Scandalous Truth

by Monica P. Carter

  Nikki tried to ignore the pointed looks, and pretended not to hear the whispers. She found Psalm and loaded the girl into the vehicle as quickly as she could.

  “Mommy, what’s an ID thief?” Psalm asked from the backseat.

  “ID thief?” Nikki asked?

  “Yeah, Morgan told the other kids not to play with me because my mom is an ID thief. What’s that?”

  Nikki almost drove the vehicle into the other lane, but steadied herself. She tried to regain her composure as she realized her daughter was talking about her legal woes. “Do you mean identity thief?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Psalm said. “It sounds bad. I told them my mommy didn’t do anything bad, but they didn’t believe me. They all laughed at me.”

  Nikki ached for her child. She tried to smile. “Don’t you worry about it,” she said. “Your classmates will forget about this in no time. The next time someone tries to make fun of you, you just tell them they don’t know what they are talking about. It’ll be okay.”

  Psalm seemed mollified at the response. She grinned. “See, I knew my mommy was no ID thief.”

  Nikki drove the rest of the way home in silence. She felt horrible at putting her daughter through this. How much worse would it all get?

  She had just finished fixing dinner when William walked in, dropping his keys on the table next to the door. “Daddy!” Psalm raced to her father, who picked her up.

  Nikki carefully walked to him, too. She moved to share a kiss with him as was their custom, but he ignored her.

  “So, tell Daddy about your day,” he leaned to put Psalm to the floor.

  “The kids in my class were making fun of me,” Psalm said, her lower lip trembling.

  “Really? Why?” William knelt in front of her. “What happened?”

  “They kept telling me my mommy was an ID—I mean, identity—thief,” she said.

  William glanced up quickly at Nikki, who looked away guiltily. He looked back at Psalm and gave her a hug. “Well, you just tell those kids to leave you alone. Tell them your mommy is a good mommy and makes better cookies than their mommies.”

  Nikki felt a small sense of relief that he took up for her, but she knew that was really for Psalm’s benefit.

  “I learned a new thing on the computer,” Psalm announced.

  “Oh, really?” William said, removing his tie. “Well, you’ll have to show Daddy sometime.”

  Finally, Nikki tried a greeting: “Hi, baby.”

  “Hello.”

  “How was your day?”

  “Fine.”

  “William, I—”

  “Nikki, I don’t feel like talking about all that right now.”

  “But, sweetheart—”

  “Psalm, let’s get on the computer. Show Daddy what you learned today.”

  Nikki watched as her husband scurried away with their child.

  Later that night, they each retreated to a corner of the bed, Nikki on one side, William on the other. The silence covered them, but she knew he wasn’t asleep.

  “Baby, I wish you’d talk to me.” Nikki’s tone was plaintive.

  Silence.

  “Will, I’m really sorry.”

  Silence.

  “If you’d just let me explain,” she said, reaching to touch his shoulder. He shifted away. Nikki rolled closer to her husband and put her arm around him.

  He climbed out of the bed. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  Chapter 44

  For the third day in a row, Nikki and William were the top news of the day. The television news had a shot of a wild-eyed Nikki shouting “You make me sick!” at a reporter, while the newspaper quoted the district attorney as saying he was preparing to file charges against the couple for a host of wrongs—including identity theft and credit card fraud. One news report even speculated that William had killed Reverend Chance in order to take the man’s spot as a candidate.

  William cursed as he read the story. Already, three of his volunteers had quit and Reverend Hicks had been hinting that he wanted William to withdraw from the race, with the primary election bearing down on them in mere weeks.

  “I saw the news and read the paper,” Olivia said sympathetically. “It’s really bad. How are you holding up?”

  “Not well,” William said. “I’m so angry that I’ve got to spend time dealing with this instead of doing what I need to do. And now, I have serious problems. We could go to jail.”

  “You don’t really think you’ll have to serve time, do you?” Olivia asked. “I mean, you didn’t do anything.”

  “But my wife did.”

  “Well, but you and she are separate individuals. I’m sure if you struck a deal with the DA—”

  “I can’t turn on my wife like that.”

  “Of course not,” Olivia said quickly. “But I’m sure your wife wouldn’t want to see you go down for something she did. I’m sure she’ll make it right and tell the DA it was all her.”

  “I don’t know, “he said, changing the subject. “I don’t really want to talk about my wife, though. How are the polls?”

  “Not good.” Olivia sat down next to William, and leaned in close.

  Chapter 45

  Raymond placed a report on Danielle’s desk. “Hey, I’m about to head out for the day, but I thought I’d help you with your last report first. Here it is.”

  Danielle smiled into his eyes. “You are so sweet. She picked up the document and flipped through it. When she saw a couple of changes to it and some additions, Danielle added, “You really didn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s no problem,” Raymond said. “I know you’re under a lot of stress. I just wanted to help you out. How is your friend’s child doing?”

  Danielle’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “Things aren’t going too well.” She put her hand to her chest.

  Raymond stepped around the desk and put an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, hey,” he said gently. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  She waved her hand and sniffled. “It’s okay. I just get so emotional when I think about all that little girl is going through. Doctors don’t know how long she has to live.”

  Raymond’s eyes widened with concern. “Wow. I didn’t know it was like that. Is she in a hospital? Maybe we can send her something.”

  Danielle spoke quickly. “No, no. But that’s a nice thought. Her parents are kind of private. They wouldn’t want all the attention.”

  “Well, if you need anything,” Raymond said, stepping away. “Anything at all. You just let me know. And I’ll be there.”

  Danielle dried her eyes. “You’re so sweet to me. I couldn’t ask for a better office mate.” She kissed him on the cheek and pulled back slowly, letting her perfume tease his nose. “Thank you.”

  Raymond seemed to blush under her gratitude, and Danielle stifled a grin. Pretty soon, she would have him doing more of her work, she knew.

  Chapter 46

  “Psalm, stop running in the house!” Nikki snapped at the girl and Psalm instantly started wailing. Nikki shook her head and pushed away from the computer. “Baby, I’m sorry,” she said, holding the child close. “Mommy didn’t mean to yell.”

  Psalm’s tears were gone in an instant and Nikki sighed as the girl’s attention was diverted to the markers and crayons and poster board Nikki handed her. She knew stress was causing her to take her frustrations out on Psalm. William wasn’t speaking to her. His campaign was in jeopardy and so was the life they had built.

  The newspaper proclaimed the district attorney was hot on her trail and each time she heard a noise outside, she was afraid it was police coming to get her. The tension made her nerves brittle. She dodged phone calls unless they were from friends.

  Nikki punched in Keedra’s phone number. When the woman answered, Nikki voiced her question. “Can you look after Psalm for a couple of hours? I just need some time to think and—”

  “Sure,” Keedra said, even before Nikki finished the question. An hour l
ater, Psalm was gone, and Nikki had the house to herself. She was sitting on the couch when she heard a knock at the door. She sat perfectly still, hoping whoever was there would go away. The knock sounded again, insistent and menacing.

  “Who is it?” Nikki asked with trepidation.

  “Police.”

  Her eyes widened in fear and a lump formed in her throat. She stood riveted to the spot. “One moment,” she said weakly, willing herself to move. She opened the door and tried to smile, but failed. “May I help you?”

  “Nikki Broussard?”

  “Yes.”

  “We have a warrant for your arrest.”

  Chapter 47

  Moments later, after reapplying her lipstick, Danielle sashayed out of her office, her report in hand. Raymond had done a really good job. She was so glad she had found somebody to do her crummy work for her. I don’t have time to waste on these stupid patient files, she thought with a smile.

  “Hi,” she said, stepping into Nurse Smart’s office. “I just wanted to give my last report before leaving.”

  Nurse Smart smiled and took it. She glanced at it and nodded. “Your work has really improved lately,” she complimented. “This is excellent.”

  “Yes, I really took to heart what you said,” Danielle said. “You’re so brilliant and I’m just thankful you pulled me aside to help me.”

  Nurse Smart beamed. “You’re most welcome.”

  “Well, I guess I should be going,” Danielle said. She turned, then paused. “I bet you get a lot of compliments on your eyes. They are absolutely beautiful.”

  Nurse Smart blinked in surprise and sat up a bit straighter in her chair. “Oh. Well, not really,” she said and let out a small giggle. “I’ve always thought my eyes were my best feature.”

  Danielle seemed to have a sudden thought. She dropped her purse on Nurse Smart’s desk and rummaged through it, pulling out a makeup case. She quickly walked around the desk and closed the gap between them. “They are beautiful,” she said. “You really should play up your mouth, too. You have great lips.”

  She held up a lipstick. “You mind?”

  Nurse Smart shook her head, startled, then puckered her lips.

  Danielle smoothed the lipstick on slowly, taking her time. She could feel Nurse Smart’s breath on her hand. The other woman was quiet, and Danielle held back a smile as she could feel the woman’s breathing quicken. Danielle touched the woman’s hair and then pulled out a mirror. “See, look at yourself!”

  Nurse Smart did a double take. “Oh, thank you!” she said. “I can’t believe that’s me staring back in this mirror.”

  Danielle grinned. “See, you are a knockout, and didn’t even know it.” She put her makeup case back into her purse. “You’ve got to loosen up. You’re always so uptight. But you’re beautiful. Well, thanks again for looking at my work with such a favorable eye.”

  “Oh, anything you need, you let me know,” Nurse Smart said, her voice a bit husky. She cleared her throat.

  “I’m really trying to get a good review so I can get that raise,” Danielle said.

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Nurse Smart said. “You’ll get a good review.”

  “You think so?” Danielle said, letting a tiny line cross her forehead. “I’ve been so worried. What, with that bad report I received the other day and all.”

  “Oh, don’t be concerned about that,” Nurse Smart said, waving. “I’ll go back into my records and correct that. We’ll just say I had time to, uh, review the situation. And I see your work is exemplary.” She held up the latest report. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Danielle said and hugged the other woman. Then she stepped back. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I hope you don’t mind. I just got so excited.”

  “It’s okay,” Nurse Smart gushed. “I didn’t mind. I’m glad to see you so happy.”

  “Okay, well, I guess I should be going now,” Danielle said, gathering her purse.

  “Danielle, wait up,” Nurse Smart said, springing from her chair. She cleared her throat again. “Do you . . . would you like to have dinner tonight?”

  Danielle quickly sidestepped the question, with a smile. “Tonight, I can’t, but I’d love to get together sometime. Well, I’ve got to run. See you tomorrow!”

  Danielle quickly walked out of Nurse Smart’s office, with a self-satisfied grin. Yep, I am going to get my raise, she thought. But her visage quickly darkened as her mind went back to the half dozen phone calls she had made to Troy all day. She hadn’t been able to catch him at all.

  She hopped into her gold Lexus and sped to Troy’s apartment, bouncing off the curb in her haste to turn into his complex. “See, I knew he was there!” she yelled the words to the emptiness of her vehicle. His Navigator was parked in its usual spot. She jumped out of her car and rushed to the stairs, then paused. She decided she was going to see what he was up to first.

  Instead of climbing the stairs and knocking on the door, Danielle slipped around to the back. She climbed over prickly hedges, trying to balance on one foot. She gathered her skirt around her thighs and twisted until she was next to the wall, then tiptoed around the building until she got to just beneath Troy’s second floor apartment.

  She stepped onto the patio of the bottom apartment, looking for a foothold to hoist herself up.

  Rrrrring! Rrrring! She quickly looked down at her cell phone. She didn’t recognize the number, but picked up anyway. This had better be Troy’s sorry behind, she groused. “Hello?”

  “You have a collect call from . . .”

  “Collect call?” Danielle hung up. A moment later, the phone rang again. She thought to ignore it, but answered. “Who is this?” she said in a hushed tone.

  The recording started again, announcing she had a collect call. “ . . . call from Nikki. Will you accept?”

  “Yes, I’ll accept,” Danielle said, curiosity in her tone.

  A moment later, Nikki’s voice came over the line. “Danielle, I hate to bug you but I am in jail.”

  “In jail?” Danielle’s pitch rose and she tried to lower her voice as she stood on the patio of someone’s apartment. “What are you doing in jail?”

  “They arrested me behind that credit card mess,” Nikki informed her.

  “You didn’t say anything about me, did you?” Danielle’s voice was laced with worry.

  “No, no,” Nikki said quickly.

  “Oh, okay, cool,” Danielle said, now more relaxed.

  “But I need you to bail me out,” Nikki said.

  Danielle heard movement from above. Troy was on his deck. She quickly stepped back, inching as close to the wall as she could. She could hear him talking; it sounded like he was on his cell phone.

  “Nikki, I’m going to have to call you back,” Danielle whispered.

  “You can’t call me,” Nikki said, but Danielle had already hung up.

  Chapter 48

  Nikki didn’t know what to do. She was fresh out of options. Danielle had hung up and William wasn’t answering his cell. What if they had taken him in, too? Nikki would never forgive herself if William went to jail over this. Fear gripped her gut as she faced a night behind bars. And what about her child? Who would care for Psalm? She couldn’t call Keedra because she was out of her allowed phone calls.

  Nikki was ushered back to her cell, where she sat on a cracker-thin mattress, staring at gray walls. All around her, she heard conversation, some raised, some muffled. No one seemed to pay attention to her, and she had no cell mate at the moment. Her palms became sweaty as a thought hit her: What if she had to stay here overnight? They had processed her as if she would be there for a while—they had taken her fingerprints and mug shot and even confiscated her clothing and personal items.

  She didn’t have an attorney or anyone else to call for that matter. She thought to pray but shook her head at the idea. God doesn’t want to hear from me, she thought.

  Nikki was alone.

  Chapter 49
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br />   Danielle crouched in the shadow right beneath Troy’s apartment, straining to hear his conversation. After a moment, he went back inside. She waited for a beat to be sure he wasn’t coming back out.

  She took her shoes off and stuck them into her purse, which she looped over her shoulder, then carefully stepped onto the thick, wooden rail, balancing on one foot as she hooked her other foot in a rung. She managed to shimmy up the splintered column. Then her foot slipped and she flailed her arms wildly, knocking over a plant that clattered to the ground. As she fell, she stuck her hands out to brace herself. The fall didn’t hurt, since it was only a couple or so feet, but a splinter got lodged into her thumb. She squeezed it out, sucking the spot where it had broken her skin, before climbing more carefully again.

  This time, she managed to flip her leg over the bar and get a good grip and pull herself up the column. Her skirt hitched about her thighs and her bare feet anchored her.

  At last, she stood on Troy’s deck. She paused to catch her breath, and wiped sweat off her forehead. I’m going to make him pay for my clothes. They are ruined, she lamented, taking in the sweat stains and torn hemline. She tried the glass doors. They were unlocked, as she knew they would be. Troy never locked those doors.

  She quietly slid them open and stepped into the cool kitchen. The place was silent and dark. She paused. She could hear a sound, but couldn’t make it out. She inched closer to it, holding her breath.

  Oh, it was the shower. She breathed, relieved she hadn’t walked in him doing anything that would upset her. She saw no telltale signs of another woman being there. Maybe he wasn’t cheating. But he still needed to answer the phone when she called.

  An idea occurred to her. If Troy hadn’t been cheating, then she needed to get out of there—like now. She didn’t want Troy to think she was crazy. She backed into the living room and heard the shower stop. She froze. A whisper of, “Oh, shoot!” escaped her lips. What should she do? Where could she hide?

  Danielle knew if she ran, she could hop out the doors and disappear. But as she debated the unpleasant thought of shimmying back down that splintery wood, she heard muffled voices coming from the direction of the shower. Her eyes narrowed. She inched closer to the bathroom door and pushed it open.