Justice Black: The Game Never Ends

by Gartia Bansah

  Ed stood in admiration of the billboard that read, “Black fire is coming soon.” Since no arrest for the fire had been made and because of the upcoming Halloween festival, the local news station had begun a daily broadcast on BrightTown’s safety. In response to the numerous calls to the mayor’s office, a town hall meeting was being held tonight.

  The small crowd waiting their turn to approach the mike and complain about Justice Black pleased Ed.

  The panel members included Mayor Tevis and the city council and members of the chamber of commerce. The chairman sat quietly and listened as, one by one, people expressed their scripted fear of Justice Black’s leadership. Caldwell quietly listened from the back of the room as a man stood at the podium and swore he knew Justice Black as a teen in WhiteFlower, when Justice was a drug dealer. He was abruptly cut off. Caldwell quickly noticed that only certain people were selected to speak. He also knew how these orchestrated meetings went. Obviously the man hadn’t followed the script.

  After the man was led away from the podium, some of the reporters didn’t waste time in running after him, including Gwen. Caldwell took notice of how quickly Gwen Marcus moved among the reporters.

  A woman shouted from the back of the room, “Dr. Black should be given a chance to do his job. Those before him didn’t care if people in this town lived or died. At least he is looking into that toxic water runoff at the edge of town, which you, Mayor, and the city council ignored. People are getting cancer from that water, and everybody knows kids sneak in and swim in that bad water.”

  A few applauded the woman and began mumbling among themselves. Someone yelled, “She’s right,” while another one yelled, “Traitor,” to the woman. Dragus looked at the chairman, who gave him a nod. Dragus moved closer to the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman looked up, frightened, and abruptly left.

  A young man stood and called on the mayor. “Mayor Mitchell, what about these fires to vacant homes? There has been four, and a body was found in one of the houses. What is being done about that?”

  The crowd became restless, and the frenzy of side conversations dominated the meeting. Bored with the meeting, Ed walked out. For now he had to meet Eunice Russell.

  Tevis took the microphone. He did not want this type of meeting to be the image of BrightTown nor his leadership. Fully aware of the cameras, he began to do damage control.

  “Please,” Tevis urged. “I understand your concerns, but we must maintain order. This is not how we want to conduct this meeting. Now, should someone have something to say, we have room monitors that will bring a microphone to you. Now quiet, please.”

  Someone shouted from the back of the room, “Mayor Tevis, do you feel BrightTown is safe with Justice Black’s leadership? Do you trust him? I hear he wants to bug our phone lines. Is this true?”

  Tevis cleared his throat. Who asked that? Instead he said, “As I told my lovely wife, Mavis, I am willing to give Dr. Black a chance, and I ask that everyone do the same. I will assist Dr. Black in any way, but I will not hold back on what I see as being wrong. The people of this town come first.”

  Mavis had patiently waited behind the curtains until Tevis said her name. She walked onto the platform and stood dutifully next to him and gave her practiced smile to the crowd. The crowd cheered and yelled, “We love you, Mavis.” Tevis was so pleased with the distraction and reaction of the crowd, he didn’t hesistate in taking her hand and lightly squeezing it. He needed Mavis. Mavis disregarded his touch and discreetly move her hand and walked to the poduim. As usual, she gave her practiced dutiful-wife speech.

  The town hall meeting didn’t produce the anti–Justice Black fever the chairman wanted. Kyle didn’t look at the chairman. He was certain punishment would be meted out to some unfortunate person for the failure.

  The closed hearing

  Senator Kane Wray II waited for Justice’s response. Since no cameras were allowed, he didn’t worry about the media.

  “Dr. Black, need I repeat the question?”

  It had been five hours since Justice walked into the room to face the critics of his leadership. Most of the people here were decent, but some were paid puppets, and he could point out each one, starting with Senator Kane Wray II, who fought anything Pen supported.

  Kane Wray II was a southern boy who had moved up in politics riding on his conservative father’s name, power, and old money. Justice learned long ago how that power worked. As a kid, he and his dad’s trips to the neighborhood barbershop also meant listening to the older men complain how many were cheated in wages at Wray Sr.’s rubber factory. There was no union to go to, so folks came to his dad. If the worker complained, he was suspiciously fired, got reduced work hours, laid off, or was arrested on the weekend for whatever reason suited the sheriff. The bail hearing was set for Monday morning, which meant missing work.

  The Wray family also owned the only tire store in town, plus the largest local grocery store. Most of the women worked in the Wray family home and raised their children. Wray II remained as CEO of the family businesses until after his father died. He’d turned the operation over to the sister, who was as ruthless as their father. Wray II tired of practicing law and went into politics only after he’d cheated most of the poor people in huge legal fees, for which they received little legal satisfaction. It could never be proven, but Pen suspected Wray II had many overseas shell companies that funneled money for illegal weapons being sold abroad. A conservative platform and charisma kept him in office. Wray II was no saint.

  “Please do,” Justice answered.

  “Is it true that twenty years ago you led a raid where nine white children and six women were killed?”

  “No, sir, that is not correct.”

  “Are you denying that using that same botched method three years ago, those women and children lost their lives because of your team? You call that mission a success?”

  “Senator Wray, I’m saying the information you have is far from accurate.”

  “Then please enlighten us, Dr. Black, with your wisdom.”

  “Save the sarcasm, Senator Wray,” Judge Belcher warned.

  “Senator Wray, twenty years ago, I doubt the agency would have given me that high-level responsibility. I was also in the military. Perhaps you should check your source. As for the event you are referencing, no women or children were hurt; we arrested twelve men and recovered eight million dollars in drug money and an arsenal of weapons. There were four casualties, all identified as terrorists. Two members of Legion were killed, and we located the two-year-old African American twins and a six- and seven-year-old Caucasian sibling group who also had been sold and were on their way to Brazil and Sri Lanka. Yes, I’d call that a bit of success for the children and their families.”

  Senator Wray was stunned. There was deep murmuring in the room. The chairman had assured him the information was irrefutable. He cleared his throat and thought, No one will make a fool out of me.

  “Dr. Black, what have you uncovered so far on the restaurant fire? Is it true a drug-addicted employee deliberately sealed the restaurant and set the fire, but you and your team have yet to move on it?”

  Justice inwardly laughed a moment before he spoke. This was bullshit. Senator Wray was fishing. “Senator Wray, we are still investigating the fire, and any information I provide now will not be credible. You wouldn’t want me to give out false information, would you, Senator? I, however, will tell you that it is highly unlikely that the employee had time to do as you say because the other employees put him inside the retaurant during the entire night. Why would the employee set the fire, then go back inside, search for a stranger’s child, and die holding him? He could have saved himself.”

  More mumbling came from other members. Several walked out of the hearing.

  Wray switched tactics. “Dr. Black, is there a town hall meeting held in BrightTown tonight with citizens who feel threaten
ed by your leadership?”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

  “And you care little enough to not attend?”

  Judge Belcher interrupted. He’d heard enough. “Dr. Black, don’t answer that. It is obvious you can’t be here and there at the same time. Recess until Monday morning. Senator Wray, in my chambers.”

  chapter

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Justice had been back two days, and no one mentioned the hearing or the town hall meeting. But he figured it was on everybody’s mind. Yesterday morning he received an e-mail that read: “You’ll lose everything. Black justice is ending. The hearing will be your end.” His e-mail had been hacked, and the e-mail had come from the Philippines.

  They had been looking at fire reports since five with only coffee as a source of energy. Kaitlyn had made notes from Wil’s reports combined with hers, and now her back hurt.

  Lane stretched his back as he leaned over the piles of paper. He looked awful. The poor man hadn’t rested in days. The restaurant fire was draining everyone.

  Lane cut into everyone’s sober mood. “I tell you, the more I have to work with this kind of stuff, the more I think of calling my wife and telling her to go gas up the RV so we can hit the road.”

  Justice was more pensive than anyone else. Something else was bothering him, but as always, he was hard to read and, as usual, merely grunted. He knew something other than a Halloween festival was planned for the town. His information hadn’t confirmed whether it was the night of Halloween or during the weeklong festival. Another cryptic message, “Where is the Ghost?” was sprayed on billboards around town. The mayor thought the message was a novel idea in preparation for the upcoming festival. The public didn’t suspect a thing.

  There was a new panhandler hanging around his office building. He talked to Lucky, one of the regulars, about him. He liked Lucky. Lucky had once owned an accounting firm until her husband and daughter were killed in a car accident. The driver of the oncoming car was texting when he swerved into her husband’s lane. Lucky couldn’t pull out of her grief and took to the streets. She couldn’t tell him much other than her friend Fred had threatened to punch his face in if he stood on his corner again. She did say he mumbled to himself but kept his distance.

  Earlier that day he’d met with Dan and Lane to increase coverage on all the surface streets. The festival crowd was expected to be larger this year.

  For no particular reason, Justice asked, “Dr. Joseph, why do you pull out of the parking lot speeding and gunning your engine?”

  Dan and Lane stopped as if they had heard a fire alarm. All eyes were on Kaitlyn.

  “Dr. Joseph, you gun your engine? That’s not right.” Lane actually sounded disturbed.

  Hearing that disgust in his voice irritated Kaitlyn.

  Dan laughed after he gave her a sorrowful face.

  “I do not gun my engine.” The murderous look she gave Justice should have been a warning; instead he continued.

  “She does it like clockwork at seven every morning; I set my watch to it. You know that’s bad for your engine. Mechanics hate it.”

  Justice sounded so serious that Kaitlyn was stunned. Inside her head she screamed, What an incredibly arrogant man.

  “Well, Dr. Black, the next time I need a mechanic, I’ll save myself the trouble and not bother calling mine. I’ll come get you.”

  “Anytime, Dr. Joseph. It’ll be my pleasure. I’m definitely your man.”

  She heard a cryptic meaning in those words, and so did everyone in the room. She was furious.

  Lane looked at both and shook his head. “Remind me not to ask the two of you any questions.”

  Dan threw his hands up. “I’m out of that.”

  “Good,” Justice said.

  “What about this Graham Waite? It’s a go, right?” Lane felt anything was better than the dangerous look Dr. Joseph gave to Dr. Black.

  “Yes,” she answered after she turned her back on all three men.

  Kaitlyn didn’t see Justice nod his approval to Lane.

  After the meeting, Kaitlyn provided information for Alice to contact Graham’s parole officer and schedule a Wednesday appointment. She would be seeing him alone.

  Justice constantly surprised Kaitlyn the way he abruptly said things. His strange question at Leo’s about the cemetery crossed her mind. It hadn’t had anything to do with their conversation.

  “The man is weird,” she whispered but couldn’t resist a smile.

  chapter

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Mind your own damn business,” Gwen snapped with a venomous look to the man sitting next to her at the bar.

  “Hey, all I asked was, how are you doing?”

  “And you got your answer.”

  “Sorry I asked,” the man said before he took his drink and left the bar.

  Gwen nursed the last of her second drink, trying to control the anger that boiled inside of her. Justice belonged to her, and no one was going to make a fool out of her. She looked at her latest date, Ron Castleman, annoyed with his presence.

  Ron was a new reporter and not at all bad looking, with hair as black as a crow and with those brown eyes. He was more than handsome, but he bored her. She had asked him out only because Justice hadn’t called. She’d refused to sit alone in her house waiting for that call. If she had, there was no doubt she’d have been drunk before midnight.

  Ron heard her snap at the man and wished he, like the man, was anywhere other than sitting next to Gwen. True, Gwen had a lot of influence, and he had to be careful not to jeopardize his position at the station. He’d told himself it was a bad decision to accept her last-minute request to attend the luncheon with her, and he should have listened. It hadn’t taken him very long to see Gwen Marcus was too self-centered and definitely not his type. She dragged along her poor secretary for an entourage appearance. She clearly lived vicariously through her own self-importance.

  “I think I will do a story on Dr. Joseph starting from her childhood. Let’s see how precious she is to Justice.”

  “Are you talking to me?” Ron asked.

  While doing a child-trauma documentary on one of his previous jobs, Ron read plenty of articles written by Dr. Joseph. She was noted in her field. Gwen’s interest was not good news for Dr. Joseph. He had learned enough break-room gossip to know Gwen only had eyes for Dr. Justice Black. Any woman Gwen determined to be in the way would eventually became the subject of an unpleasant news article. Gwen never feared any consequences because her father backed her in everything.

  Gwen’s excitement disturbed her secretary. That meant danger for some unsuspecting victim.

  “Maybe,” he whispered to Ron, “she’s finally got those claws into Dr. Black or thinks she has. The woman has no respect for herself.”

  “Dear, be a dear, and get Dr. Joseph on the phone for me,” she ordered.

  The secretary dialed the number, but not before Ron heard him mumble, “How many times do I have to remind her I’m not her damn dear?”

  Kaitlyn shuffled the last of her appointments for the day, expecting a restful evening to go over notes and iron out the details for her interviews. She would be flying to Dallas next week to interview an inmate named James “Double Man” James, on death row for the torture and murder of his partners—his cousins.

  “Dr. Joseph, sorry to interrupt you,” Alice whispered. “Gwen Marcus is on line one for you. Do you want me to put her through?”

  Kaitlyn smiled at Alice’s mockingly sad face. “Sure, Alice.” Kaitlyn neatly stacked her files into her briefcase as she waited for the transfer. She had done what she could anyway with the notes. The incoming call came before she placed the last file in her briefcase. Kaitlyn sighed and took a deep breath before she answered. “Ms. Marcus, how are you?”

  “Quite well, Dr. Joseph, and you?”

  “Fine. T
hanks for asking. What can I do for you?”

  “Dr. Joseph, I would like to do an in-depth background story on you; I think the community would like to know about the new professional in town.”

  Kaitlyn panicked. No one except Wil knew about her past. If she were exposed like that, she could definitely be found, and there would be too many questions she didn’t want to answer now.

  “I’m afraid my schedule right now doesn’t allow for much flexibility.”

  “Nonsense,” Gwen insisted. “It’ll be, you know, a human-interest story.”

  “Ms. Marcus, I appreciate your interest, but this is not a good time. So if you will excuse me, I do have an appointment.”

  Before Gwen could push further, Kaitlyn hung up.

  “Hmmm,” Gwen whispered after Kaitlyn hung up. “What doesn’t Dr. Joseph want known? Dear,” she said to her secretary, “get our investigator on the phone. I have a job for her.”

  She had a headache and gathered her things. She stood, then wavered. She was light-headed. Perhaps skipping lunch wasn’t smart, and she only had a cup of tea for breakfast. She waited a minute before she walked out with her briefcase in hand. She couldn’t breathe.

  “God help me,” she whispered, “not now.”

  “Alice,” Kaitlyn said as she passed by Alice’s desk, “I need to run some errands.”

  “Why of course, Dr. Joseph.” Alice didn’t like the sudden sick look on her face. Something was wrong. “Are you all right?” she asked. She knew that call was not good. Except for Dr. Eastermann, Gwen Marcus could upset anyone. She’d make sure Dr. Eastermann knew what had happened.