The Aftermath

by Shelia M. Goss

  “We saw Royce today,” Mom said.

  “I wish I would’ve known; I would’ve gone with you,” Hope said.

  “This was a special visit set up by Mitch,” Lovie stated. “Dad wanted to tell us the results in person.”

  Mom stood and paced the floor. “Giving you that good news isn’t the only reason why I called you both over here. Mitch informed us after our visit that Royce won’t allow him to show him video footage that can clear him so ‘operation catch Jason’s killer’ is still in effect.””

  I looked at Hope and then at Lovie. Hope looked clueless but Lovie… He knew exactly what Mom was talking about.

  “I’m missing something,” I said. “What video?”

  “Lovie and I saw a video of who actually killed Jason, but he had a mask on so we couldn’t see his face,” our mother said. She went on to give us more details.

  “I wish Dad would give Mitch permission to show the police so he could be here with us,” I said.

  Lovie asked, “Did Omar mention anything about a laptop?”

  “Yes. We...I mean he, went to look for it but couldn’t find it.”

  Lovie confessed. “I found the laptop in Jason’s car. There was a secret compartment in the floor board and I found it.”

  “That explains it.” I shared I’d gone with Omar to look for it and what had happened.

  “Charity, don’t do anything that stupid again,” Mom said. “What if those cops would have burst in on you? You know how trigger-happy some of these cops are. They could have shot you. Or worse, killed you.”

  “I’m not going to sit and do nothing,” I said.

  “That’s good to know,” Lovie said. “Because we will need you to get some information from Omar.”

  I pulled out my phone. “Sure. What do you need?”

  “Put your phone away,” Mom said.

  Lovie said, “We need for you to get Omar’s ID information.”

  “He keeps it on him or near him at all times,” I informed.

  Hope said, “We can work together to get it.”

  Mom said, “She’s right. You’re smart and you get your good looks from me. Use what your mama gave you.”

  I would’ve laughed, but Mom was serious. Lovie added, “We don’t need to spell it out to you. You know exactly what we need you to do to get that information.”

  “Say I do get it. What will you use it for?”

  “Don’t worry about that now,” Lovie said. “Just get it.”

  Hope and I left and went home. We discussed our plan on the drive home. We were only home a short time when Omar pulled up in his black sports car.

  “Perfect timing,” he said, as he opened up my door. We kissed.

  “I’ll see y’all later. I’m going inside,” Hope said.

  “Hello to you too, Hope,” Omar said.

  “Whatever,” Hope hissed.

  I clicked my car alarm. Omar and I walked hand in hand up the walkway. Omar opened the front door and I entered in front of him. I turned around and kissed him. His back hit the door. I stuck my tongue down his throat to let him know I wanted more than a kiss. I wanted so much more.

  He moaned. “Where’s Hope?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care,” I responded. “Come with me.”

  We went to my bedroom. I closed the door. We tore each other’s clothes off. I pushed him down on the bed. We kissed some more. I planted kisses on his chest. The kisses trailed down to his belly button. I used one hand to unbuckle his pants.

  I stared at him. “These need to come off.”

  Without saying a word, he allowed me to pull off his pants, revealing his boxers. I tossed the pants and boxers to the side of the bed. I stood so he could watch me remove my lace panties.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Omar said.

  “And to think it’s all yours.” I went to the nightstand to remove a condom.

  I used my teeth to open the wrapper. Without taking my eyes off Omar, I placed it on top of his long, hard member. I eased on top. “You’re so wet,” he moaned the moment I sat on top of him.

  I rocked back and forth until we both climaxed. I rolled off the top of him. I could feel his breathing slowing down. “Babe, let’s go take a shower together,” I said.

  “What about Hope? You don’t want her—”

  “Shh. Hope’s probably sleep. Come on. Wrap the sheet around you, if you’re that self-conscious.”

  He wrapped the sheet around his body. I pretended to accidentally bump into the table in the hallway. I yelled, “Ouch!”

  We continued to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and got in. I looked at Omar, standing there naked. “Are you going to let me get wet all by myself?” I licked my lips as I let the water cascade down my body.

  Omar smiled and joined me in the shower. He lifted me and positioned me so that we were making love. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t realize we were doing it bareback until I felt his hot, wet sperm fill me up.

  He moaned in pleasure and I cried out “No” inwardly.

  CHAPTER 22

  Hope

  Charity’s room looked a mess. Her clothes were mixed up with Omar’s. His pants were thrown on the opposite side of the bed. I left the bedroom door open so I could hear when the water stopped.

  I searched through his pants and located his wallet. I found a card that had his information and took a picture of it with my phone. I forwarded the picture to Lovie via text and placed it back in the wallet. Since I was being nosy, I looked through some of his pictures to make sure he didn’t have pictures of another woman. I saw a much younger picture of him that looked familiar. I recalled seeing the picture somewhere else, but couldn’t think where.

  I heard the water turn off. I placed the picture back in the wallet and stuffed the wallet back in his pants pocket. I threw the pants back on the side of the bed.

  I heard the door creak, which meant the bathroom door was opening. I couldn’t panic. I had to think of something quick. I tried to roll under the bed, but couldn’t. I ran to the closet door and shut it just in time; by now they were in the room.

  I used the light from my cell phone so I could find a comfortable place to sit. Unless Omar went home, I would be spending the night in the closet. I heard Charity say, “Do you want something to drink?”

  Omar responded, “A cold bottle of water would be nice.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  I knew she was going to look for me. I hope she didn’t think I had up and disappeared. It sounded like Omar was on the phone.

  “I’m not at home... No, she has no idea and I plan on keeping it that way.”

  I wished I could’ve heard whom he was talking to.

  “Look. I can’t talk now. I’ve told you I will call you. You never know who’s around and I can’t risk it.”

  I knew it. He wasn’t the honest man he claimed to be. He was cheating on my sister. I couldn’t wait to bust him. I almost burst out the closet but stopped before opening the door.

  In his pants pocket not only did I find his wallet, but his gun and with me bursting out of the closet, I didn’t want to risk him shooting me by mistake. Instead, I was stuck in the closet. I heard Charity’s voice.

  “Here’s your water.”

  “What’s wrong?” Omar asked her.

  “Nothing. Well, at least I hope it’s nothing,” she responded.

  “Look in the closet,” I wanted to scream, but instead, I removed some of her sweaters, placed them on the floor and used them as a pillow. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard the bed screeching or moans. Falling asleep wasn’t going to be easy.

  I wasn’t sure of when I dozed off. The next morning, I heard my name called.

  “Hope,” Charity said.

  The light was on. Charity stood above me. “H
ey. You alone?”

  “I am now. You’ve been in here all night?” Charity asked.

  “Duh. Didn’t you come look for me after your sexcapade?”

  “Yes, but when I didn’t see you, I assumed you left.”

  “My car was outside,” I stated as I stood. I rubbed my butt. “I need a massage after sleeping on that hard floor.”

  “You should have texted me.”

  “I didn’t want him to see the text,” I admitted.

  “It doesn’t matter now. You’re here. You’re okay.”

  “I will never ever watch a porn tape. Hearing you and Omar go at it how many times last night was enough for me.”

  Charity blushed. “He does have a healthy appetite.”

  “I did overhear something when you went to get something to drink that you should look more into.”

  “What’s that?” Charity asked.

  I glanced around her room and saw clean bedding was in place. “Glad to see you changed the sheets on your bed.”

  “Whatever. What did you overhear?”

  “I couldn’t tell who he was talking to, but he seemed secretive. I don’t know if it was another woman or not.”

  “He could have been talking to his partner. They are working on multiple cases.”

  “If you say so,” I uttered.

  “Forget that nonsense. Did you get a copy of his ID so Lovie can have it?”

  “Yes. I’ve already texted it to him.”

  “Good. In the meantime, I need for you to help me with this luncheon today.”

  “I absolutely forgot,” I stated.

  Two hours later, I was assisting Charity at the luncheon for twenty people in one of the local hotel conference rooms.

  Charity and I stood in the doorway. She smiled. “Another satisfied customer.”

  “I heard from Lovie. After we finish here, he wants us to stop by the funeral home,” I said.

  “Wait a minute,” Charity said.

  “What?”

  “I think I just saw Omar.”

  I followed Charity down the hall. “Omar,” I heard Charity call out.

  Omar stopped right before getting on the elevator. He turned around. “Charity, what are you doing here?”

  “She wants to know why you’re here,” I said.

  Charity looked at me. “Hope, I’ve got this.”

  “Are you working?” Charity asked.

  “Uh...sort of.”

  “It’s either yes or no,” Charity said. By now, she had her arms folded.

  Omar grabbed her by the arm and led her off to the side so I wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.

  I stood nearby. I strained my ears to hear, but I could only make out bits and pieces of their conversation. Charity walked by me. “Come on, let’s go.”

  I ran up behind her. “Why is he here?”

  “He’s undercover and he claims I almost blew his cover.”

  “That’s bull. I bet you he was going to get under some covers.”

  “Hope, I don’t want to hear your theories. Every man is not a dog like Tyler.”

  “I’m just saying. First, the phone call and now he’s here at a hotel. Come on, Charity, you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

  “Hope, we can talk about this later. You’re making a scene.”

  I didn’t realize I was talking loud. I was frustrated. For her sake, I hoped Omar was nothing like Tyler.

  CHAPTER 23

  Lovie

  I sat outside of the Bottom’s Up Club. Slim had gone inside. I’d told Hope and Charity to meet me at the funeral home, but in the meantime, I needed to confirm something with Slim.

  I greeted some of the fellows as I made my way toward Slim. He was posted in his usual spot with his regular entourage.

  “Look who finally had time to join us,” Slim said. He stood and gave me a brotherly hug. “Sit down. Have a drink on me.”

  “I’m simply passing through. I wanted to holla at you for a minute.”

  Slim looked at the people around him. “Give us a few minutes. First round of drinks are on me.”

  They cheered as they left us alone.

  I sat down in the empty chair next to him.

  “Any word yet?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Quiet as a mouse.”

  “Maybe you can help me. Does this look like anybody you know?” I handed him my cell phone, showing a still shot of the person who dragged Jason’s body.

  “Naw, man. Check this out. That’s an expensive watch. None of these other cats would be sporting it.” He pointed at the watch on the picture. Slim kept talking. “Those aren’t no regular gators he got on. Those are custom made. So whoever this is, he got money. Not a dude from off the street.”

  “Thanks for checking it out for me,” I said. Slim had made some good points. But it didn’t narrow down who could have killed Jason.

  “You know anything I can do to help you, I will.”

  I stood. “I have funeral home business to attend to. I’ll be seeing you around.”

  “Bet...take care and tell your pops I said hello. I got my boys looking out for him. So you don’t have to worry about nobody messing with him on the inside.”

  I left out the club and drove straight to the funeral home. The family was seated in the office chatting when I walked in.

  “I see business is good,” Mom said as she scrolled through something on my computer.

  “Business couldn’t be better,” I confirmed.

  We talked about funeral home business while Charity and Hope bickered about something.

  “You two need to chill with whatever y’all got going on,” Mom said.

  Hope stuttered, “Yes, ma’am.”

  She looked at me. “Lovie, you called this family meeting. What do you have for us?”

  I sat on the corner of the desk. “I’ve discovered whoever killed Jason isn’t some thug off the street. I also found some of Jason’s hidden accounts where he’d stolen some of his clients’ money and placed it in Swiss bank accounts.”

  “Wow. So what are you going to do with the information?” Charity asked.

  “I’m going to be the Black Robin Hood and return the money to its rightful owners,” I responded.

  Hope said, “Wait. Maybe we should take a vote on this.”

  Lexi said, “There’s nothing to vote on. That’s not Jason’s money and it’s definitely not our money. Lovie is right. It needs to go to the rightful owners.”

  We all looked at Hope who looked away. “I told y’all I’m trying to change. I’m not quite all the way there yet, okay?”

  “Thanks to Hope, I got my boy to access the files at the police department. One thing your man forgot to tell us, Charity, is that without the weapon, the DA’s case is still a little weak. So with my DNA coming back proving Dad is my biological father, he might become a free man after all.”

  “But the jury can still convict,” Charity said.

  “They’re not supposed to if the evidence doesn’t show he did it,” I stated.

  “I’m not taking anything for chance. Since the police have stopped looking for Jason’s killer, it is up to us to find out who this mystery guy is. We find him. We’re able to free your father, clearly, without any suspicions or doubts.”

  “I agree,” I said. “Mom, I got you Jason’s secretary’s information.”

  “Good. I’m going to pay her a visit. She left town for a reason and she’s going to tell me why.”

  “One of us should go with you,” Hope said.

  “If you can wait until Monday, I can get someone to handle things here and I can go.”

  “Charity can go with me,” Mom stated.

  “Mom, his secretary was always flirting with me. You can come off a little strong. You’ll ne
ed me there to be a buffer. Trust me,” I suggested.

  “Fine. Lovie, you handle things here and we’ll be making a day trip to Alexandria.”

  They left the office. I stayed behind. With working at the funeral home and trying to decipher files and information, I hadn’t had time to let it sink in that Royce Jones was indeed my biological father. I had to admit that I had been a little scared the tests would come back differently. I was glad all of my fears were for naught. Having that creep’s blood running through my veins would have made me go mad, I was sure.

  I pulled up the still picture of the man who had killed Jason and zoomed in. Those eyes staring back at me looked familiar, but I couldn’t place them. As energy depleted as I was, I would not be going to sleep early that night. Instead, I would be cross-referencing Jason’s clients with photos, trying to see if I could locate those same piercing eyes that stared at me from the still photo.

  It was after midnight when I left the funeral home. I turned down all of the lights and drove home. I was like the walking dead as I turned the knob on my front door. My eyes widened at the sight of seeing my entire place ransacked.

  I went through the apartment and saw that my bedroom was in just as bad a shape as the living room. I dialed Omar’s number.

  CHAPTER 24

  Omar

  Lovie stood in the doorway as I surveyed his ransacked apartment. “Is anything missing?”

  “All of my electronic equipment’s still here. They didn’t find my secret stash. That’s why I called you and not the other police. Somebody’s looking for something. They think I have something that I don’t have.”

  “Did you ever find the laptop?” I asked.

  “I was going to ask you the same question,” Lovie responded.

  “I’m surprised Charity didn’t tell you about our adventure at Jason’s house.”

  “She told me about it. I didn’t know if you’d had a chance to look again.”

  “Yes, but I came up short. I really want to find that missing laptop myself.” I looked around some more, walking from room to room. “If nothing’s missing, there’s really no sense in filing a report.”