by Aviva Gat
She took the test in Keisha’s bathroom and pretended to rejoice with her. Then, she went to Madeline, the only person she thought would know what to do.
Chapter 36
Rhonda didn’t need to go into all the details with Madeline. But she gave her a brief explanation of what happened that day so Madeline would understand how evil the Cobras were. The Cobras were horrible people, all of them, and anyone who associated with them was just as guilty.
“And Hunter works for them,” Rhonda concluded her story. “That’s why I left him.”
Madeline nodded without giving away any glimpse of how she felt. “I’m so sorry that all happened to you.”
Rhonda felt satisfied, telling Madeline the truth. Now, if she were close to the decent person she pretended to be, she would never be with Hunter. She would never be with someone who worked with rapists.
“So you see, the money ain’t for the divorce,” Rhonda said. “So you giving him money doesn’t free him from me.” She tried to bait Madeline, wondering how she would respond. That woman didn’t give anything away. “That’s why you’re here, right?”
“Well, that’s not my business,” Madeline responded. From this conversation, Madeline was sure Rhonda wasn’t behind the blackmail. Had she been, she would have tried to convince Madeline to pay rather than spend her time bashing her husband. “But I believe I got what I came for.” Madeline took another small sip of water from the cup in front of her and stood up. “It’s late, I should be going.”
Rhonda agreed. Indeed it was late, so late, that it was actually early morning. She wouldn’t get much sleep before she needed to get up and get the kids to school before heading to court for a hearing in her divorce proceedings. She was tired of the divorce and didn’t understand what took so long. She just needed alimony and child-support and was sure that Hunter could fund her lifestyle, even with just his salary from city council and his landscaping business.
She walked Madeline to the door, thinking about how strange it was to be face to face with the woman she had thought about so many times over the years. “Well, goodbye, now,” she said, and Madeline thanked her for her time. Rhonda hoped this goodbye was for good—both in person and from her thoughts. She hoped that after this encounter, Madeline would no longer cast a shadow over the new life she was trying to create.
Madeline had no idea what influence she had had over Rhonda’s life throughout the years. She was unaware of her constant presence and the deeper meaning of Rhonda’s goodbye. To her, this encounter had a completely different purpose. She got into her car with a feeling of relief. This new information gave her something on Hunter, something she could use to get out of her situation with him. The question was how?
It was already after dawn when she arrived home. The lights in the kitchen were on and the smell of coffee wafted through the air. Molly was inside preparing breakfast for Adam who was already sitting at the kitchen table. “I couldn’t sleep,” he said to his mother when she kissed him on the cheek.
“Nightmares,” Molly mouthed and Madeline understood. They always tried to keep Adam away from the TV when there was news on. He was sensitive and could have nightmares for a week when seeing something that triggered his young emotions. Madeline could only imagine the nightmares that could be triggered by him seeing his older brother’s bruised face returning from the hospital. Madeline sat down to eat breakfast with her son and helped herself to the pancakes Molly stacked on the table.
Soon Brandon came down and filled his to-go mug with coffee. He greeted Molly and told her he’d be back late that evening. Madeline waited for her greeting, for her kiss on the cheek, but it didn’t come. Brandon gave her a quick nod and was out the door.
Madeline stayed with Adam until it was time for Molly to take him to school. When he left she quickly glanced at the newspaper on the counter.
Hundreds show up for funeral of teen shot by cop
Cop taking leave of absence during investigation
Shooting victim had ties to local gang
Thomas reelection to focus on race/police violence
The main picture was of Jay Flynn standing in front of an old muscle car. His arms were folded in front of his chest, but Madeline thought she saw a flicker of green hidden in the folds. Below the last headline, there was a small picture of Madeline and Hunter shaking hands from the previous evening’s event. She knew the picture looked good for her.
After her last sip of coffee she went upstairs to check on her other son. He appeared to be sleeping, but when Madeline stepped into his room, he opened his eyes. She took that as an invitation to come inside and she sat next to him in bed. He tried to sit up, but he winced as the pain from his broken rib shook through him.
“You did a good job last night,” Noah whispered.
“You saw?”
“Dad was watching at the hospital. He thought I was sleeping. He’s proud of you.” Madeline blushed and thanked her son.
“Do you want to talk about what happened at school?” Noah shook his head. “Was it Jamie?”
“They keep saying you’re going to lose.”
“Well I might,” she said. “That’s part of running. But I’ll do my best not to.” Madeline’s phone started ringing and she pulled it from her pocket to see who it was. Jane.
“Senator Band has agreed to endorse you!” Jane yelled into the phone. “This is big, I’m sure Austin was hoping for the endorsement. Also I think I knew who was vetting you for a vice presidential run. Can you get down to the office? There’s a lot to do after last night.”
Madeline agreed and gave her son a gentle hug. He went back to sleep, something Madeline wished she had the time to do. It wasn’t easy going for days without sleep. When she was younger, it seemed easy. She remembered pulling all-nighters to study in college, taking exams and then going out to celebrate afterwards. Now, looking back, she had no idea how she survived.
She quickly showered and changed her clothes before getting back into her car and driving to the office. On the drive, she received a call from Agent Murray, one of the FBI agents on the blackmail case.
“So we believe it was an empty threat,” the agent said. “The deadline passed and there hasn’t been anything in the news relating to the blackmail.”
Madeline rolled her eyes, but then she had a thought. “There is a new lead that I’d like you to look into.” All the information she had received from Rhonda had sparked new emotions and ideas in Madeline. Multiple problems could be solved if the FBI could just do their job. She spent the next few minutes telling the agent a story, carefully woven to ensure he could follow through and solve this issue. She thanked the agent for the team’s hard work and hung up the phone. When she arrived at the office, she saw a text message from Hunter: See you this evening at the hotel?
Yes, she responded and slipped the phone back into her bag. She spent the day reviewing her campaign with her team. They discussed their conversations with supporters from the evening’s event, news coverage, and what they proposed to do moving forward in the race against Officer Austin. Madeline tried hard to concentrate and give her input, but in truth, her mind was elsewhere. The lack of sleep mixed with the knowledge she had gained the previous night made it impossible for her mind to be where her body was. She just nodded along, thankful that she had a competent team taking care of her campaign.
When the second half of the day came around, Madeline was dizzy from the lack of sleep. Jane could see the dark circles under her boss’ eyes and suggested she leave to get some rest. Madeline didn’t protest, but she knew that there were things to do before she could rest.
She drove her car to Hunter’s hotel. It wasn’t the Langham, but it was a nice hotel. A large parking lot underneath, carpeted elevators with upbeat music in the background. She wondered if this was where Hunter always stayed when coming to California for his divorce court hearings. She took the elevator up to his floor and walked out into the hallway. A mirror across the way caught her of
f guard. The face looking back at her knew what she needed to do.
Chapter 37
Inside his hotel room, Hunter was sweating. He had the air conditioning turned on high, but it wasn’t helping the dripping down his back. He had just gotten off the phone with Bumpy. It would be a complete understatement to say Bumpy wasn’t happy. He was livid. Raged. Fuming. He didn’t like showing up at Hunter’s office to find it closed. Especially when Hunter owed him money.
Hunter would get the money for him. He had to, he didn’t see any other choices. He thought he heard the elevator ding, but when he opened the door, the hall was empty. Where was she? It’s funny how things spiral, Hunter thought to himself as he waited.
To be honest, Hunter wasn’t sure how he got caught up in this mess. He had always been an idealist and moralist. He believed in hard work and taking care of himself and his family. Those things seem so easy when you’re younger. There would be no reasons to stray.
One of his early goals was to be a man his children would be proud of. That’s why he worked hard and bought the landscaping business. He thought he was doing a good job, providing and taking care of his family. But then, one day, a remark from Rhonda made him realize his failure. She was sitting in the kitchen holding a book that their daughter had brought home from the school library. Half the pages were ripped out and the other half had been drawn all over. “What’s the point of going to school in Harlem, anyways,” she said and Hunter nodded.
Maybe the easy solution would have been to move his family Downtown. Certainly they could afford to rent a small place in one of the neighborhoods where his business primmed the fauna. Maybe one of his clients would have given him a good deal. But Hunter loved Harlem and the easy road wasn’t his normal route. So he decided that if he wouldn’t switch neighborhoods, he would change the neighborhood. And that’s when he decided to run for city council.
He could see Rhonda’s disapproval. Sure, she would have liked to live somewhere else, but this was more important. City council also came with a good salary and he promised to himself that he would provide Rhonda and his children the life they deserved, even in Harlem. He’d have to work harder, but it would be worth it.
The election was easy. The previous city council member from Harlem was retiring and had helped Hunter. In fact, no one was even running against him, which made him feel a little like the win was undeserved. But no matter, he would prove himself in office.
His predecessor congratulated him and promised to help him get started at the beginning of his term. Hunter was thankful because he really had no idea what he was supposed to be doing on a daily basis. What did politicians do all day? He briefly thought about Madeline, how she would know the answer, but he wouldn’t talk to her. The last time he saw her—a few years back when she was visiting New York—he made a dreadful mistake. He couldn’t trust himself around her and he didn’t want to betray his wife or family again.
His first year in office, his predecessor came almost every day to sit with him. He’d introduce Hunter with locals that Hunter needed to know and give him insights about dealing with other city council members. Hunter even brought him along to a few introduction meetings he had set up for himself. Everyone seemed to like his predecessor and he appeared to be pretty good at getting things done, so Hunter respected him. He wanted to emulate him and prove he was just as worthy.
And then one day a boy with a green bandana came into Hunter’s office. Hunter recognized the bandana and stood up. He had a gun in the desk drawer, but truthfully, he was afraid to use it. He wanted to tell the Cobra to get out, but his predecessor stood and gave the boy a hung.
“Meet Handy,” his predecessor said. “He’s your liaison.” Hunter wasn’t sure what he meant, but he nodded and shook Handy’s hand. Handy placed a big envelop on Hunter’s desk, a “welcome present” he said and then he left.
“I’m not dealing with gangs,” Hunter told his predecessor. “You have to give this back,” he motioned to the envelope.
“You don’t have a choice,” the predecessor said. “You won’t be able to get anything done without them. You want to represent Harlem? You represent all of Harlem. Not just the pretty parts. The Cobras are Harlem.” Hunter politely asked his predecessor to leave. “You’ll see,” the predecessor said.
Handy came back the next week with another envelope. This time Hunter was alone and he told the boy that he wasn’t interested. Handy laughed, said OK, and left. Hunter was surprised how easy it was and was proud of himself for sticking to his ground. That evening, when he locked up his office, he was attacked by two hooded boys. They weren’t wearing their bandanas, but Hunter got the message.
The next few weeks he accepted the money from Handy. He’d decided to donate it to the community center and reasoned that what he was doing was good and that it would make a difference in the community. He started to wonder why they kept giving him cash, until one day a new boy showed up.
“Handy was arrested last night,” the new boy said. “He needs to go home.”
“But, I can’t really do anything,” Hunter reasoned. “I’m on the city council, I just deal with city ordinances and licenses and stuff.”
The boy chuckled. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
Hunter called his predecessor who laughed when he took the call. “I was wondering when I’d hear from you.” He explained to Hunter who to talk to, which police officers could be arm-twisted and which judges to look out for. When Handy was released, Hunter was actually proud of himself. Maybe this was part of helping the community. After all, there was a steady stream of funding going to the community center and he could keep an eye on Handy and try to mentor the young boy.
Things were going well. Hunter worked hard at his job. Favors for the Cobras started to come up often and Hunter figured out how to deal with them. He’d get members out of jail, ensure there would be no police stationed at specific locations at specific times, and would give them permits for big events they wanted to host. Guilt did pour through him, but he reasoned that he was helping his constituents. Right? He was more afraid of the Cobras than he was of the guilt.
Aside from his dealings with the Cobras, he became more active in the city council, proposing his own ideas for new ordinances and integrating Harlem with the rest of Manhattan. The other council members appreciated his enthusiasm, but none of Hunter’s proposals ever passed a vote.
One evening, after a particularly grueling day when Hunter had argued with the council to approve the route of a new Hip Hop Parade through Harlem, Hunter came home to see Rhonda with her arms folded on the couch. She was watching TV and immediately let Hunter know how tired she was. “You don’t appreciate how hard I work,” she said. Hunter told her that he did appreciate it. He knew it was tough raising their daughter and working toward her certification as a TSA agent. “So prove it,” Rhonda challenged him.
The next day Hunter bought Rhonda a pair of gold earrings. They were simple, nothing special, as Hunter’s bank account barely allowed for impulse purchases. They had just bought their apartment and raising a child in Manhattan wasn’t cheap, even if it was Harlem. Rhonda called the earrings “cute” and asked if any of his colleague’s wives would be caught dead wearing anything so small.
Hunter was embarrassed because she was right. His colleagues—from districts in lower Manhattan—all wore Rolex watches, had diamond cufflinks. Maybe that’s why they didn’t approve Hunter’s proposals. He needed to be more like them. So the next time he got an envelope from the Cobras he saved it. He kept saving them until he bought himself a Rolex and his wife a flashy new necklace. Rhonda was pleased with the gift and that night they made love more passionately than they had since becoming parents.
The next day, with his new watch, Hunter proposed a city ordinance to allow more food trucks to come to Harlem. The proposal passed without opposition and Hunter returned home, proud of his work. Rhonda’s spirits were still up and things seemed to be going well fo
r him. He told himself he’d donate the next envelope from the Cobras to the community center. But then, Rhonda made a comment about a new bag she wanted and how difficult things were and so Hunter bought her the bag with the envelope and reasoned it was necessary to keep his wife happy.
One day, he was feeling particularly down. Something terrible had happened. A kid had been killed in Harlem after being caught in the crossfire of a gang fight. Hunter felt responsible. After all, many of those gang members were on the street because of him. He could have saved that kid’s life. On that day, he saw in the news that Madeline Thomas was in town speaking at a local event for the WISH List. He thought that maybe she would have advice for him. She’d been in politics much longer—did she know how to avoid corruption? Did she know how to get out of the mess he was in? He took a cab to the Langham downtown where he knew she’d be staying. He waited outside and when he saw her walking in, he followed. She went to the bar to get a drink and he did too. But when he saw her, he knew not to approach her. She treated him like a nobody. Worse than ignoring him, she gave him a look that made him feel worthless. That’s when his feelings toward her turned to anger.
On his way home he stopped at a jeweler in Midtown and bought his wife a bracelet. At least she thought he was doing a good job. Hunter continued. He started feeling worse and worse about himself, for being weak against the Cobras, for pretending to be someone he wasn’t with his colleagues in order to get ordinances passed, for being unable to please his wife without jewelry in hand.
He began thinking more and more about Madeline. How did she do it? Why did everything come easy to her? Why did he ever let her go? His thoughts about her oscillated between missing her and hating her for everything that she stood for.
When Dreads got arrested and Handy told Hunter he had to get him free, Hunter was already near the bottom. He half-heartedly talked to the judge and didn’t follow through to see if Dreads got free. Why should he? He thought, Dreads was probably guilty. He deserved jail. But when Dreads got sentenced to life in prison, Hunter didn’t realize there would be consequences.