“No, Mr. Harris, I don’t know what you mean,” Iona confessed.
He looked at her with an ‘are you kidding me’ expression on his face, but explained himself none the less. “One of my former employers might rat me out, and then I’ll be hot and have no time to find a good lawyer. So, I’m one of those… what do you call it?” He snapped his fingers and then said, “Proactive kind of guys.”
Iona rubbed her temples, warding off the headache that was threatening to attack. Then she informed Larry, “Are you aware that by law I have to report anyone who tells me of a crime they plan to commit?”
Larry’s face was blank for a second, then he asked, “What about that attorney/client privilege stuff?”
Iona laughed at him, not caring how unprofessional it was to laugh in the face of a potential client. “I hate to break it to you, Mr. Harris, but even your priest would have to report you to the police if you went into his confessional and said, ‘When I leave from here, I’m going home to hack my wife up into a million little pieces’. So who am I if even your priest can’t protect you from premeditated murder?”
“Well, what about the stuff I’ve already done? Will you represent me if anything should come of that?” Larry reached into his pocket and pulled out three bundles of cash and sat them on Iona’s desk. “There’s thirty thousand dollars. All you have to do is come get me out of jail when I call.”
In truth, Iona wanted that money. She could call the Porsche dealer right now and order her midnight blue Cayman S. But she honestly couldn’t see herself on a date with Larry. It wasn’t just that she found big bulky biceps distasteful, but this whole business of killing people that never did a thing to you just didn’t sit well with her. “Please take your money and leave my office, Mr. Harris.”
He leaned back in his seat with this evil smirk on his face and said, “You think you’re untouchable?” Iona didn’t reply. “Think because your daddy is the infamous Isaac Walker that you’ve got a free pass?”
Yes, her father had been one of the top gangsters in his day. Iona was proud of the fact that she was a gangster’s daughter. She would never tell her attorney friends how much her father’s past thrilled her. But secretly she thought their story was kind of like one of her favorite old books, Chances by Jackie Collins. In the book, this guy, Gino, becomes this big mobster and nobody but nobody messed with him. Gino had a daughter named Lucky; that was Iona. The only trouble Iona had with being Lucky was that her Gino had grown a conscious and had given his life over to Jesus. Now, instead of terrorizing the streets Isaac was evangelizing them and setting the captives free; hallelujah and amen.
Iona stood, picked up the money and threw it into Larry’s lap. “Get out of my office and take your blood money with you.”
Larry stood and put his money back in his balloon pants. He then pointed his finger in Iona’s face. “You’re making a big mistake, lady. You don’t know all the misery I could cause you and your family.”
“Oh yeah, well bring it on. My family hasn’t seen enough misery yet,” she said with her chest puffed out.
They were about nose to nose. His tone was low and menacing as he told her, “Watch your back, Iona, you’re as good as dead.”
Iona grinned and tried very hard not to giggle. Her father always told her that you never threaten a man – just do it. This guy obviously missed the killing session in his hustler 101 class. Maybe he was out having his head waxed during that class.
“Keep laughing and I’ll put my fist down your throat.”
The grin left Iona’s face as she asked, “You sure you want to do that, and ruin your day?”
Larry swung.
Iona blocked his fist with her arm and sent a karate chop to his neck with her free hand. She kicked him where it hurt, then let out a battle cry that she’d learned in karate class as she kicked up her legs and landed a blow that bent Larry over and caused him to yell out in pain.
Vivian opened Iona’s door and came running in just as Iona was taking Larry’s arm and twisting it behind his back. Vivian grabbed his other beefy arm and twisted it backward also. “I knew you shouldn’t have let him in your office,” Vivian said as she almost yanked Larry’s arm out of socket.
With her free hand, Iona opened her top desk drawer and took out a pair of handcuffs. She clamped them down on Larry’s wrist before he could think about getting out of their grasp.
“Now what are you going to do? How are you going to put your fist down my throat now?” Iona asked.
“Uncuff me,” Larry yelled as he struggled with the cuffs. Still bent over, he toppled and fell head first on the ground. Larry cursed and threatened them from his seat on the floor.
“Where did you get those cuffs?” Vivian asked.
“You know I used to date a cop.”
Iona and Vivian laughed.
“What in the world is going on in here?” a voice from just outside her office door asked.
Iona looked up and the laughter in her voice died immediately. At her door was her brother, Donavan the golden boy. But Donavan hadn’t been the one to stop Iona from smiling; it was the smooth talking, chocolate coated, brown eyed man standing next to her brother; Johnny Dunford, the heartbreaker. Iona thought it might be unfair of her to label Johnny the heartbreaker. After all, he hadn’t gone around town breaking hundreds of women’s hearts. Johnny hadn’t even broken ten, five, or three hearts. But the one he had broken belonged to her. Iona glued a false smile on her face and said, “Officer Dunford,” she put an emphasis on the word officer while looking pointedly at Larry. “Thank you for coming to pick up our little felon. I’m sure Mr. Larry Harris has some warrants out on him.”
“What happened?” Johnny asked as he walked over to Larry and lifted him off the floor. Larry was bulkier than Johnny. Although Johnny definitely had a six pack, his muscles were obviously not enhanced by the use of steroids.
Larry turned to Johnny and said, “I want to press charges.” He pointed at Iona. “She assaulted me.”
“Oh that’s rich,” Iona blurted out. “Our trial will make headlines all over the world; the assassin who got beat up by a girl. You sure you want to do that, Larry? It might be bad for business.”
Johnny looked from Iona to Larry and then back to Iona. “Did you just call this man an assassin?”
Just then, Iona’s boss, Mr. Gregory Winters, stepped into her office. “What is all the commotion about, Iona?”
“We’ve got it under control, Mr. Winters. This man threatened to kill me because I refused to represent him,” Iona recited the entire story for her boss’s benefit as well as Johnny’s. Mr. Winters backed out of the room admonishing her to take care of the matter.
Johnny was hauling Larry out of her office, but he stopped at the door and looked pointedly at Iona and said, “So you finally found something you won’t do for money?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Iona asked in her most indignant voice, but then she raised her hand and waved him out. “Neither mind, don’t answer that. Just do your job and arrest that sociopath.” Iona knew exactly what Johnny meant. It was the reason he stopped seeing her. Johnny thought she didn’t have a moral compass and that she would represent anyone as long as they had enough money. Guess she proved him wrong today.
But then he hit her between the eyes as he tugged and pulled Larry out of her office and said to him, “Come on, Larry, no date for you.”
Iona’s mouth hung open. How did he know that she called her court appearances with her client’s dates? He claimed he didn’t want to be with her, but he was spying on her. Men. She was about to tell Johnny to keep his nose out of her business when Donavan spoke, causing her to close her mouth and turn her attention to her brother.
Donavan said, “I think you need to go into corporate law. I’d sleep a lot better if you made the switch.”
Iona laughed as she sat back down. “There are just as many crazies in Corporate America as there are on the street. But Vivian and I can handle
them.” Iona turned to Vivian and said, “Ain’t that right?”
Iona and Vivian high-fived. “I got your back, girlfriend,” Vivian said, then left the office so Iona could be alone with Donavan.
“What’s up, Golden Boy?”
“Hey.” Donavan pointed at her. “If you don’t want me to call you little sis at your office, then don’t call me Golden Boy.”
“How can I resist? You’re just so good. Dad is always pleased with everything you do.” She rolled her eyes and then added, “Well, at least one of us has made him proud.”
Donavan sat down and pulled his chair up to Iona’s desk. “Dad is very proud of you. And besides, I’m not perfect, sis. I’ve made my mistakes and I’m still trying to get over some of them.”
She waved that comment off. “Whatever. Daddy thinks the sun doesn’t come out until you get out of bed, so don’t tell me about making mistakes.”
The light in Donavan’s eyes dimmed a bit as he looked away from his sister. He picked at some imaginary lint on his dark blue jeans as he said, “Anyway, I’m not here to talk about me or you. I came about Clarence.”
“Clarence the jewel thief?” Iona asked.
Donavan laughed. “You are amazing. How can you continue to come up with names for all the people you meet?”
“They make it easy. I label them by what they do or who they are, not who they say they are,” she told him.
“Okay then, what name did you give Mr. Larry? Was he Larry the assassin?”
“No. But you were close.” Then she told him, “Larry the contract killer.”
They both laughed. Then Donavan said, “Okay, I know I’m the golden boy, so what name did you give Daddy?”
“Daddy’s the crusader.”
“What about Johnny? What’s his name?”
Laughter left Iona and her eyes clouded over as she answered, “Heartbreaker.”
For a moment there was complete silence in the room, then Donavan loudly scratched his throat and said, “Clarence came to the church this morning, sis. He said you told him if he wanted to go steady with you, he’d have to come up with twenty five thousand dollars.”
Iona’s eyes widened. “Did he tell Daddy that?”
“No, Daddy wasn’t there. He had left the church about five minutes before Clarence showed up. He had to go with mom to a doctor’s appointment.”
Iona visibly exhaled. “That ingrate! I get him bonded out and the first thing he does is run to my daddy to tell on me.” But then Iona’s mind trained on the other thing Donavan had said – something about mom and doctor. “Is something wrong with Nina-Mama?”
“I don’t think so. I know she hasn’t kicked the flu yet, so maybe they’re trying to see if the doctor can prescribe something. But that’s the least of your worries, sis. You just better be glad that Dad wasn’t there. I mean, come on, some of the things you say to these people; it’s outrageous.”
“I’m just letting these little criminals know where I stand. Nothing in this world is free, Donavan. And I definitely want them to understand that I didn’t get in this business to do pro bono.”
“Just like having a prom date will cost you the corsage, the limo and dinner, an attorney will also cost you,” Donavan said.
Iona smiled, knowing Clarence had spilled the beans on that little prom date comment too. “Exactly,” she said, then asked, “Hey, did you tell Johnny what I said to Clarence?”
“My car is in the shop, so he gave me a ride over here.” Donavan hunched his shoulders. “We had nothing else to talk about on the way over. Oh yeah, I’m going to need a ride back to the church.”
Iona gave him the evil eye. “I should let you catch the bus. You know I don’t want that man in my business.”
Donavan became serious as he turned back to the subject at hand. “Clarence doesn’t have any money, sis.”
“Stop being so gullible, Donavan. Clarence and his buddies stole three million in jewelry. He can get the money.”
“He’s innocent. And you’re his only hope of proving that. Come on, Iona. Do the right thing.”
Chapter 4
After work, Iona and Vivian went to a kick boxing class at the YMCA. Vivian was always able to kick higher and harder than anyone else in the class. Iona was a close second and striving to be number one. Just before the class began, Iona’s cell rang. This time it was Keith, her mother’s husband.
When Iona was a kid, she had gotten confused a time or two. Mama Cynda, step daddy Keith; daddy Isaac, step mama Nina. Or was it the other way around she had wondered. Adults just didn’t understand the turmoil they put their children through. And how could she not be a mess? She didn’t even know that her father was alive until the day he came to take her to his home not long after her tenth birthday… and, oh yeah, right after her mother got arrested. Iona decided not to answer the call. She’d just seen Keith and her mother at Christmas time and she’d had her fill for a few months.
When they finished their episode of beating and kicking the air as if they were beating on one of Iona’s clients, they sat down at one of the tables near the kid’s playroom and chatted as they always did when they finished karate or kick boxing.
“So what’s up with you and Michael?” Iona asked Vivian.
“Not much,” Vivian responded.
“Look,” Iona told her. “You’ve got to give me more information than that, I’m living vicariously through you. You know I don’t have a man, so don’t hold out.”
“You may not have a man, but you have an awful lot of dates,” Vivian joked.
“Yeah, well, a girl’s got to have her fun. I still can’t believe that little criminal went and squealed on me.”
“Look at it this way, at least you don’t have to go to the prom with him,” Vivian laughed.
“Shut up, it’s not funny. And I do still have to represent the little squealer. My daddy would blow a gasket if I left Clarence hanging like that.”
“I don’t understand you, Iona. As long as we’ve known each other, I’ve never known you to be afraid of anyone or anything, but Pastor Isaac Walker.”
Iona took a sip of her bottled water. “I’m not afraid of my father. I do, however, have a great deal of respect for him.”
And that was true. Since Iona was a fifth grader and Pastor Isaac Walker marched into her principal’s office after she’d been suspended for spitting in her teacher’s face; she tried to get smart with her father, but he assured her that he would beat her until she went into a coma and gladly take the prison time before he’d allow a child of his to disrespect him. Iona had gotten the message and had learned just how far she could go with her father.
“However you want to put it,” Vivian then added, “If you ask me, your father is the reason you don’t have a man. You can’t find anyone to measure up to his greatness.”
That wasn’t exactly true. Iona had indeed found someone to measure up to Isaac Walker, but he’d seen through her just as her daddy always had. “Enough about me, I want to know what you and Michael have planned for the upcoming weekend.”
Vivian whispered, “I think we’re going to the Bahamas on Saturday morning.”
“What do you mean, you think you’re going?”
A conspiratory smile crossed Vivian’s lips. “I saw the tickets after he laid his coat jacket on my sofa and then went into the restroom. He hasn’t said anything yet, but I think he is going to surprise me tomorrow night.”
“Girl, this is Thursday, and he hasn’t said anything? How do you know those tickets aren’t for some chickie babe he has on the side?”
“That’s what I like about you, Iona; you always see the glass as half empty.”
Iona shrugged. “Hey, I’m just saying.”
Vivian opened her bottle of water and told Iona, “Those tickets better not be for anyone else. I would kill him if he tried something like that.”
“And I would defend you with everything I’ve got,” Iona told her friend. They raised their bottles of water
in the air and toasted one another.
“I don’t want to talk about Michael anymore. What’s going on with that handsome brother of yours?”
Iona shrugged. “Nothing much. The church secretary is throwing herself at him. She thinks she’s slick, but I see right through her.”
Vivian laughed. “Does Donavan seem interested?”
“I don’t know. But I’m going to talk with him about that woman. I really think he needs to steer clear of her; something is not right about that one.”
“You’re just over protective of Donavan.”
Iona shrugged again, then her phone rang. It was on the table so both she and Vivian looked down at the caller display at the same time. Vivian laughed and said, “I want to see you ignore his call.”
It was her father. Iona stuck her tongue out at Vivian as she pushed the talk button on her cell phone. “What’s up, Daddy?”
“Why haven’t you returned any of your mother’s telephone calls, Iona?” he asked without saying hello or asking how she was doing.
“Which mother would that be, Daddy?”
“Always with the smart mouth, huh? Well now it has backfired on you. Your mother is in the hospital.”
Iona sat up straight in her seat. “Donavan told me you took Nina to the doctor this morning. What’s wrong, Daddy?”
“No, baby,” his voice became gentle. “It’s not Nina. Cynda is in the hospital. You need to get to Chicago immediately.”
Iona wondered why her father said, immediately? It sounded as if he were trying to tell her that if she didn’t get to her mother soon, she might miss her opportunity to say… “What’s wrong with her, Daddy?”
“Your mom wants to discuss this with you herself. I can’t leave Nina right now, we have something we need to work through. But Donavan can ride with you.”
“No, don’t worry about it, Daddy. I’ll book a flight as soon as I get home.” She hung up the phone wishing that she had made time to call her mother today.
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