Frank burst out laughing. This old woman was something else. He loved her as if she were a blood member of his own family and would kill to protect her.
“So, where did you go off to this morning?”
“I took the kids to IHOP.”
“Oh. I know they loved that.”
“Well, it was the least I could do, after accidentally dropping the food Rhonda cooked for me this morning,” Frank said with a wry smile.
“Hmmm, from the sound of your voice, dropping it on the floor was no accident.”
Frank turned his head toward his porch and glanced at his front door. He then turned back to Sadie, leaned over, and whispered into her ear.
“It wasn’t an accident, Sadie. You should’ve seen that monstrosity she brought into my bedroom for me to eat.”
“Really?” Sadie said, surprised. “I thought you told me that your wife taught her how to cook.”
“She did, so I don’t know what the hell happened this morning,” Frank said, sticking out his arm ready to accept his punishment.
Sadie held up her hands.
“I’ll just put that on in the bank. Let’s get back to this terrible breakfast, though. What was wrong with it?”
“Well, the toast was burnt crispy black, the grits were watery, and eggs were running like Usain Bolt. I mean, I really hated to trick her like that, but there was no way I was going to be able to eat that stuff,” Frank said, looking back again at his door to make sure that his daughter wasn’t eavesdropping.
Sadie looked at Frank and shook her head.
“What?”
“And you call yourself a detective.”
“What the heck are you talking about?”
“I’m disappointed in you Frank. Don’t you know when you’re being played? Think about it. You told me that Marilyn taught Rhonda how to cook, right?”
“Yeah, so.”
“So, do you honestly think that she could mess up three different foods in one cooking session?”
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Frank closed his eyes, smiled, and shook his head.
“Yep. In the immortal words of Malcolm X, My brother, you’ve been bamboozled, hoodwinked, led astray, run amuck––”
“Okay, okay, I get the picture. That sneaky little rug rat. No wonder she and Jr. were sitting in the back seat together laughing on our way there.”
“Yeah, she set you up good.”
“I forgive her though. That’s my baby, even though she acted like a total brat at the restaurant.”
“Oh yeah? What did she do?”
“Well, I think she got mad because Grace showed up there while we were there.”
“Grace? The woman who came to your house the other day?” Your kids’ principal?”
“Yes.”
Sadie gave Frank a disbelieving look.
“Sadie, I didn’t invite her. I didn’t even know she was coming. Had I known that, I probably wouldn’t’ve gone there.”
“Probably?”
“You know what I mean,” Frank said, exasperated.
“Oh, I know what you mean, all right,” Sadie said with a sly smirk.
“Sadie, nothing is going on between me and Grace.”
“I believe you Frank. I really do. Let me ask you something though. Why are you calling this woman by her first name? It’s not like you two are old friends.”
Frank was at a loss for words. Now that he thought about it, it did look suspect. He pressed the sides of his temples and rubbed. Suddenly, he was getting a headache. Sadie placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You’re attracted to her, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know, Sadie,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well, my friend, I’ve been around a long time, so I know. But believe it or not, that’s not the worst part of it.”
Frank looked at her with a confused look.
“What do you mean?”
“The worse part of all of this is that she’s attracted to you. Let me ask you something. When you saw her in the restaurant, did you invite her to join y’all, or did she invite herself?”
“Actually, she invited herself.”
“That’s what I thought,” Sadie said, nodding her head. “Does this woman know that your married?”
“I assume so. I mean, we never talked about it, but I’m pretty sure she sees the wedding ring on my finger.”
“Well, don’t be surprised if she gets aggressive coming after you.”
Frank looked at his ring and then at Sadie.
“What? You think just because you have a ring on, that she won’t come after you? Frank, you’ve seen this woman three times in the last week, and not one time has she asked about your wife, has she? I’ll answer that for you. No. That means one of two things. She either thinks that you’re separated or that your wife is dead because, trust me, she’s wondering why she’s never seen her. Come on, Frank. Everything I’m telling you; you already know.”
Frank wasn’t dense. He knew in his heart that everything Sadie had just told him was the truth. It was apparent that his attraction to Grace Ponder wasn’t letting him see it.
“What you should’ve done when she invited herself to sit with y’all is politely tell her that you wanted to spend some time with your kids alone.”
“You’re right, Sadie. That was a mistake.”
“Yes, that was definitely a mistake.”
“The thing I hate most of all is that it upset Rhonda.”
“Well, I don’t mean to sound like I don’t care, but Rhonda will be okay. She’s not going to like anyone other than her mother. I’m more worried about how you’re going to handle this. It’s not like you’re an old man, and I know you get lonely at times. Please, let me finish,” she said when Frank opened his mouth to speak.
“You’re a man, and you have needs. But please don’t mistake that need for anything other than that. Even though Marilyn is in the hospital, she’s still breathing, and she’s still your wife.
Remember that when your loneliness overcomes you, and you give in to it.”
“Sadie, if you mean by that what I think you mean, you don’t even have to worry about it. Just because I’m attracted to a woman doesn’t mean that I’m going to sleep with her.”
Sadie smiled. Frank responded just the way she hoped he would. She knew that it had been tough on him ever since his wife’s car accident, but so far, he’d stood strong. She just hoped that he would remain strong.
42
Marie Snyder sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. Because her house was an active crime scene, the city had put her and her children up in a hotel suite in downtown Cleveland. She thought about her son, Gary, whose emotions continued to range from anger to sadness. He still hadn’t spoken much since his father died, but when he did, he would either burst into tears or scream in anger. Marie was skeptical when he told her that he was going to hang out with a friend of his but decided that she would have to let him deal with the tragedy in his own way. She thought it would be her and her daughter spending time together in the hotel room until Kylie informed her that she was going to the library. Kylie had been mopping around the room all day and decided that the only way to get it off her mind was to study. So now, Marie was left alone, but she didn’t mind. She needed a little time to herself anyway.
Since the police didn’t have any suspects so far, police chief deemed it necessary to have guards posted in the hotel lobby. Every hour or so, one of them would come up to the room and make sure that Marie was okay. After their third visit to her room, annoyance began to set in. She told them that she and her kids were okay and to please not bother them for the rest of the day.
Marie rolled her eyes when she once again heard a knock on the door. She bit her bottom lips as she tried hard to control her temper. She thought about ignoring it, but the last thing she wanted was for officers guarding her to panic and break down the door.
With a heavy sigh, Marie got up and made her way
toward the door. Thinking that she knew who was on the other side of it, she snatched the door open. She had fire in her eyes and was ready to unload on the officers for bothering her again. She was surprised, however, when she saw Frank and Amber standing there.
“Hi Cap. How are you doing?” Amber asked.
“I’ve been better guys. What are you doing here?”
“We came by to check on you and the kids,” Frank said.
“You could have called.”
“True, but we wanted to see for ourselves.”
Marie stared at Frank and Amber for a few seconds before inviting them in. She led them into the entertainment area of the suite.
“I thought you were one of the officers that were assigned to protect me,” Marie said, using air quotes.
“You sound like you think that’s a bad idea,” Amber replied.
“No, I know that they’ve been ordered to do it, but they’re bugging the hell out of me. Every time I turn around, they’re knocking on the door asking me if I’m all right. I’m just tired of seeing them. My kids aren’t here, so I was just in here taking some time for myself. Who’s working the crime scene?”
“Hughes and Phillips.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding her head in approval. Had it been up to her, Frank and Amber would be working the scene. But they were already investigating the two previous murders that happened in the last couple of weeks.
“Cap, why don’t you let us take you out for a drink or two,” Frank suggested.
“Yeah. It’ll do you some good to get out,” Amber chimed in.
Marie thought about what they were saying. Although she hadn’t been out since she’d checked into the hotel, she didn’t know if she was ready to bebothered with anyone outside of it yet. She was lonely though, and maybe it would do her some good to be around people who cared about her.
“Captain? What do you say?” Amber pressed.
Marie leaned her head from one side to the other, shrugged her shoulders, and smiled. It was the first time that she’d smiled since her husband had been murdered.
“Okay. I guess it would do me some good to get out a little bit. Let me throw on something presentable and get my purse.”
Frank and Amber waited patiently for Marie to get ready. Frank rubbed his face and blew out a deep breath. He felt sorry for his boss. He knew that she was going through a rough time in her life, but he’d never seen her as broken as she was right now.
“You okay Frank?” Amber asked.
“Yeah. I just feel bad for Marie.”
“Yeah, me too. I hope getting her out of here for an hour or two lifts her spirits.”
“Where did you want to take her?”
“Where else? We’re taking her to Johnny Blue’s.”
43
As usual, Johnny Blue’s was packed. Off duty cops once again flooded the place. The second Frank pulled into the parking lot, he wondered if they’d made a mistake by inviting Marie out for a drink. Although she was grateful that her fellow law enforcement officers were sympathetic to her plight and had her back, she didn’t want to be bombarded by her contemporaries overwhelming her with condolences. After cutting the engine, he turned and looked at Amber.
“Hey, you two stay put for a second. I’ll be right back.”
Amber turned and looked into the back seat at Marie. Both of them were confused by Frank’s actions.
Frank jogged across the parking lot and into the establishment. He went to the bar and got the bartender to get everyone’s attention. Once the bartender had done so, Frank made a public service announcement.
“Listen, everybody. I know you’ve all have heard about what happened to Captain Snyder’s husband, right?”
Many officers in the bar answered his question verbally, while others simply nodded.
“Well, Detective Davis and I went to visit her in her hotel room a short while ago. We convinced her to come out and have a drink with us, but I’m not sure that’s she’s ready to be bombarded by a bunch of condolences. I know you all mean well, but let’s just let her come in here and have her space, okay?”
To a man, and woman, everyone in the bar agreed. The last thing they wanted to do was make things uncomfortable for their fellow law enforcement officer. Frank thanked everyone for their cooperation and headed back outside.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said when he got back to the car.
“What was that all about?” Amber asked.
“Just wanted to make sure that everything was good in there.”
Amber and Marie followed Frank in. All eyes turned to them when they got inside. As several officers nodded to her in a show of respect, Frank quickly ushered Marie to a table in the back. As they made their way there, Frank realized that many people were present that weren’t police officers, unlike the last time they were here.
“What’ll you have Captain?” Frank asked.
“I’ll just have a beer,” Marie said. She actually wanted something much stronger, but she was afraid that if she got something of that caliber, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from breaking down. After Frank ordered the drinks, the three of them sat there in awkward silence for a few seconds. Marie was the first one to break the silence. Even though she was technically on leave, she was still a law enforcement officer and, therefore, thought like one.
“So how is the case on the two murders going? Have you found out anything new?”
Frank and Marie gave each other a surprised look. Talking about unsolved murders hadn’t been on their agenda.
“Uh, you really want to talk about that now, Captain?” Amber asked.
“I don’t see why not. The world hasn’t stopped just because some scum bag decided to take my husband from me,” she said, angrily. “Now, do you have anything new to report?”
“Well, actually, we do. Detective Davis and I have been brainstorming, and we think that both murders are related.”
“Really? How so?”
“Well, the one thing that seems to be the constant in both cases is that the victims were interracial couples.”
“Is that right? So now we’re looking at a hate crime?” she said through gritted teeth.
“It would appear so, Captain. Of course, the district attorney would have to prove that for the charge to stick,” Frank said.
Marie nodded her head in agreement. A few more seconds of silence went by before Marie addressed the elephant in the room.
“Detective Stone, do you think the murders in those two particular cases have anything to do with my husband being killed?”
Frank rubbed his chin as he pondered Marie’s question.
“It’s a possibility, but to be honest, Captain, it’s too early to tell.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Marie agreed.
“It seems to fit, though,” Amber said.
“I agree with that also. Nothing seemed to be missing, so I think we can pretty much rule out robbery as a motive. There was no sign of a struggle. The one thing I can’t figure out is how the hell the killer got in, because I just can’t see Frank leaving the front door unlocked.”
“Here are your drinks, Officers,” the waitress said, setting the beverages down on the table. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks Linda. You know, there seems to be quite a few civilians in here this evening,” Frank said, glancing around.
“I know, right? We’ve actually been getting more and more civilians coming in here recently.”
“Really? I wonder why,” Amber asked.
“Well, just from talking to a couple of them, they feel safe here.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Frank admitted. “I mean, who in their right mind is going to start trouble in a bar full of cops?”
Just then a loud grumbling sound was heard around the table.
“Excuse me,” Marie said, embarrassed. It was then that she realized she hadn’t eaten anything for the past ten hours. She’d skipped breakfast and lu
nch.
“On second thought, I think I will have a turkey burger, with mayo and cheese.”
The waitress quickly took out her pad and jotted down Marie’s order. Afterwards, she waited to see if either Frank or Amber was going to order something. Knowing that police officers often had police business on their minds, Linda decided to ask to make sure.
“Did either of you want anything?”
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Frank said, holding up his hand.
“What about you, Detective Davis?”
“That turkey burger sounds pretty good. I think I’ll have one too.”
“Two turkey burgers coming right up,” Linda said and scampered off.
Linda had been working at Johnny Blues for a little over five years. She had short black hair and was a bit on the plump side, but she was very friendly and cordial to everyone who came in.
“You okay Cap?” Frank asked when he noticed Marie staring into space.
“Huh? Oh yeah. Just trying to get myself together.”
“Wow, that was fast,” Amber said when Linda returned with their food.
“Eh, not too many people ordering food tonight. The cook isn’t that busy.”
“Well, I’m glad to get my food in a timely fashion, but this burger had better be done. Like Amber said, it got here rather quickly. The last thing I need is to walk out of here infected with salmonella poisoning.”
Linda looked around slowly to make sure no other employee could hear her. When she felt she was in the clear, she looked back at Marie and smiled.
“I’ll let you guys in on a little secret. The turkey burgers are already cooked when they get here. All we have to do is thaw them and warm them up. Shhh,” Linda said as she put her finger to her lips.
To say that Marie was surprised was an understatement. She’d had one of Johnny Blues’ turkey burgers before, and it tasted nothing like meat that had been cooked, frozen, thawed, and heated back up. This time was no different. Marie moaned in satisfaction as she bit into her sandwich. It was so juicy and seasoned to perfection, that she could have sworn that it had been specially made for her.
“Oh my God, is this good,” she said, savoring every delicious bite. Marie didn’t know if it was the fact that she hadn’t eaten in so long or that the cook just happened to outdo himself, but this was the best turkey burger she’d ever tasted in her life. Seeing both Marie and Amber devour their meal, combined with the aroma coming from their burgers, caused Frank’s stomach to rumble. He wasn’t hungry, but he had to have one. He looked around for Linda to order himself one and did a double take when he saw Timothy Jordan, Carla Johnson, and Ryan Turner headed in their direction.
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