane made a justifiable decision.
Asia Reed cringed inside as her boss, District Attorney Brandon Lowe read the official statement to the press. She knew the press conference was currently broadcasting live on national news. She turned her head away from the media to look at Brandon, a handsome middle-aged man who definitely liked the cameras. Tall and statuesque, Brandon spoke with an authoritative voice mixed with slight emotion as he acknowledged Danye Lester’s family who stood on the other side of the podium.
Asia had to admit she was impressed. Brandon’s face had been plastered all over Charlotte during the past election season. Last week, he’d won by a ten-point margin, very different from his landslide four years ago. He’d indicated several times in the past few months, he wanted her to thoroughly comb through every single detail of the eleven-minute ordeal that resulted in Officer Lane fatally shooting twenty-year old Danye. Sometimes she took his edict as a subtle way of telling her he wanted nothing to interfere with his re-election to a second term.
Her team scrutinized the officer shooting case by looking at eyewitness reports and the phone camera footage that went out live on Facebook. She watched every angle they could find of the footage. There were countless testimonies, many supporting how Danye Lester was a good boy in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every time she watched the video, Asia’s heart wanted to explode as she saw the young man reach for his pocket. When Danye turned, Officer Lane saw the young man’s hand in his pocket and assumed he was reaching for a gun.