Once You'Ve Touched the Heart

by Iris Bolling

  The change in Tracy’s appearance was not by choice. Ashley came out of her room one Saturday morning, turned to Tracy, who was in the kitchen, and threatened, “If I see you in a ponytail one more day I’m going to strangle you with it. Come on, you’re going with me today.”

  “Going with you where?” Tracy asked.

  “To see Penne.”

  “Who is Penne?”

  “My hairstylist.”

  At first sight, Penne screamed, “Girl, you need help, quick, somebody call 911.” Penne got hold of Tracy and she was changed forever. Sensing Tracy was a little uncomfortable, Penne did not go overboard, as he had a tendency to do. However, he knew the girl had serious “what if” potential. He closed his eyes, put his free spirit back into his inner box and went to work on Tracy. He did a relaxer, a cut, a wrap, and then used a flatiron to bump her hair out. When Ashley saw the results, she turned to Penne and said, “Girrrrrl, what a little relaxer and a flat iron can do….” She gave Penne a high five. Penne responded, “Girl, a sista got the gift and I had to use it.” They both fell out laughing. Tracy looked in the mirror and could not believe it was her. She actually looked okay; no, better than okay, she looked good. From that day on Tracy took a little more time getting dressed in the morning. With a new wardrobe, she discovered a new person. Tracy had a little more pep in her step when she went out the door now. She knew the new her was working. She started getting all kinds of attention from men. But at the moment, that little confidence was all going out of the window, because he was walking through the door.

  “Tracy?” Jeffrey said as he looked around the opened door.

  “Hi, Jeffrey.” Tracy extended her hand and he hesitated for a moment.

  “Hello, Squirt Two, it’s been a while.” JD smiled.

  “Yes, it has been,” she responded with a smile.

  “You’ve changed a little,” JD said, but her smile still had the same effect on him.

  “I hope that’s a good thing,” she replied nervously.

  Brian stepped in the door behind JD. Noticing him, Tracy spoke. “Hello, I’m Tracy Washington,” and she extended her hand.

  “Hi, Brian Thompson,” he replied in a deep voice and shook her hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Thompson.”

  “Oh, Brian, please,” Brian replied pleasantly.

  JD glared at Brian.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Tracy said as she left the room.

  Both men watched as she walked across the room and out. They stared at the closed door for a moment. “DAMN,” they both breathed simultaneously.

  “Man, what is wrong with you, you didn’t introduce us. That was rude, and you didn’t say she was a dime,” Brian stated.

  A dime, she’s a whole damn dollar bill, JD thought, but before he could respond to Brian, Tracy came back in the room.

  “I’m sorry. I wanted to make sure we were not disturbed. You sounded so serious on the phone. Please have a seat,” Tracy said and pointed to the two chairs in front of her desk. “How may I help you?”

  JD and Brian looked at each other as Tracy watched them. Neither of them wanted to approach the subject with her now. However, JD had to, for Ashley.

  Tracy spoke first. “Jeffrey, you have never been a man who had to search for words. Come on, it can’t be that bad,” she teased.

  Tracy had eyes that looked all the way into a man’s soul, combined with an electrifying smile—a man could lose his mind. JD remembered the feeling well. Today her smile brought back those feelings he had buried years ago.

  Brian sensed something was off with JD. So he began talking. “Ms. Washington.”

  “Tracy,” she corrected.

  “Okay, Tracy,” Brian replied and smiled. “I’m a federal investigator working on a case with JD and your name came up.”

  “My name?” Her expression was marked with confusion.

  “Yes, in connection with the case,” Brian clarified.

  “I can’t imagine why my name would come up in connection to any case, federal or otherwise. Are you sure it’s not another Tracy Washington?”

  “Tracy,” JD spoke up, “does the name Albert Day mean anything to you?”

  “Yes, he’s my brother,” she frankly replied.

  “The brother who taught you how to dance, cook and play ball? That brother?”

  “Yeah,” she replied, surprised he remembered that. “He’s the only brother I’m aware of. Why?”

  “Then we do have the right person,” Brian stated.

  “When was the last time you saw or spoke with your brother?” JD asked.

  “At graduation, about two years ago. Why do you ask? Is he in some kind of trouble?” Tracy sat forward, put her arms on the desk and nervously began to rub her hands together. She began a small prayer that Jeffrey would not tell her Turk was dead.

  “Is he okay?” she reluctantly asked.

  “You haven’t heard from your brother in two years?” Brian asked in a tone that did not sit well with Tracy.

  “No,” she replied edgily.

  JD could see Tracy was uncomfortable with the conversation. He knew from experience she would revert into a shell and no one would get any answers. Her brother meant a lot to her and JD had an uneasy feeling that the case was not going to go as smoothly as he had hoped. He reached over and took Tracy’s hand in his. “Tracy, the case I’m working on involves your brother. He is not hurt, but he is in trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. But I need to ask you some questions.”

  She trusted Jeffrey, so answering questions for him was not an issue for her. “Okay.”

  “Does your brother have any connections to your business?”

  “This business?”

  “This one or any other you may have,” Brian interjected.

  Tracy really did not like his tone. She pulled away from JD, sat back in her chair and turned to Brian. “No, he doesn’t and I don’t have any other businesses, Mr. Thompson. Ashley and I started this business when we were at Harmon. You know that, Jeffrey.”

  JD, sensing the tide changing, stood. “I know, Tracy, but I had to ask.” He smiled. “I’m sorry we had to bother you with this. But this case puts me in a very awkward situation.”

  “I seem to do that to you a lot,” she commented. “But I understand you have a job to do.”

  “Thanks for seeing us on such short notice, and I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”

  “I’m sorry, too, Jeffrey.” She stood and turned to him. “I don’t know what Turk has gotten himself into, but would you please give him this card. Ask him to please call me if I can help him in any way.”

  JD did not like what was about to go down or how it would affect her. He was feeling a little guilty right about now. He knew he was about to take her brother down and that bothered him. Her brother was the only family she dealt with and she loved him. But he had to be honest with her. “I am not sure I can help him with this. But I will give him the message.”

  Wondering why JD had stopped the questioning, Brian stood and walked towards the door. “Needless to say, you will contact us if you hear from your brother,” Brian stated.

  “Needless to say I will not, Mr. Thompson,” Tracy replied.

  “You do realize that would be obstruction of justice.”

  “Brian, I’ll be out in a minute,” JD cut in.

  Brian looked at JD then stepped outside.

  JD exhaled. “I’ll make sure he gets the message.”

  “Thank you, Jeffrey.”

  He reached out and squeezed her hand. “It will be all right, Tracy. I’ll make sure of it.” He started to walk out, but turned back to her. “Oh, and by the way, it’s not bad,” he stated as he shook his head.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “The changes in you,” he replied. She blushed.

  “You look good.” He smiled. “The best part hasn’t changed at all.”


  “What part is that?” Tracy asked bashfully.

  “Your smile. You still have that smile that could brighten any room.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a shy smile.

  He returned the smile and walked out the door.

  Once they were outside, Brian turned to JD. “Are you going to be able to handle this case objectively?”

  JD looked at him confused. “Yeah, why in the hell did you ask me that?”

  “Because you seem to have gotten a little distracted in there.”

  “No, I’m straight, man, I just got a….” He searched for the words. “I’ve got a feeling about this one.”

  JD opened the door and got into the car. Brian slid in on the driver’s side.

  “Do you believe her?” JD asked.

  “Yeah, I do. However, to be on the safe side I’ll do a financial check on the business and see where it leads,” Brian replied.

  “Yeah, follow the money.” JD thought for a minute. “The problem is, not only do I believe her, I know we are going to hurt her when everything comes out, and I don’t like that,” he angrily commented. Then he continued, “We have to use her to pull Day out and I don’t like that.”

  “Is there anything you like about this case?” Brian asked with a grin.

  “Not a damn thing,” JD replied. “Brian, I know this girl. She is not knowingly involved with her brother’s dealings.”

  “Were you ever involved with this woman?”

  “Yes and no,” JD replied. “She was nineteen, Ashley’s roommate and best friend, when I met her.” He smiled.

  “The yes part?” Brian looked over at him and grinned. JD looked over at him, then turned away.

  “I pulled away, hmm. I thought she was too young at the time.” JD thought back.

  “And now?” Brian asked curiously.

  JD looked out the window, shook his head. “There’s more to this than what we know, and I don’t think it’s going to turn out good. I just don’t like the idea of taking her through any unnecessary changes.”

  ♥

  When JD returned to the office it was late. He wanted to catch Calvin before he left for the weekend. On his way to Calvin’s office Mrs. Langston buzzed him. “Mr. Harrison, you have a call on line two.”

  “Would you take a message, please?” JD asked.

  “The gentleman indicated it was important and would not give his name,” Mrs. Langston replied.

  “Okay, put it through, Mrs. Langston.”

  This type of call was normal for JD. Most of his informants would call anonymously, but this was the last thing he needed right now. Informants could take up a lot of time. He needed to get with Calvin to help him figure out how to get Day without using Tracy.

  “JD Harrison.”

  “Al Day,” the voice stated. “We need to meet.”

  JD sat down in his chair, took out a pen. “When and where?”

  “Field overlooking canal walks, your private investigator and my lieutenant, one hour.”

  The line went dead. JD dialed Calvin’s number. “My office now,” he said and hung up.

  JD sat back in his chair. What in the hell is going on here? He liked to control his cases, but this case was controlling him and he did not like that. First the reconnection with Tracy, causing him to change the way he normally handles a case; and now this. He had to take a moment to think.

  When Calvin came through the door, JD pointed to the chair. Calvin knew JD was about to start talking, but did not want a response. He needed a sounding board to get his thoughts out into the open. Calvin sat and JD started running through the day’s events, including the phone call. He stopped and looked at this watch. He had forty-five minutes before the meeting, which was about fifteen minutes away. He called Brian and told him to meet him in the garage in thirty minutes. Then he turned to Calvin. “Synopsis?”

  “Day knows you met with his little sister, that’s why he’s calling. He could only know one of two ways: Brian told him or she told him, and I don’t think it was Brian. If we work on the premise that Tracy told him, that means she was not truthful with you earlier today and you read her wrong. Which doesn’t usually happen to you with women. You and I spent time with Tracy; she is a pretty honest person.”

  JD sat up. “When did you spend time with her?”

  Calvin looked at him. “Want to focus here? Other possibilities, could he know about the case and if so, how, and why would he be calling you? Is there a possible deal in the works? If so, that would solve your problem with using Tracy. You just got this case this morning and it is giving you a run for your money. Take control before it starts controlling you. Do the meeting on his terms, let him talk; see where it leads. We still on for Maxi’s tonight?” Calvin asked as he stood.

  “Yeah, unless something comes up with this meet,” JD replied.

  They walked out of the office to the elevator. While in the elevator, JD asked, “When did you spend time with Tracy?”

  Calvin smirked and put his hands in his pockets. “After graduation, remember? She didn’t have any plans. I didn’t like the idea of her being alone, so I took her to dinner to celebrate.”

  “I do remember that. She was a little shy around the family. I don’t think she ever got over Uncle Joe.”

  “Shy?” Calvin laughed. “That herd of people you call a family would scare Joan of Arc. Hell, they scare me and I’m used to them.”

  A moment of silence went by and Calvin began to laugh. “So what did you two do?”

  “I knew that was coming.”

  “What?”

  The elevator door opened and they saw Brian at the SUV.

  “We ate dinner, what do you think?” Calvin answered. “Watch his back, B,” Calvin said shaking his head as he walked to his car.

  “I got him,” Brian replied. “See you at Maxi’s.”

  Brian got in the car. He reached under the seat and pulled out his Magnum to make sure it was loaded. He slipped it in the back of his pants, then checked to make sure his department issued revolver was loaded.

  “The meeting is at the field overlooking the canal walk. Tucker will be with him,” JD said, referring to Day’s top lieutenant, whom he had read about in the reports.

  “Why Tucker, why not Tate?” Brian asked.

  “He selected people we each trust the most. If we see Tate, I know he will be handing me some bullshit.”

  “What do you think this is about? He couldn’t know about the case unless Ms. Washington told him,” Brian remarked.

  “I don’t think that’s what happened.”

  “JD,” Brian warned, “it’s too early in this case to close your mind to anything, I don’t care how phat she is. You don’t trust anyone until you know the facts. If she did not tell him, why is he calling? It’s not as if we’ve done a lot of legwork on the case yet, so nothing could have slipped. So what is it about?” Brian expressed in a rather insistent manner.

  “I guess we will find out when we get there,” JD replied.

  JD understood exactly what Brian was saying to him, and he was right. He had to put Tracy out of his mind, for now. This case was too important, and for so many reasons, to end up messing it up over, what, feelings. Hell, since Vanessa, JD had stopped dealing with feelings mainly because he hadn’t had any. On top of that, how could he instantly want to protect someone he really did not know? Yes, Tracy has been around the outskirts of his life for the past six years, but only as Ashley’s friend. When he had decided she was off limits, he had put her completely out of his mind. Well, maybe not completely. It was a little difficult at times.

  The week Tracy stayed at his house really set his career in motion. For awhile, every time he was in his office, Tracy would cross his mind. He had felt so alive and carefree when she was around. It wasn’t easy for him to forget. Now this. In the past, JD managed to keep a distance between them. Now this case was bringing them together again.

  ♥

  Tracy was a little restless
after the conversation with Jeffrey so she went home early. Ashley had left and was not coming back to the office. She told Tracy she had a dinner meeting with one of the new clients and would be home late. Tracy took advantage of the tranquility of the condo and crunched some numbers. Her thoughts went to Turk, the brother who always appeared out of nowhere whenever she needed him. She had not seen or heard from him since graduation. As she looked back, things had really gone pretty well for her since that day. There was really no need for him to show up. Now it seemed like he might need her help and she had no way of finding him unless she broke her silence and contacted her mother. Then she remembered what Turk had said: “I got you out; it’s up to you to stay out.” Calling her mother was out of the question. Her mom would just remind her how she had ruined her life. Or how ugly she was and how she was going to end up being somebody’s whore. How did I ever make it through that shit? Turk, she thought with a smile. Turk kept her going all those years when her mom mentally beat her down. All Tracy ever wanted from her mom was her love. But for some reason, she couldn’t have that. Turk used to tell her, “Don’t worry about Mom; I love you enough for both of us.”

  Tracy went back to crunching her numbers on her laptop. She remembered her first laptop…

  She was 17 and it was Christmas Eve. She didn’t expect much. Her mom always had something else to do with her money than spend it on “childish things.” Turk came by earlier that day. However, he had a terrible argument with Lena so he left. Something about a Christmas tree. Lena dressed and went over to Tracy’s sister Valerie’s house. She was having people over and asked her mom to bring Tracy, but she said no. Valerie knew how her mom was when it came to Tracy, so as soon as she thought Lena had left she called Tracy. “Merry Christmas, Tracy.”