Charlene blinked slowly as she opened her eyes in her dimly-lit room. She looked down at the tubes extending from her nose and arms and realized she was in the hospital.
“Thank God, you’re awake,” Lauren said. She rose from her chair beside Charlene’s bed and went to her side. “We’ve been so worried about you, Mom.”
Charlene smiled, but it quickly faded when she saw that Lauren was wearing a hospital gown and robe. “Are you . . .” she coughed as she tried to speak. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Mom.”
Charlene’s voice was now a raspy whisper. “Why’re you wearing a hospital gown?”
“They admitted me right after the shooting. I haven’t spoken a word to anyone since that day, not even to Phillip. And like you said, they think I’m in shock so they admitted me. They’ve been probing me every day but I haven’t said a word.”
Charlene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “How many days have passed?”
“Three.”
Just then a nurse walked into the room. “You’re awake!” she said with enthusiasm. She looked at Lauren. “I know you’re happy to see your mother’s eyes open, aren’t you?”
Lauren looked at the nurse with a blank stare, and remained silent.
Charlene swallowed and grimaced with pain. It felt as though sandpaper was lodged in her throat. She tried to speak again, but this time she could barely talk. “My stomach hurts, and my throat is . . .” she couldn’t finish her sentence.
The nurse immediately started taking Charlene’s vitals. “That’s to be expected, Ms. Harris. You suffered a gunshot to your abdomen, but you were lucky because it missed your intestines, and the bullet came out right through your back. And your throat is sore because we had to intubate you. We took the tracheal intubation out this morning and the scratchiness will go away in a day or so.”
Charlene let out a deep breath as her words sputtered out. “Am I going to be all right?”
“Shhh,” the nurse said. “Try not to speak. You need to save your strength. I’m going to get you some pain meds and let the doctor know that you’re awake.”
Once the nurse was out the room Lauren spoke up. “The doctor said you’re going to make a full recovery. But we don’t have much time because the staff has been instructed to contact the police as soon as you regain consciousness.”
Charlene knew that Lauren had figured out that they needed to get their stories in sync. Although it was hard for her to speak, Charlene whispered quickly. “You got out of the car because you had to use the bathroom. You rang the doorbell and when no one answered you came inside, thinking something might be wrong. You stood outside Leslie’s study and listened as she confessed to coming into Johnny’s house after I’d shot him. He was still alive so she covered his mouth and nose until he stopped breathing, then she took the blue box and . . .” Charlene stopped when she realized that Leslie had left everyone’s tapes in the box except her own, and that was the crucial piece of evidence that would tie Leslie to Johnny and corroborate her motive.
“Don’t worry,” Lauren said. “Once the police found the blue box they searched Leslie’s house and they found it hidden inside one of her legal books.”
Charlene nodded and continued. “Leslie was planning to kill me and let me take the fall for Johnny’s murder, got it?”
Lauren nodded. “I mean, yes.” She shook her head. “I’ve gotten so used to not talking. I’m still in silent mode.”
“Good, stay that way until I give my statement.” Charlene was glad that Lauren had kept quiet, which relieved some of her worries. But she couldn’t fully relax, because she knew she had to finish talking before her voice gave out or the police came. “The rest of the story will be exactly what Leslie said about her being a hero and a celebrated attorney.” Charlene braced herself for the pain as she cleared her throat again. “The police will probably be here any minute, so repeat everything to me as quickly as you can. Don’t add or take away from anything I said.”
Charlene watched the door as she listened carefully to her daughter recite her account of what happened the day of the shooting. She was amazed by how smoothly Lauren systematically rattled off each detail, just as she’d been instructed, no more and no less. Charlene knew that if Lauren ever had to take the witness stand she’d nail her testimony. “Very good,” Charlene said. Under any other circumstance, Charlene would have been proud of how Lauren had just performed, but her pride grew dim because she realized that most killers were efficient when it came to details.
“Mom, I’m so sorry about all this. I know you’re wondering how I got mixed up with Johnny and why I killed him. It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you when you get out.”
Charlene shook her head. “I shot him, but Leslie killed him. Leslie Sachs is the killer.”
Lauren nodded. “Okay.”
“It’s good to see you awake, Ms. Harris,” the doctor said as he entered the room. Charlene reached for Lauren’s hand as they watched two police detectives walk in on the heels of the doctor.
A week after being admitted to the hospital, Charlene was released. Her injuries had been serious, but she’d miraculously bounced back. “She’s got the heart of a fighter,” her doctor had said. The truth was Charlene wasn’t fighting for herself, she was fighting for her children, and she knew in order to do that she had to stay alive.
Charlene had smiled with gratitude when Phillip and Lauren drove her home and then got her settled into her bed. “It’s good to be home again,” she said.
Phillip nodded. “You’ve been through a lot, Mom. Get some rest.”
Charlene looked up when she saw Lauren enter her bedroom carrying a glass of water.
“Here, Mom,” Lauren said. “I thought you might be thirsty.”
“Thanks,” Charlene said.
Lauren turned to her brother. “I’m going to stay in here with Mom until she falls asleep.”
“Okay, if either of you needs anything I’ll be down the hall.”
They waited until they were sure Phillip was out of earshot before they began to speak. Lauren sat on the edge of her mother’s bed and held her hand. “I’m going to tell you what happened, and how I got involved with Johnny.”
Charlene nodded and lay in quiet shock as Lauren divulged the details of what had led her to become a killer.
“I was at a very low point in my life after everything that happened with Jeffery,” Lauren said. “I was hurt and humiliated, but I couldn’t tell anyone I was pregnant because I was also embarrassed and ashamed. While I was at the clinic where I had the abortion I met a nurse named Candace, who volunteered there on weekends. We instantly bonded and she told me that I could call her if I ever needed anything. After I returned to school I kept in contact with her. We talked several times a week and she helped me through some dark days. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.
“One night I called her and I could tell she’d been crying. Candace was strong, like you, Mom, and she wasn’t the type to shed tears easily. She’d had a really bad argument with Bernard, who was her fi-ancé. He’d been in a downward spiral for months after losing his job, and it was all because of his best friend, Johnny Mayfield. Johnny had come to Bernard’s job talking junk about Candace. One thing led to another and they ended up fighting right there in Bernard’s office. A few days later Bernard was fired and a few months after that his finances fell apart, and that’s when the arguments, along with Bernard’s heavy drinking started.
“A week later, Candace called me, and she was distraught. She’d gone over to Bernard’s house and found him passed out drunk with a naked woman lying beside him. Candace called off the wedding and gave Bernard his ring back. I called Candace the next day to check on her and she was crying again, this time because Johnny had caused his estranged wife to miscarry in a bad fall. Candace had said that she’d been a really nice woman, and that losing her baby had devastated her.”
Charlene sat up and cleared her throa
t. “That woman was my stylist, Geneva.”
Lauren nodded. “Yes, I know that now.”
“That man hurt a lot of people.”
There was a silent pause, and Lauren wiped away a tear. “After losing a baby of my own, all because of a tangled web caused by a liar and a cheat, I lost it, and I wanted to rid the world of men like Dad and Johnny. I couldn’t find it in my heart to kill my own father, but I didn’t think twice about killing Johnny.”
Charlene bristled at the fact that her daughter had found it so easy to kill someone, but then again, Charlene knew that she’d done the same thing. She took a sip of her water and cleared her throat. “So you’d never met him? You just knew about him through your friend, Candace?”
“Yes, after our conversation I googled Johnny and found out everything I needed to know about him. A week later I rented a car and drove to Amber to kill him.”
“My Lord,” Charlene said, thinking about how she’d spent a week plotting how she would kill the same man whom her daughter had also targeted.
“I parked several blocks from his house and walked to his back door. It was ajar so I let myself in, and you know the rest.”
Charlene nodded. “What are the odds of both of us trying to kill the same man on the same night?”
“Beyond that, throw in the fact that Leslie Sachs crept up to kill him, too, just in time to see me leave. I guess because at the time you and I were the same size, and because we look so much alike, she thought I was you.”
“Plus . . .” Charlene hesitated, but then decided to speak her truth. “I’m sure that after Leslie went through the blue box searching for her tape, and then stumbled across mine, she matched things up and started plotting. This feels like a bad dream.”
Lauren let out a heavy sigh. “It’s been a nightmare, Mom. From the moment I stood over Johnny’s dead body my life started slipping away, and I didn’t care about anything anymore. It was as if my life was moving in slow motion.”
“That’s why you walked slowly out of the house, as if you didn’t have a care in the world.” Charlene said with new understanding.
“Yes, and it’s also why I gained all the weight and changed who I was. I wanted to distance myself from the person who’d killed a baby and murdered a man. The last two years have been hell. When I came home last week I was angry and afraid, but you showed me that I was still worthy, and that meant the world to me.” Lauren smiled, and then became serious. “Then, while we were snowed in I watched a replay of Leslie Sach’s interview online and I felt like everything was going to fall apart all over again. I didn’t know what to do.
“But miraculously, you scheduled a doctor’s appointment for me on the same day you went to meet with Leslie . . .”
Charlene nodded. “If you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I remember growing up you used to always tell Phillip and me that everything always works out the way it’s supposed to, and not a minute before or after its proper time. You were right, Mom, it does.”
The two women looked at each other for a long time, each thinking silent thoughts about what the future might hold.
EPILOGUE
Two Years Later
Charlene Harris had been forced to resign from the Amber City Council and was sentenced to one year in jail on aggravated assault charges stemming from the fact that she’d shot, but not killed, Johnny Mayfield. Charlene had gotten lucky, though, because the judge had reduced her sentence to time served, and she was free to help care for her new granddaughter while her daughter, Lauren, attended medical school at ASU. Charlene also enjoyed visiting DC and spending time with her new grandson, whom her son, Phillip, and his wife, Donetta, had adopted after they’d gotten married last year. She did all this in between her adjunct professorship at the university law school, where she taught Criminal Defense 101, or as it had been aptly nicknamed: How To Get Away With Murder.
As for Geneva, the calm, mild-mannered hairstylist and business owner became a New York Times and international best-selling author after penning her memoir which detailed her life and times with the man behind one of the most infamous and deadly webs of murder the country had ever seen.
Even Shartell and Joe ended up smelling the roses. After Samuel had thrown Joe out of his and Geneva’s house, Joe had immediately called Shartell and told her that he had another juicy story that he could give her if she came by his hotel. In reality, the only thing Joe had was loneliness, which turned into horniness once Shartell got there and was snowed in with him. They’d been holed up in his room through the snowstorm, and that was why Joe hadn’t called his family and Shartell hadn’t responded to Charlene’s e-mail. Eventually they moved to California together and opened a detective agency that specialized in catching cheating spouses.
There was one person who faded into the background, and that was Vivana Jackson. After she was released from prison, she’d tried to sell her story for a book deal, like the one Geneva had gotten. But Vivana had been such an unmarketable and despised figure that her would-be publisher walked away from the deal after she cursed out the CEO, along with the entire editorial staff, during negotiations. It didn’t help that she’d made public threats to each of them and then was arrested, spending three months in jail for the offense before moving back to the rural South Carolina town where she’d been born.
But there was one other person who’d faded into the background even deeper than Vivana Jackson, and that was Leslie Sachs. The gunshot wound to her throat had left her a quadriplegic in a vegetative state. After Charlene and Lauren Harris gave their sworn statements, detectives combed through every detail of Leslie’s life and all of her grimy criminal activities came to light, including the other murders she’d committed over the years. Now she spent her days in a nursing facility run by the Alabama Department of Corrections. The only person holding on to hope that Leslie would regain consciousness was her sister, Camille Sachs. Camille had never believed Charlene and Lauren’s story, and she prayed each day that Leslie would open her eyes so the real truth could come to light.
Discussion Questions
Thank you for reading Deadly Satisfaction! I hope you enjoyed the story. If you did, please spread the word and tell your friends to get their copy, too!
Here are some questions I believe will enhance your reading experience and spark some interesting dialogue. If you’re a member of a book club and you select this book as your book of the month, I’d love to join you at your monthly meeting to discuss it! I can meet with you in person, by phone, or by Skype. If you’re interested, please visit my website at www.tricehickman.com, and we’ll make it happen!
1. Which character in Deadly Satisfaction did you like the most? Which character did you like the least?
2. Charlene, Donetta, Geneva, and Lauren all experienced challenging situations that affected and changed them in different ways. How do you think each woman either grew or regressed in character as a result of their experiences?
3. Charlene was a well-intentioned woman who made some poor choices that landed her in compromising situations. Do you think she was justified in any of her actions?
4. Donetta is a transgender woman of color who has struggled with acceptance for many years. Do you think society and the African American community in particular, has become more accepting of trans people?
5. Before reading Deadly Satisfaction, how familiar were you with transgender people and their struggles?
6. Several characters in the book sought revenge because of wrongs that had been committed against them or others. Which character do you think committed the most vengeful act and why?
7. Phillip was angry and felt as if he’d been deceived when Donetta told him that she was transgender. Do you think Donetta deceived him?
8. Shartell Brown made a lucrative career from sharing gossip. How do you feel about people who gossip?
9. Did you guess the correct identity of the person who sent Charlene Harris the text?
/> 10. Of all the characters in the book, which one’s actions surprised you the most?
11. If you could have dinner with one character in the book and pick their brain, which character would it be and what would you ask them?
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Prologue
This time Kiara couldn’t deny the facts—they were screaming at her. As she sat outside that night, crouching in the backseat of a rented car watching everything unfold, the details appeared fuzzy, but she knew her husband, Rashad. She saw him exit his white van. She saw the letters of his company, Eason & Son, displayed on the side. She saw him look both ways before he proceeded to walk up to a wood-framed house and ring the doorbell. Kiara raised her neck. She held her breath. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. Every woman who’s ever been cheated on really wants one thing and one thing only: proof! And Kiara was about to get hers.
Kiara watched as a woman opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Kiara popped the lock and got out of the car. She stood in the darkness of the shadows noticing how her husband lovingly wrapped his arms around the woman. They kissed. They closed their eyes. They embraced and rocked back and forth. Rashad reached around and playfully grabbed the woman’s ass. She lifted up her skirt. They laughed, then Rashad followed the woman inside the house. Kiara crept closer until she herself was on the porch. In his rush to get inside, Rashad hadn’t closed the front door all the way. He gave his wife the perfect view of his deceit.
Kiara made her move. She ran and grabbed the door handle. She stepped inside the hallway. They were too busy kissing and feeling on each other to notice her. Good! She walked up to Rashad and tapped him on his shoulder. He looked up at Kiara, his eyes filled with surprise—and then fear. And when she could take a good look at the female he’d just been embracing, Kiara shrieked.
Deadly Satisfaction Page 28
