by H. H. Fowler
“I’ll make it quick, because Drake is out in the driveway, waiting for me.” Sasha suddenly cleared her throat. “Do you remember me texting you about an email that I’d received from a woman on the past week?”
How could Levi forget? He was sitting right next to Drake in the passenger seat. “Yes…you said something to the effect that she’d strike again…”
“The very words of the blackmailer. And you would never guess who it is.”
“Well, I know that it is a woman, but of course, I never got around to really talking to you about it. Because we weren’t exactly speaking to each other.”
“I know and I apologize again for my attitude –”
“All is forgiven, Sasha,” Levi assured. “Let’s be grateful for the positive that has come out of this situation.”
“And I am – believe me, I am. But I can’t help but wonder at times about that email.”
“Well, what is the name of the person who sent it?” Levi asked.
“I’ll give you a clue: The principal of Xavier High.”
It took a few seconds for a name to register in Levi’s mind before he gulped in disbelief. “Mrs. O’Grady? You’re saying she’s been the one behind the blackmail?”
“Think about it, Levi. You think I would walk off my job like that, knowing how much I love those kids?”
“I didn’t think you would. I was confused when Mrs. O’Grady called me and said that you attacked her for no reason…of course, I didn’t believe her.”
“Seriously? That woman called me into her office last week Monday and practically gloated about what she’d done to me. She showed me proof of everything – the emails she’d sent, the video clips of us – everything that indicated that she was indeed the blackmailer. And the thing that bothered me most about it was that she found immense pleasure in my misery. She has a serious crush on you, Levi and I think it’s one of the main reasons she hates me so much. But I kid you not, I didn’t attack Mrs. O’Grady in the sense like she’s making it seem. But did I slap her? Of course I did and then got off the premises as quickly as I could.”
Now things were beginning to make sense to Levi – the way Mrs. O’Grady was adamantly trying to keep him employed at Xavier High. The constant phone calls and the ‘purrs’ in her voice. But all of that would end tonight.
“Don’t keep Drake waiting any longer,” he said to Sasha. “I’ll handle it.”
“I’m sorry to have burdened you with this, but I needed to tell someone about it. Drake refuses to let me get into the details about my resignation, which frightens me. What if that woman sends Drake that inappropriate video clip of us? How would I even begin to explain that to him?”
“God hasn’t brought us this far to make us ashamed,” Levi said, who was surprised at his own words. “I’ll handle Mrs. O’Grady. Go to your husband and have faith that nothing will destroy the peace between you two.”
“Thanks, Levi. You don’t know how much it means to hear you say that.”
As soon as Levi got Sasha off the phone, he dialed Mrs. O’Grady. She answered on the first ring, as he slowly brought the Camry in front of a traffic light.
“What a pleasure to hear your voice, Mr. Johnson,” she cooed. “I’ve been trying to reach you since last week.”
Lord, help me to handle this situation with wisdom. He said without preamble, “Do you realize if you destroy Sasha and her marriage, you also destroy me and my reputation with the school?”
There was a pause before Mrs. O’Grady responded with a nervous chuckle. “Mr. Johnson, how am I to respond to that? I haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re talking about.”
“Sasha told me everything.”
“Sasha?”
“Don’t act as if you’re not acquainted with that name,” Levi spat.
“Quite the contrary, Mr. Johnson. I’m just amazed at how informal you are with each other.”
“We have been friends from childhood – in case you didn’t know that….and that is all we are.”
“Any blind fool can see that you’re more than friends,” Mrs. O’Grady said. “Who the hell are you trying to dupe?”
Levi could hear the distaste in Mrs. O’Grady’s voice, which instantly confirmed that Sasha had been telling the truth all along. “Regardless of what you perceive,” he said firmly, “it doesn’t give you the right to play God with someone’s life.”
“So you’re defending that woman – the same woman who won’t give you the time of day, but yet has the power to pull your strings whenever she wants. She uses you because she knows she can.”
“I stand by my position: It’s none of your business.”
“Then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. If you want to go down with that slut, then so be it!”
Levi tightened his grip around his phone. “I’m done with you and that school. But you had better not send any more of those emails to Sasha or even think about sending them to her husband. Or I promise that you won’t get past your office door for the number of police that will be on site.”
Mrs. O’Grady laughed. “How valiant of you, Mr. Johnson, but you’re about twenty minutes too late.”
“What the heck do you mean by that?”
“Good bye, Mr. Johnson and have a nice life.”
The connection was brutally cut. Levi tossed his cell phone in the passenger seat and applied pressure to the accelerator. If Mrs. O’Grady really did what Levi thought, then Sasha would need all the support she could get, maintaining the peace between her and her husband.
Chapter Nineteen
Suanne was spinning around like a top in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the main dish. Pot roast sautéed with Portobello mushrooms and onions. She topped off the edges with freshly cooked vegetables with a dash of red wine to add a kick – just the way Kevin loved it. Party streamers hanged from the ceiling in the main areas, a color scheme of emerald green, gold and white, which complemented the huge floral arrangement on the center table. Soft instrumental music played in the background, setting the atmosphere for a royal feast. This was an engagement party Suanne intended to make the talk of the town, because it was not often she got to host this kind of event at her home, especially for her grown sons.
Kevin entered the kitchen after having let in a third batch of folks from the church. He was becoming concerned, because the party hadn’t started yet and there were at least nine people milling about in the front room. He left Hunter to entertain them until he returned with some finger food. Hopefully the food would keep them distracted from asking so many questions about his and Hunter’s relationship.
“Ma, what did you do?” he complained. “You invited the entire the church, eh?”
Suanne tossed a pair of oven mitts to Kevin and grinned. “Boy, hush your mouth and help me take the mac and cheese out of the oven.”
“Seriously, Ma, how much people did you invite from the church?”
Suanne shrugged. “I don’t know…could be fifty, could be more.”
“What?! All of these people aren’t necessary. Do you even have enough food to feed them all?”
Suanne suddenly screamed at Kevin, almost causing him to drop the mac and cheese to the floor. “Boy, don’t rest that hot pan on my good countertops before you burn a hole through my hard earned money. Put it on the rack over there!”
Kevin laughed, giving in to the temptation to tease his mother. “I thought after recommitting your heart to the Lord on Sunday, you would have slowed down on being so grouchy. It looks as if you got worse.”
Suanne cut her eyes at her son. “God took away my sins, not my senses…and I’m not grouchy; I’m firm.”
Kevin playfully rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. You just hate to admit that I’m right.”
Suanne wiped her hands on a cloth, suppressing her snappy comeback. Kevin was right, she needed to work more on controlling her sharp tongue. “But I am grateful,” she said, “for the opportunity to make things right with the Lord.
I will never forget this past Sunday as long as I live. Didn’t the Holy Ghost rock that place? Makes me wanna go off in my heavenly language just thinking about it.”
Kevin grinned, although he himself was still trying to get used to the idea of what it means to be a born-again Christian. “I have a lot to learn about all of that stuff,” he said. “But I will tell you that I do feel different…like a heavy load has been lifted off my shoulders.”
Suanne nodded her head in agreement. “Nothing like turning it over to Jesus. I wish Armando had been there to experience it. Lord knows he needs the Holy Ghost, especially with him being married to that crazy woman.”
Kevin chuckled. “We all have shortcomings, Ma. You shouldn’t judge Annalise so harshly.”
“God Himself can’t reach Annalise,” Suanne quipped.
“So you’re saying there’s no more hope for her?”
Suanne waved Kevin off. “I’m not saying anything that I don’t see. Some people come in this world hating God all their lives. Natural born enemies of the cross…but of course, I’m human and I’m not too big to admit that I could be wrong about Annalise. It’s God who has the final say over a person’s destiny, right?”
Kevin rubbed his mother’s shoulder and smiled. “I’m proud of you, Ma. You’re beginning to sound like a true saint.”
Suanne playfully took a swing at Kevin. “Boy, hand me that phone so that I can call your brother.”
“Which one.”
“Armando, of course. I want to know if he still plans on coming to the party tonight.”
“Good luck with that,” Kevin said. “Drake and I have already tried to get him to come. He says he and Annalise are preparing to fly back to Trinidad first thing tomorrow morning and they want to have an early night.”
“Well, you and Drake are not his mother. Let me handle him.”
Suanne yanked the receiver out of Kevin’s hand. A few seconds later, he walked out of the kitchen, to the sound of her spitting out rebuke after rebuke in Armando’s ears. The hell she raised would set Armando straight for the next six months.
By the time Kevin made it back to the front room, Hunter was more than ready for an escape. She thought she could have handled a nosey batch of churchgoers, but she sensed she was in over her head by the fourth question. She jumped up and pulled Kevin aside.
“Boy, am I glad to see you,” she grinned.
“You are?”
“You have no idea…” She subtly gestured to the smiling faces in front of them and said through clenched teeth. “They want to know how many times we’ve French kissed since we starting dating. According to them, God doesn’t honor any sort of thing done outside of marriage.”
“Well, what do you think?” Kevin asked.
“I don’t know….I’m new to this whole Christian experience.”
“And so am I.”
Hunter patted Kevin on the back and grinned. “It’s your call, handsome. I have to go outside to my car anyway.”
“What for?”
“I left your mother’s gift in the passenger seat. It’s the pendant I had designed especially for her.”
“Rest your tired legs, my love, and let me get it for you.”
“Good one. But you’re not escaping the hot seat that easily.”
Kevin smirked, falling in love with Hunter all over again. “You’re so wrong to leave me alone like this.”
“I’m sure you can handle the terrain…you have to. I want to steal a few minutes alone with your mother when I return…I pray she loves the gift.”
“Well, knowing it’s coming from her white daughter-in-law, she will love it without even seeing it.”
Hunter laughed. She was about to kiss Kevin on his cheek, but she wisely restrained herself. There were at least a dozen pair of eyes intently watching her every move.
“I’ll be right back,” she said and then proceeded through the front door.
Chapter Twenty
Raffie parked the Cadillac in an inconspicuous spot and then trotted the short distance on foot to Suanne’s house. He pressed a hand against his satchel, simply to confirm that his .22 semiautomatic pistol was where it should be. Raffie didn’t intend for this assignment to take all night. His plan was simple: Get Hunter alone, put a bullet in her forehead and then escape back to his vehicle. He would call Shiloh and instruct her to wire the balance of his money into his account.
Raffie had already foreseen that Kevin could pose a problem, because Kevin would have no difficulty recognizing who he was. However, Raffie couldn’t care less. There were enough bullets to go around. Of course Shiloh wouldn’t be happy to discover that he’d killed Kevin, but he didn’t intend to tell Shiloh about it. His heart rate suddenly quickened when he saw Hunter’s Jaguar, parked in its usual spot. But if that wasn’t reason enough to get his adrenalin pumping, seeing his target standing in clear view was a killer’s dream. Raffie took a deep breath and then called out to get Hunter’s attention.
So focused was Raffie on the mission ahead that he wasn’t paying any attention to the danger lurking behind. Kipling – the rogue that Waldo had sent to follow Raffie, dropped back a few feet behind some nearby shrubs. His pistol was at his side, finger steady on the trigger. Waldo had been too lenient with this fool, extending Raffie’s grace period to embarrassing measures. Kipling dare not call Waldo back at this point, because Waldo would only delay what had to be done. Other cats would think they could get away with the same nonsense. But not on Kipling’s watch.
He surveyed the neighborhood. The houses were all wooden and so close together that they appeared semi-detached. He could tell that it was a tight-knit community and that the residents looked out for each other. All the more reason for him to expedite his assignment and get the hell out of the area. With his gaze intently locked on Raffie, he brought the pistol eye-level and waited for a clear shot.
****
During the commute to his mother’s house, Drake had barely said two words to his wife. But Sasha didn’t notice because she’d intentionally busied herself with talking about the new life growing on the inside of her. It was a way to take her mind off the conversation she’d had with Levi a short while ago. And although Sasha was already making plans for a baby’s nursery, the only thing that Drake could think about were those anonymous emails, claiming that his wife had been unfaithful. Ten months before, he was at this same crossroad and if he was to go with how he felt at the moment, the outcome of his actions would be the same, which was to take a leave of absence without telling Sasha. He eased the Mercedes behind an old Ford truck and left the engine idling.
Sasha stared out of the window at the cars lined on both sides of the street, some blocking the entrance to Suanne’s yard. With a bit of incredulity to her voice, Sasha commented, “This place looks crammed way beyond what I was expecting…and there goes Hunter. But what is she doing outside talking to that guy when she should be with Kevin?”
Drake muttered something unintelligible. And although he was burning up inside to ask Sasha about the emails, he kept quiet and tried to mitigate his suspicion. This had to be a test, a ploy of the devil to try his faith and to gauge his response. Did he really have Agape love like he preached in his sermon this past Sunday? Had he really forgiven his wife and trusted God to restore his marriage? Drake’s answer was still a resounding yes, but how did he get past that little voice in his head, encouraging him to give in to his doubts? But the longer he kept quiet, the angrier he became.
Out of nowhere, Drake’s side of the car door opened and someone reached down and pulled him out of the vehicle into a tight hug.
“Man, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Levi beamed. “But I had to thank you again, for everything you’ve done for me. Man, I can’t explain how I feel right now. I keep thinking about church on Sunday and how different I felt after giving my heart to the Lord.”
Drake gently pushed himself out of Levi’s embrace. He could sense genuine love and appreciation exuding from Levi’s
smile, in fact, from his entire disposition. That was enough to cause Drake to forsake his pensive mood, if even for a few minutes. Sasha stepped out of her side of the car and gave Levi a subtle glance of the eyes, which was to say that all was well between her and Drake. Levi sighed inwardly. That meant that whatever Mrs. O’Grady had done, hadn’t gotten to Drake as yet.
“You’re certainly welcome, man,” Drake told his friend. “I’m just happy to be a part of the plan of God for your life –”
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets ripped through the Mercedes, bringing instant pandemonium to the quiet atmosphere. Another round of bullets flew by from the opposite direction, puncturing windshields and anything that dared to stand in its way. Drake dropped to his knees and crawled toward his wife, who stood frozen like the Statue of Liberty. He pulled her to a safe spot behind the passenger door of the Mercedes. They’d suddenly been flung in the middle of the wild, wild west and for a split second Drake seriously wondered if they would make it out alive.
****
Kipling let loose a string of profanity. He’d been shot in the arm and he was losing a lot of blood. He thought for sure he would have caught Raffie off guard, but he’d underestimated Raffie’s street skills. Was it possible that Raffie knew he was being followed? Kipling was too stunned to think and to provide any rational explanation to why he’d let Raffie outsmart him. It made no sense now, going after Raffie. The scene was becoming thick with activity and Kipling didn’t want a sketch of his face to be on the six o’clock news. He drew back in the shadows and bolted back to his vehicle. If the police didn’t get their hands on Raffie, then of course, Kipling would return at another time to finish the job.
****
Drake looked around for Levi, but didn’t see where he’d gone. Someone was grunting for help, coupled with the sound of approaching footsteps. But Drake couldn’t tell what direction the noises were coming from. Then suddenly, Drake remembered Hunter. He took a chance and glanced above the car door, only to be jolted by a very disturbing image. There was Hunter, in a chokehold, with the barrel of a gun to her head. She was being detained by the same man she’d been talking to.