Vexed

by Honey

  “Can you reach it?” Zach asked. He eased off his wife’s body and rolled onto his back.

  Jill shook her head and gulped air into her lungs. “No.”

  Zach extended his arm until it touched the nightstand. His hand roamed around until it landed on the cordless phone. He picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Zach, it’s your father. I’m sorry to wake you.”

  “Daddy, what’s wrong?” He sat up and rested his back against the headboard.

  “Your sister tried to commit suicide a couple of hours ago by slitting her wrists. She’s in the hospital. I can’t get down there before the weekend. Can you or maybe Jackie go and check on her for me? Whichever one of you decides to go, I’ll have to provide verbal consent to the authorities in advance. I’m listed as next of kin. So nothing can be done without my permission.”

  Zach looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost two o’clock in the morning. He was scheduled to be at work by seven, and Jill had a ten o’clock dance class to teach at Umoja Academy. That was why Zachary Junior was with Aunt Jackie overnight.

  “Jay doesn’t want to see me, Daddy. To be truthful, I’m not really feeling her right now either. And won’t it look strange for me, the victim, to show up at the hospital to visit the sister who paid somebody to whack me?”

  “That’s just it, son. Jayla is your sister, no matter what she’s done. Both of you are my children. I’d be on my way to Atlanta this very minute, so I could tend to my daughter, if that were possible. But it’s not. I came to see about you when you needed me, and I owe Jayla the same kind of support.”

  “You think so, huh?” Zach felt his temper rising. “So, you’ve put Jay on the same level with me? After the way she’s cursed you, spit in your face, and told everyone how much she hates you, you still look at us with the same eyes? Damn! I’m glad to know how you really feel.”

  “Zach, please don’t look at it that way. I’m her father. She doesn’t have anyone else. I know I told you I’d washed my hands of Jayla, but suicide is a very serious matter.”

  “And homicide is a walk in the park? She paid ten grand to have me killed!”

  “Okay, son, you don’t have to go to the hospital. I’ll call Jackie and ask her if she’d be willing.”

  “That ain’t gonna happen. She’s got Zachary Junior with her. Jill has to work this morning.” Zach closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “I’ll go, but don’t ever ask me to do anything else pertaining to Jay again. Which hospital is she in?”

  Zach peeked down at Jill. Their eyes met and locked under the moonlight. He listened as Wallace gave him all the information about Jay and the person he needed to speak with at the hospital. He ended the call and lay back down on the bed. He eased behind Jill and held her in his arms. For several minutes they rested contentedly in the spoon position in silence.

  “You’re a good man, Zachary. I don’t know anyone else like you.”

  * * *

  Jay had somehow gotten her hands on a razor blade and had slit both her wrists. She’d lost a lot of blood, but not enough to die. The psychiatrist believed it was an effort to get attention more than an attempt to take her own life. Either way, she had been admitted to the psychiatric ward at a South Atlanta hospital, and it was all over the news. Zach stood outside Jay’s hospital room after showing the security guard his ID.

  “You can go in now, Mr. King.”

  “Yeah, I know. I just need a minute,” Zach said, stroking his goatee out of habit. “I don’t know why the hell I’m here. I must be a sucker for punishment,” he murmured under his breath.

  He blew out a long stream of breath and turned the doorknob and pushed. He hadn’t expected to see Jay handcuffed to the hospital bed, but it made sense. She was a criminal, and a very smart one at that. The fact that she was in a comfortable bed in a hospital room instead of in a shitty jail cell proved that. Jay was too proud and strong willed to commit suicide. She’d much rather stick around to make his life a living hell, even if she’d never see the light of day again. It was kind of amusing that she was still running game even while she was in lockup.

  Jay’s eyelids lifted slowly. Zach could tell she was struggling to focus on him as he closed the distance between them. Her eyes closed again. Zach stopped at the foot of the bed, with no desire to be any closer to her. He had been asking himself since he’d received the phone call from Wallace if he even loved his sister anymore. Now looking at her in her weakest and most helpless state, he still wasn’t sure.

  “Jay, it’s me, Zach.” He shook her right foot. “I came to check up on you. The doctor said he gave you something to make you sleep, so I won’t stay long.”

  “Thank you for coming.” She lifted her drooping eyelids again. “I’m sorry for everything I tried to do to you, Zach. Please forgive me.”

  Zach wasn’t sure if he’d heard Jay correctly. She was mumbling and was under the influence of powerful medication. The doctor had told him she’d be in and out of sleep for several hours. More than likely, any apology she offered was a result of the meds. Humility had never been a part of Jay’s character. Even when she was a sassy-mouthed little girl, it had often taken an act of Congress or a good old-fashioned ass whipping from Aunt Jackie to get her to apologize for anything.

  “What did you say, Jay? I didn’t hear you.” He moved closer to stand by her bedside.

  She tried to reach out and touch Zach’s hand, but the cuffs and chains restricted her. “I’m sorry.” Tears spilled from her half-opened eyes. “What I did to you and Jill was wrong. Will you forgive me?”

  Zach weighed his options. Could he forgive Jay for all the evil shit she’d done to him and Jill? Or would he hold on to bad blood, walk out of her life forever, and pretend he’d never had a little sister? What should’ve been an easy decision required some deep thinking, because his life was no longer his alone. He had Jill and Zachary Junior to consider. Everything he did now affected them too.

  Zach’s heart was tender when it came to Jay, and it had always been that way. He had nurtured and protected her since she was a baby. There were thousands of precious memories tugging at his heart. But his mind was working overtime, warning him not to be a sucker for Jay again. She was cold, manipulative, and undeserving of his mercy. The night he’d begged for her forgiveness for his affair with Jill was now blazing in the front of his mind. He could hear her mocking laughter and the words I hate you.

  “Zach, I know it’s gonna be hard, but I need you to forgive me.” Jay closed her eyes and yawned. “I’m so sorry. I want Jill to forgive me too. I’ve done some things to her that I’m ashamed of.”

  Zach had been in deep contemplation when Jay made her second plea for forgiveness. He had almost missed it. The mention of Jill’s name was what snatched him from his emotional tug-of-war. For the first time ever, Jay had admitted to mistreating his wife while they were lovers back in Jamaica. For some unexplainable reason, he needed to hear it again.

  “Why were you so cruel to Jill? She didn’t deserve it, Jay. How could you have treated her like crap when you claimed to love her?”

  “I . . . I was selfish, and I wanted her to belong only to me. I was afraid she would leave me, like Venus did. That’s why I kept her at the resort, away from her family and friends. I shouldn’t have done that. I hope she’ll forgive me someday and that you will too.”

  Without even realizing it, Zach took hold of Jay’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I forgive you, Jay. Something deep within my psyche is telling me I’m a damn fool to do it, but I love you and I miss you. I’m sorry for causing the beef between us in the first place. But I don’t regret falling in love with Jill and marrying her. I’m a complete person because of her and our son. I only hate how she and I got together. It hurt you, and I’ll always carry the guilt for that.”

  “I forgive you, big brother. I forgive Jill too. I want you both to forgive me.” Jay’s head flopped, and her face fell to rest against her pillow.

  Zach watche
d Jay sleep for a while, with all kinds of thoughts running through his head. They had wiped the slate clean on their troubled relationship. Their future was uncertain in light of her present situation, but Zach still had hope. He would stand by Jay in any way he could from now on. Everything else was in the hands of a judge and jury.

  Zach tucked his sister in snuggly, as he’d done many times when she was a little girl. He kissed her forehead. “I love you. Take care.”

  Jay’s eyes popped wide open the second after she heard the door close. She sucked her teeth. “I hate you, you stupid-ass, gullible bastard. That’s one down and two more to go.”

  Chapter Forty-seven

  With Jay’s jailhouse suicide attempt all over the news, Zach decided against going to work. He went to Aunt Jackie’s house to chill with her and his son after dropping Jill off at Umoja Academy. He used the key he’d been given to let himself in. He could hear Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson singing his hit “Be Right” on the radio in the kitchen. Aunt Jackie loved her gospel music.

  “Auntie, it’s me! I didn’t wanna scare you,” Zach called.

  “I’m in the kitchen, baby!”

  Zach found Aunt Jackie at the table, with her glasses on, reading the Bible. The baby monitor was sitting on the table, right next to a cup of steaming hot coffee. Zach sat in the chair to her immediate left and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Why aren’t you at work, boy?” Aunt Jackie pressed her gold bookmark in the crease of the Bible and closed it.

  “I guess you haven’t seen the news.”

  “Yes I have. I watched it early this morning. And my radio has been on ever since the baby went back to sleep around seven thirty.”

  “Well, you should know why I didn’t go to work.”

  “Jay slits her wrists, and you can’t go to work? So whenever your sister does something stupid, will it always affect you?”

  “No, it won’t. My dad called and asked me to go to the hospital to make sure Jay was okay.”

  “And did you go?”

  Zach nodded his head and waited for the fireworks and lecture.

  “Well, tell me what happened, chile!”

  Zach filled Aunt Jackie in on his visit with Jay without skipping any details.

  “It’s okay to forgive, Zach. In fact, you’re supposed to. It’s the Christian way. But sometimes it’s good not to forget. I’m not advising you to hang on to the bad memories forever and let them keep you stuck in the past. I just want you to be careful when dealing with Jay. Be very mindful of what she’s capable of doing, and how far she’ll go to make it happen.”

  “I hear you, Auntie. I hear you, but Jay was sincere. I saw it in her eyes. She was humble and apologetic. That’s your formula, ain’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is, but Jay has never used it before. I’m having a hard time believing she wasn’t faking it this time. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “Don’t worry. I will.”

  Later that afternoon Zach had the same conversation with Jill over lunch. After he picked her up from the dance school, they stopped at the Houston’s restaurant on Peachtree Road. Jill echoed Aunt Jackie’s sentiments, but with a more serious warning. She didn’t want Zach to have anything to do with Jay firsthand. It would be fine for him to offer her moral support from afar, but Jill was against him having any personal contact with her. She was afraid Jay would misuse Zach’s trust and maneuver her way inside his head. Jill’s heart told her that Jay’s intentions were insincere and self serving. But Zach, blinded by love and guilt from hurting his sister, refused to see it that way. He was determined to give their new relationship a fair chance. And he didn’t want any interference from Jill or anyone else.

  Out of love and respect for her husband, Jill chose not to argue with him. She was very hurt and shocked that Zach had so readily opened his life, their life, back up to Jay after all the pain she’d caused them. The latter part of their lunch date turned into an awkward and quiet standoff. On the drive to Aunt Jackie’s house, the silence continued. The radio filled in the gap. Once they arrived, Jill jumped out of the SUV, slammed the door, and hurried inside to get their son. When she returned to the vehicle, she sat in the backseat with the baby, and Zach chauffeured them home.

  * * *

  “Jill called me last night. I agree with her, Zach. I think you’re screwing up. Jay is the devil, and she’s got something up her sleeve. Don’t fall for it, dude. I’m warning you,” Dex said.

  Zach held up his empty Heineken bottle and waved it in the air. Floyd, the bartender, quickly swapped it out for a brand-new one. Zach had guzzled down eight already, and he felt like shit. It was Saturday afternoon, and he and Jill were supposed to be at an arts festival downtown with Zachary Junior and Nahima, watching a puppet show. But when he woke up, his wife and the children were gone.

  “I . . . I . . . I love my baby sister and . . . and all y’all need to just fall the hell back,” Zach slurred.

  Dex snatched the bottle from his hand. A little of the brew sloshed on Floyd’s spotless bar counter, and the bartender wiped it down on the spot.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, Negro? Are you gonna let Jay come between you and Jill after how hard y’all had to fight to be together? That woman has gone through hell to be with you! While Jay was stealing and dropping big bucks to have your ass killed, Jill was by your side, scared and pregnant with your child.” Dex pointed his finger in Zach’s face, inches from his nose. “You’re gonna mess around and push Jill away. You’ll wake up one morning, and she and my godson will be gone. The next time you see your little boy, he will have dreadlocks down to his ass, will be smoking some gunja, and will be asking you, ‘What’s up, mon?’”

  “Nah, Jill ain’t gonna leave me. She knows I love her. I . . . I . . . um . . . gotta make her understand that I can love her and Jay at . . . at . . . the same time.”

  “You’re a fool! And right now I can’t stand you.” Dex dropped some cash on the counter to cover his and Zach’s tab. He whistled at Floyd to get his attention and pointed to the money. “Get your sorry, drunk ass up, so I can take you home.”

  * * *

  As Jay’s luck would have it, a psychological evaluation deemed her sane and competent on the day she plotted to have Zach murdered and on subsequent days. A psychiatrist appointed by the court concurred with the evaluation team. The doctor concluded that Jay’s actions were that of a rational person and that she had premeditated the act of murder for hire out of jealousy and revenge. However, the psychological evaluation performed on Jay by a team of experts hired by Mr. Rice and company yielded conflicting results. It was determined that she had suffered from post-traumatic stress after learning Zach and Jill had secretly married and were expecting a child. They believed alcoholism intensified her impulsive behavior, as had the misfortune of her childhood. The untimely death of her mother and the extensive incarceration of her father had damaged Jay emotionally.

  After reviewing both psychological summaries and hearing arguments from Mr. Lugar and Mr. Rice, Judge Rudolph Elway declared Jay sufficiently competent to stand trial. The defense had hoped their claim of temporary insanity would help Jay avoid a date with judicial destiny. But Mr. Rice had been forthcoming with Jay about her chances. He’d advised her that the taped conversations between her and Fudge were quite damaging, as were the pictures and the handwritten instructional note. That kind of evidence was very difficult to defend, Mr. Rice had noted, but Jay had wanted to try her luck. She’d outright refused to agree to a plea bargain.

  Judge Elway set Jay’s date with fate for January thirtieth, at Mr. Rice’s request for a speedy trial. When Jay got word of it, she set her plan in motion. Zach, Wallace, and Nahima would all be pawns in her scheme. They would help set her free.

  Chapter Forty-eight

  “Jill, baby, how long do you plan for us to live like this? I don’t wanna go into a new year with this year’s baggage.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about, Zachary
.” Jill spooned applesauce into her son’s mouth and smiled at him.

  “You don’t talk to me, and you spend most nights on the daybed in the nursery. And when you do come to our bed, you sleep far away from me, and I’m not allowed to touch you.”

  “And why do you need to touch me, Zachary?”

  “You’re my wife.” Zach placed his fork on the edge of his plate. “We’re married, or did you forget?”

  “Oh, so now you want to remember you married me, eh? When you’re at the jailhouse, visiting your evil sister that paid someone to take you away from me while I was pregnant with your child, you forget you have a wife. When you write her long letters and send her money, do you remember me, your wife?” Jill removed Zachary Junior from his high chair, tears pouring down her face. “I heard you whisper to her on the phone that you would not willingly say anything to hurt her on the witness stand, ya know? Were you thinking about your wife when you made that promise?” Jill’s voice grew louder with each word, and her tears continued to fall. “After she makes a fool of you, then, and only then, will you remember you have a wife!”

  Jill took the baby upstairs to give him a bath. Zach was left with her words resonating in his head, mixed with Aunt Jackie’s and Dex’s warnings. He looked down at his plate of half-eaten food. He was starving when he’d first sat down at the table, but his appetite was gone now. Everyone was against him. No one, including Wallace, wanted him to have contact with Jay. If he could forgive Jay for what she had done, they needed to do the same, and to stay off his ass.

  * * *

  “My brother will say whatever I ask him to say during his cross-examination, Mr. Rice. He feels guilty about the way he and Jill betrayed me. I have letters he wrote, admitting in a roundabout way that he was partly to blame for my breakdown. Why do you think he keeps putting money on my books? We talk twice a week, and he visits me every Saturday morning. He’s a State’s witness, but he’ll do right by me.”