by Ali Vali
"Byron, you and Desi aren’t married anymore, remember? She divorced you so there was no reason for her to visit you in jail," said Mike in an attempt to bring the man back to reality.
"I know that dumb ass, but no papers are going to make me believe that Desi doesn’t still belong to me. That girl never could figure out what was best for her. I’m thinking once we sit and have that long overdue talk she will come around to the way things are. She married me and she’s going to die married to me if that’s what it takes to get her back."
The old man was getting closer to his destination as the sun started to go down. Despite the cooling temperatures Byron Sr. was sweating by the time he sat down in the alleyway behind his old house. At dusk he heard the slamming of two car doors and a few minutes later the lights at the back of the house came on. He forgot about the chill that was setting in when he realized there had been two people coming out of the car and entering the house. Monique had found someone else to take his place while he was in that vile place she had sent him.
"Oh darlin’, I hope you are ready for me tonight because I’m dying to see you," Byron mumbled to the garbage can next to him. In the light that spilled out of the kitchen window Byron could see the changes to his house and yard. There was a new coat of paint on the outer walls and trim, and newly planted shrubs and flowers bordered neatly trimmed grass.
His laugh sounded demented as Byron whispered, "Hi honey, I’m home."
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"I’m up here honey," Desi yelled out the bathroom doorway. The baby and she had spent the day in the room doing some rearranging in the closet getting out some of the clothes she had worn early on in her pregnancy. After feeding Jack, Desi had taken in him into the bathroom to get him cleaned up before Harry got home.
Harry paused at the door for a minute to watch Desi gently pour water of the baby’s stomach while she cooed to him. The scene looked so perfect that Harry hated to shatter it with the news she had to share with Desi. "Hey baby, how was your day?"
"Which one of us are you talking to?" teased Desi turning her head a little to draw Harry into the room. "Because if it’s this little guy here, I want to put my two cents in first before he starts to complain about having to do domestic chores today."
"Don’t waste your breath complaining son, your mother and Mona don’t want to hear it, so it’s a wasted effort." Harry came in and wrapped her arms around Desi’s waist and put her chin on her the smaller woman’s shoulder. She kissed Desi’s temple as a form of greeting so as not to distract her from what she was doing. "Everything go ok today?"
"Yes honey we were great. We missed you though and we’re glad you’re home," answered Desi. Jack was looking past her in Harry’s direction after hearing her voice. "How did your day go today? Did you see a lot of patients?"
"Interesting and yes."
"Interesting?" Desi looked into the mirror to see Harry’s face, not liking the tone of voice she had used to answer her questions. The blue eyes stared back at her and watered up instantly sending Desi into action to see what was wrong. "Honey hand me that towel please?" When Harry held up the bright yellow towel Desi lifted Jack out of the baby tub and handed him over to her so that they could get him dressed. Harry walked out to the changing table they had set up in the bedroom and kissed the top of his head before putting him down for Desi to dry him off. Looking at the two people Harry loved most hardened her resolve and promise to not let anything happen to them.
Desi dressed Jack in a footed all in one set of pajamas and sat him in the infant seat in the middle of the bed. Once he was strapped in Desi turned to Harry and wrapped her arms around the taller woman’s waist and pulled her close. Harry’s odd behavior was scaring her but Desi didn’t want to push her into telling her what the problem was.
"This guy came to see me today," started Harry. The story came tumbling out from over Desi’s head as Harry kept her eyes on Jack. When she was done, Desi took the hand Harry had used to punch Tyrell and kissed the knuckles. Desi understood where Harry’s tears were coming from but she had every confidence that they were going to be all right.
"All he wants in exchange for helping us is for you to see his sister?" They had moved to the sofa and she was sitting in Harry’s lap in an effort to stay close to her shaken up partner.
"Yeah, some guy beat her up and left her for dead a few years back. She survived the attack but it left her in a wheelchair for life. The problem is that even though this woman Diana doesn’t have use of her legs, she is still in horrible pain according to her escaped convict brother. He told me that if I agree to help her then he would get his boys to hit the streets and find the three Simoneauxs." Harry relaxed and put her head on Desi’s shoulder enjoying the fingers her partner was running through her hair.
"And you agreed didn’t you?" The question was whispered into Harry’s ear followed by a soft kiss to tell her that Desi wasn’t upset if she had.
"Yes I did baby. I would have anyway if this guy had called me from jail, he didn’t need to go to such extreme measures. But if it brings me any closer to Byron, I would do anything. If something happens to you and Jack, it would kill me." Harry’s throat closed up from the thought and she couldn’t go on.
"I know, honey. I know. Just like I knew you wouldn’t turn his sister away. That is who you are Harry, and it is the reason that I love you so much sweetheart. I want you to promise me something though." Desi kissed Harry’s forehead letting her fingers drift down to the strong neck that was so tight it had to be giving Harry a headache.
"What?"
"That you will not go anywhere near Byron or his family. If they are in New Orleans then I want you to let the police handle them. I feel the same way you do. If something were to happen to you Harry I could go on just for Jack’s sake, but I wouldn’t want to. You own my heart honey and without you I am lost." They sat looking at the quiet baby for an hour then moved to the bed to pick him up to bring him downstairs with them for dinner.
As Desi helped Mona set the table, Harry held Jack and talked to Serena on the phone to update her on what had happened. "You have to promise me that you won’t go to the police until I have the chance to talk to Tyrell again tomorrow. The only reason I called is that Desi made me, so don’t let me down."
"Harry this is a dangerous game you are playing and you have a family to consider now," answered Serena from the other end. The assistant district attorney was pacing her living room with the phone waiting for Rachel to get back from the movies with Butch. Now that there was a chance that the Simoneauxs were back in town it was making her anxious for their safety being out alone.
"That’s exactly what I’m doing Serena. I tried the police way before and they let the son of a bitch escape from Angola, so this is my way of protecting what’s mine," Harry shot back. Mona looked on without making any comment about what was going on. She was sure that Desi or Harry would fill her in when the time was right. The one thing that made the edges of her lips go up in a smile was the look on Desi’s face with Harry’s last statement.
‘What’s mine.’ Desi let the words ease into her heart and fill one more void. When Byron had flexed his muscle in whom Desi belonged to, it did just the opposite. It was a reminder of the life she had been relegated to with no means of escape. When Harry said it, it was a reminder that Desi was now a part of her family. Harry owned her heart just as much as Desi owned hers. Putting the fork in her hand down on the table Desi walked up to Harry and Jack and put her arms around both of them.
"And he said Byron and the evil spawn rode into town with him," persisted Serena. Where in the hell are the two of them? Serena asked herself looking out the window for Rachel’s car again.
"Yes, that you can tell the police. Just don’t tell them who told you," ordered Harry squeezing Desi to her. "Tell them to start looking for three homeless looking guys around town. Knowing this group, I doubt they will separate." Harry finishe
d her conversation and clicked off the phone. When they sat down to eat both the young women filled Mona and their parents in on what was going on. Mona promised Harry with conviction that nothing would happen to Desi or Jack while she was at work. With all of them there Harry felt better about having to go back to work.
"Ready for bed?" Desi was buttoning her shirt back up from feeding Jack while Harry burped him.
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"Yeah honey I’ll be right there."
"Well hurry up or I’m starting without you," said policewoman Joann Palmer. She and her husband William were still enjoying the feeling of owning their own home. Any clue or sign of the old owners had been wiped clean by Joann and William in the months they had lived there. Because of her job Joann knew the house’s history, but it hadn’t turned them off from buying it.
The neighbors had welcomed them because of the cleanup they had done both inside and out, and for the two police cars that were always parked in front of their house. The young couple were both patrol cops who had been assigned to the neighborhood they had chosen to live in, and had made it a priority to get to know their neighbors. Joann often saw William sitting down with one of the older residents with his partner having coffee or a coke as she drove past with her own partner. The four of them were part of a new community-policing program that had been enacted by the mayor and the police commissioner.
The first thing that Byron Sr. saw when he came through the kitchen window was the utility belt hanging in the open closet in the hall. He removed the 9mm from the holster and moved toward the laughter coming out of the bedroom. Monique calling out to the guy living with her had sent him over the edge and Byron had decided that they were both going to die.
"Miss me?" asked Byron when he stepped into his old bedroom. William’s red hair and upper body whipped around to the man standing in the doorway with his service pistol in his hand.
"How in the hell did you get in here?" William demanded moving off his wife. Joann’s gun was in the nightstand between the bed and the door and William didn’t think he could get it in time.
"The better question is what the hell are you doing here with my wife?" The gun in Byron’s hand felt good and it felt even better when he raised it and aimed it at the head of the man in the bed with Monique.
"Sir please put the gun down, this is my wife Joann," said William waving his hand behind him at his wife. He had softened his tone in an attempt to get through to the man holding his gun. "Maybe we can sit down and help you find your wife if you let us."
"I don’t need your help asshole, I already found my wife and she’s sitting right behind you," screamed Bryon. When Bryon looked past William he could see Monique sitting there holding the sheet up to cover her naked chest. "Monique you slut. You put me in that hellhole just so you could fuck this guy."
When the name Monique came out of Byron’s mouth, Joann knew who they were dealing with. Monique Simoneaux had died in the front room of the house at her husband’s hand and after escaping from the state penitentiary Bryon had come home. "Sir, my husband is right, Monique isn’t here but if you put the gun down we can help you find her."
The light that flew from the end of the gun looked like a camera flash in the dark bedroom to Joann. One minute she was trying to reason with the crazed man in their house then in the next instant she was trying to hold up William’s dead weight as it slumped on her chest. The blood leaking from the hole in his chest was quickly being sucked up by the white sheets pooled around their bodies. Byron had pulled the trigger when William had reached behind him to comfort his wife.
"Ralph call the police, I just heard a shot coming from next door," said the neighbor’s wife. She was standing in her own kitchen getting a glass of water before bed when she heard the shot go off followed by Joann’s screams.
"Yes that’s right, two police officers live there. It’s the Palmer couple, Joann and William. Please tell them to hurry," said Ralph into the phone. He had heard the shot too as he locked the front door for the night. Not long after hanging up the phone the older couple could hear sirens getting closer to their quiet street. Like a domino effect, the front porch lights of every house on the block flicked on as the police cruisers stopped haphazardly in front of the Palmer home.
"You can’t escape from me this time Monique. They kept telling me that you were dead but I knew it was a fucking lie. I was good to you, you stupid bitch and this is how you repay me?" ranted Byron. Monique was just sitting on the bed cradling the man’s head in her arms and crying not paying attention to what he was saying. "Listen to me you whore," started Bryon again stopping to listen to the noises coming from outside.
Joann had retreated into herself to deal with William’s death. She knew from the size and location of the wound that there was no way that he had survived. William we were supposed to grow old enough to play with our grandchildren here in this house. You left me too soon, thought Joann as she smoothed her husband’s hair down. "No," she screamed when Byron yanked her out of the bed and pressed the muzzle of the gun into the side of her head. The sheet fell away and the crazed man pulled her naked to the front of the house.
"Shut the fuck up Monique, I have to think." Pulling the curtain aside Byron Sr. could see that the front of the house was full of cop cars. There was no way he was going back to jail. "Been there, done that," he said to the assembly outside. Joann cringed when Byron lowered his hand and caressed her breast before putting one arm around her midsection to pull her closer.
"Joann or William come to the door and tell us what’s going on," ordered the voice magnified by the megaphone he was using.
"Monique we are going to go out there and tell them everything is all right. You say anything otherwise and I’ll shoot you where you stand." Keeping the gun aimed at her head Byron opened the door with the other one and pushed Joann forward enough so that everyone outside could see her.
"Sir please lower your weapon and step away from Officer Palmer. You are not doing yourself any favors by harming a police officer. Just step away from her and everything will be all right," said the officer in a normal tone. The bullhorn he had just been using was hanging in his hand at his side so as not to scare the man into doing anything rash.
The neighbors held their breaths as they watched the action on the porch of the Palmer house. Just like Joann had in the bedroom, the police and the couple’s friends watched Byron’s finger turn white from the pressure of pulling the trigger back. At the last minute all of the academy training that had been drilled into Joann’s head took over helping her comrades finish the tableau Byron had begun.
The bullet ripped through her bicep and the minute Joann’s body dropped to the floor of the porch, the police in the yard opened fire. Byron was dead before he hit the wall behind him. The multitude of bullets that hit his body made him perform a sort of jerky dance as each one found its mark. In the end, Byron’s body twisted and fell into the house landing in the same place that Monique had died months before.
The police moved from the yard into the house as soon as the gunfire stopped. They surrounded Joann as the paramedics went to work on her. The only sound that broke the dead silence that had prevailed since the last shot was fired were the orders the paramedics were issuing, and the sobbing coming from Joann. She had lived, but at what expense?
Another group of paramedics rushed passed them into the house, their equipment piled on the stretcher between them. In the back room William was bleeding profusely from the bullet wound in his chest, but his brother officers had found a faint pulse. The neighbors that were standing out in their yards in a colorful array of sleepwear bowed their heads in prayer along with the police present when the young couple was loaded onto separate ambulances and rushed to further life saving care.
Thankfully only one body bag was removed from the scene, and no one would mourn his passing. Two policemen that had witnessed similar violence a year prior at the
same address looked at the large blood stain in the living room.
"Where do you suppose his sons are?"
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"I don’t know."
"Detective Landry is there anything that you can tell me?" asked Harry in a tired voice. Desi was curled up behind her listening to the one sided conversation from the middle of the bed. They had both just gone to sleep when the phone had rung and both thought it was the hospital calling Harry for some emergency. Considering who it was, Desi was wishing now that it had been either Charity or Mercy on the other end.
"Not yet Harry but rest assured that their father is dead. It’s a crying shame that two of our own got injured to accomplish that, but it’s done. Hey on another note Serena told me that congratulations are in order for you and Desi," continued Roger. He was at the Palmer residence bagging evidence after receiving a call about what had happened. He and the other officers couldn’t understand why Bryon Simoneaux Sr. had come back to his old house and attacked the new owners. It didn’t make any sense.
"Thanks Roger, keep in touch." Harry put the phone back in the cradle and rolled back into bed with Desi. The second her back hit the mattress, Desi was lying on top of her trying to get warm.
"I wish that we could make love honey," Desi whispered into Harry’s chest.
"It won’t be long baby and I can’t wait." Harry didn’t quite know why they were having this conversation but Desi’s mind sometimes went around the block a couple of times before pulling up to the point.
"I just want to feel alive and free and that’s what making love to you does for me. I want to say how sorry I am for all of this." Desi propped herself up and put two fingers to Harry’s lips to forestall the coming reprimand. "No let me finish. I’m sorry that my past choices are now bringing us all this pain but I promise that from here on out my choices will be all about you and Jackson. You know what else I want?" Harry’s shaking head made Desi laugh and pull away her fingers so that Harry could talk.
