After All (47 page)

“
Anthony, you realize this
might be bad for your Uncle Ike,” Michelle said in a somber
voice.

Anthony took a deep breath. “I
know.”

Michelle sat next Anthony. “I'm sorry,
honey. I wish I could have been wrong about Ike.” She worked her
fingers through the tight fist of his right hand. The tension
dissolved at her touch.

“
Thanks, babe.” Anthony
kissed her hand.

“
I hope all this is over
soon.” Michelle gazed at him. She wanted him out of danger more
than anything in the world.

“
I'm afraid there will be
more fireworks before that happens,” Anthony said. He wore a dark,
dismal frown.

Earl's face became grim. “You're right,
my brother. Don't count on those guys going out
quietly.”

Michelle felt a chill of fear at the
thought of more violence.

***

Michelle bit her lower lip when her
mother appeared to answer the door. “Hello, Mama.”

Annette embraced her but let go quickly
to lead her inside. “Come on in, sweetie.”

Michelle stood in her parents’ large
den for the first time in weeks. Her father, Brian, and Dominic had
taken turns urging her to see Annette. Now she was here, and had no
idea what to do or say. Her stomach churned with anxiety, guilt,
and a tinge of anger still.

Annette fussed about getting coffee. “I
fixed cafe au lait for you, baby. And voila.” She presented a
dessert plate with a flourish. “Beignets, made from Monmon
Chenevert's famous recipe.”

Michelle managed a thin smile. “That's
nice. ”She took off her light jacket and hung it in the small
closet.

“
Your show on the radio is
the talk of the town, honey. I've listened to it every week since
it started.” Annette handed her a cup. She placed two beignets on a
saucer putting them on the coffee table in front of
Michelle.

“
I'm glad you like it.”
Michelle took a small sip of the hot, smooth liquid. “So how are
you?”

“
Oh, fine. And you?” Annette
wore an eager to please expression. “I love that color on you. You
always look so pretty in that shade of green.” She patted the deep
emerald silk shirt Michelle wore.

“
Thanks.” Michelle looked
around the room to avoid meeting her mother's anxious gaze. “You've
changed the furniture around. I like it.”

“
Thank you,
dear.”

“
Gives the room a more open
look.”

Annette put her cup down. “The only
harmless small talk left is the weather, but then we'd be right
back where we started. You have a right to be angry with me,
Michelle. I've been a selfish, silly fool. Right?”

“
Mama...” Michelle started
but could not go on.

Annette wore a sad smile. “I know,
you're too respectful to agree. Can I at least try to explain?” At
Michelle's nod, she continued. “Thomas was always the serious type
when we were in high school. I guess it was because he had to work
to help his father support the family. I didn't have to do anything
like that you know. Even back then Ike was a fast talking
go-getter. While Thomas put his money in the bank, Ike bought
flashy clothes and a car. Ike ran with the ‘in crowd’ and I found
that exciting. To make a long story short, Ike and I had an affair.
When I caught him with another girl, we broke up. I started dating
Tommy, mostly to rub Ike's nose in the fact that I could get
someone else. But Tommy was so good to me; better than any boy had
been. I really began to admire him. We got married. After a few
years Tommy seemed more interested in working than spending time
with me. We argued a lot and, well you know the rest.”

Michelle's jaw tightened. “But why did
you do it, Mama?”

Annette gazed at her with moist eyes
full of misery.” Loneliness, vanity, I don't know. When Tommy found
out it was horrible. He looked at me with such disgust,” she said,
her voice choked with grief. “I swear, it never happened again. But
Tommy couldn't forgive or forget what I'd done. We stayed together
for a lot of reasons, none of them good. He never forgave me for
the affair. I struck back by telling him it was his
fault.”

Michelle looked at her mother in a
whole new light. What she saw was a vulnerable, sensitive woman who
had made a terrible mistake. Annette was no saint, but neither did
she deserve to be treated with contempt. Michelle put a hand on her
shoulder. “Have you ever tried talking about it without accusing
each other?”

“
No,” Annette said in a
quiet voice full of anguish.

“
Then maybe that's where you
should start. Daddy may want to hear you say how much you love him
before he trusts opening his heart to you again.”

Annette wiped her eyes dry. “After the
affair, I realized Tommy is twice the man Ike could ever hope to
be. But by then, I'd lost him.”

“
I don't think you lost him,
Mama.” Michelle embraced her mother.

“
Maybe we'll find a way back
to each other after all this time.”Annette clutched Michelle's
hand. “But can you forgive me? I can't stand the thought of losing
you, baby. I love you so much.

Michelle tasty salty tears flowing down
her cheeks. “I love you too, Mama. I love you, too.” She went into
her mother's open arms.

They talked for hours. For the first
time, they spoke openly of their true feelings. Annette shared the
pain of her mistakes with Michelle. Michelle confessed her
childhood fears of losing both her parents and the agony of
watching them hurt each other. Both felt strengthened knowing they
could lean on each other as they sought to mend old
wounds.

***

The shabby hotel formed a square
U-shape with faded orange doors facing inside around the parking
lot. The office sat at the end of one arm with four parking spaces
in front of a dirty plate glass window. Charlotte wrinkled her nose
in distaste as she eased her car past it to park in front of room
313.

As she walked to the room, the heel of
her expensive alligator pump twisted in the cracked
cement.”Dammit!” Charlotte examined the torn leather with a
scowl.

She knocked twice then three times
spaced apart. The curtains twitched slightly. The rattle of locks
being released followed several seconds later.

“
Hurry up and come in.”
Bridges stayed out of sight behind the door. He snapped the door
shut almost catching the hem of her skirt.

Charlotte sucked air through her teeth.
“Will you get a hold of yourself? I told you nobody knows you're
here. And you certainly could have found a better place to stay.
Lafayette has several decent hotels.” She glanced around at the
dingy carpet and tacky furniture.

Bridges sat in a faded brown chair next
to the bed. “That would be the first place they'd look. Or do you
want them to find me?” His eyes narrowed.

Charlotte dropped the irritation from
her voice. “Of course not, honey. You know how I feel about you. I
guess my nerves are raw with everything happening.” She sat on the
bed as close to him as she could. When she reached out to stroke
his arm, he moved away.

“
Did you bring it?” Bridges
got up and began pacing.

Charlotte pulled out a fat envelope and
handed it to him. “All of the files showing how Ike cut deals with
contractors, invoices that even that reporter didn't get her hands
on, the works. This is some pretty damaging evidence against me,
too. Are you sure the DA won't come after me?”

Bridges turned his back to pour whiskey
into a plastic cup. He downed some of it before facing her again.
“Baby, I told you I'd take all the blame. Just stick to the story
like we agreed. You trusted me because we had an affair. You had no
idea Ike and I were cutting corners.” He walked closer to her. “It
won't do your career any good.”

Charlotte leaned back on her arms and
kicked off her pumps. “Humph, better to be seen as a gullible,
infatuated woman than go to jail.”

Bridges stood over her. “Of course, you
were smart enough to help us find ways to beat the system. We could
never have done it without having someone on the
inside.”

“
What can I say? I'm a very
enterprising woman. Too bad that smart-aleck reporter had to stick
her nose in. We were doing very well.” Charlotte rubbed a sapphire
and diamond ring on one hand.

“
That deal with those
renovated houses especially profitable. We got paid twice. Big tax
breaks and renting them at a good price to middle-class tenants.
You were right about the rules being so loose. Nobody ever verified
we rented to poor families.”

Charlotte's mouth twisted into a sneer.
“Those dumb bureaucrats didn't even question us about it. That was
the best money maker.” Her face softened to a devoted smile. “I
helped you then, and I'll help you now, sugar. You can count on me
no matter what happens.”

Bridges sat down in the chair again.
His face hardened.”What about Lonnie? Don't bother lying,
Charlotte. I know about him and your affair with Ike.”

Charlotte massaged his thigh with long
fingers. She sat forward to let the neckline of her blouse reveal
more cleavage. “Baby, Ike was long before you. And Lonnie means
nothing. I just used him to find out what he was up to. He's been
out to get you from the beginning. You know that. It's always been
you that I wanted.”

“
You did it for me then?”
Bridges stared at her.

“
All for you and me,
sweetheart.” Charlotte's voice became husky.

Bridges sat forward just a little. “But
weren't you scared? I mean, Lonnie’s a very dangerous man. After
all, he murdered that Quarles kid.”

Charlotte got up to get a cigarette
from a pack on the dresser. “That's the kind of animal he is,
James. What else can you expect from somebody like him? Look how he
grew up. In a ratty shotgun shack over on 48th Street,” she
snorted.

“
So you knew Lonnie Mason
was going to kill Quarles?”

“
Are you kidding? You know
how Lonnie is. All mouth. He told me that and more.” Charlotte blew
a plume of smoke at the ceiling. “I could tell you plenty that
should help you get an even better plea bargain. You'll probably
only get a few months.” She switched on the radio and found a
station playing jazzy music. Wetting her plum colored lips, she
began to undulate to the beat while undressing. Soon she was down
to her bra and panties. “Then it's going to be you and me. Just
give me the location of the accounts. With what I've put away and
what you have, we should be living in style for years.”

Bridges began breathing heavily as his
eyes traveled down her soft curves. “Sure, babe. You and me. Just
let me freshen up.” He looked down at his shirt in embarrassment.
“I've been sweating like a pig for three hours afraid you wouldn't
come.”

“
Okay, but don't make me
wait for my man too long. I've missed the way you touch me.”
Charlotte puckered her lips at him. At the sound of the shower
behind the closed bathroom door, she turned to smile at her
reflection in the mirror. Her lips curved up in a satisfied sneer.
“Girl, you've got it going on.”

**

Anthony let himself into Ike's large
two story house with his key. The only vehicle in the driveway was
Ike's fancy pick-up truck. Even so, Anthony called out. When there
was no answer, he went upstairs. He opened the door to a large
bedroom dominated by a queen sized black lacquer bed. Moving
quickly, he searched through drawers then started going through the
large walk-in closet. A top shelf was piled with miscellaneous junk
including a collection of adult magazines. Anthony pushed it aside
and noticed an old gym bag stuffed way back into a corner. Using a
small step stool, he was just able to reach it. The bag contained a
small hand gun, a plastic sandwich bag of marijuana, and a purple
folder.

“
Well, well.”Marcus leaned
against the door frame of the closet.”Nice of you to drop by, cuz.
You lost something in my bedroom?”

Anthony held up the folder. “Is this
what I think it is?”

Marcus eyed the folder uneasily, yet
still put on a face of false bravado. “Gee, if you think it’s a
folder then you win a prize.”

“
Oh, it's more than just a
folder. It’s the folder you stole from Michelle's desk at Channel
Twelve.” Anthony opened it and flipped through several
pages.

“
Who me? Get serious. I've
never been near that station.”

“
You or one of your scuzzy
little friends. Same species of rodents.” Anthony grunted with
disgust.

“
You've been asking for an
ass whipping a long time,” Marcus said through clenched
teeth.

“
I knew you'd be too
arrogant or scheming to destroy it.” Anthony scanned the papers.
“Planning a little blackmail I'd bet.”

Marcus pulled a small gun from his belt
“Drop it right back in the bag. Now,” he growled. “This may be your
last time getting in my damn way.”

Anthony did as he was told. “The cops
are closing in, Marcus. Those invoices are the least of your
worries.”