“Are we in the right place? Nobody here looks like a drug addict,” she whispered.
Dante nudged Nichole in the arm and they both laughed at her. “I told you before. Everyone here is not a drug addict or junkie. Some of them, like Nichole, have never used drugs,” Danté said.
“Then why do you come, Nichole?” Camille asked.
“It’s not easy being fifteen and facing motherhood. It’s real scary, and there are plenty of times I’ve wanted to turn to drugs. So, I come here to talk about my feelings, and it helps me stay away from them.”
“People come here for all kinds of reasons. Just relax and give it a chance,” Danté said.
Nervously, Camille nodded her head and continued looking around the room. She saw a boy standing by the wall that she thought she recognized from the pool party. Then she looked to the front of the circle, where a woman stood organizing paperwork. The woman walked around and laid a flyer on each chair. Camille stared at her for a moment, trying to remember her name.
“Is that Brenetta Reeves?” she asked.
“Yeah, Ms. Brenetta is the best,” Nichole said. She waddled excitedly over to the circle and gave Brenetta a big hug.
“How are you doing, Nichole?” Brenetta asked.
“I’m good, but my feet are swelling.”
Brenetta looked down at Nichole’s round ankles and pudgy toes that looked like sausages stuffed inside her sandals. “Did you cut back on salty foods like I told you? You need to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Have you done that?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m trying, but we don’t have a lot of it at home.”
“I tell you what. Since I am picking you up Thursday for your next doctor’s appointment, how about when we’re done, we’ll go shopping for some good food. We want you to have a healthy baby. We’ll have to tell Danté I said to stop taking you to McDonald’s all the time.”
Danté walked up with Camille in tow, just in time to defend himself. “Hey, she loves McDonald’s. It’s not my fault,” he teased. He reached out and gave Brenetta a warm hug.
“Sure, Danté. I bet she begs you for it.” Brenetta laughed. Then suddenly she noticed Camille. “Hello, Camille.” Her voice was filled with surprise.
“Hi, Ms. Brenetta,” she answered.
“Danté told me that he was bringing his girl tonight. I had no idea that it was you.”
Camille blushed. “Are you in charge here, Ms. Brenetta?” she asked.
“No one’s in charge. We allow everyone the opportunity to express themselves however they want, but the church requires that the group have some adult advisors. I’ve been doing this for about two years now.”
“And she’s great at it,” Nichole said. “Ms. Brenetta is one of the best counselors here. If you need anything, Camille, just ask her. If she can’t do it, she’ll make sure it gets done.”
“Yeah, she helped me fill out applications when I was looking for a job. And she takes Nichole to the doctor so she won’t have to ride the bus. She won’t admit it, but me and Nichole are her favorites,” Dante teased.
“You know I have to look out for you two since you are all alone,” Brenetta answered. She tried to hide the fact that she was blushing.
“We aren’t alone, Ms. Brenetta. We have each other. But we sure are glad that you care so much about us,” Nichole said. Brenetta gave her another hug.
Nichole, Dante, and Camille took seats in the circle and the meeting began. Camille watched in silence as several teenagers stood up and talked about their problems. One young woman said she began smoking weed when she was eleven years old. When she couldn’t get money to buy it, she started selling drugs, and was addicted to crack cocaine by the time she turned thirteen. Just as Camille was wondering how old she currently was, she told them she’d just celebrated her sixteenth birthday. She was proud to say she’d been clean for six months.
Camille’s mouth fell open in awe, and she had to cover it to keep from being embarrassed when the next young man said that he had lived in a crack house until he was eight years old. His mother was a crack addict who had been killed by her dealer. The young man didn’t know how much money she owed, but the dealer felt it was worth taking her life and leaving him without a mother. Even after all of that, the young man had never used drugs himself. He joined the group to help encourage others.
Several more teens and adults told their stories and Camille and the group listened intently.
Then Brenetta stood up. “I’ve been a part of this group for two years, and I’ve never shared my story,” she said. “But God placed it on my heart that I need to do it tonight.”
The room was silent as Brenetta told everyone how she turned to drugs while in high school. Her mother had left her to be raised by her grandmother. Brenetta told them that she’d grown up in Sand Poole Manor only a few doors away from where Danté and Nichole now lived.
“My life was rough. We didn’t have much money and I wore old clothes, so the kids picked on me at school. When I was fourteen, I was shot by a bullet that was aimed at my best friend. I had a lot of setbacks, but through it all, my grandmother was my pillar of strength. She was the only person who ever showed me genuine love.” Brenetta paused to gather her words. “When I was sixteen, my grandmother passed away. It was natural causes; she was old. But I was devastated.
“I dropped out of school and began running around with a bad crowd. Of course, it didn’t take long for me to get hooked on drugs.”
Danté and Nichole were stunned. They thought Brenetta was just another rich lady who liked doing things for people. They’d never imagined she’d come from the same place that they did, or had a life just as hard.
“Then one day, I met my future husband, Shawn Reeves,” Brenetta said.
All of the kids began clapping, as they were huge fans of all of the artists on Raga Records. Brenetta smiled and waited for the applause to die down before continuing.
“Shawn and I started out as good friends. I had big dreams of having a singing career, and he was willing to help make my dreams come true. In the process, he helped me clean up my life. Years later, we fell in love and married.”
One of the teens raised her hand to ask a question. “So, you married a rich guy and that turned your life around?” she asked.
“No, it wasn’t quite that simple. When I met him, Shawn was not the rich entrepreneur he is today. He was an ex-con living in a halfway house. While he’d been in prison, he took college courses and taught himself to read music and play several instruments. Most people know him as a major producer, but Shawn is also a very talented musician. He began Raga Records with one artist, and he built it up to one of the largest record companies in the world.”
“Yeah, Ms. Brenetta, he’s the Berry Gordy of our time,” Danté said.
Brenetta laughed. “I guess you could say that. What I learned from Shawn was that no matter how hard you fall, you have to pick yourself up and start over again. If you lay down in the gutter, you end up being gutter trash. But if you pick yourself up and keep going, there’s no limit to what you can do with your life. If I can go from the projects in Bank head to a mansion in Alpharetta, anybody can.”
The audience burst into thunderous applause and cheers.
“Everybody loves Ms. Brenetta,” Nichole whispered to Camille.
After the meeting was over, the teenagers gathered around the snack table for sandwiches, chips, cookies, and drinks.
“How did you enjoy it?” Danté asked Camille. He took a large bite of a chocolate chip cookie.
“I feel stupid,” Camille answered.
“Why?”
“All of these kids had real problems, like a loved one dying, or living on the street, or even almost dying. My problems with my mom seem so small in comparison.”
“You don’t have to be from the street to turn to drugs, Camille. It happens for a lot of different reasons.”
“That’s not what I mean. It just seems like what I’ve bee
n through was so trivial. I should have been able to handle it. I feel so ashamed.”
“Oh, no, Camille, don’t feel that way. Your problems were important to you, and that’t all that matters.”
She smiled at him. “No, I understand that. I’m glad I came. It just shows me that if they can survive all of those things, then I can learn to deal with my mother.”
“Danté, I told you this wasn’t over!”
Everyone one in the room suddenly gasped and screamed in terror as Blue walked into the recreation center pointing a gun. The crowd panicked, and people began running in all directions. Danté grabbed Camille, and they ducked down behind the snack table.
Three shots rang out before the security guards were able to tackle Blue to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Danté asked Camille.
She nodded her head just as they heard Brenetta let out a wailing scream. Nichole lay motionless on the ground as blood trickled out of her mouth.
Chapter Twenty-two
It was early Monday evening when Leon began to think he had finally put all the pieces of the past few months together. It was hard for him to believe, but he was sure Keisha was behind it all.
On the previous Saturday, when he had told Camille to have Consuela check the pool house for extra swimsuits, he’d suddenly realized why the bedroom in the video was so familiar. The ugly blue-and-burgundy paisley wallpaper that Sharmaine hated so much was the clue he’d needed. The two of them had often talked of redecorating the pool house, but they’d never gotten around to it. It was rare that either of them was inside it. He was certain the wallpaper in the video was the exact same pattern.
While the children swam, he had rushed to Sharmaine’s office to view the video for confirmation. As he watched, he recognized not only the wallpaper, but also the furnishings that were in the bedroom of the pool house. The video had been tweaked, and things retooled, but there was no doubt in his mind that the video had been made while he and Sharmaine made love in the pool house.
There was only one night that he and Sharmaine had spent there, and he realized it was at Keisha’s insistence. The children were away visiting Leon’s parents, and when he and Sharmaine returned from dropping them off at the airport, Keisha met them on the front steps of their estate.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go in the house,” she had said.
“What’s going on, Keisha?” Sharmaine asked.
She grinned sheepishly and asked them to follow her around the house to the backyard. When they arrived, they saw that Keisha had decorated the entire pool area with hanging Chinese lamps and candles. She had also set up a table with a romantic dinner for two.
“Surprise!” she yelled. “The kids are gone, and I just wanted to make this a special night for the two of you. You guys deserve it.”
Inside the pool house, they found that she had lit more candles and spread rose petals on the bed in the shape of a heart. It was one of the most beautifully romantic nights he could remember. Thinking back on it now, he couldn’t believe how Keisha had perverted it with the video.
At the time, both he and Sharmaine had thought it was a wonderful gesture, but he now realized it was a setup that Keisha had planned. He wondered why she would do such a thing. They’d been friends for so many years. None of it made sense to him.
In order to confirm his suspicions, Leon decided to inspect the pool house. Behind a picture in the bedroom, he’d found a drilled hole that was large enough to hide a camera lens. There was no other evidence, but he was sure that’s where she’d hidden the camera.
After inspecting the pool house, Leon had spent all day that Sunday trying to figure out why Keisha would choose to videotape him and Sharmaine then release the tape. By Monday morning, he’d convinced himself that she wasn’t responsible. Perhaps she’d made the video, but someone else had found it and leaked it to the press, he told himself.
Later that day, he had received a phone call from Victor. “Leon, I’ve got some news. It may not mean much, but I thought you’d want to know.”
“What is it?” he asked anxiously.
“I finally got a call from the gun store that registered the gun used in your shooting. Although the paperwork has Sharmaine’s name on it, they found a video tape of the day of sale. The person who signed for and picked up the gun was actually her assistant, Keisha Williams.”
Leon had to struggle to keep from falling over on the floor. “Do they have a photograph of her?”
“Yes, but like I said, it may not mean much.”
“What do you mean? It proves that Sharmaine never purchased the gun.” Leon was ecstatic.
“Keisha Williams is her personal assistant. She makes purchases on your wife’s behalf every day. It’s no proof.”
Leon suddenly realized Victor was absolutely right. The photos of Keisha could not clear Sharmaine’s name. And although he knew she set up the date in the pool house, he’d found no evidence to support his theory that she videotaped them. He needed more.
“Thanks, Victor. I appreciate your call,” he said before hanging up.
Later that evening, Camille left to attend her drug counseling meeting with Danté, while Leon, Rodney, and Jeanna sat around the kitchen table, finishing up dinner. They were chatting casually about nothing in particular when Leon received a phone call that convinced him that Sharmaine was in grave danger.
“Mr. Cleveland, this Dr. Winslow. I’m sorry to call so late in the evening, but we have your son’s test results back. We have reason to believe his poisoning was deliberate and not accidental. He consumed a large amount of arsenic, normally found in rat poison.”
Leon was shocked. “But how? I don’t understand.”
“There’s more, Mr. Cleveland.”
Leon took a seat and braced himself. “What is it?”
“We tested your wife’s blood when she donated at the blood bank. We were unable to use it because she also had a significant amount of arsenic poisoning in her system. It wasn’t nearly as high as your son’s, but it was high.”
“Could it have been something they ate or drank?”
“We aren’t sure, but under the circumstances, we had to alert the police. I’m sure there will be an investigation.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
As soon as he hung up the phone, Leon turned to Rodney. “When you got sick, did you or your mother eat something? I mean the same thing.”
Rodney shook his head. “I didn’t see Mommy eat anything, and all I had was a smoothie that was in a pitcher in the refrigerator.”
Leon decided that he needed to speak with Sharmaine. After the children finished their dinner and went to their rooms, he dialed her from the kitchen phone.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi, Sharmaine, this is Leon. I just got a call from the hospital about Rodney’s test results.”
Sharmaine sat up on her bed, where she’d been lounging, watching a movie. “What did they say?” she asked.
“It appears that he ate or drank something with rat poison in it.”
Sharmaine gasped. “How did that happen?”
“I don’t know.” Leon paused. “They also said that you’d consumed it too. When you gave blood, the poison was in your system too.”
Sharmaine was stunned. “But I didn’t get sick like he did. There must be some mistake with the tests.”
“They said your level of poisoning wasn’t as high, but there was poison in your bloodstream. Rodney says he drank a smoothie he found in the refrigerator. Is there any way it could have been accidentally contaminated?”
Sharmaine held the phone as she thought. It had occurred to her that the smoothies were making her sick, and she had not drunk any since returning home after Rodney was released from the hospital. She had to admit she felt better than ever. “Keisha makes homemade smoothies for me. I thought they were giving me diarrhea, so I stopped drinking them, but there’s no way it could have poison in it.”
Leon sighed. It seem
ed that Keisha had something to do with every crisis. He wondered if she’d really try to poison Sharmaine. “Sharmaine, I have to tell you something about Keisha.” He paused, trying to find a way to break it to her gently. “Victor found out that she bought the gun that I was shot with. She registered it in your name.”
“Why would she do that?” Sharmaine asked. Her voice was filled with confusion.
“There’s more. I also found out that it really is you in the video that is circulating.”
“You have got to be kidding. That is not me! There is no—”
He interrupted her. “Yes, it is. It’s you and me. Keisha videotaped us together that night we spent in the pool house. Then she edited the tapes and released them. Honestly, it’s the truth.”
Sharmaine stood up from the bed and began pacing around the room. “Leon, this doesn’t make sense. It sounds as if you are saying Keisha was out to get me. That’s ridiculous.”
“I know how it sounds, and I am having a hard time believing it myself, but it all fits. Keisha made the video. She bought the gun, and she made the smoothie that Rodney drank. What other answer could there be?”
“Leon, you have to be mistaken about all of this. Keisha is my dearest friend. Why would she want to hurt me?”
“I don’t know. I agree that it doesn’t make any sense, but I think you need to get your stuff and leave there. Go to a hotel or something until we can figure out what’s going on. You could be in danger.”
“There’s no way I can go to a hotel. My assets are frozen. I have no money. Keisha has been supporting me all this time. I can’t believe these things you are saying about her.”
“I’ll pay for the hotel. You can use any of the credit cards from our joint account. Please, just do it. I’m worried about you.”
Although she was touched by his concern, it took several more moments of talking before Leon was finally able to convince Sharmaine to leave.
“Fine. I’ll have Keisha take me to a hotel tomorrow,” she said.
Losing It Page 22
