All I Want for Christmas (17 page)

“He’s been trying to get a date with me. A
little thing like marriage doesn’t stop old Dwayne from running
after women. I let him know I wasn’t interested at all and his ego
couldn’t take it.” Nedra scowled just thinking about him.

“So he gets the dirt on Carlos to get back at
you. To top it off, he talks to reporters. He’s a real lowdown
man.” Darcie Lee snorted in disgust.

Nedra brushed her hair from her cheek and
shook her head. “No, Mama, that doesn’t make sense. Dwayne is just
as ambitious as the mayor. He wouldn’t talk to the reporters about
something that could bounce back on his boss.”

“But he just couldn’t resist tossing a bomb
at you to mess up what you have with Carlos.” Darcie Lee chewed and
thought. “So, if Dwayne didn’t talk to the reporters, then
who?”

Nedra groaned and placed both hands over her
face. “A few minutes after Dwayne left, Rod walked out of his
office.

“Politics is a contact sport, sweetie.”
Darcie Lee ate the last of her toast. “Now what?”

Nedra drained her coffee cup and put it down.
“I don’t know.”

Darcie Lee straightened up the kitchen
despite Nedra’s objections. Then she retrieved her jacket, hat and
shoes. Seconds after going into Nedra’s half bath, she emerged
looking like the proper church lady again.

“
You two need to talk this
out,” she said. “Yes, I know, I’m no Yvonne Jacobs fan either, but
her son treated you with love and respect. And you’re miserable,
which means you love him.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “The
next few days will tell.”

“Tell what?” asked Nedra, trudging behind her
mother to the front door.

“If you’re going to let that little weasel
Dwayne ruin what you two kids have. Are you going to give him
exactly what he wanted?” Darcie Lee faced Nedra, her purse hanging
primly from the crook of one arm.

“Darcie Lee Morgan Wallace, you know exactly
what to say.” Nedra hugged her fiercely.

Chapter 11

Carlos kissed the top of Carly’s head and
watched her race back to the Santa’s Toy Shop display at the Mall
of Louisiana. Monday, Christmas Eve, and the place was packed with
last-minute shoppers. He tried to let the laughter around him
penetrate his dark mood, but it wasn’t happening. At least Carly
seemed not to notice. Luckily, she was too young to care about the
news, other than reports of Santa sightings.

Local television weathermen were pretending
to track Santa’s sleigh moving towards Louisiana, but Carlos and
his parents paid more attention to reports of political corruption
in the mayor’s office. The Baton Rouge media seemed thrilled to
have such a story in what was usually a slow news cycle.

Childish squeals of delight jerked him out of
his grim reverie. Carlos watched as Carly and at least ten other
kids rode a miniature train. She waved at him as the little red car
she rode in made a turn around the track. He envied the carefree
days of childhood and waved back. Then he spotted his business
partner wading through the crowd of shoppers. When Brian looked up
from his cell phone, Carlos waved to him as well.

“Hey, man. Doing your last-minute dash for
presents, huh?” Carlos laughed when his friend grimaced.

“I’m telling you, bru, this stuff sucks.”
Brian huffed out his frustration. Then he grinned and held up the
shopping bags he held in one hand. “Luckily, this hot saleslady
took me under her wing. Got everybody covered, except my uncle, and
I got her phone number, too. Merry Christmas, baby.”

Carlos shook his head. “I thought you were
spending Christmas with one or both of the twins.”

“That was Saturday night, man; now it’s time
to move on. Shelia is an older lady in her forties. She’s a perfect
combination; a widow with a decent job and no kids at home. I bet
she can cook, too.” Brian nodded.

“Daddy, look,” Carly called out. She rode in
the engine car of the train, turning a little steering wheel.

Carlos waved at her. “Good job, baby
girl.”

“You’re still doing the family man thing, I
see. Where is Ms. Right?” Brian glanced around.

“We hit a big bump after that story came
out.” Carlos gazed at Carly as she continued to have fun.

“Damn, that was cold. So you think she
snitched?” asked Brian. “I mean, you told me how mad she was at you
for not telling her. Then the story hit the street. That’s a big
coincidence if you ask me.”

“I think her boss got curious about me and
tapped his sources downtown to find out. I just don’t believe Nedra
would have gone to reporters.” Carlos had repeated this theory to
his parents at least a dozen times in the last twenty-four
hours.

Brian seemed to read his thoughts. “I’ll bet
your mama ain’t buyin’ it.”

“Yeah, well.” Carlos rubbed his jaw and
sighed.

“Look, I better head off. I’m going to pick
up this electric car for Bradley. My aunt and sister have been on
my back about not spending enough time with my kids. Humph, they
always got something to say. Never mind that me working hard helps
pay their doggone bills.” Brian snorted. “I deserve some fun,
too.”

“Right.” Carlos didn’t bother arguing. He
accepted Brian for who he was: self-absorbed and he spent a lot of
time pursuing his brand of fun. “Kids need attention more than
material things.”

“I’ll explain that to the family court judge
next time their mamas demand more child support. Let’s see how far
that gets me.” Brian gave a cynical laugh. He glanced at his cell
phone. “I gotta go, bru. I’m treating Shelia to lunch.”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, right. See you later.”

Carlos noticed that Brian
was wearing an expensive, black cashmere sweater. His partner
seemed suddenly flush with cash for shopping. A phrase from the
news article about his shop and the police raid popped into Carlos’
head.
The police suspected more employees
were involved in concealing the drugs and guns.

“No, I’m getting way too paranoid,” he told
himself.

The investigation linked only one of the shop
employees to the scheme. But how could he have gained access to the
shop so often without being seen? Carlos watched his friend and
business partner stride away. Then he took out his cell phone and
made a call to a fraternity brother, who happened to be a
successful private investigator.

****

On Christmas Eve, Nedra was in her office
waiting. She knew Rod would be in because he’d told her so. Tapping
one of her favorite ink pens on the desktop, she glanced through a
few files. Hearing footsteps, she felt certain it was him. Only a
couple of security officers roamed the halls and they had already
made their hourly walk through. She left her office, went to his
door, and knocked.

“Come in.” Rod looked up as Nedra opened the
door. “Why, it’s my super-dedicated assistant. I thought you took
today off, along with most of the folks in this building.”

“I did. Can we talk?” she asked, closing the
door.

“Sure. Have a seat. I can make us some hot
chocolate.” Rod started to rise.

“No thanks. I’m going to get right to the
point. Did you release the story about Carlos?” Nedra asked,
sitting down across from him.

Rod settled back in his red-leather executive
chair. He wore a somber expression and rested both hands on the
desktop. “The story wasn’t about Carlos, Nedra. It was about the
mayor’s abuse of power. The print article was long, and the example
involving your boyfriend was only a couple of paragraphs.”

Nedra held her temper in check, but barely.
“Okay, now back to my question.”

“I understand you’re upset…”

“You’re so right I’m upset, sir. Okay, that
little newsflash has caused problems between us, but his little
girl is in town for Christmas.” Nedra frowned at him.

“I didn’t know, but…”

“The diversion program is used with people
who don’t have a previous criminal record.” Nedra’s anger started
to pick up steam. “Naturally, none of that was mentioned by the
reporters on television or in the paper.”

Constable Davidson cut in before Nedra could
speak again. “I said the article wasn’t about Carlos Jacobs. Let me
finish. As you’ve figured out, I heard Dwayne’s little speech the
other day. But no, I didn’t rush to the media.”

Nedra raised an eyebrow. “Then how did it get
out?”

“I won’t pretend to be a saint, Nedra. I
could have used the information in my campaign. I did discuss it
with my strategy team. Obviously, one of them jumped the gun. I
wouldn’t have released this information so far ahead of the
election. I’m sorry the story hurt your relationship with the young
man.

“Carlos wasn’t convicted of a crime and there
was no evidence that he did anything wrong. But now it looks like
he’s a thug who got off because his mother is a judge.” Nedra
twisted her hands together.

Constable Davidson got up
from his desk and walked around to sit in the chair next to Nedra.
“My intention is not to hurt Carlos. But Judge Jacobs, the mayor
and their pals have been misusing their positions. By the way,
the
Daily News
investigative reporter has been digging for months. She
contacted me back in September. I wouldn’t be surprised if she
already knew about Carlos.”

“My mother is right. She told me politics is
a contact sport. So you’re going to go after Judge Jacobs?” Nedra
gazed at her boss.

“If she is involved in questionable
activities then her name will be mentioned. I’ll let Carlos know
you had nothing to do with that story coming out, though he may not
believe me.” He gave Nedra a paternal pat on the arm and went back
to sit at his desk.

She frowned. “No thanks. If we don’t survive
this, maybe it wasn’t meant to be. I should arrange for Dwayne’s
boss to find out he talked to me.”

Rod lifted one dark eyebrow and a slow smile
lit up his face. “Go for it.”

“But...” Nedra thought about Dwayne’s smarmy
expression. She smiled back at her boss and headed to her
office.

****

Later that afternoon at her apartment, Nedra
joined her sisters to wrap gifts. The annual tradition had started
six years earlier with Jarae and Gaylynn hiding their children’s
toys at their sister’s house. The smell of freshly baked cookies
and brewed coffee filled the air, but the holiday scents and sounds
had no affect on Nedra’s mood. The sisters’ usual lively banter as
they put together parts and wrestled ribbons was subdued.

“Well, look at the bright side,” Jarae said
as she sipped from her mug of pumpkin spice coffee.

Gaylynn stopped in the act of taking another
bite out of a gingerbread man cookie. “There’s a bright side to
losing the best boyfriend you’ve ever had on Christmas Eve?”

Nedra looked at her younger sister. “Gee,
thanks for making sure I remember why I’m so depressed.”

Gaylynn winced. “Sorry, I should have worded
that differently.”

“You should have kept your mouth shut,” Jarae
retorted. “As I was saying, the good thing is you won’t have the
in-laws from hell. Close your eyes and imagine family holiday
dinners sitting across from Judge Jacobs and her hubby. Five bucks
says when you open your eyes you’ll be feeling a lot better.”

Nedra burst out laughing in spite of her blue
mood. “You’re insane, Jarae.”

“I’m talking about a blessing in disguise.
You won’t have to deal with some other mess with ‘Da Judge’.” Jarae
put down her mug and started wrapping a boxed set of toy cars.

“I suppose it could be for the best that it
happened this early in our relationship,” Nedra replied.

Nedra sure didn’t feel like she was on ‘the
bright side’. At that moment it felt like the worst of all possible
scenarios. She heaved a sigh and blinked back a tear. The sisters
continued to wrap toys in silence for another ten minutes while
Nedra sat staring at a cute baby doll that was for Misha. The
Christmas she’d looked forward with Carlos and Carly had gone up in
smoke.

Finally, Jarae stood and marched over to the
coffee table. She snatched up Nedra’s cell phone. “Here. Call him.”
She held out the phone inches from her sister’s nose.

“I agree,” Gaylynn piped up. “You’ve let out
about fifteen gloomy sighs in the last hour. I’ve been keeping
count.”

“What about the ‘blessing in disguise’ talk?”
Nedra gazed at the phone in hope, but still didn’t touch it.

“Pure bull to try and make you feel a little
less horrible. Don’t give douche-bag Dwayne or Judge Wicked Witch
the satisfaction. Besides, a good man is hard to find.”

“She’s right, Nedra. You owe it to yourself
to at least try. Love will find a way,” said Gaylynn. Setting the
toy in her lap aside, she put her arm around her sister’s
shoulder.

Nedra took the phone and wiped a tear from
her cheek. “I have the best sisters in the known universe.”

“I have to agree,” Gaylynn joked and then
giggled.

“
And if you tell mama I said
she was right about something, I’ll slap you into next Christmas.”
Jarae pointed a finger at Nedra and went back to her task of
putting a huge, red bow on a present for her youngest.

“My lips are sealed.” Nedra hugged them both
and then walked into her bedroom. She hesitated a few seconds
before dialing. Carlos answered on the first ring.

****

Carlos paced around his living room. Glancing
at the clock on his smartphone, he made another lap around the
sofa. He looked out the window and then went to arrange a few items
on a bookshelf. Clearing his throat, he stood straight.

“I never should have even assumed you leaked
that story. Forgive me for being a stupid fool. I’m sorry and you
can slap me if you want for being a suspicious slug.” Carlos rubbed
his forehead. “Sounds appropriately apologetic, with a touch of
groveling.”