Beauty and the Beast

by Deatri King Bey

  Here comes trouble. Nefertiti stroked Bruce’s hand. He’d tightened his grip when Alexis began speaking.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” said the guard, “but guests aren’t allowed in this part of the house.”

  “Do you know who I am?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’d be glad to give Mr. Maxwell a message. Until then, please join the other guests out back.”

  The detectives tossed a knowing stare at each other.

  “Get out of my way, you imbecile. Let me in to see my son!”

  They heard a tussle.

  “Excuse me.” Bruce patted Nefertiti on her shoulder, then stalked out of the room.

  Shoulders hunched, Nefertiti bit her bottom lip. “Sorry about all of the drama.”

  “Don’t worry about it, ma’am.” Shorewood, the older of the two men, half-smiled, half-grunted.

  “It’s time for you to leave, Alexis,” Bruce said in a deadly calm voice.

  “We need to speak.”

  “No, we don’t. And when one of my employees says I am not available to you, that means I am not available to you. Do not harass, insult, or push yourself on them. What do you want anyway?”

  “To apologize. I didn’t know that was Nefertiti.”

  “Okay, so you’ve apologized. If you want, go in the backyard with Auntie Vic. Goodbye.”

  “Gentlemen,” Nefertiti said to draw attention from Bruce and Alexis, “can I interest you in something to drink? Soda, water, juice, coffee, tea. You name it, we have it.”

  They looked from the doorway to her. “No ma’am,” they said in unison.

  “Is that actually his mother?” Clemmons asked under his breath.

  “I’m afraid so. Needless to say, they’re having a few difficulties. Hey, we’re having a barbeque out back. I’ll have my dad fix you both a plate. He makes the sauce himself.”

  “How could you treat your own mother like this?” Alexis whined. “You’re, you’re—”

  “I’m busy. I don’t care if you go out back, go home, or to hell. But get away from me.”

  Nefertiti heard Bruce approach as the front door closed with Alexis most likely on the other side. If she had any sense, she’d go out back and join the party.

  “Sorry about that.” Bruce returned to his spot behind Nefertiti. “Now where were we?”

  “We have a few questions about Dennis and Jamal Green.” Detective Shorewood’s voice was strong without being overbearing. Nefertiti thought it fit his salt and pepper hair and slightly rounded waist perfectly.

  “I don’t like assuming,” Bruce said. “Is Jamal also known as Jay?”

  Nefertiti wanted to ask where Dennis and Jay were, but held her tongue and allowed Bruce to lead. The gambling man Ken described to her didn’t sound anything like Dennis at first, but the more she thought about it, she realized the signs had been there all along. Yet still, she had a difficult time believing he would purposely hire a man like Butch to come after her. Bruce said his intentions didn’t matter, but for her they did. No, she wasn’t in love with Dennis, but he was the man she’d once chosen to spend the rest of her life with. It was bad enough she didn’t know about his gambling addiction, but the thought of him trying to have her murdered was too much for her to take. She prayed she wasn’t truly that poor a judge of character.

  “Yes, sir. Jamal Green is better known as Jay,” Shorewood answered. “What was your relationship with Dennis and Jay Green?”

  Was! Ready to burst, Nefertiti glanced over her shoulder and shot Bruce the I-wish-they’d-hurry-up-and-get-to-the-point look. In her book, “was” meant they were dead. She inhaled deeply.

  Bruce gently stroked a few stray hairs into her white banana clip, and amazingly, she felt a calm come over her. “I know, baby,” he said softly, then focused on the detectives. “My relationship?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I don’t have and have never had a relationship with either, but I am aware they are the bastards who organized the attack on Nefertiti,” he said smoothly. “Does your visit mean Givens is finally taking what I said seriously?”

  “Very seriously, sir. The Green cousins were murdered last night,” Shorewood said coolly. “Their bodies were dumped in East St. Louis.”

  Nefertiti gasped. “Oh my God!” She rose out of her seat and into Bruce’s embrace. “Dennis is dead?” The reality crashing in was a bit too real for Nefertiti. Her fiancé had tried to have her murdered, and now he’d been murdered. Energy drained, she could barely hold herself up. Angry with herself for feeling sorry about Dennis’s murder, she traced the scars on her cheek with her fingertips. She leaned against Bruce. Why am I mourning someone who sent a psycho to kill me?

  “Breathe, baby, breathe,” he whispered as he rubbed her back.

  “I’m tired. I don’t want to go back to the party.” All she wanted to do was go to her suite and cry. She’d get the details from Bruce when she was feeling better.

  “Sammy,” Bruce called. A few seconds later, the security guard who’d opened the door for Alexis appeared. “Go out back and explain things to Uncle Nathan for me.” The guard rushed out.

  Arms wrapped tightly around Bruce and her head on his chest, she listened to the steady beat of his heart.

  “Rest easy, baby. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

  “Thank you for bringing us this news, detectives,” she mumbled.

  “We’re sorry, ma’am, but we still have a few more questions for Mr. Maxwell,” Clemmons said softly.

  Bruce’s gentle stokes stopped, and his body stiffened. His breaths became deeper, as if he were trying to calm himself. She pulled back and looked into his angry face.

  “No way.” Hands on her hips and her neck working overtime, she spun around. “I know you don’t think Bruce murdered Dennis and Jay! We haven’t even left the house since we went to the exhibit at the DuSable Museum the other day.”

  “That doesn’t mean he didn’t hire someone,” Clemmons mumbled.

  Nefertiti stepped up to the young detective who stood upon her approach. “I know you are new at this, but you should know about motive. I have more of a motive than Bruce to murder them. I’m the one who was attacked.”

  “You are more than enough motive for him.”

  “Aw, hell naw. I’m about to be arrested for putting my foot up a cops a—”

  Bruce pulled on her arm. “Nefertiti, stop.”

  “No. They’re trying to pin this on you, and I won’t have it. Do you know how many innocent people are in jail?”

  Nathan rushed into the room. “What’s going on?”

  “Get them out!” She pointed at the door. “Now!”

  Shorewood stood. “We’ll need to finish this conversation soon, Mr. Maxwell.” He took a business card out of his wallet.

  Nefertiti stalked over to her father. “This cannot be happening. Do you see what’s going on?” she fussed. “Simply ridiculous.”

  “Nefertiti, let me handle this,” Bruce said.

  “Dennis and Jay ran the streets for what—seven months—and these top notch, crackerjack detectives did nothing. Nothing!” she spat. “That bastard carved me up like Thanksgiving turkey.” She ran her hands along her neck. “He slit my throat.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we have to investigate this fully.” Clemmons shifted weight between his feet.

  “Why is he speaking to me? He isn’t sorry. Get out of here with that bull.”

  “I think you all need to leave.” Nathan pulled Nefertiti into his embrace. “Calm yourself, child.” He rocked her. “Calm.”

  “It’s not fair, Daddy. We’ve already been through more than enough. I’m tired.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m tired.”

  Victoria, May, and Alexis entered the room. May went to Nefertiti. “What’s wrong?” Tiffany and Rachel rushed in.

  “Mama, they’re accusing Bruce of murder.”

  “What?” exclaimed the women.

  Without missing a beat, Alexis approached the
detectives. “He’s an ass and a half, but wouldn’t harm a fly. You have the wrong man. If you have further questions, they will be asked and answered in the presence of his attorney.”

  Immediate family and key staff took up every spot available in the study. Bruce had to admit he was surprised at the show of support, especially from Alexis. She’d taken charge of the situation and had Tiffany call her father, Eugene Gamble, who happened to be one of the top defense attorneys in the country.

  Nefertiti’s fight wasn’t a surprise, yet seeing her faith in him in action did his heart proud. An hour after the detectives left, she was curled up next to him on the sofa, mumbling about the police department’s incompetence. She didn’t stop until Eugene arrived.

  Anna and Rachel had brought chairs from the dining hall to accommodate everyone. Eugene Gamble, an imposing figure, sat behind the antique oak desk.

  “When was the last time you spoke with this Marco character?” Eugene asked.

  “A few days ago,” Bruce answered. “His men had tracked Dennis and Jay down to St. Louis.”

  “Do you believe Marco had his men execute Dennis and Jay?”

  Bruce shook his head. “Nah, he was trying to avoid the cops. If he had had them killed, their bodies would have never been found.”

  “What did you expect Marco to do when his men found them?”

  “I’d made arrangements to have them held until the police took their heads out of their asses and did their jobs.”

  “Kidnapping!” Alexis laughed. “Now that’s something Bruce would do.”

  “Be quiet or go home, Alexis,” Victoria chastised.

  “I need to speak with Marco and see if the police have approached him yet, but they’ll look at his phone records eventually.”

  Rachel timidly raised her hand. “You can use my cell. It’s prepaid, so it can’t be traced back to you.”

  Victoria nodded her approval.

  “She actually speaks,” Alexis quipped.

  Bruce felt guilty for the way he’d been treating Rachel. “I’m sorry for everything, Rachel. I’ll try not to be a complete ass around you.” He took the offered phone and made the call.

  “Who the hell is this?”

  “Hey, Marco, it’s Bruce. I had a few unwanted visitors today, so I’m calling you from a different phone.”

  “Sons of bitches came by here talkin’ shit. They think I whacked Dennis and Jay’s asses for you. Like I’d bring more heat down on my ass. Humph, all the shit I do, and they come at me for the one thing I’m innocent of.”

  “I refused to speak to them without my lawyer.” Bruce smiled at Alexis and nodded his thanks. “Actually, he’s here now.”

  “I’ll give you my attorney’s information so they can have a little pow-wow and get this cleared up. My boys are here now. I lit into them for allowing Dennis and Jay to slip through their fingers.”

  “I’m sending Ken down to see if he can figure out what happened. I’m not too enthusiastic about the investigative skills of our law enforcement officials at this time.” Bruce chuckled.

  “Sho you right on that, brotha. Listen up. Ken is cool and all, but he may need a little backup. This is our ass in the sling. I’m sending Redman and Deuce Deuce as muscle. Don’t worry, your boy will be in charge, and my boys won’t fail again.”

  “Sounds like we have a winning plan.” After they finished exchanging information, Bruce disconnected. “Thank you, Rachel. Janis, get this child a real cell phone. Add it to my account.”

  Rachel beamed as Bruce updated everyone on the call.

  “I’ll call Marco’s attorney after I finish up here,” Eugene said. “I’ll want you two to go in together to see the police as soon as possible, but first we’ll need to go over what you’re to say. In this case, neither of you has done anything wrong, but we still need to be careful. Unfortunately, circumstantial evidence has been used to convict many innocent men.” He pushed away from the desk. “I believe everyone is worn out. We’ll conduct a practice interview in the morning.”

  “I understand. Nefertiti, I want you to stay here when I go in.”

  “No,” she said calmly. “I was in shock. I’m finished acting like a crazed lunatic. I want to be there with you.”

  “I can’t think straight when you’re around. I need you to stay here with Uncle Nathan.”

  “Umm,” she grumbled. “I won’t go in with you, but I can’t sit around here twiddling my thumbs.”

  “It’s been years since we’ve been to the Art Institute, Nathan,” May chimed in. “Let’s take the baby.”

  Bruce had to smile. It didn’t matter how old Nefertiti was, she had always been and would always be referred to as “the baby” by May.

  “Remember when I used to let you skip school for the Chicago trip?” Nathan asked.

  “Okay, I’m not happy about it, but the Art Institute it is,” Nefertiti said. “Rachel, you should come along.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Come on, Catherine, let me in.”

  The door to her hotel suite swung open. “What do you want, Roy?”

  “This is our chance.” He stepped into her room and closed the door. Their relationship had deteriorated drastically since she’d lost controlling interest of Dixon Textiles. He was furious with her for blaming him for the loss when Bruce and their father were the actual cause. And that she had actually given in… He shook his head.

  “Last chance for what?”

  “You should have stayed at the party a little longer. Bruce is under investigation for murder.”

  Her eyes flew open. “Really?”

  “That’s what was going around. He’s weak and distracted.”

  Catherine slowly walked to the window, which overlooked Lake Michigan. “Murder? Who?”

  “It doesn’t matter who. All that matters is we can get the company back.”

  She tsked and shook her head. “None of this matters. He owns seventy percent of the company. Unless he sells, there is nothing we can do. Do you honestly believe he’ll sell the company back to us? And even if he were willing, we don’t have the capital.”

  “How can you give up so easily?”

  She spun around toward him. “Easily! I’m sick of this, Roy. There is no easily. The only thing easy was how you sold out the company. Now drop this.” She stalked over to the door and opened it.

  Roy watched as Catherine’s shoulders heaved with anger. First Bruce had taken his inheritance from him, and now he’d poisoned his sister against him. She had even decided to work for Bruce. He’ll pay!

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Last night Nefertiti had insisted Bruce watch interview and interrogation scenes from her Law and Order collection. She’d called it research. She’d even helped Gamble’s people play good cop, bad cop in the practice interview. At the time he’d laughed, but now the dingy walls, two way mirror, metal table and folding chairs looked straight out of one of the episodes. Even Shorewood and Clemmons seemed really into their roles.

  Clemmons turned off the surveillance tape from the hospital parking lot. The camera had caught Bruce going off on Dennis, and Jay was seated in a car a few spaces away.

  Shorewood turned in his seat and faced Bruce. “You said you had no relationship with Dennis or Jay.” He motioned behind his shoulder. “Do you usually assault people you don’t have relationships with?”

  “I don’t need to have a relationship with someone to curse them out.”

  Gamble lightly tapped the back of Bruce’s chair, which was their sign for Bruce to calm down.

  “What were you arguing about?”

  “Him being a coward.”

  “We have a witness that says you threatened to kill him if he ever came near Nefertiti again.”

  “I don’t remember saying that, but I’m not shocked.” Bruce felt a tap on his back. “I’ve said I’m going to kill thousands of people and haven’t killed one yet. There are people who have never said they are going to kill anyone, yet have murdered
. Go figure.”

  “When did you learn that Dennis was involved in the attack on Nefertiti?”

  “I’ve already told you about the man I planted in Butch’s cell. I learned about Dennis’s role a few days after my man’s report.”

  “You are a man who seems to always get what he wants.” Shorewood sipped his coffee, then set his mug down. Clemmons continued to stand off to the side. “Let me make sure I have this correctly.” He glanced down at his notes. “You were able to plant a man in Butch’s cell and find out how your fiancée’s attack came about.”

  “My client has already answered that question and given you the contact people to verify the information,” Gamble said from his position behind Bruce. “Mr. Maxwell is a busy man and does not have time to repeat information.”

  “Does your client have time to tell us what his relationship with Marquise Jones, a.k.a Marco, is?”

  “We were both interested in finding Dennis and Jay, so we joined forces.”

  Shorewood didn’t flinch at Bruce admitting he knew Marco, but Clemmons choked on his coffee. Gamble had instructed Bruce and Marco not to lie about their association because the police most likely already knew about it and would try to use their lying against them. He’d told them what information was okay to give and what to keep to themselves.

  “And what did you plan on doing to Dennis and Jay after they were located?” Shorewood asked.

  “It doesn’t matter because someone killed them before we could catch up to them.” Tired of the nonsense, Bruce’s voice had a definite edge. Circumstantial evidence was stacked against him, and everyone knew he had motive, opportunity and the means to have Dennis and Jay murdered. Unless Ken found the real murderer quickly, Bruce expected a grand jury would say there was enough evidence to go to trial. He ran his hands over his mustache and goatee.

  “We’ve wasted enough of my client’s time, detectives,” Gamble began. “If you have further questions, please call my office to set up an appointment.”

  “What the hell do you mean Nefertiti is missing?” Bruce raged into his cell phone as he exited the police station. “Everyone but the dog was there!”