by Noel Obiora
“I’ve been struggling with trying to understand why I was so angry with you at the nightclub. Since Neda already told you how we ended up there instead of the plans we made, I’ll skip that part…I’m really sorry I did.” She uncurled herself and reached for her wine, then returned facing him directly.
“The reason, I think is…I started off…I don’t think of you as someone I am dating, I think of you as someone I would like…someone I want to be the mate I spend the rest of my life with, but I’m not sure I’m ready for marriage at all. Not as sure as I was before I met Richard. I’m not even sure I know what kind of person that life mate I’m looking for is supposed to be. Except that he should be someone I could work things out with as they develop.”
“I’d like to think we could work anything out together,” Thomas said.
“I thought I could with Richard, too. God knows he wasn’t perfect, and neither was I, but I thought we could work things out. Turns out I was wrong. Gosh, was I ever. So right there is the tension. You’ve emerged as the kind of companion any girl would like to spend the rest of her life with, but I’ve become entirely shy about marriage. And it all makes me frustrated, especially when people like Alana treat me like I should belong to you already. That part really brought out the beast in me.”
“Let me stop you right there. I have never treated you that way.”
“Really? If you should fly all the way here to watch an old classmate spend Thursday night with your gal?”
“That was a joke, specifically intended to reflect a different mindset.”
“I want to believe you.”
“Believe it. And while we’re at it, I’ll stop listening to your mother. I only acted out of respect for her.”
Amy liked that he said that, an honest acknowledgement that he had been wrong and the appreciation of what it meant to her.
“Don’t blame Alana for all of it. A part of you really came to confirm the bad news you suspected of me.”
“Did I?”
He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away from him.
“Come closer, I want to hold you,” he said.
“You come closer,” she said.
He untied his shoes and took them off, then laid down with his head on her interlocked feet, and she placed a small cushion to make him comfortable.
“Thomas, I think I was angry with you because I didn’t want to lose my freedom, which I feared I had already lost.”
“When did you lose your freedom? Is that what they call it these days?”
She slapped him lightly, and he turned on his elbow to look up at her for a moment.
“I am fully aware that I have not completely won your heart over yet. And you’ve lost nothing if you haven’t given your heart to me. Don’t worry, I’m up for the fight.”
“With whom?”
“College boy.”
“Thomas!”
“You just said he was your college classmate.”
“He is also a lawyer.”
“I know that—”
“Don’t call him that again.”
“Lighten up, Amy, it’s not like he’s here to hear it.”
“I heard it. Do not refer to him like that again.”
They were quiet for a moment. Thomas sat up.
“How did you know he was a lawyer?” she asked.
Thomas hesitated. “Neda might have mentioned it.”
“Neda didn’t know that.”
“Maybe one of the scouts then. Someone mentioned it last night. Why? That’s not hard to find out.”
“Even with a very common name?”
Thomas shook his head.
“Amy, ever since Keynesian economics surmised that the rich saved and the poor spent, getting personal information on someone like him is as difficult as reciting a nursery rhyme.”
“Like him…” Amy repeated slowly as though it were a question.
“Anyone of humble means for that matter. I don’t make up the rules. The point is businesses are served the identities and habits of destitute men on a platter all the time. We acquire databases of consumer information from people who think they are getting free stuff or services in return.”
“So, you’ve looked into it?”
“No, but I’m saying that I won’t have to invade anyone’s privacy or even bend the law to do so. If I call my assistant right now she can get you all the information you need about him.”
•••
Late in the evening, Neda called assuming Thomas had left.
“He’s still here, can I call you back?”
“Oh, you slut; take a break for goodness sake.”
“Guess which finger I am holding up, Neda?”
“Your thumb?”
“Guess again.”
After Amy hung up, she asked Thomas if he would like to hear Goldie’s music and Thomas said he would. She placed Goldie’s music disc into her compact disc player, and Goldie’s voice filled the living room, singing a ballad titled, “You’ve Been Cruel Again.”
You’ve been cruel again
You’ve been cruel again
Without knowing what you do you’ve been cruel again to me
With your beauty
Your humility
…
But I’m with him
And you’re with her
We both love them, too
Still it hurts when you smile at me
You’ve been cruel again /…
Amy and Thomas kept exchanging silent glances at the beautiful resonance of Goldie’s full voice and her seductive rendition of the lyrics.
“I can see why you feel a connection to this case,” Thomas said after the song ended.
“Really, why?”
“She sounds beautiful and unapologetic about what her heart wants.”
Amy smiled coyly.
Shortly afterward she returned to the Ritz with Thomas to allow him a more comfortable rest before his trip to Asia.
14
Reboot
The hearing on the public defender’s motion to examine the listening device took less fanfare than the arraignment. The courtroom was largely empty. Mallam Jackson and his men did not make it to court for the 2:00 p.m. schedule. Sister Ramatu and Jo sat in the gallery. Joanna Lark appeared for the public defender, and Mr. Jones continued to appear especially for the family, or so he claimed. Kate appeared for the district attorney’s office, with Amy by her side. Four lawyers for the Associated Press, Inc., who had made a special request to be heard by the court that morning, were sitting on the row reserved for lawyers.
Judge Pollazo was again his humorless self. He explained that he saw no harm to the defendant if the office of the district attorney could make the device available as Kate had promised, but he asked the parties to argue the point that the district attorney deliberately concealed the devices to gain an advantage.
“Your Honor, we were as surprised as everyone else to discover the device, and in the abundance of caution decided to send it off for a battery of tests, for prints, other analyses, etc. Not having received the results of those tests back, and as you rightly pointed out, knowing there was sufficient evidence to charge the defendant without the device, we proceeded to file the complaint. There was no deliberate attempt to hide anything. The device is not part of our case,” Kate said.
“If the device is not part of their case, your Honor, why did they send it off for further analyses?” Joanna asked.
“In the abundance of caution, like I just said,” Kate said.
“Nothing stopped you from notifying the public defender that you were doing so while you ran the tests,” Judge Pollazo said.
“You are right, your Honor. But we have not denied the existence of the device and have every intention of handing it over to th
e defense. It is not like we have had a conviction here and they discovered it. They found out about it before the preliminary hearing, precisely because we made no effort to hide it.”
“Your Honor, this device was not even mentioned in the full police report,” Joanna said.
“But now it has been brought to light. What is the harm?” Kate asked, seemingly addressing herself to Joanna.
“The harm is in your disregard of the defendant’s right to exculpatory evidence that could have prevented his arrest. What else are you guys not showing us?” Joanna asked. Amy cringed at the question, recalling the insurance policies.
“You can save that argument for your trial, counsel. I would think it would be effective to a jury,” Judge Pollazo said. This response seemed to quiet the argument of counsel. “I have decided to take the matter under submission and will be issuing my ruling later today. Does counsel wish to add anything?” Judge Pollazo asked.
All the attorneys shook their heads and then in turns said: “No, your Honor.”
Big was sitting alone on one of the benches in the hallway when Amy and Kate came out of the courtroom behind Jo and Sister Ramatu.
“Judge Pollazo will rule against us. You know that, right?” Kate said when she got out of the elevator with Amy and there was no one close to hear them.
“Why?” Amy asked.
“He didn’t have to take the matter under submission. Joanna did not say anything that wasn’t already in their motion, and the judge had all weekend to think about his decision.”
“Why didn’t he just rule immediately?” Amy asked.
“To buy us time to make sure we are ready to re-arrest him. He’ll rule this afternoon,” Kate said.
“What would you like me to do?” Amy asked.
“Officer Gonzalez is standing by. I want you there also when they make the arrest. I’ll probably be in court when his ruling comes out,” Kate said. Amy nodded and thought immediately of Helen Silberberg. Having nothing more to discuss with Kate, she returned to her office.
On her desk was a message slip from the receptionist, stating that one Kenneth Brown had called her three times already. It brought a smile to her face for the first time that morning.
15
The Drag
Amy and Kenneth met in Alhambra for lunch. Kenneth had wanted to stop by downtown, but Amy suggested they meet in Alhambra instead. Downtown Los Angeles was the long route to Long Beach from Rancho Cucamonga, where Kenneth was in court, but Alhambra was on his way.
The city of Alhambra lies a few miles northeast of Los Angeles, where the white neighborhoods of South Pasadena and San Marino towns melt into diverse Asian and Hispanic communities. Commercial structures and residential buildings sprout side by side on Alhambra’s major streets. The structures are smaller and the streets are narrower. Mom-and-pop stores and small non-brand, non-franchise retailers thrive on every corner, but mostly along the city’s main artery—Valley Boulevard. Tacos, sushi, dim sum, and pho vie for noontime appetites within the same city blocks.
Driving to Alhambra, Amy recalled how she had met Kenneth her first year in college at an open house for students interested in going to the law school. How could she have forgotten that he had an interest in attending law school? She had mentioned meeting him at the event to Elaine, with whom she shared an apartment off Red River Street at the time. Notwithstanding there were over twenty thousand students at the university, Elaine knew him, too, and told Amy that he had been in a history class that she and Amy both dropped their first semester on campus. Amy began to realize the odd affinity between her and Kenneth even then.
Attendees at the event had been asked to indicate by a show of hands how close they were to making a decision about law school when the host called out each class from the seniors to the freshmen. She and Kenneth were the only college freshmen at the open house. They hardly spoke at the event but sat close to each other at different presentations on the law school campus, and toward the end walked together from one event to the other. The following weekend, Elaine asked Amy to meet her at the coffee shop they called their own, off a popular street nicknamed the Drag in Austin, without mentioning that Kenneth was coming, too. Amy was surprised when Elaine showed up with him and introduced them again. They sat in the café until closing, and then stood around Amy’s parked car and talked for another hour or so before they all got in the car and dropped him off on their way home.
She knew then she wanted to see him again, and often. At times that night when their eyes met while they chatted, she felt he wanted the same as well, or rather he would be satisfied with nothing more than the pleasure of more of their company. They amused and challenged and encouraged each other without ever judging or arousing each other’s insecurities, she recalled. He seemed sometimes oblivious of Elaine, because he would stare right at Amy, and as much as Amy tried to maintain that gaze to let him know she was up to the challenge as well, she could not with Elaine present. When they dropped him at his apartment, he thanked them and asked for her number. His directness in spite of Elaine caught Amy off-guard, and she said the first thing that came to her mind.
“You don’t have anything to write it on.”
“I do,” he said reaching into his pocket. “Besides I’ll remember it without writing it down.”
She blushed and said, “It’s the same as Elaine’s; we’re housemates.” And she drove off without giving it to him.
“Who the hell told you that cat has my number or that I have his?” Elaine asked, amused.
“You invited him to our café. How did you do that without his number?”
“Walked up to him and said hey, want to join me and my housemate for coffee later? Would you believe he actually would not accept until I told him who my housemate was? Like, hello…I should be enough for your sorry ass!”
“Well, you know him better than I do?”
“Why because he’s Black? Do I know half the football players, too? And don’t even think of answering that!”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say.”
“Really? You, Amy Wilson, in a red Mercedes coupe that makes half the boys in school grab their crutch behind your back, did not know what to say to this poor cat?”
“Eeew! Don’t ever associate me with that image again. Yes, I did not know what to say; sue me.”
•••
Kenneth got to Alhambra before noon and sat in his old Ford Mustang rewriting his notes from a long list of messages from his office; courts that needed information on documents he had filed, attorneys with questions on their mutual cases, and clients seeking information. What Nancy could not respond to she passed on to him, and in between court appearances or during recesses he used the pay phones to address these issues. A cell phone was still a luxury expense, but one he planned on acquiring soon. Meanwhile, his electronic pager sufficed to keep him connected to his office.
He did not see Amy drive into the parking lot, but he saw her getting out of her car. Her hair was in a ponytail. She turned to open the door to the backseat of her car and appeared to look directly at him seated behind the wheel two rows away. He looked away sheepishly. Out of the backseat of her car, she pulled her jacket with one hand and lifted her handbag with the other, closing the door by kicking it with her heel as she turned away and headed toward the front of the courthouse. She had this way of walking that seemed like her heels were unsteady every time she placed them on the ground to lift them again, and it made her seem to sway ever so delicately from side to side in a manner both sensual and apologetic.
He let her enter the courthouse before he got out of his car and walked around the courthouse to meet her in front as they had agreed. She had chosen the Thai restaurant she knew from her time in West Covina.
“The other night I felt like I was back at the Drag in Austin, like we used to do, except without Elaine. I wanted to make
sure that I wasn’t dreaming,” he told her.
“It was good to see you, too,” she said after a long pause.
No sooner than they were seated and had ordered their food did he start to pry into the most intimate conversations they had on Saturday night.
“Are you seeing any one seriously?” he asked
“Excuse me?”
“You mentioned the other night that you didn’t marry your fiancé, but you didn’t say if you were seeing any one seriously.”
“I am…sort of.”
“Sort of…?” he asked.
Amy chuckled and turned her attention elsewhere in the restaurant.
“You don’t want to talk about it?” he asked.
“No, I figured you haven’t bought me lunch yet, so…” Amy said.
“When I first moved to LA, Elaine told me that you were getting married to someone picked for you at your debutant ball.”
“Well, they picked the wrong man, didn’t they?”
“And now?”
“Is this the new Kenneth Brown? You don’t beat around the bush anymore.”
“This is all I’ve thought about since I ran into you this weekend.”
“You’ve thought about who I was seeing with my family’s blessing?”
“No, how odd it was that we were running into each other again, after all these years. And what it could mean.”
“What else could it mean but a continuation of our friendship?”
“We weren’t just friends…in my mind, you know. Friendship with you was probably the hardest thing for me until I finally had the courage to confess it to you…but by then it was too late, or so you wanted me to believe.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“I wouldn’t want to lose sight of you again,” he continued.
“I have a rather jealous boyfriend.”
“You’re not the type.”
“Really?” she asked. “Don’t be too sure you know me so well, Ken.”
“Was he the one who came to the club with those bodyguards?”
“Yep, that’s the one,” Amy said.