The Devil You Know

by Mary Monroe

  I took a deep breath and rubbed the side of my head, which felt as if it was about to spin off my neck. My thoughts were all over the place because my life had become so damn complicated! Well, it wouldn’t be for long. I couldn’t delay Lola’s murder any longer so she had to die tonight. “Okay. I’ll do the haul for Morgan,” I said with a heavy sigh.

  “Super! I really appreciate you always being so dependable, and I want to show my appreciation. You can take three additional days off with pay next month, so you can have more time to enjoy your honeymoon.”

  “Really? You just made the pot too sweet for me to pass up. Thanks, Monty.”

  Monty hung up and I immediately called Sylvia. Like always, she answered right away. “I just stepped out of the shower,” she told me in an apologetic tone. “Can I call you back when I dry off and get dressed?”

  “Baby, I just got off the phone with my boss. One of the other drivers’ wife went into labor early so he won’t be able to make an important run down to Long Beach tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, Calvin! Did you volunteer to do it?”

  “No, I didn’t exactly volunteer. I was the only driver Monty could reach, and he practically begged me to do it. I’ll come to dinner this evening, but I can’t stay long. I have to be on the road before dawn tomorrow, so I need to get to bed at a decent hour.”

  “Mama’s been cooking up a storm since yesterday and she’s excited about introducing you to some of her friends this evening. I hope you can stay long enough to eat and get acquainted with everybody.”

  “I will, baby. I swear to God I’ll make this up to you. Monty’s giving me three extra days off so we can extend our honeymoon.”

  “That helps. Dinner is at seven, but I wish you’d come earlier,” Sylvia said in a sad tone.

  “I’ll be there around six-thirty. Sylvia, look at it this way. This time next year, you might be the one in labor. Wouldn’t you want me to be in the hospital room with you?”

  “Yes, Calvin, I would. I can’t wait to be a mother!” The sadness was no longer in her tone. Now she sounded downright giddy. “Just one thing. I don’t want to disappoint Mama, so I’m not going to tell her you have to eat and run. A few minutes after we all finish eating, make out like you suddenly got seriously ill and need to leave right away. Will you do that?”

  “Sure, baby. I’ll do that. Your mama will never know the real reason I had to leave early. If I get back from my run in time tomorrow, I’m taking you, your mother, and anybody else you’d like to invite for a Mother’s Day drink at one of the most elegant bars in town!”

  “Thanks, honey. I know they will all enjoy that.” Sylvia exhaled a loud breath. “I just hate to lie.”

  “So do I.”

  The next thing I had to do was case Lola’s house.

  Without her street address, I couldn’t use GPS to find her. Her landline had not been installed yet, so I couldn’t even get what I needed from the information operator either, but I was not worried. All I had to do was find the street she told me she had moved to and look for that halfway house at the corner with a yellow house next door.

  At noon I made myself a sandwich and washed it down with a couple of beers. Afterward I put on a black knitted cap and one of my old camouflage jackets left over from my military days. I literally ran out to my Jeep. In addition to gloves, these were the same items I planned to wear on my mission in a few hours.

  Once I got to South Bay City, it took only fifteen minutes to reach my destination. I circled her block twice before I parked directly across the street from the halfway house. I watched in disgust as several scruffy-looking dudes wandered in and out, scowling as if they wanted to cuss out the world.

  Another reason I needed to complete my mission soon was because I didn’t want to take a chance on one of Lola’s new “neighbors” putting her on their radar first. She was just the type of juicy-butt young woman that a rapist, or any other criminal for that matter, would love to get his hands on. I laughed at the thought. Another thing that made me laugh was the fact that she was going to die in a yellow house, which was just as good to me as her fear of dying if she ever wore yellow clothing. Things couldn’t have worked out better!

  I whistled all the way back to my place.

  Chapter 53

  Joan

  IT HAD BEEN A WEEK AND A DAY SINCE REED LEFT. THIS PARTICULAR Saturday seemed like it would never end. To kill time, around noon I did two loads of laundry, ordered a pizza for lunch, watched two episodes of Judge Judy, and then I took a long nap.

  When I woke up at five-thirty, I noticed that Mama had left eight voice mail messages. Some had come in several days ago. I hadn’t responded to any of them or spoken to her since last Saturday, and I still was not in the mood to talk to her today. Spending most of Mother’s Day with her and some of my other family members tomorrow would be soon enough. In the meantime, I had a more important issue to address. I didn’t know what Reed was up to, and I needed to know so I could be prepared for his next move. I hadn’t heard from him since the pepper spray incident. He hadn’t even attempted to talk to or come see Junior. That was probably because Junior had called him a “cheating scumbag” and hung up on him last Friday when he called him up at school and told him he’d moved in with his pregnant mistress.

  I reluctantly called Reed’s cell phone. I was surprised that he had not changed his number. I blocked the call so he wouldn’t see my name and number on his caller ID. I didn’t know much about pepper spray, and I had no idea if I had caused him any serious injury and I needed to know. On the third ring, a woman with a slightly hoarse voice answered. “Hellooo.” She sounded like a drowsy, B-movie wannabe sexpot. I recognized her voice immediately. It was Grace, the scheming little heifer who had destroyed my marriage.

  I altered my voice so drastically, I sounded like a gay man. “Is Reed there?”

  There was a gasp on the other end of the line. The next voice I heard was Reed’s. “This is Dr. Riley speaking. Who’s calling?”

  I hung up before he could say anything else. It was a relief to know that he was not stretched out in a hospital bed with injuries that had been caused by my pepper spray. I dialed Lola’s number.

  “Would you believe that he lets that bitch answer his cell phone?” I yelled as soon as she answered. “All the years we were together, he never let me near his cell phone!”

  “You called Reed? Do you honestly think he wants to talk to you this soon after what you did to him?”

  “Yes, I called that two-timing bastard! I wanted to make sure I hadn’t blinded him or caused any real damage to his eyes with that pepper spray.”

  “Do you want me to come over?”

  “No, but you know what? I think I’ll come to your place and spend the night. I’d feel more comfortable there because I can still feel Reed’s presence here and it’s getting on my last nerve.”

  “That’s fine, Joan. I sure would like some company and somebody to talk to. I’m getting kind of nervous about my upcoming meeting with Calvin on Monday.”

  “You suggested this meeting, so why are you getting nervous?”

  “Telling him that I’m in love with him might scare him off.”

  “If you’re worried about scaring him off, cancel the meeting. Or make up another reason you need to talk to him. You could even put this off until you feel more comfortable talking to him about it.”

  “I’ve waited too long already. I need to know now where I stand with him.”

  “Do what you have to do. We can talk more about this subject when I get there. I’ll see you in a little while. ”

  The next person I called was Mama. “You called?” I said, when she answered.

  “You know damn well I called, girl. And I done called more than once,” she snarled. “How come you ain’t called me back before now?”

  “Mama, I told you I needed some time alone for a few days.”

  “Humph. I hope it done you some good and I hope you prayed that Reed don�
�t have your tail arrested for pepper spraying him last Friday. That stuff can be real dangerous. You can mess up whoever you using it on, and you can accidentally get a dose of it yourself. You know how clumsy you can be.”

  “I wasn’t clumsy enough to spray myself, Mama. I got him real good. Even so, I did have to hold my nose and close my eyes.”

  “You better be glad that’s all you had to do. I don’t know how Reed was able to see well enough to drive. And I can’t understand why he didn’t haul off and whup your behind. If I was in your shoes, I wouldn’t let my guard down, because he still might do just that.”

  “Mama, whose side are you on?”

  “I’m on your side and that’s why I don’t want you to get in no trouble. Believe me, you don’t want to spend one night in a jail cell. I been working in the prison system for almost thirty years, and I still get nervous being around a bunch of frustrated female criminals. Thank God I don’t have to use my pepper spray on them skanks too often.”

  “I pepper sprayed Reed in self-defense.”

  “Oh? Well, Carrie Rhine next door told us she seen you chasing Reed out the house. She said you was running like a snotty nose and didn’t slow down until you got up on him real close. If he was leaving, how can you call that self-defense?”

  “Because before he ran out of the house, he slapped me so hard I hit the floor.”

  “Say what? Why would a mild-mannered man like Reed do something like that?”

  “I said something he didn’t like and the next thing I knew, he slapped my face.”

  “Oh hell no! I didn’t know he hit you! If I’d been here, I would have pepper sprayed him myself! I’m sorry, baby. Let me put on my shoes and I’ll come keep you company—”

  I cut Mama off as fast as I could. “Another time would be better. I’m going to spend the night at Lola’s place,” I said, already reaching for my keys on the coffee table. “It’s going to take a while for her to get used to living by herself; especially with that halfway house full of ex-cons next door.”

  “Didn’t you tell me she moved into a house with three bedrooms?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Tell her to get a couple of roommates.”

  “I don’t think she wants to do that. She’s always been a very private person.”

  “I don’t know how she was so private with Bertha breathing down her neck. Poor Lola. She sure has had a miserable life since her mama and that skirt-chasing daddy of hers died. I’m surprised she ain’t crazy as hell by now!”

  “Lola is a very strong woman. She’s too grounded to go off the deep end,” I defended. “And anyway, she probably won’t live in that big house more than a few months at the most.”

  “She won’t? And why not?”

  “Um, remember that truck driver I told you about? She’s pretty serious about him, so she probably won’t be single too much longer.”

  “Hogwash! Being ‘serious’ about a man don’t mean nothing. I was serious about every man I was ever with and look how long it took me to get Elmo where I got him. Is this truck driver serious about her?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough. They’re getting together on Monday so she can tell him how she feels about him. And she’s going to ask him if he has feelings for her.”

  “Oomph, oomph, oomph. Something tells me she ain’t going to like what he tells her.”

  Chapter 54

  Calvin

  WHEN I RETURNED TO SAN JOSE AFTER CASING LOLA’S RESIDENCE, I took a long, hot bath and drank two shots of rum. This was going to be the most memorable night of my life and I had to make sure everything went according to my plan. Now that I had the slut’s new address, the most important thing I needed to know next was her plans for tonight. Without giving it much thought, I dialed her number. She was so anxious to speak to me, she answered less than a second into the first ring.

  I could picture the look of euphoria on her face. “Hello, Calvin! It’s so nice to hear your voice. I hope your day is going well,” she chirped.

  “My day is going just fine. I hope you’re not too busy to chat with me for a minute or two,” I said, trying to sound as giddy as she usually did.

  “I’m not too busy to talk to you. I’m glad you called, because I was getting real bored. And I’m depressed because tomorrow is Mother’s Day and this will be the first year I won’t be celebrating it.”

  “I know just how you feel because it’s a depressing day for me too. My siblings and I used to take our mom to brunch to celebrate the occasion every year since I was in elementary school. The first year after she passed was the hardest. The few days leading up to Mother’s Day, I cried every time somebody mentioned it. Next year, and all the years after that, you won’t get as depressed. And when you have your own children, you won’t get depressed at all.” I paused to give Lola time to think about what I’d just said. I had a feeling she’d say something corny and stupid, and she did.

  “I can’t wait to be a mother myself,” she swooned. “That and being a wife are a woman’s most important roles.”

  “I won’t argue with that.” I had to change the subject because listening to her rattle on about motherhood and marriage was making me even more nauseated. “What were you doing when I called?”

  “I just used my new microwave oven for the first time and made some popcorn. Now I’m sitting here watching Family Feud.” I knew she was the type to watch one of the most idiotic programs on TV.

  “That’s one of my favorite shows! Um, I guess you have big plans for later tonight, huh?”

  “Not really. I’ll probably have a pizza delivered for my dinner. Other than that, I don’t have any plans except to watch TV. ”

  “I’m surprised you don’t have a date.”

  “I have several requests in my in-box right now, but I’m not going to respond to any for a while. I’d like to get my life back on track before I start dating again.”

  “Well, I hope you still plan to keep the date you have with me on Monday.”

  “Oh, yes! I still want to see you on Monday. Do you know yet what time we can meet?”

  “Hmmm. How about seven?”

  “That’s fine. What I have to talk to you about won’t take long.”

  “Lola, I know that whatever it is, it’s very important to you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it sound so urgent.”

  “It is very important to me. It’s something I’ve been putting off for a while. And . . . uh . . . I can’t put it off any longer.”

  I was dying to know what she needed to talk to me about. I hadn’t planned to ask, but now I was too curious not to. “Can you give me a little hint? The suspense is killing me. You don’t have to go into all the details, but I would like to have some idea. I mean, if I’ve said or done something to offend you and you want to cuss my ass out, that’s fine. If I’ve—”

  She cut me off. “I’ll tell you part of it and I’ll tell you the rest on Monday.” She let out a loud sigh and then said all in one breath, “Um . . . I . . . I’ve been looking for a man like you all my life.”

  Her words were so irritating, I had to rub my ear. I never wanted to laugh so hard in my life! Did this nasty, stinking, stupid, gullible bitch think I’d settle for a washed-up, sloppy, used-up whore like her? I literally had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from guffawing like a hyena! I coughed so I’d have an excuse to delay my response. “Lola, I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear you say that. I’m very insecure and I’ve never had much luck with women as beautiful and intelligent as you.”

  “I never would have guessed that. You’re one of the nicest and most intelligent men in the club!” she exclaimed. “And you look better than any other man, black or white, that I’ve seen—including most of the movie stars. Your ex-wife must have been stone crazy to leave you.”

  Only an immature dingbat, which she was, would make such over-the-top, clichéd statements. I was pleased to hear that she had put me so high up on the social food chain, but I couldn’t f
igure out why she found me so appealing. I was no gargoyle, but I was no Mr. Universe either. And I wasn’t rich or unique in any way. “Thank you, Lola. You just made my day. Nobody has ever said anything that touching to me. I’m so flattered I don’t know what to say.” I sniffed and weakened my tone. I wanted to sound as sappy and romantic as she was making me sound. “I guess I look all right for a man my age, and I can carry on a decent conversation. But I know about the kind of dudes you’re really used to—lawyers, and doctors, and whatnot. Last month I even saw a five-star review about you that some rock star from England posted.”

  “Pffft! I must not have impressed him that much, because I haven’t heard from him since.” She laughed. I didn’t.

  “Well, that’s his loss. Believe me, you are not only the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been with, you are also the best lover I’ve ever had.”

  “Who, me? Um, thanks, Calvin. I hope I don’t change. My main goal in life is to be happy and make other people happy.”

  I still found it hard to believe that I was talking to a woman in her thirties. This tutti-frutti nutcase was probably still playing with dolls. “I’ve kept you long enough, so I’ll let you get back to your popcorn and your TV show.”

  “I don’t have to go yet.”

  “I wish I didn’t have to go. I have a busy day tomorrow and I just wanted to hear your voice before I turned in for the night. Maybe I’ll see you in my dreams again.”

  “You’ve dreamt about me?”

  “Oh yes. I have very pleasant dreams about you all the time.” The profound gasp on her end told me that her jaw had dropped. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction when I told her to her face that she’d been my worst nightmare from day one! Bitch, slut, whore, cow, pig, wench! There weren’t enough loathsome English words to describe her completely.

  “I . . . I . . . dream about you a lot.”

  As if I didn’t know! “I’m glad to hear that.”

  I had a feeling she was going to let out another gasp, and I was right. “Calvin, I’m so glad you called.” She answered my last question before I asked. “I’m in for the night.” She paused. “In case you want to call me later on.”