by Roy Glenn
“I sure did.”
“That girl,” Dominique said shaking her head. “She told me that you were all for it.”
Carmen's face contorted. “No,” she declared. “I told her Roland seems nice, but he was too old for her. She told me that you absolutely loved Roland and you were all for it.”
Dominique's face contorted. “No,” she declared emphatically. “Now, Carmen, does that sound like me?”
“Well, no, it doesn't.”
“Desireé marrying that man went against everything I ever tried to teach you girls about self reliance.” Dominique took a sip of her drink. “But I guess she knew we'd never talk about it, so why not.”
Once she dropped Dominique off at the house, Carmen drove straight to Marcus's house. She thought about calling first.
“Naa.”
It was after ten when she arrived at the house. As she approached the house, Carmen could hear music playing. As she got closer, Carmen stopped. “No he ain't bumpin' 2Pac.” Carmen smiled, because, “Quiet as it's kept, I like me some Pac, too.” She rang the doorbell.
When Marcus opened the door, Carmen stepped inside and immediately began to undress. “I didn't think you were the type that would listen to 2Pac.”
“Maybe it's the thug in me,” Marcus said and folded his arms around his chest. “But, ah, what are you doing?”
“You did say you wanted to get started early on our nocturnal activities?”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” and Marcus began taking off his clothes, too.
In the morning, Carmen told Marcus about the letters she'd read the day before about Desireé believing that Suzanne's death had something to do with Frank.
“In this letter, Dez wrote that Suzanne didn't like pain. So the rough sex theory the police had is out. She was murdered. We need to find out what Frank was into, Marcus.”
“I agree with you, Carmen. Do you have any ideas on how we can do that, now that Mondrya is dead?”
“No.”
“I doubt if she told anybody what she had found out. Do you know anyone else that knew them?”
“No. I only talked to Suzanne once on the phone.”
“We could take another run at Helen Watts, Suzanne's sister-in-law,” Marcus said. “But I do have a lead for us to follow up on.”
“What's that?”
“Garrett is too busy, so he gave me the address of the woman that claimed James Martin's body.”
“What's her name?”
“Patty Morgan.”
“Where are you taking me, Marcus?” Carmen inquired as they turned off Memorial drive, into an area of Atlanta she'd never been before.
“Cabbage Town.”
“Cabbage Town?” Carmen frowned. “Why?”
“This is the address Garrett gave me.”
“As long as I lived here, I've never been down here before. I've heard about it. I just never knew where it was, much less had a reason to come down here.”
“Neither have I,” Marcus said, looking at the directions he'd printed from Google.
“Oh gee, something else we can share,” Carmen rolled her eyes and looked out her window at the small shotgun houses. As they made their way through the narrow streets, little white children stopped to watch. “You think they're staring at us because they've never seen Black people before, or is it the BMW?”
“Can't be the BMW, because there goes one right there,” Marcus said and pointed to a red seven series BMW similar to his. “That must be her car, because that's the address were looking for.” They parked the car in front of the house and got out. “I wish some young brothers were out here to watch the car for five dollars.”
“You could always ask them,” Carmen said pointing.
“I don't think so.”
They knocked on the door and before too long the door open and they were greeted by an older white woman.
“Yeah?” she said, with a look that told them that their sudden appearance was completely unexpected, not to mention out of the ordinary.
“Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Marcus Douglas. I'm looking for Patty Morgan. Is she here?”
“What you say your name was?”
“Marcus Douglas,” he said slower.
“You don't have to say it like that. I'm not stupid, you know, just a little hard of hearing.”
“Who is it, mama?”
“Marcus Douglas!” she shouted.
“The lawyer?”
“Yup.” She replied and turned her attention back to Marcus and Carmen. “Y'all come in.” as they entered the house a slender woman with long blonde hair came into the room.
“Are you Patty Morgan?”
“Yes.”
“My name is—”
“I know who you are. What do you want?” she asked.
“I'd like to ask you some questions about James Martin and Rasheed Damali.”
“What's to ask, they’re both dead.” She said bitterly.
“I know that. We're investigating the death of Mr. Damali and Desireé Ferguson.”
“Yeah, well, like I said, they’re both dead. So if you'll excuse me.” Patty turned and started back to her room.
“Please, wait,” Carmen said. “I'm just trying to find out who killed my sister, that's all. Please.”
Patty looked at Carmen. “That was your sister, huh?” Patty's look softened a little. “I'm sorry about your sister.” Patty led Marcus and Carmen into the living room and made herself comfortable in the chair, while Marcus and Carmen sat on the couch. “Okay, make it quick.”
“What was your relationship to James Martin?”
“I used to live with him before he was murdered.”
“I thought he was killed in a carjacking?” Carmen asked.
“It wasn't no damn carjacking. James was murdered and it was set to look like a carjacking.”
“What makes you so sure?” Marcus asked.
“James was too smart, too careful, to let some nigg - - -” Patty stopped herself. She looked at Marcus and Carmen.
“Go ahead and say it. We're used to it,” Carmen said nonchalantly. “To let some nigger.”
“He was too careful to let somebody car jack him. He always rode with his gun on the front seat next to him. He would have shot them or at least drove off. For him to just sit there, it had to be somebody he knew. He would have never just rolled down the window.”
“Did you tell the police that?”
“Of course I did. But they said he just got careless. Said they had a witness to the whole thing.”
“What did the witness say?” Marcus asked.
“The witnesses name is Jamel Banks. He was in the car at the red light next to James. He said there were two guys in an off white 79 Caddy that was stopped at the light behind him. He saw one guy get out the car. He went to the window and told James to get out the car. Then he heard the shot. Then he saw him pull James out of the car and they drive off.”
“Okay,” Marcus said. “You used to live with him before he was murdered. Did you know Rasheed Damali?” Marcus inquired.
“Yes, he did some work for James sometimes.”
“I know that he worked for him sometimes as an escort. But what I'm interested in is the other business Rasheed had with him.”
“And what business would that be, Mr. Douglas?”
“Drugs.”
“I don't know anything about that. I think you should leave,” Patty said as she sprang up from her chair.
Carmen stood up. “Please, Ms. Morgan, we are not the police. We're not here to try and drag you into any drug charge. I just need to know who killed my sister. Nobody's gonna get hurt here.”
Once again Patty looked at Carmen and her look softened and she sat back down.
“Look guys, I know what you trying to do and I'm sorry about your sister and all, but I'm trying to get my life back together. When James died it left me in a bad spot. All the money he owed and the people he owed it to, it all came down on me. James ow
ed his people in Miami more than a quarter million dollars. I had to sell our house, the condo in Aruba, all my jewelry, and give them bastards all the money I had saved just to keep them from killing me. I lost everything. Everything but my clothes and that fuckin' car. And shit, that mutha fucka ain't even running.”
“What's wrong with the car?” Carmen inquired, just to be polite.
“It needs a new fuel injector. And that bitch costs and I ain't got no job.”
“I can understand that, Ms. Morgan,” Marcus sympathized. “Maybe there's some things that we can do to help you out.” Marcus reached in his wallet and handed Patty a card. “That's the number of my mechanic, his name is Bradley. Why don't you give him a call and make an appointment to bring your car in. Tell him to fix everything that's wrong with it. Tell him I said to put it on my account. And you can call my secretary tomorrow, she might be able to put you onto a job.”
“Can I call Bradley right now?”
“Sure.”
Patty went and got the cordless phone to call Bradley. He and Patty sorted out all the details, then Patty put Marcus on the phone, and he verified that he would pay for the repairs. Once all that was settled Patty agreed to talk to them. “So what do you want to know about James and Rasheed?”
“Like I said, tell me about the drugs,” Marcus said firmly.
“Whenever James got female clients, Rasheed did them. James knew Rasheed was on the rock, so when he paid him, it was always with money and drugs. Most times Rasheed wanted the whole thing in caine.” Patty looked at Carmen. “You sure you wanna hear this, honey? Because ain't no way to sugar coat this stuff.”
Carmen nodded her head.
“He said once he met your sister he didn't need money.”
Carmen frowned and dropped her head. “Seemed like a good arrangement, what went wrong?”
“After a while, clients didn't want Rasheed. Said he wasn't worth the price. Said he was fine through dinner or whatever, but in the bedroom, he was spending too much time in the bathroom getting high. And when he would come out, half the time he couldn't get it up. James couldn't have that. He would go along with anything as long as it didn't cost him money. So James flipped the script. He'd let him have some on credit. Told Rasheed it was only because he liked him, but all he was doing was obligating him. Ya see, James had male clients who wanted to fuck men. He figured Rasheed would do it, as long as he could get high. Because shit, you ain't gotta keep it up to get fucked in the ass. Getting high first would probably make it easier to take and after a while he wouldn't care. But Rasheed couldn't do it. He was alright the first time,” Patty laughed. “Guy was mad that Rasheed wouldn't blow him, but hey, as long as he paid the bill James didn't give a fuck. But on the next one, Rasheed made up some excuse about the guy hurting him, on account of he was so big and all, and Rasheed left. So naturally the guy didn't pay, and naturally that pissed James off. He went to his apartment and roughed Rasheed up a little. Not bad, just enough to let him know that shit wasn't cool. So James sets him up again, this was a couple of weeks before he was killed, and this time, Rasheed is a no show. James lost his mind, because by now Rasheed is losing him business. And he's into him for about ten grand. He went looking for him but he couldn't find him anywhere. He went looking for your sister a few times, but I don't think he found her either.”
“Do you know if he ever found him?” Marcus asked.
“If you’re asking me if I think James killed him, I don't know.”
“Could he have done it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Was Martin capable of killing somebody over money?”
“Sure, James was capable. He didn't like getting fucked over like that. Shit like that is bad for business. Word gets around that your boys can't put out and you're out of business. James wasn't having that.”
“Do you remember where James was the night of the murder?”
“I don't know where he was. I hadn't seen him for a couple of days and I remember thinking that James did it when I first heard it on the news. But then they arrested Rollie for it.”
“Rollie?” Carmen questioned.
“Your brother-in-law,” Patty said looking at Carmen like she was stupid.
“You know Ferguson?” Marcus asked.
“Rollie used to be a good client for years before he married her sister.”
“Male or female?” Marcus asked.
“Females only. Rollie was harmless though, most times he just wanted them to go places with him. Parties, banquets; that type a shit. Half the time he wouldn't even fuck them. Just wanted to see 'hem naked, watch them dance. But like I said, all that stopped when he got married.”
“So Roland was a client,” Carmen said to Marcus, confirming Desireé's suspicions.
“You'd be surprised at some of who James had as clients. Some of the richest and most powerful people in this town were clients of his.”
“What about Bill Hudson, was he a client?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah, that shit eating bastard was a client for years,” Patty laughed. “One of our best. That boy is a world class freak.” Patty lit a cigarette. “Used to like them two and three at a time. Take them out of town with him on his business trips. That's what cost him his wife.” Patty leaned forward in her chair. Now seemingly anxious to tell all she knew. “He's out in LA with a couple a girls and his wife shows up at the door with the police and a photographer.”
“The police?” Marcus said inquisitively.
“She told the police that he was having sex with minors. Which they wasn't. James didn't play that kiddie shit. Anyway, the cops bust in the room and the photographer got Hudson on film doing both of them. She took him for damn near everything he had. He had to fight to keep from selling off his company.”
“When was this?” Marcus asked, already knowing the answer.
“Let's see,” Patty took a drag. “Had to be in the late eighties. Now I ain't got no proof or nothin', but I think Hudson had two of our girls killed.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because they was the same two girls he always requested for his little freak parties. So when they both turn up dead on the same day, it kinda makes you wonder, don't it?”
“When did this happen?”
“About a month before James was killed.”
“Carmen, I think we've taken up enough of Ms. Morgan's time,” Marcus said as he stood up.
“Ms. Morgan, thank you very much for talking to us,” Carmen said.
“Please, call me Patty.”
“You've been a big help to us, Patty,” Marcus said moving toward the door. “Don't forget to call Janise about a job.”
“Don't worry, Mr. Douglas, I'll call her first thing in the morning,” Patty exclaimed happily as she opened the door. She watched as Marcus and Carmen walked to their car, “And thank you, you know, for the hook up on the car and everything.”
Once they were in the car and away. Marcus looked over at Carmen. She smiled back at him. “Do you think Martin killed them?” Carmen asked.
“I doubt it. If he did find them, why wouldn't he just get the money from Desireé? Guy like that just wants his money. And it wasn't like Desireé couldn't or wouldn't pay him. She was in love with Rasheed.” Carmen didn't say anything. She just turned away and looked out the window. “You all right?”
“Yeah, I'm all right. Some of this is a hard to stomach, but I'm all right. I just can't believe that Dez could be in love with somebody like Rasheed and not know what he was doing.”
“Maybe she did. Didn't you say that she knew what Porsche Temple was doing, even though Porsche was sure that she didn't? Give Desireé some credit.”
“Maybe you're right.”
The light turned red and Marcus looked over at Carmen. “Besides, sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with.” He said softly. Carmen looked in Marcus's eyes. She could feel the emotion pouring out of them.
Is he saying that he loves me?
She started to ask him was there some hidden meaning for her in his statement, but she decided if there was, and I've got a feeling there is, she would wait for him to say, I love you, Carmen, in his own time. The light changed and Marcus drove on. “So, let's look at what we got.”
Carmen smiled and resettled in her seat. “Okay, let's.”
“Desireé's friend, Suzanne Collins is found dead in her office under questionable circumstances. Desireé had a feeling that she was murdered because of something Frank was involved in. We know that Frank used to work for Ferguson before he came to Hudson Financial. Then he commits suicide. Mondrya Foster says she found out something that would interest me, but before she can tell me what it is, she gets killed in a robbery. Rasheed owed James Martin money, but we can't ask him anything, because he's dead, too.”
“It is kind of strange that everybody who's involved in this; who might be able to tell us something, is dead,” Carmen laughed. “Because dead men tell no tails.”
“But there's something else.”
“What's that?”
“A common thread that seemed to bind them all together.”
“I'm gonna ask you one more time. What's that?”
“Bill Hudson.”
COCKTAILS FOR TWO
“I don't know about you, Carmen, but I could use a drink.”
“I could use a double myself. But I'm hungry, too.”
“Okay, so where do you want to go?”
“I saw a little place I wanted to try. It’s called Dish and it's not too far from the condo. We can park there and walk.”
Marcus drove back to Carmen's condo and parked the car. He got out and went to open the door for Carmen. He extended his hand, which Carmen accepted with a smile. “Thank you, Marcus. You are such a gentleman.”
“Something my daddy always told me, was to always treat a lady like a lady. And treat a beautiful lady like a queen.”
