Black Hearts Dance

by Gerald Lopez

  “In nearly every old photo I’ve found of Javina she’s holding a journal,” Shannon said. “I’ve been looking for them as long as I’ve been researching Carson Court.”

  “Shit!” I said. “It’s one roadblock after another. Someone or several someones tried to cover their tracks. Mrs. Carson, you knew your grandparents—did they ever mention anything about what happened?”

  “Never,” Mrs. Carson said. “My grandmother seemed well enough around us and she was a kind and loving woman when I knew her, but people were always concerned about her mental state. To me, it seemed as if she’d forgotten about that time in her life except for when the nightmares came and she would scream out horribly.”

  “What would she scream out?” Forrest said.

  “I can’t quite remember,” Mrs. Carson said. “There was always ‘no’ then something else, but grandmother’s words usually came out garbled. I do remember right before she died she spoke to me.”

  “What did she say?” Shannon said.

  “She talked to me about how difficult life can be for a woman, even one that tries hard to be good. And that life could be just as difficult for people who are caught between two worlds… not belonging completely to one or the other. That those people needed love even more than others.”

  “Who did you think she was talking about?” I said.

  “My grandmother always worked with groups trying to help black people gain the same rights as whites. She was also friends with the Delilah who was around town when I was younger and who was definitely mixed race, so I always assumed she was talking about them.”

  “Did she say anything else?” I said.

  “Only to be sure to always love my grandpa and Uncle Marcus with all my heart because they had loved her and loved me and my brother. But, it wasn’t hard to love those two men. They always made us feel so loved.”

  “Did Marcus ever have a family of his own?” I said.

  “No,” Mrs. Carson said. “He moved into Carson Court at eighteen, after his parents died. Grandma was the only family he had left and his piano playing seemed to calm Grandma when her mind got cloudy at times.”

  “Interesting,” I said.

  “What do you mean… interesting?” Mrs. Carson said.

  “I mean I wonder which of those three went to the Black Hearts Dance. Your uncle, your grandfather, or your grandmother.”

  “That’s a big leap to make there, isn’t it, Layton?” Forrest said.

  “It’s not, in my opinion,” Shannon said. “Since I’ve been here, the one thing that keeps popping and is common to both murder mysteries is the Black Hearts Dance.”

  “Your grandmother certainly seemed to want to help the black people in this area, Mrs. Carson,” Forrest said. “With all due respect, Ma’am, could she have had a personal reason for doing it?”

  “Anything’s possible I suppose,” Mrs. Carson said. “But my uncle could’ve found solace at the dances, maybe even met a woman and kept her there. Unfortunately, in that day there was no way he could ever bring a black mistress or wife into the house.”

  “What do you think, Layton?” Forrest said. “You seem millions of miles away.”

  It seemed that way because I was miles away and lost in thought. I’d been trying to picture the cast of characters and see how they related to one another.

  “Something doesn’t make sense,” I said. “It’s not coming together in my mind. We have Javina Morelle and her two brothers, one of whom was retarded and whose body we probably just found. Then we have someone who called herself Javina Morelle who returned to town years later after having lived abroad. The mother always claimed it wasn’t her child. I’m thinking the real Javina never left this estate and was killed along with her brother. But so far that’s just my gut telling me that.”

  “It doesn’t sound too far-fetched to me,” Forrest said.

  “Shannon, I sure would like to see some of those pictures you found of the people in question,” I said. “Being able to put faces and names together might help.”

  “I’ll get those organized for you,” Shannon said. “But remember we still have the party tonight.”

  “Something happened involving the three inhabitants of this house—Mr. Thomas Carson, Veronica, and Marcus, but I’m not seeing it completely,” I said. “It’s just bits and pieces coming to me like a puzzle.”

  “Aren’t mysteries always like puzzles?” Forrest said.

  “At least you found a major puzzle piece when you discovered that body behind the wall,” Shannon said.

  “One big piece down,” I said. “But how many more to go?”

  Chapter 21

  Handling Things

  “I DON’T KNOW how many pieces there are to this puzzle, but I’m sure you can handle them, Layton,” Mrs. Carson said. “And I know Deputy Forrest will be happy to help.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Forrest said. “If you folks will excuse me, I need to check on what’s happening back at the main house. Ms. Henry, I appreciate your help, but I was told you were here researching the second set of circumstances surrounding the death of Mrs. Carson’s brother.”

  “Rory told me he’d be speaking to his big brother the deputy,” Shannon said, then smiled. “Call me Shannon. And your information is correct. However, once I began one investigation it led me to the first murders—the twins. I’ll be happy to continue to help in any way I can, but I need to get my outfit ready for tonight. If you’ll walk me to the guesthouse before you go, Forrest, we can talk a little on the way there.”

  “That sounds good,” Forrest said. “Mrs. Carson I’ll see you later. Layton,” he nodded my way and I returned the nod.

  Once they were gone, Mrs. Carson stood up and wrapped her arm around mine.

  “Be kind to an old woman, and walk me to the pool house,” Mrs. Carson said.

  “I’m always kind,” I said, “but I don’t see an old woman anywhere.”

  Mrs. Carson laughed. “You know you and Alex don’t have to let me stay on at Carson Court, Layton. But I’m glad you’re letting me rent the guesthouse. Quite frankly, you don’t need to keep the name Carson Court either.”

  “The name stays,” I said and started walking toward the pool house. “And you sort of strong-armed me into letting you pay rent. Alex and I would’ve let you stay for free. Why are we heading to the pool house?”

  “I need to check on something… and—”

  “And what?” I said. “Are you worried about something we might dredge up in our investigation?”

  “No, the past can’t hurt us,” Mrs. Carson said. “It’s the present that matters. Layton, what’s your impression of Deputy Forrest.”

  I grinned, then spoke. “He’s very easy on the eyes, Ma’am. Alex and I looked out a window and watched him walk up to the house when he arrived. We both appreciated his beauty as you would say. I have to say that I was surprised to hear he’s single.”

  “His last boyfriend was a very bad man,” Mrs. Carson said. “He was a user and a ne’er-do-well who was dealing drugs on the side as well as cheating on Forrest.”

  “Forrest doesn’t strike me as a dumb man,” I said. “How could he not know?”

  “That ex of his managed to fool even the general and me in the beginning. He was very good at manipulating people.” She stopped at the spot in the lawn where the twin’s bodies were found years ago. “I know I can trust you not to repeat what I’m about to tell you, Layton. Well, you can tell Alex but that’s all.”

  “You can trust him as much as me,” I said.

  “I know,” Mrs. Carson said. “Forrest took the breakup very badly. It didn’t help that he’d been completely fooled by his ex and it left him beaten down. He used to visit the general and me a lot at that time. You know how the general had a way with people. Forrest doesn’t care for sweets like you do, but he does love my chicken pot pie. When the general passed away Forrest watched out for me more than ever. He still comes over every Sunday for dinner and a game of poke
r.”

  “We need to continue that tradition… in the main house if you like,” I said. “With you as hostess, but you don’t have to cook.”

  “We’ll have to see what Charity thinks of that, since she’ll be living here too—with Linus.”

  “You really do like them, huh?” I said.

  “Yes, they’re very sweet and considerate,” Mrs. Carson said. “And I know Charity won’t mind letting me play hostess here and there.” She smiled. “Charity is a very reasonable and laid-back woman… intelligent too.”

  “Yes,” I said. “And she can spot a liar from miles away.” I chuckled remembering my time with her.

  “That is true,” Mrs. Carson said. “But, we’ve moved away from the point I wanted to make.”

  “Which is?” I said, then looked down at the ground. A plant was growing up from the telltale bump. I slipped my foot out of my flip-flop and brushed it against the plant.

  “Layton, I want you and Alex to make friends with Forrest. He needs good people he can count on to be there for him… besides, Rory, Maribelle, and me.”

  “You can count on us, Ma’am.” I bent down to pull up the plant but Mrs. Carson reached for my hand and stopped me.

  “The roots go down deep on that plant. Rory just cuts it with the pruning sheers. It’s very difficult to pull up and nobody ever digs in that spot.”

  “Never,” I said.

  “No. It’s not just because of the twins being found there. Just days after the bodies were discovered, a large tree was planted here in memory of the twins. It died years later after Elise was born, but the roots went deep, as I said, and when the workers we hired to dig out the roots found out about the bodies they wouldn’t continue their work in the spot. Rory sprays poison over the area regularly but still there are sprouts.”

  I put my flip-flop back on, gently led Mrs. Carson onward, and spoke as we walked. “Mrs. Carson, I’d love to keep the general’s office as is so the rest of the guys can come pay their respects.”

  “They’ve already paid their respects. I want you to get something clear in your mind, Layton Shayne. This home and estate wasn’t given to you by my family—your partner made a very generous trade for it so that the two of you could make a home here. It’s your home, furnishings included, that was the deal.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” I said.

  “Keep what you want, sell or give away what you don’t,” Mrs. Carson said. “I don’t need any of that old, heavy, furniture.”

  I chuckled, then spoke. “Everything’s happened so damn quickly here. Time can be such a funny thing. On the battlefield we were so busy on some days that we barely had time to breath. Other days things happened so slowly that you could sit back and watch the sun as it went across the desert sands. The one thing you could always figure on is that it’d never be what you expected.”

  “Things happen when they will,” Mrs. Carson said. “At their own pace and time. We can’t control that… as much as we might want to.”

  “Were the boys and I picked by the general and others to eventually move from the military and into working with the organization?”

  “The way you and your men were trained was different, and I know eyes were watching all of you as if waiting for the right time to recruit you for other projects. But, the general never talked shop with me. I had to pick up on the signals all on my own. Mind you, sometimes tidbits were put into the air for me to grab, but nothing was ever clearly spelled out.”

  “Alex sort of thought about the same thing I just mentioned, too. He’s a smart guy.”

  “Alex loves you a great deal, Layton. I can see it in his eyes.”

  “I know,” I said. “I love him just as much.”

  “Oh, I can see that too,” Mrs. Carson said, as we got to the fence surrounding the pool house. “Show me in, then go make that young man of yours feel special.”

  ONCE I was back at the main house, I looked around for Alex until I found him in the general’s office looking through a book while standing in front of the bookshelves. After I entered the room I shut the door behind me, walked up to Alex, hugged him from behind, and began kissing the side of his neck.

  “Mmm,” I said. “I really can’t ever seem to get enough of you.”

  “Ditto,” Alex said. “I finished taking pictures for Forrest, then had an idea about something and came in here. I hope you don’t mind me looking through the general’s things.”

  “I was just reminded, by the former owner, that this is our house—as is everything in it.”

  “That was nice of Mrs. Carson to say,” Alex said. “I didn’t want you to think I was disrespecting the general’s space.”

  “You’re not,” I said. “No need to walk on eggshells around here. It’s our home and Mrs. Carson is right we need to make it our own. As long as you don’t paint the walls pink or the floors black, I’m good with whatever you want to do. Do you think I can use this room as my office? I’d actually like to leave it pretty much as is, but add a filing cabinet or two.”

  “That sounds fine to me,” Alex said. “This room has a nice size closet too which could be useful to you.”

  “What was your idea—the one that brought you in here? I said, then finally let him go and went to sit on the sofa.

  “I was thinking about what we were talking about earlier,” Alex said. “Regarding the organization and the general. And I thought there might be a secret room or hidden panel in here which might hold the key to things, but so far I haven’t had much luck.”

  “Maybe not, but you are thinking like a detective,” I said. “We do make a good team after all. Where are Forrest and the rest of the gang?”

  “They were finishing up in the storage room last I checked.”

  “Mrs. Carson said I should find you and make you feel special,” I said.

  “We’d better get cleaned up first,” Alex said. “Then I have another idea. One that is significantly more fun than looking for hidden rooms.”

  Chapter 22

  Oops!

  BEFORE WE left the office, I told Alex what Mrs. Carson had said about how Forrest could use a couple of friends like us. Alex agreed that it would be good to befriend the deputy, then he rushed me back to our current room and ushered me into the shower. Once I’d dried off he handed me a robe. He had changed into one himself.

  “Are you naked under that?” I said, as I reached for the front of Alex’s robe. He pushed my hand away playfully.

  “Yes, but hang on a minute,” Alex said. “I discovered that the guest room next to us has a very large, specially built two man tub, that I thought we might explore together.”

  “Have I told you how much I just love your ideas?” I said.

  Barefoot, we made our way to the other guest room. I felt playful and nuzzled, kissed, and got all kinds of handsy with Alex the whole way. When we got to the guest room I pushed Alex against the wall next to the door, and kissed him with lots and lots of tongue. He didn’t hold back in his response, but was strong enough to stop long enough to open the guest room door. Before he even got the door open I’d gone back to kissing his neck. We’d been in the room a second or two when we noticed we weren’t alone.

  “Oops,” Alex said.

  “Whoa, daddy!” I said, as an automatic response to the person facing me. Forrest was naked as the day he was born in front of us and the man had the kind of body to stop a guy in his tracks. His arms and chest had just the right amount of muscle as did his strong-looking, hairy legs. The sprinkling of hair on his chest was salt and pepper like his hair. God had broken the mold creating the ass on this man, which was a masterpiece.

  “Layton, you did say I could use one of the guest rooms and Elise told me this one was free,” Forrest said.

  “Fuck, yeah,” I said in a daze.

  “Sorry, Forrest,” Alex said. “We didn’t know you were in here.”

  “If I’m in the way I can move,” Forrest said.

  “You’re moving even an inch away f
rom where you are right now is the last thing on my mind,” I said. “Judging by the looks of you, there must be a gym in the area.”

  “Yeah,” Forrest said. “I’d be happy to take the two of you with me one day, if you’re in need of a gym.”

  “We’d appreciate that,” Alex said. “Actually, seeing as how you’re naked we must be in your way.”

  “Oh, sorry about that,” Forrest said, then moved his hand to cover his impressive cock and heavy-looking balls. “I was about to shower, then indulge myself with a soak in that large tub. Hold on, that must be why you two came in here—to use the tub.”

  “That’s OK,” I said. “You go ahead, we can use it another time.”

  “No, listen, it’s your house, Layton,” Forrest said. “I’m only a guest here.”

  “No, I insist, Forrest,” I said.

  “If I may,” Alex said. “The both of you can have community bathing time as the Asians do. The tub is big enough for at least two people. Layton can take one end and you can take the other, Forrest.”

  “That’s a little intimate, don’t you think?” Forrest said.

  “Nah,” Alex said. “It’s done all the time in some countries, albeit in somewhat larger bathing facilities. Anyway, Layton’s already showered so he’ll be clean, and you were about to do the same. While you’re showering, Layton can run the water in the tub and get situated. And don’t worry, I’ll be here to play chaperone on the side.”

  “Are you OK with this, Layton?” Forrest said. “It’s kind of unusual.”

  “Hell, my whole life is unusual these days,” I said. “Besides,” I looked at Alex and pointed to him. “He’s the boss of all this.” I ran my hand down in front of my body without actually touching my body. Forrest laughed.

  “Fuck it,” Forrest said. “You’ve dealt with ghosts while you’ve been here, what’s an old deputy to deal with compared to that.”

  “Don’t knock yourself,” Alex said. “Layton and I think you blow the competition away. Be it ghosts, people, Greek gods, what have you.”