by Tyora Moody
“Sure, is it about Mary? I’m telling you I’m getting most of my sleep during the daytime. Can’t bear to close my eyes when the sun goes down.”
I didn’t think Louise liked to keep her eyes off much of anything at anytime of the day. “We need to discuss some strategies on how to get to know our neighbors.”
“You’re right about that. Most of the folks around here are young. I sure hated to see Clarissa passing a year ago and Johnny’s daughter moved him up to North Carolina with her. I heard she put him in a nursing home anyway.”
I shook my head. I still had years on me to enjoy my home, but I knew a day would come when I might be shipped off to a nursing home or to live with one of my kids. As much as I whined about loneliness, I wanted to keep my independence more. Staying healthy would be even more important. I looked down to find Tyric studying my face, while holding his finger in his mouth. I also needed to keep my energy level up so I could enjoy my grandkids.
“Louise, do you know anything about Carmen? Seeing she lives on the other side of you.” She clasped her hands together. “Pretty girl, but certainly a strange one.”
“How so?”
“She was one of the first to get robbed you know?”
“What? Carmen never said anything about her house being robbed?”
“She didn’t report it the police.”
“You are kidding, right? Please tell me how you know?”
“I went by her house one morning after I heard all this racket the night before. I wanted to check on her. Neighborly thing to do, right? Anyhow, she opened the door, but she didn’t invite me in. But from where I stood I could tell the place had been ransacked or either honey doesn’t clean her house very well. Plus she seemed really upset about her laptop being missing.”
“She told you someone stole it?”
“Well, no. She just said they took the laptop, but she was kind of talking to herself. She really was kind of out of it. Like she was in shock.”
Not really sure whether to believe Louise’s tale or not, “I just saw her at the hospital. Did you know she was a resident over there?”
“I figured she must have worked at the hospital. She comes in and out of her home all times of night and she wears scrubs.”
“How long has she been next door anyway?”
“She moved in a few months after Johnny’s folks moved him out. If I’m not mistaken I think she knew the family or they were familiar with her.”
“So, she’s from North Carolina. A relative?”
By this time Kisha was pulling on my skirt. “Grandma, I’m hungry.”
“Hold just a minute, honey. We will be home soon.” I hoped to hear back from Cedric soon. Seeing Carmen’s reaction about him earlier, I might can get some more out of him. “Have you noticed if anyone has been in and out of her house?”
“You sure have a lot of questions about this woman all of a sudden.”
“Well, we did just have a murder here at Sugar Creek. We need to find out more about the people around us. Don’t you think?
Louise rubbed her hands through her thinning silver hair. “That’s the truth. You know that I hate to stick my nose where he doesn’t belong, but she does get male company at night.”
Oh oh. I steeled myself by bowing my head down. Cedric was quite the ladies man, but surely he wouldn’t be down the street with a young neighbor so close to his own mama’s house.
“Wayne. He’s been over there quite a bit.”
I whipped my head back up, almost putting a cramp in my neck. “Wayne Goodman from across the street? Carmen and Wayne?”
“Yep. I seen him show up at her house late in the evening. A few times.”
“They’re seeing each other? I would think they weren’t each other’s type.” I thought back to the neighborhood meeting a few weeks back. When they were at my house I remember they sat on opposite sides of the living room. Seemed pretty indifferent to me. Almost like they couldn’t care less to be in the same room with each other. Was that a ploy to hide something? “What’s the story on Wayne anyway?”
“He served time, but for what I don’t know. You remember Clarissa was really hush-hush about the whole situation. Her broken heart probably took her to an early grave.”
“I can maybe ask Amos to check it out. He mentioned we need to be aware of folks around here with police records.”
“That sounds like a plan. Eugeena, you know you sounding like a detective over there. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you are trying to figure this out yourself? And what’s going on with you and Amos?”
“Nothing.”
Louise smiled. “I think you two make a great couple.”
“What? Please woman,” I stuttered. The last thing I needed was Louise trying to play matchmaker. There were more things on my plate to worry about than my love life.
I gathered the children and headed towards the door. Another question struck me. “Have you heard anyone saying they saw somebody around Mary’s house on Friday night?”
“No, but I imagine they are not going to get anywhere without a witness.”
I needed to find this witness. Hopefully, Amos would have some luck picking Detective Wilkes for information. “Kisha, give Ms. Louise a hug. Thanks for watching them, Louise.” Kisha skipped down the sidewalk. “Grandma, can I play with Porky?”
“Who? Oh you mean Porgy. Of course, sugar. I’m sure after being lonesome, he will love to play.”
“Can we play in the yard?”
“It’s too hot right now. Hurry up so we can get inside.”
What in the world? Did I hear my name?
I turned around. Tamara waved from across the street. I waved back.
Is she coming over? Oh, yes she is.
“Hi, Miss Eugeena. You out walking with the grandkids today?”
“Actually, we’re trying to get out of this hot sun.” I peered into Tamara’s face. Her eyes were red. “Are you okay, honey?”
“I’m fine. Just missing Melvin. I tried to call him and I guess he’s still in a meeting.”
Against my better judgment, I felt sorry for the woman. I knew too well about a man being too busy with his work to come home or remember his family. Really, if that man planned to stay married, he needed to pay more attention to his wife. “Why don’t you join us? I’m going to get dinner started.”
“I can barely cook rice. Maybe I can learn some tips from you.” Tamara grinned big and wide. She had straight white teeth.
“Sure, come on inside. Now a Paula Deen I am not, but I can show you some basics.” Back before the doctor made me change my cooking habits, I might have given ole Paula from the Food Network Channel some competition with my fried chicken.
“May I hold your grandson?” The girl held out her arms, looking woefully at Tyric. “I can’t wait to have a baby one day.”
Lord, if you expected me to mentor this young wife and I can’t keep up with my own daughter, certainly I wasn’t the one with godly advice to give. One thing I knew for sure, children added a whole other level to a relationship. “Girl, don’t rush yourself. Let God time the entrance of children into your life. Now let’s go inside. This child needs to be changed.”
Porgy barked and yipped so when I came through the door with the children, I thought he would have a stroke. I put him upstairs with the children. Tamara didn’t know she was going to be put to work when I came back into the kitchen. I pulled out pots and would have made Rachel Ray proud with the way I chopped and stirred all the while grilling my kitchen guest.
“Tell me how long have you been married, Tamara?”
“One year yesterday.”
“Really? Well, what did you do to celebrate?”
Tamara wouldn’t look at me. I had her chopping onions, but I wasn’t so sure if the tear that rolled down her face was from the onions or something else. She finally answered, “Melvin had to be out of town so we will celebrate this weekend.”
Well, that explained the source
of Tamara’s tears earlier. This was not the way to start off a marriage. “I’m sure Melvin will have something extra special planned.”
“I don’t know. We’ve been fighting so much lately. He’s pretty upset with me.”
“It will blow over. Just give him time. Sometime a man’s pride stops him from seeing straight.”
Tamara walked over to the stove and raked the onions into the skillet. When she turned around, her face was so distraught. I would have hugged her but my hands were covered with flour. “Chile, sit down and rest yourself. Being married is hard work, but don’t give up. With thirty-five years of marriage under my belt, I can tell you I had to learn to pray and trust God.”
“I’m not really on good terms with God, Miss Eugeena. Probably now more than ever. I went to your church Sunday because … things just keep going from bad to worse. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, attending church is a start. As long as you are seeking God that’s what matters. You don’t ever want to just go through life not trying to connect to the Lord at all. He’s always trying to reach us. The communication usually stops because we don’t respond.”
“So, you believe God really does forgive you for anything?”
“It says it in his Word. I’m no bible expert, but I believe what the Scriptures say.” I knew this was one of those moments that came along where you’re supposed to witness. I went over to the sink to rinse my hands. I grabbed the kitchen towel and walked up beside Tamara, “Would you like a relationship with God?”
“I … I have some things that need to be fixed.”
“Oh no, chile. You come to Jesus just as you are. Let him fix it.”
“Thank you, Miss Eugeena. I will think about it some more.”
“Eugeena. You can call me Eugeena.” I patted her on the arm. “I will be here if you need to talk some more. Why don’t you grab the lettuce out the fridge over there? You can chop some up in that big bowl.”
I wasn’t sure if my talk helped any. You can’t make anyone accept Jesus. My youngest son and daughter, despite all the Sunday school, were still on the fence. I planted the seed and that’s all that God required. It still hurt my heart to know people, especially loved ones, didn’t truly know the Lord.
Lord, where was Leesa’s heart with you? My child, my child.
Chapter 17
Tamara’s presence in the kitchen made me miss Leesa all the more. My daughter never did like sitting around in the kitchen. Explains why she never learned how to do anything but boil eggs.
“Mmm, Miss Eugeena this pork chop is so good.” Tamara licked her fingers.
“Glad you like it. I sure get tired of chicken breasts.” I looked at the clock on the microwave wondering if I should call Cedric again. He should have gotten one of my messages by now. That boy could be just a bad as his father with being in his own world. I know he was all about delivering babies, but right now I needed him to possibly help save his sister’s life.
“Is something bothering you?”
I smiled at Tamara, who peered into my face with concern. “I’m fine. Just a little frustrated by everything that’s happened.”
She put her fork down. “You mean about Mrs. Fleming.”
“Yes. Sugar Creek is an old neighborhood. We’ve had our ups and downs, but in the thirty years I’ve been here, never a murder.”
“It is truly horrible. I guess most folks are afraid now.”
“Well, this has shaken up quite a few of us. But don’t you worry. Enjoy your meal. Anytime you need me, I’m here. We will all look out for each other.”
I looked over at Kisha’s dinner plate. Just like her mama. A plate full of green beans. “Honey, eat some of your vegetables.” Kisha scrunched her little nose up and looked down at her plate.
I stopped chewing my pork chop and cocked my ear toward the kitchen doorway. My front door lock just clicked. I rose from the table. By the time I made my way through the living room, the front door flew open.
“Ma, what smells so good in here?” The tall, caramel man standing in front of me, birthed from my womb thirty-five years before was the spitting image of his deceased father. I walked over to Cedric and hugged him fiercely. “It’s about time.”
“Whoa, Ma you’re going to break a rib with that hug.” He pulled back and smiled a perfect set of white teeth thanks to two years of braces. Probably out of all the kids, Cedric had the most awkward stages. Gawky and geeky looking all at the same time. Somewhere around sixteen, he caught up to his older brother and filled out, inheriting his dad’s relaxed curls.
“Why is it when I need your help, you can never be found?”
“Hey, I’m here now. Let’s see what you got going on in the kitchen.” Cedric walked ahead of me, turning up his sleeves. “Is that little Kisha? Come here, how’s my favorite girl?” He scooped his niece up in his arms.
Through giggles, Kisha shouted, “Uncle Ceddy.”
My heart dipped at the sight. I so wanted Cedric to settle down and find a good woman. He would make a great dad. A definite natural with kids. “Cedric, let me fix you a plate.”
“Sure. And who might this lovely lady be? You didn’t tell me you had company.” Cedric put his niece down and held his hand out towards Tamara.
A glow had crept around the girl’s beautiful dark brown cheeks. “Uh excuse me.” I stepped in front of Cedric, to protect poor Tamara. “This is a neighbor. A married one.”
He looked back at Tamara and flashed her one of his megawatt smiles with absolutely no shame. “Sometimes Mama likes to play matchmaker. I can never be too sure.”
Of course he was right. I had tried to help him settled down on a number occasions with some good Christian woman.
Tamara laughed. “You have a great mother.” She placed her napkin on the table and stood. “Miss Eugeena, thanks for the meal.”
“Anytime, let me walk you out.” On the way out the kitchen, I could hear Cedric sending Kisha into a fit of giggles again.
“Remember, you call me anytime you want to talk, you hear?”
Tamara teared up a little. “Thank you. I appreciate you being so nice to me.”
I watched her until she had arrived safely across the street. There really were a lot of women in this neighborhood who lived or spent a lot of time alone. This would be a topic to address at the neighborhood meeting coming up soon. We might be able to get a self-defense class started. Now that would be something else.
Me and my stubby legs trying to kickbox.
I put Kisha in the room with Porgy so I could talk to her uncle alone.
Cedric looked up from the table when I entered the kitchen. “Where’s that barking coming from? You have a dog in the house?”
“You don’t know do you? Mary died three days ago.”
Unlike his older brother and his mama, Cedric had the kind of skin that would turn red in a hot minute. “What? How? When?”
“I was walking Saturday and something told me to check on her. She was…on her kitchen floor. Gone.”
“You found her ... like that?”
“Yes, which is why I need your help? I need to find your sister.”
Cedric frowned. “Why?”
“Leesa came the Saturday night with the kids. It sounded like she was in trouble, but we never had a chance to talk. I woke up Sunday morning, she was gone.”
“No, she didn’t?” Cedric let out a long sigh. “Mama, you don’t need to be taking care of Kisha.”
“Kisha and Tyric are fine with me.”
“Tyric? She had the baby already.”
Something slipped out of Cedric’s mouth that caused my ears to burn. I smacked him on the arm. “There is no need for that language. You already knew about the baby?”
“I’m sorry Ma. I told her to tell you. She just showed up with him out of the blue?”
“I don’t want to go into that now. Something is wrong. Don’t make that face at me. I am a mother and you are not.”
Cedric placed his arm
around my shoulders. “Mama, don’t do this. She’s probably fine.”
I swallowed. “I need you to look out for your sister. Check the hospitals. I already filed a missing persons report.”
“You really think something happened?”
“This is more than a mother’s instinct. This detective on Mary’s case says she has some kind of witness that saw Leesa at Mary’s house the night she died.”
Cedric sucked in his breath. “You have got to be kidding me? What in the world did that girl do now?”
“We don’t know if she did anything.” I decided that it would not be a good time to tell Cedric about the money in the closet.
“Cedric, since you knew about the baby, then you must know who she was seeing. Who’s the father?”
“I don’t know. I saw her with some guy a few months ago at Club Magic. Ma, you don’t have to scrunch up your face like that? You know neither Leesa nor I are sanctified like you and Junior.”
That’s alright; I kept both of them prayed up. “Did you catch the man’s name?”
“It was Chris something. I didn’t really talk to him other than to say hello. I had other things on my mind than keeping an eye on my little sister.”
“Oh really. Like what?”
“Ma, you don’t want to know. Look I will be on the lookout for her. Did you try her on her cell phone, by the way?”
“I tried the number I had, but it said it was out of service.”
“I think she has a new number, hold on.”
Cedric whipped out his fancy, smancy phone. One of those iPhones. The gadget reminded me of the one I saw Carmen with at the hospital earlier. Looked like they had a few things in common. I watched him glide his fingertips across the smooth surface and scrolled through what looked like a lot of numbers. This must be the new black book.
“Here we go. This is the last number I have for her. Let me try it. I got plenty to say to her.”
“Just tell her to get back here.” I crossed my arms and watched his face. When he grunted, I assumed he didn’t get her.
“Leesa, girl where are you? You got Mama all worried. Get back here and get your kids.”