“Yes, it is. You told me yourself that if you knew the promotion had already gone to that white girl, you woulda stuck to your guns that day at Annabelle’s house. That means if Annabelle woulda gave you the new job, her an’ her husband could have sent Moms Mabley’s soul to hell an’ you wouldn’t have said nary a word. When you read that first writin’ that man did on that book, you coulda walked away an’ worked at the supermarket if you had to. Then you wouldn’t been in that house to pick up no appointment book when Annabelle got killed. Greed is why you in this mess. Plain old greed.”
She went back to cleaning the collards, but this time her tears were mixed in with the running water. “Me an’ you never had much in the way of money,” she sobbed, “but we did have our good name an’ the neighbors respected us. Now all that’s gone.”
I took a long walk around Hell’s Kitchen, but the familiar streets and buildings only mocked me. Did you really think you could get away from us? they seemed to ask.
38
THE SHOWMAN, PART II
Victor looked like he hadn’t slept all weekend. He paused as he mounted the steps to the witness box and looked back over his shoulder at me. His lips moved and it looked like he was mouthing the words, I’m sorry.
Keith whispered in my ear. “The brother’s ready to crack. This is going to be a cakewalk.”
After Victor was resworn in, Keith took his place.
“How are you feeling today, Victor?”
“Fine.”
“Did you have a good weekend?”
It was a cat playing with a mouse and awful to watch. Why couldn’t Keith just hit Victor with a trump card and get it over with?
“Yes.”
“Did you visit your daughter?”
“Daughter?”
“Sure,” Keith said smoothly. “Little Dora Murray is your daughter, isn’t she?”
“So I’ve been told.”
Keith stopped in midstride. “Really? Who told you that?”
“Annabelle.”
A man in the courtroom cried out, “Dear God,” and I knew it was Craig. My heart ached for him.
“When did Annabelle tell you that?”
“Two weeks before she died. I told her that I wanted DNA tests for me and Dora plus visitation rights if it all checked out.”
“We’ve had testimony from Joe Long that you went to see Annabelle in her apartment the night before she died. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Tell us about that visit.”
Victor squirmed in his chair. “Well, she called that night and said that she and Craig were getting a divorce. She was crying and upset. They had had a fight and Craig stormed out, taking Dora and some clothes with him. She said she had something important to tell me and that I had to come over right away. Annabelle had never invited me over to her house before, so I knew things were really bad. I figured Craig had found out about us or something.”
“Did Annabelle tell you what the fight was about?”
“Not on the phone. She waited until I got there.”
“Okay. Go on.”
“Well, I told Joe where I was going, and then I took off. When I got there she was in a different mood. She said she was looking forward to being a single woman again and that she would give Craig some time to find a new place.”
Keith interrupted the flow. “So at this point, you are inside Annabelle’s apartment, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Go on.”
“I asked her what the fight was about and she told me that Dora wasn’t Craig’s kid. She had just found out for sure a few days before and felt he had the right to know. When she told him, he stormed out, taking the kid with him.”
“What did you say to this?”
“I didn’t know what to say. At first I didn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. She started laughing and said, ‘You dolt. I’m trying to tell you that you’re a daddy.’ I didn’t like being called a dolt, but that was just Annabelle’s way.”
“What happened next?”
“I was real happy about the news, you know? I’m thirty-six years old and it’s nice to know that I have a daughter. Annabelle pulled out a whole bunch of photo albums and showed me all Dora’s pictures. After that we had some drinks, and then I went back home.”
“What time did you go home?”
“About four in the morning.”
Keith banged the ledge in front of Victor. “Do you realize that you are under oath?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you just lie to this court?”
Champ objected. The judge overruled her.
“I didn’t lie.”
“Sure, you did,” Keith replied pleasantly. “Isn’t it true that you did not leave Annabelle’s apartment until after the police removed her body from the bathroom?”
Judge Veronsky had to bang the gavel three times and threaten to clear the room before order was restored.
“Objection!” yelled Champ.
“Overruled,” droned Judge Veronsky. “The witness will answer the question.”
“No, that is not true.” Victor was sobbing loudly now.
“You skipped an important part of your conversation with Annabelle.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it true that Annabelle Murray offered you one million dollars that night to sign away any claim to Dora and get out of town?”
“That’s a lie.”
Keith’s voice dripped with disgust. “Oh, really? Your Honor, I’d like to recall Joe Long to the stand.”
Victor threw up his hands. “There’s no need to do that. Yes, Annabelle offered me the money, but I refused her offer.”
Keith smiled broadly. “Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“I didn’t kill her!” Victor shouted.
“We’ll come back to that,” Keith replied. “For now, I just want you to think about the time you left Annabelle’s apartment. We know that the fight over the money and relinquishing your parental rights took up a couple of hours. Would you say that you left at the same time Sarah Jane Rizzelli was on her way upstairs?”
“Maybe.”
“How did you get out of the building, Victor?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I have the video surveillance tape, which shows everyone that came into and went out of that front door starting at five that morning. You are not on that tape. How did you get out of the building?”
“I don’t remember,” Victor said sullenly.
“Does the name George Jakes ring a bell?”
Victor looked genuinely confused. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Perhaps he didn’t tell you his name. He is the maintenance man who let you out through the service entrance. By that time, Annabelle Welburn Murray was lying dead in the bathroom. You slipped George five twenty-dollar bills for the favor. Surely you remember him now, right, Victor?”
Victor said nothing.
“The witness will answer,” Veronsky said.
“Yes.” It was a whisper.
“Would you speak up, please?”
Loudly. “I said yes.”
Keith stared at the jury, at the reporters, at me, and at the judge before whirling around and jabbing his finger in the direction of Victor’s chest. “Why did you kill Annabelle Murray?”
“I respectfully wish to exercise my Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.”
Keith asked several more questions and got the same answer from Victor each time.
The state and the defense rested and my case went to a jury. It took them only half an hour to come back with a verdict of “not guilty.”
The reporters went running for the door with pads and pencils in hand. I gripped the edge of the defense table, practically unable to breathe.
I didn’t jump up and down, cry, or show any reaction at all (the media later analyzed this fact ad nauseam) because there were just too many people like Mama and Craig
who were in pain—their image of the people they loved had been shattered and it was going to take a long, long time for their hurt to subside.
39
THE ROAD AHEAD
Murder is a crime against God and humanity, and the only reason Victor committed such a heinous act was because Annabelle Murray was through with him. He loved her but the affair was over. It was a case of, if I can’t have you, nobody can. He went to trial and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His mother is fighting for custody of Dora, who is living with her Aunt Sarah Jane, and Keith is watching that legal wrangling with great interest. He says the fight among Craig, Victor’s family, and the Welburns will raise all sorts of interesting scholarly issues, and the verdict will create a gigantic legal precedent.
Craig Murray offered me my old job back at Welburn Books, but it felt too weird and I graciously declined. He kept insisting that he wanted to do something for me, so I asked him to cancel the publication of All About Moms. He reluctantly agreed.
After the trial, I needed somewhere to live, and staying on at Keith’s place was not an option. Apparently, the brownstone only worked as a tax shelter if it were used for business purposes, and I was no longer his client.
Paul asked me to move in with him and I did. He makes me feel safe, secure, and protected. I also respect and admire my fiancé. Even though that is not the same as head-over-heels romantic love, it is a better foundation for marriage.
It felt good to witness Mama’s transition from poverty to wealth. I gave her all the advance money that I received for the book and watched the worry lines disappear from her forehead and around her mouth like a magician had erased them.
How will Paul and I spend our days? Keith offered us a two-million-dollar loan to start our own publishing house and we gratefully accepted. Elaine Garner heard about my business plans and called to remind me that I owed her a story before taking on anything else. Well, this book is done now. I hope it lands on the best-seller lists and gets Elaine the big-time job that she trained for at Harvard.
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright ’ 2004 by Anita Doreen Diggs
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A Meeting In The Ladies' Room Page 21
