Day of Atonement

by Yolonda Tonette Sanders

  “Will you send Josh and Caleb down and tell Nicole to hurry up and quit fooling with her hair. She’s paranoid about the bald spot in her head, but no one can see it unless she points it out. Maybe you should let her borrow one of your wigs.”

  “I will tell her you want her, but I will not say anything to her about her hair. I know better than to touch that subject.”

  “Nikki foolishly mixed two chemicals of some kind and put it in her hair. Now she has a bald spot smack dab in the middle of her scalp,” Elvin explained to Troy.

  “And she would hurt you if she knew you were telling people,” added Lilly on her way up the stairs.

  “It’s a good thing she won’t find out, huh?” Elvin waited until Lilly was out of sight and turned to Troy. His playful demeanor was now serious. “Hey, man, the investigator got a hold of Elana’s autopsy report. There were tiny red fibers found on her body.” They both looked up as they heard what sounded like a stampede coming down the stairs. “Stop running!” Elvin yelled at his boys.

  “Wow! Y’all have gotten big since the last time I saw you.” Troy reached out for both of them. Elvin’s entire family came in various shades of high yellow. Caleb seemed to be the darkest skinned member of the Campbell family and he was still lighter than Natalie! “Man, what are you feeding these boys. I don’t remember us being this tall when we were their ages. How old are y’all now?” Josh answered eleven; Caleb fourteen. Troy engaged them in a little conversation about basketball since he knew both boys played. Caleb, a center, had a stockier build than his slender brother who was a point guard. Basketball was a sport that Elvin and Troy both had a great love for and it was also in the DNA of El’s sons. Hopefully it would be in Nate’s as well.

  Lilly beat Nikki downstairs claiming that Nicole said she’d be ready in five minutes. Troy hoped his face did not display his shock at Lilly’s appearance. She had gone from having straight, gray hair to being a curly platinum blonde. Not a good look, he thought as they waited at least ten more minutes before Elvin went to get Nikki.

  Chapter 6: The Mystery Man

  As far as Troy was aware, most families had viewings in the evenings and funerals in the afternoon the next day. El and Lilly had done things differently. Elana’s wake was that afternoon and the actual service wouldn’t be until the day after tomorrow in the evening. The family decided that a Christmas Eve service would be better than a Sunday service for some reason. Who was Troy to question this? They had waited a long time to find Elana and deserved to do as they very well pleased.

  Seeing Elana in the casket as an adult was a little shocking at first. Though Elvin had certainly prepared him, Troy still had the last image of her as a little girl with ponytails in his mind. Overall, her body had been preserved well, considering the amount of time that had passed since she had first been discovered. Troy knew from his occupation that morgues did not like to freeze bodies for extended periods of time. But, Elana’s case was unusual, and unusual cases often required special needs such as extra preservation time.

  Though others stood behind him waiting, Troy took his time staring at Elana. What kind of life had she led for the last three decades? He wished he could ask her why she did not come home as an adult. Perhaps this was a case of Stockholm Syndrome. If Elana had been with her abductor all this time, it is possible that she developed this psychological condition in which victims begin to feel sympathy and empathize with their captors. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, placing his hand on hers. She felt clammy. She looked peaceful. He felt all the emotions about things that happened during their last interaction together without producing the tears. If only he could relive that day, he would make sure that he and Elvin treated her fairly as they played the Atari. He would have even played Soul Train with her. If he had known how that day would play out, he would have done almost anything Elana wanted to prevent from contributing to Lilly’s heartbreak.

  There were a lot of people who came and Troy, unsurprisingly, knew many of Elvin’s relatives. He’d spent so much time with Elvin’s family, from the moment he and Elvin first became friends in third grade, until they both graduated and left for college in Ohio. Many of the people whom Troy did not know had married into the family or were friends of El’s and Lilly’s. Troy was most surprised to see Elana’s childhood friend, Salome. She and her mother had moved from the neighborhood shortly after Elana disappeared. In fact, several families moved within a year. Elana’s kidnapping had spooked them all.

  Salome looked exactly the same as she did as a child—dark skin, similar to Troy’s complexion, and eyes that slanted upward like her mother’s had done, hinting at some kind of Asian ancestry in their family. Her afro-styled hair was neatly held in place by a decorative headband that matched her form-fitting outfit. Definitely not the body of the flat-chested eight-year-old he remembered. She’d filled out in all the right places and was letting the world know. He didn’t understand why she’d wanted to draw attention to her nose with a ring. It stood out enough on its own.

  Salome recognized him, too. Her face lit up when she saw him and Troy wasn’t quite sure what to make of her reaction. He remembered the many not-so-nice things his mother and Lilly had said about her and wondered if Salome’s smile was a little too friendly for the occasion. “You’re Troy, right?”

  “Yes,” he answered cautiously, bringing his left hand to his chin as a subtle way of making sure she saw his ring in case she had any ideas.

  “Hi, you might not remember me, I’m Salome. I used to live around the corner from Elvin and Elana.”

  “I remember.”

  Salome began sharing with him her thoughts about Elana’s case and how she’d hoped the family could finally get answers. She’d even pulled down the top of her dress to show Troy a tattoo she’d gotten when she’d turned eighteen to match Elana’s birthmark. “I did it as a tribute to her. She was the only real friend I had back then.”

  The gesture seemed a little creepy to Troy, but to each his own.

  “When I saw Elana’s story on the news, I was both hurt and relieved. It has killed me not knowing what happened to her. I can only imagine how Miss Lilly and Elvin feel. This is so sad.” They talked for a few more minutes, filling in the blanks of some details that had taken place in each of their lives over the last thirty years. Her mom died when she was a teen, and for the most part, she lived with her grandmother. She was currently single, no children, and practiced law. If she wore outfits to court like the one she currently had on, Troy bet she could win over a predominantly male jury every time. He, of course, mentioned being happily married with one child and two more on the way. “Good for you. I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well.”

  Troy could not help but to wonder about the things his mother would say if she knew that he was conversing with the daughter of one of his father’s ex “whores,” as she would call them, especially considering how friendly Salome was being to him. “Like mother, like daughter,” he could hear his mom say. Troy thought that maybe he should warn her about the possibility of seeing Salome Monday at the service until Salome mentioned that she would not be able to make it. “I’m driving to Dallas as soon as this is over to spend Christmas with my cousins. I don’t have family to celebrate with around here since my mom and my grandmother have both passed away and my relationship with my father is strained right now. He’s married and has other children. I don’t quite fit into his perfect family.”

  She looked sad. Troy wasn’t sure what she expected him to say. He had enough issues with his own father to try and give someone else advice. Plus, this was neither the time nor the place. “Well, have a safe trip. I need to make my rounds. You take care.”

  “You, too. It was nice seeing you.” She surprised him with a hug. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Same to you.”

  Despite the many people there of all races, there was one guy that stood out. He was an older white man with a mixture of gray and brown hair and a stocky build who walked around the r
oom like he belonged there. Yet, to Troy, he seemed out of place. It wasn’t necessarily the black jeans and polo shirt that made Troy notice this guy. There were people in various attire. But Troy observed him talking and watching others. No one else showed any visible signs that they thought his presence was odd. Maybe he was a former teacher of Elana’s? Or, perhaps he was a funeral home employee? Naw, that didn’t fit. He was dressed too casually. Could he be the killer? Murderers have been known to do twisted things like show up at family events of their victims. Troy looked for Elvin to see if he had any idea about the identity of the mystery guest. He spotted El talking to one of his cousins. Troy was headed toward him when he got stopped by one of Lilly’s brothers.

  “Troy!”

  “Hey, Bill, how’s it going?”

  “I thought that was you. I ain’t seen you in for-for-for-eh-ver.” Bill, overly dressed for the occasion in a tuxedo, shook his hand. “You living back he-he-here, now?”

  “No, I’m still in Ohio.”

  “You sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-sound a little citified,” he joked.

  Troy chuckled to himself, thinking of how people in Ohio would swear he sounded like a Southerner. While Troy would admit to having a slight accent, it was nothing compared to any born and bred Texan he’d encountered since his plane landed. To him, they sounded country. Maybe there’s some truth to Bill’s statement. “I’ve been up north for over half my life now; those city folk may have rubbed off on me to some extent, but Houston will always be my home.”

  “Gawd, bless your heart. Thank you for b-b-b-being here, son.” His hand seemed to have found a permanent resting place on Troy’s shoulder. “This whole thi-thi-thing about Elana is crazy. It may take a while before we have answers for sure, but I know that the Luh-luh-Lord is going to bring everything to fru-fru-ta-ta-tation.”

  Older now, Troy would not dare make fun of anyone with a speech impediment. He did, however, expect that Bill would have gotten his vocabulary together by this time. Apparently not so much. “Yes, the Lord will bring everything to fruition.” Troy tried correcting him as subtly as possible.

  “Are you speaking at the sa-sa-sa-service Monday?”

  Troy surely hoped not. What would he say? That he hated himself sometimes for partly being responsible for the pain Lilly has suffered the last thirty years? “I don’t plan on it.”

  “I will be speaking. Me and one of my bruh-bruh-bruh-others.” Troy didn’t ask which one. Lilly had a clan of siblings. Some had the same set of parents, others had the same mom and different dads, or the same dads and different moms. It would take a map and a GPS to navigate Elvin’s family tree. “You know I can talk, but my sister doesn’t want the sa-sa-sa-service to last too long and I-I-I will respect that. I’m going to try not to be too gra-gralari-ri-ous.”

  Troy did not feel like correcting Bill about the word garrulous. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Bill. I want to find Elvin.” What Troy really wanted to do was ask Elvin what in the world he and his mom were thinking when they agreed to let Bill speak. Did they want the service to last for-for-for-eh-ver!

  By the time Troy did catch up to Elvin, he was consoling Lilly who had started crying and the mystery man was nowhere in sight. Maybe he was a curious passerby. The local news had run Elana’s story several times. It still wasn’t getting the attention he felt it deserved, but at least it is more than what was aired when she first went missing.

  During the remainder of the time, Troy met several people whom he did not know. One was Elvin’s biological father. Edgar Campbell had walked out on Miss Lilly and the family when Elvin was only three and Elana was still a baby. According to the stories Troy had been told, Edgar re-emerged occasionally, but was never too dependable. To Troy’s knowledge, he never did come see Elvin for his birthday and he wasn’t around during those critical early moments when Elana could not be found. Even as a child, Troy knew that was strange.

  For a man who had abandoned his responsibilities, he seemed broken up about Elana. Troy found it hard to have sympathy for him. Were these tears of mourning or perhaps guilt for being a deadbeat? Where had he been all this time? How did he hear about Elana? Troy did not recall Elvin saying that he had spoken with Edgar these last several weeks. Then again, neither of their fathers often came up during their conversations. Still, something about Edgar did not sit well with Troy.

  “You all right, man?” Troy said to Jeff, Lilly’s second husband, who was leaning against a wall with his head down.

  Jeff looked up with a glaring stare. “It pisses me off to know that someone here may have done this to Elana. Seeing Lilly cry like that is tearing me apart. She does not deserve this.” He looked pretty much the same as Troy remembered—tall, bald, and bulky with a Steve Harvey-like mustache. Troy identified with Jeff’s anger. He had the same sentiments. All these family members were in Lilly’s face and one of them could be Elana’s killer.

  “You’re right. Let’s go outside and get some fresh air.” Troy did not want to risk Jeff possibly saying anything that could tip off someone within earshot that Troy was working on the case.

  “I’m okay. I need to get back to Lilly.” With those words, Jeff took a deep breath and walked away.

  Troy caught himself smiling as he watched Elvin move aside so Jeff could take over consoling Lilly. Whatever issues the two of them had had in the past, it was clear that those days were over. Lilly clung to him as if her well-being was dependent on his presence. When Elana’s murderer was finally brought to justice, perhaps Jeff would be the silver lining that Lilly needed to live the rest of her life happily ever after.

  As Troy scanned the room, he noticed that Herbert Greenfield, Lilly’s third and final ex-husband, was notably missing. He was the man whom she was married to when Elana disappeared. One would assume that he would at least show up and give his respects. Troy was sure that Lilly and Herbert’s relationship was nowhere as near as cordial as her and Jeff’s. She’d gone from the frying pan to the fire when she married Herbert. Still, if Herbert had any shred of decency, he would have made an appearance. Troy could only think of two reasons why Herbert would not be here: death or guilt for being the one responsible for the circumstances.

  Chapter 7: A Date or Two

  Natalie sat alongside her mother-in-law watching AJ and Alyssa take Nate around the ice rink. Reed was still at home when they left. Natalie got the impression that he was bummed about not being able to spend time with Troy. She felt that Troy really needed to give his father a chance. She, of all people, believed that Jesus could indeed change a person. She was proof. He had changed her.

  “Nate is doin’ good for this to be his first time,” noted Diane.

  “I know. I’ve never been ice skating. Aneetra and her daughters go sometimes.”

  “Aneetra’s Nate’s godmother, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “How is she?”

  “Fine.” Natalie did not feel the necessity to tell Diane about her friend’s marital issues.

  “Tell her I said hi the next time you speak with her and that she’s goin’ to have to take my grandbaby ice skatin’ with her.”

  “I’m sure she won’t have any problems with that. I figured Nate was too young, but I guess not.” Natalie wished she could be out on the rink with him. While she was willing to risk having animal babies by going to the zoo, she wasn’t about to attempt a balancing act, though some would probably claim that’s what she did anyhow by wearing heels today. “Who would have thought his first time would be in Texas. I didn’t even know there was ice skating in the South, let alone outside.” The weather in Houston was in the mid-fifties. A slight chill, but nothing like the freezing snow storm she’d left behind in Ohio and certainly not weather she’d imagined suitable for an outdoor ice skating rink. Diane tried to explain to her how the rink was kept frozen, but her mother-in-law didn’t quite understand herself, so the explanation was more confusing than it was enlightening. “I guess people with deep pockets can buy the right kind of e
quipment to make anything possible.”

  “You got that right. I’m glad that all of my grandbabies are out there havin’ fun.”

  “You can skate with them if you want. Don’t feel obligated to sit on the sidelines with me. I’m all right.”

  “Girl, I’m not gettin’ my big a—,” she caught herself, “my big butt out there on that ice. It would be my luck to fall and split the rink wide open.”

  Visualizing such an exaggerated scene made Natalie laugh. “I seriously doubt that would happen.”

  “What? The fall or me breakin’ the ice? I can’t even walk in heels without bein’ afraid of twistin’ an ankle.” She looked down at Natalie’s feet. “You think I’m goin’ to be foolish enough to put on ice skates?”

  “You are silly.” She quickly turned her attention to her son. “Nate, hold Alyssa’s hand or you will come sit with me!” He seemed determined to show his independence. “The boy has never been to a skating rink in his entire life and already he’s trying to act like a pro.”

  “He has his daddy’s DNA. Troy used to be like that when he was younger. I remember once he had taken a couple of karate classes, maybe three at the most, and that fool thought he was ready to start choppin’ things. He actually got bricks from around my flower bed and tried to break through them.”

  “Did he get hurt?”

  Diane, true to form, could not simply say “yeah” without adding the word “hell” in front of it. “I thought he had broken his hand ’cuz it was all red and swollen.”

  “He’s never shared that story with me before. How old was he?”

  “I don’t know. I think he was about nine. No, that can’t be right because Tracy would have been two and this happened before she was born, so he had to be younger because I think I was pregnant with her at the time, but not as far along as you. And I definitely wasn’t as cute bein’ pregnant as you. They didn’t make maternity clothes back then like they do now. I look at some of the outfits I see in magazines of pregnant movie stars. Some of them look slutty, but there are some cute things, like what you’re wearin’. Only you would come dressed to impress to a skatin’ rink, but it’s cute, though, girl. You are workin’ it.”