A Good Excuse To Be Bad (22 page)

 

W
hen I looked up, Justus was standing behind Elvis, his eyes on me. I placed the envelope in my back pocket. He didn't need to see this. I'd give it back to Elvis as soon as I could anyway.

“Elvis, you'll be late for your meeting if you don't leave now. We'll discuss this later tonight.”

He nodded and then turned to Justus. “You have a lovely church, sir.”

“Thank you.” Justus smiled. “And thank you again for bringing food tonight for the family.”

“One of our drivers will drop off some breakfast tomorrow morning as well.” Elvis walked toward the door, stopped, turned around, and looked at us. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” I said to him as he walked away.

He spoke to the armor bearers, then exited as quietly as he came.

“Angel, I need to talk to you,” Justus said.

I exhaled. I decided that I would not lie to him anymore. Something inside me wanted to come clean. “I need to talk to you, too.”

I took his hand and pulled him into an empty study room so no one could see or hear us.

Before I could tell him about the money and Big Faith's request, he said, “I can't be here tonight. I have a problem of my own.”

“A problem?” I gulped. “What kind?”

“It's Kelly. Nothing to trouble yourself with. I'll be back before the ladies leave, but I wanted you to know before I left why I had to go. I retrieved your mother so she could be here with you for moral support. You'll be okay.”

“My mom for moral support?” I chuckled. “Well, it was good while it lasted.”

“I'm sorry, but I have to go.” He kissed my cheek and then left.

“Justus?” I turned around and gasped.

Everyone stood in the doorway watching me. Mama shook her head.

I blushed. “Let's get back to the conference room, ladies.”

Everyone settled inside. Justus stayed around a few minutes longer to greet everyone. I was sure he would give me the 411 about his niece's situation later. I wished I had found time to do a small search on Kelly's boyfriend, because I didn't want Justus to leave. After this meeting, I would call Paige to see if I could contract her to check up on that guy. It's the least I could do for the help I've received.

 

 

Sugar Hill Community Church may not have been as large as Greater Atlanta, but we had our own small luxuries. The room was large. The mahogany chairs were wide, comfy, and new. The round mahogany conference table glistened and glowed, and the room smelled lemony fresh. A huge bowl of lemons and limes sat in the middle of the table. Mrs. Lewis had outdone herself.

I smiled and winked at Justus before he left, then remembered I wasn't supposed to be doing that anymore. His eyes widened and he smiled back. I lowered my head and located a seat on the other side of the table. I placed my note pad down, then gathered a few snacks from the buffet table and sat down.

Mama plopped down next to me with an empty plate. She watched the armor bearers nibble their food and sip their drinks with her arms folded. I nudged her to try to get her to stop. Tonight was not the time or place to be combative. We needed answers, alliances, and bail money. I eyeballed Mama to get her attention. She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and then returned to mean-mugging the ladies. She was not listening to me.
I'm in big trouble
.

About two minutes into our reception, Mama asked, “Have any of you ladies been to visit my baby in jail?”

I stood corrected. We were in hot water.

April, the youngest of them, coughed. Candace sat in the middle. I didn't notice how large her eyes were until Mama's question. I thought they would pop out of their sockets. I took note of that for some weird reason.

But the older one, the one who sat down first, Mrs. Loretta, she didn't seem surprised at all by Mama's question. She cleaned her mouth with a napkin slowly, lowered the napkin in her lap slowly, and then looked up at us and grinned.

“Your daughter hasn't included us on her visitor's list. We hoped that you would implore her to do so. We want to be of service and support to her wherever she is.”

“Mmhmm. I bet you do.” Mama leaned back in her chair, then mumbled another profanity.

I cringed.

“You don't have to bet in God's house, Mrs. Crawford. God has it all in control,” Mrs. Loretta added.

“No, get it right. I'm Mrs. Crawford Curtis Carter.”

Mrs. Loretta smirked.

I felt nauseated. I didn't think this meeting was getting anywhere.

“Is something funny?” Mama asked.

My neck felt uncomfortably hot. “No, Mama. Please.”

“No, darling. I'm stating our case. We are here because we wanted to pray with you and dine with you. We want to be of service and to help in anyway we know how. But your tone, which I understand is more fear and bereavement than anything else, is putting you in a place where God can't do His majestic work. I know you don't want that. I understand your concerns.” She glanced at the other armor bearers. “All of us do, sweetheart.” Mrs. Loretta possessed an old sultry southern voice that reminded me of Lena Horne. Come to think of it, she favored the legendary singer and actress, too.

“Thank you for understanding our challenge. But I have to ask—” I cleared my throat and patted Mama's hand. “Why do you think Ava didn't put you ladies on her visitor's list?”

Mama sneered. “Probably because they wouldn't answer her call when she contacted them from the stank tank at the jailhouse.”

“I beg pardon, ma'am.” Mrs. Loretta raised her voice. “I am called to service the First Lady. If she needed me, if she called me, I would have been there. I have committed myself to your daughter for my entire life, and that has not changed. I do not understand why you are being harsh to me. I have always been there for Lady Ava.”

“Then where were you the night she apparently needed someone to watch her kids, when she felt compelled to leave her home in the middle of the night? Where have you been all this time before this ridiculous mess? Had you not seen their trouble? Had you not seen this coming? What are you people good for? Aren't you supposed to protect my daughter? Oh!” Mama screamed, trembled, and then sobbed. “My baby. My baby. Oh God, take care of my baby. Please, Lord. Please heal my soul.” She turned to me and lowered her head on my chest.

The ladies gasped and jumped up to gather around us.

I held on to Mama and whispered, “Mama, calm down. She's coming home soon. I promise.”

I looked at April. She was crying, too.

I returned to Mama's attention. “Remember, Mama. They're here to help us. These women are going to help us set Ava free.”

“Help? They're a day late and a dollar short, if you ask me.” She cursed again.

I rubbed her shoulder. “Mama, could you please stop cursing? Your blood pressure,” I whispered. “First impressions and the cursing don't mix well.”

“You're right. Lord, forgive me. I sound like a slap fool up in here.” Mama lowered her head and shook her head. “Ladies, please forgive me. I've never cursed a day in my life.”

“Now you don't have to lie to the nice people,” I whispered.

She picked her head up. “I only curse when I'm scared. Okay? Is that better?”

“Sure, Mama.” I kissed her head.

Mrs. Loretta touched my shoulder. “Fear makes us do crazy things, sister.”

“Especially when a dead man is involved,” I said.

The other ladies Amen'ed in unison.

Candace said, “But Mother Crawford, you do have a point. We have failed your daughter.” Mrs. Loretta and April rolled their necks in her direction. She continued, “And I apologize for all of us.”

The others looked down, then nodded. Mama sat up.

“Candace, what do you mean when you say you didn't do your job?” I asked.

“Your sister entrusted us with protecting her. We knew she was in danger, spiritually speaking. We had no clue it was a real, physical one. But we knew that she was afraid of something.”

“Did she say she was afraid?”

“Her prayers said it all.” Candace looked at Mama, then at me. “They had changed from, you know, her normal requests—the kids, church business—to something more secret. I think the marriage was in trouble.”

“Candy!” Mrs. Loretta huffed. “We don't gossip. It's not our place to know everything that plagues First Lady Ava, and definitely not to assume anything about the marriage between her and the bishop. We pray. We assist. We're silent.”

“And your silence has murdered a good man.” Mama slid in that stinging remark.

Mrs. Loretta's mouth flew open. I think I stopped breathing. She just wouldn't stop. I didn't know why Justus brought her and then I remembered he based his assumptions about my mother on first appearances. He didn't know.

“Evangeline . . .” Mama stood and looked down at me.

I couldn't read her mind, but her calling me by my full first name told me that she was just as spiritually exhausted as I was over this mess. I watched her and wanted so badly to make things better, but I couldn't. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak.

She threw up her hands. “I apologize, baby. I'm a bit too sully tonight. I think I need to leave and let you all meet. I don't mean to offend you fine ladies. I'm just tired. I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon, you know.” She walked out.

I could hear her sobbing down the hall. I wanted to follow and comfort her.

Candace touched my hand. “We're sorry if we sound insensitive. We know you all are under great stress.”

I nodded. “Our mom isn't generally like this. She's usually nice to other people. It's her kids who experience her wrath. She's been holding all her frustration in. I suspect because she wants to appear in control in front of the children.”

April smiled. “We know. She's been to the church before. We know that her outburst was out of character. How are the kids?”

“They don't know about their mother or father.”

“Now that's very wise.” Mrs. Loretta held her folded arms across her chest tighter than the lids on Granny's old apple jelly mason jars. Her lips were pursed even tighter. I rolled my eyes at her, although I knew I shouldn't have.

“Before Pastor Morgan returns, could you tell me if, outside of prayer, you saw any evidence that Devon and Ava's marriage was odd?”

“Odd like how?”

“Abusive, adulterous . . .”

“No, ma'am. He wasn't either,” Candace said. “He was very sweet to her.”

April raised her hand. “A little too sweet if you ask me.”

Mrs. Loretta snapped, “Child, you have not had the privilege of being loved by a good man, so please keep your insecurities to yourself. Thank you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don't call me that. I'm not a child, and I have a good man in my life.”

Mrs. Loretta scoffed. “I'm praying for the day your version of good changes.”

“I think we're getting off the subject,” I interjected. “What do you armor bearers do that helps Ava?” I asked. The last thing I needed was to be accused of inciting a cat fight in the church.

“We mainly pray with her and for her and anticipate her needs.” Candace walked toward the refreshment table and added more dumplings to her plate. “But like I said—in my spirit—I felt I should have done more.”

“How? And what qualifies you to do what you do anyway?” I asked.

Candace looked at the other women, then back at me. “You of all people should know that.”

“What do you mean?”

She blushed. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound disrespectful. What I meant was that you and Ava are twins. You almost share the same spirit, so I assumed you would know what it's like to be in sync with someone.”

I stopped her. “No, we weren't in sync. Ava's her own person, and so am I. I've lived with her longer than anyone in this world and I couldn't read her thoughts. And she definitely couldn't read mine.” I refused to share twin-intuition with them. That was not the same.

Something in my gut checked me. I looked up. “Let me rephrase that. When you're a twin like Ava and me, the last thing you want to be is a clone of the other. So you carve out your own identity. You share what you want to share. And you keep what you want to keep. From what ya'll just told me, Ava wasn't sharing her soul with you. She was telling you one thing and something else to you, April, and something else to Mrs. Loretta.”

April shrugged. “I was too new for her to share anything with me, but there was the woman I replaced. They were pretty close.”

“No, April!” Candace shouted. She bumped against the table by accident and dropped her plate. It crashed in bits around her feet. “Oh no.”

“Don't move,” Mama shouted. She had returned. My heart skipped. What would she do now? “I'll get it up.”

I smiled in relief. Mama couldn't stand a stain on floors. Good thing she didn't see Ava's house the night Devon died.

I returned to April. “Was that woman you replaced named Rachel?”

April nodded; the other women crossed their legs.

Mrs. Loretta asked, “How did you know about her?”

“I'm a reporter. It's my job to know things.”

“Used to be,” Justus interjected as he returned to the meeting. “False alarm. I'll be here after all. He cleared his throat and smiled. I tried hard not to smile back at him, but couldn't help myself. I was glad he was back.