Day of Atonement

by Yolonda Tonette Sanders

  Troy would have agreed though he thought it shameful that these two ladies were sitting in their Sunday bests gossiping at a time like this. Yet, he placed the chairs up against the banquet tables as slowly as he could, taking it all in, deciphering between information that might be useful and useless information such as how disgusted one of the women were that Mr. Campbell’s wife did not wear a longer skirt.

  “The chile ain’t but in her early thirties and you know they say she didn’t have a good upbringing,” the wig lady said in her defense. “She might not know any better. I heard she used to be a stripper.”

  “Oh, I think she got more sense than you think. Ain’t no way she’s in love with Edgar as old as he is. I bet she married him for the insurance money and that baby they adopted last spring will ensure that she gets paid social security for a long time to come if something happens to him.”

  Troy recalled the words of the autopsy report. “…The victim has given birth some time within the last year,” as well as B.K.’s theory, “I’m guessing it would hard for him to see all the hearts he’d broken.” Could it be? Could Edgar Campbell have kidnapped and impregnated his own child? Crazy things had been known to happen. There was a similar case of the Austrian man who imprisoned and fathered children with his daughter, so it wasn’t a complete stretch to think the same thing couldn’t have happened here.

  Troy ran outside where the reception was to better send B.K. a text. They’d agreed to share any information either of them uncovered and this lead was too hot for Troy to sit on. He didn’t necessarily like taking the back seat on this investigation and he was certain that B.K. would not practice full disclosure with him, but like it or not, Troy needed B.K. He had no jurisdiction or connections with law enforcement down here. If it weren’t for B.K., he wouldn’t have any information at all.

  Troy waited a few minutes to see if there would be a response. When none came, he headed back inside. Something caught his attention right before he entered the church doors. A man was walking alongside a fence when he was scared by a barking dog. The man yelped and ran a few paces until realizing that he wasn’t in danger. The man was Jerry, one of Elvin’s uncles, and for those few seconds when he was running scared from the dog, he did not have a limp.

  Chapter 17: Turning Point

  Troy was the first one up on Christmas morning. After coming home from the service yesterday, he’d secluded himself in Tracy’s bedroom yet again, searching the Internet for any tidbits of information he could find about his three primary suspects: Edgar Campbell, Herbert Greenfield, and now Jerry.

  B.K. never responded to his text message about Edgar and that irritated him. Not having connections down there made investigating this situation difficult. Troy did not bother to share with him what he’d learned about Jerry. He’d wait until they got together tomorrow after the mind-searching appointment with Shauna that Troy was not looking forward to. Unfortunately, his Internet search yielded no results. Nothing but their names and addresses, which is information he could have likely gotten from Elvin. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Troy awoke this morning and slipped on some sweats to go for a run.

  Troy liked jogging, though he did not get out much during the winters in Ohio. Spring and fall were when he would run the most often. The winter and summer months were when he got the most use out of his gym membership. This Christmas Day run in Texas felt good as the conditions seemed perfect. No snow to crunch through or ice to worry about slipping on, there was only the cool breeze of the air as he struggled to keep up with his normal pace—a reminder that he had not worked out in several weeks.

  Troy could not remember the last time he’d jogged around his old neighborhood. His run was interrupted briefly on two occasions when he stopped to speak with several familiar faces and offer season’s greetings. In a way, it felt good to be home. He wished the circumstances were different, of course. It would be nice if parts of the last thirty-plus years could be rewritten. Elana would be living her life happily ever after instead of being buried six feet under. When she ran out of the door all those years ago, there was a peace within Troy that had left with her. Natalie would argue that he was insanely protective of her and Nate. To some extent, she might be right. Troy would not know what to do if something ever happened to either of them, especially something as malicious as had been done to Elana. He worried about his family’s safety and oftentimes that anxiety ate away at his peace. He had to learn to have healthy concern without it leading to unreasonable fear before he drove both his wife and himself crazy.

  It was about fifty minutes later when Troy returned to the house and found his parents in the living room playing a game with Nate. Troy fought against the residual bitterness that tried to linger toward his father. Forgiveness was definitely a process. He swallowed his negativity and greeted them all by saying “Merry Christmas” and Nate excitedly showed him what “Gigi and Grandpa” had gotten him.

  “It was only one present,” his mom said, responding to the look he’d given her after seeing the torn wrapping paper strewn on the floor. “I told him he can’t open the rest until you and Natalie were up.”

  When Troy got to the room, he found Natalie dressed and on the bed FaceTiming Corrine on her iPad. “Hey, Merry Christmas.” She greeted him with such a huge smile that he couldn’t resist giving those luscious lips a warm welcome.

  “Ex-cuse me. I really don’t care to see y’all make out,” Corrine announced via video.

  “Merry Christmas, Corrine. Here, I’ll give you a kiss, too.” Troy puckered and put his lips on the screen.

  “Ewe!” She shrieked while Natalie fussed at him for putting his mouth on her iPad.

  Troy laughed as Corrine called him crazy. As expected, she was wearing a locket with Nate’s baby picture inside. She never took that thing off, an indication of how strong her feelings for Nate were. Corrine’s adoptive parents had other children, but Nate was her only biological sibling. Troy could imagine the depth of the bond she felt for him, and for Natalie.

  Corrine was nearly the spitting image of his wife. She, too, was tall with long, dark, satin-like hair. Corrine also had big brown eyes like Natalie. The major difference between them was that Corrine had a lighter skin complexion than Natalie’s honey-colored one. Though he and Corrine were nowhere near as close as she and Natalie, Troy loved her. He was actually surprised at how much he loved her, but then again, he loved Natalie so much that he could not help but deeply care about those who were important to her. Troy talked to Corrine for a few seconds about how her visit was going in Jackson. After telling her to say hi to the family for him, Troy got his things together and hopped in the shower.

  Natalie was making the bed when he returned to the room. “Your phone has been blowing up.”

  Immediately, Troy checked, hoping there was a message from B.K. He scrolled through the eleven text messages, not finding a single one from the investigator. He did find three very disturbing ones.

  Hi Troy. It’s been a while. I miss u.

  Just want 2 say Merry Christmas.

  Hope u & fam r having a good time in TX.

  The third one bothered him most of all. How did she know that they were in Texas? He hadn’t spoken to her since the summer and though she would leave voice or text messages periodically, he’d never responded or returned a call. He’d hoped that ignoring her would make her go away. So far that hadn’t worked. She kept popping up like a cold sore at the most inconvenient times.

  “Everything okay?’

  “Uh, yeah. You know how people like to send mass holiday texts,” he said, deleting the ones from her first.

  “I know what you mean. Well, hurry and finish getting dressed. You know Nate is bursting out of his skin to open presents.”

  “Mama already let him open one.” Since Natalie seemed to still be keeping his mom at an arm’s length after the broom fiasco Saturday, Troy thought he should warn her.

  “Why am I not surprised?” she said before leaving
the room, rolling her eyes.

  • • •

  Christmas morning went perfectly without any hitches. Troy, his family, and his parents opened their presents for each other while setting aside the ones for Tracy, Al and the kids for later. Of course, Nate was the center of attention. Whatever attitude Natalie had had earlier about his mom, she had gotten past it by the time Troy made his way back to the living room. The joy on her face as she watched Nate “ooh and ahh” about his things was priceless. She FaceTimed Corrine again and also Aneetra, so they could both talk to Nate and at least see him open the things that they had bought for him.

  By this time next year, Troy and Natalie would have two additional little ones to the mix and he looked forward to it. This would make the second year in a row that they had traveled to Texas for Christmas. Next year, they would be at home. Everyone would be welcome to join them and by “everyone,” Troy was not yet sure if he would include his father. Things had been cordial between them since their talk yesterday, but a father-son relationship was still unchartered territory. Troy had to be certain that this change in his father was real. Time would tell.

  After opening presents, Troy grabbed a bowl of cereal and a banana. Apparently, the others had gotten something to eat before he had come down. His mom did not make a big to-do about breakfast this morning like she had done Saturday, which was not surprising. Christmas dinner would be the extravaganza and that wasn’t taking place until Tracy got there, which, from what he was told, would be around 3:00.

  The rest of Christmas morning went much faster than Troy had anticipated. His wife and mother spent most of their time in the kitchen putting finishing touches on things and he forced himself to stay in the living room with his father while Nate played with his toys. Troy would like to have been working on Elana’s case, but with no leads and no communication from B.K., his efforts were useless at this point.

  At first, the silence between him and his father was awkward. They sat opposite one another and stared at Nate who toggled back and forth between his toys as though they would disappear if he did not play with them all in the same day. It was Troy’s father who broke the silence.

  “Do you want to watch the games today?”

  Troy had been so occupied with Elana that he’d totally forgotten about the Christmas Day headliner games. “Uh, yeah, who’s playing?”

  His father knew the entire day’s lineup. “There are five games today. Celtics and the Nets first play first, then the Lakers and Knicks. At four-thirty it’s the Heat against Oklahoma City Thunder. The last lineups are Rockets and Bulls, and Nuggets versus the Clippers.”

  Troy had no idea how into basketball his father was. It was nice to discover that they had something in common and Troy was eager to see the matches as his favorite teams were playing. He was usually on top of the game schedules. How’d he let today’s slip? Elana…

  Basketball became the activity over which Troy and his dad began to bond. They watched the first while also engaging in conversation. They talked about last season’s playoffs, who they thought would make it to the finals this year, injured players, rookies, and about everything else one could think of when it came to basketball.

  When Tracy and her family arrived, Troy and his father were both engrossed in the pulse-pounding competition between the Lakers and the Knicks, which went back and forth in one possession leads. In order to get their undivided attention so they could open the remaining presents, his mom turned off the TV after several attempts to get the guys to focus since Al and AJ had gotten distracted by the game as well. Though her action almost got her mauled, she stood firm. To appease her, and perhaps to prevent the Christmas spirit from being interrupted by tongue whipping meant for sailors, the men obliged her request, ripping through presents without any small talk. Both Tracy and Al seemed to be in good moods and there were no signs that any type of altercation had recently taken place between them. Maybe she was telling the truth about having to finish shopping yesterday, Troy figured.

  Troy’s mom may have won the battle about the television while opening presents, but she lost the war when it came to Christmas dinner. She had wanted everyone to sit around the dining room table like they had done Saturday morning at breakfast, but in the midst of an intense basketball game, none of the males were having it. They stood around the table for grace, but simultaneously, got their plates and resumed their positions in the living room.

  His mom protested, stating how this was their first Christmas dinner as a family and they should all be eating together. “Basketball should not be more important than family.” She tried manipulating them into complying with her wishes.

  Natalie, knowing how much Troy enjoys the game, stepped in. “Di, it’s okay. You know how men are about their sports. I’d rather them watch it instead of sitting here talking about it the whole time.”

  His mom huffed without further protest and Troy gave Natalie a best-wife-ever kiss on the cheek. It wasn’t long before the females and Nate joined them in the living room. Immediately, Alyssa began playing with Nate and his toys. Tracy and his mom each took a seat next to their husband’s. Troy liked the way Natalie nestled next to him on the couch and into his arms. It reminded him of the times when she did so in their home when he was in the basement watching games. He had to remind himself that they were not at home or alone and that he needed to keep his hands in public-friendly places on her body. He gently rubbed her belly, admiring the two growing miracles inside.

  “How was the service last night?” Tracy had the decency to wait until a commercial break before asking.

  “Sad, but good because, in many ways, it provided closure. At least partially. There were pages of pictures of Elana from the time she was a baby until when she went missin’. The one Lilly chose for the front of the obituary was so heartbreakin’ because it showed Elana’s birthmark. She could not have been more than six or seven, but she’s smilin’ like there is no tomorrow. The front read, ‘Rest in Peace. You are Loved Forever.’ Oh, you have to see it. Reed, what did you do with the obituary I showed you last night?”

  Though the game had not yet resumed, he continued staring at the screen. All the men did. They were waiting on edge to see how things would play out in the final quarter.

  “Reed,” his mother said with more force. “What did you do with the obituary?”

  “Oh, uh, I don’t know. I thought I gave it back to you.”

  “You did not. That’s a lie and you know it.”

  “Whoa, someone is turning into the Grinch who stole Christmas.” Troy hoped to fan the flames of her burning fire as he could tell that she was getting worked up by her tone.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  “I’m sorry, Di,” his father pleaded. “It’s an obituary, for goodness’ sake. You act like it’s a photo album.”

  “It had pictures like one. You’re sittin’ up here tellin’ that lie that you gave it back to me when you could not have done so because I went upstairs and you didn’t come up until later.”

  “Again, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did with it.”

  Troy did not think he would ever see the day when he would take his father’s side in an argument with his mother. Such a day had arrived. “Mama, chill. It’s not that serious,” he said when the game had come back on. “If you can’t find it, get another one from Lilly when you see her tomorrow.”

  “But I want to show your sister.”

  “You can have ours. I’ll go upstairs to get it before Tracy leaves, if that’s okay,” offered Natalie.

  Her suggestion seemed to satisfy his mom and Troy was able to fully concentrate on the exhilarating fourth quarter of the game without his mother’s crabbiness interfering. Cheers went up around as the Lakers scored. Troy gently turned Natalie’s head and gave her a quick, but soft, kiss on her lips.

  “What was that for?”

  He smiled while again thinking, best wife ever.

  Chapter 18: The Usual Suspects

  Tro
y and Elvin had driven separately to Shauna’s office since Troy had a meeting with B.K. scheduled for later. He decided to take his turn with the mind explorer first so that more anxiety would not build while sitting in the waiting room.

  In retrospect, it really did not matter if he and Elvin had ridden together because Troy would still have time to drop off Elvin and make it to his meeting. In all honesty, Troy was trying to keep as much distance between him and Elvin as possible. There was a war between cop and friend battling within him. The cop had no problems withholding information about potential suspects and the fact that Elana had given birth until there was something concrete to share. The friend, who had been there when Elana disappeared…who had witnessed the pain that Elvin and his mother had endured…who felt partly responsible for the circumstances, that friend, felt like every piece of information he withheld was betrayal.

  “You can relax, Troy; I’m not going to hypnotize you today,” Shauna said with a warm smile. He sighed with relief. “The purpose of having you come in today is to do a pre-hypnosis interview.” Her name did not match her appearance. Shauna seemed like a sexy name. Like it should belong to a woman with long legs, curvy hips, and a pair of forty double-D twins. Instead, a short, fat, flat-chested redhead with glasses and gapped teeth claimed ownership to the name. The one thing sexy about her was her voice. If she wasn’t a hypnotic, she could probably make a good living as a 1-900 phone operator. “B.K. tells me that you’re a detective, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Our session today will be similar to how you conduct interviews with witnesses. The purpose is to find out what you already know and give me a framework for which I will use to ask questions during the hypnosis sessions.”

  Sessions? “How many do you think it will take?”