Schooled In Lies

by Angela Henry

  “I’m here to see Mrs. Kirby. Is she at home?” I asked politely.

  “Mrs. Kirby is having her physical therapy. Is she expecting you?”

  I opened my mouth to lie but the loud crash of broken glass, followed by the sound of Emma Kirby yelling, stopped me cold.

  “Ashley! Ashley, come quick!”

  The startled young woman rushed off and I followed her into a large, airy dining room with large windows that overlooked the backyard. Emma Kirby was standing over the remains of a broken glass pitcher and a puddle of spilled orange juice on the dining room’s parquet floor.

  “It just slipped right out of my hand!” she wailed as she clenched and unclenched her fingers. Her knuckles were red and enlarged. Dennis had mentioned she had arthritis. That’s why she must be having physical therapy. Emma Kirby looked startled and confused when she saw me come in behind the maid.

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Kirby,” said Ashley with a weary sigh. But Emma Kirby was too busy staring at me and looking agitated.

  “Ashley, how many times have I told you that you can’t have friends over while you’re working?” she told the young woman, obviously not remembering me from the night before when Dennis gave me a ride home.

  Ashley looked horrified and opened her mouth to protest. But since I wasn’t exactly digging the way Emma Kirby was looking at us like we were about to tie her up and start swinging from the chandelier, and picking our noses with the shrimp forks, I spoke up.

  “Mrs. Kirby, I’m sorry to bother you. Remember me from the other day? I went to school with Dennis.”

  She was still looking confused. I tried again.

  “I’m Estelle Mays’s granddaughter. Dennis gave me a ride home from the police station, remember?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. It’s Kim, right?” Her faced flushed slightly with what I assumed was embarrassment.

  “Kendra, actually.” I wondered why my name was so hard for some people to remember. “I came by to see Dennis but he’s not home. I was just wondering if you knew when he’d be home?”

  “Why don’t we go in the family room while Ashley cleans up this mess.” She waved a dismissive hand at the broken glass on the floor. Ashley gave her evil look before heading to the pantry for a broom. I didn’t blame her one bit. She wasn’t the maid.

  I was tempted to point out to Emma Kirby that it was her mess. Instead, I followed her through a spotless gourmet kitchen—heavy on the black granite and stainless steel—into a room just off the kitchen.

  The room was large and decorated in soft blues, browns, and greens and though I could tell it had been professionally decorated, was warm, inviting, and comfortable. The same large floor to ceiling windows that had been in the dining room were also in this room. From the windows I could see a beautifully landscaped garden and a small white cottage at the back of the property on the other side of a large kidney-shaped swimming pool. I remembered Dennis telling me he lived in the cottage.

  “Now why did you need to see Dennis?” Emma Kirby asked me after we’d settled into comfortable armchairs near the windows. She was casually dressed in tan slacks and a red V-neck shirt. Her mid length ash blonde hair was tied back from her face with a paisley scarf. She had on simple black ballet flats that probably cost more than my whole outfit.

  “Um, nothing really important,” I said, scrambling to come up with an excuse. I hadn’t expected her to ask me why I was there or given much thought to my reason for coming over beyond returning her bracelet and watching her reaction. Now that I was there, I couldn’t figure out just how to bring it up without revealing why I’d been lurking around Clair Easton’s backyard in the first place. “Just reunion committee business,” I finally told her.

  “I just assumed the reunion was cancelled.”

  “Well, we haven’t officially decided to cancel it. We all feel really horrible about Ms. Flack, but she wasn’t really a member of our graduating class. There’s no reason to cancel the reunion.”

  “Good. Then I guess I’ll go ahead and donate that money I was going to donate to the reunion.”

  Just then Ashley came into the room with two pills and a glass of water on a tray. Emma Kirby snatched the pills and downed them in one big gulp of water.

  “What money?” I asked when Ashley left the room.

  “Dennis told me about the reunion fund money going missing. I sent Dennis over to tell Ivy Flack I’d be happy to donate five thousand dollars so you all could have your reunion. Then she died so I just assumed it would be cancelled.

  “Wow. That’s awfully nice of you. I’m sure that would have made Ms. Flack happy.”

  “You know, I thought it was really odd that Ivy Flack was even on the committee in the first place. Dennis said she was a lonely woman. I bet he was right. I mean she wasn’t married and had no kids. She probably didn’t have anything else better to do.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” I said suddenly getting an idea. “She was hardly lonely. I think she probably joined the committee to be near Gerald. They had the hots for each other.”

  Emma Kirby’s face went momentarily slack. Then her eyes narrowed, and her lips tightened. It was a few long seconds before she spoke again. “Really. They were involved?” she asked slowly, looking down at the floor. I should have probably felt guilty about smearing the reputation of a dead woman. Strangely, I didn’t. Go figure. Maybe it was because Ivy Flack hadn’t been the person I thought she was. As for Gerald, I had no sympathy for him whatsoever.

  “I wouldn’t exactly say they were dating, if you know what I mean. But one night before one of our committee meetings, I got to the high school early and went to Ms. Flack’s office. Her office door wasn’t all the way shut and I saw them together. They were all over each other.”

  Emma’s face turned bright red. It never ceased to amaze me how cheaters could get so upset when they found out they’d been cheated on themselves. Surely, she hadn’t thought she was the only one Gerald was sleeping with? Could she truly be that naive?

  “Maybe you were mistaken. Maybe it wasn’t Gerald,” she said in a slightly quavering voice.

  “No. It was him alright. I’ve known Gerald since high school. I know him when I see him. Plus, Ms. Flack was his type,” I said, plunging the knife in deeper.

  “What type would that be?” she asked in a cold flat voice.

  “I don’t like to gossip,” I said, hoping my nose wasn’t about to do a Pinocchio. “But you know Gerald’s first wife was ten years older than him. I think he’s really into older women, especially older women who have money. Gerald has fillet mignon taste on a ground beef budget. Not to mention all those kids and ex-wives to support.”

  Emma Kirby stood up abruptly. “Dennis had to go into work for a couple of hours. He’ll be home later. I’m sorry to be so rude, but I just remembered I have an appointment. Ashley will see you out.”

  She left the room abruptly. I just sat there wondering what to do next. I was looking out the window when I spotted something odd in the backyard. I got up and walked over to the window for a closer look. Down below, about ten feet from Dennis’ cottage, was a flowerbed of azaleas. All the flowers were a beautiful intense pink except an area about a foot and a half wide near the edge of the flowerbed where they were bright orange. It didn’t match at all. This must have been the spot that Jeeves had dug up and there must not have been any more pink flowers to replace what he’d destroyed. No wonder Ellis Kirby had been so upset. No wonder Clair Easton hadn’t had any flowers in her own yard, with a dog like Jeeves. But it seemed odd to me that Jeeves hadn’t dug up the whole garden. Why just that one spot?

  I turned to see Ashley silently waiting to escort me out. Once I was behind the wheel of my car, I saw Emma Kirby pulling out of the driveway so fast in her hunter green Range Rover that she backed over the aluminum trash can sitting on the curb. I caught a glimpse of her face before she tore off down the street. She had blood in her eyes. I knew where she was going and followed at a discreet distance.


  Minutes later, she arrived at Gerald’s two-story town house on nearby Terra Cotta Drive. She pulled into his driveway behind his black Beemer and was out of her car, pounding on his door, before I’d barely turned the corner. I pulled up across the street just as Gerald came to the door looking bewildered. Emma pushed her way into the house. I got out of my car, crossed the street, and stood right outside Gerald’s still open front door, looking inside. I couldn’t see Gerald and Emma, but just like the night before in the gazebo, I could hear them just fine. I walked into the house and peaked around the corner. The two of them were in the dining room and didn’t notice me as I stood on the sidelines watching them.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Gerald said in exasperation.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about, you lying asshole!” screamed Emma.

  “Emmy. Calm down. I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about. I really don’t.”

  “Don’t you dare call me Emmy, you bastard! I know all about you and Ivy Flack!”

  “Ivy Flack?”

  “You were fucking her! And after everything I did to protect you! How could you?” Emma buried her face in her hands and started to sob. Gerald tried to touch her but she jerked away from him.

  “Are you crazy? I never fucked Ivy Flack. Who the hell told you that lie?”

  “That would be me,” I said, speaking up and causing them to turn in my direction. Gerald’s mouth fell open, while Emma stabbed an accusing finger in my direction.

  “She saw the two of you. She saw you with your hands all over Ivy Flack!”

  “She didn’t see shit cause I never fucked Ivy Flack! I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to pull, but you better tell her the truth, Kendra.” He took a menacing step towards me. I stood my ground.

  “He’s right, Mrs. Kirby. I never saw him with Ivy Flack. But, I did see him with you last night in Clair Easton’s gazebo.”

  Emma looked relieved upon hearing I’d lied about her lover then got big-eyed when she realized I knew she had a lover. Gerald got really quiet, probably because he’d suddenly remembered that I also knew about him and Cherisse Craig. I wondered if Cherisse had also informed him that I knew about him and Sunny Abou? Where did the man find the time?

  “Why would you tell me such a lie?” Emma looked confused.

  “Don’t say another word. She doesn’t have any proof that we were together last night.”

  “I have this.” I pulled the bracelet from my purse and waved it in the air. “I found it right outside Clair Easton’s gazebo last night after the two of you left.” Emma gasped and reached out for the bracelet. I stepped back and held it out of her reach.

  “That’s mine. Give it back at once.” She headed towards me. I gave Gerald an I’m-about-to-bust-you-for-real look and he grabbed Emma’s arm before she’d taken two steps.

  “Hold up. She must want something, right? Is that it? Do you want money to keep quiet?”

  I laughed. “Are you offering me Mrs. Kirby’s money? Because anyone who knows you knows you don’t have any money. No, what I want is information.” I twirled the bracelet around my finger.

  “About?” asked Emma Kirby, eyeing her bracelet.

  “About whether Clair Easton knew the two of you were using her gazebo as a love nest. Is that why she was killed? Did she find out about your affair and threaten to tell your husband, Mrs. Kirby?”

  “What?” they both said in unison. Then looked at each other.

  “You think one of us killed Clair?” said Emma Kirby. Gerald laughed.

  “Dennis warned me about this,” he said, shaking his head. “Kendra thinks we’re all murderers, don’t you? First she accused Audrey Grant and Cherisse Craig of killing Ms. Flack. Now, she’s accusing us of killing Clair Easton. You’re really pathetic, you know that?”

  Emma Kirby ignored her balding boy toy and took a step closer to me. “Why in the world would you think we would hurt Clair?”

  “You were the one who told me Clair’s dog, Jeeves, got into some rat poison in her garden shed. I looked in her garden shed last night. There was no rat poison in there. Someone poisoned Jeeves, and it was probably the same person who murdered her. She must have seen something that someone wanted to keep her quiet about. Did she see the two of you in her gazebo and threaten to tell your husband?”

  “My husband doesn’t give a damn what I do. We stopped sleeping together years ago. All he cares about are his precious flowers. He knows I’m sleeping with someone else. He doesn’t care. Hasn’t said one word to me about it. He got more upset over Jeeves digging up his azaleas. He actually confronted Clair about it,” she said bitterly.

  “Well, what about the rat poison story? There’s no way Jeeves could have gotten into that shed.”

  “I was just repeating what I’d heard around the neighborhood. That’s the rumor that’s going around, that Jeeves got into rat poison. And last night was the first and only time we ever used Clair’s gazebo. Usually, I walk over here, but Ellis and I got in late from a dinner dance at the club and I didn’t feel like walking over here in the dark. I remembered Clair’s gazebo. It was closer. She wasn’t using it anymore, so why not?”

  “Well then what were you talking about when I overheard you saying you protected Gerald?”

  “I protected him from getting fired from his job. Gerald’s boss, John Howard Wheatley, is an old family friend. When that silly African girl on his job tried to ruin his career, I had a talk with John and got everything straightened out.” She grabbed Gerald’s hand and smiled lovingly up at him. Gerald gave me a smug look. So much for her not knowing about Sunny. I wanted to puke. The reason for him climbing into bed with Emma Kirby, his friend’s mother, was suddenly crystal clear. What a loser.

  “You knew about Sunny being deported?”

  “I’m the one who suggested it,” Emma said sweetly. “It was for her own good. The poor thing was unstable. Why else would she steal Clair Easton’s money and try to pin it on Gerald. All because he wouldn’t succumb to her advances.”

  I rolled my eyes. Gerald was looking nervous. He knew that I knew the truth.

  “You can give Emma back her bracelet, Kendra, and then get out of my house before I call the police and tell them you stole it.” Gerald put his arm protectively around Emma.

  Emma held out her hand, and I reluctantly dropped the bracelet into it and turned to go. When I got to the door, I looked back and saw the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms. I shouldn’t have done it, but I just couldn’t help myself.

  “Will you be going to Africa with Gerald to visit his and Sunny’s baby, Mrs. Kirby?” I hurried out the door to the sound of Emma Kirby’s outraged voice screaming.

  “Baby! What baby?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  WHEN I GOT HOME late that afternoon, after having had lunch with Mama and going to the library to study for my test on Monday, there was a burgundy and white Lincoln Town Car parked in front of my house. I didn’t know anyone with a car like that, so I didn’t pay much attention to it and headed up the steps to my apartment. But a loud blast from the car’s horn stopped me in my tracks. I turned to see a vertically challenged, fiftyish black man with permed hair jump out of the driver’s side door. It was Lewis Watts and he was a sight to behold dressed in a hot pink three-piece suit trimmed in white leopard printed fur with matching hat, platform shoes, and long white cape. A white cane with what looked like a large crystal doorknob on top was clutched in one chubby fist. I didn’t blink an eye. Lewis dressed like this all the time. He was grinning at me at first, then looked me up and down and scowled.

  “I knew it! Dammit, Kelly, what the hell are you wearing?”

  I looked down at my jean shorts and tank top and then back at him in confusion. Then it hit me and I groaned and leaned against my railing for support before I fainted. I had a date with this fool. I’d forgotten all about it.

  “Can’t we do this some other time?” I whined and looked up
and down the street praying no one was witnessing this.

  “Hell no! You ain’t gettin’ outta this, girl. We had a deal,” Lewis said indignantly, slamming the tip of his cane on the sidewalk.

  “But I’m not ready.”

  “We got plenty a time. Now, go git dressed. I’ll be in the car. And don’t keep me waitin’ too long. I got to have my cousin Leon’s Lincoln back to him by midnight.”

  “And what happens if you don’t? Will you turn into a pumpkin?” I asked hopefully. He just scowled at me and hopped back into the car.

  Wanting nothing more than to get this over with, I went inside, took a quick shower, and changed into a blue silk halter dress I’d bought last year at Déjà Vu thrift shop, and the only pair of truly dressy shoes I owned, a pair of three-inch silver ankle strap sandals. After putting on a sterling and lapis choker and spritzing on some vanilla perfume, I headed out of my apartment with all the enthusiasm of an inmate going to the gas chamber. As I headed down the steps, Lewis jumped out of the car and ran around to the passenger’s side to open the door for me, staring hard at my attire in the process with a slight frown on his face.

  “Do I pass the test?” I asked him.

  “You look real…nice,” he said, still frowning. His emphasis on the word nice wasn’t lost on me. Had he been expecting me to trot out of the house in a bustier and thong?

  “This is as good as it gets. Let’s go before I change my mind.” I got in the car and immediately sank down into the fur-lined front seat. Lord, don’t let anybody see me with this idiot, I prayed.

  Five minutes later, cruising to the soulful sounds of James Brown, we pulled onto Route 70 heading towards Dayton. I was greatly relieved to be going to another city for our date, but something was starting to smell fishy and it wasn’t just Lewis’s cologne which he wore so heavy I had to crack my window. It was the way he kept giving me sidelong looks and chuckling.