by Iris Bolling
They watched for a few minutes until Naverone spoke and pointed to the monitor. "That's Vernon pulling up."
"Okay." Adam pushed another button. "Let's slow it down to real time."
Naverone, Xavier and Adam leaned in. They all watched intently as a Vernon stepped out of the car and walked towards the door. He stopped.
"Why did he stop and who is he talking to on the phone?" Adam asked.
"He stopped because he noticed the door was open."
Adam looked intently at the screen. He could not tell the door was open. He looked up at Naverone who was leaning over him. "How do you know that?"
She looked down at him. "Because I was talking to him on the phone."
"Oh." He held her glare. "Okay." Then he looked back at the screen.
Vernon then made a few motions. "He's calling someone else?"
"The police," Naverone replied as they continued to watch. "Now he is back on the line with me."
"Why didn't you tell him not to walk through the open door?"
"I did."
Vernon hesitated for a moment then walked into the house.
"Well, he didn't listen." Adam pushed the stop button.
"No, he didn't," Naverone sighed.
They watched the door as another vehicle pulled up and then a patrol car with blue lights flashing parked. "Did you see that?" Adam sat up and hit stop.
"The flash in the corner," Xavier responded. "Yes, I saw it."
He replayed that part of the recording. "There's the flash." Then they watched as the two people from the first vehicle and the police officers ran in.
Naverone pointed to the screen. "That's me and Taylor running in the house."
"Taylor?" Adam asked.
"Vernon's daughter," Naverone replied.
"Can you get a view of the back of the house?" Xavier asked as he sat up.
Adam touched the screen changing the view to the back of the house. "So your theory is that someone was in the house. Vernon shot that person and the person ran out the back door."
"Not exactly," Naverone replied. "Go to the view of the back then fast forward a little."
"Okay, let's also change the angle," Adam said as he made adjustments to show a clearer view of the back entrance. "Now, let's speed it up."
Naverone sat on the arm of the chair Adam was in. He looked at her. She turned his face back to the monitor. A few moments passed.
"There it is," Adam said. He began to adjust the recording back, then slowed it down and hit play. "Watch."
They all leaned in, watching the screen intently. Finally they saw a figure leaving out the back. Adam hit pause. "Let's mark this time."
"Someone was there." Naverone exhaled, as she stood up excited. "Can we get that shot?"
"Wait," Adam said. "Don't you want to know what direction they went in?"
"You can track him?" Naverone asked.
"I can track that figure."
"Track him," Xavier said sitting on the edge of his chair.
"You're not a little excited, are you?"
"Track the man." Xavier narrowed his eyes.
"Why do you have to always get so hostile?" Adam turned to the monitor and pushed play. They watched as the figure walked two yards down and ducked between the houses. The figure came out behind the crowd that was gathering around the emergency vehicles. He blended in, then walked over to a vehicle parked across the street and pulled off.
"Can you focus in to get a license plate number?"
Adam was intently working on the picture. He shook his head. "No."
"Can you get me a still shot of him coming out of the door with the time stamp on it?"
"Yes, but it won't do you any good." Adam shrugged.
"Why not?" Xavier asked.
Adam sat back. "Who is it? You can't tell if it's a male or female, Black or White, short or tall."
"Can you get a clearer picture?" an eager Naverone asked.
"It may take some time, but sure." Adam nodded.
She kissed his cheek. "Great." She wrote a number on the tablet next to his laptop. "Send that to my phone." She walked towards the door as she spoke.
Adam pushed a button, then sent the image to the number Naverone put in front of him. And like that the beautiful woman known as Naverone was out the door. Adam stared at the open doorway for a long moment.
"They are going to need more, Adam," Xavier stated. "I'm not into the cloak and dagger business like you and your brothers, but...what else can you give us?"
Adam sighed as he stared at the monitor. "We may be able to track the vehicle’s movements through traffic cameras."
"Why can't you continue to track him with the satellite?"
"There's a lot of black SUV's," Adam stated. "But..." He pulled up another screen. From there he searched for maps. Then found one that displayed traffic lights. "Let's find the one closest to the house." He found it, then said, "Let's see if the traffic cam can pick up the vehicle.” He switched screens again going back to the satellite screen. He adjusted the time to when the figure walked out the back door, then he increased the aerial view to show a three-block radius in both directions from the house.
"Okay, then let's go back a few hours. Do you think we can get it on a larger monitor?"
Xavier hit Adam on the shoulder. "Let's talk to Vernon. I'm sure he can get you whatever you need."
When they walked into Vernon's office, they found him and James sitting at the conference table and Naverone standing explaining what they had just found.
"Come in." Vernon waved them in. "Naverone said you found something interesting."
"We did," Xavier stated.
Adam stopped and gave him a sideways glance. "We?"
"Yes." Xavier grinned. "But we think there is more. Do you have an office with a large monitor and computer Adam can work from?"
Vernon pushed the console in the middle of the table. "Mrs. Morgan, would you step inside please?"
Vernon walked over and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Vernon Brooks."
"Adam Lassiter." He shook Vernon's hand then turned to James. "How are you, Mr. Secretary?"
"I'm well, Adam." James stood and shook his hand.
"You two know each other?" Vernon looked suspiciously between them.
"Yes," James replied. "If I tell you how I would have to kill you."
Xavier shook his hand. "Another one of those."
Adam smiled. "I'm afraid so. Is this your brother?"
"Yes, my oldest brother," James replied.
"Okay." Adam nodded his head. "We’ll get this cleared up soon, sir."
"I appreciate that."
Mrs. Morgan walked into the office. "Yes, Mr. Brooks?"
"Would you get these gentlemen set up in an office with everything they need? Also, ask Wade to step in as soon as he is free."
"Yes, sir. Mr. Brooks, Bobby Kennedy is waiting to see you."
"Thank you, send him in. And Mrs. Morgan, will you order in some lunch?"
"Yes, sir." Mrs. Morgan turned to Xavier and Adam. "Gentlemen, follow me please."
"I like roast beef on rye, Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard with a little potato salad on the side," Adam was stating as they walked out of the door.
"I'm going to stay with them." Naverone walked to the door. "I think this is a promising lead. I want to track it all the way through." She walked out as Bobby walked in.
Vernon shook his hand. "Thank you for coming, Bobby. This is my brother James."
James shook his hand. "Hello, Bobby. I believe I saw you at the funeral."
"Yes, sir, you did. How can I help?"
"Have a seat," Vernon said as he sat back at the conference table. "We would like to help you."
"Vernon, with all you are dealing with you don't have time to help me. But I appreciate it."
"Nonsense. We're family in a crazy sort of way."
"My father is really good with corporations," James stated. "We are going to ensure you get your inheritance from Singleton.
Then my father is going to assist you with getting the companies under control."
"The last thing we want is to see thousands of people lose their jobs," Vernon added. "I think you are the man who can save those people. So, if you are willing to take on the responsibility, we are here to help. This situation with me is going to work itself out. I have faith in that. What I don't want is to let this court case delay saving Singleton Enterprises."
"There is no telling how much damage has already been done," Bobby stated. "Just from the one company I've reviewed so far, you can see where the funds to cover the employees’ pension fund has been disappearing. The injunction you put on the accounts prevents him from taking larger portions, but the account is dwindling."
James nodded. "Singleton is taking small chunks so it will not be noticeable."
"All those people." Bobby shook his head. "Is there anything we can do to stop him?"
"Once we establish your paternity you can petition for partial control of the companies."
"What about you?" he asked Vernon.
Vernon shook his head. "I don't want or need any of it. The only reason I requested an audit was because I don't want those employees to suffer. So, what do you say, Bobby? Are you willing to take on Isaac for control of Singleton Enterprises if you are proven to be William Singleton's son?"
Bobby stood, walked over to the window and stared out. He turned back to Vernon and James who remained at the conference table, folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "I’ll take him on. I don't want the employees to suffer as he gets richer."
James and Vernon looked at each other and smiled. "Have a seat, son." James reached into one of the envelopes that was on the table. "This is the result of the testing we had conducted."
Bobby sat back at the table and took the paper James held. "This is the information on a Genetic Testing company here in Fairfax." He reached in pulled out a glove. "This has Isaac’s blood on it. Have it tested."
"I'm certain it is going to prove you are brothers. Use that to have William Singleton’s body exhumed."
Chapter Nine
His life had been easy until his mother's death. That had been a hard blow. He was grateful his sister, Ericka and cousin Cannon along with a few other family members and friends were around during that time. It didn't seem like two years ago, but it was. Up until that time the only thing Bobby ever wanted that he couldn't have was Patrice Underwood and now, that was no longer an issue. To tell the truth it seemed as if God put Patrice in his life at just the right moment.
"Bobby, is that you?" she called from inside his apartment.
He pulled the key out of the door, walked into his office and put the envelope he received from James Brooks on the desk. "Yes, sweetheart. It's me." He walked through the foyer down the hallway into the kitchen. The small two-bedroom apartment suited him. It wasn’t luxurious or anything, but it was all he needed. He leaned against the doorframe, tilting his head as he watched Patrice in her little red skirt bending over to look into the oven.
"Dinner is just about ready." She turned with a full apron covering her white blouse and front of her skirt. Her signature pearls around her neck and the pot roast in her mitten covered hands. She placed the hot pan on the island, pulled off the gloves and ran into his arms. She gave him the sweetest kiss. "How was your day at work?"
"Routine." He held her as he took the gloves from her hand and placed them on the island next to the hot pan. "How was your day?" He kissed her as they walked backwards to the stove. He reached around her and turned off the pot on top.
Patrice giggled as he kissed her neck. "What are you doing, Bobby Singleton?"
He loved it when she called him that. His mother was the only other person who called him by that name. "I'm loving my woman." He unzipped her skirt as he walked her towards the stairs.
"Dinner is going to get cold." She kissed his neck.
"We'll find a way to keep it hot."
Her skirt fell to the floor. She stepped out of it, then away from him. Walking backwards in her lace boy shorts, she began to unbutton her top. "Looks like you are already hot." She dropped the blouse to the floor.
"You think you can cool me off?" Bobby slowly walked towards her.
She turned her back to him as she walked up the stairs. "Never. I always want you hot." She unlatched her bra from the front and let it drop as he followed her up the stairs.
An hour later, they were at the kitchen table, Patrice dressed in a tee shirt with nothing underneath and Bobby shirtless in a pair of sweats. This was the life, he thought, as he ate the warmed up pot roast, creamed potatoes, green beans and biscuits.
"What's got you so hot today?" Patrice asked in that slow southern drawl of hers.
"You." Bobby smiled as he buttered his biscuit.
"Good answer. For that you get an extra taste before I go home."
"Why do you have to go home?" It was always a sore spot for him. He knew the answer but wished it wasn't so.
"Bobby, you know how my parents are. They will disown me if I cause them any embarrassment. So until you are ready to make an honest woman out of me, I have to humor them." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, they are still not too happy that I am openly dating you. I don't want to push them any further."
He sat back and stared at her. "Then why do you continue to do it?"
Patrice stopped chewing and looked up at him. "Bobby." She almost sounded as if she was in tears. "Because I love you. I always have. If it wasn't for Nicole Brooks giving me the money to bid on you, I would have never realized just how much. That weekend with you changed my life. I would give up anything for you. Heck, I have." She waved her hands in the air. "I stood up to my parents about you." Tears began to gleam in her eyes. "The only reason they haven't thrown me out is because of what they think people would say about them putting their only child out in the street. And what am I supposed to do then? I mean you're doing okay, but how would your limited income take care of me and children, and you know I want children...."
He thought she was the most adorable creature God had ever created when she went into her non-stop talking tirades that seemed to get on everyone else’s nerves. Her nose would get all pink and her freckles would become more pronounced. All he could do was sit there and smile at how fortunate he was to have a woman who loves him for him.
"Then you will have to work two jobs, cause Lord knows I will have to stay home with the children."
"Children?"
She stopped talking. "Yes, Bobby, haven't you been listening to anything I was saying?"
"No, babe. I stopped listening after you said you love me."
"Bobby." She pouted.
"I met with Vernon Brooks today."
She stopped pouting and looked concerned. "How is he doing?"
"Coping."
"What did you meet with him about?"
Bobby put his napkin on the table and sat forward. He ran his hand down his face and sighed. "He thinks I should contest Isaac for the inheritance."
Patrice swallowed then frowned. "Well don't you have to prove you are William Singleton's son before you can do that?"
Bobby nodded. "Yes. He thinks I should request the old man's body be exhumed."
"Bobby, that's sacrilegious don't you think?"
He smiled at the way she said the word. "It could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I am his son."
"Yes, but Bobby, there has to be another way." She sighed. "If you do that, what does Vernon get out of all of this?"
"Nothing. If I'm proven to be Singleton's son and successfully get control of the companies he will release the injunction and all his rights to any portion of the inheritance to me. He said he doesn't want it."
"Well... Bobby, what do you think you should do?"
Bobby sat back shaking his head. "I like my life. It's simple, uninhibited and sweet since I have you. But sweetie, it would give us more wealth than many people we know."
She put her napkin on the table and wa
lked over, sat on his lap. "Baby, I love you the way you are. I don't care if you had a hundred dollars or a billion dollars. Don't you make this decision based on anything other than what is best for you. Okay?"
He gently kissed her lips. "Okay."
"Good. Now can we finish dinner please?" She returned to her seat.
"If I decide to do this, what other way can I prove I'm Singleton's son?"
Patrice sat back and sighed. She picked up a biscuit and bit into it. Pointing the uneaten portion at him, she said, "You know I've been thinking about that will thing your sister mentioned."
"The unsigned will from Estelle Singleton?"
"Yes. You know someone had to write that will for her or at least tell her what to write. If she did not use her husband’s lawyers, who would she have turned to?"
"That's the thing, no one knows."
She sat up with a wave of her hand. "Oh, honey, we are talking about people with money. If they are not talking about the accountant who handles the money, they are talking about the lawyers who protect the money. Somebody knows, believe me."
"How do we find the one?"
"How many lawyers can there be?"
Bobby laughed. "Sweetie, we live in Northern Virginia. It's the lawyer capital of the world."
She laughed. "True." She looked at him. "You really want to do this?"
"I think I do." Bobby nodded his head.
Patrice dropped her biscuit on the plate. She stood and took his hand pulling him from his seat. "Okay, let's hit the internet."
"The internet? It will take days to go through every lawyer just in this area alone."
They walked into the office and she pushed him into his chair. She pushed the envelope that was on the desk aside. "Then we better get started. This is the least I can do to help you. And if that Singleton person is responsible for what's happening to the Brooks family, well, this is the least I can do to help."
Bobby turned the computer on and logged in. "Okay, sweetie. Where do you want to start?"
She crossed her legs and leaned down, kissed him on the lips and smiled. "Start at the beginning with the A's. We’ll do a little each day until we find the lawyer she used."
Bobby kissed her knee. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I would do anything for you, Bobby...anything."