by Emery, Lynn
“Shut up. You don’t know anything about my family,” Mrs. Forstall hissed at him, a look of upper-class scorn twisting her mouth down.
“Anyway, Mr. Forstall, Hamilton, his buddies call him Ham. So good old Ham is just as happy to be away from home and ignorant of what all goes down around here. Except he loves his baby girl, the kid; not the wife.” Darrius got up and refilled his drink. He still held the gun expertly to show he could plug both of them for moving the wrong way.
“What’s that?” Mrs. Forstall said, her voice shaky as she looked at the open door.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Charmaine replied. Still she glanced around the room checking for strange movement.
“Hey, don’t interrupt. I’m getting to the good parts. See, the first born might not be Ham’s kid. But Ham, he don’t know this or even suspect.” Darrius gave a grunt. “Loretta, you need to ease up on the drinks when you party with us ghetto rats. I wasn’t so high I didn’t remember the juicy details.”
“Hey, I found it. Damn, you was right. But it’s too much to move by myself,” Zed called from upstairs.
Darrius rolled his eyes and walked to the library door. “Don’t be a dumbass. I can’t leave these two alone.”
“Tie ‘em up then. This shit is heavy,” Zed complained with a loud grunt.
“Make extra trips, man. We can’t take no chances.” Darrius looked at the women and lowered his voice. “See what I gotta deal with?”
Charmaine snorted. “Yeah, I’m feeling so sorry for you.”
“Hey, D. I’m tellin’ you, there’s more up here than you thought. Hell, just go ahead and shoot up now so we can get outta here fast.” Zed’s voice faded as he moved away. A loud thump and a dragging sound followed.
“Quit whinin’ like a lil’ bitch and get the stuff,” Darrius yelled back. He turned his attention back to the ladies. “Even with you killin’ my girl, I still kinda like you Loretta.”
“I didn’t kill Shawntelle you idiot. Listen to me before we’re all dead.”
“And Miss Charmaine, you fine as hell. But thing is y’all what they call a liability right about now.” Darrius shrugged an apology.
“We’ll be a death penalty liability if you make your situation worse by killing us. You’ve got reasonable doubt on your side with Shawntelle’s murder. The police can’t place you near the house the day we found her. Get some of your friends to alibi you,” Charmaine said.
“Hmm, good points. Except we need time to get away with our property,” Darrius said.
Charmaine started to finish her argument to save their lives when a strangled squealed cut through the air. A gurgling noise filled the house. More thumps. The squealing rose to a pitched keening. Darrius looked at the two women as he moved to hallway.
“Zed, quit messing around and get your ass down here. Zed!” Darrius licked his lips when an object thudded down the wide staircase.
“You have a gun. Go help your friend before it’s too late.” Mrs. Forstall’s voice shook.
“What are you talking about?” Charmaine felt a cold chill spread from her neck down her arms. “Uh, Darrius, let’s follow Mrs. Forstall’s advice and leave. Now.”
Darrius waved the gun at them. “You two move over here where I can see you. Close together. Try anything and I’ll shoot you both.”
They did as he demanded, though Charmaine didn’t want to stand close to Mrs. Forstall. Not because of the gun. Something strange and malevolent emanated from the woman. Or maybe she attracted evil. Dread crawled up Charmaine’s spine making it hard for her to concentrate enough to read Mrs. Forstall. Nothing. She couldn’t “see” the woman’s thoughts. Fear blocked Charmaine’s psychic ability. Mrs. Forstall gripped hers arm with a hand like biting cold ice.
“We have to get out of here or we’ll end up like Zed,” she whispered into Charmaine’s ear.
“End up like…”
“Zed, quit actin’ a fool and let’s go.”
Darrius eyed them and aimed at Mrs. Forstall’s head. He scowled a warning without speaking and darted a quick glance up the staircase. Then he disappeared into the shadows and came back holding something. His eyes went wide when he came into the light.
“What the fuck… what the fuck.”
Darrius howled and threw the object into the library, frantic to get it away from him. Mrs. Forstall gasped. She backed up fast dragging Charmaine with her. A bloody athletic shoe bounced and rolled across the carpet; a foot attached to the ankle still in it.
And Then There Was One
“Let me get this straight. Two burglars broke in Mrs. Forstall’s house, and a ghost killed one ‘em. Nothing left but a few body parts,” Detective Harrison drawled and shook his head.
“Just a leg, like half a leg,” Charmaine said. She huffed in frustration. “We’re wasting time. Let’s go get a killer.”
Harrison, dressed in pullover sweater and slacks, gave the uniformed officer in the interview room with them a side-eye. The man hunched his shoulders and said nothing. Harrison glanced at his watch. “Okay, this happened around midnight. So what have you been doing? That was…almost two hours ago. I know because they got me out of bed to come here, for this.”
“I calmed Mrs. Forstall down and took her to stay with a friend over by City Park. She didn’t want to disturb any of her neighbors.” Charmaine bit her lip. “Yes, it sounds crazy, but you know how she is.”
“Uh-huh, and I’m learning about you, too. Ms. Joliet,” Detective Harrison said as he stifled a yawn.
“Send somebody to her house, man. It’s a crime scene.” Charmaine waved her arms.
“We know how to do our jobs. Get back to your story, and start from part where you helped a known criminal break into her house.” Detective Harrison crossed his arms.
“I was kidnapped at gunpoint,” Charmaine hissed at him. “Darrius, Shawntelle’s boyfriend, wanted to make Mrs. Forstall admit she killed Shawntelle, and he wanted to steal from her. Zed, his pal, met up with him there.”
“Zed, right.” Detective Harrison looked at the notepad in front of him. “Got it.”
“We heard a freaky noise upstairs, Zed was gurgling or choking. I don’t know. His leg came down the stairs and…” Charmaine shuddered at the image that popped into her head.
“Just take your time. I know we’ve been over this already, but you talked a mile a minute. We want to make sure we got your account straight.” Harrison glanced at the uniformed cop again.
“Sure. Darrius must have hit the front door at a dead run. He was screaming his head off, I know that. Mrs. Forstall pulled me through some French doors in the library. Darrius didn’t think to take my keys from me. So me and Mrs. Forstall ran down the driveway. But instead of getting in my car she kept running. I can’t blame after what we saw. I caught up with her and managed to get her into my car. There’s a small private street behind the house. Thank God I didn’t have to back out past that haunted mansion.” Charmaine blew out a breath and fell back in her chair.
Harrison started to speak, but a knock on the door interrupted him. He got up, mumbled to someone, then he and the officer left. Charmaine resisted looking at the wide dark glass set into the wall to her left. No doubt cops stood on the other side of the two way mirror. They were no doubt taking bets on whether drugs or insanity contributed to her story. She didn’t care. They’d find out soon enough.
Harrison came back with another plainclothes detective. “My partner Detective Young. Okay, keep going. You came here to report the crime.”
“Well, uh, I went back to the neighborhood to see if I would find Darrius. I mean cause he was on foot, right?” Charmaine cleared her throat.
“Oh that makes plenty sense,” Detective Harrison said with a grunt. “And you didn’t simply call the police because…?”
“He damn sure didn’t let me grab my cell on the way out. Pay phones disappeared with horse drawn carriages, detective.”
“Keep calm,” the second detective said.
> “So you didn’t find Darrius on the street, and you didn’t go back to Mrs. Forstall’s house,” Harrison said.
Charmaine leaned forward and raised her voice. “Hello, murderous thing from hell chewed up a dude! Damn right I didn’t go back. Now explain why you guys aren’t over there right now.”
“The patrol unit got there twenty minutes ago,” the second detective said.
“And?”
Detective Harrison and his partner exchanged a glance. Young shook his head before he left the room. “Mrs. Forstall answered the door. She was sleepy and irritated. Says she don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“What? But, but… Search the house. She couldn’t have cleaned up blood that fast. You’ll find traces and—”
“She wasn’t too thrilled about it, but she let the officers take a look around. Not one thing looked out of place. Mrs. Forstall says she fell asleep reading.”
“Get forensics to do tests. They’ll find DNA from Darrius and Zed. You can search for a match because I know they have felony records for sure. Then we could…” Charmaine’s voice trailed off. She blinked rapidly as her thoughts became as tangled as the vines creeping up Mrs. Forstall’s trellis.
Detective Harrison planted both his elbows on the table between them. “Look, Charmaine. I don’t know what went down last night, but cut it out. You and your sister need to find another game before you get in serious trouble.”
“My sister wasn’t even with me, and I don’t consider bloody murder any kind of game.” Charmaine slapped a palm on the table surface. “If you just spent one night in that house, you’d see.”
“Mrs. Forstall, not to mention my wife, wouldn’t go along with your suggestion. Trust me.” Detective Harrison gave a dry laugh.
The door opened and his commander came in with Detective Young behind him. Young gave Harrison a look. Charmaine’s psychic skill kicked in. Neither of them had much respect nor liking for the commander, who was new. The commander, well aware he didn’t have their field experience, reacted by riding them hard. His ego barely fit inside the small room with the rest of them.
“The detectives filled me in on your colorful statement, Ms. Joliet. Luckily Mrs. Forstall isn’t going to press charges,” the Commander Murphy said crisply.
Charmaine stood. “Oh hell no! Darrius might be scared, but he needs to be picked up. Of course at the speed he left, the dude might be in Canada by now. Nah, he’s got to stick to the city. Y’all got him on lock down.”
“Ms. Joliet. Get serious.” The commander shook his head at her.
Charmaine gazed at the three faces around the room. Harrison heaved a sigh. Young rubbed his jaw as if thinking. Commander Murphy stared at her as if he wanted her to disappear.
“Go out and find the man, he’s a suspect. She can’t refuse to press charges on a murder. Even she doesn’t that kind of power or money,” Charmaine insisted. “Lucky she didn’t press charges on him? What kinda—”
“I meant it’s lucky she didn’t press charges against you, Ms. Joliet. You admitted going to her house tonight. That’s trespassing at the very least, if not breaking and entering.”
“Darius had the code, we didn’t break in,” Charmaine spluttered. “Charge me? I tried to protect the—”
“Then there’s criminal mischief and filing a false police report,” Commander Murphy went on in a relentless tone. “With the story you cooked up, I wouldn’t doubt we could add possession of narcotics or public intoxication. Should we search your car?”
“Search my… what the…” Charmaine fought to gain control and not slap the officious dim-wit. Detective Harrison put a hand on her arm, which distracted her.
“One of our units picked up Darrius James twenty minutes ago. He’s not talking. Wants his lawyer. So he’s not confirming your story either, Charmaine,” Detective Harrison said softly.
“Which wraps up this less than amusing reality show episode,” Murphy added. “I’ve read our files on you, Ms. Joliet. You should avoid drawing attention to yourself, or your sister. You both narrowly escaped felony charges just ten months ago. Not to mention you and Jessi both have a history of mental illness. She hallucinates, and you’ve been referred to as delusional; think you can see into people’s minds.”
“Commander, they helped us solve a murder,” Harrison put in.
“From what I saw they broke a few laws along the way. Too bad we didn’t arrest them,” Murphy shot back. “Ms. Joliet, I recommend you and your sister stay clear of police stations from now on. We may not be through with you yet.”
Charmaine glared at him. “I’ll bet you’re not.”
“Then you’ve been warned.” Murphy nodded to no one in particular and strode out.
“Jessi had nothing to do with anything. I don’t get why y’all keep dragging her name into this.” Charmaine turned her ire on Harrison and his partner.
“Because she’s given a statement, and she’s waiting outside to take you home. Let’s go.”
Charmaine blinked at him feeling dazed and confused. She followed him out with Detective Young behind her. They went along one hallway, turned left and walked through a busy duty room. Then she passed through locked doors to the lobby. A couple of civilian police employees manned a busy front desk. Police officers came and went. Chairs and three wooden benches lined two walls. Jessi sat chatting with a woman dressed in a tight electric blue jump suit. The woman’s eye shadow and blue streaks in her hair matched the jump suit. Jessi stood when she saw Charmaine and the detectives.
“See ya later, Sweet Breezy. Give us a call if you need help. You got our card.” Jessi pointed a forefinger at the woman.
“Thanks girl,” came the deep throated reply. Sweet Breezy followed Jessi’s gaze to Charmaine. “Girl, you gone be alright with your sister on your side.”
Jessi strolled over to them. She wore a blood red suede jacket with a fake fur collar. The black pencil skirt hugged her curves, and tall leather boots completed the outfit. “Umph, umph, umph. I can’t leave you alone for a minute without you getting into all kinds of mischief. Don’t worry detectives. I’ll make sure she takes her meds from now on.”
“Make sure to take yours while you’re at it. We’ve had enough fun with you two for one night. Hell for a whole month of nights,” Detective Young quipped.
“Screw you, too,” Jessi retorted and stuck her tongue out at him. She looped an arm through Charmaine’s. “Let’s go, hunty. I’ma fix you some nice chamomile tea.”
“You want to tell me what the hell is going on? We should go back in there and make them listen.” Charmaine let Jessi lead her away from the detectives despite her words. Fatigue and nerves weakened her resolve.
“Keep walkin’. I’ve got to catch you up. And explain my plan,” Jessi replied.
Something Wicked
Charmaine did indeed accept the offer of tea and sympathy from Jessi. They arrived at Charmaine’s bungalow at three o’clock Wednesday morning. Jessi did her duty checking the house. Then she stuck around long enough for Charmaine shower and fill her in. Charmaine described her adventure, yawning through most of it. Then she fell into bed.
Hours later Charmaine woke up from a disturbing dream that she immediately forgot. Nothing remained but remnants of a sick feeling and the echoes of screaming still in her head. She sat on the side of her bed for a good twenty minutes to shake it off.
Once dressed, she followed the pulsating base of music coming from the direction of her kitchen. Jessi’s best friend Diamond and Charmaine’s pal Scotty sat around her kitchen table. Jessi shook her hips to the beat as she stirred something in pot. Diamond grinned encouragement at Charmaine. Scotty, his beefy arms bulging in a dark green sweater, sipped from a cup of hot coffee. An online news site held his attention on the Android tablet propped up in front of him.
“Morning y’all,” Charmaine mumbled. She rubbed her forehead to massage away a headache.
“Evening you mean. It’s almost four o’clock. C’mon J
essi. I told you to turn off that radio. You woke her up,” Scotty spoke loud to the heard over the R&B song.
“I’ll do it.” Diamond sprang up and turned the volume down low.
“Sis can sleep through a freight train rolling through the house. She ain’t no delicate flower. Ain’t that right, sis?” Jessi tossed over one shoulder. “I got some of my chicken and sausage gumbo. Oh and some of that low fat spread instead of butter for the French bread. Ugh.”
“I read butter is better for you. Most of those spread contain all kinds of artificial stuff.” Diamond nodded. “Put some butter out just in case she changes her mind.”
“I don’t know why you tryin’ to lose weight. Guys don’t seem to mind your butt, not the way I see ‘em lookin’,” Jessi quipped.
Scotty put the tablet aside. “Who been lookin’?”
“I’m just sayin’. When Charmaine walks in she gets male attention. Tick tock, girl. If you wanna have some crumb scratchers, get busy. All these men playing hard to get? Blow ‘em.” Jessi glanced at Diamond with a mischievous grin.
“Humph.” Scotty shot Jessi a sideways glance, and then studied Charmaine.
Charmaine ignored him and her sister’s annoying attempt to play matchmaker. Scotty and Charmaine had been friends since high school. As grown folks they were friends with benefits. Anything more would complicate a good thing in her opinion. What they had worked. Thankfully Scotty seemed to agree. Mostly. Charmaine did catch him looking at her a little too long every now and then, like he had something on his mind. She dreaded the day he’d decide to have a talk about them. Maybe one day Scotty would get serious about some woman who wanted two kids and a dog. Not Charmaine’s speed at all.
“I don’t feel like eating.” Charmaine dropped into an empty chair at the table. She crossed her arms as if feeling a chill. “We gotta figure out what the hell is going on.”