by Tyora Moody
“Who are you?”
“I’m Wes, your grandson.”
“I don’t have a grandson.”
Wes nearly lost it, curling his hands into fists. This was a nightmare. Okay, keep your cool. Pops had wandered away because he was confused. Wes needed to be smart to figure out how he was going to get him back home. Wes decided to try a different tactic.
“Why don’t I take you home?” Wes looked down, observing that his grandfather had on shoes, but he was still dressed in pajamas. “We should get you back so you don’t get sick.”
“I can’t. I’m waiting on my friend.”
Wes pleaded. “Well, maybe I can take you to your friend’s house. We can save him the trouble, and I can give you a ride.”
“No, Nick will be here soon. He is always on time.”
“Nick?” Wes asked. “Nick Roberts?”
“Yeah, we are going to practice. Got a gig tonight. How do you know Nick?”
“No, the gig is another night. You mixed up the night.” Wes was trying to think of whatever he could to get his pops out of this park. His phone rang. Wes pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Wes, where are you? Where’s Pops? I have been calling the house. Do I need to leave the hospital?”
He closed his eyes as he heard his mother’s frantic voice. He should have known his mother would try to call to check on Pops. “Don’t panic. Pops and I are at the park. We will be home shortly.”
“Wes! How did he get there? Did you watch him?”
“Mom, I messed up. Let’s not get into that now. I will have him home soon.”
“I’m going to try to get off earlier. I knew this wasn’t a good idea. You don’t know how it is with him.”
Wes pleaded with his mother. “No, Mom, just finish your shift. I will have him home. Please let me do this.” He pressed the button on the phone to end the call.
I can handle this. His broken promise to his mother dangled before him. He could only pray that both the Jesus in her and the fact that he was her son would keep her from wanting to kill him. He sat down on the bench next to Pops.
Pops said, “You sound like you have some trouble, young man.”
Before he knew it, laughter had bubbled up in Wes. His laughter bounced around the park, and then Wes fell silent as tears of gratefulness flooded his eyes. Wes looked over at his granddad. “I’m in pretty big trouble, but I believe God is helping to save me in my foolishness.”
“God is good like that, son. You should come out tonight to hear us play.”
Wes went along with the conversation. He needed his pops to trust him enough to get him out of this park. “I would love to hear you play.” Pops had stopped playing with Southern Soul before Wes was born. Wes asked, “So is there something special about tonight?”
Pops looked at him. “Yes, it will be the last time I play with the band.”
“Why would you stop playing? Don’t you love the band?”
“I do. Love playing with the fellows. Things have changed. I have a family that needs me. Plus, it’s time to move on. When Nick comes, I’m going to tell him.”
Wes realized that Pops had reached way back into his memory bank. Why was Pops focusing on this particular memory? Wes would have to ask his mother, if she would even talk to him, why Pops continued to return to the park.
He said to his grandfather, “Let me get this straight. Tonight is your last night playing with the band, but you haven’t told your friend Nick yet. Won’t he be upset with you springing this on him?”
“Nick? No, he won’t be upset. We talked about it before. I told him I was thinking about it. I warned him that things were changing too fast.”
Wes was totally confused by the conversation. “What was changing? The music?”
Pops stared off into space.
Wes tried to prompt him. “Pops, what was changing?” He touched his grandfather’s shoulder. “Why don’t you let me drive you? Nick wants me to take you to him.”
Pops nodded. Wes stood and took his grandfather by the hand. The conversation had stopped. He didn’t know where Pops was now, but he was able to get him inside the car. Ten minutes later, he drove into the driveway to find his mother’s car was there.
Wes guided Pops into the house. Wanda jumped up from the couch. “I was ready to call the police if you hadn’t gotten back here.”
“I’m sorry. I will get him back in the bed.”
“No, you’ve done enough.”
“Mom.”
“Go home, Wes. I can handle it from here.”
Wes watched his mother take Pops back to his bedroom. He did the only thing he could do. He left, feeling the weight of his choice on his shoulders.
Chapter Thirty
Southern Soul Café was not yet open, but Angel could hear the bustle of cooks and servers getting ready for the Saturday lunch crowd. Angel walked to the back, toward Eddie’s office. She was looking forward to working with Eddie on the talent show this weekend. There were flyers posted in several areas around town, and last night Angel noticed a Facebook page had been dedicated to the event. Eddie had a talented marketing crew.
Angel was walking up to the office door to knock when she heard a voice from inside the room. A very familiar female voice wailed from behind the door, “How could you do this?” Angel stepped away from the door. It was Denise in the office. “I don’t care. I can’t take it anymore. You are never going to grow up!” Was Denise talking on the phone to her father? When she didn’t hear another voice, Angel knew for sure that Denise was alone, on the phone and Kenneth was on the other end of the line.
She had wondered how long it would take Denise to find out what Angel had always complained about. Kenneth, with all his good looks and charm, was as selfish as a person could be.
Angel really wanted to see Eddie now so she could spend time with Grams this afternoon. She had no intentions of returning to this side of town until next weekend, so she knocked on the door and called out, “Hello? Eddie?”
She waited for a few seconds and then started down the hallway. The door opened behind her.
“Wait, Angel.”
Angel turned around to see Denise’s tearstained face. She told Denise, “I can come back.”
Denise shook her head and wiped her eyes with her fingers. “No, my dad told me to make sure you stayed. He had to run and pick up some supplies. Why don’t you wait in here?”
“Okay.” Angel stepped into the office.
“Have a seat. I will be out of the way in a minute.” Denise went behind the big oak desk and shuffled papers. It had been a long time since they’d been in a room together, just the two of them. Angel sat down in one of the leather chairs across from the desk. She remembered that when Southern Soul Café opened, both of them would spend a lot of time in this same office after school. Later they worked in the restaurant to make a little extra money. She and Denise took turns being servers and hostesses.
Angel cleared her throat. “Nothing much has changed in here.”
Denise replied, “Yeah, Dad isn’t much on change.”
“Change can be hard.” Then Angel added, “Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
Denise stopped rearranging the papers and stared at her. “Do you mean that? I always hoped you wouldn’t hate me forever.”
Angel replied, “I don’t hate you.”
“I don’t blame you if you do.”
“You were my best friend, like a sister I never had. I would have never thought you would cause me that much pain, but it’s history now. You have little Kenny, and there are no mistakes. He’s precious.”
Denise blinked. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”
Neither was Angel. She noted the sadness in Denise’s eyes. The deep weariness in her former friend’s eyes did not conform with what Angel usually saw on the faces of the brides she filmed. “Are you happy?”
“Would you gloat if I said I wasn’t?”
“It wouldn’t do me any g
ood to gloat, and I’m sorry to hear that.”
Denise sat down in the chair. “You know, I used to get so upset with you when you complained about how Kenneth treated you. I used to think in my head, ‘Poor Angel. She just doesn’t know how to handle the man.’”
Angel frowned. “Really? You used to agree with me that Kenneth was just putting me down for no reason.”
“I know. He was, and you probably will not believe me, but I didn’t set out to steal him.”
Angel shook her head. “We don’t need to dig up history.” She had had enough of doing all that all on her own.
“But I have wanted you to know. That day was the first time.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I was upset and was looking for you. I figured you were at Kenneth’s place. He was there, and he didn’t have a shirt on. I was a mess! He was so sensitive and told me it was okay.”
Angel stood. “I told you I don’t need to hear this.”
Denise slammed her hands on the desk. “Well, I need you to because I made the worst mistake ever. I got pregnant, I missed out on finishing school, and I lost my best friend all because I wanted to feel loved and secure that day.”
Angel looked away from Denise. She really hadn’t come here for this.
She didn’t have long to wait as Eddie came into the room with a box. “Hey, you are here. Thank you for coming by, Angel.” Eddie sat the box down on the floor and walked in between them. “It’s good to see you girls talking again.”
Denise responded, “We were just catching up. Don’t hold your breath on anything more, Dad.” Denise grabbed papers off the desk and stuffed them in her bag. “I need to get home. Kenneth will have to go to work soon, so I need to be there for little Kenny.” As she walked out the door, Denise turned around and said, “I hope you have asked Angel to sing for the talent show. She probably could blow the competition away.”
Angel’s ears burned, making her encounter with Denise even more awkward.
Eddie laughed and pointed his finger. “I knew you’ve been holding out on me. No way your momma could have a kid that couldn’t sing. So what do you say?”
“Conflict of interest. I’m here to help you videotape the contestants and get the entries online.”
“Well, wait a minute now. I didn’t tell you about my surprise.” Eddie sat back in his chair and leaned back.
“What surprise?” Angel asked.
“You could make your granddad and mom proud by joining Southern Soul on the stage.”
“Eddie, I don’t sing in front of people.”
“Girl, you can’t waste that talent. Besides, it will just be one number. The band will perform at the end of the talent show.”
Angel still wasn’t sure.
“Come on. It will be fun, and you will be a part of some history. Did you know Southern Soul is celebrating fifty years?”
“Fifty years? Wow. Has it been that long?”
“Oh yeah. The older members started the band in nineteen sixty-one. Now a lot of the older members are not around, but you know I’ve kept the band going with new members over the years. Got to keep the name out there. I hope you will at least think about it.”
“I can’t make promises, but yes, I will think about it.” Angel had really made her mind up. She just didn’t have the heart to tell Eddie there was no way she was singing in front of an audience.
Chapter Thirty-one
Wes stared at the screen, not really paying attention to what he was typing. He stopped and pushed his chair back from the desk. He wanted to call his mother and express his apologies for not sticking to his promise. Pops was okay, and Wes was grateful he found him, but his mother’s face and anger haunted him. She had been through so much, and he’d just added to the weight on her shoulders.
He picked up the phone to call Darnell. Hopefully, his efforts and his sacrifice would be worth it. Wes greeted his detective friend and then listened to his news. With each word, Wes felt more deflated.
“What? You couldn’t hold him?”
Darnell answered, “Sorry, man. The man was intoxicated. Once people sober up, they are going to change their story. Plus, he really seemed genuinely broken up about his daughter being missing.”
Wes fumed, “Did he explain where he was all this time? I know he is a drunk, but I find it hard to believe he doesn’t know who was responsible. Suppose she was snatched up because of him.”
“Wes, I really can’t look into it. Unless Melanie Stowe’s body shows up or there is some evidence that a homicide took place, I can’t hold the man.”
Wes sat back. “But something isn’t right. I mean, you follow your gut on cases, right?”
“Yeah, man, but—”
“Listen, he found his way out to California for the American Voices show.”
“There is no way that guy last night was allowed out of the state at that time. Wes, he was still on parole.”
Wes sighed. “I wondered about that. Man, I’m sorry I led you on a wild-goose chase.”
“Don’t worry about it. Everyone wants to find the girl. You are doing your part. Look, if it will help, I will keep my eye on him. If he knows something, maybe he will drop some clues or lead us to her.”
“Thanks, man.”
Wes hung up the phone. He pulled up his notes. Melanie’s best friend, Lisa, had said something about Melanie’s dad showing up at the show. Did either of them really see him? If Larry wasn’t there, then who was the guy at the show? Just when he thought he was close, more questions arose. He checked his watch. There was still some ground to cover on Melanie’s life. Alan wanted information on the mystery record deal, so that was where Wes had decided to focus his efforts this afternoon.
Charlotte traffic was fast and heavy, as usual. Most people were heading back to the office from lunch. Wes drove into the Kingdom Building Church parking lot. Minister J.D. had founded the growing church and served as its pastor. The first thing Wes thought was how different the church seemed from Victory Gospel Church. Whereas Victory was a big, expansive modern building, Kingdom used to be a strip mall, which was converted to the Kingdom Building Church campus.
Victory had grown in size in the past year, after Reverend Jonathan Freeman officially took over as pastor. With a younger minister and family heading up the church, even more young families and young professionals flocked to the pews on Sunday. Where Reverend Freeman was known as a smooth and down-to-earth teacher, Minister J.D. was known to be charismatic and animated in the pulpit. He had a growing congregation of young people, especially young men. Minister J.D. founded the Be a Man Conference, which had been held annually every year for the past five years.
Last year, when Wes attended the men’s conference, he walked out having committed himself to celibacy along with several hundred men. He’d largely kept to his commitment by choosing not to date. Wes had avoided walking into temptation until a few weeks ago. He now knew to keep his guard up around his coworker Serena.
As Wes entered the building, children ran by him. A young woman followed behind them, asking them to stop running in church. The woman noticed Wes and said, “Hello. How are you? You are from television. The news.”
He smiled. “Yes. I’m Wes Cade. Is Minister J.D. around?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah, he’s downstairs in the studio.” The woman looked down the hall, where most of the children had entered a classroom. “Come on. I will show you.”
The woman guided him down a hallway. As they walked farther, Wes could hear a deep, thumping hum in the building. His guide stopped and said, “At the end of this hallway, make a right. You will find Minister J.D. inside. Have fun.”
Wes expressed his thanks and followed the directions. When he turned the corner and stared at the door, what struck Wes was the sign above it, which read ROYAL RECORDS. He thought, Is this the same Royal Records I talked about with Angel?
He knocked on the door and then tried the doorknob. When he opened the door, a deep th
umping sound and rhythmic music greeted him. Wes went inside and closed the door behind him. To his amazement, it really was a studio, a full-fledged music studio. Two men were at the audio controls, while others were standing in the background, rocking their head to the beat. On the other side of the studio, behind glass, a young man with a baseball hat was rapping into the microphone.
Wes listened. The young man was rapping about how Christ had saved him from the streets. Before he knew it, Wes found himself rocking his head back and forth. The young man was really talented with his rhymes.
“You like?”
Wes hadn’t noticed, but a tall, heavyset man had come to stand beside him. Minister J.D. in the flesh. He held out his hand. “How are you doing, Minister? I appreciate you seeing me.”
“Not a problem. I’m really proud of these guys. They’re using their skills to glorify the Lord. Shadrach here especially warms my heart. He’s come a long way. Why don’t we head to my office?”
“Sure.” Wes looked back at the young man, Shadrach, and then followed the minister. As they walked back to where Wes had come in, he asked the minister, “So the hip-hop hasn’t left you?”
Minister J.D. laughed. “I’m a messenger for God. He allows us to deliver his good news in many ways. I don’t believe I spent all those years in the hip-hop world for no reason.”
When they arrived at the church office, the minister’s secretary waved to Minister J.D. as he walked by and handed him a folder. He nodded and went into his office. Wes followed.
Minister J.D. said, “Have a seat, young man. What brings a WYNN news reporter to the church? Are you a man of God yourself, Mr. Cade?”
Wes said, “Oh yeah, ever since I was a kid. I strayed a bit in college but came back around probably right before I became a reporter. I would love to do a piece on the church. There are a lot of growing churches in Charlotte, and you are one of them.”