She then felt Simone grab her by the shoulders and swing her around to face her.
“Listen here, Tori, you’re not going over there. You’re getting sick. You might just get hurt if you go back.”
“I’ve got to do something, damn it.”
“Not something you’ll regret.”
“Well just what the hell do you expect me to do – stay here and calm down. That’s not happening, Simone.”
“Just listen to me. There are other ways to handle this. There’s the law.”
“Too damn long, and no damn guarantees. I want the witch’s ass. And if I have to kick my daddy’s ass to get to hers, so be it.”
Tori tried to turn for the door again, but Simone swung her around again.
“Look, Tori, why go after her? Go after Robbie Riley. You’re so convinced his brother’s telling the truth. There must be a disk. Go after that.”
Tori went motionless for a second. The words had struck a nerve.
“ . . . Doesn’t that make more sense than killing somebody?” Simone added. “Think about it.”
“There . . . There might not even be a disk. It’s incriminating. He might have thrown it away.”
“Well you can at least find out. Offer him money. It might suddenly jog his memory.”
“He wouldn’t risk going to jail for a little money. That’s stupid.”
“Think, Tori. There are ways to reveal the disk without incriminating himself.”
Tori had to think some more. She bowed her head. She didn’t like the thought of giving up on going after Ava, but Simone’s words made sense.
Simone took her by the shoulders.
“Come on, girl. You don’t want to throw your life away because of Ava. And you can still get her. Just do it right.”
Tori looked into Simone’s eyes. Her resolve began to weaken by the second.
“ . . . She can’t get away with this, Simone. I’ll die first.”
“Before you get that drastic, just exhaust all your options. What’s wrong with that?”
Grudgingly, Tori admitted to herself – nothing.
She pulled away from Simone and sighed deeply. Rubbing her temples, she walked to the couch and sat down. Simone followed. She put her arms around Tori.
“You’ll get justice. I know you will. Please, just don’t do anything stupid.”
“All right. For now. . . . For now.”
That was all Tori could say. She’d try things the right way and see how they worked out. But by no means was Ava out of the woods. Tori would have her justice. She put a vicious scowl on her face. One way or the other, Ava was going to suffer. It was guaranteed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ava was alone in the den. Henry had gone out, and she figured it was probably to buy some liquor. Jimmy was upstairs, enjoying another day off from school. Ava sat in the recliner, relaxed back. The event with Tori yesterday, as traumatic as it had been, was not what ruled her thoughts. Instead, it was Robbie Riley. After thinking about it long and hard, Ava realized that Robbie had her by the throat. Her biggest problem with him was Tori. What if Robbie decided to sell Tori the tape after blackmailing her? Ava had overheard Tori and Henry talking a few months back. She knew that Tori had just over fifty thousand dollars in her savings. Ava had to have something to counter that. She had called Robbie back last night. This morning, they had met in a restaurant just outside the city, and they had talked in a secluded area. Ava had been much nicer. She had told Robbie that she could give him six thousand dollars, and that she could also probably siphon four hundred dollars a month out of church money to give him. Robbie had been excited at the offer.
Ava then had made up a lie about having a lot more than just eleven thousand dollars hidden as a nest egg. She had inherited some money a few years back, and she had invested it secretly. She had told him that not even Henry knew about the money. The money had grown to seventy thousand dollars, and she would give him fifty thousand of it. Robbie had been skeptical at first, wondering why she needed to kill Susy if she already had that kind of money. Ava had only ridiculed him, letting it be known that an extra seventy thousand in addition to Susy’s trust, certainly wouldn’t hurt things. Robbie had bought it, mumbling something about her greed. He had also agreed to let that payment be the final one.
However, it would take at least five or six months for her to liquidate the money, especially trying to keep it a secret. She had told Robbie the story in order to keep him happy enough not to run to Tori. She wanted to buy enough time so that she could come up with a plan. She would wait two, three months, and then she would find a way to kill him. She would do things herself this time. Robbie Riley would not sweat her like a chump.
He had the upper hand right now, but as Ava squinted her already beady eyes, she knew that it was only a matter of time, before she would be the one on top. She bristled at the thought.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Robbie paced around in his shack of an apartment, both excited and anxious at the same time. He hadn’t been long gotten off the phone with Ava. They had talked three times by cell in the days since their first meeting. Each time they had tried to work out details of how he would get paid. They had finally agreed upon a plan after their last conversation.
It would be a great Friday night, at least for him, because tonight would be the first payment. Robbie was really looking forward to it. He would have six thousand dollars that he could show off to Matt. He was sure his lover would be impressed.
He and Ava would meet in the mall and disappear amongst the hordes of people, hopefully unnoticed. The nerve of that woman, Robbie thought craftily. He wouldn’t dare meet her anywhere alone. She must have thought he was stupid. Ava had insisted on it, so that she wouldn’t be recognized. Her face had been in the media regularly since Susy’s attack, especially after Joe’s accusations. She couldn’t risk being seen with Joe’s brother. But Robbie had demanded a public place, and Ava had been forced to grudgingly give in. She had been more than upset about it. She would be disguised.
The phone rang. It happened to be right at Robbie’s feet. He stopped, reached down and picked it up.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Is this Robbie Riley?”
The voice was feminine. Robbie was perplexed. The voice wasn’t Ava’s.
“Who wants to know?”
“You don’t know me, but you will – soon.”
“Who is this?”
“I’m Tori Edwards. If this is Robbie, I have an offer for you – of a financial nature.”
Robbie hesitated. Why would Susy’s sister call him?
“ . . . Financial, how?”
“It could put lots of money in your pockets.”
“ . . . This is Robbie.”
“I’m sure you know who I am. I’ll get to the point. Your brother says you have a disk that proves Ava Edwards was behind my sister’s attack. I want it. I’ll pay dearly.”
“ . . . I don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout.”
“Don’t be scared. I’m not taping anything. If you want, we can talk in theory.”
“Theory? How do you mean?”
“Theoretically, let’s say you have the disk. Let’s meet and talk about it.”
“I ain’t got no disk. But if you want to meet, so I can tell you how sorry I am about your sister, then that might be possible.”
“For whatever reason, let’s just meet. I can make it worth your while.”
Robbie’s eyes brightened up. The prospect of making even more money suddenly danced through his head.
“Fine by me. By the way, how’d you get my number?”
“I forced myself to visit that scumbag brother of yours in jail. And let me make it clear, I’m very low on your scummy ass too, but you have something I need.”
“Don’t know what you mean, but I’ll gladly talk with you and give my condolences.”
“Well when we can do it? I can make it tonight.”
“Naw. I
got plans tonight. Tell you what, you give me your number, and I’ll call you back in a hour or two.”
“Why so long?”
“Don’t worry ‘bout it. Just give me the number.”
Tori went on and gave him the number. Robbie graciously thanked her.
“I really am sorry ‘bout your sister,” Robbie said with a big grin. “And I will get back to you shortly.”
“You better, you bastard.”
Robbie could read the disgust in Tori’s voice. She hung up the phone. Robbie hung up also. A wide smile enveloped his face. He walked to his metal folding chair and dropped down. He knew that he had a very good thing going on here.
However, a new thought now crept into Robbie’s mind. If Tori could pay him enough bucks, then perhaps he could dump the disk and get out of the situation altogether. He would be in big trouble if that disk was somehow traced to him. Plus, he wasn’t crazy about the thought of dealing with Ava for too long. Despite the risks to her, he knew she would possibly try and kill him. And if those things weren’t enough, there was also Matt. Robbie had talked to him this morning on the phone. Matt was thinking of going away with an engineer boyfriend. Robbie needed a big lump sum of money immediately to have any chance at enticing Matt to stay. The thought of Matt leaving in two months was something he didn’t even want to consider.
Robbie figured, that if the sum from Tori was large enough, maybe he could invest the money and give Matt the interest. It could be regular income like it would have been from Ava. Robbie shrewdly rubbed his hands together. He’d bleed both bitches.
For the time being, though, he’d figure out a way to meet with Tori and stay protected. If she was trying to trick him, he’d find a way to outsmart her. He figured it wouldn’t be hard. Women were two things to him – sluts and stupid. Dollar signs danced in front of his eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The mall was crowded as usual. Ava had arrived about twenty minutes ago. She sat alone on the bench that was outside the Kohl's store. This was probably the busiest area of the mall, and it would be the best place for her to go unnoticed.
Ava wore a disguise. She had a scarf wrapped around her head. She also wore dark glasses. She was dressed in baggy jeans, a blue shirt, and sneakers. It was attire that was far different from what she was normally seen in as the more elegantly-dressed minister.
She had told Robbie what she would be wearing. She saw him emerge from a group of people that were coming out of Kohl's. It wasn't immediate, but he did figure out Ava. He started walking briskly for the bench.
He arrived at Ava in a matter of seconds and dropped down beside her. Ava had her purse thrown across her shoulder. She too moved quite quickly, as she pulled the purse off her shoulder and dropped it in her lap.
“You got it?” Robbie asked.
“What the hell do you think?” Ava scolded. “I didn’t come here for my health.”
“Why you got to be so touchy? That’s what’s wrong with women. They so touchy.”
Ava watched him briefly, with abomination.
“You blackmailing bastard. Just shut up and listen. I need to tell you something.”
Ava clutched the top of the purse and put her hand inside.
“I had to dig this money out of the church treasury. I had to cover up all kinds of records. It was a serious pain in the ass.”
“But you got the six thousand, right?” Robbie asked with enthusiasm.
“Shut up, I said.”
Ava moved her face in extremely close to Robbie’s.
“It takes time to steal this money. I’m gonna have to ask my members for even more to make up the difference. They might start asking questions. I have to be very careful. So if I’m a week or two late with a payment, just be patient.”
“No problem. As long as I get paid.”
“And we’re definitely going to have to find another means of meeting. This won’t work every time.”
“We can talk on that. But it’s got to be safe for me. Gimme the money.”
Ava opened the purse and took out a business-sized envelope.
“Sixty one hundred dollar bills,” she said. “Pretend it’s a dick, and choke on it, you sorry faggot.”
She stuffed the envelope in his chest. She then stood. Robbie slouched over in concealment; he excitedly sifted through the bills. He wanted to make sure they were all there. Ava threw her purse over her shoulder. She looked down at Robbie abhorrently.
You think you’re gonna keep screwing me? she thought indignantly.
I swear . . . I’ll gut your ass.
She turned and walked on away. Angrily, she mumbled obscenities to herself.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tori was anxious as she drove down Metzger Street, which was in the heart of downtown Del Toray. She couldn’t seem to get to the bank fast enough; it was one of the few which was open on Saturday. The traffic wasn’t very bad right now, but it seemed to her as if it were terrible. She was just so tense. The thought that she was about to get evidence that would nail Ava raced through her mind.
Robbie had called her back about an hour after their conversation last night. He had made arrangements for the both of them to meet at midnight at a small bar on the outskirts of town. Tori had asked him why he’d wanted to meet so late? But he had only mumbled something about having a prior appointment.
The two had met in a dark corner of the bar. Anything significant that Robbie had had to say about Ava, he had written down in a disguised handwriting and had handed the paper to Tori. He had done so just in case she had been hiding a recorder, although Tori had assured him she wasn’t.
The two had made their plans as to how much Tori would pay him for the tape. The price had been negotiated to forty thousand dollars. It was a lot, but Tori had felt it was definitely worth it. She would do anything to get that disk.
Tori arrived at the Bank Of America. There was construction going on in the tiny parking lot behind the bank, and the few available parking spaces were taken. She didn’t even bother to turn into the lot. She drove into a parallel park that was across the street from the bank. A short ways down the street was a branch of the Del Toray Police Department. There were several police cars parked up the street.
Tori hurriedly got out of her car with purse in hand. She let a couple of cars go by. She then rushed across the street and into the lot, almost on the heels of another couple who had gotten out of their car at the same time as her. Tori tried to swing her purse across her shoulder, but she didn’t do a good job. She missed her shoulder and the purse dropped to her sleeve and then to the ground.
“Damn it!” she snapped.
The couple in front of her began to separate from her, as she reached down and picked up the purse. Only this time, a comb and a brush fell out. Another expletive, as she stooped down and picked up the items and stuffed them back inside the purse. She stood, and this time, she successfully threw the purse across her shoulder. As she turned to head for the sidewalk that would take her to the doors of the bank, she saw a uniform emerge from his police car. He was parked in the lot. The uniform came towards her at a very quick pace. The uniform was brown, not blue like a police officer’s. It was a uniform of the Sheriff and Deputy’s department.
Tori was so absorbed in the matters at hand, that she didn’t pay much attention to the sheriff or deputy. She began walking for the bank, when she heard a voice call out to her. The voice came from the brown uniform.
“Hey there. Stop.”
Tori did stop. She was somewhat puzzled at being called. However, as the man got closer to her, she recognized who it was – Herndon. She could never forget such a flabby body.
He hurried on up to her and stopped.
“Well, well, I thought that was you,” Herndon said. “Little Miss Private Eye.”
“What do you want?” Tori asked impatiently.
“That ain’t no way to greet an officer of the law, especially one you have such a great history with.”
“Are you now? Got something real important to do?”
“Exceptionally important. I can’t waste any time.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that. It’s gonna make what I’m about to do that much more fun.”
Tori just watched him, incensed.
“Don’t you know, young lady, that we have laws in this here city against jaywalking?”
“Jaywalking? I wasn’t jaywalking.”
“Oh yes you were. You didn’t cross the street at the designated crossing.”
Tori looked back to the street. She noticed she hadn’t done so. But she also noticed that it was no big deal.
“You’ve got to be kidding. Everybody crosses at that area. Nobody uses that crosswalk way down the street.”
“Oh really?”
“You know that, Herndon. Since when did yall start cracking down on a little crime like that?”
“Well, from now on, we’ll be tougher. But for the time being, looks like you’re gonna have to be the first example of the new crackdown.”
“Get real. That’s bull. There was a couple right in front of me who crossed at the same place.”
“Didn’t see them.”
“The hell you didn’t. You couldn’t have missed them. They were right in front of me.”
“Sorry. You’re the one who got caught.”
“Damn it, Herndon, you’re not gonna get away with this.”
“Watch your language. Being obstinate to an officer of the law is also a crime in this city.”
“You’re being an asshole.”
“Oh, well I guess that does it. Your snooping tail is going to jail.”
“You bastard.”
Herndon grabbed Tori and swung her around, causing her purse to fall from her shoulder once again. He quickly grabbed her by both arms and then kicked her feet from under her. Tori hit the ground hard. Herndon fell with her, dropping to his knees, and still holding her arms.
“If you try that karate shit this time, I’m gonna put you under arrest for resisting too. You want to try it, and spend a couple months in my jail?”
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