by Emery, Lynn
Willa picked up an oversized stuffed pink horse. When she squeezed it a children’s tune played. Sage bounced to the beat with a laugh of delight. “No kidding. Lucky Sage is too young to understand all this craziness right now.”
“She’ll be telling a therapist about me by the time she’s twenty-one.”
“Umm, are we still talking about Sage?” Willa raised an eyebrow at MiMi.
“There’s nothing wrong with seeing a therapist,” MiMi shot back. “The world wouldn’t be so screwed up if more people got help with their issues.”
“What I meant was… I didn’t say… Stop tripping,” Willa said finally.
MiMi blew out a long breath. “Sorry, like I said—”
“On edge is an understatement. Sheesh. What have you got to eat?” Willa picked up Sage along with the pink horse and headed for the kitchen.
“I’ve got enough Greek takeout left for three people. My appetite has been off lately. Have a seat and I’ll fix dinner for all of us.”
Willa placed Sage in her high chair and continued to entertain her. MiMi checked the double warmer that held Sage’s toddler dishes of mashed potatoes, green peas and sliced wieners. Then she tested the food in the oven. Since it still wasn’t hot, she decided to feed Sage. Once she placed the food on a plate, Willa took it.
“I’ll do this. Kinda nice, reminds me of when my two were small.” Willa fastened the bib around Sage’s neck.
With a nod of thanks, MiMi went to the laundry room. She emptied the washer and loaded the wet clothes in the dryer. Then she returned to the kitchen just in time to see Sage happily slurping a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
“She loves that stuff. And she’d eat green peas every day if I fixed them,” MiMi said with a laugh.
“Yeah, well I’m getting the vegetable in her before she starts in on the meat,” Willa said as she wiped Sage’s already food smeared cheeks.
“You know a lot about being a good mother. I’m obviously making a mess of it.” MiMi sat down hard across from them.
“Don’t even start with that crap. I know you’re not saying Adrienne could do it better,” Willa said.
“Hell no,” MiMi blurted out. When Sage’s big brown eyes widened at her, MiMi hissed. “Sorry, little miss. Mama will wash her mouth out with soap and be more careful.”
Willa smiled at MiMi before giving Sage another serving of mashed green peas. “I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay.”
“I have a confession.” MiMi twisted part of the hem of the too big t-shirt into a ball.
“Good thing the police or FBI aren’t around,” Willa quipped.
“You think they’ve planted listening devices in here?” MiMi sat straight and scanned the room.
“I need to stop kidding around and watch what I say to you right now.” Willa put the plate down when Sage refused potatoes or more peas. She gave Sage a slice of wiener. Then Willa placed two soft squeeze toys within her reach. “Okay, you ate most of it, so here you go.”
“Hmmm.” Sage happily gnawed on the meat clutched in a tiny fist.
“Now, what’s the confession?” Willa wiped her hands on a dish towel.
“Being a mother scared the crap out of me. I didn’t exactly have the best role model. Sometimes I have to stop myself from dressing Sage up like a mini sorority debutante. I catch myself sounding like my…” MiMi gave a shudder, shoulders shaking. “I sound like my mother when I fuss at her about something.”
“You’re not your mother,” Willa said firmly.
“I can’t be sure. What if I slip into being rigid and judgmental? I can be a bit calculating you know.” MiMi chewed her lower lip.
“Tell me something I don’t know. You were my late husband’s mistress and had the nerve to sashay in my office trying to find out about his will.” Willa laughed at the grimace that twisted MiMi’s face.
“For the one-hundredth time, Jack was almost your ex-husband. You’d been separated for a year,” MiMi snapped.
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop for real, but that was too good to pass up.” Willa grinned at her. “Seriously, everything you do is to for Sage, to make her life better. You’re a good mama.”
“That means so much coming from you.” MiMi blinked away sudden tears.
“How you go about it needs some work.” Willa went to the oven. She used pot holders to remove the hot food. Moments later she’d heaped rice pilaf and roasted lamb on two plates.
“Yeah, like picking Roderick as her new daddy.” MiMi frowned.
“Don’t forget going asking about laundered money in the Dominican Republic,” Willa added over her shoulder.
“My choices may help Adrienne put together her perfect family. One boy, one girl and a handsome, successful husband.”
“So your plan to get the side piece stirred up hasn’t worked out?” Willa came back to the table with their food.
“Nothing, not one peep. Add one more bad idea to the other stupid moves I’ve made.”
“Hey, I didn’t come here to have pity party. Besides, it was a pretty clever idea. Might still work. Now let’s eat before this little dynamo gets restless and wants to get down. I’m hungry.” Willa stabbed a piece of lamb with her fork. She tasted it and made happy sounds.
“Enjoy. Ali Baba’s has some of the best Mediterranean food in town.”
MiMi smiled at Willa with affection. Then she popped out of her seat and got a damp dish cloth. She cleaned up the mess Sage had made while eating. Clumps of cold mash potatoes were on the floor as well as the high chair.
“Sit down and eat. You’ll lose those curves you used to lure so many men into your clutches.”
“Right, and look how well that has turned out so far. Keeping busy helps settle my nerves,” MiMi said as she scrubbed the kitchen table around Willa’s plate.
“At least let me eat in peace,” Willa protested.
“Alright, alright. Just don’t make a mess.” MiMi scuttled beyond her reach with a laugh when Willa pretended to jab at her with the knife.
In a few minutes, MiMi had cleaned up most of the dishes, emptied the trash can and took clothes out of the dryer. When she returned to the kitchen, Willa had Sage in her lap. She gently rocked the contented toddler.
“You’re a natural with kids,” MiMi said.
“I had practice with my younger siblings before I had mine,” Willa said quietly. “In a minute this one will be sleepy. Get her cleaned now because the bath will wake her up.”
“Right. Up we go boo-baby.” MiMi lifted Sage into her arms. She breathed in the sweet smell of her. “Mama’s good girl.”
“Mah-mah,” Sage said. She clapped a palm on MiMi’s right cheek.
Willa followed upstairs and watched MiMi bathe Sage. They swapped mother to mother chatter as Sage enjoyed the warm sudsy water. Bright yellow rubber ducks and a tiny swan floated around her. The toddler squealed with joy when ripples made them bounce. By the time they got her into the pink onesie, Sage showed no signs of being sleepy. In fact she chattered baby talk and played as if bedtime was not on her agenda.
“Dang, she’s wide awake again. You know what that means.” Willa shook her head.
“Maybe sitting in the rocker will help.” MiMi picked Sage up. Once she settled into the rocking chair, Sage promptly whined and twisted to get out of her lap. “Lord, another bedtime battle.”
“Humph, been there and done that too many times. Screaming baby is my cue to go home.” Willa waved.
“Aw c’mon. At least keep me company during the struggle, girl,” MiMi quipped.
“Nah, I’m out for the terrible toddler blues. Sung my own twice,” Willa retorted.
“You ain’t right.” MiMi started to say more when the house phone rang. She picked up the cordless handset on a small table in Sage’s room. “Hello.”
“I’ll lock up on my way out,” Willa whispered.
MiMi covered the phone with one hand. “Don’t leave,” she whispered. Then she spoke into the phone again. “Hi Nairoby. I thought you were gettin
g out of town ASAP.”
“What?” Willa mouthed and then hissed her displeasure.
“Yeah, so why didn’t you follow the plan? Oh. Huh? No, I can’t help you with… Listen to me, the police are anxious to talk to you and Ramon. Trust me, it won’t take them long to track you down and…”
MiMi gave Willa a series of hand signals. Sage blinked at her as if wondering if mama had lost her mind. When Willa shrugged and wore a baffled expression, MiMi waved again. Willa mouthed at her to hang up three times and huffed in frustration when MiMi pretended she didn’t notice.
“Wait, you what? Okay, so maybe going back to the DR is a bad idea right now, but I don’t see how…” MiMi listened to the rising panic in the woman’s rapid explanation. “Oh shit.”
“Language in front of the baby,” Willa said sharply.
“No, I’m alone. That’s the television.” MiMi frowned at Willa as she flailed a hand at her to keep quiet. “Talking to the police is unavoidable. I mean they’ll find you. No, you have to show ID at hotels these days and… Uh, I see.”
Willa shook her head slowly. She whispered, “I don’t like the sound of this conversation.”
“Right. What? You’ve got to be kidding me. Ramon left you? I told you he was loyal to them. I didn’t get you into anything, Nairoby. I…” MiMi paced with the phone as she listened. “Let me call you back in fifteen minutes. No, I’m not telling you now. Give me the number or work it out by yourself. Decide.”
As Willa again shook her head and huffed with a frown, MiMi rushed out of the bedroom. “What the?”
Moments later MiMi came back with a slip of paper. She dropped the handset into the charger again. “Her number. She wants an answer.”
“Easy, the answer is hell no,” Willa muttered low. She darted a look at Sage who played nearby.
“You haven’t heard what she said yet.” MiMi stared at the small square of note paper in her hand.
“Oh I can tell you what she said. I want to pull you into deep sh… trouble and make your life even more messy than it already is.” Willa went over to where Sage sat on the carpet and picked her up. “You were nuts to give her this number.”
“I didn’t give it to her, but these days of no privacy she could have gotten it anywhere. On the internet in some search database. But that’s not what matters. She said…” MiMi waved her arms.
“I don’t care what she said, and neither should you. Put your baby to bed. Drink some chamomile tea, and forget her.”
“Just listen to me,” MiMi insisted.
“What part of ‘No’ is confusing you, MiMi? She’s in trouble with her gangster friends or partners. Her problem, not ours, and let’s make sure it stays that way.”
Willa tried to put Sage in her bed. The toddler squealed in protest and twisted until Willa put her down again. She made a dash for a pile of toys instead.
“Yes, but you don’t—”
“I don’t care what she said. Nothing is going to change my mind. We’ve had like way too many close calls with American thugs. I’m not looking to expand internationally. She’s running from them, which means we should stay out of her problems.” Willa faced MiMi with her arms crossed.
“But—“
“I’m not hearing it,” Willa turned her back.
“Nairoby says Jack transferred up to four hundred thousand dollars out of the US,” MiMi blurted out fast and loud.
Willa gasped and froze in place. “Did you just say…”
MiMi nodded. “Maybe more.”
Chapter 18
Two hours later they had dropped Sage off at Mama Ruby’s house. Papa Elton scowled at Willa and MiMi seconds after they walked through his front door. Mama Ruby went off to put a half asleep Sage into a comfy bed. Papa Elton took that time to deliver a firm lecture. Not that it did any good. After the lecture, a round of goodbye kisses to the kids and half-truths they left. Willa didn’t say anything for the first ten minutes. When they stopped at a red light in a section of Baton Rouge called Easy Town, Willa heaved a sigh.
“Crazy; we’re all bat shit out of our minds,” Willa muttered. “And why do I let you suck me into crazy right along with you? If it’s not you, it’s my sister. Not only that, I’m dumb enough to be driving my SUV. It’s only a year old. ”
“Jazz said driving my Lexus is a bad idea, let alone parking it.” MiMi barely listened as she stared out of the window at the passing houses.
“Humph, they’d just think we were drug dealers.” Willa took off when the light winked green.
“Drug dealers don’t drive Lexus SUVs. They prefer Range Rovers,” MiMi replied absently.
“You’re suddenly an expert on drug dealers and they’re preferences. Impressive,” Willa drawled.
“Jazz told me. Most dealers are low level. They don’t make much money anyway. They drive old cars they fix up with those fancy wheels and stuff.” MiMi kept thinking.
“Right, fascinating. Now we’re going off to learn about foreign gangstas. We could write a book, maybe get a movie deal. If we survive,” Willa grumbled.
“Hmmm.” MiMi flipped a hand as her only response.
Willa mumbled barely above a whisper as they continued on. MiMi didn’t pay much attention to her sour commentary and foul mood. In spite of her bad attitude, Willa came along. No matter what she said or how many times she rolled her eyes, Willa had MiMi’s back. More and more MiMi considered Willa’s extended family as her own. So a few minutes later when they pulled beneath the flashy red electric sign with Candy Girls in bold letters, MiMi felt right at home.
“Jazz was supposed to change the name of this place and move to another location,” Willa griped.
“Don’t pick a fight with her. Just don’t,” MiMi clipped. Before Willa could reply she hopped out of the front passenger seat and got into the back.
Jazz strode out dressed in a tight dark top with matching knit pants. She wore a pair of sneakers. She climbed into the passenger seat MiMi had vacated. “Hey y’all. So, Willa, you had enough time to get out all the bitchin’ on the way over here? Or do we need to drive around a few more minutes, give you more time?”
Willa shot a heated glance at Jazz. “Blow it out your…”
“We don’t have time to fight each other. We have to focus on the business at hand,” MiMi said to head off a fiery exchange. “Nairoby says Ramon is gone, but she could have lied. Or she might have more hired help.”
“Yeah,” Jazz agreed. A frown replaced the smirk on her face.
“So let’s get our game on. I don’t want to be surprised.” MiMi tightened the band that held her thick hair back into a ponytail.
They rode in tense silence for the next few minutes as Willa negotiated heavy Baton Rouge traffic. The volume of cars and trucks became thicker when they got on Interstate 10 toward New Orleans. Once they crossed the East Baton Rouge Parish line and into Ascension Parish, MiMi allowed herself to relax a bit.
“We should have taken time to let Don check if Ramon really is gone,” MiMi said.
“Don would have asked why and seen through any lie we told. Plus I won’t get him involved. This is the best plan on short notice anyway,” Jazz replied.
“What if Nairoby hired local dudes?” Willa chewed on her bottom lip.
“I checked around and didn’t hear anything, but with it being so last minute…” Jazz shrugged. She glanced out the windows as the SUV rolled down dark streets.
“Just great. We’re going in blind, deaf and dumb; emphasis on the dumb,” Willa retorted.
“Look, Nairoby has no ties in Louisiana, not to mention she’s in a hotel in Kenner. She’d be crazy to trust gangsters she’s never met before. Let’s all just calm down. We’ll be on our way home in no time.” MiMi forced cheer into her tone.
“Yeah.” Jazz sat on the edge of the seat. Her gaze darted between both of the outside rearview mirrors.
“I don’t believe her story. That’s why I think it’s got to be a trap.” Willa frowned as she glanced b
riefly at MiMi in the interior rearview mirror.
“She knows Jack moved money,” MiMi replied.
“But that can’t be. Banks have to report transfers over ten thousand dollars. There would be a paper trail and we’ve found nothing. And Cedric and my team are good at skip tracing.” Willa rubbed her forehead as if that might help her understand.
“Nairoby says she’ll tell me the details. There’s a legal way we can get the money,” MiMi said.
“Uh-uh, not possible. She’s lying. And what was all that about some guy named Ramon?”
“Ramon is the muscle that came with her. Turns out he was sent to keep an eye on her. He took off, left her on her own.” MiMi squinted. “Anyway, she’s scared of what he might tell the others.”
“Yeah, which is a very good reason to stay far away from her. They could be sending a hit team on her. I say we avoid getting caught in the crossfire,” Willa said firmly.
“I don’t think it’s that simple, Willa. They already know about us so we have to take action,” MiMi said.
“What you mean ‘us’ and ‘we’? Sweetie, you and Jack, and then Roderick got yourselves mixed up in gangsta drama. Tell the police and FBI what she said, turn it over to them and leave it alone. We can still turn around and go home,” Willa said.
“Ramon or those dudes in the DR can’t set up any kind of hit on Nairoby long distance,” MiMi argued.
Willa heaved a deep sigh and let it out. “She told you they’ve done business here before. They could hire somebody local. You have no clue how many thugs they’re connected to in Baton Rouge.”
“Jazz checked, and she didn’t.”
“No, Jazz did a rush job and isn’t sure,” Willa said with force.
“If we hurry we can talk to her, get the story and then talk to the cops.” MiMi nodded eagerly.
MiMi ignored Willa’s eye roll and loud grunt. Jazz remained quietly vigilant. For the next hour the air inside the SUV remained charged. MiMi’s attempts at small talk fell flat. Finally she gave up and found a smooth jazz station. They rode in silence with music playing softly. When the large green exit sign loomed up ahead, MiMi pointed.
“Exit 223 A-B, that’s it,” she said.