Trouble Loves Company

by Angie Daniels

  Kayla closed her eyes and willed herself to go back to sleep. Church was in a couple of hours and there was no way she was missing an opportunity to step into her heavenly father’s house with a fine man on her arm. She had a lot to be thankful for. And she planned to sing praises to the son, the father, and the Holy Ghost for helping her to finally see the light. And for bringing a good man like Jermaine into her life.

  Her body relaxed and she had just drifted off to sleep again when the phone rang. Kayla reached over and grabbed it by the third ring.

  “Hello.”

  “Kayla.”

  Her eyelids flew open. “Leroy. What do you want?”

  “I-I just called to say good-bye.” His voice cracked. Her stomach clenched. Leroy was crying.

  “Good-bye?” Surprise had suddenly changed to fear. “What do you mean, good-bye?”

  “It means ... it’s over. I’ve been asked to leave the church. My wife left me. My friends have turned on me and almost all of my clients have canceled their insurance policies with me.” His voice was thick with sorrow and she felt a pang to her chest. What have we done?

  “I’m sorry, I—”

  “No, you don’t have anything to be sorry about. I brought all this on myself. As the Bible says, you reap what you sow.”

  Kayla sat up in the bed, stunned by Leroy’s words. Never in all the years they were sleeping together had he ever taken the blame for anything wrong he’d done. In fact, everything had always been her fault.

  “I just wanted to say good-bye.” She heard the defeat in his voice.

  Even though they were no longer together, she was still concerned for his welfare. “Where are you going?” He hesitated.

  “I’m going home.”

  Something in his voice made her ask, “To Macon?”

  “No. To my heavenly father.”

  Panic seared through her blood. “Leroy, what are you talking about? You know suicide is a sin. The consequence is eternal damnation.”

  “I can’t continue like this. My life is over.”

  There was no way she could let him kill himself. His blood would be on her hands. It was her fault his life was ruined, not Danielle’s, or Renee’s. They had only been trying to help her.

  “I think you need to pray about this. Tomorrow, things will be better,” she reassured him, wanting him to believe that.

  “Tomorrow, I’ll be going home to face what the Lord has in store for me.” There was a pause. “Goodbye.”

  The phone went dead and Kayla sat there for the longest time, her mind racing with possibilities. Leroy wouldn’t really take his life, would he? As a minister, he knew that would mean going straight to hell. She groaned. If she was in his shoes, she would probably do the same. She’d been shamed and humiliated all her life. Ms. Piggy. Fat Albert’s sister. A father who didn’t love her. Men used her. But for Leroy it was different. He had been admired and highly respected in the community. Baptized hundreds of folks’ kids. Provided services to people he’d known all his life. Big house. Fancy car. Platinum credit cards. With all that gone, he had nothing left to live for except his faith, and it appeared that had been taken away as well.

  In a panic, Kayla jumped off the bed and reached for her jeans. She then pulled her gown over her head and replaced it with a red t-shirt. She barely had her tennis shoes on by the time she grabbed her keys and dashed out the door. It was all her fault. If she had not gone out with the girls that night, she wouldn’t have run into Jermaine and none of this would have happened.

  That doggone Renee, and her need to feel vindicated. She should have insisted she butt out. A few minutes ago, Kayla was willing to take all of the blame, but if Leroy died, his blood was going to be on all their hands.

  Kayla put her foot on the gas and headed south of town. “Please Lord, let him be all right.”

  She squirmed nervously in the seat as she drew closer to the secluded neighborhood. At the top of the hill, she pulled into his driveway, then used her keys to get in.

  “Leroy!” she called as she moved through the house. “Leroy!” She panicked when she didn’t find him in the bedroom or bathroom. Heading back down the hall, she had just stepped into the living room when a hand snaked out from behind the closet door, grabbed her hair, yanking her head back so hard, she thought her neck would pop.

  “I knew you would come.” Leroy snarled, then slapped her with his open hand. Kayla struggled to get free, but he had her head pulled back in an agonizing position. All she could do was brace herself when he slapped her the second time with the back of his hand.

  “Why are you d—”

  Before she could get it out, he released her head and threw a punch that busted her lip again and sent her flying across the coffee table. “You are so predictable,” he said with a sickening grin as he spoke in a voice that was so calm it was scary. He raised his arm, prepared to back-hand her again, but this time Kayla managed to dodge the blow. Swallowing blood, she saw the crazed look in his eyes and panicked. She rolled off the table and landed on her feet, then quickly moved behind a burgundy recliner. From where she was standing, Leroy looked like a bull ready to charge at any second. Holding onto the back of the chair, she tried to keep her fears under control long enough to get away. Standing between her and the front door, was Leroy.

  Leroy began to bob and weave. When he moved left, she went right. When he went right, she moved left.

  “Why are you doing this?” she cried.

  He chased her around the chair. “Because it’s your fault. Everything that happened was because of you. You try to act like you’re a God-fearing woman, but you’re a whore!”

  Her breath came out in short gasps. “I didn’t mean for—”

  Leroy grabbed her and she watched as his big hand came crashing down toward her face, sending her sprawling onto the floor. “I lost everything because of you!” he exploded. “My wife and my kids hate me!”

  She screamed and rolled away and cradled the immense pain to her face. Her cheeks throbbed; her nose was swollen. She tried to get to her feet, but Leroy rolled her onto her back and climbed on top of her. He was cussing and quoting scripture at the same time. She fought him with all she had, but he had the upper hand.

  The next blow hit her in the eyes, and she swore she felt her eyeball pop. It hurt so bad she screamed and started crying. The second blow got her in the nose. Nothing could begin to prepare her for that pain. The third caught the side of her head. After that, he balled his fist up and the blows just kept coming, and coming, and coming. She kicked and screamed but no one was coming to help her. As he made hamburger out of her face, all she could think about was this was not the way she intended to die. What would Kenya and Asia do without her? A cry lodged in her throat. All these years, she had put Leroy first in her life, at times, even above her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Kayla lay there, eyes closed, arms by her side, trying to make peace with God. When had she stopped fighting? She wasn’t sure.

  Leroy rose and towered over her. The look on his face reminded her of her grandfather, Reverend Sparks, only seconds before he was getting ready to beat her behind for acting up in church.

  “See what you made me do to you?” Leroy accused as he reached for his belt buckle and unfastened his pants. “This is all your fault,” he howled. She swallowed, preparing to take whatever punishment he had yet to dish out Leroy kicked her in the leg, then the arm, and shoulder. She managed to curl up in a fetal position, trying to protect her head and disfigured face.

  He reached down, trying to yank her jeans over her hips, and something told her to fight. She wasn’t sure where the idea came from. She fought against the dizzy feeling in her head and the pain in her arms and legs, then took a deep breath. Counting to three, she kicked her foot out and got him right smack between his legs. With a howl, Leroy released her and buckled over.

  Somehow Kayla found the strength to pull her body off the floor and moved as fast as she could through the house into the kitchen. She
reached for the door, then struggled as quickly as she could to unlock it and get it open. Just as she turned the knob, Leroy grabbed her by the neck, pressing firmly against her windpipe.

  “The devil made me do it.” He wore a crazed look while tears streamed heavily down his face. Kayla struggled to get his hands from around her neck, kicking and moving until he had her bent over the sink.

  She reached around frantically and felt metal, cool and sharp, against her fingertips. A butcher knife. She reached as far over as she could and grabbed the handle and swung the blade toward Leroy.

  “Owww!” he yelled. Releasing her, he struggled with the knife that was sticking out of his shoulder. “I’m going to get you for this!”

  Kayla didn’t stand around. While he frantically tried to remove the blade from his body, she hastily moved over to the door, turned the knob, and fled. Peeling out of the parking lot, she almost crashed into another car coming up the street. The driver blew the horn with annoyance, but she ignored it and rushed down the street, breathing hard and crying at the same time.

  “This is so unreal,” she chanted as she headed toward home. She mopped the tears from her eyes and tried to maintain control, crying and staring out her rearview mirror. She couldn’t believe Leroy had tried to kill her. She was shaking so hard her teeth chattered. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and start a new day that Leroy was no longer a part of.

  Within minutes she was home. As soon as she got to her room, she pulled the bloody shirt over her head, then pulled her jeans off and went into the bathroom. Once under the spray of water, her body shook, and she started crying again and the tears wouldn’t stop.

  “Lord, please forgive me, for I have sinned.” She prayed until the water ran cold, then turned off the faucet and climbed out. She didn’t dare look into the mirror, afraid of what she might see. Instead, she dried off, shuffled into her room, and slipped on a fresh pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt. She then went down to the kitchen and retrieved a long knife and carried it up to her room and placed it under her pillow. In the back of her mind, she feared that Leroy might come to finish what he had started, and if so, she wanted to be prepared. She crawled under the covers and after tossing and turning, she finally drifted off to sleep.

  Kayla felt like she had just gone to bed when she heard the doorbell ringing. She rolled over onto her side and ignored it, hoping whoever it was would take the hint and go away. However, the ringing changed to pounding on the door.

  “All right, all right,” she grumbled as she slowly got up from the bed. Pain exploded through her body and she groaned. Leroy had definitely done a number on her. Kayla descended the stairs and moved to the door and looked through the peephole. As soon as she saw the two police officers standing on her porch, she was instantly wide awake. Reluctantly, she opened the door.

  “Kayla Sparks?”

  Puzzled, she looked from one to the other before answering, “Yes?”

  “I’m Detective Garrison and this here is Officer Tatum,” he said, referring to the female uniformed officer standing beside him. “Ma’am, can we ask you a few questions?”

  She looked past them to the officer in her driveway as he pressed his palm against the hood of her car. Her stomach clenched. “Uh ... yeah ... sure.” She stepped aside so they could come in. Immediately, she saw their eyes traveling quickly around her living room. “What can I do for you?”

  The detective removed a notepad from his breast pocket. “Do you know a Leroy Brown?”

  Shaking nervously, she backed toward the couch and took a seat. “Yes, I know him.”

  “When was the last time you’ve seen him?”

  “It’s been a while. U-uh, quite a while. He’s the minister of the church I used to attend.”

  The female officer stepped forward, wearing a puzzled look. “What happened to your face?”

  Kayla stared. She had forgotten all about her face. Big black-and-blue bruises were also on her legs and arms. “I um ... had an accident.”

  Detective Garrison cleared his throat. “Ms. Sparks, we need you to come down to the station to talk.”

  “Talk?” She looked from one to the other. “Talk about what?”

  “We need to talk in reference to an incident that occurred at 425 Rock Quarry Road last night.”

  Oh, no, she thought. Leroy had gone down to the police station and pressed charges against her. Just be honest. “Does this have anything to do with me stabbing him?”

  The detective’s brow rose, “Yes.”

  She nodded and gave a defeated sigh. “I figured that.” She rose and the female officer stepped forward.

  “Kayla Sparks, you are under arrest for assault with intent.”

  “What?” she gasped. “But it was self-defense.”

  “Please turn around.”

  “Wait a minute. Look at my face. All I did was stab—”

  “Ma’am,” Detective Garrison interrupted as the officer cuffed her. “You have the right to remain silent ...”

  Kayla was in a state of shock as they escorted her out to the patrol car.

  Chapter 30

  Renee

  I got up early hoping to spend a few hours in my office working on my latest erotica, Expose. It was due into my editor the first of September and I was running a little behind schedule. I wasn’t worried—I work well under pressure. In fact, sometimes that’s when I produce my best work.

  Moving into the kitchen, I found my schnauzer, Nikki, already waiting by the door.

  “Ready to go outside?” She started frantically wagging her tail. “Okay, sweetheart.” I opened the sliding door and she scurried out into the backyard. Smiling, I watched her go take care of business. Nikki had been in our family for years, and as far as I was concerned, she was one of my kids. I glanced out at the clear sky. The pond behind my house was calm and the breeze was cool. It was going to be a good day.

  After making a cup of coffee, I went into my office and logged onto my e-mail account. There were over thirty, but none of them was something I had to attend to immediately. While sipping my coffee, I read over the last scene I had written and began to outline details for the next two. I’m not big on outlining, but for someone with adult A.D.D., I’ve got to have an agenda. Otherwise, I never manage to get anything done.

  John had already left for a ten o’clock meeting, so I had the house to myself for a change.

  Last night, he and I went to dinner at Daphne’s house. Afterwards, we all went into the family room and got busy. While Tyler banged me doggy-style, John screwed Daphne in a recliner. I watched in envy as he dicked her until they both came. Once we got home, John wanted to go over every detail about how turned on he got watching another man fuck his wife. We then made love and I must say it was the best sex we’d had in years. But as I was lying there, I started feeling so cheap, like a ho. It was one thing for me to mess around on my husband, but now that the roles had been reversed, it didn’t feel good at all. I couldn’t help wondering if this was the Lord’s way of telling me something. I had fucked around for so many years without thinking twice about it, and now it was my turn to see what it felt like.

  What in the world was I doing with my life?

  That was a good question, and I didn’t know how to answer it. All I knew was that something was going to have to change because this new life was not at all what I wanted.

  The doorbell rang. I was still wearing my pajamas, so I peeked out my office window and saw three women standing on my front porch toting Bibles. Damn! Jehovah’s Witnesses! I reared back from the window and crept onto the mauve chaise in the corner of my room and waited. They rang the doorbell again.

  I shook my head. I don’t understand why it is so hard for them to get the hint.

  “Hello?” one of them called through the door.

  Oh, no, she didn’t Then they started knocking. And you think that’s bad? I spotted one who had come over to my office window and was peeking through the glass. She looked straight at me
and waved.

  Now, see, I was trying to be nice, but these Bible-carrying heffas have gone too far. I rose and moved out to the door where they were waiting.

  “Can I help you?”

  They each smiled, and the one in the middle, wearing a big straw hat, held a pamphlet out to me. “Good morning. We would like to share our publication.”

  I shook my head. “Listen, I’m really busy right now.”

  She gave me a solemn nod. “Okay, then we can come back tomorrow.”

  “No, don’t come back tomorrow. I work from home and don’t have the time or the interest.”

  The one on the left with big, beady eyes pointed her finger at me and said, “Did you know that the Lord will be coming to take us home soon?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I may be a bitch, but I do try to respect my elders. “I’m Baptist.”

  The one on the right had been sizing me up since the moment I opened the door, wearing a red silk robe. “What kind of work do you do at home?”

  “I write erotica.”

  She placed a hand to her chest and looked appalled. One of the others started fanning herself with her publication.

  Smacking my lips, I continued, “Yes, I write those sex books. And my heroine was just getting ready to give her man a blow job when you rudely knocked on my window.”

  Those women jumped off my porch and hurried away like they had just realized they’d stepped through the gates of hell.

  I shut the door and chuckled. I knew I was wrong for doing that, but at least I didn’t have to worry about them knocking on my door again. My office phone rang. I reached over and grabbed it by the third ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Renee, this is Danny.”

  “Hey, girl,” I greeted as I sank onto my chair.

  “You need to get yo’ ass on the next plane back down here.”

  Something in her voice caused a moment of alarm. “Why, whassup?”

  “Kayla’s been arrested for murder.”