After All (22 page)

“
Yeah, but it's a start. At
least you called a cease fire for a while. This Thanksgiving may
actually be nice.” Michelle smiled at the prospect.

“
Don't count on it.” Dominic
eyed her mischievously. “Now I'm going to get in your business. You
and Anthony are back together I hear.”

“
We've been seeing each
other again,” Michelle said.

“
Uh-huh. Like spending a
weekend together. Thought I didn't know about it, didn't
you?”

“
You've turned into a
gossip, too?” Michelle chided him.

“
Never mine about me. Does
Dad know?”

“
We haven't talked about it.
I don't know. But he never had anything against Anthony.” Michelle
shook her head.

“
Still, don't get your hopes
up about a warm family holiday season.” Dominic's face became grim.
“No cease fire has been called over there.” He pointed towards
their parents' home.

Michelle's smile faded. “He and Mama
lead separate lives in that house. I swear I hate to be around when
they're in the same room.”

“
I wish I knew what's up
with them.” Dominic sighed.

“
Whatever it is, it’s gotten
worse over the years.”

Michelle stared remembering the happy
family outings of her early childhood. Then she turned six, Dominic
was born three months later and things changed. Smiles and hugs
between their parents turned to sullen silences. Muffled, angry
voices came from behind closed doors.

“
And Ike Batiste and his
rotten trick seemed to set them at each other’s throats even
more.”

“
But that was a long time
ago. Dad's back on his feet and doing better than ever in business.
You'd think they would have worked it out by now.” Dominic threw
the empty soda cans in the large kitchen trash can.

“
Maybe if Daddy wasn't so
cold.” Michelle spoke to him over her shoulder.

“
All I know is, it's not
getting any better.”

“
Every year it seems to get
worse. I don't know what to do.”

“
Chelle, I don't think it
has anything to do with us.”

“
Now you sound like Brian.
This is getting spooky, man.” Michelle grinned at him. “I'll be
believing in alien abductions if you keep this up.” She ducked a
balled up paper towel aimed at her head.

“
Very funny.”Dominic sat
next to her. “Seriously, don't get your hopes up that things will
change between them. Like I said don't expect--”

“
A warm family holiday,”
Michelle finished for him. “I know.” Michelle took a deep breath.
“At this point, I'd be satisfied with room temperature.”

***

“
So tell me about
Thanksgiving dinner with your sweetie.” Shantae sat down and
immediately stood again. “I'm so sick of finding these things all
over the place.” She picked up a toy super hero action figure from
the loveseat cushion and threw it across the room. It landed in a
big toy box set against the wall.

They were in Shantae's small living
room. Sounds of mortal combat came from the bedroom where her
little boy played an electronic game with Laree. Laree gave a whoop
of surprise. Then there was a childish snigger of
triumph.

Laree came into the living room. “That
kid is brutal. He whipped my butt without breaking a sweat. I used
to change your diapers young man,” she yelled over her
shoulder.

“
I told you so.” Shantae
waved at her to sit down. “Now hush. Michelle's going to give us
the scoop on the holiday with her honey.”

“
There's not much to tell.
His mother cooked a delicious dinner, we talked, and that was it.”
Michelle lifted a shoulder.

“
And you got along with his
uncle? Will wonders never cease,” Laree said.

“
His uncle wasn't
there.”

“
He didn't invite y'all to
come over?” Shantae chimed in.

“
No. Anthony decided we
should spend the Thanksgiving with his mom.”

“
Uh-huh.” Shantae gave Laree
a look.

“
What?” Michelle glanced at
them.

“
Nothing.” Shantae picked at
her blouse.

“
Nah, you've got something
to say so say it.”

“
You can't avoid the man
forever. He's not just his uncle, he practically raised Anthony,”
Shantae blurted.

“
You're putting off the
inevitable,” Laree added.

“
Yeah, you might as well get
used to seeing a lot of Uncle Ike and learning to deal with him,”
Shantae said.

“
Listen, we're working
through our differences. Remember we haven't been back together for
very long. We need to take things a little slow. It's way too soon
for us to be spending time with his uncle.”

“
That's a good point.” Laree
nodded.

“
Typical, Laree. You switch
sides at the speed of light,” Shantae snorted in
exasperation.

“
Hey, I have the ability to
see all sides of an issue,” Laree said in a huffy voice.

“
Anthony and I agreed to
wait a while before we visit Ike.”Michelle continued ignoring their
bickering.

“
But your feelings about the
man haven't changed.” Might as well get it over with.”Shantae shook
a finger at her.

“
Anthony doesn't expect me
to hug Ike to my bosom and start calling him uncle. I'll make
occasional brief duty visits, be polite during said visits, and
that will be that.” Michelle lounged on the couch.

“
You are going to bite your
tongue around Ike Batiste? Video tape those visits for me please,
because that's the only way I'll believe it.” Shantae
tittered.

“
She's right, Chelle. Steam
comes out of your ears at the mention of his name,” Laree
said.

“
Don't worry, honey. I've
got it under control. When we go over there Christmas Eve.”
Michelle smiled at the shocked expressions.

“
Get outta here!” Shantae
shouted.

“
You're joking!” Laree's
mouth hung open.

“
His uncle called while we
were at Anthony's the other night. He asked to speak to me and
that's when he invited us over.”

“
You said yes?” Shantae
sputtered.

“
Sure did.” Michelle
examined her fingernails nonchalantly.

“
I think that's wonderful,
Chelle. Anthony must be happy about you two getting together.”
Laree gave her an approving pat on the shoulder.

“
Wait a minute; we're not
going to be kissin' an huggin' getting together. I'm doing this for
Anthony.”

“
But I'm sure Anthony hopes
this is the beginning of you and Ike being on good terms. And it
just could be.” Laree, ever the peacemaker, beamed at
Michelle.

“
Not hardly. Like I said,
I'm only doing this to avoid tension. Anthony doesn't expect me to
be friends with his uncle. He knows better. We have an
understanding.”

“
Um-hum. I can't wait to
hear about your Christmas.” Shantae rubbed her hands in
anticipation.

“
I'm sure your visit is
going to be very nice, Chelle,” Laree chirped.

“
It will be brief
hopefully.” Michelle sighed.

“
Have mercy. Talk about
walking into the lion's den.” Shantae stared at Michelle in
wonder.

“
Don't worry I can take care
of myself. Ike Batiste doesn't scare me.” Michelle lifted her
chin.

“
I meant him, sugar,”
Shantae said with a devilish snicker.

***

“
What do you think?”
Michelle watched their faces for any sign.

Jason, Nathan, and Lockport still
stared at the small screen even though the taped segment had ended.
The technician continued to turn dials and adjust the elaborate
equipment in the viewing room. No one spoke for several minutes
causing Michelle to squirm with nervous energy, yet she kept quiet.
Nathan sat scratching the stubble on his chin. He tipped the swivel
chair back. Jason stood with his arms folded alternately glancing
at Lockport then back at the monitor. Lockport seemed to be
somewhere else mentally. His eyes were focused on some distant
point on the ceiling.

“
You've got the work orders
you referred to, right?” Nathan began to rock in the
chair.

“
Yes. Copies actually.”
Michelle bit her lip.

“
Wonder if that's considered
public record?” Lockport asked no one in particular.

“
I checked with legal. It
is,” Michelle said.

“
Starting kind of slow I
think. I mean, so a few repairs haven't been done.” Jason
shrugged.

“
But contractors are getting
paid a great deal of money for those repairs.” Michelle tried to
keep the irritation from her voice.

“
They could say the
residents did the damage after the repairs were made,” Nathan
said.

“
The tenants have been
reporting the repairs in writing. I randomly chose six sites months
ago. The work orders are kept in the maintenance supervisors file
until they're marked completed and the invoice has been paid. I
have copies of the tenants’ requests and the work orders showing
the contractors were paid. And those are the sites I went back to
video tape after my source gave me copies of the work
orders.”Michelle tapped the table with each point.

“
Okay fine. Some small time
operators are ripping off the system. I figure this is good for
one, two segments tops. I thought you had evidence linking people
at the top to all this,” Jason said.

“
I do. Batiste is very cozy
with Charlotte Kinchen. His company is the main contractor. I'm
betting those two are getting kickbacks.” Michelle looked at Nathan
and Lockport.

“
Proof?” Nathan turned to
her.

“
No, just adding two and
two.”

“
I still think it's not the
big expose' she said it would be. Stick with the repairs; and do
two stories is my vote.” Jason leaned towards Lockport.

She leaned towards him, too. “That's
the tip of the iceberg, Mr. Lockport. It's all connected with
widespread scams. If we drop it, one of our competitors will take
the ball and run with it.” Michelle could see Nathan's lip twitch
with amusement at her use of Lockport's favorite sports analogy.
“After working on this thing for months, I can tell you the big
story is just beneath the surface. It won't take them long to hit
pay dirt.”

“
Strong indications of other
wrongdoing?” Lockport faced her.

“
Drug dealing and extortion
by Housing Authority employees. Every time I follow-up on one
thing, something else comes out.”Michelle knew she had him
interested.

“
Tenants are willing to
speak out?” Nathan said.

“
Not on camera, they're too
afraid. But they don't have to. I found out a lot of the employees
in the maintenance department are ex-cons. Most were convicted of
drug offenses and assault. Some while employed with the
Authority.”

“
What do you think?”
Lockport turned to Nathan.

“
Michelle has done a helluva
job here gentlemen. With what I'm hearing from my friend in the
DA's office, she's on target.”

“
You should share any
information about possible crimes with the district attorney.
Certainly we have a duty to notify the proper authorities.”
Lockport looked back at the monitor.

“
Of course, Mr. Lockport.”
Michelle nodded in agreement. She smiled at Jason.

“
It would be a real coup for
us if your report leads to action by the district attorney.”
Lockport was already seeing the ratings jump in his head. His eyes
gleamed at the prospect.

***

Twenty minutes later Michelle worked
furiously to organize her notes and thoughts. The newsroom was
decorated with fake holly. Plastic garlands were strung around
doors and along the top of the walls. A small Christmas tree stood
in a corner with blinking lights of different colors. Its pine
fragrance filled the room. Even amid the hustle to get ready for
the next news broadcast, there was a holiday mood in the air.
Christmas music came from a portable cassette on top of a
bookcase.

“
You can't be stopped,
tiger. I hear you got it goin' on.” Earl grinned at
Michelle.

“
Yeah, truth and justice
will triumph.” Michelle grinned back. Her desk was covered with
papers. The laser printer was spitting out the results of her
recent labor.

“
Hey, Earl. Like that piece
you did on Christmas savings clubs.” Gracie sat with her feet up on
a desk drawer pulled out.

“
Tis the season. Next will
be a piece on toys. Got some rug rats lined up to test which toys
are favorites.”

“
Little Earl, Jr. included
I'm sure.” Gracie laughed.

“
Nah, these are four to ten
year olds. Little Earl's only nine months. Give him a spoon and a
sauce pan to beat on, he's in heaven.” Earl turned to Michelle. “So
tell me, Toussaint.”