Savannah's Curse

by Shelia M. Goss

  “Thanks for washing my clothes,” Savannah said.

  “You’re quite welcome. Your food awaits,” he said as he extended his arm.

  Savannah wrapped her arm through his and allowed him to guide her into the kitchen. “This smells good. I don’t know where to begin.”

  Savannah and Troy ate without talking about last night’s events. Savannah stood to clear the table. Troy said, “Don’t worry about the dishes. I got it.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. You’re a guest.”

  “But last night you said—”

  “Speaking of last night,” Troy said as he took the dishes from the table to the sink. “I think you better call your sisters. Montana left a message on my phone about the cops calling her. She sounded a little frantic, so it was hard to make out exactly what she said.”

  Savannah frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You needed to eat.”

  Savannah saw the phone near the door. “After I find out what’s going on, I need you to take me home immediately.”

  Troy saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Troy had no right to make decisions for her. He should have told her about Montana’s call. Savannah tried to calm down while waiting for Montana to answer her cell phone. She was unsuccessful reaching her. The call went to voice mail. She dialed Asia’s number. She watched Troy clean up the kitchen as she nervously tapped her foot. “Asia, what’s going on?”

  Before Asia could respond, Montana’s voice rang out from the other end. “The police said the house looked a mess. We’ve been trying to reach you. Neither one of us has slept a wink worried about you.”

  “I told you I was fine. Look, don’t go over to the house. Give me the number of the officer you spoke with and I’ll take it from here.”

  “I want you to know I called Uncle Raymond.”

  “Montana, I told you I got this.”

  “He’s out of the country right now. But as soon as he calls me back, I’m telling him everything.”

  “Don’t. I need you to trust me. Do not say anything to him or anybody else. Please,” Savannah pleaded.

  “This is too much,” Montana responded.

  “Let me talk to Asia,” Savannah stated.

  “Sis, what’s going on?” Asia asked. “We’ve been worried sick about you.”

  “I need you to convince Montana not to talk to Uncle Raymond. I’m not saying he had anything to do with Dad’s death, but he works for The Agency. He might be the enemy.”

  “I can’t promise you she’ll listen to me, but I’ll do my best,” Asia promised.

  8

  Troy watched Savannah frantically pace side to side as she talked to her sisters. He knew he should have told her before breakfast about the message, but neither he nor she had had much sleep, and he wanted her to be relaxed for at least a few minutes. Selfishly he wanted to enjoy some uninterrupted time with her.

  I need to get a grip. That’s why I don’t like mixing business with pleasure. Truth be told, he knew from the moment he laid eyes on Savannah again, he needed her. Troy wanted her like he needed oxygen.

  He told Savannah almost everything.

  He purposely left out the fact that Major made him promise to watch out for Savannah and her sisters if anything happened to him. He recalled their last conversation as if Major had a premonition of his death.

  They met at a local diner and talked over coffee. Troy could hear Major’s voice as if he said it yesterday. “There’s a rat in The Agency who has been getting some of the other operatives killed.”

  “Are you sure? I know we have a few hotheads—myself included—but a rat? Major, that’s serious.”

  Major pulled out a small brown envelope. He checked his surroundings before sliding it to Troy under the table. Troy took it and slipped it into his pant pocket without anyone being the wiser.

  “Take a look at it, and then let me know what you think.”

  “I will, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Troy said in between bites.

  “I’m counting on you to take care of my daughters, especially Savannah.”

  “Do your girls know about me?” Troy asked.

  “No, I’ve tried to keep as much of my job from them as possible.”

  “Maybe you should tell at least one of them, so it won’t be a surprise.”

  “Son, you handle your business and I’ll handle mine. Understood?” Major asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Troy never brought it up again. He assumed that Major would be around and die a natural death. He didn’t expect foul play to be the end of his friend and ex-boss.

  “Troy, one more thing. When are you going to make things right with my daughter?” Major asked.

  Troy was caught totally off guard. Up until this point he assumed Major didn’t know about his connection to Savannah. He stuttered, “I’m n-not the right man for her.”

  “Let me be the judge of that. From what I see, you’re the only man whom I feel worthy of being with my daughter.”

  “But, sir, you don’t understand. There’s no way Savannah would take me back.”

  Major looked him in the eyes. “When the time is right, Savannah will welcome you back into her life.”

  Troy hadn’t believed Major then, but now he did have some hope. Savannah wasn’t throwing things at him or cursing him out, so maybe, just maybe, he had a chance of winning Savannah’s heart again.

  “Earth to Troy.” Savannah tapped him on his shoulder.

  “Sorry, my mind was a million miles away.”

  “Whatever. I need you to take me home.”

  “Before you go home, we need to talk.”

  “We can talk in the car,” Savannah responded.

  “Give me a few minutes and we can leave.”

  “While you’re doing that, I have one more phone call to make.” Savannah dismissed him as if he weren’t there.

  While Savannah made her phone call, Troy went to his safe and removed some items that he hoped he wouldn’t need. Just in case they ran into some trouble, he wanted to be safe and not regret anything later.

  Troy returned to the room. “Let’s go,” he said.

  Savannah followed him into the garage. He opened her door and before long they were headed to Savannah’s.

  Savannah didn’t hesitate to reach over and turn his radio to another station.

  “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he said.

  “Bad habit” was all Savannah would say.

  “Let’s make a deal. When we’re in your car, we’ll listen to your music. While we’re in mine, we’ll listen to what I want.”

  Savannah rolled her eyes. He could see her lips turn into a slight smile. It was just like old times. Maybe the ice was breaking. Savannah didn’t say anything; instead, she turned and looked out the window. Troy felt like he achieved a small victory. They missed rushhour traffic by an hour, so Troy made it to her house in record time.

  Before he could bring the car to a complete stop in her driveway, Savannah had opened her door. She rushed to the African American policeman’s side. Troy parked the car and jumped out to catch up with her.

  “I’m Officer Nash and that’s my partner, Officer Pendleton.”

  Officer Pendleton, a man who was one doughnut short of being overweight, addressed Troy. “Can we see some identification—”

  “I don’t think all of that’s necessary,” Savannah interrupted. “He’s a friend of mine.”

  Officer Pendleton looked at Nash for approval. “Fine. Let’s go inside for a moment.”

  Savannah didn’t need a key to get in because the front door was unlocked. She gasped when she saw everything thrown in the various rooms.

  Troy did his best to support her by not letting her from his side.

  “Your neighbor gave us descriptions of two guys who stopped by here yesterday morning,” Officer Nash stated.

  “I didn’t get a good look at them. All I can tell you is the
y were in a black sedan.”

  Officer Pendleton asked, “Why didn’t you call us?”

  “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Officer, but the emergency alert you received was my way of communicating. I set it off before getting my butt quickly out of the house.”

  “I got this,” Officer Nash said to his partner. He turned to face Savannah. “Do you think you can tell us everything you remember from last night?”

  Savannah recited last night’s event, excluding the information about their exact escape.

  After the officers left, Savannah stood in the doorway and didn’t move. Troy felt compelled to reach out to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her until she got the strength to start the cleanup process.

  He kissed the top of her head. “You’re not in this alone.”

  “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “You take upstairs and I’ll take the downstairs and we’ll meet up somewhere in the middle,” Troy said, attempting to lighten up the situation.

  “You’re sure you’re not an angel. One minute I want to hit you, and the next minute I want to give you a hug.”

  “I’ll take the hug,” Troy responded.

  Savannah wiped her teary eyes. “Just put stuff back, the best you can. I’ll do a thorough cleanup later.”

  Before they could act on their cleanup duty, the doorknob turned. Troy pushed Savannah behind him as he removed his gun. Asia and Montana walked in at the same moment Troy had unlocked the safety and was ready to shoot.

  “Man, you guys could have been killed!” Savannah shouted. She walked past Troy and hugged her sisters.

  “We weren’t going to let you deal with this by yourself. This is our problem too,” Montana said, not once loosening her hug.

  Troy watched the encounter. “Ladies, I don’t mean to impose, but you might want to close the door.”

  Asia was the first to leave the group hug. “This place is a mess,” she said as she walked past them all.

  “We were just about to straighten up.” Savannah closed and locked the door.

  “Help is here.” Montana picked up pillows off the floor as she talked. “Troy, it’s good seeing you again.”

  “Same here. Just wish it were under other circumstances.”

  “I know what you mean,” Asia responded.

  Savannah and Troy took the downstairs, while Montana and Asia cleaned upstairs. Troy did a thorough sweep for bugging devices and was relieved to find none.

  “I’m sure they’ll be back. The information they were looking for was here.” Savannah made a beeline to the fireplace. She reached her hand up the chimney and removed some folders.

  “When did you have time to do that?” Troy asked out of curiosity.

  “A lady can never reveal all of her secrets.” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled.

  “I’m just glad they didn’t break anything,” Montana stated as she walked into the room.

  “It could have been worse.” One of us could have been killed, Savannah thought.

  “I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve worked up an appetite.” Troy rubbed his stomach. “What do you ladies like? I’ll go pick us up something.”

  After taking their orders, Troy heard Montana say, “I like him. He’s a keeper.”

  He didn’t wait to hear what Savannah’s response would be.

  9

  While waiting for Troy to return, the three sisters sat in the living room. The tension was thicker than molasses. Savannah felt responsible for the fear she knew her sisters now faced. “Ladies, this is getting dangerous. I think we should all move under one roof,” Savannah suggested.

  “Not here,” Montana responded. She looked around the room. “Do you actually think we would be safe here?”

  Savannah hung her head. She didn’t know what to think. “Until I can get a better handle on things, I think it’s best. First order of business, you both need to take a leave of absence.”

  Asia, who normally agreed with Savannah, threw her hands up in disgust. “You must have hit your head while you were trying to escape last night.”

  “Vanna, what we need to do is leave this to Uncle Raymond,” Montana said.

  Savannah felt trapped. “Doesn’t it seem strange that Dad didn’t confide his suspicions with Uncle Raymond? Apparently, he didn’t trust him, so neither should we.”

  Asia stood up. “I’m out of here. Montana’s right. You are beyond obsessed.” Asia looked between Savannah and Montana. “You both are welcome to stay with me.” Asia looked for her purse and keys. “I’m out of here.”

  Montana cleared her throat before holding up a key ring with several keys. “You rode with me.”

  Asia plopped back on the couch without saying a word.

  “Now that your temper tantrum is out of the way, maybe you’ll listen,” Savannah stated.

  Asia crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and rolled her eyes.

  Montana would have been amused under normal circumstances, but so much was at stake, including their lives. “Vanna, I’m at a loss. At this point I don’t know what to do. I fear for our safety.”

  Savannah stood up as if she was preparing to give a lecture. She glanced at the clock. “Troy will be back soon, so let me get right to it. First, make sure you are strapped with your gun at all times. Whether you’re sleeping, eating, or even using the restroom.”

  Asia looked at the floor instead of directly at Savannah. Savannah pulled out her notebook. “I changed the code to the secret room. It’s two, four, nine and one.. Memorize it. Asia, I need for you to hack into The Agency’s system.” She pulled out a sheet of paper with some names on it and handed it to her. “I need for you to find out as much as you can on the people on the list.”

  Asia stared at it and a curve formed at the corners of her mouth. “It’s as good as done.”

  Savannah continued to give out orders. “Montana, I need for you to get us some gear. Dad has some here, but this might not be enough.”

  “I don’t know, Vanna. I have a funny feeling about all of this.”

  “Do you want to play the victim, or be the victor?” Savanna asked.

  “A victim, I’m not,” Montana responded.

  “Then it’s settled. We might need to change our appearances, so I’ll leave that up to you too.”

  The knock at the door was very faint. If Savannah hadn’t been looking for Troy to return, she wouldn’t have heard it. She drew her weapon. Her sisters followed suit. She walked to the door and heard Troy’s voice. She motioned for her sisters to put their weapons away.

  She opened the door and assisted Troy in bringing in the bags of food. She whispered, “Thanks for giving me a little extra time with my sisters.”

  He winked his right eye.

  Small talk was made as they devoured the Chinese food. Asia opened up her fortune cookie and read it out loud. “‘Beware of strangers.’”

  They all laughed. Savannah opened up hers next. “‘Keep an open eye and an open heart.’” She balled up the paper and threw it down. “I never get any good ones.”

  Montana read hers. “‘Trust one, not all.’”

  “Troy, your turn,” Asia said.

  “Oh no. I don’t believe in those things.”

  “We just do it for the fun of it,” Savannah said.

  “Come on. You’re scared,” Asia challenged him.

  “The things a man does for a woman.” His eyes were on Savannah. Montana and Asia looked at the exchange. Troy opened up his fortune cookie. “‘What you’re looking for is staring you in the face.’” He threw it on the table. “See, a bunch of junk.”

  Asia retrieved the paper and read it out loud again. She looked between Savannah and Troy. “You two have to be in some serious denial. Even the fortune cookies can see it.”

  Savannah faked innocence. She put her right hand across her chest. “What? What did I do?”

  “Nothing. I’ll drop it for now.” Asia got up and, with the help of Montana,
cleared the table.

  “You have to forgive Asia. She can be a little annoying at times,” Savannah said.

  Asia yelled from behind her, “I heard that!”

  They laughed. Troy rubbed his stomach. “It’s been a while since I had some good shrimp fried rice.”

  “Our dad used to take us there at least once a month.” Savannah’s eyes glazed over. For a moment she was transported back in time. She recalled one of the last times they shared a meal at Cheung’s.

  Troy handed her a napkin. “Thanks,” she responded as she wiped her watery eyes.

  Troy glanced at his watch. “We still have time to make it to the bank.”

  “For a moment I thought you were human. You only care about one thing.” Savannah pushed her chair out and stormed away from the table.

  Troy rushed behind her. He tried to grab her, but she wouldn’t relent. “Don’t touch me.”

  Troy held his hands up in defense. “Vanna, I don’t know what’s gotten into you—”

  “You’re what’s gotten to me,” she interrupted. She ran up the stairs, not caring how her dramatic exit confused not only Troy, but also her sisters, who were standing behind him.

  The reflection in the mirror staring back at her frightened her. She was normally poised and had to be the strong one for her sisters. It seemed that she was falling apart at the seams. She turned on the cold water and splashed some on her face. She wiped her face with a towel.

  “Vanna, may I come in?” Montana asked from the other side of the door.

  “Go away,” she responded. Savannah was still not ready to share with Montana the true dynamics of her and Troy’s relationship.

  “Open the door,” Montana demanded.

  “I’m okay. Just give me a minute.” Savannah redid the braid in her hair before exiting the bathroom. Montana wasn’t waiting on the other side. She sighed. She walked at a snail’s pace back down the stairs.

  A hush fell over the living room when she walked in. Troy was sitting on the love seat, while her sisters were each sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Savannah took a seat in the lone chair.