MY FATHER'S KILLER: Kayla's Story

by Cassandra V. Wyatt

  “You have to tell the police.” Anita announced.

  Mama Ann’s head jerked up. She looked at Anita with alarm. “But won’t I get in trouble for not telling in the first place. What if they put me in jail? What about Kayla?” She cried. “Maybe there is no mysterious ‘they’. Maybe Gary really did have that money put aside from the store!”

  Even though the words came out of Mama Ann’s mouth, she did not look at all convinced. Nothing on her face said that she believed any of it.

  “So you just went from believing that Papa Gary was involved in something shady and knowing that the money probably had something to do with his murder to thinking that it was his money all along?” To say that Anita was slightly incredulous would have been an understatement.

  “I suppose the next thing you’re going to tell me is that the police have it all wrong. That his death was a suicide and not a homicide.”

  Mama Ann flinched.

  “I don’t mean to be cruel, Mama Ann, but not only do you have to be honest with yourself about the situation, you have to be realistic about the risks. Right now, you have two choices. Either you tell the police what you found or wait until whoever killed Papa Gary shows up looking for their money. It might be the lesser of two evils but right now that’s all you’ve got.”

  “But Anita...” her voice trailed off as Mama Ann saw the look on Anita’s face.

  “Look, I don’t have time to play games with you. I’m sorry but I just don’t have the time or patience to indulge this flight of fancy you’ve concocted. It’s that kind of thinking that can get you killed. Just go to the police, tell them what you found and the little bit you know and with any luck, no charges will be brought against you. But maybe, what you give them may be just enough to help them finally figure out who killed Papa Gary. If so, they might be able to get to them and lock them up before they decide to come for you or Kayla.” Anita told her.

  Mama Ann looked defeated. “Okay. I’ll get everything together and call Detective Woods.”

  Anita felt bad for coming down on her the way she did but Mama Ann could be stubborn. Next to her own mother, Mama Ann was the most amazing woman she had ever met but when she made up her mind about something, trying to get her to change it was like trying to convince a pit bull to let go of a Chihuahua; it was as close to impossible as you could get.

  Mama Ann walked slowly to the back room that used to be Papa Gary’s home office. She put all the folders and papers in a big envelope along with the keys to the safety deposit box. With her head down, she walked back into the kitchen and put everything on the kitchen table. “I’m so ashamed.”

  Anita hugged Mama Ann tight. “Don’t be. This was the easy part. Now, you’re going to have to tell Kayla.”

  “Tell Kayla what?”

  Chapter 7

  Startled, they both looked around. Still deep in the grips of one phenomenal hangover stood Kayla. She looked back and forth between her mother and Anita. “Tell me what?” she repeated.

  Anita looked at Mama Ann. Mama Ann looked back. Obviously this was not a conversation she had planned on having with Kayla anytime soon, if at all.

  Anita told her to sit down while Mama Ann got her a cup of coffee. Once they were all seated at the table, Kayla saw the envelope on the table. “What’s this?”

  Without the slightest bit of enthusiasm, Mama Ann proceeded to tell her everything that she had just finished telling Anita.

  Kayla started shaking her head as fresh tears fell from her eyes. The blows just kept on coming. The information her mother had just given her made it very clear that her father was involved in something that he wanted kept secret. On top of that, she now had to try and wrap her head around the fact that her father had actually cheated on her mother. It was all just too much.

  “Poor Kayla,” thought Anita. “This girl just cannot catch a break. I got nothing but love for you, but you couldn’t pay me to be in your shoes right now.”

  “But mom there must be some mistake. Maybe that was just money from the store that he put away.” Kayla said not really sure she believed it herself.

  Kayla didn’t mention the affair and that did not escape Anita’s attention. She wondered what was going to happen when Kayla finally processed all of this new information. She sincerely hoped it would not send her into another drinking binge. All jokes aside, Anita wasn’t really sure that Kayla’s liver could take it.

  Although Anita had tried to play down and justify Kayla’s binge of the night before, she did have her concerns. Gone were the days of sipping on a glass or two of wine or nursing a vodka tonic. Kayla had graduated to tossing back shots like a pro and drinking wine like it was Kool-Aid. Anita remembered one time at the Raven’s Nest, she had gone to the bathroom and come back to find half of the Sangria pitcher gone. Mama Ann had the same concerns, hence her statement about Kayla being overtaken by her drinking.

  It never seemed to be the right time to talk to Kayla about it and sometimes Anita felt like a really bad friend because of it. She decided that she was going to watch Kayla carefully after these new emotional blows. She made up her mind that if she saw Kayla trying to drown her sorrows, she would have to speak on it. But in the meantime, she refocused her attention on the conversation at hand.

  “Kayla, honey, the store did well but not that well. There’s no mistake. I wanted to convince myself that the money really belonged to your father too. Anita helped me realize how misguided those ideas were. If it really was his legally, he would have never kept it a secret. We have to go to the police.” Mama Ann said with deep resignation in her voice.

  Kayla looked helplessly at Anita. Anita stared just as helplessly back. Kayla’s perfect image of her father had just been shattered into millions of pieces. There was absolutely no part of that girl’s world that would ever be the same. Seeing the look in Kayla’s eyes, Anita again prayed that these new developments wouldn’t send Kayla spinning off the edge. After last night’s drinking fiasco, she knew just how fragile Kayla really was.

  In a valiant attempt to give Kayla an assurance that even she didn’t feel Anita told her, “Don’t you worry about a thing. I’m sure once the police have this new information they’ll be able to figure out how to move forward in a way that will bring this whole mess to a close without anybody getting hurt.”

  “I wish I was so sure.” Kayla’s voice was filled with despondency.

  “If these people were in any hurry to get their money, I’m sure there would have been signs of it by now. Don’t worry.”

  Just then, a memory caught Kayla unawares.

  “Hold it. A few nights ago, after I left work I had the weirdest feeling that someone was watching me. I remember now. I was in the parking garage and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was someone else there,” Kayla’s eyes were filled with fear. “What if that was them?”

  “I think you’re just letting your nerves get the best of you,” her mother tried to reassure her.

  “No. You don’t understand. It wasn’t my imagination. At the time I just chalked it up to nerves and the fact that I was pretty well wrecked about the anniversary of dad’s death, but this was different. I just dismissed it because I couldn’t really explain it.”

  “Kayla, it’s been three years and you really believe that someone tied to your father’s death is just going to magically appear in the parking garage of the place where you work?” Her mother looked at her doubtfully.

  Anita, on the other hand, was deep in thought. Her mind had shifted back to her own brother’s murder. He was considered a good kid, but it wasn’t until after his murder that they discovered that he wasn’t quite the angel that they thought he was.

  Anita’s brother had been missing for about three weeks before he was found in the trunk of a burnt-out car. His hands and feet had been cut off and worse, he had been decapitated. The body had been stripped naked and there was really no way for the police to immediately identify the body. It took quite some time before they wer
e able to put together enough evidence for a possible identification. The Medical Examiner was able to determine that he had been tortured before his death.

  During the course of the investigation, they found out that her brother had been selling drugs for one of the big time dealers in their neighborhood for a while. One of his many mistakes was that he not only sold the product but he also started using the product. Instead of putting money in the pot, he started treating what he was supposed to be selling as his own personal stash. The money came up short, he came up missing and then he turned up dead. Not unlike Papa Gary.

  Kayla and her mother looked back and forth at each other as Anita drifted off into her own thoughts. They didn’t know what she was thinking but they knew that whatever it was, it was something serious.

  Eventually she came back to herself, but the intensity never left her eyes. For the first time ever, she told them the whole story about her brother. “I’m not saying Papa Gary was involved in drugs, but I think we can all agree that he was involved in something. You need to get to the police as soon as possible.”

  Without a word, Mama Ann got up to call Detective Woods. While she was on the phone,

  Kayla put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry Anita.”

  “I’ve never been able to talk about how he died or why until just now.” Anita looked at Kayla, the pain of remembering had returned to her eyes. “He really was a good kid. He just made some really bad choices.”

  Kayla stared off into space. Anita’s brother had made some bad choices and apparently so had her father. In her wildest dreams she never imagined that part of their connection would include similarities between Anita’s brother’s death and her father’s death. Anita was open about a lot of things, but her brother’s death was one thing she had always kept under lock and key. Out of respect for her and their friendship, Kayla had never tried to pry the information out of her.

  After getting off the phone, Mama Ann came back into the kitchen. “He said he would be right over.”

  Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Signaling Kayla and Mama Ann to stay put, Anita went to the door to let Detective Woods in. As she led him to the kitchen, she quickly looked him over. He was tall, at least 6 feet. He had a strong jawline with sharply chiseled features. His soft grey eyes shifted around as he quickly took in the immediate surroundings.

  “Hello, ladies,” he said as he reached out to shake their hands.

  “Hello, Detective Woods. This is my friend Anita.”

  He turned to Anita and extended his hand. Anita immediately noticed his well-manicured nails and how soft and warm his hand was. “Hello,” she said quietly.

  After exchanging amenities, he got right down to business. “So Mrs. Richards, would you please tell me in detail about what you found?”

  Mama Ann motioned for him to sit down and told him everything. Detective Woods leaned back in the chair and tilted his head to the right as he studied Mama Ann. “And you never told anyone about what you found?”

  “Not until today.”

  “And you used how much of this money?”

  “Well, the mortgages on the house and store came to about $250,000 and the I.R.S. was about $200,000. So all together about $450,000.”

  Detective Woods whistled. “Did you ever count all the money?” he asked.

  “No. I didn’t. I just counted out the amount I would need to pay the I.R.S. and pay off the mortgages. I haven’t touched the money or the safe deposit box since.”

  “So we’re talking about almost half a million dollars out of some unknown amount.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Where’s the journal you found?”

  “Right here.” Mama Ann pushed the journal across the table.

  Detective Woods flipped through the pages without really looking at them. “Anything else?”

  “Well, the safe deposit box keys, some folders and papers are in this envelope.”

  He nodded slowly as he mulled over this newfound information. “I’m going to leave this stuff here for now. But on Monday I’m going to need you to take me to the bank so that I can see this safety deposit box you’re talking about.”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll pick you up by 9:00 Monday morning and then we’ll head over to the bank.”

  He got up from the table, nodded to each of the women and then he left.

  For the rest of the weekend the three women tried to keep their minds off of the recent turn of events. But each time their eyes met, it was obvious that their thoughts were all deeply entrenched in everything that had been said and everything that had happened. Monday could not come soon enough.

  Anita finally went home on Sunday evening after telling Kayla that if she needed an extra day, she would be more than happy to cover for her. Kayla refused, knowing that staying home wouldn’t make her feel any better and besides, her mother made it clear she didn’t need her to be home when Detective Woods returned. They exchanged hugs all around then Anita left.

  “I’m sorry Kayla. I should have handled things differently,” Mama Ann said.

  “It’s okay mom. Everything’s going to be fine.” Kayla gently kissed her mother’s forehead. “I’m going to go get ready for work and head to bed. Do you need me for anything?”

  “No, but thank you,” Mama Ann responded.

  Kayla turned and head up the stairs. As she went, she started to talk to herself. “This’ll be the first time this weekend I have slept in my bed. I am never, never ever, going to get that wasted again. Sleeping on the couch like the town drunk with my girl on the other couch on guard duty. Oh no, never again.”

  Mama Ann heard her and laughed to herself.

  Chapter 8

  Kayla rose early in the morning and took her shower. As she got dressed, she could hear her mother in the kitchen and the smell of fresh coffee floated through the air. When she was ready, she looked herself over in the full-length mirror then went downstairs to grab a cup of coffee before she left.

  Mama Ann was seated at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and staring wistfully into space. She didn’t even look up when Kayla came in. Kayla stood in the doorway and studied her mother carefully. She noted her tight grip on the coffee mug and the little creases in her forehead. She also noticed that every couple of minutes, she would take a deep breath then release it in much the way you would when the doctor held a stethoscope to your back and told you to take a deep breath as they listened for lung sounds. Kayla could tell that her mother was on edge; it was written all in her posture. The deep breathing was just her way of desperately trying to steady her nerves.

  Kayla also knew that she was so deep in thought that she was completely unaware that Kayla had entered the kitchen. Not wanting to alarm her, she gently called her mother from the doorway. When she received no response, she called louder. This time her mother’s head swiveled in her direction.

  “Kayla. I didn’t even hear you come in.”

  Kayla walked over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her as she kissed her softly on her cheek.

  “I know. You were a million miles away. What were you thinking about?”

  Mama Ann’s eyes shifted downward. “About how badly I messed up and what’s going to happen next.” She looked up at Kayla. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

  In that moment Mama Ann didn’t just look shattered, she looked broken and defeated. Her normally bright eyes were dull and lifeless as though all of the recent events and revelations had leeched all the life out of them. Whatever vibrancy her mother had maintained had vanished. For the first time that Kayla could remember, her mother actually looked old. Not just old as in her age, but wizened in an extremely unpleasant way that made her look shriveled and dried up.

  Kayla did not usually think about her mother dying. The very thought was much too painful so that even though she was aware that her mother was closer to her end than her beginning, Kayla avoided those types of thoughts altogether
. Instead she chose to focus on her mother’s vitality and youthful appearance. But looking at her now, it was as though she was staring death in the face and the very thought nearly brought her to tears.

  Partly to hide the emotions that she knew were written all over her face and partly to comfort her mother, Kayla put her head into her mother’s neck and squeezed just a little harder.

  “Mom, I love you and you have no reason to be sorry.”

  Mama Ann put her coffee mug down and reached over with her right hand and placed it on Kayla’s head.

  “I love you too, but I’m still sorry. Sorry for not telling you the truth about your father’s affair. Sorry for not telling you about the mortgages and the money. Just sorry.”

  Then Mama Ann broke down. The tears flowed in a steady stream down her face onto her blouse. Kayla had never felt as helpless as she did at that moment. Her mother was a strong woman who saved her tears for her own private moments. For her to break down like this in front of Kayla meant that the pressure from the pain and guilt had finally broken the dam. The flood gates were open and the sheer power of her emotions would not allow them to be closed until they had been fully released. Kayla couldn’t leave her like this.

  “I’m going to call and tell them I won’t be in today.”

  “No. You go to work. There’s no need for you to stay home to babysit me. I’ll be fine,” Mama Ann told her through her tears.

  “Mom, you know I can’t go to work knowing you’re sitting here bawling your eyes out. You wouldn’t leave if it were me, so how can I leave you?”

  Mama Ann grabbed a napkin and wiped her eyes and face then looked at her daughter. “I’ll be fine Kayla. It’s not like I’m going to be curled up in a ball in the corner, rocking back and forth and crying like a baby all day. I just needed to get that out. You go on to work and I’ll see you later.”