Gotta Get Next To You

by Emery, Lynn

  “Say, man, I didn’t hear any screaming or furniture flyin’. Guess you must be okay.” Denny smirked at him.

  Lee forced himself back into the role of an egotistical playboy. “More than okay, my brother.” He smiled through the pain.

  “Damn, you’re sharp. You got the lady all hot for you.” Denny shook in head in admiration. “I’ll bet she—”

  Lee grabbed the front of his shirt, jerked him into the storeroom, and kicked the door closed. “Keep your mouth shut,” he growled.

  “Say, you must be losing your mind! Let go of me!” Denny glared at him. Something in Lee’s eyes must have warned him to be still. He blinked rapidly and stopped struggling. “What’s the matter with you?” he said in a more subdued way.

  “Don’t talk about her like that.” Lee’s voice cut through the air between them. “You hear me?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t trip, man.”

  “Just leave her out of this,” Lee said. He let go of Denny’s shirt.

  “All I meant was she wouldn’t question us too close. Gettin’ all out of place over one little comment,” Denny muttered under his breath. He smoothed the wrinkled fabric.

  Lee slowed his breathing and counted to ten. “I’ll pick you up at about eight tonight. We need to talk before we get with Ty’Rance.”

  “What for?” Denny’s eyebrows came together. “Everything is set.”

  “You know these guys. You think they’re gonna really give us a fair share of the profits?” Lee stared hard at Denny.

  “Sure. They need us.” Denny wore a cocky expression.

  “Use what little brains you’ve got, Denny,” Lee shot back. “Ty’Rance is going to finance even bigger stuff. We need insurance. A way we can start our own operation.”

  “Uh-uh, no way.” Denny’s eyes widened with fear. “I’m not about to cross Ty’Rance.”

  “We won’t have to. We can strike a deal with him. Look, I can’t go into detail here. Later, okay?” Lee grinned and slapped him on the back. “I’m telling you, we can get rich and Ty’Rance will help us.”

  Denny still seemed unsure, but the mention of money brought a glitter to his dark eyes. “All right. But pick me up after ten. Uh, I’ve got some business.” His gaze slid sideways.

  Lee stared at him. “Oh yeah? Maybe I can help.”

  “Nah, nothing serious. A little something I gotta wrap up. A sideline before we get to the real business.” Denny nodded with a cocky grin.

  “Uh-huh.” Lee’s eyes narrowed with doubt. His instinct for danger kicked in.

  Maybe Denny was hatching his own plan. The appearance of a gang member watching the clinic made him feel even more sure something was wrong.

  “Look, instead of you picking me up, I’ll meet you. Save you gas, man.” Denny slapped his shoulder lightly in a friendly gesture that didn’t ring true.

  “Okay. Meet me at Brown Sugar. They’ve got a new dancer called Pepper I want to check out. We can mix business with pleasure.”

  “That’ll work!” Denny hooted, their tussle seemingly forgotten. “See you tonight.”

  Lee nodded and opened the door. He watched Denny stroll off. The young man did not know he was walking right into a carefully woven net. Lee only hoped he could use it to pull Denny to safety. He decided to follow him to make sure.

  ***

  Andrea drove down the highway toward Bayou Blue. The meeting in Houma had ended a half hour later than she’d expected. She’d been given a long list of new guidelines. It meant her next quarterly report to the state would have to be twice as long.

  “And the dam thing is only due in one month,” Andrea grumbled to herself.

  She would have to figure out a way to capture the new data. Andrea decided to get started immediately. Her first idea was to modify two of the databases Lee had customized. He had been Jamal then. Andrea’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.

  Lush bayou scenery flew by as she guided her Nissan Sentra around the curves of Highway 20. For several hours she’d been somewhat distracted by the tedious talk of bureaucratic red tape. Now thoughts of Lee came rushing back. She glanced at the clock. The minutes were ticking away. Once again her mind whirled with “what ifs,” the questions that tied her stomach in knots. The worse part would be waiting and not knowing. Hard work had always been a means of dealing with stress. Andrea headed for the clinic. It was just after four o’clock by the time she parked in the lot. She entered through the staff entrance, using her key. The babble of voices told her appointments were still going full tilt.

  She passed by an exam room where Katy sat with an elderly man.

  “Mr. Hoffman, why don’t you get a hearing aid?” Katy yelled.

  “Don’t need it. I can hear just fine,” he said with a stubborn expression.

  Katy puffed in frustration and tried again. Andrea smiled. Mr. Hoffman had been refusing to get a hearing aid for three years.

  Terri answered one call after another. One of their consultant physicians, an internist, bustled past. His attention was on the set of X rays in his hand. He called out an order to one of the part-time nurses. Andrea went to her office. She left the door open. At least she could take comfort in the familiar sounds.

  “Boss lady.” Terri, the receptionist, peeked in the door. “Just wanted to let you know Denny and Jamal took off a half hour ago.”

  A fist closed around her heart. Some intuition told her that wasn’t part of Lee’s plan. “What did they say?”

  “Not much as far as I can remember.” She shrugged. “I tell ya, this place has been crazy. With the phones ringing every second and—”

  “It’s important, Terri,” Andrea said sharply. When Terri blinked at her in surprise, she forced a smile. “I mean they left you guys short. They better have a good reason.”

  “Katy didn’t think it was a problem. They both been working late almost every day. Lisa and Troylyn took turns and helped with the phones.”

  “I see.” Andrea did not hear Terri as she chattered on about the day they’d had.

  “Anyway, some kinda stomach bug is going around. Kids and grown-ups have either shown up or called all day. I…” Terri eyed her. “Say, are you feeling okay? You look a little sickly yourself.”

  “I’m okay. So they just left at the same time?” “Denny got a call from his grandmother. He said she’d forgotten about a doctor’s appointment.” Terri continued to stare at Andrea. “Are you sure—”

  Andrea waved away her question. “Positive. I’m fine. What about Jamal?”

  “Something about…” Terri frowned with concentration. “Right about then the dietician Miss Henderson called. Before I forget, she wants to have her first nutrition class for nursing mothers next month.”

  “Great, wonderful. What about Jamal?” Andrea fought to control herself. She wanted to shake the information from Terri’s memory.

  “Shoot, tell ya the truth, I don’t remember what he said. I think he told Katy, though.”

  “Damn!”

  Terri jumped. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just there was so much going on.”

  “No, no, Terri. It’s not you. I, uh, just remembered something I need to do. Thanks.” Andrea forced another smile. Her mouth felt tight enough to crack at the effort.

  “Okay,” Terri said, her tone hesitant. She made a hasty retreat.

  Andrea’s mind raced wildly. The two men had left much too abruptly for her to think it was coincidence. But what could she do? Lee had made it clear she was to keep her distance. Sound advice since she had no experience fighting crime. She stared down at the papers on her desk without reading them. She tried working, but her thoughts kept skittering off. Distraction by any means was impossible now. Sometime later Katy tapped on the doorframe.

  “What’s goin’ on?”

  “Tying up loose ends,” Andrea replied. She shuffled a few files to make it seem plausible.

  “Oh.” Katy walked into the office. ‘Terri says you’re pissed off about something.”

&n
bsp; “No I’m not. It’s been a long day. That stupid meeting didn’t help.” Andrea rubbed the back of her neck.

  Katy fell into the chair with a grunt. “Yeah, well, count your blessings you weren’t here. All hell broke loose. I even sent a couple of old folks to the emergency room.”

  “Rough, huh?” Andrea leaned against the back of her chair.

  “We handled it. Sugar, boring looks good to me right now.” Katy grinned. She tucked a stray tendril of dark hair behind her ear.

  “You enjoy working here, don’t you?” Andrea said.

  “Yep,” Katy promptly replied. “A bad day in this clinic is better than a good day at a lot of places I’ve worked.”

  Andrea sighed. “I’m glad to hear you say that. I know I can drive you guys hard sometimes.”

  “You only expect us to do our best,” Katy said. “Which is the way it should be.”

  “I want the staff to feel good about their work.”

  “We’ve got great people. Everybody cares about and respects the patients.” Katy wore an impish grin. “Course, you did clean out all the deadweight, ya know.”

  “Please, don’t make me relive those first few days.” Andrea gave a shudder.

  “Like I said, you did a super job finding the right women and men. Like Jamal.” Katy raised an eyebrow at her.

  Andrea ignored the look Katy gave her. “Speaking of which, why did he leave a little early today?” This time she made sure to keep her tone casual.

  “He wanted to go by the bank before it closed. Something he couldn’t handle in the drive-through.” Katy stood. “Come on, let’s take off.”

  “In a minute. I’ve just got a few more ends that need tying,” Andrea said with a grin.

  “Okay. But when Bill and the doctor leave, you leave with them,” Katy ordered as she shook a forefinger at Andrea.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Andrea sat straight and saluted.

  Katy chuckled. “Good night, boss lady.”

  “Good night, and for the gazillionth time, stop calling me that!” Andrea pretended to be frustrated.

  Katy only grinned and waved goodbye. Andrea smiled with affection. After a time she got up to stretch her legs. She walked through the clinic and felt pride at what she saw. Bayou Blue Clinic had decent equipment, clean exam rooms, and a neat lobby. Yet the turnaround went deeper than appearances. Her health education classes were now a popular feature. Canceled or missed appointments were down by 15 percent. Overall, things were going well. With one exception. Andrea thought about Lee. In her mind the future of the clinic now rested in one strong set of hands.

  “But what in the world is going on?” she murmured. “Where are you right now?”

  ***

  Lee followed Denny’s battered late-model Chevy at a safe distance behind a line of traffic. As he’d suspected, Denny was not going to his grandmother’s house. Instead he turned right down Hopper Street. Lee glanced around to get his bearings. Denny parked in front of a brick house surrounded by a chain-link fence. A BEWARE OF DOG sign warned visitors off. Yet Denny did not hesitate to open the gate and walk quickly to the front door. The sound of barking started immediately from the direction of the backyard. Lee parked a block away between two other late-model cars. He had a clear view of the house across a trash-strewn empty lot next to it.

  Finally Denny came back onto the open porch. Ty’Rance was right behind him. The first part of their conversation was inaudible. Lee moved quietly through the underbrush to get closer. Denny seemed to be desperately trying to convince Ty’Rance to do something.

  “No, I changed my mind. Just do what I told ya to do,” Ty’Rance said gruffly.

  “But she’s gonna wonder if I show up like that with some strange dudes. She could—”

  “Play your part and bam! We get what we need and you get paid.”

  Denny tried once again. “But Jamal—”

  “Screw him. I decided we don’t need some smart-ass from California. I don’t trust the punk.” Ty’Rance shoved Denny down the steps. “Wait for my call.” He headed for the front door.

  “Look, Ty, I don’t think we oughta…” Denny’s voice died away when Ty’Rance turned to face him again, his cold, dark eyes narrowed to slits.

  “You tellin’ me you not gonna do it?”

  “N-no.”

  “All right then.” Ty’Rance raked him with one last menacing look before he went back inside the house.

  Denny sprinted to his car and peeled off. Lee remained hidden for several minutes to make sure both were gone. Then he went back to his car. He unclipped the small cell phone from his belt and dialed as he got in the car. He scanned the surroundings, on the alert for members of Ty’Rance’s gang.

  “We’ve got a problem. No, we can’t put off talking to him. We’ve got to do it fast.”

  Lee’s heart raced as he explained that Ty’Rance changed plans. From what he’d heard, they would show up at the clinic and rob the place. He hung up the phone and pressed the accelerator. All he could think of was Denny’s reference to a woman. It had to be Andrea. Lee would find out exactly what was going on if he had to rip apart every member of that gang.

  Streetlights cast shadows through the car as Lee drove along the narrow streets on the outskirts of Bayou Blue. They’d met at the strip joint, but stayed only a short time. Denny had been distracted and nervous, though he tried to hide it. Lee had suggested they go to the R U Ready, another rough juke joint favored by local criminals.

  Chapter 21

  “Say, man, where you taking me?” Denny rubbed his chin.

  “I need to make a stop first. Some guys that can hook us up. You know, like I was saying before.” Lee glanced at him sideways before looking ahead again. He steered the car down the dark highway away from the small city’s lights.

  “Ah, ya know, I think I changed my mind. Just drop me off somewhere. I don’t feel like going to the club.”

  “C’mon, relax and jam awhile. The meeting won’t take long.” Lee punched Denny’s left arm playfully. “You’ll make money enough to pay for lots of special performances.” He gave a coarse laugh, but Denny didn’t share in the joke.

  “Look, man, I don’t want to cross Ty’Rance. Besides, he’s already asking questions about you.”

  “Such as?” Lee kept his tone level.

  “Just the usual stuff with him,” Denny said quickly. “These guys are real suspicious.”

  “So he’s checking me out?”

  “I dunno. I guess. Say, stop at Club Hot. I’ll catch you later.”

  “Don’t punk out on me, man. This won’t take a minute.” Lee continued to drive.

  “I’m not feeling too good.”

  “What’s wrong with you? Anything happen with Ty’Rance I should know about?”

  “No, no. Uh-uh.” Denny fell silent and stared out the window.

  Lee drove for three more miles before he came to Houma. Denny was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn’t pay attention to where they were. They turned down a street and parked in front of a plain brown building.

  “Hey, man. This better not be a setup,” Denny opened the car door and looked around without getting out.

  “Relax.”

  “I hope these guys know what they’re doing.” Denny continued to dart nervous glances to his left and right.

  “We wouldn’t be here if they didn’t,” Lee said with a dry laugh that scratched his throat. “Come on. Stop looking like a scared chicken or you’ll get them all jumpy.”

  Lee knocked four times and the door opened. Deputy

  Tullier stood dressed in a tan T-shirt and blue jeans. He nodded them in without speaking. Lee led Denny down a short hall to the first room on their left. Sheriff Boudreaux and two other men dressed casually sat in a circle around a small table. One of men rose quickly to face Denny.

  “Arms up son,” he said gruffly.

  “What the fu—” Denny blinked rapidly.

  “Just do it,” Ted barked loudly.

&
nbsp; When Denny raised his arms, the man frisked him from his chest down to his ankles. “He’s clean,” he said to Ted.

  “Ty’Rance was right! You’re a damn cop!” Denny spun around to leave, but Deputy Tullier’s towering frame blocked his exit.

  ‘Take it easy, son,” Sheriff Boudreaux said in a calm voice.

  Sweat rolled down Denny’s face. He looked around frantically in search of a way out. “Forget you, man. I ain’t sayin’ nothin’!”

  Deputy Tullier pushed a chair into the back of Denny’s knees. “Sit down,” he growled.

  “I’m not staying,” Denny said. “You can’t arrest me ’cause I haven’t done anything.”

  “What about theft?” Sheriff Boudreaux said.

  “You can’t prove I stole nuthin’ from that clinic!” Denny shot back. “I’m not the only one that works there.”

  “Who said we were talking about the clinic?” Deputy Tullier put in.

  “Not real smart,” one of the men sitting next to Sheriff Boudreaux said.

  Denny looked at Lee. His eyes sparkled with hostility. “I was stupid to trust you. I should have known better. My good pal! You’re no different from—” He broke off and swallowed hard.

  Lee knew Denny’s background. Denny was no doubt thinking of the father who had mistreated his mother and abandoned him. Lee met his gaze without flinching. He had to focus, to numb his emotions. The danger was all too real for Denny. Still, the sting of guilt was sharp.

  “I’m trying to save your ass!” Lee snapped. “You think you got a bright future with Ty’Rance and his kind?”

  “Only two ways to go with him, prison or the cemetery.” Deputy Tullier folded his arms across his chest.

  Denny glanced from Lee to Deputy Tullier. “Brothers doing the white man’s dirty work,” he spat at them.

  “Don’t give me that bull! Ty’Rance has killed more brothers than any cop around here,” Deputy Tullier barked. “Just so he can sell crack to our kids and kill more.”

  Denny glared at him. “At least he’s for real.”