“Baby, this is Pastor Al and his wife, Misty. These two people . . .” He shook his head from side to side, unable to finish his sentence before tears came to his eyes and began to roll down his face.
Keiana squeezed him in a side hug and put her hand to her heart.
“Marq, Pastor Al, Misty,” she said, nodding toward each in turn. “Let me tell you something. It’s been a while since I went to church, but this morning at work I heard God tell me to pray for you, Marquise. I didn’t know what it was all about, but the Lord’s voice was so clear that I turned around to see if somebody was standing there.”
“Baby, these two were an answer to your sweet prayer,” Marquise said, wiping his eyes.
“Wow, Keiana, this whole day has been so full of the Lord,” Al said. “Early this evening, Misty and I had just finished dinner after a very trying day when I heard the Lord say, Go to the church right now, and turn on all the lights.”
“Really, Pastor Al?” Marquise said, clasping the sides of his head in amazement. “Man, I was drivin’ so fast, bullets whizzin’ past my head, and I saw this huge glow up ahead. I couldn’t believe it. I was thinkin’, Why in the world is that church all lit up?” Marquise shook his head and wiped at his eyes again.
“Hey, Marq,” came a voice from behind Marquise just before Tyler grabbed his shoulder in a strong grip. “I’m getting ready to head home,” Tyler said, “but I just had to come back and tell you I love you, bro. I’m so glad that tonight ended like this. It could have gone the other way.”
“But God, Ty, God!” came a voice from behind them. Up walked Tyler’s partner, Chris, whom Marquise had just met in debriefing, He joined the group and slapped Tyler on the shoulder.
Al and Misty beamed.
“Yeah, Chris and I have to get to the fun part now — writing our reports,” Tyler said with a rueful chuckle. “But let’s not lose touch again, you hear, bro?”
“Absolutely,” Marquise said. “You aren’t going to get rid of me!”
“Once everything settles down, I know Marq and I would like to have you — all of you— to our place for a special celebration,” Keiana said, looking at Marquise, who nodded. He loved this woman. And he loved this group of very special people.
“Pastor Al, Misty,” voices called. The two turned and smiled as they saw their congregation members waving wildly. A lump lodged itself in Al’s throat. So many familiar and loved faces stared back at him — the same people he had heard lifting up nonstop prayer and praise to the Lord.
Misty teared up as she and Al walked over to the group. Normally soft-spoken, Misty raised her voice so that everyone could hear. “I heard your praise, Church; the violent men heard your praise; Mayor Henderson heard your praise songs to the Lord. It lifted us all and sustained us through very heavy trials. I ask the Lord to bless each of you for staying and for praying.”
“We love you all,” Al said. “Church, please get on your cell phones and let everyone know that the police still have to gather evidence inside the building tomorrow morning, so there will be no service this Sunday, but we can get back in next week. You all are such a blessing to us! You have no idea how much you helped us. Just as Misty said, we heard you — even during our trials — and the Lord used your prayers and songs of praise to strengthen us and carry us through. We’ll tell you more later. For now, everybody go home and get some good rest. We’ll see you soon.”
“We love you, Pastor Al and Misty,” came the shouts from Deacon Nunnely and several others.
“We love you all, too!” Al and Misty replied, in unison.
Released to go home, they walked arm in arm back to their car. Once inside, Misty kissed Al gently on the lips. “I love you, Mr. Shepherd,” she said.
“I love you, too, Mrs. Shepherd,” Al answered.
“But it’s still your turn to do the dinner dishes!” Misty quipped.
Al glanced at Misty’s mischievous smirk and burst into laughter.
Marquise and Keiana held each other as they walked out of the cordoned-off area, heading toward Keiana’s car.
“I love you so much, Keiana. Let me tell you somethin’, baby. When those bullets were whizzin’ past my head, I thought I wasn’t goin’ to see you and our baby again. I thought I was gone, Ke. Something inside told me that I had to do this, though. I just had to do it for Mannford — and for the Lord, Keiana.”
Keiana stopped Marquise and stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. The two held each other tight before continuing to walk.
“The Lord is real, Marq. I can feel Him. He’s done something so special in both of us today, baby.”
“Boy, you ain’t lyin’, Keiana. This day has been somethin’ else.”
“Marq — Marq, man,” Akil shouted. “There you are. Oh, man!”
Both Lawrence and Akil came running and hugged Marquise.
“Dude, we thought . . . Man, we thought . . . when we heard that gunshot . . . Man — you know!” Lawrence said.
The relief and love in their voices spoke volumes. “We got mad love for you, man! You gave brotha man a scare up in here,” Lawrence said, pounding his chest. “Little Sis Keiana, I’m so glad for you and Marq, baby girl.” He turned around to wipe tears away from his face.
“Aww, Law, you da man,” said Marquise. The three men and Keiana group-hugged, causing laughter to erupt from Marquise. It was a deep, wonderful laugh that released all of the gratitude he felt for everything that had happened — especially for the way the Lord had delivered him safely back into the arms of those he loved so much.
Together the four walked toward Keiana’s SUV. “The investigators told me they have to keep my Escalade for a hot minute. Have to check out all them bullet holes and stuff,” Marquise said. “Whew, peeps, tonight was a trip! Got’s to come down from this for sure! All right? Whew.” Marquise shook his head almost in disbelief over what had happened and how he’d gotten into it all. “Where’s my Nisha?”
“She’s at home with Jackie,” Keiana said and kissed him again, as though she couldn’t get enough of touching him. “Let’s get you home so you can see her. I bet you hungry, too, ain’t you, boy?”
Marq threw his head back and laughed. “You knew somehow to get up and cook a big breakfast this morning, girl. That’s the last time I’ve eaten. They were talking about bringin’ us some food in, but that’s before everything . . . that’s before the Lord came into that place.” Marquise’s eyes misted over again. “Whew. Ima call it a night and take my girl home,” he said to his bros.
Akil and Lawrence hit their fists to their chests and embraced Marquise.
“Nothing but mad love for you, dude,” Akil said, wiping his hand across his dreads.
“You da man, Marq! What you did tonight, man — it’s going to straight up go down in history,” Lawrence told him.
“Thanks. You all my boys, you all my fam!” Marquise said before they parted. He opened the door for Keiana. She smiled and threw her keys to Marq.
“We’re a team, Keiana. You and me, baby — we’re a team,” Marquise said.
“Dang right, Marq!” she answered.
Tyler stood with Lieutenant Dana Rogers, Chris Haney, Commander Holfield, and some of the other police officers who had gathered with their SWAT counterparts.
“Commander Holfield, Lieutenant Rogers, Tyler, Chris, all you in the PD — I have to give it to you,” SWAT Commander Manley said. “That was a fine piece of work. You all pulled off some real law enforcement.”
Tyler beamed. He was proud of what they’d accomplished that night.
“Thank you, Commander Manley,” Holfield answered, “but we all, both SWAT and PD, teamed up excellently for this. We at the police department have a high respect for the SWAT team’s expertise and professionalism. We’re darn proud to have joined you and your officers to prevent any tragic loss of life — not one.”
Then he paused to lower his head for a moment. “We did lose Mayor Henderson, but I’m glad to say that we worked hard together to get the hostages out without a drop of bloodshed.”
“We’re honored to work with y’all anytime, Holfield,” Manley answered.
Tyler and his fellow police officers and the SWAT officers congratulated each other with handshakes and hearty pats on the back. Some talked of meeting up at Buffalo Wild Wings for Monday Night Football. Then the police, the SWAT team, and the few remaining media still on site called it a night, closed down their mobile units, and rolled out.
Chapter
33
Back at police headquarters, Tyler changed from his police blues to his jeans, T-shirt, and cowboy boots. Chris Haney walked in to see Tyler closing his locker and slipping on his cowboy hat.
“Well, I’d say we earned our paychecks tonight, Ty,” Chris said with a smile.
Tyler chuckled. “I’d say a little more than that if I could think of a better way to describe this night.”
“You got that right. Gonna take a bit of time to process all of this.”
Ty nodded. “Well, I’m outta here,” he said.
“Me too. I think I’m going to grab a cold one. You want to join me down at O’Malley’s?”
Tyler slapped Chris on the shoulder. “No, buddy. I’m going to get home to my wife.”
“Good going Ty. I’ll see you on Monday then,” Chris said as the two exited the locker room.
On their way out, they spotted and caught up with Dana Rogers in the hallway. She still seemed dazed. Chris stole an admiring peek at her. Her lovely coffee-colored skin and big brown eyes added to her allure. You’re beautiful, Chris wanted to say, instead he put on his professional voice. “Hey, Rogers, you all right?”
“Hmm?” She looked up at Chris. “I’ll get there, Haney.”
“Hey, I’m going to O’Malley’s. Come join me,” Chris offered. “Or, better than that, how about the midnight showing of Star Wars? If we hurry, we can still catch it.”
Dana assessed Chris for a moment, as if unsure what to make of his offer.
Chris threw up his hands. “It’s not a date, Rogers. Just two folks going to watch a movie. A long-awaited movie that only Star Warsians like you and me can appreciate.”
“All right, Haney,” Dana said, laughing. “Let’s go check it out.”
“It’s a date, then.” He laughed. “I mean, let’s go.” His face turned red as he smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
The three looked at each other and laughed as they walked out into the office area.
“Tyler, Dana, Chris,” called one of the other commanders. “Excellent work, officers!”
Everyone in the office stood and gave the three a round of applause as they passed through.
“Thanks, everybody,” Tyler said and waved his appreciation. “Bittersweet day for us around here, right?”
Around the room, heads nodded in agreement.
“But we had a job to do, and we all worked together and got ’er done,” Tyler said as he swept his hand to include everyone.
“Well said, Officer Forsythe,” added Commander Holfield who had just stepped into the room. “Fine job, officers. Now you three, get outta here! You’ve had a long night.”
“No argument here,” Tyler and his comrades shared a laugh and jogged out to the parking lot. He gave Chris and Dana a thumbs up as they drove off. Then he got in his pickup truck and headed toward home.
As he rolled into his neighborhood, Tyler’s heart pounded. He had not spoken to Laura since their shouting match that morning. He drove forward, entirely uncertain of what the future held for them. As he pulled up to his house, his heart dropped. Her little yellow-and-white Cooper was not in the driveway where she usually parked it. He fought feelings of dejection. “You’ve done it now,” he berated himself.
As he began to push the garage door opener, his cell phone rang. He looked down and quickly answered.
“Ty, are you okay, son?” Jan asked. “I saw you on TV, honey, and I’m so glad to hear your voice. I’ve been praying for you the whole night.”
“Thank you, Mother,” Tyler answered. “It was quite a night. These past two nights have been surreal.”
“I know, honey. I’m so glad you’re safe. It’s late so I don’t want to keep you, but I just had to hear my boy’s voice. I love you, honey. Tell Laura hello for me, okay?”
“Will do, Mother. I love you, too.” Tyler hung up and laid his head on the steering wheel. He loved his mother but had hoped the call would be from Laura.
At a noise in front of him, he lifted his head to see the garage door rolling upward. There in the garage sat Laura’s yellow-and-white Cooper. And there she stood, just inside the door that led into the house — waiting, smiling, and beautiful. To his utter surprise, she was dressed in only a white negligee and had a yellow rose tucked into her dark hair. Tyler exited the pickup, strode toward his wife, and pressed the button to close the garage door. His eyes teared up. His heartbeat sped up.
Without a word, Laura pulled his head down and kissed him ever so gently. Her silky short negligee accentuated all the right places. From inside the house, he heard Gerry Rafferty’s “Right Down the Line” playing in the background.
Tyler took his wife by the hand and led her into the living room. Without saying a word, he danced with her, twirled her, pulled his hands gently up through her hair, and drew her close to kiss her — gently first, then intensely in the spare light of the night. Laura pulled his T-shirt up, caressed his muscular chest, unbuttoned his jeans, and pulled them down.
He kissed her neck and her shoulders and removed the negligee that kept him from more. She pulled him closer. They danced with the music, and after the song ended, they danced to their own music, skin to skin — caressing, embracing, touching, kissing, relishing. Among the fragrant rose petals that were still strewn about and with moonlight flitting in though the skylight, Tyler and Laura renewed their love and rekindled their passion for each other.
Later, in the stillness of their bedroom, Tyler woke. He pulled Laura gently to him and held her. How surprised he had been earlier when he’d glimpsed her painting of him! Of course he had seen himself in the painting, but he’d also seen her very essence. “I see you, Laura!” he whispered. Holding her tight, he fell back asleep.
Night Three
Chapter
34
“The City of Mannford is waking up this morning to the news of celebrated-mayor Truman Henderson’s untimely death,” reported Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts. “Preliminary reports are that Mayor Henderson suffered a massive heart attack. Toxicology results are pending and will be available in a few weeks.”
Renee Moseley moved her long braids back, grabbed the remote, and clicked up the volume on her flat-screen television just as Dr. Jen Ashton, Matthew Dowd, and Dan Abrams joined Robin to discuss the medical, political, and legal ramifications of everything that had occurred.
“Whoo,” she said quietly, shaking her head. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. She turned off the television, lay her head on the couch pillows — as she had for the last two days — and sobbed. Doing her best to keep quiet, she turned her face into one of the pillows.
Ooh, I’ve got to stop this. I’m going to wake the kids. But thinking of her four-year-old twins, Andre, and Andrea, made her tears flow faster. “My babies saw it, Lord God. They saw it all,” she said, holding her mouth to stifle her sobs. “Oh God, we all saw Darrelle . . . bleeding! We saw him die. Oh God. Me, the twins, Mama Moseley. We all saw it. How, Lord? How am I gonna get through this? How we gonna get through this?”
Renee sobbed until she could weep no more and then slowly sat herself up. As she held her head in her hands, a million thoughts flitted through her mind. Thoughts of the past three days mingled with reflections back on her life with D
arrelle. Memories of first meeting Darrelle came back to her. It had been at Hot Shots Night Club.
“Who dat pretty, lil light-skinned lady?” All decked out, Darrelle had walked up to her at the club —and boldly interrupted her conversation with another man.
“Man, she wit’ me,” that man shouted over the banging music, his face a scowl.
“You broke, nigga. Ain’t no way that fine gal wit choo,” Darrelle said forcefully, ferociously. He moved closer and put his hand near his waistband. “I’d say you best go yo’ way. I’m ’bout to show Miss Pretty here a good time.”
Renee and her girlfriend shared a shocked glance at Darrelle’s boldness. Does he have a gun? she’d wondered. He had continued to stand staring, menacingly, just feet from the otha brotha.
“Look, I didn’t come in here for this kinda crap,” the dude said and threw up his hands. Standing up slowly and carefully, he then walked quickly away through the crowd and out the door.
Looking back at the way the drinks, dancing, and conversation had flowed that night, Renee remembered that she had felt both flattered and fearful in Darrelle’s company. And she had felt the same way during her rollercoaster marriage to him. Sometimes he’d be showering her with flowers and gifts; at other times, she’d have to run with her kids to escape his angry rages. From him, she would receive bursts of love and passion and also, nearly as often, busted lips and black eyes. Recently, though, Darrelle had been generous — buying her things at every turn and even taking the kids and her to Walt Disney World.
She sighed at the good memory. Now they would share no more memories — good or bad.
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