The Aftermath

by Shelia M. Goss

  “Because, as you said, you’re not supposed to be working on the case. If you start asking questions, I’m sure it’ll get back to your boss, and then what?”

  All eyes were on me as they waited on my response. Mrs. Jones did have a point, but her going around asking questions would be risky and could be dangerous.

  “The neighbor was William Franklin. His house...”

  “I know exactly where his house is. Right across from Jason’s. That old man is blind in one eye and can’t see out the other,” Lexi interrupted me and said.

  “Well, Mrs. Jones, according to the detective’s notes, they also had other witnesses.”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “The neighbor next door says they heard something the morning of the fire.”

  “But did they see Royce’s car that morning?” Lexi asked.

  “Mom, Omar’s not the one who wrote the report,” Charity stepped in and said.

  “I didn’t say he did. He’s reading off things from the report. I want to know answers. Specifics.”

  “Charity, that’s okay. It’s a tense situation. To answer your question, Mrs. Jones, it doesn’t mention that this neighbor saw a car. They only heard noises.”

  Lovie chimed in. “Nothing you’ve said thus far proves anything. I can see the cops questioning Dad, but to arrest him? None of it proves anything.”

  I go on and read more of the report. “The neighbor across the street.”

  “Mr. Franklin?” Hope asked, which was the first time I’d heard her say something tonight.

  I looked up and responded, “Yes. He stated that Mr. Jones was visiting Jason earlier and he heard loud voices as if they were arguing. He also said he saw Mr. Jones leave and he was rubbing his fist when he exited the victim’s house.”

  Lexi said, “So once again, the police are basing their findings on a man who is half-blind and probably deaf.”

  “Mom, we don’t know that about Mr. Franklin,” Charity said.

  “You don’t, but I do.”

  Lovie said, “What about a weapon? If our dad shot him, where’s the smoking gun?”

  I scanned the report. “There’s no mention of locating a weapon. If they had found one, it would be in this report.”

  “No gun. Shaky witnesses. Why in the hell is my husband in jail?”

  “Mrs. Jones, the DA thinks there’s enough circumstantial evidence to show and prove that your husband had motive to kill him.”

  “But you haven’t said anything in the report to convince me of that.”

  “The victim’s secretary said he and you were having an affair. That Mr. Jones found out about it and came to confront him about it in the office one day. That things got heated and Mr. Jones stormed out. She also mentioned that you and he also got into a heated discussion.”

  “That trick doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I will contact her and deal with her myself.” Lexi sounded highly upset. “If you’re going to eavesdrop, make sure you get the full story before going back telling half-truths. Yes, I confronted Jason about some things, and yes, he pissed me off, but she wasn’t in the room so she has no idea what he and I were arguing about.”

  Lovie went and stood by Lexi. “Mom, you’ve got to calm down. I’m afraid you’ll have a stroke or something. We can see the veins on your forehead.”

  “Hope, pour me a drink,” Lexi commanded.

  Hope got up to follow her orders.

  Charity said, “Mom, don’t you think you’ve drunk enough for one day?”

  Lexi gave Charity a look that scared me. “I don’t need you or anyone else to monitor me. Hope, drink, please.”

  Hope hurried and left the room.

  Lexi turned toward me. “Omar, I need you to get me Jason’s secretary’s address. I need to make a house call.”

  “Mrs. Jones, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re upset and she can claim you’re harassing her. Besides, you’re not supposed to know she talked to the police. I can’t have people checking to see who accessed the records. If they do, my name will be written all over it. I can’t lose my job. Besides, if I lose my job, I won’t be able to assist you.”

  “Fine. I’ll table it for now. But eventually, someone will need to talk to her.”

  Hope returned with the drink. Lexi took the glass and drank it all with one big gulp.

  Charity looked at me. I looked at her. “Maybe I should wait to discuss everything else at a later time.”

  “Too much time has already passed by. We need to know everything and now,” Lexi stated.

  I spent the next thirty minutes going over what was in the file. Afterward, Charity walked me to the door.

  “Thanks for everything, Omar. I’ll call you when I get home.”

  “Why don’t you stop by my place? I hate to see you like this. Let me put a smile on your face.” I kissed her on the cheek and left.

  CHAPTER 7

  Lexi

  I took a few deep breaths before exiting the car. I glanced at the remnants of what was left of Jason’s house. It was surprising to me Jason’s body could be identified after seeing the damage the fire had done.

  I walked across the street to Jason’s neighbor’s house. Before I could knock on the door, the door swung open. An elderly man about seventy years old greeted me. “Lexi, dear, what are you doing here?”

  I walked up to Mr. Franklin and hugged him. “I came to check on you, of course.”

  He blushed. “Come on in.”

  He wobbled a little while walking with a cane. I followed him to his living room.

  “Help yourself to something to drink. I’ve got some juice and water in the frigerator,” Mr. Franklin said.

  “Mr. Franklin, I’m fine.” I walked to the window facing Jason’s house. I eased the curtain back. “Mr. Franklin, the kids and I have been debating about something. Maybe you can clear it up. What color do you think my car is?”

  “Well, Lexi, I don’t know.”

  “Look. It’s right outside.” I pointed. I moved out of the way so he could look out the window at my car that was parked in what used to be Jason’s driveway.

  “It looks blue to me.”

  “You sure it doesn’t look black to you?” I asked.

  “No, ma’am. I might be old, but I know my colors.”

  “Calm down, Mr. Franklin,” I said as I gently touched him on the arm.

  We went and sat down on his sofa.

  “How’s Royce?” he asked.

  “As well as can be expected under the circumstances.”

  “I really hated to hear about him getting arrested. You know I think he’s innocent,” Mr. Franklin said.

  “But if you thought he was innocent, why did you lie and tell the police you saw Royce’s car at Jason’s the night before?” I blurted out without thinking.

  “They must have misunderstood,” he stuttered. “I said a car looking like Royce’s. I never said it was Royce’s car.”

  “The car that’s outside now is Royce’s car. Did you realize that?”

  He dropped his head. “I...I didn’t. I assumed it was yours.” His hand started shaking.

  “What else did you see that night?”

  “I told the police everything,” he responded.

  “My husband’s freedom is at stake and I need for you to tell me what you told them,” I said in a soft voice, although inside I was far from being calm. In the inside, I wanted to slap him until he revealed what he had seen to me.

  “I heard an engine roar up and I rushed to my window and that’s when I saw a car speed away. It looked like Royce’s car. He had stopped by earlier.”

  “About that. What was Royce doing there earlier?” I asked, as if I didn’t already know.

  “I don’t know. I heard loud voices. It made me rush to my window. I saw Ro
yce come out rubbing his hand. He jumped in his car and drove off.”

  “When did you notice the fire?”

  “I get up early. I thought I smelled smoked. I checked my house and didn’t find anything. I stepped out on the porch and that’s when I saw the smoke coming from Jason’s house.”

  “What did you do next?” I asked.

  “I called nine-one-one. I started yelling, ‘Fire! Fire!’ and other people came out of their houses.”

  “During the night, did you see anything else? Hear anything else?”

  “Lexi, I think it’s time that you leave.”

  I remained seated. “No. Not until you tell me what else you saw that night.”

  Mr. Franklin glared at me. “What makes you think I saw anything else?”

  “Because if you hadn’t, you would have said you didn’t.” I stood up. “I’m going to leave for now, but know this. I will be back. And when I come back, be prepared to tell me what else you saw.”

  He clutched his heart as if he was in distress. “I need my pills.” He reached for them in his pocket.

  He was taking too long for me. Last thing I wanted was for him to have a heart attack on me. I went into of his pocket and located the pillbox. I popped one in his mouth.

  He started breathing more evenly. “Thank you. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad you’re all right.”

  “Every now and then my heart beats a little too fast.”

  “I understand,” I replied. “Look, Mr. Franklin, I’m not trying to upset you. I’m only trying to bring my husband home.”

  He nodded. “If I remember anything else, I’ll call you.”

  I hugged him. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

  The moment I stepped out of his house, I heard him slam and lock the door.

  I kept walking toward my car but detoured to the next-door neighbor’s house. I rang the doorbell and knocked, but no one came to the door. I noticed Mr. Franklin peeping out his window. When he saw me looking in his direction, he closed the curtain.

  Something was telling me he knew more than he’d told me, or the police. If he did, I would find out about it. I wasn’t going to pressure him about it right then, but I would be back.

  I contemplated on whether to walk around Jason’s house. My thoughts were interrupted by an urgent text from Charity. I hopped in my car and sped over to her place.

  She greeted me at the door looking as if she’d lost her best friend. Tears were flowing down her face.

  I took her in my arms. “What’s wrong, baby?”

  “I now know why they really think Dad killed Uncle Jason.”

  I pulled away. “What’s going on, Charity?”

  “Follow me,” she said.

  I followed her and there sitting in the living room were also Lovie and Hope.

  Charity said, “Mom, have a seat.”

  Once again, I did as instructed. All three sets of eyes were looking at me. I looked at the sad expression on each one of their faces.

  CHAPTER 8

  Royce

  I spent the next few days after Mitch’s visit reading over the files he had given me. I didn’t know how I was going to tell Lexi about what I’d discovered. The information showed I’d had every reason for wanting Jason dead. The police evidence disclosed documents proving Jason had been stealing money from me for years. In one of the officers’ notes, there was mention of Jason and Lexi’s affair, leading to concerns regarding Lovie’s paternity. Jason’s secretary claimed I threatened to kill Jason because of all of the drama.

  I couldn’t deny that I didn’t think about killing him. I couldn’t even deny that I’d had intentions of killing him, but regrettably, someone else had already beaten me to it. The only crime I’d committed was not reporting it.

  The information gave the police just cause to believe I was responsible for the murder. The information in the file, however, didn’t provide proof of my DNA. According to the notes, the body was so burnt that Forensics was unable to extract any. The police were also unsuccessful in locating the weapon used to shoot and kill Jason prior to the fire.

  If the police knew of Jason’s unscrupulous business practices, then I shouldn’t have been their only suspect. It frustrated me to realize that while I was locked up, the real killer was roaming around free. Jason had done enough damage to my family. I hadn’t revealed to Mitch I’d discovered Jason’s dead body the night before. I didn’t want to give the police any reason to arrest Lexi or Lovie.

  I needed to prove their theories wrong. One of them could be squashed immediately. I exited my cell and went toward the phones located in the center of the dormitory. There were four phones that 150 men had to share. To make matters worse, only three were operational. That day, it seemed like everyone else had the same idea and wanted to make calls to their loved ones as well.

  I spoke to some of the men whom I’d known when we were all out on the streets. I’d buried some of their family members or had attended church with some of their mothers. I waited impatiently in line to use the pay phone.

  “Pops, you can use it now,” a young man said.

  Some of the other men grumbled, but I didn’t care. I walked ahead of them and dialed Lovie’s number. I called a couple of times but didn’t get an answer. I then dialed Mitch’s number.

  The recording said, “We have a collect call from Royce Jones, an inmate in the Caddo Correctional Center. Press one to accept this call or press five to block this call.”

  I heard a few clicks and then Mitch’s voice. “Royce, how are you?”

  “Mitch, I need you to get in contact with Lovie. I need for you to set up a DNA test so we can prove to the courts that he is my child.” If truth be told, I also wanted to erase the tiniest of doubts that had been in the back of my mind since discovering Jason and Lexi had slept with each other behind my back. In my heart, I felt like Lovie was my son, but the DNA would prove it.

  “I will. I take it you’ve read the files.”

  “Yes, and if we can at least prove that one thing, maybe we can go about disproving some of those other accusations.”

  “Since these phone calls are recorded, I’m going to stop you from saying anything else,” Mitch said. “We can discuss further strategy during my next visit. In the meantime, I will contact Lovie and get the DNA test scheduled. I will have a specialist stop by and collect a swab sample from you, but I need to obtain an approval from the courts prior to that. As soon as I can, we’ll get that rolling. In the meantime, keep studying the information. If you can find any other loopholes, let me know. But not on this phone.”

  “You have one minute left on this call,” the computer-operated voice informed us.

  “Fifteen minutes go by fast,” I blurted out.

  “Yes, they do. Royce. Stay prayerful,” Mitch said.

  “I’m trying,” I said right as the phone disconnected.

  The line behind me had gotten longer. I wanted to hear Lexi’s voice but decided to go back to my cell and write her a letter instead. In the letter, I shared with her some of the things I’d discovered. I asked her to stay strong for the kids. I mentioned she didn’t have to worry about me. I tried to reassure her Mitch and the rest of the attorneys would get me out of this mess. I thought if I kept telling her that, I would eventually believe it myself.

  I also tried to include a memory of when we’d first met. The day I realized I had fallen in love with her. The day she’d admitted to sharing those same feelings. I wanted to hold on to the memories of yesterday because only God knew when I would be able to be with my family again.

  “Chow time,” one of the trustees said, right before handing me a tray of food. Instead of the inmates going to a cafeteria, trays of food were brought to us by trustees. Trustees were prisoners who were given their position due to good behavior or the nature of their crime.
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  The piece of meat was a mystery and the potatoes looked soft, but when you put the fork in them, they were hard as a brick. The only edible thing on the plate was the roll. I removed a can of Vienna sausages from under my bunk and used the roll to make me a sandwich.

  I had to laugh out loud at the irony. I had a million dollars in the bank, but yet here I was behind bars, and for dinner I was eating a Vienna sausage sandwich. Money could buy a lot of things, but was it enough to buy my freedom?

  CHAPTER 9

  Charity

  Now that Mom and my two siblings were seated in the living room, I shared with them some of the other things Omar divulged to me. When Omar first approached with the information, I didn’t want to believe him. But the proof was right there in black and white. I had so many questions that only Mom could answer them.

  “Mom, I’m sorry I got a little emotional earlier. I’m calm now.”

  “You’ve got me worried,” she stated.

  I looked at Hope and at Lovie. “We were talking before you got here. We mean no disrespect when we ask you this, because your answer may help Dad.”

  “Child, what is it? Spit it out.”

  “Is Lovie Dad’s son or Jason’s?” Lovie could have gotten his Hershey chocolate complexion from either one. I felt compelled to ask.

  Mom’s face went blank. She took in a few deep breaths. “I don’t know where this is coming from. But we will not be having this discussion,” she responded.

  I picked up a piece of paper on the table and handed it to her. She looked at it and read it. She looked up at me. “I can explain.”

  “Explain the fact that your indiscretion with Uncle Jason may be the reason why Dad’s locked up,” Hope blurted out.

  Mom stood. “Young lady, you will not take that tone with me. I don’t owe you kids an explanation, but since you want to be in grown folks’ business, I will share some things with you.”

  I took a seat next to Lovie. Lovie remained quiet throughout the entire ordeal. For some reason he was calm. If it had been me, I would’ve been totally upset.