“Michael, can I use your bathroom?”
Mindy! He had forgotten about her while plotting his next move. “Sure! It’s down the hall on the right.”
“Thanks.”
Think, Michael, think. He had to keep a low profile. He had not been in touch with men of certain ilk in months. But, how else was he going to deal with Bill?
Trust me.
Goose bumps rose on Michael’s flesh. The Holy Spirit had spoken. Michael took a step back from the powerful impact. How? How do I trust you, Lord? He looked heavenward as if the answer were imprinted on the ceiling.
Let go.
He did not know how. “I can’t,” he whispered. Michael’s faith failed him. He bunched his fists relishing the feel of his fingers against his palm. Yes, this was real to him. He understood fighting for himself. That he could do. “Let me do this first, Lord,” he beckoned.
“Who are you talking to?”
Michael jumped, not realizing he had dropped his cell phone near the couch. “Ah, no one. Just thinking out loud. I’d better see you downstairs.” Once again, he had forgotten Mindy. Gently, he guided her into the elevator and then outside the building to the waiting Yellow Cab. In an instant, lights flashed at him from all directions. Michael held his hands across his face from the blinding glare. Why was the media camped outside his building?
Realization hit. Mindy had set him up.
“I’m sorry. I had to keep you safe,” she said.
Michael nodded. What else could he do in that moment? He held out his hands to the two uniformed men. Metal cuffs met his wrists.
“Michael Ward, you’re under arrest for violating the conditions of your parole. We’re remanding you into custody.”
He was shoved into the back of the patrol car. He sat there for hours. Michael spotted Bill’s arms around Mindy. She had set him up but every eye in the nation would see her as a helpless innocent.
Michael bent his head. I’m done. I’m going down.
He’s going to be mad! Baby wailed.
We saved his sorry butt from death! Mousie protested.
But, he’s back in jail, Mindy reasoned. Neither Daddy nor Finn can hurt him now.
He didn’t do anything and you know it, Baby protested.
Well, somebody’s got to pay for all you’ve gone through and it might as well be him!
Shut up, Mousie, I can’t think. Mindy’s heart refused to quit its thumping. She wiped her palms on her pants. When Mindy turned her head, she noticed her father eyeing her. There was no way Bill was going to let her out of his sight.
What do you mean? Do what you always do! Mousie commanded.
You mean what you do, Mindy amended. She bit her lip. She hated feeding her father one of her sleeping pills. It worked like a charm whenever she needed to escape his clutches. Since her brother and mother died, her father suffocated her. She knew he was afraid to lose her. He said it all the time. However, he could not keep her under lock and key, like a caged bird.
She did not have friends. No one to talk to about Carl and how he died. No one to cry with when Mama released her final breath. Mindy only had herself. So she invented her friends. People she could talk with about anything. They knew her well.
There was nothing wrong with that. The doctor did not agree though. Dr. Forrester slapped her with the title dissociative identity disorder and pumped her with pills. Pills Mindy no longer took because her brain felt mushy. She liked her reality.
Mousie was the part of her who refused to take any mess. Mindy chuckled at how often she had to keep that rebellious nature under wraps. However, there were times when Mousie wanted to play. She had let her too because Mousie had made a friend, Finn, and she liked him.
Actually, she had made two friends. She was not allowed to talk about the other one. That was Mousie’s other friend, Elle G. Elle G wanted to remain anonymous. Mindy understood, but she had a big dilemma.
Elle G knew the truth. Her testimony could set Michael Ward free.
Too bad, so sad!
Mousie, that’s childish. I need to tell the truth. Besides, Michael is my friend. I love him.
Puleeze. I don’t see what you see in him. Finn’s fine.
Then why don’t you let him touch you? Mindy taunted.
No! Baby roared. Don’t let him!
A strong hand grabbed her arm and twisted it, catching her off guard. “Ouch!” Mindy swung her head to meet a set of baleful eyes.
“Are you talking to yourself, again, Mindy? I don’t understand you. I invest all my money into curing you. Yet, you still persist with this behavior. Why can’t you be normal like everyone else?” Bill turned back to the road.
She forgot her father had been watching her. “This is my normal and I like it.” She silenced him with an icy stare. She knew from Bill’s wary look he did not know who was talking. Bill slid his eyes away from her but he was not done fussing.
“You waited until I left, then checked yourself out of the hospital to go see him. Since you can’t stay away from Michael Ward, I’m taking you to our home in Westbury. I need to put some distance between the both of you.”
“Yes, I went to see Michael. And I’ll do it again! Distance won’t stop me,” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
Mousie! Stop it! He thinks I’m crazy.
You’re mentally ill. There’s a difference. I’m tired of his putting you down. Since you won’t say anything, I did it for both of us. I’m telling you, one of these days, I’ll silence him for good.
Don’t you dare! Mindy revolted. Mousie wisely backed off. Mindy closed her eyes, needing to rest from her never-ending thoughts. Maybe she had been too hasty when she stopped taking her meds. Maybe she needed to pull that bottle from under her mattress. She needed a clear head.
You don’t want to talk to me anymore? Baby asked.
Go ahead. Punk out and go back to being a pill pusher, Mousie snarled.
Her father’s words echoed in her head. “Why can’t you be normal?” Mindy blinked back tears and gulped. He could not know how much she prayed for that. God did not like her ugly. Bill did not believe in praying and “all that mumbo jumbo.” However, she did. Mindy had heard one preacher on television say He could walk on water and do all kinds of magical things. If He could do that, then He could heal her pain and make her whole. But, until then, she would take a round tablet.
Yep, she was going to do it that very night. As soon as Bill pulled into the driveway, Mindy jumped out the car. She rushed into the house and entered her room. She sank to her knees and reached far under her mattress until she felt the small bottle. Mindy knew it was there because that was where she kept her pills in all her rooms.
Aren’t you forgetting something? Mousie taunted. Only I know the truth. That’s why you stopped taking the pills. I’m the one you need to help clear Michael’s name.
Oh yeah. Mindy slumped. She’d forgotten about that. Hopeless, she released the bottle and it rolled under the bed. She didn’t care.
Elle G was there too, Baby said.
Mindy straightened. “She was? I knew it! I had my suspicions. I’m glad you told me.”
She made me promise not to tell.
“Baby, you’ve got to tell me!” Mindy slung her head onto her mattress. Why couldn’t she remember everything without them? She gritted her teeth. Think! Think! You’ve got to put it all together in your mind.
Nothing.
She would have to call Dr. Forrester, whose offices were in Garden City, Long Island. Only she could help. Her father used the doctor as a drug pusher. He no longer agreed to ongoing therapy sessions. “No ‘wet behind the ears’ doctor is going to tell me what to do,” he had ranted. And why? Because Dr. Forrester invited him into their sessions. He was not having any part of that.
She lifted a hand to heaven. “God, if you do exist, please hear me. Help me figure this out.”
Chapter Thirty-four
“Go away, Nigel!”
“Can’t. Your man’s be
en holed up in jail for the past two days. We have to go see a judge. They waited this long before the paperwork went through.”
Michael’s in jail? Verona’s heart hammered. Whatever. She did not care. “Let him rot for all I care. He’s not my man!” She looked heavenward. “And, why won’t anyone listen to me when I say I’m off this case?” Verona said through the locked door.
“Open the door,” Nigel pleaded. “I’ve got to see for myself you’re all right.”
Hearing genuine concern, Verona acquiesced. She winced at his stunned expression. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Her hair stood on its ends like fiery darts. She lowered her eyes. “Come in.”
“As the saying goes, you look a hot mess.” Nigel plugged his nose. “Go freshen up. We need to have a good friend-to-friend chat.” He wandered through her living space and picked up the blanket she had slept on.
Verona had indulged in her own pity party. She could not have children. Michael had children. She could not have children. Michael had children. And, so it went.
Self-conscious, Verona hurried to take a shower. She washed her hair twice. Ten minutes later, she donned a pair of slacks and a sweater. Then she rejoined Nigel.
Nigel nodded. “Glad you tamed the animal. I need to speak to a human being.”
Verona threw a pillow at him. Nigel grabbed the small square before diving into the conversation. “Quitting is not the answer, and you know it. You’ve come too far to turn back now.”
Nigel was right. She had a reputation to maintain and should not have allowed her personal feelings to carry over into her professional relationship. However, when it came to Michael, the tiger became a simpering kitten. Truth be told, Verona was tired of hearing herself talk about quitting. She was vested in the man and the case. She could not back down.
“Okay, no more talk of quitting from me,” Verona said.
“Great! Now let’s deal with the big elephant in the room. I’d have to be blind not to see how you feel.”
She nodded. “I broke the cardinal rule. I fell in love with Michael. Everyone can see it but him.”
“Maybe he does know but isn’t ready to acknowledge it. Tiger, the man is fighting for his life. He has a baby mama coming out of the woodwork with two children in tow. He has a lot going on. Now is not the time to bail. You can’t say you love someone and leave him high and dry in his greatest moment of need.”
“But, the feeling is all one-sided,” she argued.
“I don’t think so. Right now, this isn’t about how Michael feels. It’s about you and how you feel. Do you only love those who love you back? I don’t think God would approve of that kind of thinking.”
“You’re right, Nigel. I didn’t see things that way,” she admitted. God loved her and did for her every day whether she returned the love or not.
“Say that again?” he teased.
Verona knew what he wanted to hear but deflected. “Fill me in on the latest with the case.”
“You haven’t watched the news?” Nigel’s eyes bulged. “Your beloved Michael was arrested for violating probation. He had Mindy in his suite.”
She sprung forward. “What!” First Lauren, then Mindy. Verona could not keep up with the number of women waiting in line. She should rejoice she had escaped being a proverbial notch on Michael’s belt.
“I don’t know what Mindy was doing there. The cops must have been keeping him under surveillance. As soon as Michael and Mindy exited his building the police had handcuffs waiting. There was a throng of media present to capture his being rearrested.”
“How convenient.”
“Much too convenient for my liking. Did you ever hear from Frank?”
Verona tilted her chin toward the manila envelope on her end table. She had lacked the drive to open it. Selfish, she knew, but she was not thinking straight.
Nigel’s long fingers curled around the envelope. He gently slid his index finger under the flap. “Still sealed.” He ripped it open. “Verona, this man has you off your game. There was a time when nothing messed with your job.”
Verona did not grace him with a comeback. Nigel spoke the truth. She was off-kilter. She could not get her groove back for nothing. Love had her all in limbo and she hated it. “What does it say?” she asked, as his eyes skimmed the documents.
“Frank confirms Colleen’s story. However, the real jackpot is right here,” Nigel said, lifting the business card stapled to one of the pages. “This is Dr. Forrester’s information: Mindy’s psychiatrist.”
Anticipation crept up her spine. “We need to know what Mindy’s on. We could prove her an unreliable witness, or unstable. It all depends on how many prescribed medicines she’s been taking and for how long.”
“Get dressed. We’re meeting with Keith within the hour at Michael’s place.”
“Why there?”
“The police obtained a search warrant. They feel they have a right since Mindy went there from the hospital.”
“Give me five minutes.”
It was actually ten minutes before Verona was composed and able to slip her feet into her Manolo Blahniks.
“I think Michael was set up. In fact, I know it. The question is who and how?” Keith stated as soon as they’d arrived. He touched his chin. “Mindy has been seeing Dr. Forrester on and off for the past eight years. If anybody can give us the who, and the what, she can.”
“And the why,” Verona chimed in. The bustle around her was impossible to ignore. How what seemed like twenty cops fit into the room was beyond her.
Nigel was not able to see past the commotion. His head was turning left and right. “They’re tearing this place up. Michael is going to go ballistic when he sees his rug.”
Verona followed Nigel’s gaze. She pointed to the circular stain spreading across the white Persian rug. One of the officers had spilled coffee. He had not seemed too sorry about it, either.
“I’ll hire a cleaning service once they’re gone. It’ll be as good as new,” Keith offered.
Verona shook her head. “That rug will never be the same. I’ll look it up and order a replacement. How is Michael doing?”
“Not good,” Keith said. “I was only able to see him for a few minutes, when I filed the release papers. I’m hoping they’ll release him into my care.”
“That’s highly unlikely. He might be stuck in there until the trial,” Nigel said.
Keith lifted his chin. Verona knew he was about to preach. “I’m trusting God to do the impossible. I know Michael’s innocent. I’m searching for evidence from that angle.” He patted his pants pocket. “At least I managed to swipe Michael’s cell phone before they could. Someone’s been blowing up his phone for the past hour. I’m curious to know who’s been calling.”
Verona was not in the mood to hear about Lauren’s calls. She knew it had to be her. Who else could it be? Rolling her eyes, Verona changed the subject. “Speaking of God, isn’t tonight Bible Study?” she asked, glancing at her watch.
Keith followed suit and checked the time. “I’ve already called Gina to let her know my change of plans. She’s more than capable, as you’ve seen. Are you going?”
“Yes, I had planned on it, but I think Michael’s situation takes precedence.”
He bent over to address her. “Verona, I’m a pastor first. I’m concerned about your soul. Gina’s been looking forward to seeing you. So, go. Nigel and I have this covered.”
When she opened her mouth to argue, he emphasized, “Go.”
Verona picked up her purse to leave.
However, an announcement captured the attention of all three occupants: “We’ve found something!”
The officer held in her gloved hands a round latex object. “We will get this over to the lab immediately,” she said.
Verona’s eyes widened and she dropped her purse.
“Mindy was here,” she whispered. “You don’t think Michael . . .”
“He wouldn’t be so stupid,” Nigel said. Verona felt he was all bluff.
She shook her head. Michael had done the unthinkable. He had slept with Mindy. The idiot. He had just blown his case. Everything he had fought for was in the tank. In a daze, Verona grabbed her purse and exited. She had no idea where she was going. She knew one thing. She had to get out of there.
Glad she had not driven, Verona hailed a cab and settled into the seat. For the millionth time in her life, Verona wished she had never laid eyes on Michael Ward. Never fallen in love. Her heart splintered into a million pieces. She released a sob. The cabbie gave her a worried glance, but she waved him off.
“Where to, miss?”
As tears streamed down her face, Verona contemplated. She had no one. She was alone, all by herself.
No. You’re not alone. You do have people who love you, were the immediate counteracting thoughts.
“Miss?” She heard the cabbie’s questioning tone. Nevertheless, her thoughts reigned.
That’s right. She wasn’t alone. Suddenly, Verona knew where to go. She took a brave gulp and said, “Take me to the airport. I’m going home.”
Chapter Thirty-five
He was alone.
All alone.
Michael shivered in his cell, still dressed in his pajamas. At least he had been placed in a holding area by himself.
I’m here.
“Oh, God.” Michael acknowledged His presence. “I’ve messed up big time.”
Remember Joseph.
Michael looked over at the Bible, which Keith had dropped off for him. He had asked Keith where he could find the story of Joseph. He picked it up and opened the Bible to Genesis. Once he located it, Michael began to read.
Michael read and read. He paused after Genesis 37 to ponder on the Word.
So, Joseph’s brothers sold him out? Michael visualized Joseph being betrayed by his brothers. Brothers who were supposed to love him, but instead were jealous of what he had. Goose bumps rose on his flesh. “Huh, I can relate.” His voice echoed.
Keith had his share of women, but he had wanted Gina, and he had gotten her, too.
Michael opened his eyes and waited for the bitterness to rise. To his surprise, he felt nothing but sadness. He went back to the scripture, curious to see how the story would unfold. At the third verse in chapter thirty-nine, he paused. A line struck him. He read the words, “the Lord was with him.” Michael voiced the words aloud.
The Fall of the Prodigal Page 16