by Cydney Rax
“I think it was on a Friday. He came over to my apartment.”
“Your apartment?” asked Longfellow. “You didn’t live with your husband?”
Nicole hesitated.
Humphrey told her, “Look, let’s stop this questioning right now. We can drive you downtown and question you there. We really should not conduct this interview here, Mrs. Eason.”
“Of course I will go,” Nicole stated. She went to get her purse and texted Kiara that she had to leave but that she’d be back.
Once she got downtown and was taken into the interrogation room, they requested her ID and checked for warrants.
“Boy, that traffic was a mess for this time of day,” Humphrey said to Longfellow.
“Tell me about it. I hope it clears up, because I gotta go out to Katy to the Outdoor World and get me some fishing gear later on.”
“Lucky you.”
Nicole stared at them in amazement. She couldn’t believe the casual conversation they were having considering the circumstances, but to them it was just a job.
Sergeant Humphrey applied some lipstick, then turned on her tape recorder.
“Let’s start,” she said. “We’ll be talking about Rashad Eason. Did you know his daily routine, Mrs. Eason?”
“For the most part. Sometimes I didn’t, because he would switch things up depending on the type of projects he worked.”
“What did he do for a living?”
“He owned a subcontracting business.”
“Where was it located?”
She told them.
“Do you have keys to that building?”
“Um, yes.”
“And does his office have security cameras?”
“Um, I’m not sure.”
Nicole knew that there were cameras. But she was afraid to tell the truth. What if the security cameras showed the hit man who was hired? Even though she did not know his identity, she did not want them to trace the assailant back to her.
The detectives asked a few more questions about Rashad’s business dealings: who were his employees, how many did he have, had he recently fired anyone in the past year or two, and had he ever mentioned any conflicts that he had with the people he worked with?
Wow, easy stuff, Nicole thought as she easily provided several factual answers with confidence.
“So you were married to Rashad but not living under the same roof?” That was Longfellow.
“Um, we had been living together up until recently.”
“What date did you stop living together?” Humphrey asked.
“I don’t know. It’s not like I marked it down on my calendar. Living separate was a painful experience that I did not want to think about.”
“That’s understandable.” He monitored her with curiosity, then asked, “Were you legally separated? Had you discussed divorce? Were any papers filed?”
“No. Um, we were trying to work things out. Look, I feel so uncomfortable talking about this topic. It feels weird to answer these questions, knowing he’s lying somewhere in a steel box. I loved my husband. I’m sorry he’s dead. I wanted us to be together.”
“But he wanted out of the relationship?” asked Longfellow.
“Yes. Um, yeah.” She shrugged. She was afraid to tell the officers that info, but it didn’t automatically mean that she’d killed him. They had no evidence. She didn’t even know until after it happened that he’d been killed at the warehouse.
“Will you be the one to come and identify the body?” asked Humphrey.
“Do I have to?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“I have never done anything like this before. And I don’t want to remember Rashad like that.”
“Remember him like what?”
“Shot up.”
“How’d you know he was shot up?”
“How did I know he was shot? Um, it was on the news. It was on the Internet.” She nervously laughed. “The article said he was murdered. I don’t know. You’re the experts in these things.”
“Even so, you may need to go to the coroner’s office and sign off on the death certificate, alright?” asked Humphrey.
“Of course.”
“Getting back to the interview,” said Longfellow. “Where were you at approximately nine twenty-five on the evening of Friday, April twenty-eighth?”
This would be easy. “I was at home with our daughter, Emmy, and with the nanny.”
“At home, as in your apartment on Richmond Avenue?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Can you give us the nanny’s name and phone number and address if you have it?”
“I’d be glad to.”
“Were you home the entire night?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “We were watching Netflix. We had a little party, because I could no longer afford my nanny. It was a good-bye party of sorts . . .” Her voice tapered off. She did not want to volunteer too much information.
“Did you leave at any point during that party?”
“No.”
“Did the nanny stay at your party during the entire duration?”
“Yes. She never left. And neither did Emmy.” She laughed nervously.
“Mrs. Eason, did you try to contact Rashad the next day? Like, had he made any effort to say he wanted to see you that weekend or anytime in the future?”
“Um, not that I can recall. I’m sure we would have hooked up at some point, so he could spend time with Emmy. But no. I—no.”
“What time did you go to sleep that night?”
She wanted to say that she’d tossed and turned. But she said, “Um, it probably was around ten or eleven.”
“How do you know?”
“I usually go to sleep around that time. I’m assuming it was ten.”
“Did he call you that night?”
“Um, I think I got a missed call from him. But I probably didn’t because my phone was turned off.”
Sergeant Humphrey raised her eyebrows. “You said you turned off your cell phone? Is there any reason why you’d remember that detail?”
“Um, no. I think I turned it off. I don’t remember.”
Detective Longfellow asked, “Did you hire a divorce lawyer? I’d like to get his or her name.”
Sergeant Humphrey added, “And we want the name of Mr. Eason’s divorce attorney. If you don’t know, we can look it up ourselves.”
“Why do you need that info?”
“Mrs. Eason, we’re trying to piece together all the info we can so we can find out who placed a gun to your husband’s head and killed him. He was also shot in the leg. Whoever did it seemed very angry. And we plan to find out why.”
Nicole said, “Right. Okay.”
“Mrs. Eason, thanks for your time. That’s enough for now,” Sergeant Humphrey said and rose to her feet. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I am, too,” she replied in a sad whisper.
As soon as the officers released Nicole, an HPD patrol officer offered to drive her to the coroner’s office, where she was asked to go through the body identification process.
“I’m sorry, but dead bodies freak me out. I really don’t want to do it.”
“Okay, you’re not required to do so, but we will make the process as delicate for you as possible.”
Nicole nodded. She was accompanied by an officer and fell into a deep silence all the way over to the coroner’s.
When they entered the building, Nicole ran smack into Rashad’s mother.
“That’s my mother-in-law,” she absently said to the officer.
Beeva stared across the room at Nicole. Her eyes were red and she clutched a handkerchief.
“Hi. I was coming over here to identify the body,” Nicole said.
“No need. The job has been taken care of.” Her mother-in-law raised up her purse and looked like she wanted to hit Nicole.
Kiara emerged from behind Beeva.
“Kiara? What are you doing here?”
“She a
sked me to come. That’s why I’m here. He’s dead. His face wasn’t identifiable, but I know his hands and I touched them.”
“You did not have to do that.”
“Oh, but I did. His mother and I did what we had to do, Nicole. Oh, here is a bag of his personal effects, keys to the house, his wallet.”
“Thanks, I could have taken care of that,” she said lamely.
“Anyway, everything has been handled. No need for you to even go in there now.” Kiara started to leave with Beeva Reese. “Oh, by the way, I heard that he was very unhappy in his marriage and was trying to leave you and I’m not surprised.”
“How could you twist your mouth to even say anything like that right now, Kiara?” Nicole said and rolled her eyes at her mother-in-law.
“Because it’s the truth, that’s why.”
“Regardless,” Nicole replied, “this is not the time or the place. I’ll call you later, alright? Um, thanks to both of you.”
The two women barely said good-bye and hurried away from Nicole and out the door.
The officer drove Nicole back to her workplace. As soon as she got back to the campus, she fled to her office. With Kiara doing her job at the coroner’s, she knew she’d better plan the funeral before the woman took over that task, too. While she briefly sat in front of her computer, she heard a swift knock on her office door and then it swung open. It was Shyla.
“Hi, Nicole.”
“Hey there.”
Nicole was stunned to see her. She couldn’t speak.
“Aren’t you going to invite me into your office?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”
Shyla closed the door behind her. “Are you pissed at me?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t be. I don’t want to do this anymore. I-I shouldn’t have been such an ass with you.”
Nicole shrugged. “I agree. So, why are you here?”
Shyla came over and embraced her. It was awkward, and Nicole stiffened at her touch. “Okay, alright. I’m sorry, Nicole. I shouldn’t have said the whack-ass shit I said to you. It was wrong, I have no real excuse, and I’m sorry about everything.”
Nicole knew that trying to remain angry at Shyla would be foolish—because if there was anything she needed right then, it was a real friend.
“Okay, Shyla. I accept your apology.”
“Good. Now, I heard about what happened to Rashad. How are you? Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m okay. I’m in shock. And I can’t believe he’s gone. But I’m trying my best to stay sane.”
Shyla explained that when she’d first heard the news, there was no way she could keep holding a grudge against her. And more than anything, she wanted to check on Nicole.
“I was surprised when someone informed me that you were here. Why be at the job when you can be out there trying to find the killer?”
“Shyla, I came to work today because I don’t want to be home alone.”
“I hear you. But at least try to gain access to your house in Missouri City, because you know the scavengers will be there trying to steal shit from y’all like a lot of people try to do when it comes to a rich man.”
“Wait. How did you know I don’t live at that house anymore?”
“Our wonderful coworkers Taylor and Aisha told me.”
“Wow. That sucks. And they swore they wouldn’t tell anybody.”
“Juicy gossip will always spread. That’s all I can say. But look. I’m not here to throw anyone under the bus. I’m here to support you, girl. I love you, I miss you, and the only thing that matters right now is finding out what happened to your husband. And if you need any help whatsoever, let me know.”
“Thanks, Shyla.” Seeing her friend come support her made Nicole’s heart feel less weighed down. “I’ve been mad at you, but at the same time I wanted to talk to you the way we used to. And I can admit I was scared because I wasn’t sure if we’d ever be cool again. It must have taken a lot of guts for you to seek me out. I appreciate that.”
“Hmph! Rashad Eason is gone. Life is too short. That’s all I can say.”
Nicole wanted to open up to Shyla so bad she could scream. Because although Nicole did not want to admit it, in a moment of desperation, she’d gone to lunch with Aisha and Taylor soon after Rashad had told her he wanted out. She needed someone to talk to and thought she could trust the girls.
“I don’t plan to be on campus too much longer,” Nicole explained. “I have to call my insurance company. Then I’ll have to meet with my mother-in-law sometime today, and I really dread it.”
“You hate her, and she hates like you.”
“Face it, some mother-in-laws aren’t very motherly. And then my own mother will arrive today, too. She’ll need a ride from the airport.”
“Girl, you are losing it. Take care of your business and get the heck away from this job. It’s not going anywhere.” Shyla placed her hand on the doorknob before opening it. “If you want to talk—really talk—I’m all ears.”
“I know you, Shyla. You’re all ears, and mouth, and texting and all that.”
“Oh, I hear the shade, girl.” She fell silent for a moment. “Nicole, girl, I’m sorry, but you don’t sound like you’re mourning the love of your life if you can make jokes like that.”
“With all that I’m going through, I laugh to keep from crying. But to be honest, I am hurting. I’ve dreaded every minute of this day. All I can think about is Rashad.”
“Do you miss him?”
“Um, yeah. Of course. I loved him.”
At that Nicole told her friend good-bye. She finished up a few tasks, then closed the door and left. She figured she’d be out the rest of the week, and she wanted to make sure she left no type of paper trail regarding her Internet searches.
“You just never know,” she told herself and headed in the opposite direction of the airport. First she had to make another important run. Nicole got in her Jeep and temporarily turned off her cell phone. She knew that if her cell phone was left on, it would track her every movement. She hated that. But she was finally ready to face Ajalon. During the drive to his place, she came to terms with Rashad’s death. Nothing could bring him back. And because he’d killed her dreams, she reasoned she’d have to create new dreams, new hopes, and a new life.
By the time Nicole showed up at Ajalon’s apartment, she felt ready.
When he opened the door, he greeted her with a wide smile.
“How are you, Ajalon?”
“Benissimo. I’m great now that you’re here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you did not abandon me like I thought you did.”
After he let her in, the first thing she asked him was if he had anything to drink. She meant something like ice-cold water. And she was surprised when he responded.
“I have a lot of things you can drink.” He went and got four glasses. He brought back two bottles. One was champagne; the other was wine.
“Which drink do you want, Nicole? Are you celebrating the man as if you want to toast to him, or are you still mourning him and you feel like pouring one out?”
Suddenly she felt frightened. It was possible that she was pregnant with Rashad’s child, but she was certain Ajalon would be furious if he found out. The one time when she got pregnant by him, she ended up terminating the pregnancy, something that still made Ajalon unhappy.
“I don’t know which drink I want,” she said. “It all depends.”
“On what?”
“Can you promise me that everything worked out the way we discussed it? Like, was the job done exactly right? Did he earn his money?”
“We all earned our money.”
Ajalon poured champagne in two glasses and set them aside. Wine filled up two other glasses. First he handed her the merlot.
“Here, since you can’t decide, why not drink both? Drink the wine and mourn the Negro that took you away from me. And drink the champagne to celeb
rate the fact that he can’t fuck you over anymore.”
“Whoa! Sounds like the job was done just right, Ajalon.” He waited on her. She hesitated then sniffed her wine. “You didn’t put anything in my drink, did you?”
“Don’t ask me that. You saw when I poured those drinks.”
“But I never saw you purchase these drinks.”
“Fine! If you don’t trust me, Nicole, bring your own bottles next time.”
She laughed, raised the glass, and let her tongue taste a small bit of merlot. “There won’t be a next time. If I make it through the next few months and keep my hands clean, I’m done with the crazy shit, Ajalon. For real.” She bowed her head for a moment, and then poured a little bit of wine on his tiled floor.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“You told me to pour one out for him and that’s what I’m doing. Just mop it up.”
Before he could further protest, she grabbed the champagne. “You need to get your glass, too. We can celebrate together.”
He did as she suggested. They clicked their glasses together. She tilted her neck and pretended to drink. But she never tasted the champagne.
“What does all of this mean?” he asked after he finished.
“It’s our new beginning. Maybe we can figure things out one day at a time. I don’t want to think too much about it.”
“You sound scared, Bella. Like you won’t be able to get away with murder.”
“Ajalon, as far as I’m concerned, I did nothing wrong. I just didn’t want to be in pain anymore. Is that a bad thing? To make something go away that’s hurting you?”
“If that’s your defense, Nicole, you’ll have a hard time convincing a jury of your innocence.”
“Please. Don’t say that. There won’t be a jury. I think everything’s okay. I have a solid alibi.”
“Which is?”
“Oh yeah. I never told you what I was doing on the night he got killed.” She swished the champagne around in her glass.
“I was with . . . Nadia.”
He froze.
“And what happened with you two? What did you do?”
“Not much. I made sure we watched a movie. Did something that would be memorable.”
“Oh, I see.”
“And she acted like she didn’t want to be there with me, like she had better things to do, but I made her stick around for as long as possible.” Nicole laughed. “I ordered pizza for us and made her play with Emmy for hours. I wanted to crap on myself, waiting around and wondering what was really going on. It was murder.”
