All I've Ever Wanted (14 page)

A
aliyah was staked out across the street from the Underwood estate with camera in hand. Adrenaline raced through her veins and accelerated her heartbeat. She was moments away from a story of a lifetime.

As she waited, visions of being a guest star on the
Larry King Live
show danced in her head.

Time ticked on at a snail's pace. And it was minutes still before she remembered that there hadn't been another car parked in the driveway when she arrived.

She frowned, and then suspected that the unknown visitor had parked in Underwood's garage. Why hadn't she thought to check the garage? She
shook her head and answered her own question. She couldn't chance being caught. Lord only knew what they would have done to her. Her mind continued to reel over the wealth of information she'd learned. Her excitement waned at the realization that she was still missing a large piece of the puzzle. What had Underwood known about his ex-wife and this stranger?

“Most likely it's a crime of passion,” she mumbled, and then shook her head when she remembered what the man had said.
Underwood had contacted the FBI
. She pondered that for a moment. She needed to get her hands on whatever information Underwood had found. But how?

A sleek, black Mercedes rolled down the driveway. Aaliyah readied her camera to snap a picture of the driver.

She snapped a picture, but the car's tinted windows were rolled up.

“Damn.” She slung the camera into the passenger seat and started the car. She didn't come this far to lose her story now.

Aaliyah pulled her car out into traffic and followed the Mercedes.

 

FBI Agent Jonathan Mason had done his share of tough interrogations. He even had earned himself quite a reputation for being one of the best. But he
never entertained the thought that one day he would have to question his mother.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, entering the small room.

D.A. Judith Mason looked up with a weak smile. “Think nothing of it.” She waited until he sat down before continuing, “I have to admit, I'm a little curious of what this is all about.”

He tossed a thin manila folder onto the wooden tabletop between them. “I'm following up on a case. Sort of.”

“Sort of?” She crossed her arms. “Care to expound on that?”

“Well.” He leaned forward and braided his fingers. “Eight days ago, I got a strange phone call from the most unlikely person. He told me that he was in trouble and didn't know who else to call.” Jon studied his mother.

“Go on,” she encouraged.

He shrugged. “He also said that he had stumbled onto some information that the Bureau would be interested in. Putting my personal feelings for the guy aside, I listened. But he said that he needed more time. He wanted to get some more information together before coming in to see me. So he scheduled an appointment to come in and talk. Problem is, he never made it to that appointment. According to the autopsy report, he was murdered just hours after calling me.”

“Underwood?” she questioned.

Jon nodded. “One and the same.”

“Information on who—about what?”

“That's what I was hoping you could fill in.”

“Me? What makes you think that Marion would confide in me?”

“Same reason he wanted to confide in me. He was desperate.”

Judith leaned back in her chair and released a loud sigh. “I wish I could be of assistance, but I haven't a clue of what Underwood was talking about, or what he was involved in.”

“Have you found anything strange in his office records since his passing?”

“Nothing. And trust me I looked.”

“Why is that?”

Judith laughed. “We
are
talking about Marion, right?”

He conceded her point. “Well, it looks like I may never know what Underwood stumbled onto.”

 

Kennedy sat near the back of the bus and fidgeted nervously. She couldn't help but stare at every black male who got on or off the bus or wonder if any of them were one of Keenan's men. She had no illusions of how much power the gang leader wielded.

She needed a plan, she realized, but doubted that she would be able to come up with one that would
guarantee that she and her son would both get out alive. She needed more time to think things through. The problem was that she had no leverage. She had nothing her opponent wanted or needed, while he held everything that was dear to her.

Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to leave Det. Collier—Max—out of the picture. She could definitely use some help. Her thoughts lingered on Max for a moment longer. She couldn't defeat the wave of guilt that crashed down on her. She'd used him, plain and simple. What was even more terrible about it was she would do it all again if given the chance.

She remembered the kiss they had shared in his living room. She had sensed a real tenderness from him then and had felt a strong chemistry between them.

She shook her head. She couldn't think about that now. Right now she needed to figure out a way to sweet-talk Bennie for an advance.

After she'd arrived at her stop, she walked quickly to the diner and used her key to the back door.

“What the hell are you doing here today?”

Kennedy jumped at the sound of Bennie's booming voice. She pivoted with one hand covering her heart. “You scared the living daylights out of me,” she scolded.

“Whatever,” Bennie said, walking past her. “I have a million things to do.”

She followed him. “I need to talk to you about something important.”

“I can't imagine what could've brought you in here on the weekend.” He looked at her suspiciously. “If it's about requesting any more vacation time, the answer is no. I'm working with a skeleton crew as it is.”

“No, it's not that. I—I—”

“Spit it out. I don't have all day.”

“I need an advance.”

His gaze jerked as if she'd announced that she carried his child.

“A what?”

“Come on, Bennie. You know I wouldn't ask if I didn't really need it.”

He gave his head a hard shake. “You know the rules. If I gave you an advance, then everyone else will expect for me to do the same for them.” He shook his head again. “I'm running a restaurant, not a bank.”

Disappointment squeezed her heart. “I don't have anyone else I can ask. Please.”

Bennie frowned. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Kennedy thought about lying to him, but knew the truth would probably help her get the advance. “
Trouble
is a mild word for it.”

He studied her.

“You know I'm good for it.”
If I survive,
she wanted to add.

He still said nothing.

“No one will ever know,” she continued.

“Now that's what I needed to hear. How much are we talking about?”

Relieved, she wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this means to me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let's hold off on the celebration until I hear how much you need.”

“Two hundred should be enough.”

He gave her a worried look, then nodded. “All right.” He went to get the money from the safe. When he came back he asked, “Is that all I can do for you?”

She waited until he handed her the money. Then she said, “Well, I could use a ride to the bus station.”

 

Max's powerful punch left a large hole in the bedroom wall. How could he have been so stupid? Had this been her plan all along? Of course it was. And if he hadn't been so enthralled by the delectable Ms. St. James, he would have seen this coming a mile off.

He pivoted around the room, looking for a clue as to where she might have gone. Didn't she know what kind of danger she was in? She obviously didn't know how much power Lawrence carried on the streets. After yesterday's attack, she had to know that she wouldn't last a day out there on her own.

Max rushed to his closet and shoved on the first
garments his hands touched. He had to find Kennedy before Lawrence did.

Before he headed for the door, he went over to the phone beside the bed. He should call Scardino and report the latest development. His shoulders slumped at the thought. She wouldn't be thrilled by the news.

Exasperated by the realization that he really didn't have a choice, he snatched up the phone, and then froze. Instead of dialing his lieutenant's cell-phone number, he hit Redial.

M
ax cursed as he slammed the phone down. The line had remained busy for the last ten minutes. He needed to know the last number dialed. He called the operator. In seconds he had the number.

“Operator, what region does area code 901 belong to?”

She paused for a moment before responding. “I'm sorry, but you will have to call information for that, sir.”

“Okay, thank you.” He hung up and dialed 411 and asked the same question.

“I'm showing that's Tennessee, sir.”

“Tennessee? Uh, thank you.” He hung up and
rushed into the living room to retrieve the manila folder. Hadn't he read something about a relative in Tennessee?

Max scanned the contents until he found what he was looking for. “Jackpot. Grandmother: Alice Louise St. James resides in Memphis, Tennessee. I should have guessed that was where she would stash her kid.” He closed the folder and took it with him when he rushed out of the apartment.

Once in the car, he tried the number again on his cell phone. The line remained busy. Was Kennedy now on her way to Memphis, or had she just sneaked out as a way to avoid telling him what she knew? He shook his head. If she'd wanted to hide out in Memphis, she would have left with Tommy.

Unless Tommy hadn't reached his destination.

Max cursed. Why hadn't he thought of that? He tried calling her grandmother again. A ball of anxiety churned in his gut when a recording informed him that all circuits were busy and to try his call later.

 

Tommy watched the tall stranger who claimed to be a friend of his mommy's. He didn't like him. The man also made his great-grandmother nervous. He could tell by the way her lips wouldn't quite turn up all the way when she smiled.

Keenan. He thought about the name. Funny. He didn't remember his mother ever mentioning anyone
by that name. Tommy eyed the stranger suspiciously, in the living room with the phone tucked under his chin. How long was he going to stay here anyway?

His great-grandmother leaned over and patted his hand. They shared another nervous smile.

“Mommy told me she couldn't come here with me,” he said, looking up into her kind face.

“That's what she told me, too,” she responded.

“So, why is she coming now?”

“I don't know, baby.” She cast an irritated look at their visitor. “Are you sure you've never met that man before?”

Tommy nodded.

Her nervousness seemed to increase. “I don't understand any of this,” she whispered.

He had a feeling that she was talking more to herself than to him, but he agreed with her all the same.

“Can we call Mommy and ask her?”

“If that man ever gets off my phone. And he better not be running up my phone bill with long distance,” she added angrily.

“Will you ask him to leave?”

She faced Tommy again. “I most certainly will.”

Keenan hung up, and then came to join them in the dining room. His smile was wide, but unnerving. “Ah, how's the little reunion going on in here?”

“Young man, I don't know what's going on around here, but I don't like it. I don't know you and
I'm almost certain you are no friend of my grand-daughter's. I want you to leave my house.”

Tommy's heart raced as he looked back and forth between the two grown-ups. The room grew quiet—too quiet. The strange part was that Keenan never stopped smiling.

“I'm sorry that you feel that way, Granny. I really am. I was kind of hoping that we could all get along.”

“I'm not your granny, young man. And I want you to leave.”

He shook his head and frowned. “Now that I can't do.” He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a gun.

 

Bennie didn't take Kennedy directly to the bus station. First he gave her a ride back to her apartment.

“Thanks, I really appreciate this,” she said as she reached for the car door handle.

He placed a hand against her shoulder gently.

She stopped and looked back at him.

“Are you going to be all right?” he asked, his voice filled with concern. “I'm worried about you,” he added when she didn't respond.

“Don't be. It's nothing I can't handle,” she lied. She was amazed by the note of conviction she heard in her own voice.

He smiled. “You're the toughest person I've ever met. But that doesn't mean you don't need help every once in a while.”

His sincerity touched her heart. She covered his hand with her own. “Thanks. I'll remember that.” She squeezed his hand, and then turned and got out of the car.

Bennie rolled down the car window. “I'll be right out here waiting for you,” he called out.

She nodded, and then dashed inside her building. With her mind set on grabbing only a few things, she almost didn't see Wanda as the woman hobbled down the stairs. “There you are,” Wanda exclaimed, jabbing her hand against her hip. “I was beginning to think you'd dropped off the face of the Earth. Where have you been?”

Kennedy shook her head as she continued up the steps. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

“Try me,” Wanda said, tailing her.

The last thing Kennedy wanted to do was get her friend involved in this crazy situation. “Not right now, girl. Maybe one day, when I can look back and laugh, I'll tell you.” Which didn't seem likely, she realized.

“That bad, huh?”

“Worse.”

“In that case, I'll forgive you for not being here last night to meet Dr. Ward.”

Incredulous, Kennedy faced her. “You brought him here?”

“Of course. I told you I wanted you to meet him.”

“You're too much,” Kennedy said, sliding her key
into the lock. She frowned when she twisted the knob and the door wouldn't move. Had she just locked it? She shook her head, because that would mean the door had been unlocked.

“What's wrong?”

Kennedy turned the key again and then pushed open the door. Her eyes widened at the level of destruction.

“Hot damn,” Wanda exclaimed.

Kennedy crossed the threshold, but Wanda quickly reached out to restrain her. “Don't you think that maybe we should call the police first?”

Dread penetrated her bones at the thought of Max responding to the call. “That won't be necessary.”

“What?” Wanda stared at her in disbelief.

Unable to offer an explanation, she simply said, “Trust me.” She turned and cautiously moved farther into the apartment.

Furniture had been smashed, the TV screen had been reduced to shards of glass and the words
You're Mine
had been spray-painted in red across the living-room walls.

Wanda shrank from the door. “I don't like the looks of this.”

“Ditto,” Kennedy whispered as she moved toward the hallway.

“Where are you going?” Wanda nearly shouted. “Someone may still be here.”

Kennedy froze. She hadn't thought about that. “Well, wait right here.”

“You've got to be kidding.”

“Please?” she asked, with her patience nearing its end.

“All right, but I'm warning you, if you scream, or if I hear gunshots, I'm going to sprint a new Olympic record out of here.”

“Just make sure you call for help when you get to where you're going.”

“Deal.”

Kennedy took a deep breath and returned her attention to the hallway. As she evaluated the odds of someone waiting in some darkened corner, she had second thoughts about going through with her plan.

“Will you hurry up? This waiting is killing me,” Wanda said.

“I'm going. I'm going.” She took another deep breath and proceeded. As she walked, broken picture frames crunched beneath her feet and the air seemed thicker.

When she opened the door to her bedroom, she feared her pounding heart would crack a rib at any moment. Tears burned at the back of her eyes as a renewed sense of violation washed over her. Everything was destroyed.

“Are you all right back there?” Wanda called out in a quivering voice.

Kennedy failed to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, so her answer sounded like a strangled sob. “Y-yes. I'm fine. I'll be up there in a sec.” She pushed past the room's clutter, deciding that it was best to focus on what was happening to her and her family.

She went to the overturned nightstand and placed the phone back on the hook. The red message light flashed and she pushed Play.

“Hello, Kennedy.” Reverend Warner's familiar voice came out of the machine. “I'm calling you from just outside Memphis. We dropped Tommy off safely at your grandmother's this morning. We're now heading off to St. Louis. I hope we will get a chance to talk as soon as we get back. I'll talk to you soon.”

She sighed in relief. At least she knew now that no harm had come to the Warners.

She raced over to the closet and jerked it open, not surprised to find the same chaos as the rest of the house. She dug around until she found her small tote bag, and then stuffed whatever clothing she could find into it. A quick dash into the bathroom revealed a shattered mirror and strewn toiletries. Again, she sucked in her horror and grabbed what she needed before heading up front.

Wanda visibly relaxed when Kennedy emerged from the dark hallway.

“I'm all set,” Kennedy announced.

“Where are you going?”

She wanted to kick herself. Of course Wanda would wonder that, and she couldn't risk telling her. “I'm just going out of town for a couple days.”

Wanda set her balled hands on her hips. “All right. Out with it. What's going on? And don't say ‘nothing.' I'm not blind, you know.” One hand swept out to indicate the apartment's condition.

Kennedy paused to contemplate how much she should divulge. She knew her friend would be safer if she kept her mouth shut.

“You're not going to tell me, are you?” Wanda crossed her arms.

“I can't.”

The two friends simply stared at each other. A strange, awkward silence enveloped them.

A car horn blared in the distance.

“I better go. Bennie's giving me a ride to the bus station, and I can't keep him waiting.”

“Are you coming back?”

Kennedy felt a pang of regret as she forced a reassuring smile and lied. “Of course, I am.”