The Aftermath

by Shelia M. Goss

  “I’m good. I’ll have one of my lady friends straighten this up for me. I’ll keep it moving. I’m waiting on a locksmith so I can get the locks changed,” Lovie told me.

  “That’s a good idea. I suggest moving your secret stash too, just in case whoever did this comes back.”

  “I’m already ahead of you.” Lovie walked me to the door.

  “If you find out who did this, let me know. Don’t try to play payback. Let me handle it,” I said as I turned to face him. Lovie remained quiet. “I’m serious. Charity would never forgive me if I let something happen to her brother.”

  “I can’t make any promises. But if I find out who did it and you can get to them first, you’re welcome to do your thing. If I find them first, well, let’s just say, your services won’t be needed.”

  “I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that,” I uttered as I left and went to my car.

  I wanted to see Charity, but it was late. I needed to clear things up from earlier. I pulled her number up on my phone. I started to hit the Call button but changed my mind. I wouldn’t be selfish. I could wait until the next day.

  I went inside my lonely apartment, poured a beer and sat on the couch. I flipped the stations and landed on ESPN and watched the sports highlights until I fell asleep.

  “For a cop, you sure don’t keep your place secure,” a loud voice with a lot of bass said.

  “What in the world?” I jumped up out of my sleep.

  Slim sat in a chair next to the couch. “Rise and shine. It’s after eight.”

  “Slim, what are you doing here...in my apartment?”

  “I came to collect on a debt.”

  “I thought I’d taken care of that debt.”

  “Consider what you did a down payment. You wouldn’t be in the position you’re in if it wasn’t for me.”

  “Slim, I got your evidence moved. You’re a free man. What else do you want from me?”

  “I want you to keep an eye out on my boy.”

  “Who and why?” I asked.

  “You’re dating his sister and why...well, that’s for me to know and you to not worry about.”

  “Does Lovie know about your shady business practices?” I asked.

  “Everyone knows what I do. I’m not worried about Lovie. He’s loyal. He’s not a snitch. What I’m concerned with is making sure he doesn’t tie his dad’s situation up with any business you and I have going on.”

  “Slim, I’ve told you this before. What happened to Jason has nothing to do with you. So as far as I’m concerned, there’s no need for me to watch Lovie. Lovie’s harmless.”

  Slim blew smoke in my face. “And I want you to make sure it stays that way. Lovie’s my boy and I would hate for anything to happen to him because of you.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to him. Not unless you or one of your men do something.”

  “Lovie has a free pass out on these streets,” Slim said. “But you, the verdict is still out.”

  “Slim, I don’t hang out with Lovie like that, but I’ll do my best to make sure he never finds out you and I know each other.”

  “As long as you do, our relationship is still intact. Have a good day, Detective.” Slim placed the burning cigar in the ashtray on my coffee table. He left without saying another word.

  I clenched my fists. I was frustrated. I must have forgotten to lock my door when I had come in the night before. Slim was the last person I wanted to see. We’d met some years ago. Back then I wasn’t on the right side of the law. I’d just moved to town on a quest to learn something about my past. During that quest, I needed some quick money and Slim provided that outlet.

  When I decided to get out of the game and go legit, Slim threatened to kill me because I knew too much about his operation. I convinced him that it was a good idea to have someone on the inside of law enforcement. As long as I kept feeding him information to help him stay out of major trouble, the easier my life was.

  He wasn’t too happy about his last situation because while I was trying to advance from street cop to detective, several drug bust operations went down without my knowledge. Slim blamed me for his arrest because I didn’t warn him and ever since then, things had been tense between us.

  I was sick and tired of being beholden to Slim. My plans were to eventually go work for the Feds and get out of the area. I’d come too far to let Slim stop me so, in the meantime, I pacified him by handling small requests.

  I needed to get Slim out of my mind and concentrate on Charity. I couldn’t have her mad at me. After I showered, I planned on making a morning stop, but first, I needed to pick up some flowers. With flowers and my kilowatt smile, she couldn’t do anything but forgive me.

  CHAPTER 25

  Lexi

  Lovie drove us to Alexandria, located in central Louisiana, without incident. His GPS system directed us to the address we had for Jason’s ex-secretary.

  The house wasn’t new, but it was nice in a well-kept area and looked like it had a freshly groomed yard. Beautiful multiple colors of rose bushes lined up around the house.

  Lovie pulled up behind a late-model luxury car.

  “Mom, let me do most of the talking,” Lovie said, right before we exited.

  I ignored him. I checked out our surroundings as we walked up the driveway and onto the front porch.

  I stood behind Lovie. He rang the doorbell. An elderly woman opened the door.

  “May I help you?” she asked.

  Lovie said, “Yes. I came to see Diana.”

  “She didn’t tell me she was expecting company,” the elderly woman stated.

  “I was in town and wanted to surprise her,” Lovie said.

  “And who is this?” The woman pointed at me.

  “This is my mom.”

  I walked around Lovie and extended my hand. “Hi. How are you?”

  The elderly woman shook my hand. “I guess it’s okay if you come in. My niece is in her room. I’ll tell her you’re here.”

  We followed her inside. The house smelled like lemon Pine-Sol. The elderly woman was probably responsible for keeping it clean. She led us to the living room.

  “You have a nice place,” I said.

  “Thank you. My husband bought this for us, but he’s since gone on to glory.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Don’t be. Laurence and I lived a full life. We were married fifty years. He was suffering in the end. Death brought peace for the both of us.”

  I looked at Lovie. Lovie looked at me. We took a seat on the couch.

  The elderly woman stopped and turned around. “Where are my manners? I forgot to ask you if you wanted anything to drink or snack on?”

  “We’re fine,” I responded. “Thank you.”

  “Young man?” she addressed Lovie directly.

  Lovie responded, “Yes, we’re fine.”

  “Okay. If you change your minds, let Diana know. I’ll go get her for you now.”

  A few minutes later, Diana, dressed in a sundress and sandals, walked in the room. Our backs were to her so when she walked in front of us and saw our faces, she turned pale.

  “What...what are you doing here?” Diana stuttered.

  Lovie spoke first, “Diana, hi. We were passing through and wanted to check on you.”

  I added, “You know after everything that happened with Jason and all.”

  “But...but how did you find me?” she asked. She fell down into the chair.

  I allowed Lovie to speak for now. “It was easy. We knew it must be hard on you, losing Uncle Jason.”

  I listened to Lovie try to soften her up and act all concerned.

  “And we wondered why you left town so suddenly. Did someone threaten you?” I asked. I was getting tired of the pleasantries.

  “No... no...why would you
say that?” Diana asked.

  “After Jason’s funeral, you disappeared,” Lovie responded.

  “I tried to find work there, but couldn’t,” she stated. “Besides, the police say Mr. Jones killed Jason. That’s why I’m surprised you’re here.”

  “Royce had nothing to do with Jason’s death. The way your hand is shaking, you know it as well as we do,” I said.

  Her face turned beet red. “It’s time you leave.”

  I moved to the edge of my seat. I looked back to make sure her aunt wasn’t nearby. No sense in making her nervous. “Look here, little girl. You don’t understand who you’re messing with. I’m not one to be toyed with. If you know something, you better tell me, or you will regret it.”

  “I told you I don’t know anything. And I really would like for you to leave.”

  “Lovie, deal with her, because I can’t. I’m going to find me a bathroom. I need to release my bladder.”

  I left the two of them in the living room. I didn’t have to use the bathroom, but I did need to locate the room where Diana was staying. I wandered through the house and located what looked like could have been her room. I opened the purse sitting near the bed and looked in the wallet. Jackpot.

  Since I confirmed it was her purse, I went through the purse and opened up her checkbook. My eyes widened when I saw weekly deposits of one thousand dollars. Who was Diana working for to make that amount of money as a secretary? Or was the deposit hush money?

  Yes, Diana knew more than what she was saying. I tore off one of her blank deposit slips so I would have her account number and placed the paper in my bra.

  I didn’t find anything else in her purse. I located her cell phone sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. I picked it up. Fortunately for me she didn’t have a code on it. I scrolled through her call log. A number kept coming up private. I had to hurry up. I put the phone down. Then I thought about her contacts. I picked the phone back up and located the contacts icon and clicked on it. I scrolled through. There was an entry with the name Private. I opened it up. The number was a Shreveport number. I recited the number out loud and made a mental note of it so I could write it down later. I hoped I didn’t forget it.

  I placed the phone back on her bed. I turned to leave, but the picture on her dresser caught my attention. I walked over to it and picked it up. It was a picture of her and Jason. Looked like they were on an island. They looked like more than boss and employee. Jason and Diana had been lovers.

  CHAPTER 26

  Royce

  The young man whom I’d ensured Mitch also defended came into my cell holding a deck of cards. We set up a game as a guise as we talked.

  “Mr. Jones, you’re going to think I lied, but I didn’t. I wanted to show you something.”

  He handed me a newspaper clipping. I read it. “Who is this?”

  “This is the man who knew about what happened to the man you’re accused of killing.”

  The article stated the man was murdered while walking down the street. The assailants were unknown. Witnesses stated that a dark-colored car rolled up on the man and the passenger rolled down their window and shot multiple times. The man died on the scene.

  “I’m afraid they may know that I’m on to something. My friend never told me who actually did it. He was going to visit me this week. I was supposed to get more details then.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your friend. I really don’t want others getting killed behind all of this.”

  “Mr. Jones, if you want to cancel the lawyer, I understand.”

  “No. You were doing your part. So Mitch is still your attorney. But there is one thing you can do to make this up to me?”

  “What? I’ll do anything,” he said.

  “Get your life together. Don’t do anything else to end up back here.”

  “But it’s hard for a brother like me to get a job; especially with a record. I hustle to eat.”

  “If Mitch is able to get you out of here, I can guarantee you a job. But I need for you to promise you will stop selling drugs.”

  “You can? At your funeral home?” he asked.

  “Yes. I can train you as a pallbearer. Well, since I’m locked up here, I wouldn’t be training you. But I will have one of my men train you. But all of this depends on you. Is this something you would be interested in?”

  “Yes, sir. Not that I understand anything about working around dead bodies. But if the pay is good, count me in.”

  “I’m not going to mislead you. You’re not going to make as much money as you would if you were hustling, but I pay fair.”

  The young man looked up in the air as if he was thinking. “If it’ll keep me off the streets and not back here, I’ll do it.”

  “Great. Then we have a deal.” I reached across the cards and shook his hand.

  “Lights out,” a guard’s voice was heard over the intercom.

  The young man gathered up the cards and left my cell. A few minutes later, the cell doors closed and I heard the loud clicking noise securing the door.

  I was disappointed in learning of his friend’s death for several reasons and mainly a selfish one. He could have been holding the key to who had actually killed Jason and that information could have freed me.

  I tossed and turned the majority of the night. I woke up in a cold sweat. Darkness filled the room. The dim light from the center of the dorm was the only thing that stopped it from being pitch black.

  My heart rate increased at the thought of never going home. I thought about the video Mitch now had. I was beginning to have second thoughts about it. Maybe I should let him submit it to the police. Maybe they could use it to identify who the person was. I needed Mitch to show me the video. Maybe I could identify who the person was.

  Morning couldn’t come quick enough for me. I never did fall back to sleep. I was fortunate to be one of the first men in the shower so I could get some hot water for a change.

  “Jones, you ain’t got all day,” one of the guards yelled, as I hurried up and showered.

  After dressing back in the same orange jumpsuit, I went to the phone. There wasn’t a line. I called Mitch first, but didn’t get an answer. I dialed Lexi’s number.

  “Baby, it’s so good to hear your voice,” I said.

  “Sorry I missed visitation. But I had good reason,” Lexi said.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Lovie and I went to Alexandria. We paid Diana a popup visit yesterday. I think she knows more than what she’s telling.”

  “Babe, don’t say anything else. They may be taping our conversation.”

  “You’re right. I keep forgetting that.”

  “Alexandria? What is she doing there?”

  “She was shocked to see us. But don’t worry, dear. I’ll write you. You know the drill.”

  That meant she would give the letter to Mitch to give to me. That way I would know no one else had read it.

  “How are the kids?” I asked.

  “They’re doing fine. Charity’s still seeing that cop.”

  “Omar Underwood?”

  “Yes. Mr. Omar. I like him, but under the circumstances, I don’t know if she should be dating him.”

  “Has he given you a reason not to trust him?” I wasn’t too keen on her dating anyone, especially after the last two boyfriends she’d had. Both of those men ended up hurting her. I couldn’t bear to see my baby girl in pain.

  “He’s been great. I’ll fill you in when I write you.”

  Lexi and I talked for a few more minutes and then had to hang up. It wasn’t that we wanted the call to end; the operator interrupted us. “You have fifteen seconds left on this call.”

  We said, “I love you” to one another and the call disconnected. I felt a little better after speaking to Lexi.

  “Jones, we need you back in your cell,�
� one of the guards yelled at me.

  I rushed back to my cell but not without seeing them carry out the young man whom I’d been talking to the night before on a stretcher.

  “What happened?” I asked one of the other inmates.

  “Somebody shanked him.”

  Shanked meant someone had used a homemade weapon and stabbed him. Whoever did it thought he had revealed something to me. From now on, I would have to watch my back. Danger was all around me.

  CHAPTER 27

  Charity

  I slipped away from Omar long enough to meet up with my family. Ever since I’d seen Omar at the hotel, he’d gone out of his way to make sure I knew he was not seeing anyone else. It was to the point where I felt like he was smothering me. He was overcompensating so I tried not to complain.

  I poured myself a glass of juice and returned to the living room in my parents’ house. My siblings were all seated as well.

  Mom cleared her throat. “As you girls know, Lovie and I went to Alexandria yesterday and met up with Diana.”

  “She acts like she’s in hiding, so we know she knows more about what happened than she’s telling anyone,” Lovie said.

  Hope and I listened to our mom explain to us what had happened while they were visiting Diana. I wasn’t too surprised to hear that she and Jason were having an affair.

  “Lovie’s trying to find out who has been making, or has made, deposits into her account.”

  “I’m so glad this is almost over,” Hope said.

  “We hope it’s over,” Lovie said. He looked down at his cell phone. A few seconds later, he said, “Y’all will never believe this.”

  “What?” I asked. My cell phone alerted me I had a text. I knew it was Omar.

  “Someone has been making transfers from one of Jason’s accounts. So someone else besides me knows his account information,” Lovie said.

  “The plot thickens,” Mom said. “I need a TracFone. I got this number off Diana’s phone. This person may be the one using Jason’s account. I don’t want to call it from either one of our phones, though.”