One big worry was that Kayla was now a latchkey kid. And too many distractions existed between school and their apartment door—mainly drugs, bullies, and boys—for Jessivel to feel comfortable. Kayla had blossomed into an attractive, sassy teen who didn’t always use the best judgment—a lot like Jessivel herself had been at that age. Kayla typically got home from school at 3:45 in the afternoon. Jessivel used to get home before Kayla when she worked as a barista, but now she would be getting home at around six o’clock, two hours after Kayla. A lot could happen in two hours.
Today, Kayla wasn’t home when she arrived, and Jessivel panicked. Her first day on the job and already there was a problem with her daughter. Her school backpack was on her bed, the jacket she had worn to school was also there, but Kayla was not. Jessivel looked out the window for her, then looked up and down the common hallway before picking up the phone to call the police.
The slamming of the apartment door caused her to jump.
“Where have you been?” Jessivel shouted at Kayla when she walked into the apartment ten minutes after Jessivel had arrived home. “I was about to call the police!”
“I was just down the hall. La-Keysha is in my class.”
“Who’s La-Keysha?”
“I just told you, our neighbor down the hall. She’s in my class. She asked me to come over after school.”
“You were told specifically to come right home after school and do your homework until I get home. What didn’t you understand about that?”
“I don’t have any homework.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t come right home. I didn’t know what to think when I came home and you weren’t here.”
“Kinda like when I woke up that night and you weren’t here. You mean like that?”
“Don’t get smart with me,” Jessivel said, knowing damn well her daughter had a valid point. “You’re grounded!”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Rules are rules. You’re to come home right after school. Alone. No friends over. No TV. No computer except for homework. Is that clear?”
“If I had a cell phone like all the other kids, I could have called to ask you if it was okay.”
“Well, you can forget that. I can’t afford one for you.” If her father hadn’t paid for her own phone a year in advance before he died, she didn’t know if she could even afford one for herself. “And you could have used Mrs. Harding’s phone. You know that.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Did it occur to you to leave a note for me?”
“No.”
“Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again, you hear?”
“Fine,” Kayla said and stomped off to her room.
“And don’t slam the door!”
Too late.
It was Friday, and Paige was arranging for an open house to celebrate her new ownership of the strip mall. When she asked Jessivel to work late on this day to help with the plans, she didn’t hesitate to do so since she knew Kayla would not be home alone. Kayla’s grounding had ended, and after meeting La-Keysha’s parents, Jessivel had agreed to let Kayla attend a sleepover in their home.
At the end of their normal workday, Paige ordered pizza for everyone before they put in another three hours of working on plans for the open house. Paige called it a night at 8:30 P.M. She asked Jessivel if she’d stay a while longer so they could talk.
Jessivel sat quietly while the others filed out of the conference room, nervous about why Paige had asked her to stay. She thought she had been doing okay with her work.
“Thanks for sticking around, Jessivel,” Paige said after everyone else had left.
“Did I do something wrong?” Jessivel asked.
“Not at all. I just wanted to check in with you to see how it’s going. We haven’t had the chance to talk much since you started here. So…”
“You are one busy lady, I must say.”
“It has been a little hectic around here lately. That’s why I need you! So, how’s it going for you?”
“It’s going fine.”
“You don’t sound too enthused,” Paige said.
“Everything is so new.”
The job had been working out okay so far—everyone there had been nice, helpful, and accepting of her and her lack of knowledge of the real estate industry. But after the newness of most tasks wore off, she found the work to be boring. Many days, she didn’t see Paige at all except to say good morning, and when she did see her, Paige was completely immersed in her work with little time in between phone calls and meetings.
One aspect of her job Jessivel found interesting was tenant relations. It was only because everyone else in the office was in a staff meeting one day that she had the opportunity to deal with tenant Floyd Combs, owner of Maya’s Deli, and according to those in the office who knew him, the grumpiest tenant in the strip mall. He came in agitated and barked his problem at her. Jessivel was able to calm him down and assure him she would take care of it. Later, after she sought help from Paige on how to handle his problem, she visited him in person to tell him how it was going to be resolved.
“Well, I’m getting good feedback from Olivia,” Paige said. “She tells me you pick up on things pretty fast.”
“I guess so.”
“Not very excited about the work?”
“Well…I like dealing with the tenants.”
“Even after having to deal with Floyd?”
“He’s not so bad.”
“I was going to ask him if he’d be willing to provide the food for the open house, but I’m not sure how to approach him.”
“I got to know him a little, and I think he’d do it. I’ll ask him, if you want.”
Paige squinted and pursed her lips. “Okay, ’fess up. How is it that you get along with that old grump? No one else does.”
She didn’t respond right away, wondering if she should reveal what Floyd had told her about himself, even though he hadn’t told her not to say anything.
“Well?”
“I don’t know if you know this or not, but Floyd used to be rich…very rich.”
“Really?”
“And he was once homeless. In that order.”
“What happened?”
“Years ago, his wife and daughter were killed…murdered.”
“Really.”
“And he spent years and a lot of money trying to find out who did it.”
“Did he ever figure it out?”
“No.”
“Interesting. Wait a minute! Combs. I remember that case. It was the same year as the JonBenét Ramsey murder, and even some of the details were similar.”
“That’s the one.”
“How dreadful. No wonder he’s so grumpy all the time. How did you find all this out? You dealt with him just that once, right?”
“Twice. And then I bought lunch from him yesterday, and we talked some more.”
“If you can get along with that man, you can get along with anyone.”
After they tidied up the conference room and locked up, Paige walked Jessivel to her car.
“See this car?” Jessivel asked. “For a period of time, after Dad died, I lived in it…with Kayla. That was when I was coming to your soup kitchen. Every morning I woke up in that car, I felt like someone had stabbed me in the stomach with a knife. I was angry, frustrated, and feeling like a complete failure.” Jessivel teared up. “Floyd and I have that in common.”
They gave each other a hug that lasted long enough for Jessivel to realize how lucky she was to have Paige in her life.
“We better go,” Paige said. “They’re predicting a big thunderstorm coming through, and that sky looks awfully ominous right now.”
Feeling good about the day and about herself, Jessivel headed home, eager to kick off her shoes and watch a little TV before going to bed.
She hadn’t driven more than a mile when it started to rain—one of those lashing downpours that causes trees to take on new shap
es and drivers to have difficulty staying in their own lane. Jessivel gripped the steering wheel with both hands and slowed to twenty miles per hour while the windshield wipers swiped full pelt to keep up with the torrential rain.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in her car’s headlights. She pumped the brakes and stopped just in time to avoid hitting the woman who then stared at Jessivel through the downpour on the windshield. It took a moment for Jessivel to recognize her from the funeral service. It was Paige’s sister, Natalie.
She rolled down her window, allowing sheets of rain to slap her in the face. She yelled to her. “Natalie! It’s me, Jessivel. Get in the car!”
The woman remained frozen, her hands resting on the hood of the car. Maybe it wasn’t Natalie after all. Now, she wasn’t sure—the drenching rain obscured her vision.
Long seconds passed without the woman making so much as an eye blink. Jessivel rolled up her window, unbuckled her seatbelt, put on the emergency flashers, and braved the weather until she reached her.
“Natalie, is that you?” she asked her.
The woman nodded.
“Come with me into the car,” she shouted as chards of rain pelted her in the face.
“I can’t,” she said.
“Yes, you can.” Jessivel took her by the arm and led her to the passenger door, the rain pounding their backs. Once she had Natalie inside and the door closed, she ran around to the other side of the car and sidled into the driver’s seat.
“Are you okay?” she asked her as she swiped the water off her own face. “Where were you headed?”
Natalie responded in a shaky voice, her stare focused on the dashboard and her words nearly drowned out by the rain hammering against the car’s roof. “Paige’s office. I ran out of gas.”
“She’s gone for the day now. Where do you want me to take you?”
Natalie didn’t respond.
“Do you want me to take you to the motel where you’re staying, Natalie?” she asked.
Still no response.
“Where’s your car? Is it in a safe place?”
Natalie shrugged.
“Would you like to come home with me?”
Natalie turned to face her. “Could I?”
Jessivel put the car in gear and headed toward her apartment, holding her breath whenever the beams of the headlights disappeared behind a sudden downburst. She pulled up to a stop sign and looked over at Natalie—head hung down with a steady stream of water dripping from her hair into her lap—not sure what she was going to do with her once she got her into her apartment.
The rain had let up some when they arrived at Jessivel’s apartment complex. Once inside, the first thing she did was retrieve an outfit from her closet she thought would fit Natalie. “Here, try these on. And then I’ll run down to the laundry room and throw our wet clothes in the dryer.”
When Natalie emerged from the bedroom in the dry clothes, Jessivel asked her if she was okay.
“I’m okay. But my Mom’s house isn’t,” she responded, her eyes downcast and her arms crossed over her stomach.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s been trashed.”
“What happened?”
“Someone broke in looking for Mom’s jewelry.”
“How do you know this?”
“Because I took them there to do it.”
Chapter 47
Paige had just showered, changed into her pajamas, poured herself a Scotch, and turned on the TV when Jessivel called to explain what she’d just been through with Natalie, including telling her that their mother’s house had been trashed.
“Natalie told me she owes money to a really bad character,” she told Paige, “and he and some other guy came to her motel room and threatened her until she told them about your mom’s jewelry.”
“Not again!”
“She told them she didn’t know where it was in the house, but they forced her to take them there. They held her captive while they ransacked the house and threatened to hurt her if she didn’t come up with the jewelry, money, or something they could pawn to cover the debt.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes.”
“Keep her there. I’ll get dressed and go over to the house.”
On her way to her mother’s, enraged at yet another manifestation of her sister’s imprudence, Paige called 9-1-1 to report the incident. Since they had not been made aware of it already, Paige figured Natalie must have successfully turned off the alarm system within the thirty-second window of them entering. Now, Paige felt stupid for not having changed the passcode after kicking Natalie out of the house. But how had she gotten in the house? Paige had confiscated her door key before dropping her at the motel.
The cool, damp October air made it feel colder than the actual temperature. Paige turned on the car heater to stop her shivering. She seethed over Natalie’s behavior and didn’t care how many demons she was facing. If anything valuable had been taken, like her mother’s jewelry, Natalie would have to be held responsible.
The police flashers could be seen two blocks from her mother’s brownstone. Paige parked as close as she could and rushed to the front door, where she was met by a policewoman.
“You can’t come in here,” she was told.
“I own this house,” Paige explained. “I called in the break-in.”
Paige showed the officer her ID and was allowed to enter, but not before she noticed a broken sidelight panel adjacent to the front door, the likely entry point for Natalie and her “friends.” She glanced up at where she and the alarm system technician had discussed installing the security camera, work that had been scheduled for the following day.
The interior had indeed been trashed. Furniture was turned over, cushions strewn around, drawers and cupboards emptied. She asked if she could go upstairs to her mother’s bedroom.
A policeman greeted her at the top of the stairs.
“I’m Paige West. I own this house. I’d like to see if the burglars touched the safe.”
The officer accompanied her into her mother’s bedroom closet where Paige lifted the carpet square and unlocked the undisturbed trapdoor to her mother’s safe.
“I’m going to take this stuff with me, if that’s okay,” she told him, referring to the contents of the safe.
“Let me get a photo of everything first,” he said. “Did you check in with the officer downstairs when you came in?”
“Yes.”
He snapped photos of the safe contents along with one of Paige and asked her if she would walk the premises with him to see if anything was missing. When she determined that nothing was, she contemplated telling the officer that her sister had been present during the burglary but then decided against it. She wanted to hear the details directly from Natalie first.
Once the officers were gone, she texted Jessivel.
r u still up? if so, pls call me
Jessivel wasted no time in calling her back.
“Where’s Natalie?” Paige asked.
“Lying down on my daughter’s bed.”
“Can she hear you?”
“No, the door is closed.”
“Do you know how she got away from these guys?”
“When they didn’t find what they wanted, she told them that she had her mother’s ATM card in her car and would withdraw as much as she could for them, so they took her back to her motel to get it. Once in her car, she slammed the door on one of the guy’s hands and then sped off. She said she was driving to your office for help when she ran out of gas and abandoned the car in some parking lot. Then the rains came, and that’s when I almost hit her.”
“Can you peek in and see if she’s asleep or awake? I’d like to talk to her. No, wait. Never mind. I’m going to come over. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
“I have to wait for the handyman to come and temporarily fix the window where they broke in, and then I’m on my way.”
“Okay.”
“Jessivel?”
/> “Yes.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this.”
“No problem.”
Jessivel opened the door for Paige and gestured toward Kayla’s bedroom.
“Tell me who you owe money to,” Paige said to Natalie. “I’ll pay them. Anything to get them off your back and out of Mom’s house.”
“It’s a him, just one guy. I don’t know who the other guy was.”
“Whatever. I’ll pay him off.”
“Where’s her jewelry?” she asked.
“What difference does it make?”
“I just want to know. And half of it’s mine anyway.”
“Are you kidding me? Tell you what, I’ll send you a bill for the damage to her house first, so we can subtract that expense from the half you think is yours. Oh, yeah, and the cost to change the locks. And the new security system. Now, tell me how to get in touch with this guy.”
Natalie reached into her purse and handed Paige a crumpled piece of paper with a phone number written on it. Paige went into the living room to make the call.
“I will send you a certified check for the money my sister owes you. Just give me an address.”
“Right. You want my Social Security number, too? Cash only, sista, and in person.”
“Fine. Meet me at the McDonald’s on Grand and Lincoln tomorrow morning at ten o’clock. You’ll have your money,” Paige said, surprised at her own courage, or “balls” as Jessivel would have put it.
“That’s not how it works. We’ll call you with the time and place. I have your number.” The man hung up.
Apparently, Paige wasn’t dealing with some amateur thug with whom she could call the shots. That scared her.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You’re not going to meet this guy alone, are you?” Jessivel asked.
“He’s going to call me with a place and time.”
“You can’t do that. It won’t be safe.”
“Let me see what he says first.”
Paige went back into the bedroom to get more information from Natalie. “What kind of guy is this? A hardcore criminal? Is he dangerous? What if I give him the money and he doesn’t stop there?”
The Ring Page 26
