by Mary Monroe
As far as I was concerned, I was the one with the most to lose if everything got out. Not only was I an accomplice in a murder case, I was also a bigamist. Valerie might have been lucky enough to get off by claiming self-defense, but what excuse could I use? There was no justification for committing bigamy.
CHAPTER 46
I threw up twice before I called Brian back an hour later to tell him that I was in no shape to make the trip to the prison to pick up Floyd. His reply made me feel slightly better immediately. “I didn’t think you’d be able to go, and please don’t beat yourself up about it. I know how traumatic hearing all this was for you. I’ve already communicated this to Floyd and he totally understands.”
“What time do you think you’ll bring him?” I asked in a meek voice. Valerie was standing in the middle of her living room floor with her arms folded. She had helped me haul two suitcases full of my stuff to her house and arranged it in the old bedroom I’d once called mine. Now it was mine again.
“Under the circumstances, I think it’d be best to move a little more slowly. Floyd and I will check into a room tonight and make the drive back down here some time tomorrow. I’m still fighting off reporters. A slew of them would no doubt follow me from the prison to your place.”
“Oh Lord, I hope they don’t do that!” I hollered.
“Well, they’ve been known to do a lot worse. Another one of my clients discovered a reporter and a photographer hiding behind a bush in her backyard.”
“Shit! Well, this is private property. If they come over here they might get hurt,” I said. That made Brian laugh, but I didn’t think it was funny at all.
“That’s all the more reason why we should take this more slowly. Now. Listen to me. You get some rest. I will be in touch with you tomorrow.”
“Wait! I have to give you my home address.”
“I beg your pardon? Your husband doesn’t have your address?”
“Uh . . . yeah. But the one he’s been sending mail to is one of those private mailboxes. I’ve had it for years. My job takes me away from home so much, a private mailbox is so much more convenient and secure.”
“I see.”
I gave Brian the address to Valerie’s house and then I ran to the bathroom to throw up some more. I had puked up so much already, I was surprised that I had anything left in my stomach.
When I returned to the living room, Valerie was standing there with her hands on her hips. I didn’t like the look on her face. “I don’t know if I should stay here,” I told her, wiping my lips with a damp towel.
“What’s wrong now?”
“I don’t like what I’m hearing from Floyd’s lawyer about how bad these reporters want to get his story. I don’t want to get you in any trouble, Val. If you want me to leave, I’ll go back to the condo.”
“Girl, you can’t take Floyd there! Even though Paul is up north, his shit is all over that place. And what if Paul decides to pay you one of his surprise visits?”
“I don’t know what I’m saying,” I said, shaking my head and waving my hands. I could have sworn that I heard things rattling around inside my head. It sounded and felt like marbles. Maybe I was losing my marbles and didn’t know it. “Uh, I can get a cheap motel room and keep him there for a while.” I stumbled to the wine cabinet to pour myself some wine, but just looking at it made my stomach heave again. I decided I’d had enough to drink for a while. And besides, I was really going to need a few drinks when I had to face Floyd.
“How would you explain a motel to him?”
“Oh. Then I can still bring him here?”
Valerie nodded. “You’ll get through this. I’ll see to it.”
I don’t know how I made it through the first night of Floyd’s return. Had Valerie not been there, I wouldn’t have. Just seeing him outside of that dank prison was a shock to my system. His eyes looked so sad and empty. And it looked like it hurt his face for him to smile. He gave me a mild hug and a hungry little kiss on my cheek. Then he leaned back on his legs and looked at me. His gaze was intense, like he was trying to stare straight through me. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to do this again,” he said, his voice cracking. Then he turned to Valerie standing behind me. “Val, you’re as beautiful as ever.” Then he looked around the room with a puzzled look on his tortured face. “I didn’t know your house was the setup,” he remarked to Valerie, turning to me with a questioning look on his face. “I thought you had a place all to yourself these days.”
“Uh, I’ve been renting a room here for a few months now. They sold my old apartment building, and the new owner raised the rent too high for me,” I offered. I was so used to lying by now, I did it with such ease; I often believed my own lies.
“Well, we’ll be able to live anywhere we want to live as soon as I get myself situated,” Floyd said with a nod and turning to Brian, who was still standing near the door with a proud grin on his face. “Thanks for everything, man,” Floyd said, walking over to Brian. They shook hands, hugged, and patted each other on the back, and then Brian left.
“You look like you could use a drink, Floyd,” Valerie offered, already walking toward the portable bar in the corner. “I know I could use a few.”
“Not now, but a little later for sure,” Floyd mumbled, looking at me with a mysterious smile. I smiled back when he winked.
I took Floyd upstairs to our room, and that’s when he broke down. I held him in my arms like a baby as he cried on my shoulder, but it was only for a very short time. “Look at me. I ought to be running up and down that street shouting for joy,” he said, crying and laughing at the same time.
“No, you did just what anybody else would do,” I said, guiding him to sit down on the bed. “Why don’t you get comfortable, and I’ll bring you that drink.” By the time I returned to the bedroom with a glass of tequila, Floyd was fast asleep on top of the bedspread, still fully clothed.
“You want more privacy? I can spend a few nights with Binkie, or one of my crazy cousins in Compton,” Valerie whispered, walking into the room and handing me yet another glass of wine.
“No, please don’t leave me here alone with him.” That must have sounded crazy because Valerie gasped. “You know what I mean. I’ve got to get used to him and all this.”
Floyd slept until noon the next day. I wasn’t due back at work for another two days. I called the receptionist and told her to tell my boss that I was as sick as a dog and that I would be off for a while.
I didn’t even know that Valerie had left the house to go open up Paw Paw’s until a few minutes later when I went downstairs. Contrary to what I’d been told to expect, Floyd hadn’t been that anxious to make love to me, and it was just as well. Sex was the last thing on my mind. However, a few hours after he showered, shaved, and had a light breakfast, he practically dragged me back upstairs and attached himself to me like a conjoined twin.
CHAPTER 47
“Dolores, what the hell is going on? I’ve left six messages at the condo, and the girl at your work told me you’ve been out sick for several days. I was just about to call the cops and have them go check on you.”
“Paul, I’m fine, baby.”
“Why are you whispering? Why are you at Valerie’s house and not at home?”
“Uh, Valerie’s got company. I’m whispering so I won’t disturb her. I’m over here because she’s sick.” As far as I knew Valerie was at Paw Paw’s. Floyd was upstairs in our bedroom, splayed on top of the bed, still horny. I had just pried his arms from around me and come downstairs to catch my breath.
“You’re sick. Now you’re telling me she’s sick, too? What the hell is the matter down there? She must not be too sick if she’s entertaining company.”
“Huh? Company? Oh! It’s just Dr. Lawson. He still makes house calls. He thinks it’s some kind of virus. I can barely talk.” I managed a few quick coughs. “My head is spinning so bad, I didn’t want to be at home alone in case I faint . . .”
“I’m coming home as soon as I
can get a flight.”
“No! I’m not that sick,” I said, still whispering.
“Look, if your being so sick you can’t go to work or be alone in your own home is not that sick, I don’t know what is. I’ll try to get there before midnight. I can only stay overnight, though. I need to be back up here in time for an important meeting tomorrow afternoon. Don’t even try to come pick me up from LAX. I’ll take a cab.” My first husband hung up, and I was glad he did when he did. Floyd walked up behind me while the telephone was still in my hand.
“Who was that?” he asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin. I could smell his scent from across the room—a combination of sweat, alcohol, underarm funk, and sex. He pursed his lips and gave me a quick, sour, sloppy kiss. I grimaced. He grinned. Then he placed his hands on my shoulders and held me firmly in place as he looked at me, his red-rimmed eyes blinking like streetlights as he gazed into mine. “I know I smell and taste pretty foul right now, but you sure don’t,” he leered, sliding his tongue across his teeth. I held my breath so I wouldn’t have to smell his, then I kissed him.
“You taste all right,” I assured him.
“Who were you just talking to on the telephone, Lo?” he asked, releasing my shoulders and rearing back on his legs. His eyes looked straight into mine some more, searching for something that I was determined not to let him find: the truth.
“Who me? Oh, I was talking to a girl from work. Uh, I really hate to do this to you, baby, but I am going to have to go in to work, even though it’s my day off. My boss fell down some steps at her building and sprained her ankle. That’s what my co-worker called to tell me.”
“Baby, you do whatever you have to do. I know you’ve still got a life out here that you need to keep up with. I’ll be fine. What time will you be home?”
“Uh, that’s another thing. The ship is cruising into Ensenada tonight. But it’s just for this one night. We’ll be back in port in Long Beach tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Floyd shrugged. “I wish I could go with you. A cruise would suit me fine right about now.”
“I wish you could go with me, too, baby, but this is work.” I kissed Floyd long and hard on the lips again. He got aroused so fast, we barely made it back upstairs to the bedroom.
“Lo, it’s not going to be easy for us to get back to a normal life after all these years, after all that’s happened. I am not sure when the settlement is going to come through, but in the meantime, Brian’s going to front the money for us to get a place. And I . . . what’s wrong, baby? You are as stiff as a plank. You were the same way when I made love to you last night—and just now.” He sat up and looked at me. I was naked and spread-eagled on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“I’ll be fine once I get used to you being with me,” I muttered.
“Tell me something, Dolores. Is there somebody else you need to talk to about me?”
“What do you mean?” I sat bolt upright, squinting my eyes as I looked into his. He looked as tortured as I felt.
“I’m not stupid, Lo, and you know I’m not. I grew up on the streets. If you didn’t have you a boy out here while I was in the joint, you should have. I told you a long time ago that I didn’t expect you to, you know . . .”
“I did have a few dates from time to time,” I replied with a shrug, looking away. “But there’s nobody special in my life right now except you.” I don’t know how I was able to keep telling one lie after another with a straight face. And it seemed like every time I told a new lie, I had to cover it with even more lies.
“What about after we got married? Did you continue to date other men?”
“Uh-uh. That’s when I stopped dating,” I said, touching the tip of my nose to make sure it wasn’t growing the way Pinocchio’s nose grew every time he told a lie. From the look on Floyd’s face, I could tell that he didn’t believe that barefaced lie. “Other men never appealed to me that much, anyway,” I added.
“Whatever,” he mouthed, giving me a curious look.
I leaped off the bed like a frog, and Floyd wasn’t too far behind me. “Uh, I have to shower and be on my way in a little while. First, I’ll show you around the house,” I offered. “You could get lost in this big old barn.” I cackled. “Valerie’s kind of touchy about her backyard. That’s where her granddaddy had his stroke . . .”
“Pffft!” Floyd snickered, waving his hand dismissively. “I don’t have no reason in the world to be roaming around in nobody’s backyard. Just show me where the liquor is, that’s all I want to know,” he said, winking and grinning.
After we got dressed, he followed me back downstairs. I was already wondering in advance if I’d have sucker bites on my neck that I’d have to explain to Paul in a few hours.
“Uh, there’s that little portable bar in the living room, but we keep a lot of beer in the refrigerator.” I moved across the living room floor like a robot, praying that my legs wouldn’t buckle. Floyd was so close behind me, he was stepping on the back of my heels. He grabbed me from behind, cradled me in his arms, and hauled me back upstairs and tossed me on the bed.
When I left the house an hour later, I had on a turtleneck sweater. There were so many love bites on my neck, it looked like I had a purple necklace. All I could think about was how I was going to explain that to Paul.
CHAPTER 48
As soon as I crawled into my car, I made a beeline to the condo that I shared with Paul. I went straight into the bedroom and messed up the covers on the bed, and then I flopped up and down on the pillows to flatten them. I took off my bra, panties, and ankle stockings and dropped them on the floor in the bathroom. I knew that as soon as Paul saw that, he’d slap on one of his masks and pick up everything with a stick. And I knew he would lecture me about being such a slob, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was keeping him distracted.
Next, I ran into the kitchen and stuffed half a loaf of bread and some beef patties down the disposal. I emptied out every container of milk and I hid two packets of instant coffee in a bag in the broom closet. By the time I got through, that place looked more like I’d been lounging around and kicking back than it did when that was true.
Paul was so tired when he stumbled in the door a few hours later, all he wanted to do was take a long hot bath, have a drink, and go to bed. He didn’t comment on the turtleneck sweater I had on, but he commented on the fact that I didn’t look sick at all.
“I’m feeling much better,” I told him. “So is Valerie.”
“Well, whatever it was, don’t pass it on to me,” he said, holding up his hand. “I just had to come down here to make sure you didn’t need a doctor or something. You know I can’t let anything happen to my favorite girl.” He leaned over at the waist just far enough to kiss my forehead. “Hmmm. Damn, baby. You look fine, but you sounded like hell when I talked to you.”
“I . . . I am feeling much better,” I said weakly, pushing him away. “But I don’t think we should get too close. I don’t want you mad at me for making you sick, too.” I coughed into my hand. “You can’t miss that meeting tomorrow.”
Paul gave me a strange look and shrugged as he felt my forehead with the palm of his hand. “You don’t have a fever, either. But you sure sounded like hell on the telephone. If you get any sicker, I want you to call Dr. Peterson. Do you hear me?”
“Uh-huh.”
I didn’t sleep at all that night. When Paul opened his eyes before dawn and tried to get nasty, guiding my hand to his hard dick, I started coughing and groaning. “Aw shit. I don’t have time to be catching whatever it is you and Valerie’s caught!” he hollered, rolling as far away from me as he could get.
I offered him a fake pout when he refused to kiss me on the lips before he left for the airport. As soon as he made it out the door, I called my supervisor at her home in Pasadena and told her that I was going to have to terminate my employment. “Now that’s the last thing I wanted to hear, LoReese! Please tell me you’re joking,” she shrieked. “You can’t do that! I won’t allow
it!”
“No, Candace. I really hate to do this to you, but I need a break. I’m really sorry.”
“Then take a break. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had. And I need a pretty young woman like you to help us keep the youngsters interested in return trips. What can I do to make you stay?”
“Well, it’s my husband. He wants me to spend more time with him.”
“Is that all? You don’t have to quit your job to do that. How about returning to a position in the main office? That way you can go home to your sweetie every night like normal women do.”
I frowned and shook my head, even though I knew Candace couldn’t see me. “I don’t want to go back to a secretary’s salary,” I said with a chuckle.
“And you won’t have to. As a matter of fact, I will put it in writing if you want me to.”
“Oh. Well, can I still take a little time off to think about it? Can I get back to you next week?”
“LoReese, I adore you, and I think you are one of the most important employees we have. But I can’t promise you the moon. I can’t hold a position open for you indefinitely. It wouldn’t be fair to my other employees.”
I was glad to hear that I was important to the cruise line. I felt myself getting choked up. It was a struggle to keep from crying. Now was not the time that I wanted Candace to know just how weak I was. “OK. Let me take the rest of this week off. I’ll come back to work, but only in the main office. For now, that is. If things change, I’d like to go back on board.”
I felt like I was running from pillar to post, and in a way I was. As soon as I was able to get showered and dressed, I returned to Valerie’s house. Floyd greeted me at the door and covered me with wet kisses. There was a surprised look on his face. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon. How was Mexico?” he wanted to know, leading me to the sofa where he pulled me down into his lap. I squirmed when I felt his erection poking my butt.
