“Sorry, sweetheart,” I said to myself, “but this is one promise I’ll have to break.”
Chapter 41
THE MOMENT I pulled into the parking lot of the Skylark Motel I got a bad feeling. It was a filthy place. The windows were dirty, broken glass littered the ground, and it reeked of urine. I walked down the narrow corridor checking the numbers on the doors until I came to room 121. I could see a flashing light through a slit in the curtain. As I was about to turn the knob, I spotted a small brick lying in the dirt. I picked it up, then crept back up to the door. I was hoping to find him handcuffed to the toilet, like I did at the Park Avenue. That would have been a welcoming sight. “Here we go again,” I said to myself. “One, two, three,” then I opened the door.
“Oh—my—God!” I fell to my knees and started vomiting. My best friend was lying faceup on a blood-soaked mattress with his chest and face ripped to pieces. When I finally stopped throwing up, I stumbled around the room looking for the phone to call the police. When I found it, the cord had been cut. My cell phone was in the car, so I covered Eddie’s body with a blanket and then went to use the pay phone that was outside the door.
“Operator, send the police to the Skylark Motel off 288 and Reed Street, room 121. Please hurry!”
“Calm down, sir, and tell me your name.”
“What difference does that make? Just send the police, goddamnit! My friend is dead!”
I went back to my car and sat there trying to make sense out of what was happening. While I dried my eyes, I saw the message light blinking on my cell phone. I flipped it open and saw the studio number on the screen. It was a quarter to ten and I knew Mitch was worried about where I was. Just as I was about to return his call, the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Fast Eddie’s not so fast now—is he?”
“What the hell is wrong with you, Olivia! He never did anything to you!”
“He was a dog, and dogs sometimes need to be put to sleep!”
“He’s not asleep, he’s dead—you psychotic bitch!”
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Now you know how it feels to lose someone. Now you know what real pain is!”
“The next person to feel pain will be you!” I said. “When I catch up with you, Olivia, your ass is mine!”
“Oh, I like the way that sounds. Can we do it doggy style?”
“We can do it any way you want,” I was playing off her insanity. “Name the time and place.”
“How about tonight at your place? Maybe Samantha can watch.”
“You leave her out of this!”
“She’s already in it, you dumb bastard! How do you think I got your home and cell phone number after you changed them twice? Do the math. Better yet, do your homework!” Then she hung up.
I reached inside my pocket for my car keys. I was so pissed, I fumbled them onto the passenger seat. They landed on top of the pile of mail. That’s when I began to understand what Olivia meant by “do your homework.”
The bright yellow envelope from Samantha’s school was the same as the one I picked up at Olivia’s house. It had fallen on the floor with the electric bill. I recalled the clover symbol in the corner. Then I remembered the name that was printed on it, Olivia R. Brown, the same as on the business card she gave me at the hotel.
“Olivia R. Brown,” I said over and over. Then it hit me. “Oh, shit, the R is for Randall. She’s the substitute music teacher!” I sped out of the parking lot while dialing my cell phone. I called home, but there was no answer. I tried calling Juanita, but she wasn’t home either. I was in a frenzy as I raced down the highway. I dialed home over and over, but Sam didn’t answer. When I put the phone down to weave through traffic, it rang.
“Please don’t hurt her!”
“Hurt who?” Mitch said. “Man, where the hell are you?”
“He’s dead, Mitch! Eddie’s dead!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Eddie’s dead! Olivia killed him!”
“Calm down, Julian, you’re not making any sense. Where are you?”
“I’m headed home. I think she’s after Samantha!”
“I’ll call the police and have them meet you there.”
“No, don’t! I’m gonna handle this myself!”
“That’s what got you into this mess in the first place. Why do you—”
I hung up on him and stepped on the gas. As I swerved in and out of traffic, my mind flashed back to Eddie’s mutilated body. I didn’t know if I would get home and find Samantha in the same condition, or worse.
____________
When I turned on to my block, I switched off my headlights and parked two doors down from the house. All the lights were out except for the one in Samantha’s bedroom. I crept in the front door and made my way to the downstairs bathroom to get my pistol. When I felt underneath the stack of towels where I kept it, it was gone. I grabbed the pipe wrench from under the sink and moved quietly up the stairs. When I made it to her bedroom door, I put my ear to it, but there was no sound. I tried to turn the knob, but the door was locked. “Sam!” I yelled. “Sam, you in there?” When she didn’t answer I said a short prayer, then I broke the door in with my shoulder.
I was relieved and distressed when I saw she wasn’t there. But there was a box at the head of her bed. I opened it slowly, hoping not to see Samantha’s head or another body part. When I pulled the lid off, I let out a sigh of relief. Inside was a letter and a royal blue pillow. I didn’t recognize it until I turned it over and saw the embroidery on the front. It read The Princess Is Sleeping. It was the pillow Olivia gave me in the parking garage. She must have come back after our argument and pulled it out of the garbage. I tossed it across the room, then opened the letter.
I wish I could see the expression on your face. I bet you thought I was just gonna go away like some dollar-store ’ho. Well, you guessed wrong. I’m here until the end, until death do us part—isn’t that in the marriage vows? Well, consider us married, and the reception is tonight at the studio.
Love,
Olivia
P.S. If I see any flashing lights or hear any sirens, your little princess will never see her eleventh birthday. See you at the party!
I ripped the letter into pieces, then dialed the studio to warn Mitch. It rang several times but he didn’t answer. I tried his cell phone next, but still nothing. “Damnit!” I said as I slammed the phone down.
I went downstairs and got a butcher knife from the kitchen, then took off running back to my car. As soon as I turned on the ignition, I heard my voice over the radio.
“Welcome back to Love, Lust, and Lies. I’m your host, Julian Payne. We’re talking about resolutions for the new year. Pamela from Hyde Park, what’s your comment or issue?”
“Mitch, you’re a genius!” He was playing a recorded show from WTLK in Chicago. But he still wasn’t answering the studio line. That could only mean that Olivia was already there.
As I sped toward the radio station, I was praying that Samantha and Mitch were all right, but after seeing what she’d done to Eddie I didn’t believe any of us would make it out of that studio alive.
Chapter 42
IT WAS ELEVEN THIRTY when I arrived at the studio. I parked in front of the building and ran inside. The lobby was unusually quiet. The only sound was a small radio at the security desk tuned in to WBMX. There were no janitors emptying trash or mopping, and Joe the security guard was nowhere in sight. I held my breath as I approached the customer service desk.
I leaned over the counter as far as I could, hoping not to see his body lying on the floor, when suddenly I heard keys jiggling.
“Can I help you with something, Mr. Payne!”
It was Joe. He was walking toward me buckling his pants.
“Joe!” I gave him a hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, too, Mr. Payne. Sorry I wasn’t at my post, but I had to squeeze the monkey, if you know what I mean.” He winked. “Hey, how
can you be here talking to me and on the radio, too?”
“It’s a recording. I was running late and Mitch was covering for me,” I told him. “Look, Joe, have you cleared anyone to go upstairs to the studio since you’ve been on duty?”
“No one except your sister and little Sam.”
“My sister?”
“Yeah, your sister—Olivia. I signed them in about forty-five minutes ago. I didn’t want to call upstairs and spoil the surprise.”
“What surprise?”
“Samantha’s birthday,” he said. “They had a cake, balloons, presents, everything!”
“Damn!” I said.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Payne? You know I don’t usually bend the rules, but I figured, what the hell, it’s New Year’s Eve.”
“It’s okay, Joe,” I said while running toward the tower elevators. “Be careful tonight.”
As I pushed the button for the twenty-fifth floor, I thought about going back and asking for help, but Joe was too gung ho. He would have gotten all of us killed, including himself. It was up to me to figure out a way to save my daughter and myself. How I was gonna do that with a dull-ass butcher knife was beyond me. I stared at my reflection in the elevator mirror as I pushed the knife down into my sock.
“You said you wanted to handle it—well, here’s your big chance.”
When the elevator doors opened, I could hear the station playing over the hallway speakers. I ran down the hall as fast as I could, staying close to the walls to avoid being seen by the security cameras. I knew the chances of her not watching were slim, but I needed every break I could get. Once I was at the lobby door, I punched the access code and went in.
The office was completely dark except for a dim light coming from inside the studio. It was the glow from my jasmine-scented candles. I crawled on my hands and knees toward the control room, which was about fifty feet away and next door to the studio. The door was slightly open.
As I crawled down the dark hallway, I heard a muffled sound coming from inside the control room. The closer I got, the more pronounced it became. When I made it to the studio I eased my head inside the door. The room was filled with balloons and there was a birthday cake with candles. I stayed down as low as I could and made my way over to the control room. The door was cracked open but it was hard to see inside. I had to find out where that humming noise was coming from, so I pushed the door open slowly and ducked my head in. “I’ll be damned! Mitch!”
He was lying on the floor naked with his hands and feet bound with duct tape. He had a strip of it over his mouth and was bleeding badly from the head, like he had been pistol-whipped. When he saw me coming toward him, he jumped as if he was scared. But once he could make out my face, he let out a sigh. I sat him up in the chair and began taking the tape off his mouth.
“I had to open the door,” he said, sounding hysterical. “She said she would shoot Samantha.”
“Where is she now?”
“Right here, you son of a bitch!”
I didn’t see her at first, then those hazel eyes gradually appeared out of the shadows. She was completely naked and holding a gun to Samantha’s head.
“Put that tape back over his mouth and bring your ass in here!”
“Take the gun off her first.”
“I’m running this show tonight!” She cocked the trigger and put the barrel in Sam’s mouth. “Now do what I told you, or so help me God, I’ll kill this nappy-headed little bitch!”
I put the tape back on his mouth and walked over to the studio.
“And you, get back down on the floor,” she told Mitch. “The only reason I didn’t shoot your ass is because you were nice to me at the party—but don’t press your luck.”
“Daddy, I’m scared!” Samantha cried.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Everything is gonna be all right.”
“Your father is lying to you,” Olivia said while stroking her hair. “Everything is not gonna be all right, in fact, this is gonna turn out pretty fucked up, trust me!”
“Why don’t you let her go, Olivia? You got me. Isn’t that what you came here for?”
“I came here to bring in the new year and celebrate our daughter’s birthday.” She kissed Samantha on the forehead. “All we need now is for the guest of honor to arrive, and we can get this party started!”
“What guest of honor?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Samantha cried. “She made me call.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Olivia tore off a piece of duct tape and covered her mouth.
“What are you up to, Olivia? This is just between us!”
“You just do what I tell you and your daughter might make it out of here alive tonight. Now pick up those boxes off the floor and get behind that console. We’re going on the air in five minutes.”
“Are you crazy?”
She moved in closer to me so I could see Sam’s face as she began tightening her grip around her neck.
“Yes, I am crazy, which makes you a damn fool for arguing with me!” Sam’s face was turning red. “Now, I’m not going to ask you twice!”
I picked the two small boxes up off the floor and moved behind the console.
“Good boy,” she said. Then she stopped choking Samantha.
I stared down at the console. It read 11:40. It was obvious she was waiting for midnight to make her move. I began turning knobs and flicking switches on the panel, hoping she wouldn’t know if we were on the air.
“Okay, speak into your mic so I can check the levels.”
“Testing one two, testing one two,” she said while clearing her throat.
I pushed a few more buttons and pretended to be preparing to go on the air.
“Are you ready?”
“Not yet—we’re still waiting for our special guest,” she said with a devious smile.
That’s when I knew. Before I could react, the bell rang in the lobby. I looked up at the monitor and saw Terri punching in her access code. Olivia blew out the candles in the corner and stepped backward into the shadow, dragging Samantha with her.
“Don’t try anything stupid.”
When Terri walked into the studio she was wearing a sexy white dress and carrying a bottle of champagne.
“Surprise!” She rushed over and gave me a hug. “Happy New Year, baby!”
I wanted to cry as I hugged her back. I knew it was probably the last time I would feel her soft body against mine.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her.
“Sorry for what?”
“Sorry that you were so damned stupid!” Olivia said as she walked out of the shadow.
“Oh, my God!”
“That’s right, pray. You’re gonna need him tonight. Now move over there and stand still, you booshie bitch.” She directed Terri with the gun. “By the way—nice dress.”
Terri set the bottle down and moved to the side of the console next to the tape rack.
“Now that everybody’s here, we can start opening gifts! Why don’t you open yours first, Julian?”
I pulled the top off the box and carefully reached inside. The light was too dim to see what it was, but I could feel a metal object with a strap attached to it. When I removed it from the box I recognized it right away. It was Eddie’s camera.
“I thought you might want a souvenir.” Olivia laughed.
“Fuck you, Olivia!”
“You already did, remember? That’s what got you into this mess. Now pass the other box over to Miss Eve.”
Terri took the box out of Julian’s hand and set it down in front of her.
“Well, don’t just stand there, Doctor, open it!”
Terri looked nervous as she reached inside the small white container. When she pulled her hand out she was holding a multicolored rattle.
“You evil bitch!” Terri said with a hurt expression on her face.
“What’s going on, Terri?”
“You mean you didn’t know?” Olivia laughed. “This is too good
to be true!”
“Know what?”
“Shut up, Olivia, I’m warning you!”
Olivia pointed the gun at Terri’s stomach.
“No, I’m warning you!” she said. “I’ve already lost two babies—why would I give a damn about killing yours?”
“Olivia, please don’t!” Julian pointed at the clock. “Look, it’s almost midnight. I thought you wanted to go on the air.”
“I’m not done with you yet,” Olivia said to Terri. “Now hand me that last box!”
She walked up to the microphone and began adjusting it. While she was holding the gun to Samantha’s head, she reached inside the box and pulled out two pieces of paper and a Walkman radio. She taped it to her naked waist then turned the dial to 102.3.
“I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid,” she said while putting on her headphones. “Now, let’s talk about love, lust, and lies— for real!”
I had no choice but to do what she said. When the last commercial was ending, I switched off the tape and went on the air live.
“Welcome back to the show. Tonight we’re talking about resolutions. But, before we go back to the phones, I have a special guest in the studio who has a few thoughts she wants to share. Welcome to the show, Olivia.”
“Glad to be here, Julian,” she said in a sexy tone. “It’s nice to finally meet the man behind the voice. You are even finer in person.”
“Thanks,” I said with an attitude. “So why are you here tonight?”
“I have a poem I’d like to read.” She unfolded the two pieces of paper. “I want to dedicate this to all the women out there who have searched for love but found only misery and pain. I call it ‘God’s Gift to Women.’”
I laid down a jazz instrumental and adjusted the volume. Olivia closed her eyes, moved her head to the rhythm, and began to recite.
You say, I’m beautiful—sexy—classy,
and a little sassy
but most of all,
you love my honesty
all these things I possess
and yet—I am good enough for a night
but not good enough for a wife?
God's Gift to Women Page 21
