by Eboni Snoe
Olive wiped out a couple of mugs with a towel. “I don’t know what time your father got in last night.” She poured the coffee. “Here.” Olive set the hot mug in front of Cay, then took a seat beside him. “So I guess I missed the fireworks, if there were any.”
“Morning.” Baltron interrupted the exchange as he entered the kitchen.
“Morning, honey.”
“Good morning, Baltron.” Cay turned toward Olive. “I don’t know. Father was asleep by the time I came downstairs from the attic.”
“What time was that?” Baltron inquired, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“About one.”
“So I guess he must have fallen out. He was in pretty bad shape last night.” Baltron sat down beside Olive and took a sip of coffee. “So, what were you doing in the attic?” He looked at Cay.
“Just nosing around,” he replied.
“You used to go up there all the time when you were a little boy,” Olive recalled. “I didn’t realize you still did.”
“As of late I’ve found myself up there on a couple of occasions. I don’t know why,” he fudged the truth. “Maybe I’m trying to recapture the past. Who knows?”
“Have any luck?” Baltron leaned back in his chair.
“Maybe. I found a picture of a Louis J. Bethel. Does that name sound familiar to either one of you?”
“Nope.” Baltron shook his head.
“No-o, I can’t say it does.” Olive’s brow wrinkled. “But it seems like…no, I can’t say it does.”
“I found the picture in a scrapbook Grandmother must have made before my father was born. The things that were in there looked like they were from her school years.”
“That sounds rather sentimental for Mother Ellis. She was a stickler about throwing things away that had no use, as she called it,” Olive replied. “She never gave me any indication that she would be into that sort of thing.”
“From what I remember about her” —Cay gazed off—” I thought the scrapbook was rather out of character. The picture was in the back of the book, tucked beneath a hand-made Valentine’s card. The name was printed on it, and on the back it was signed ‘Love, L.J.’”
“It might be one and the same…” Olive murmured.
“What might be one and the same?” Baltron replied.
“I recall Mother Ellis talking about someone called L.J. during her last days. You know, things had gotten pretty fuzzy for her by then. But I remember her calling on an L.J. As it got closer to her time she was talking to him. Still, you know what they say, a dying person has one foot in this world and one foot in the other. So, I only half listened to what she had to say.”
“Half listened.” Baltron made a face. “That’s impossible.”
“I mean I wasn’t just sitting there waiting for everything she said,” Olive retorted. “Of course I heard some things. But in my opinion she was babbling, so how seriously can you take that?” Olive looked offended as she sipped her coffee. “As I think about it now, she had been sweet on this L.J., and I guess he was sweet on her. At least from her end of the conversation that’s what I gleaned. Still, something must have happened, ’cause one night she was crying her eyes out and pleading with L.J. not to go.”
“Is that right?” Cay sat up, holding the mug between his hands.
“That’s the way I recall it,” Olive replied.
“Did you ever hear her talk about my grandfather?” Cay asked. “When I think about it, I don’t know much about my family. Father never talked about my mother, and I’ve never heard him mention his father.”
“I never heard her say a word about him,” Baltron said, and Olive shook her head. “But some years ago there were some folks visiting here from the islands. They were relatives of the Myerses, who own that restaurant on Big Pine Key.” Baltron sipped his coffee. “They were talking about how well some of the islanders who migrated here were doing. Of course, your family was mentioned. One man claimed he knew Mother Bethel a long time ago, and that he knew your grandfather. He claimed he was a real dark-skinned man. Tall. Good-looking. Said he was dead now, but while he was alive he had been a good fisherman.”
Cay placed his mug on the table. “The Myerses who own the seafood restaurant?”
“Yes, on Oceanside Drive.” Baltron thumbed over his back.
“I’d like to see the picture you were talking about,” Olive jumped in. “It seems weird to think of Mother Ellis being in love. No offense.” She placed her hand on Cay’s shoulder. “But I just can’t see it.”
Cay pulled out his wallet and removed the old photograph. “Here it is.”
“This is him?” Olive moved the picture closer to her face.
“Cay said the name was printed on the front, Olive,” Baltron chided his wife.
“I know what he said and I can read,” Olive retorted.
“Well, why did you ask if that was him?” Baltron mumbled.
“You look at it.” She put the picture on the table in front of him.
Baltron adjusted his glasses, then leaned forward. “This looks like a white man.” He turned the picture over.
“You said it. I didn’t.” Olive looked satisfied.
“I think he is white,” Cay replied.
The room went silent.
“But you know how Mother Ellis felt about that.” Olive’s eyebrows went up. “According to her she wasn’t having none of that in her family.”
“So I’ve heard,” Cay replied, “from what you’ve told me and what Father has said too many times. But the truth is, out of all the people I know, Grandmother and Father really had a problem with color. Father still does.”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Olive declared.
“Louis J. Bethel,” Baltron said as he continued to study the photograph. “It seems like a strange coincidence that his last name is Bethel. But he can’t be a relative of the Bethels because he’s white.” Baltron scratched his head. “Then, on the other hand, he could be.”
“I’ve told myself the same thing,” Cay replied. “But there’s got to be a connection. There’s got to be. I think it would be interesting to find out just what that connection is.” He stood up. “I think I’ll make a run to Big Pine Key.”
Chapter 36
“What’s going on?” Jason Williams leaned forward and placed his hand over Sasha’s. “You looked aw—” He stopped short of saying “awful.” “You look like you had a pretty rough night.”
Sasha stared down into her teacup. She knew what she wanted to say, but it was difficult to form the words. “Somebody went through a lot of effort to frighten me last night. And I tell you” —she swallowed hard— “they really accomplished their goal.” She bit her lip. “Now when I think about it, I get so angry.”
Jason patted her hand. “Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.” The waitress placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. “You sure you don’t want anything to eat?”
“No.” Sasha shook her head. “I couldn’t eat anything if you paid me.”
Jason waved the waitress away. “I guess that’s understandable. So what happened?”
“It may not sound like much to you. But while it was going on—” Sasha looked down, searching for the right words to convey the event.
“Stop.” Jason said softly and raised his palm. “You don’t have to make any excuses for how you feel. Just tell me what happened and let me be the judge of how serious it was.”
Sasha folded her hands on the table. “Somebody started calling my house the minute I stepped through the door from the oyster roast last night.”
“What time was that?”
“About a quarter to ten.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
“Well, he started calling and he wouldn’t stop.” Sasha shook her head. “He called for over two hours.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No. I mean, yes. During the last phone call someone spoke. It was a man with a very deep voice. H
e threatened my life and told me I better move.”
Jason put down his glass. “This man told you he was going to kill you if you didn’t move out of the Bethel House?”
“He didn’t use those words, but the message was very clear.” Sasha’s face looked strained.
“Oo-o-we-e. Cay Ellis must be losing his mind. I can’t believe he did something like this. It’s absolutely bizarre,” Jason proclaimed.
“And that’s not all,” Sasha said in a small voice.
“There’s more?” Jason held a fork full of grits in front of him.
“I found an advertising magnet on my front stoop as I was leaving for the motel.”
“An advertising magnet? I don’t see how that’s important.”
“It’s one of the promotional gadgets Cay uses to advertise his charter business.”
Jason bit down into another piece of bacon. “I told you not to get involved with him.”
“I know.” Sasha sighed. “That was easier said than done.” She became quiet. “But what can I say? For some reason, my instincts told me I could trust him.”
“Well, so much for your instincts,” Jason replied. “What time did you get to the Cascade Motel?”
“Around one.” Sasha looked up suddenly. “How did you know I stayed at the Cascade Motel?”
“You told me.” Jason mopped his plate with a corner of his toast.
“I don’t remember telling you that.” She sat back in the booth.
“That shows what bad shape you’re in, mentally and emotionally. Oops, there goes my beeper.” Jason looked down at his waist. “Two, two, nine, five. I don’t recognize this number.”
“That’s Cay’s cell phone number.” An alarm went off inside Sasha, and she was reluctant to tell him anything else.
“Can you believe it? Rich guys have such big balls. At least they think they do,” he leaned back in his seat. “See, he knows you didn’t stay at your house last night because he had someone watching you. And” —he cleared the pager— “he knew you would get in touch with me. I bet he’s calling to see how well his fear tactics worked. See if you’re ready to drop the entire thing. It’s a pity he doesn’t have anything better to do with his time.” He downed the rest of his orange juice.
“I can’t believe it.” Sasha felt uneasy. “So you think this is all about power and playing with other people’s lives?” For Sasha, it didn’t ring true.
“That’s it. It’s not the money. It’s about controlling the lives of the little people around them.” Jason spoke passionately. “But I tell you what, this time the Ellises have over-stepped their bounds. Threatening someone’s life is a crime, and we’ve got a motive: They want possession of the Bethel property,” he pointed out. “And that incident with the bleach can be tied in real well. The way I see it” —his eyes gleamed— “we’re going to come out on top. And besides going deep into their pockets, the Ellises will have a real embarrassing situation to deal with. It would be great if I could lock one of them up, if only for twenty-four hours.”
“It’s starting to sound like a personal vendetta for you, Jason, instead of your looking out for my legal interest.”
“I can smell victory, that’s all.” Jason wiped his mouth. “Let’s give Mr. Cay a call and see how much further he will incriminate himself. Shall we?”
Sasha folded her arms and nodded. With a cold cup of tea in front of her, she watched Jason punch in the number on his own cell phone.
“Hello. Cay Ellis?” Jason began to nod. “You called my office about five minutes ago.”
Something was wrong, Sasha thought as she watched a mother and child walking hand in hand down the street. She knew she had not told Jason the name of the motel, no matter what he claimed. “Why do you ask?” Jason’s tone made Sasha look at him. “I don’t think you are in a position to demand anything,” he continued. “What if she is? I don’t think a meeting would be appropriate at this juncture. After what happened last night I’ve got enough on your family to nail you Ellises to the wall.” Jason stabbed his plate.
Sasha watched him with a growing sense of unease. The aggression in his eyes was not about her. She was sure of it. Somehow she was caught in the middle of something else, Jason’s personal agenda, and Sasha knew with every part of her it wasn’t a safe place to be. “I want to meet with him. I want to meet with Cay Ellis face to face,” she spoke up quickly.
“So you need to crank that Ellis fortune up—”
“Did you hear me?” Sasha asserted.
“One moment.” Jason covered the phone with the palm of his hand. “What is it?”
Sasha squeezed her hands below the table. “I want to meet with him.”
“I don’t advise it.”
“I can see why you wouldn’t.” She didn’t want to cross him. “But on a personal level, I need to settle this.” Sasha leaned forward conspiratorially. “I want to see his face when he realizes how much trouble he is in. And as my attorney I would like for you to be there.” She hoped Jason would buy into it.
He took a deep breath before he spoke into the phone again. “What time do you want to meet? An hour from now?” Sasha nodded. “We’ll see you then.” He flipped the cellular phone closed. “I have to say, it’s this kind of impulsiveness that got you entangled in this mess. If you had kept your distance like I advised, you wouldn’t feel the need to go and confront Mr. Ellis. You would confront him in court, and that would be that.”
“You may be right.” Sasha attempted a smile. “But he led me on, and it’s something I need to do. I come from a side of town where people settle their differences just one human being to another.” Jason’s eyes brightened. “Don’t get me wrong,” she said to appease him. “I want you to go after the Ellises, but there are some things a court just can’t settle.”
Jason threw up his hands. “We’re to meet at Guana Manor in an hour. I’ll drive,” Jason said with finality.
Cay hung up the cell phone. Jason and Sasha were together at that very moment. The thought of it made him uneasy, and he was glad he had been able to set up the meeting.
One thing at a time, Cay thought as he sat in his chair in the Myerses’ seafood restaurant. For once in his life he felt the pieces were falling into place. The veils were being pulled away from his family’s ominous situation, and Cay realized that once looked in the face, truth opened the doors for change. An invisible enemy had been virtually impossible to overcome.
Cay felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He’d never thought it would end like this. He looked down at the original Bethel Agreement. His own attorney said it wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. The property was Sasha’s free and clear. It always had been.
Ironically, he found peace in that. Then Cay’s brow furrowed. How could Jason Williams make such a mistake? Was he inept? Or did he have his own personal reasons for allowing the situation to go this far?
“If we’re done, Mr. Cay, I really need to get going.” Cay’s attorney picked up the restaurant ticket from the table. “But I’ve got to tell you, this was some of the easiest money I’ve ever made.”
Cay took the check. “This is on me, Michael.”
“Are you sure? I was planning on eating here today anyway. I love their gumbo.”
“Positive.”
“All right.” The lawyer stood up and extended his hand. “Give me a call if you need me again. I wish all my clients were as easy to take care of as you were today,” he said before he walked away.
“Is there anything else we can get for you, Mr. Cay?” Mrs. Myers asked.
“Not a thing. You’ve done more than you know by sitting here talking with me.”
“That’s good to hear. Hon and I like talking about the past. Takes me back to my passionate days.” She touched her big bosom. “And I was a passionate woman back then, just like your grandmother. The problem is, passion is such an unpredictable thing. When you have it, it feeds your soul, but when it’s abruptly taken away, it can
change your life.”
“Yes, it can.” Cay thought of Sasha.
“I was lucky enough to marry the man I was passionate about.” She looked at Mr. Myers, who was welcoming some tourists.
“Is your relationship as good now as it was back then?” Cay asked.
“In some ways it’s actually better.” She smiled. “I can’t say we still have the fire we had so many years ago, but the love is definitely there. It’s the foundation of my life.”
Cay smiled. “Well, thanks again.” He reached out to shake her hand.
“No, son, let me give you a hug.” She took him into her meaty arms. “I’m just glad to see you, and I’d like to see you more often.”
“I believe that can be arranged,” Cay replied.
Chapter 37
“Where is Sherry?” Cay closed the front door behind him.
“Sleeping, I guess.” Olive separated the gladiolas in the crystal vase. “She came into the kitchen this morning and got herself some cold water. Strange enough she offered to take Mr. Ellis his ice tea. Boy, did she look tired.” Olive made a face. “She looked like she needed to go back to bed. Plus, Sherry usually sleeps in on weekends.”
“I know, but it’s nearly one o’clock, and that’s late even for her.” Cay walked toward the stairs.
“You look a lot happier than you did earlier.” Olive patted the flowers. “As a matter of fact, you look happier than I’ve seen you in a long, long time.”
“Do I?” He touched Olive’s chin. “And I think it can only get better.”
“What’s going on?” She turned as he bounded up the staircase.
“Life is going on, Olive. Maybe for the first time.”
Cay walked down the hall and rapped on Sherry’s door. “Sherry.”
The door opened slowly. Sherry’s eyes appeared hollow as she peered out. “Yes?”
“Are you up?”
“Yes,” she spoke slowly. “I am.”
“I want you to be downstairs for a meeting that’s going to start in about forty-five minutes.” Sherry’s eyes were blank as she looked back at him. “Did you hear me?”