Six is now a hunched over old man with a cane. He walks slowly and has a slight limp. Six looks similar to Francis Sorrell, except Six has on dark glasses and a baseball cap not prescription transition eyeglasses and a black beret. He takes yet another drink of buttermilk emptying the carton and disposes of it in a trash can.
Walking another two blocks Six arrives at the nanny service. After Devon and CeCe left for Biloxi, Prince’s in home nanny was contacted and told to take him to the nanny care facility. Six thinks, “My disguise will soften the suspicions of any worker.” He enters the building showing difficulty climbing and navigating the steps to the front door. Six feels sympathetic eyes on him as he moves forward and notices a young woman holding the door open for him to enter the building.
Six has forged proof that he is Prince’s legal guardian, grandfather, although Prince is Black and he is Caucasian. The baby known as Prince, along with his things and a baby carrier, is apprehensively handed over to Six by one of the nannies.
Six, carrying Prince in the baby carrier, enters another quick shop for more refreshing buttermilk. Six takes a few swallows and places the carton in his large jacket pocket. With delight Six pats Prince on the head and lightly pinches his cheek. He walks a block drinks the remainder of his buttermilk and discards another empty carton in a public receptacle. Six knows it is time to change his appearance again.
Stepping next to the side of a building, Six puts Prince down and removes his wind breaker and reverses it. Instead of being dark, the wind breaker is now a medium shade of blue. He enters a bus at the next stop, and is careful not to speak to anyone. Keeping his shoulders slumped and his head down, Six walks to the back of the bus. A few passengers glance his way, but mostly they do not take much notice of the older gentleman walking with a cane and toting a baby carrier.
The driver presses on the accelerator and moves the bus into the proper lane heading to the next bus stop. The driver wants to keep his bus moving on schedule, he does not want complaints made against him that could affect his job. Staying on schedule is a must.
Prince is being quiet. He is completely covered with a blanket. The fact that the baby is not causing him any trouble makes Six happy.
Six has been careful not to do anything that will cause the driver to remember him, but he knows that an elderly gentleman carrying an infant carrier is probably not the norm. He thinks to himself, “I did not have a choice. I just want to stay focused, get off this bus without incident and deliver the orphaned Prince to his crib for Devon or Child Services to find. I like kids, I don’t want Prince harmed.”
Six has CeCe Brown’s apartment key. The nanny that Prince was left with when Devon and CeCe, Prince’s Mother, went on their trip to Biloxi made a copy of CeCe’s key and gave it to Six. The nanny had been informed by Devon to take the baby to the Nanny for Hire building and keep him there until his grandfather came by to get him. Devon told the nanny that his and CeCe’s original plans had changed and they did not wish for her to stay at CeCe’s apartment with Prince. He had called her from Biloxi on Friday before he told CeCe that she must go back home because he had business. CeCe, The Baby Carriage Lady, had no idea what Devon was up to.
As soon as Six has left Prince in his crib, using a disposable cell phone, he will call Devon and tell him that Prince is home. He will ensure that the baby is sleeping peacefully before he leaves him alone in his crib. I do care what happens to the baby Prince.
Six knows his unwilling friend in crime Devon will do anything to help CeCe and Prince out of the extortionists grasp. Six has information on Devon that would send him to prison. The evidence is proof of Devon working with a grand theft auto ring, and he also has pictures of Devon stealing an SUV in Rockford, license plate clearly visible. Six has had CeCe and Devon in a real fix and they have had only his promise that in the near future he will not bother them ever again.
He giggles, “Having an apartment key to enter the apartment and place Prince in his crib makes this fun. Returning Prince as I promised should be easy and not take long.” Six enters the apartment, assumingly undetected and places Prince in his crib. Six bends down and plants an affectionate kiss on the child’s forehead saying sorry about your Mommy little fella it truly was an accident that she was shot. Six thinks to himself, “I probably would have killed her anyway, in fact that was my plan all along.”
“Bye-bye little fella,” Six says quietly as he begins his departure. While in the apartment he alters his appearance again. Six has another disguise. He had previously placed a duffle with a change of clothes, shoes and a wig in it not far from CeCe Brown’s apartment. “Preparation is everything,” he thinks. Six will dispose of his clothes after he leaves the apartment.
Six walks carefully out of the building and makes a phone call to Child Services to ensure the safety of little Prince. Devon is not dependable and I don’t want the child to suffer. I will allow Devon to live because his services may prove necessary again someday. Six thinks to himself, “I promised his Mommy I would return Prince to her apartment and I have. I have also decided to let Devon, Prince’s Daddy live.”
It was a great idea Sis had for me to arrange for a relief bus driver. I had helped the other driver on a few occasions in the past by taking his shift. He was more than happy to settle up with me and not have the favor hanging. He is not a full time driver therefore it was not difficult to arrange with the dispatcher for him to take my shift for the next week. This will give me the time I need to get out of Illinois. “And I will get out of Illinois,” Six thought.
Six heads toward Rockford Memorial Hospital to verify the status of Keith Edwards Sevan Sorrell. I know that hospitals do not easily give out patient information, but I will find a way to get what I want.
Six enquires, outside the emergency room, for the ambulance driver that brought the victims in from the assault scene by Forest City Park. When the driver was located Six asked him how the assault victims were that he brought in from Elm Street. The driver replied, “You mean the grandfather and grandson? Last I heard they did not make it.” That was all Six wanted to hear, they were dead.
But suddenly another driver said, “No, the old one died and the young one is a live.”
A gorgeous nurse that was standing nearby said, “They both made it, they are okay.” Six notes that her name tag reads Kate Miller. Six takes care to make sure he does not make eye contact with the nurse while he is talking with her. He heard the drivers making comments about how attractive she was. They were right.
Six accepts the last information and although the Sorrell’s are not dead he is elated with the misery he has inflicted on them. Six observes Kate pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number.
As Six leaves the hospital emergency area he receives a call on his throw away cell phone. The call is from one of his ladies, she works in the hospital, and she tells him that both of the Sorrel’s are alive. She emphasizes, “I am certain.” Six now has double verification, and he is now certain the old one is alive. He may not have managed to kill the Sorrell’s, but he has inflicted misery and pain.
Six acknowledging that the old one is alive, knows that he is very deceptive, and extremely clever. He is more deceptive and dangerous, physically and mentally, than I perceived him to be. There is more to him than I imagined. I may have to hurt or kill someone else that Keith Edwards Sevan Sorrell loves. I may even have to kill Keith’s lovely Kate. Yes, even Kate your little Katherine Kate Miller, the Triage Nurse or your Nana Marguerite. The Grandmother’s death would hurt both Keith and Francis.
Six thinks, “Heal as best you can guys. Enjoy your Nana Marguerite, gorgeous Kate, and Dillon while you can. I will be back for you another day another time, another place. I shall return guys. I will be back for you somewhere, somehow, sometime very soon.”
Six flips out his telescoping walking cane, stoops down slightly, adjusts his dark baseball cap and steps into yet another bus. Six travels a few miles and gets on a Trailways Bus headed out
of Illinois and points southwest toward Texas.
Sitting on the bus, Six thinks, “This will take time and considerable planning. I am confident we will be meeting again in Texas folks. It may be only proper that you make your last stand in the state where The Alamo is located. Remember The Alamo.”
“I understand Nana Marguerite Sorrell is on her way to help you guys. I could not have planned this better myself,” Six boosts his esteem with these thoughts.
My sources tell me not to underestimate Marguerite Teller Sorrell she has extensive gun, knife, and Tai Chi skills. Not to mention any skills she may have with her cane.
Another one of the d***** Sorrell’s with kung fu fighting expertise to deal with. I may have to get some kung fu training myself.
I will allow Marguerite Sorrell to safely get to her Keith and Francis. I will give further thought to the future of Katherine Kate Miller.
Six says out loud, but softly to himself, “Heal as best you can Sorrell’s.”
Chapter 33
Marguerite Meets Katherine Kate
Katherine Kate Miller, Triage Nurse, has been waiting all evening for her unrequited love, Keith, to open his eyes. It is now well past three a.m. on the morning of April 15, and Kate is once more checking to see if Keith has awakened from the surgical anesthesia.
Kate is in the hall as a doctor she knows exits Keith’s room, and she asks for permission to visit him. The doctor agrees, but cautions her to stay for only a few minutes. Kate has been cleared by security in the hallway. As Kate enters the room she sees that Keith is just waking up; he looks at her, recognition on his face and smiles.
“Kate, so nice to see you,” Keith says softly and holds out his hand. Kate fumes inwardly as her heart breaks. She does not want to embrace by holding hands; she wants an affectionate hug and a kiss.
“Keith, do you remember me?” she asks as her knees become weak, and she is suddenly taken aback with joy. Kate is conflicted and confused.
“Who could ever forget such beauty,” Keith said.
“I remember you and I believe I remember we were close friends. Didn’t we grow up living next door to each other?” Keith continued speaking and smiling.
“Come closer, let me have a better look at you,” Keith says.
Katherine Kate walks over to the bedside and hugs Keith.
Keith asks Kate as though she must know, “How is my Grandfather Francis? Where is he? Where is Dillon? What time is it? What day is it? Where is Nana Marguerite? Does Grandfather Francis know when Nana will arrive?”
Standing in the doorway Nana says, “Keith, I am right here.” Marguerite says as she approaches Keith’s bed, “We have not met in person, or talked on the telephone, but I have been anxious to meet you.”
Keith responds, “Yes, I have heard your voice on speaker phone. You are my Nana Marguerite; Grandfather Francis has told me all about you. You are as beautiful as I imagined. Francis would not tell me anything about you.”
“Do you mind if I give you a hug and kiss on the cheek?” Nana asks. Keith responds, “Please do.”
Marguerite looks across the hospital bed and says, “You must be the Katherine Kate Miller that Francis has talked so much about.” Marguerite walks around the bed and the women give each other a casual hug. She detects that Kate feels a little tense as they hug, but immediately shrugs the feeling off. Nana thinks, “This situation is tough on Kate, on all of us.”
“I arrived at O’Hare at eleven o’clock last night and I am right here to help in any way I can,” Nana says. She continues, “We are together, and Grandfather Francis is doing just fine; I just left his room. He is going to be able to leave the hospital this afternoon.”
Marguerite continues speaking directly to Keith, “I don’t want you worrying about Dillon. I visited with Ms. Seemore and Dillon is home waiting for your return. Ms. Seemore is looking after him. She is going to take him for a walk this morning. She is a wonderful person. Ms. Seemore mentioned that Kate had been to your apartment, and given Dillon food and water.”
Nana observes that Keith gives Kate a quick look when she mentions that Kate went to his apartment. She was not sure what the look meant. She asks herself, “Has Kate been caught in a lie?”
Kate said nothing as Marguerite talked about her going to Keith’s apartment, Keith remembered her, but did he remember that he did not want Kate visiting his apartment?
Marguerite says, “I have been out of pocket and only learned you and Francis were shot after talking with Ms. Seemore. She told me what she knew, and here I am. After Francis called me from your apartment early yesterday morning, I was not able to reach him by telephone. I did call Raj and tell him that something had happened and that I was heading for Rockford. I was unable to talk with him, so I left a message.”
“Ms. Seemore says for you not to be concerned about Dillon, she will care for him and no one can take him from her,” Marguerite told Keith.
Kate did not realize that Ms. Seemore had seen her at the apartment building. Fearing she may have been caught in a lie, she says, “When I entered your apartment yesterday morning, Dillon was exhausted and sleeping soundly. I checked his food and water bowls and left the apartment. I was very quiet.”
Nana Marguerite continues with further explanation of events, “After I arrived at Ms. Seemore’s she called her friend and your neighbor, Mr. Thomas, and he drove me to the hospital and waited while I was safely inside. He is going to come and drive Francis and me back to your apartment after Francis is discharged from the hospital. I know that you have a vehicle, but for the present Francis and I will keep the SUV that I rented at O’Hare for convenience.”
Kate tells Keith and Marguerite that she must go home and get some rest before starting another shift in the emergency room. Kate hugs Keith, but not Marguerite and leaves. Marguerite notices what she considers shunning from Kate, but perhaps Kate did not mean her actions as such. She feels that all is not well between Kate Miller and her Grandson.
Nana tells Keith, “You must try to get some rest. I have positioned a chair by the adjoining door between your room and your Grandfather’s, and I will watch over both of you. Police are outside your hospital rooms, as well as private security which Raj has hired.”
Marguerite sits quietly and wonders if Keith is beginning to get his memory back. He suffered quite a trauma yesterday morning, and he appeared to remember Kate. Francis told me that when Kate was around them he would have to re-introduce Kate to Keith upon each encounter. I will talk with Francis about this before we leave the hospital, and I hope we can talk with one of his doctor’s so that I can relate my observations to him.
Marguerite turns on a low light and tries to relax as she sits in the hospital chair; she once more begins to revisit “The Sorrel Stallion,” By: David Grew. While reading this novel, Marguerite can feel the depth of the sorrel (red) stallion’s losses, mourning, loneliness, and wish to return home. This causes Marguerite to consider the female victims at the ambush scene and their immediate families who must be suffering as they learn of the deaths of their loved ones.
She asks herself, “Have these two women left any children behind? The children will grow up not knowing their Mothers.”
Chapter 34
Devon Carter and Prince Brown
As I, Devon, mourn the loss of Prince’s Mother, CeCe Brown, I am thinking, “This has not played out the way CeCe and I were told it would.” CeCe and I spoke once after she returned to Rockford, she told me about the blackmailer contacting her and his threats to ruin her and also to hurt Prince. I was livid.
El Sicko, the extortionist, contacted each of us separately. He told me about blackmailing CeCe, but he said she was unaware of any connection between me and him. I was told to not tell her anything. The extortionist said, “Do not call or accept any calls from CeCe until I have told you it is okay.”
I, think more solemnly and deeply about CeCe’s being dead. El sicko told me to visit the area near Forest City Park early each
morning. I saw CeCe there with Prince’s baby carriage. I was told to go to the vicinity of the park, observe, but remain invisible. I was there when CeCe was killed; I know that shots went through Prince’s buggy, and I was afraid for his life. Finding him alive, in his crib in CeCe’s flat, was a wonderful joy, I was dreading coming into this apartment and looking into his crib.
Tears flow from my eyes as I recall how much CeCe loved Prince. I remember once more my relief when I found Prince lying asleep in his crib. The extortionist had promised CeCe and me that nothing would happen to our son, but we did not believe him.
My son and I have lost our beloved CeCe. I remember that CeCe and I had been discussing marriage prior to going to Biloxi. I am so happy to have my son safely in his crib; CeCe will live on through Prince.
As I look at Prince sleeping peacefully, I consider what I must do about Prince’s care now that CeCe is gone. I work during the day and sometimes at night, and I will be spending a great deal of time searching for the sick one, CeCe’s killer. Planned or accidental shooting, I hold El Sicko responsible and accountable for CeCe’s death.
CeCe never placed demands on me and I appreciated and respected her for that. I realize that I have been a dead beat Dad. At first I had not believed that Prince was my child and this created several months of separation for CeCe and me, but as I warmed to the reality that Prince was my son, I accepted fatherhood with relish. Prior to leaving on our trip to Biloxi, I had begun to provide financial support for Prince. I had planned to ask CeCe to marry me upon our return to Rockford from Biloxi, but the unexpected business call interfered with my plans.
“He looks like his Mother, but he also looks a lot like me,” I think this thought as I look at my son, Prince.
Beginning to ponder Prince’s care once more, I think about my own Mom, she has passed away, but would have loved to care for Prince. I feel that Mom would have been so proud. All of a sudden I realize who would want to care for Prince. I say out loud, “Prince, my Great Aunt Fabida Fatima Washington will love and cherish you. She will love you with all her heart and soul. Great Aunt Fabida is related through my Mother’s side of the family. She is a wonderful caring person and you will love her as I do.”
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