by RM Johnson
33
Freddy stood by Joni’s dining room window, looking through the parted curtain. Joni was outside tossing a large rubber ball back and forth to Nathaniel. Joni saw Freddy there and waved. He raised a hand, waved back.
He had been pretending to watch Joni play with the boy, but he was really looking past them, staring at the house where the security guard lived.
Joni said Freddy had no need to fear him, but Freddy couldn’t get comfortable with a man who had any relationship whatsoever with the law hanging out just next door.
He thought he had become a little too relaxed over the last few days. It was easy to do because no one was breathing down his neck here in Atlanta. But he knew that hell could’ve been rising up in Chicago. And he discovered it had been.
This morning, Freddy checked the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune Web sites. He keyed in his name, and a story popped up. He read the article and discovered that Nate and Monica were alive. There was a fifty-thousand-dollar reward on his head. That pissed Freddy off. Mr. Kenny didn’t have the money to let Freddy and his mother stay in the house they had lived in all their lives, but now after his ass had been shot, he was giving out a fifty-grand gift certificate for info on Freddy. He was on edge the rest of the morning. But things were going much better in Atlanta than Freddy had imagined. Joni was getting closer and closer to Nathaniel, and she seemed to enjoy Freddy being around.
Joni told him she’d stop talking to that Sam guy. She told him she’d tell Freddy if Sam called her phone or showed up at the house again. But late last night, Freddy had stood at her closed bedroom door, listening. Her voice was hushed, but her tone was harsh, and something told him it was Sam she was talking to. He wanted to forbid her from having any contact with him. But just like Joni said, until Freddy made a commitment to her, he really was in no position to say anything.
Joni smiled now, waved again at Freddy as he stood at the window. He did his best to smile back, then left the window when he heard his name mentioned on the TV. He stood in front of the screen, a scowl on his face. There was a detective on the news, a bald, squared-jawed brother, talking about the bounty that was on Freddy’s head. This was bad news.
But it was being aired on WGN, the only Chicago channel that Freddy was able to pick up on Joni’s cable. He still hadn’t seen anything on CNN or any other national news channels, which led Freddy to believe that the Chicago police didn’t know he had left town. The door opened behind him. He quickly clicked off the TV. Things were changing. Freddy thought he was safe, but he knew the police would soon expand their search. He didn’t think anyone knew of his connection to Joni in Atlanta, but sometimes things had a way of just getting out. He couldn’t afford to wake and see Joni’s house surrounded by cop cars. Joni walked up behind Freddy. She was holding Nathaniel’s hand. She grabbed Freddy’s, too.
“You should’ve come out with us. We had so much fun, didn’t we, Nathaniel?”
“Uh-huh,” the boy said, nodding his head.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Freddy said.
34
Arriving from the hospital, Abbey pulled her Audi into the driveway of Nate’s house and cut off the ignition. Nate was in the passenger seat, on the phone with Detective Davis.
“What have you found out?” Nate asked.
“We tried to speak to Lewis Waters, but he’s no longer in custody.”
“I know that,” Nate said, agitated. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Ford’s last address was over at his uncle’s house. He was living there with his mother, and—”
“I’m aware of that, too,” Nate said. “Did you speak to her?”
“We spoke to her.”
“And?”
“She knows nothing.”
“What do you mean, she knows nothing? She’s Ford’s mother. If anyone were to know about him, it’d be her.”
“She said Ford told her nothing. She said she told him not to, because she didn’t want to lie to us when we came.”
“So she knew you were coming?”
“Yes,” Davis said. “Ford told her that.”
Nate turned to Abbey, shook his head in disgust. “Have you found out any useful information, Detective Davis?”
Davis did not answer.
“Detective Davis—”
“Mr. Kenny, I can only imagine the pain you’re going through, and how important this case is to you, but I’m the detective, not you. If Ford is found, it will be because we find him. So once you take a step back and realize that I don’t take orders from you, everything will run much more smoothly. Understand?”
“Good day, Detective Davis,” Nate said, disconnecting the call.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Kenny?” Abbey asked.
“Grab my bag out of the trunk, Abbey.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nate exited the car after Abbey.
Abbey retrieved Nate’s bag from the trunk and made her way along the walk toward the front door of the house. Nate stood by the car, staring blankly at his home. The last time he was here, he almost died.
He slowly walked up the path to the front door. Abbey slid her spare key into the lock.
“One moment, Abbey,” Nate said, feeling his pulse quicken. “You took care of everything, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir. All the carpeting in the front rooms was replaced, along with the sofa, and the entire house was professionally cleaned.”
“Okay. Open the door.”
Abbey unlocked the door, pushed it open, and stepped in first. She walked quickly through the first floor, checking every room, then made her way upstairs. When she returned, Nate was standing in the foyer, a look of apprehension on his face.
“It’s all clear, sir.”
Nate walked down the short hall into the living room. A flashback of the attack entered his mind, but he quickly shut it out. He would not be afraid in his own home.
He sat down on the sofa. “Those detectives are incompetent. We continue to rely on them, Ford will never be found.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but there is not a great deal to go on. But I spoke to Lewis Waters, and told him we’ll pick him up so we can interview the mother ourselves.”
“What makes you think her story will change?” Nate said. “They said she knew nothing.”
“Maybe they didn’t interview her the right way,” Abbey suggested.
“Tomorrow, then. We pay her a visit.”
35
Lewis matched the numbers on the scrap of paper he pulled out of his pocket to the address on the run-down house he stood in front of. The house was around the corner and down the block from the apartment Lewis used to share with Selena.
Last night during his conversation with Salesha, Lewis asked her, “Selena ever mention anybody named Brian Wilson?”
“Yeah,” Salesha said. “He sounds familiar.”
“Did she ever say where he worked, or where he lived?”
Salesha said her daughter told her the man lived somewhere in the neighborhood, around the corner or something.
First thing this morning, Lewis went back to his old neighborhood and questioned anyone hanging on the street corner, sitting on their front porch, or walking down the street. After approaching four people and finding out nothing, Lewis asked a man who looked a few years older than him.
“You know anybody name Brian Wilson live around here?”
The man wore a huge dirty white T-shirt. He was unshaven and smelled bad.
The man said, “You got a cigarette?”
“Ain’t got no cigarette,” Lewis said.
“Then I guess I don’t know no Brian Wilson.”
Lewis dug a crumpled five-dollar bill out of his pocket, handed it to the man. “Buy you a pack. You know him now?”
“He live right there,” the man said, pointing to the house across the street.
“What?” Lewis said, looking at the run-down old house. “Right there?”
“Yeah.”
�
��Thanks,” Lewis said, heading over to the house.
“But he ain’t home till, like, six this evening. He at work now. Come back at, like, six, and he’ll be home.”
“He live there with anybody else?” Lewis asked.
“He got a wife and two kids. Boy and a girl.”
Now Lewis stood on Brian Wilson’s porch, after rapping on the door. It was six o’clock.
The door swung open and a man stood behind the black steel security door. He wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t handsome, either. He was Lewis’s complexion, shorter, heavier set, with a wide nose and thin lips.
“Was up?” Brian Wilson said, not opening the security gate.
“I need to talk to you,” Lewis said.
“Who are you?”
“We knew the same girl.”
“You still ain’t answer my question,” Brian said.
“Look, we need to talk. So why don’t you just step out here so we can do that?”
Brian smiled, chuckled suspiciously. “Yeah, right. This the hood. I ain’t no fool,” Brian said, about to close the door on Lewis.
“You knew Selena around the corner?” Lewis said.
Brian held the door open. “Naw, I don’t know no Selena.”
“Yeah, you do. You used to fuck her.”
“Look, fool. I don’t know what you talking about. And if you don’t get off my porch—”
“You gonna what?” Lewis said, practically pressing his nose to the screen of the door.
“I’m gonna slam this door in your face.”
“Then I’ll just tell your wife and your kids what you was doing around the corner.”
Brian looked back into the house over his shoulder, and then looked back at Lewis. He said, “What’s this about, man?”
“Step out.”
Brian sighed, unlocked the door, then stepped out onto the porch.
“Now what?”
“Did you know Selena?”
“Yeah, I did. So what? She dead now. I heard it was an overdose, something like that.”
Lewis pulled out a tiny snapshot of Layla, handed it to Brian.
Brian glanced down at it.
“She cute. So what?”
“Is she yours?” Lewis said.
“What?” Brian said, pushing the picture back into Lewis’s hand.
“You used to fuck Selena. She had a baby.”
“So? I used to fuck a lot of women. That don’t mean that every little shit they give birth to is mine.”
“It do when your name is on the birth certificate.”
Brian stared at Lewis, serious now. Lewis took the certificate out of his back pocket, held it up to Brian. Brian took it, stared wide-eyed at it, shaking his head.
“Naw. I got two kids, and they upstairs. I ain’t got no other kids, and you can’t make me say I do.”
“I ain’t here for that,” Lewis said. “Selena always told me this child was mine. I just need for you to tell me that if she ain’t mine, but yours, you won’t want her. That if I tried to adopt her or something, you won’t try and stop me.”
“Dude, dude! I swear I won’t,” Brian said. “But you gotta promise me that you never gonna bring this back to me, mention this to my wife or kids.”
“I promise. But you might need to sign something. Adoption papers or something.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever the fuck, man. Just let me know, and I’ll do it.”
36
The door to the small house opened. Mrs. Weatherly smiled, then stepped forward and gave Daphanie a hug.
“Please, come in.”
Daphanie followed Mrs. Weatherly into the living room. It was crowded with old floral-printed, plastic-covered furniture.
“Have a seat, Daphanie,” Mrs. Weatherly said. “Would you care for some coffee or tea?”
“No, thanks. I’m fine.”
Mrs. Weatherly was Nate’s housekeeper, his cook, and Nathaniel’s nanny. She did everything for Nate and Nathaniel. That is, until Daphanie came on the scene. After that, sometimes Daphanie would take Nathaniel to the park, or to the bookstore, or to lunch. She would spend time with him in the hopes of creating a bond.
Daphanie liked Mrs. Weatherly, and she felt the older, distinguished woman had liked her as well.
Wearing a blue dress with a white lace collar and cuffs, Mrs. Weatherly sat across from Daphanie. She was a small woman with golden skin and graying hair she wore pinned back.
“I hope you don’t mind that I called earlier,” Daphanie said. “I missed you. I wanted to make sure that you were alright.”
Mrs. Weatherly smiled. “I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I was that things ended between the two of you the way they did. I thought you were perfect for Mr. Kenny. But he was my employer, so I wasn’t able to—”
“I understand perfectly.”
“How is he? Do you know? Tim called and told me that he survived, but I just haven’t found the courage to go and visit him.”
“He’s fine. And I’m sure when you finally see him, he’ll understand. But you said he was your employer. What exactly do you mean by that?”
Mrs. Weatherly closed her eyes a moment.
“I was resting in the coach house. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I had taken a sleep aid. I hadn’t heard the shots, but for some reason I had just woken up, sat straight up in bed. I had gotten this awful feeling that something was terribly wrong. I put on a coat and hurried to the house. When I walked in …” Mrs. Weatherly gasped. “There were police and yellow tape. Neither Mr. or Mrs. Kenny were there, but my God, the blood all over the place. Those dear, poor souls. I fainted.”
Daphanie got up, sat beside Mrs. Weatherly, wrapped her arm around the woman.
“It’s okay. It was a natural reaction.”
“I thought I would come here to my sister’s house, take a week off. You know, get over the trauma of what happened. But I can’t. I’ve tried. But I can’t go back. I’ve told Mr. Kenny’s brother, but I have not told Mr. Kenny yet. I can never go back there.”
“He’ll need someone to take care of him when he’s released from the hospital,” Daphanie said. “Someone to watch Nathaniel and Layla. Mrs. Kenny—how is she?”
“She’s in a coma. They don’t know if she’ll wake up.” Mrs. Weatherly shook her head. “They’re going to need someone to take care of them. I would, but … I just can’t,” Mrs. Weatherly said, lowering her eyes.
Daphanie patted Mrs. Weatherly’s hand. “It’s okay. It’s understandable.”
The older woman looked up. “Nate trusted you before. Why don’t you do it?”
“I might have to,” Daphanie said, acting as though she weren’t sure she wanted the responsibility. “Yes. I think I might have to.”
37
The next day, Abbey pulled Nate’s Mercedes to a halt in front of the large brick house atop the small hill.
“This is it?” Nate said, not looking back at Lewis, who sat in the backseat.
“Yeah, this is where Kia lives.”
“And you said she’d talk to us. You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I called her yesterday,” Lewis said. “She ain’t want to, but I convinced her.”
“You better not be wasting my time,” Nate said, opening the passenger door.
Lewis didn’t respond, just opened his door and climbed out of the car. Standing at the front door, after ringing the doorbell, Nate, Lewis, and Abbey waited for someone to answer.
The door opened after a moment. Kia stood in the doorway. She was slender, tall, and beautiful. She looked like a model on her day off, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, with her hair pulled back.
“How are you, Lewis?” Kia said, opening her arms to give him a hug.
“I’m okay,” Lewis said, hugging her.
Afterward, she turned around without addressing Nate and Abbey, and said, “You can come in.” Kia walked everyone into the large, expensively decorated living room. “You can have a seat if you like.”
Lewis sat o
n the sofa. Nate carefully lowered himself into a chair with Abbey’s help, then Abbey took the chair beside him.
Kia sat beside Lewis. She pressed her palms together and placed them between her knees.
“So you’re the man that ruined Freddy’s life,” Kia said, finally eyeing Nate.
“I was trying to help him,” Nate said.
“Bullshit,” Kia spat. “He was doing fine by himself. He had gotten his real estate license. He and Lewis were going to start their own company. He was getting his life together, and then you came along.”
“Ms. Martin, I’m sorry for the way things—”
“We were going to have a baby,” Kia said, emotion in her voice.
Lewis placed his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close to him. “It’s okay, Kia.”
“Like I said, I’m sorry, but—”
“Your apology doesn’t do shit for me—or for Freddy. I wish he did kill you!”
“Kia!” Lewis said, staring at her, shocked.
Kia closed her eyes, wiped a tear.
Looking at Nate, Kia said, “That was wrong. I don’t wish that. I’m sorry. It’s just all that I went through, and now this.”
“I understand,” Nate said. “And I accept your apology. And after hearing what Lewis told you Freddy did, I’m sure you can understand why I need to find him, why I need to find my son.”
“He didn’t take your son. Freddy wouldn’t do that,” Kia said.
“I don’t know that for sure. I don’t know him like you do. But if you can tell me what he said to you the last time you two spoke …”
“I told this to the police already,” Kia said.
“Good. Can you tell me now?” Nate said.
Kia sniffed. “A few nights ago, he came by. I could tell something was really wrong. He said he did something bad. That he had to do it to make up for what you did to him.”
“That’s it?” Nate said.
“That’s all he said.”
“Did he say where he was going?”
“No.”
“Do you know where he was going? Where he could possibly be?”
“The only place I would know Freddy to go would be home. And since that isn’t there anymore, I don’t know where he is.”
