“Take it easy. If you’re stressing out like this now, wait until you get into the planning stages of your wedding.”
“Mom, I’m an event planner. Planning stuff doesn’t stress me out.”
“Fine. I’m out of here. If you have any more hallucinations, call me immediately.”
“I’m fine. Now go do what you were going to do.”
Charity practically pushed me out of her room. Hope was waiting for me near the front door.
While in the car, I shared with Hope where we were going. “I promised Lovie I wouldn’t venture out on my own. We’re going to talk to one of Jason’s neighbors. The one who claimed to have heard the noises the night Jason died.”
“But you’ve gone over there before. You’ve left notes. But nobody’s ever there or won’t come to the door,” Hope stressed.
“Until last night. I got a call last night to come by. I wanted to go first thing this morning before they changed their mind. They wanted me to come when the majority of the people on the street are at work.”
I was told to park my car in the back in the alley and use the gate. I did as instructed. Hope and I walked through the backyard to the rear door. “This grass is messing up my white shoes,” Hope said.
“I’ll buy you another pair. Now stop complaining,” I remarked.
I knocked on the door. The middle-aged woman holding a baby peeked out the curtain. I heard a few clicks.
“Come in. Quick,” she said.
She opened the door. Hope and I walked in. We were barely in when we heard her slam the door. We followed the woman down her hall and into a room that had a table and a few chairs. The windows not only had curtains, but sheets were up.
“After what happened to Mr. Franklin, I’ve been like a recluse. I don’t want what happened to him to happen to me. My husband’s at work. I used to work in my yard, but now I’m afraid to.”
“Lily, I appreciate you talking to us,” I said. “You remember Hope? My youngest daughter.”
“I sure do. This one here is my grandbaby.”
I wanted to get past the small talk and down to what she had seen, but I knew if I rushed things, she might clam up on me so I went along with it.
“Well, Charles doesn’t know I’m talking to you. He’s told me to keep my mouth shut, but if that was my husband in jail, I would want someone to tell me.”
“Lily, I promise you that whatever you say, no one will know you told me.” I looked at Hope. “And Hope’s not going to say anything, either. Isn’t that right, dear?”
“Yes, ma’am. My lips are sealed.”
Lily got up with the sleeping baby and went to another room. She returned empty-handed and took a seat. “The night Jason died, I saw you when you came by. I remember because Charles worked late and every time I heard a car door, I kept getting up to look. Well, before you guys got there, I heard something in the back. I looked through the window and saw two guys dressed in black go through Jason’s back door. They were carrying a body.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said.
“It doesn’t to me, either. I saw Jason open the door and let them in.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police this?” I asked.
“Because I was afraid to. I talked it over with my husband and he told me I should stay out of it.”
“But you told the police you saw my father’s car out there earlier. You could have kept that to yourself too.”
“After Mr. Franklin told them that, I decided to share it with them.”
“But what you said led to my father getting arrested for something he didn’t do,” Hope said.
“Dear, Lily was scared too. Don’t be mad at her.”
“Lexi, I’m so sorry. I should have said something. But you have to understand. I’m all my grandbaby has. My daughter and her husband were killed in a car accident. Anything happens to me, I don’t know what’ll happen to my little munchkin.”
“I understand. I’m grateful that you said something to me now. And I promise you we won’t let anyone else know.”
We left Lily to her own thoughts and guilt.
Hope was still shaken about what we’d learned. I squeezed her hand while keeping my other hand on the steering wheel. “Lily’s explanation correlates to the video footage we saw.”
“Yes, but it still doesn’t help us figure out who did it,” Hope said.
“We’re getting close,” I said. “I can feel it.”
CHAPTER 44
Royce
I smiled, seeing my woman strut her stuff. She walked into the booth with her head held high. She took a seat. Our hands touched the glass. She blew me a kiss. I blew her one back.
“Girl, if I was out there, you would be in some trouble,” I said to her.
She leaned forward so I could see her cleavage.
“You better stop that because you know it’s hard to control the beast,” I said.
Lexi laughed. I loved hearing her laugh. Hadn’t heard it since I’d been locked up. “I’ve always loved that smile of yours,” Lexi said.
“You’ve always known how to put a smile on my face,” I acknowledged.
“Our little girl is engaged,” Lexi said.
“I was going have to let her go some time or another. What do you think about Omar?”
“He’s all right. He seems to be there when she needs him, and I can tell he cares about her.”
“Good. After the last one she was with—and I’m not talking about Tyler; I’m talking about the jerk who left her at the altar—I don’t want to see her hurt like that again.”
“I don’t think we have to worry about Omar. If nothing else, he’s real attentive to her. The only complaint I know she has, and that’s per Hope, is that Omar likes to monopolize a lot of her time.”
“Well, that’s not always a good thing, either. But like I told him and Lovie, as long as Charity’s happy, I’m happy,” I confirmed.
“Charity’s agreed to wait until you’re home before getting married.”
“I don’t want her putting her life on hold for me. If she wants to get married soon, let her.”
“But, she wants her dad to walk her down the aisle.”
“Fine, but if I don’t get out of this, she can have Lovie walk her down the aisle. I don’t want her or any of you putting your lives on hold for me.”
“What are you saying, Royce?” Lexi asked.
“If something happens to me, I want you to find someone else.” I didn’t mean it in my heart, but felt it was the right thing to say.
“Royce Jones, stop talking nonsense.”
“I’m trying to be realistic. Things aren’t looking good.”
“I have something to tell you that might change your situation. You can’t give up yet,” Lexi said.
“I’m not giving up. I’m trying to see things for what they are.”
Lexi stood up to adjust her clothes and then sat back down. She whispered. I had to strain to hear. “His neighbor saw men bring a body into the house.”
“Can you repeat that?” I asked.
“There were men carrying a body in the house.”
“You need to tell Mitch this. Baby, with this new information, they have to let me out of here.”
“They never saw any faces. With her lying at first, who’s to say they will believe her this time.”
Lexi had a point. What good was knowing the information if I was unable to use it? I clenched my fist. I was so frustrated I wanted to punch something.
“Look at me,” Lexi said.
I looked at her.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too.” I shook my head. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take. We get pieces of information, but not enough.”
“I realize that it looks that way, b
ut baby, I promise you, I’m going to put this entire puzzle together and when I do, you’re walking out of here a free man.”
I wanted to believe Lexi, but all of this was out of her hands. I’d prayed and prayed and only God could save me.
We spent the rest of the visit laughing and talking about old times. Some of the good times. One thing I’d learned while being behind bars was to never lose sight of the good times. I’d taken so much for granted. If God saved me from this situation, I would not be taking anything else for granted; especially my freedom.
“Jones. Time’s up,” the guard said.
“Looks like we never have enough time,” Lexi said.
I agreed. “Until next time. Love you, baby.” I kissed my hand and touched the window.
“Love you too, Royce.”
I waited for Lexi to leave out first. Loneliness crept into my heart the moment I saw her walk out the door. I got up and walked out of the booth. It was a long walk back to my empty cell.
CHAPTER 45
Charity
I thought meeting up with my best friend, Lisa, would help take my mind off everything. She was late, as usual. I took the liberty of ordering a few of her favorite appetizers.
I heard her before I saw her. “My long-lost friend has decided to come up for air,” Lisa said before taking a seat.
I held my head down in shame. “I’m sorry.”
“I used to complain about you not getting out and dating. You went from a drought to never being available.” Lisa removed her shades and placed them on top of her head.
“Lisa, I’ve been busy.”
“That’s an understatement.” Lisa pulled out her cell phone. She stood. “First, give me a hug. And then let’s do a selfie since I don’t know when I’ll ever see you again.”
I hugged her, but then looked at her sideways.
“Smile,” she said as she held her cell phone.
I did as instructed. She played with her phone while taking a seat.
“Lisa, I’ve been sort of M.I.A. these past few months, but I’ve been going through a lot.”
Lisa lifted her hand. “Hold up. Stop the presses. Is that what I think it is?”
She reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
“That’s one of the reasons why I called you to meet me here. I wanted to share my good news with you.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. When did this happen?”
“It happened a few days ago.”
“And you’re just telling me about it. Charity, you haven’t been a good friend to me lately. But tell me details and I might forgive you.”
Lisa was right. I’d been self-absorbed in my own world. I hadn’t been talking to her or any of our other friends. If it wasn’t business- related, I didn’t make time to talk to others outside of my family and Omar.
“Omar’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a man.”
“I’m sure. But you know you have to watch out for these police officers. Some of them can be the biggest whores.”
“Omar’s not like that. He said he’s been through his whore phase. He’s at a stage of his life where he wants to settle down. Get married and start a family.”
“So what do you need me to do? I can help you plan it. You know I’ll have to throw the bomb bachelorette party. Whatever it is, I’ve got you,” Lisa said. She seemed excited about my upcoming nuptials.
“I’m glad you’re excited for me; some of my family members think I’m moving too fast.”
“Nonsense. If you know he’s the man you want to marry, why wait forever? All I need to know is do you want a big or small wedding and have you set a date?”
“We haven’t set a date yet. And to answer your first question, we want something small. Hope’s going to be my maid of honor and I wanted you to be my one and only bridesmaid.”
Lisa frowned. “That’s it. That’s your wedding party?”
“Yes. I told you I wanted it to be small. Omar doesn’t have a lot of family around so I wanted to keep it small and intimate.”
“What about his parents? Will they be there?” Lisa asked.
The waiter brought out the appetizers. We filled our plates while we talked.
“His parents are dead,” I responded.
“Sorry to hear that. What about your dad? What’s going on with his situation?” Lisa asked.
“The police aren’t doing their job. If they were, my father wouldn’t be in jail now.”
“I never thought he killed him. What are his lawyers doing?”
“His lawyer is building a case to show that it couldn’t have been him, but in the meantime, we’re holding our own investigation,” I said.
Lisa stopped eating and gave me her full attention. “Do tell.”
I gave Lisa a condensed version of what had been going on. “So as you can see, we’re not leaving anything to chance.”
“You can count me in as a character witness. Daddy Royce is like my second father. Although I don’t blame him for wanting Uncle Jason killed, I knew he could never do it.”
We chatted and got caught up with her life. The waiter brought the bill. Lisa reached into her purse. I stopped her. “I’ve got this. It’s my fault we haven’t been getting together.”
“And I’m going to let you too.” Lisa pushed her chair away from the table. “I need to go to the ladies room. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
I paid for our lunch that was filled with appetizers and went to wait for Lisa in the hotel lobby.
I saw Lisa run in my direction. She said, “You’ll never believe what happened.” She sounded out of breath. “I saw a man who looked exactly like your Uncle Jason get on the elevator.”
“What?” I said. “That’s impossible.” Then my mind recalled what had occurred the other night at Omar’s.
I followed her to the elevator. We watched the dial on the elevator. It stopped on the seventh floor. I walked away with Lisa right behind me. I walked straight to the front desk.
The hotel clerk was on the phone. I wouldn’t have interrupted her, but it sounded more personal than business. I cleared my throat several times. “Excuse me. I need some help here,” I said.
“Let me call you back,” the front desk clerk said to whomever she was on the phone with. She looked at me, and then at Lisa. “May I help you?”
I could not have cared less that she had an attitude. “Yes. I need to know if you have a Jason Milton staying at this hotel.”
“And you are?” she asked.
“I’m Charity. I’m his niece.”
Lisa and I watched her access their computer and appear to be looking for his name in their registry. She said, “I’m sorry. We don’t have anyone listed under that name.”
“Thank you,” I said and walked away.
As we were walking out of the hotel, Lisa said, “They say we all have twins and I swear to you that man looked exactly like him.”
“I believe you,” I said. The question was why.
CHAPTER 46
Hope
I sat on the edge of Charity’s bed and listened to her recount what had happened earlier at lunch.
“What did Mom say?” I asked.
“She thinks Lisa saw one of Jason’s cousins. We’re in Shreveport so that’s possible.”
“Then let it go. You’re stressing yourself out over nothing,” I stated.
The doorbell rang. “That’s probably Omar. He’s working late but wanted to stop by to see me for a minute.”
We both left and went toward the front door. She greeted Omar with a kiss. I stood behind them.
“Hi, Omar.”
He waved his hand. I shook my head. I went to the living room and turned on the television. I was bored. I was too young to be bored. But I was bored by choice because I could’ve been doin
g so many other things right then. I needed to find a balance. I was going from one extreme to the other. I used to be a party girl and now I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone out.
I called Raymond and he agreed to meet me at the new riverboat casino. I bypassed the two lovebirds and went to my room to get dressed. I put on a form-fitting black dress and three-inch heels. I complemented my outfit with a diamond necklace my parents had given me on my last birthday.
I went to tell Charity I was leaving but heard moans coming from her bedroom, so instead I sent her a quick text message.
For the next few hours, Raymond and I enjoyed each other’s company. We ate at the casino buffet, then played a few of the slot machines. One of Raymond’s frat brothers was performing in a band at the club located on the second floor of the casino so we spent the rest of our time there.
Raymond whispered in my ear. “I’ve really enjoyed myself.”
The music was loud, but we were able to hear each other.
“I have too. I’m glad I called you.”
“Would you like another drink?” he asked.
“Oh no. This one drink was enough for me. I still have to drive home and I’m not trying to get too tipsy.”
“You could always come home with me,” he said.
I smiled. “I don’t think that’s a good idea…yet.”
He frowned. “You keep turning me down like this and you’re going to flatten my ego.”
I shifted in my seat. I placed my hand on top of his. “Raymond, I like you. I like you a lot, but as I told you before, I want to take things slow. See where things go.”
“I’ve waited this long. I’m willing to wait longer,” he replied. He bent down and kissed me on the cheek.
“I’m glad you understand.”
A song from Rihanna’s album Good Girl Gone Bad played. For me it was the opposite. I was a “Bad Girl Gone Good” and I liked it.
Raymond and I danced until after midnight. He escorted me to the front of the casino. I gave the valet my ticket for him to bring my car around.
“Raymond, I’ve had a great time.”
“What are you doing this weekend? I hear Maxwell’s supposed to be here performing.”
The Aftermath Page 15