by H. H. Fowler
“A cold beer would be nice.”
Michelle stopped her strides and turned to see if those words had actually come out of the mouth of her personal adjutant.
Brenda laughed. “You do know that I’m just pulling your leg. But whenever there’s anything to do with Ellie and her child, especially her sister, Shaniece, I feel as though I need a stiff drink to calm my nerves.”
“Well, don’t work yourself into a sweat just yet,” Michelle said. “We first need to find Ellie and her son.”
“And then what? Be nice to them? I don’t think so.”
“Brenda…”
“First Lady Paxton, I mean no disrespect, but you and your family have been through too much to allow the devil to repeat this ugly mess. That girl is still after your husband. We haven’t heard from her in almost two years, then she suddenly shows up with that boy, demanding to see the bishop? I’m telling you, there’s a nasty agenda cooking behind the scenes.”
Michelle resumed her walk with Brenda following closely behind. They stopped by the coffee table where Michelle had rested her purse.
“I appreciate your concern,” Michelle said. “But I am not ignorant of what Ellie and her other family members are capable of…”
The cordless phone came alive with a sonorous ring, interrupting Michelle’s response. Since the phone was within reach, Michelle decided to answer it.
“Am I speaking with Michelle Paxton?” the female voice asked.
“Yes you are. How can I help you?”
“I can tell you don’t recognize my voice.”
“I’m afraid I don’t. Who’s this and how’d you get my number?”
“You will want to talk to me, Mrs. Paxton,” the voice said. “Meet me at the MOSI on Fowler Ave. in half an hour.”
It was not until the line went dead that Michelle was able to determine the inflection of the caller’s voice. She turned to Brenda and said with much confusion, “I think that was Ellie on the phone.”
Brenda was equally confused, but it was mixed with a strong dose of skepticism. “What does she want?”
“She wants me to meet her at the MOSI in half an hour.”
“Well?”
“Well, I’m going.”
“Are you certain this isn’t a hoax of some sort…?”
Michelle grabbed her purse and began walking toward the kitchen exit. “Are you coming? Because I’m going with or without you.”
Brenda shivered in her Canadian skin at the resolve she saw in Michelle’s eyes. She knew it would be useless to stop her. Picking up her own steps, she obediently fell in behind the woman she’d been assigned to safeguard against such circumstances.
****
With Dominic gone to the church and the twins taking their afternoon nap, Tayah finally had the peace and quiet to execute what she’d wanted to do ever since she’d gotten up that morning. She plunged down in a sofa and then picked up the phone to call Sheriff Josiah Nixon at the Hillsborough County Police Station. Nixon had been her family’s go to man who’d assisted with the arrest of her ex-husband and his evil sister. And the fact that Nixon was a long time member at Mount Moriah Baptist Church, had only strengthened the trust between him and the Paxton family. His advice was greatly cherished.
So if Tayah wanted a sincere, unbiased opinion of what action to take against Shaniece’s email, Nixon would be the one to go to. Her heart thumped in her chest as she waited to be connected. Had Dominic known what she was about to do, Tayah was certain he would try to stop her. The air between Dominic and Phillip was still as stiff as a pointer’s tail. Dominic despised Phillip for the way he’d manipulated Tayah into a marriage contrived by Shaniece. Moreover, Phillip had mistreated Tayah with a vindictive combination of mental and physical abuse that had left Tayah bedridden in one particular instance.
Because of that, Dominic and Phillip never got along and were always at each other’s throats when it came down to Tayah. Their quarrels stirred up a lot negative energy that never really got resolved. That’s why Tayah was hesitant to tell Dominic about Shaniece’s email. She knew he would not understand why she’d decided to give the email some serious consideration.
“Hello, Tayah,” Nixon greeted in a crisp tone. “Or do you go by Mrs. Housten?”
Tayah replied, “There’s no doubt I love my new married name, but really, it doesn’t matter. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”
Nixon grinned. “Thank you…so, what can I do for you, Mrs. Housten?”
“I would like a favor from you.”
“Okay…I’ll try my best to assist you.”
“I appreciate that.” Tayah then jumped right into her request. “Is it possible to arrange a private meeting between me and my ex-husband? I only need fifteen minutes.”
“When you say ‘private,’ what do you mean?”
“I don’t want to talk to Phillip with thick glass between us,” Tayah said. “Put us in a room, if possible. My reasons are personal and I can’t explain them to you right now.”
“Well, your request does seem a little odd, but I have some connections and I think I can make it work. However, you will want to have this meeting as soon as you can.”
“Why would you say that?”
“For one thing, Phillip is incapacitated and will require some assistance to move him from one place to the next. Maybe it would be best to leave him where he is and visit him there.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Let me make it plain for you, Mrs. Housten. Your ex-husband is in the last stages of colon cancer and has already been given up to die. He has been in the infirmary for the last two weeks.”
Tayah received the news with much discomfort. “So, Shaniece has been telling the truth…”
“Excuse me?”
“I got an email from her stating that Phillip is sick. Of course, at first I didn’t believe her, but now you’re confirming it. Are inmates allowed to contact the outside world via email?”
“Well, much like the phones in prison, the use of the internet is allowed under close supervision. Recently, the Federal Bureau of Prisons officially made email available to nearly half of its prison population. Many state prisons have since come on board. The idea is to help inmates stay in touch with the community and family members.”
Nixon continued. “Some prison officials are very much in favor of it because of how easy it is to monitor the link from an email. Unlike physical mail or phones, email can’t be used to smuggle contraband. Now, I would be concerned if you’d told me that Shaniece had accessed the internet via a smart phone. Because mobile phones are banned for all inmates.”
“And how would I know whether Shaniece is using a smartphone or not?” Tayah asked.
“That’s easy,” Nixon replied. “The email messages that are going in and out of the prison are only to those recipients who have been preapproved and have agreed to be emailed. So my obvious question to you is this: Have you at any time agreed to receive email messages from Shaniece?”
“Why on earth would I agree to stay in touch with that evil woman?”
“Those were exactly my thoughts,” Nixon said. “Also, when an email is sent from a smartphone, it says so at the bottom of the email message. Would you take a minute to study Shaniece’s email and tell me if this is the case?”
“I hadn’t thought about that. Give me a sec…” Tayah returned to the phone within less than a minute. “No, the email doesn’t show whether or not it came from a smartphone.”
“That is okay, I just wanted you to check,” Nixon told Tayah. “Why don’t you come to my office tomorrow? We’ll talk and then I will escort you to see your ex-husband.”
“Noon would be better for me because I will have to find someone to keep the twins for a few hours.”
“Whatever works for you,” Nixon said. “In the meantime, forward that email to me. I’ll contact the commissioner at the women’s prison and get her to look into it.”
“Thank you.”
> Tayah disconnected from Nixon with an unsettled feeling in her stomach. For one, Shaniece had been telling the truth about her brother’s condition. The news should have brought some consolation that her ex-husband was finally being rewarded for all the evil he’d committed, but deep within the sanctum of her conscience, Tayah was disheartened. For two years, she’d not fully forgiven this man and now he was about to die knowing how much she hated him. Was this some sick joke God was playing on her? She was being forced to examine her heart, which had been trampled on and torn into a thousand pieces by Phillip’s lies and deception.
Certainly God didn’t expect her to wipe the slate clean of what that monster had put her through. It was just too soon. Kudos to her mother, whose marriage had been ripped to shreds by infidelity but she survived the nasty scandal that followed. Indeed, her mother was to be greatly commended. However, Tayah was convinced that she hadn’t been blessed with her mother’s capacity to forgive.
But regardless of the inner struggle that raged on within Tayah’s heart, God’s message was clear. He’d even used Shaniece’s offensive email to get His point across: Forgive Phillip before he passed on to the other side. But for Tayah, that was easier said than done.
Chapter Eleven
Mackey pulled Leroy’s new Escalade into the parking lot of the museum on Fowler Avenue. A pristine white SUV to replace the black one that had been stolen two years ago by the group of thugs responsible for Abraham’s murder. The Museum of Science and Industry, better known as MOSI, offered approximately four hundred and fifty exhibits, live science demonstrations and an IMAX theatre that was second to none.
Mackey studied the huge dome and settled within himself that the venue seemed harmless enough. With Leroy being the high profile man that he was, there was no such thing as being too careful. What were the chances of Leroy running into someone he knew at such a location at this hour of the day? Mackey didn’t know and he didn’t care to find out. He stole a glance at Leroy in the passenger seat, who appeared to be scouting the surroundings as well. Mackey could see the angst in Leroy’s face, the way his jaws had tightened.
“You don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want,” Mackey said as his opening line. “We’re twenty minutes early.”
Leroy let out a quick sigh and said, “I used to have these same rides with Abraham when I was being manipulated by Shaniece, and I never imagined in a million years that I would find myself back in this miserable predicament. I should have listened to you and told Michelle about the emails from the start. I thought ignoring them would have discouraged Ellie’s efforts.”
Leroy’s words forced Mackey to think about his own sins and how they’d led to his wife divorcing him. “A woman who is desperate for your attention is a dangerous woman,” he said. “You can’t trust her. I knew all along that my ex-wife’s friend wanted to have sex with me, but I acted as if I was strong enough to ignore the signs. She would dress provocatively and brush up against me when my wife wasn’t looking. As a man, that made me feel good, and at times I would imagine having sex with her, though in the back of my mind I convinced myself that I would never step out on my wife. Please excuse my expression, but the woman was extremely hot and tempting.”
“I can attest to what you have experienced,” Leroy said, his mind flashing with images of Ellie outfitted in red lingerie. That was seven years ago when they’d met in person for the first time. He then added with deep regret in his tone, “The devil works hard to make the temptation look as irresistible as possible.”
Mackey chuckled, but it was without humor. “And to my detriment, I’ve lost the only woman I’ve ever loved. I told you this story several times, but what I didn’t tell you about was the motive behind my actions. On the night my wife and I had that argument, earlier that day I’d gotten a dirty text from this woman. It was a bolder move, which I should have related to my wife, but instead I kept it to myself. I couldn’t stop thinking about the text. The next thing I knew, I was plotting ways to meet up with her. I picked a fight with my wife and intentionally blew everything out of proportion.”
“It would be your excuse to leave home, not returning until the following morning,” Leroy said, as he recalled what Mackey had told him in one of their private sessions.
“Exactly. It was an opportunity to fulfill my longing for this woman. I wasn’t even really that upset with my wife. In fact, I wasn’t upset at all. I was relieved to have come up with an excuse. I said all of that to say this: Sin is like a mustard seed. It starts with a small, simple thought, but before you know it, it manifests into a mountain of destructive behaviors. I should have told my wife about that first time her friend came on to me. But I procrastinated, because it felt good at the time giving in to my lust.”
Leroy nodded in silence, as his pensive gaze rested on the entrance of the museum. He appreciated Mackey’s concern for him, wanting him to tell Michelle about Ellie’s emails. But Leroy was not procrastinating because of lust. Lust hadn’t anything to do with it. He was more afraid of what Michelle would think. The first thing his wife would want to know was: How long had Ellie been sending him those emails? He was prepared to tell his wife that he’d been receiving those emails for more than six months, but he wasn’t prepared to tell her why he’d kept it a secret for so long. Because up to this point, Leroy hadn’t a suitable answer even for himself.
“What time is it?” Leroy asked.
“We still have five minutes to spare,” Mackey said.
Leroy pushed open the passenger side door and said, “Let’s go inside and get this over with.”
****
Ellie stared at her watch, which told her it was three minutes to noon. Leroy and Michelle should be making their way through the entrance of the museum very soon. It didn’t matter who arrived first. Ellie knew that if her plan worked, both of them would receive the shock of their lives. Because neither knew of the other’s coming. Through her sister, Shaniece, Ellie had learned a vital piece of information when dealing with the Paxton couple. They both loved to take charge of a situation and try to steer it in the direction they wanted it to go.
But not this time, Ellie thought. She had about two hours before she would head back to Brandon, Florida to pick up her six-year-old son from school. The distance was only a twenty-minute drive, but she wanted to give herself enough time to lay out her demands to Leroy and Michelle. Her sister had been right all along. Three thousand dollars was not enough money to take care of her and her son. She had bank payments, her college fees, and her son’s private school fees, a car note and the list of expenses went on. But apart from that, Ellie would still not be satisfied until she recaptured Leroy’s heart. That was why she was driving such a hard bargain. She wanted Leroy to be hers.
After the church scandal, Ellie had moved back to Brandon, Florida, which she now realized had been a terrible mistake. Because within three months, she was having recurring sexual dreams about Leroy. She’d hoped with time her wounds would heal and subsequently make her forget her sordid past with the bishop. But the separation only made things worse. Ellie had never been with an attractive man with as much power and influence as Leroy, who’d transformed the very essence of her soul.
She struggled to forget his first touch…that first contact of his lips against her skin that made her groan with desire. A man who didn’t belong to her, but in every which way still felt as if he did. Because together they’d created a beautiful son. How could she suppress that part of her sexual experience when she was being reminded of it every day by staring in the face of their son? Whether she’d been fifteen or thirty-five years old at the time, it was a lesson in ecstasy Ellie would never disregard.
The lobby of the museum was becoming crowded with people, as they were gathering for the twelve-thirty show in the IMAX theatre. Ellie stood against a wall, directly facing the entrance. She first noticed the man to whom she’d given the note, with Leroy following closely behind. When their gazes finally met, Ellie mo
ved her steps forward to greet them. However, her greeting was received with a cold air of suspicion.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other,” Ellie told Leroy. “You don’t have to look so mean.”
Leroy held a firm gaze and said, “This childish game of yours ends now, along with those absurd emails you send me every other week. Your demands are unreasonable and I will not bend to any of them. You will listen to me and follow through with my instructions.”
Ellie tilted her head and smiled. “At least you have been reading my emails. Because you never responded, I thought you weren’t getting them. I was there at your house on Saturday to confront you.”
“You were never this presumptuous and so downright obsessive before,” Leroy spat. “What in the world has gotten into you?”
Ellie stared at Leroy as if he didn’t get it. “Of course I’m obsessed, Leroy. I love you and there’s nothing you or anyone can do about it. And have you forgotten that we have made a child together?”
Mackey was listening in to their conversation the entire time, but he casually looked around to get another view of their surroundings – just to ensure they had total privacy. Suddenly, the color drained from his face when he saw Michelle and Brenda making their way toward the MOSI entrance. He stepped back and used his bulky frame as a shield to buy enough time to warn Leroy.
“Your wife is seconds away from walking through these doors,” Mackey said to Leroy. “What are you going to do?”
Leroy was baffled by the announcement. Why would Michelle show up here at the MOSI at the same time we are here? This doesn’t make sense. Leroy noticed Ellie’s eyes were shifting back and forth. A sure sign of nervousness, or a sign she was concealing the truth. He immediately discerned the devil behind Ellie’s plot.
“Let her in,” Leroy said.
“Excuse me…?”
Leroy turned to Mackey and repeated, “Let my wife through those doors!”
“Leroy…wait…” Ellie reached out and touched Leroy’s arm. “This is not what you’re thinking. I asked your wife to join us because I think all of us need to work through this situation together.”
