by H. H. Fowler
When Dominic climbed into the bed last night, Tayah thought for sure he would have snuggled up to her and apologized with his soft kisses – like he usually did after an argument. But to her surprise, he turned his back toward her and went fast asleep. It was dark and her eyes were closed, which may have caused Dominic to assume she was asleep but that didn’t mitigate her uneasiness. She admitted the constant quarreling about Phillip and her desire to get Phillip released from prison so that he could be cared for under their roof had been taxing on their relationship. But was it reason enough to explain Dominic’s coldness toward her?
It never even crossed Tayah’s mind that it could be another woman, because Dominic had never given her a reason to think along those lines. But after last night’s episode, Tayah wasn’t so sure. She’d heard that a sudden change in behavior could be one of the signs of infidelity. Tayah, however, hadn’t the energy, nor the focus to pursue such thoughts. Phillip was dead and that was the prevailing thing on her mind at that moment.
It wasn’t long before Tayah heard Dominic moving around in the kitchen, probably trying to find something to eat. She would have left a small pot of grits on the stove, along with some scrambled eggs and sausage, but she had been too upset and too preoccupied with the babies to perform her wifely duties. Maybe Dominic would take that as a hint that she was not to be taken for granted. She couldn’t wait to hear what his first words would be to her that morning. Definitely she could expect an apology, followed by an attempt to play on her emotions.
But to her dismay, Dominic never came to look for her. He returned to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Tayah’s entire body became inflamed with anger. This was not like Dominic to act so cold and calculating. He was taking things too far now and she would not stand for it. She sprung up from that sofa and flew down the hall to the bedroom as if a force of wind was behind her. The twins would be alright. She just needed two minutes to set her husband straight. She didn’t even bother to knock on the door.
“Dominic, these immature games of yours have got to stop! Where are you?” Tayah moved deeper into the room when she didn’t see her husband. “Dominic! Dominic?”
“I’m right behind you…”
Tayah’s heart skipped a beat at the husky intone, but she recovered enough to keep her anger intact. She turned around to confront Dominic, only to get an instant fill of naked flesh. Muscles were bulging everywhere and whipped cream spread on places too carnal for any woman to keep a level head.
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Dominic said. “It’s been a month and I desperately need to feel my wife’s body next to mine.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood.”
“So you say. Your eyes are telling a different story.”
“Dominic, I am still upset with you –”
“Don’t you dare say another word and destroy this moment.” Dominic wiggled the empty whipped cream can in Tayah’s face to get her to focus on it. “You love whipped cream…and now I’m wondering if you still love me.”
How was she supposed to respond? The sight of Dominic’s naked body was enough to keep her tongue locked to the roof of her mouth. He didn’t need to tell her to be quiet. The only sound Tayah made was when Dominic reached out and pulled her into him. A pleasurable gasp, which caused Tayah’s toes to twist in her bedroom slippers. When Dominic parted her lips with his tongue, every restraint that Tayah had imposed, suddenly vaporized and within seconds, she was all over her husband’s body, scavenging like she hadn’t eaten in days.
Dominic wasn’t complaining. Fifteen minutes later they lay next to each other, trying to catch their breath. They could hear one of the twins crying, but neither of them wanted to move. There was so much they needed to talk about, but after making such passionate love, it all seemed so trivial and second base. For starters, Dominic didn’t see the need to bring up A’moree’s name and how he’d been tempted to have sex with her. It would only open up another can of worms that Dominic was too embarrassed to face.
“Are we back on track?” he asked.
Tayah was also contemplating how much she should say to Dominic – like whether or not she should tell him that Phillip had died – as if Dominic would care. Last night was one of the lowest points in her life and Dominic had disappointed her. Although she accepted part of the blame for her husband’s actions, the fact was that he’d intentionally forsaken her – just to prove a point. So could she answer truthfully and say that they were really back on track? She wanted to answer that question with a resounding yes, but how would she know that Dominic wouldn’t pull such a vindictive stunt again?
“I can see a dozen questions in your eyes,” Dominic said.
“I have concerns, but they can wait. I don’t want to destroy this feeling.”
Dominic tucked a few loose strands of Tayah’s hair behind her ear before leaning forward to kiss her. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve the way I treated you yesterday.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Tayah said. “I was out of line and totally disrespectful to you. God made you my head and I should honor that – no matter how angry I get…” Now both of the babies were crying and Tayah could no longer stand it. “I had better go and check on them.”
Dominic waggled his brows in a playful manner. “Yes, you should go. Just be prepared for round two when you get back.”
Tayah simply laughed, as she dressed herself and then disappeared through the door. As she was tending to the twins, her cell phone began to vibrate on the coffee table. Out of habit, she reached for the phone to check who it was trying to contact her. However, Tayah wished she hadn’t, because it was another insulting email from Shaniece.
“You killed my brother, you unfaithful slut,” the email read. “He would still be alive if you had paid him just a little attention. Take care to enjoy your prissy little life while you can, because in short order, you and your pathetic family will feel the wrath of my hand.”
That sounded like a death threat and Tayah wasn’t about to sleep on this one. She called Nixon at the police station and wasted no time releasing her frustrations.
“Are you gonna wait until this woman kills me and my family before something is done?” she barked into Nixon’s ear. “Turn that entire prison upside down until you find that phone!”
****
Hillsborough Women’s Prison – Friday 11:49a.m.
Nixon patched a call through to the commissioner at the women’s prison. Though he’d already alerted her that the use of electronic contraband may have been smuggled into the facility, Nixon felt that his complaint had not been taken all that seriously. Hoping to take things to another level, Nixon forwarded the commissioner all of the menacing emails that Shaniece had sent to Tayah, believing that it would not only generate a quicker response, but a more thorough investigation.
If all went as planned, all normal activity would be suspended in order for each section of the women’s prison to be carefully examined. But due to the nature of the informational source, Nixon met with a special team of officers from his precinct in advance and gave them instructions to put a plan of action in place. Shaniece Bryant was a cold and dangerous woman, who two years ago had tried to kill herself, along with her sister and nephew, just to avoid being arrested. From experience Nixon knew exactly what they were dealing with. Indeed, a very volatile, intelligent criminal with an insatiable taste for revenge.
So a surprise lockdown was underway, but Shaniece would hear of it in a minute. Her informant, who was simply known as Princeton, was a six-year corrections officer, who’d accepted multiple bribes from other inmates to supplement his extravagant lifestyle. It was because of this corrupt corrections officer that Shaniece had been able to gain illegal access to the outside world. But there was one rule never to be broken: The inmates were never allowed to keep the smartphone. They were given ten minutes to send their messages and once Princeton had safely received the smartphone back into his possession, he would purge all evidence
of usage.
This afternoon, however, Shaniece had the smartphone under her control, which she had recently used to send that nice little email to Tayah. At this point, Shaniece didn’t care if Tayah alerted the police or not. By the time they put the puzzle pieces together, Michelle would have long been buried alive. Knowing that ten minutes was not going to be enough time to do what she needed to do, she’d promised her informant that he would get two thousand dollars if he allowed her to keep the smartphone overnight.
The only reason the informant agreed to Shaniece’s risky request was because she’d kept her word in the past, along with five hundred-dollar bills that promptly came in the informant’s mailbox. The return addresses were always anonymous, but what did the informant care? As long as he got paid, that was all that mattered.
As the inmates were preparing for the start of their lunch hour, Shaniece subtly took the smartphone from beneath her wheelchair. Since she would have to return the phone to Princeton as soon as the prison doors were opened for lunch, she began to read over the email she’d sent last night to one of the most ruthless hit men in Brandon, Florida. Well, ruthless to those that were on his hit list, but very indulgent when it came to Shaniece. In any event, Shaniece could get him to do anything she wanted.
“My dear sweetheart,” her email started. “It’s been two years since I’ve been locked down in this dump, suffering in this godforsaken wheelchair. My holy character has been tarnished in this place and I long to be free to do the work of my heavenly master. I hold the Paxtons solely responsible for my unfortunate fate, who have done every imaginable evil to me and my family and have stripped us of any future enjoyment this life has to offer.
“Do you remember my brother, Phillip? He was also unjustly arrested and sentenced, but has since died of a broken heart. I am livid over the actions of his adulterous wife, who refused to put one finger forth to help him. I want you to deal with her appropriately and promptly. But while I will let you decide how you will eliminate that unfaithful slut, I write to you in regards to my innocuous little sister, Ellie, whom I love and have helped groom to become the excellent woman she is today. She now is my only hope for release out of this hell hole, but she won’t be able to do it alone.
“I will spare you the racy details of her affair with Leroy Paxton, who impregnated her at fifteen years old. All you need to know is that Leroy’s wife is standing in the way of Ellie’s happiness and my freedom. If I help Ellie get what she wants, then I know she will gladly return the favor to me and then you and I can finally be together.”
“In the meantime, make certain your schedule is clear tomorrow, between six and eight in the evening, because I need you to take Leroy’s wife for a drive. You know exactly what I mean by that. Can you handle such a huge job without failing me? Trust me, when I get out of prison, you will be handsomely compensated...”
The sirens suddenly went off and sparked immediate pandemonium among the female inmates. They knew that that sound was not for them to be released out of their cells for lunch, but notification that they were about to be subjected to a brutal search. The women were running back and forth in a panic, trying to hide whatever they could as a long line of corrections officers began to file into their space. Shaniece’s cellmate was already up against the wall, grinning as if they were at a comedy show. They heard a rattle on the iron gates, which was accompanied by a booming command.
“Step back! Step back!”
Shaniece smiled, as she recognized the voice had come from her informant – the one everyone called Princeton. She had half-expected that this was what the noise was about, but they were just a tad bit too late. Princeton’s harried appearance, however, took Shaniece completely off guard and she could only assume it was because he was afraid that he would be caught and wouldn’t have time to expunge the incriminating data.
“You have the phone?” he whispered while moving deeper into the cell. “Give it to me before I lose my job.”
The noise was horrendous, as the officers continued to move swiftly from cell to cell, tearing apart any and everything that got in their way. The informant stashed the smartphone in his back pocket, just as the commissioner walked by.
“Princeton!” the commissioner warned, “not so close to the inmates.”
“Yes, ma’am!” The informant sighed in relief before running out of Shaniece’s prison cell.
But what Princeton didn’t notice was the suspicion in the commissioner’s eyes. Nixon had told the commissioner to pay special attention to Shaniece’s unit, considering it had only been twenty minutes since Tayah had received that threatening email. That smartphone should still be in Shaniece’s possession. And even though at the end of the search a report showed that there had been no cell phones collected among the contraband, the commissioner was not deterred. She then issued another command, which made Princeton almost pee his pants.
“The safety of all staff, inmates and visitors is compromised by the presence of illegal imports in this facility,” the commissioner said. “Therefore, all reasonable steps must be taken to eliminate it. I am requiring that we will not return to normal operations until all staff is thoroughly searched in accordance with our search policy. And that includes me.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Friday – 2:32p.m.
Rachel heard her mother arguing with someone at the front door and Rachel would have paid it no mind had the voice not sounded so familiar. Since she was already out of the wheelchair, getting in her fifteen minute daily exercise, she hopped on one leg until she was near enough to peer over her mother’s shoulder. Her gaze connected with Eric’s, who immediately offered her that infamous lopsided smile. Rachel’s mother turned to see who was behind her.
“Rachel!” Tammy exclaimed. “What are you doing away from your wheelchair? You could fall down and hurt yourself very badly.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Rachel told her mother. “You are quite aware of the doctor’s instructions that I do this every morning.”
“That is not the point,” Tammy said. “You’re hopping around on one foot without support. You could fall down and break the other leg.” Without taking a breath, she spun her fiery gaze back to Eric. “And besides, don’t you have a plane to catch? My daughter is taking no visitors at this time…”
In the middle of her mother’s rant, Rachel looked at Eric and asked, “What is my mother talking about?”
“Well,” Eric said, finding the scenario before him quite amusing. “I told her that my flight for Denver is in three hours and that I wanted a chance to see you before I leave. I told you about this, remember?”
“You did, in fact,” Rachel said. “But I didn’t take you seriously. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
The brief pause that followed was so intense between Rachel and Eric that even Rachel’s mother felt it.
“Rachel,” Tammy spat. “I think you should get off that foot. You’ve been standing on it too long.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Mother. Go and fetch my wheelchair!” Rachel hadn’t intended to be rude, but her mother was a straight up pest.
Tammy searched for the right words to rebuke her daughter, but she was too humiliated, so she simply turned around without another word. She returned with the wheelchair and helped Rachel into it.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you like that, Mom.”
Staying true to her theatrical form, Tammy waved Rachel off and practically ran away covering her mouth with one hand. Her little shrieks could be heard even after she’d slammed her bedroom door.
“And here I’m thinking my mother is dramatic,” Eric smiled.
Rachel returned the smile. “I know, right. Don’t worry about her, though; she’ll be alright...” Another brief pause. “Do you want to come in for a minute?”
“Of course, I thought you’d never ask.”
Eric followed Rachel into the living room and when she wheeled herself around to face him, he was staring at her – so intently tha
t Rachel’s heart skipped a few beats.
“Is there something wrong?” she inquired. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, lately, I’ve been thinking about you – a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot…”
Rachel shot up a hand like she wanted to ask a question. “Okay, forget I asked you.”
Eric smiled. “You’re quite funny, even when you don’t intend to be.”
“I don’t intend to be a lot of things,” Rachel said. “And one of those things is hurting your brother any more than I’ve already hurt him.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Answer my question first: Do you love Sean?”
“What kind of question is that? You know how I feel about my brother. But of course, this isn’t about Sean.”
“Of course it is.”
“No, it’s not.”
Eric exhaled his frustration away. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you before I leave to go back to Denver. I just wanted to thank you for your time and for steering me in the right direction. You are the first person to have ever gotten me to think about my actions and for that, I am beyond grateful. I wasn’t going to say anything else, but when I saw you, suddenly all of these weird feelings began to flood my mind…” Rachel’s unyielding expression caused Eric to hedge. “Anyway…you’re right – Sean has suffered enough.”
“Yes he has,” Rachel reaffirmed. “However, that doesn’t mean we can’t remain friends. We’re practically family already. And I’m humbled that you found my words encouraging, but Eric, that is all we can be – just friends.”
Eric steeled himself against the dagger he felt piercing his soul. “I get it – just friends. No problem.” He began to head for the front door. “I should go before I miss my flight.”
