Beauty and the Beast (35 page)

“Who the hell is this?”

“Hey, Marco, it’s Bruce. I had a few unwanted visitors today, so I’m calling you from a different phone.”

“Sons of bitches came by here talkin’ shit. They think I whacked Dennis and Jay’s asses for you. Like I’d bring more heat down on my ass. Humph, all the shit I do, and they come at me for the one thing I’m innocent of.”

“I refused to speak to them without my lawyer.” Bruce smiled at Alexis and nodded his thanks. “Actually, he’s here now.”

“I’ll give you my attorney’s information so they can have a little pow-wow and get this cleared up. My boys are here now. I lit into them for allowing Dennis and Jay to slip through their fingers.”

“I’m sending Ken down to see if he can figure out what happened. I’m not too enthusiastic about the investigative skills of our law enforcement officials at this time.” Bruce chuckled.

“Sho you right on that, brotha. Listen up. Ken is cool and all, but he may need a little backup. This is our ass in the sling. I’m sending Redman and Deuce Deuce as muscle. Don’t worry, your boy will be in charge, and my boys won’t fail again.”

“Sounds like we have a winning plan.” After they finished exchanging information, Bruce disconnected. “Thank you, Rachel. Janis, get this child a real cell phone. Add it to my account.”

Rachel beamed as Bruce updated everyone on the call.

“I’ll call Marco’s attorney after I finish up here,” Eugene said. “I’ll want you two to go in together to see the police as soon as possible, but first we’ll need to go over what you’re to say. In this case, neither of you has done anything wrong, but we still need to be careful. Unfortunately, circumstantial evidence has been used to convict many innocent men.” He pushed away from the desk. “I believe everyone is worn out. We’ll conduct a practice interview in the morning.”

“I understand. Nefertiti, I want you to stay here when I go in.”

“No,” she said calmly. “I was in shock. I’m finished acting like a crazed lunatic. I want to be there with you.”

“I can’t think straight when you’re around. I need you to stay here with Uncle Nathan.”

“Umm,” she grumbled. “I won’t go in with you, but I can’t sit around here twiddling my thumbs.”

“It’s been years since we’ve been to the Art Institute, Nathan,” May chimed in. “Let’s take the baby.”

Bruce had to smile. It didn’t matter how old Nefertiti was, she had always been and would always be referred to as “the baby” by May.

“Remember when I used to let you skip school for the Chicago trip?” Nathan asked.

“Okay, I’m not happy about it, but the Art Institute it is,” Nefertiti said. “Rachel, you should come along.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Come on, Catherine, let me in.”

The door to her hotel suite swung open. “What do you want, Roy?”

“This is our chance.” He stepped into her room and closed the door. Their relationship had deteriorated drastically since she’d lost controlling interest of Dixon Textiles. He was furious with her for blaming him for the loss when Bruce and their father were the actual cause. And that she had actually given in… He shook his head.

“Last chance for what?”

“You should have stayed at the party a little longer. Bruce is under investigation for murder.”

Her eyes flew open. “Really?”

“That’s what was going around. He’s weak and distracted.”

Catherine slowly walked to the window, which overlooked Lake Michigan. “Murder? Who?”

“It doesn’t matter who. All that matters is we can get the company back.”

She tsked and shook her head. “None of this matters. He owns seventy percent of the company. Unless he sells, there is nothing we can do. Do you honestly believe he’ll sell the company back to us? And even if he were willing, we don’t have the capital.”

“How can you give up so easily?”

She spun around toward him. “Easily! I’m sick of this, Roy. There is no easily. The only thing easy was how you sold out the company. Now drop this.” She stalked over to the door and opened it.

Roy watched as Catherine’s shoulders heaved with anger. First Bruce had taken his inheritance from him, and now he’d poisoned his sister against him. She had even decided to work for Bruce.
He’ll pay!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

L
ast night Nefertiti had insisted Bruce watch interview and interrogation scenes from her Law and Order collection. She’d called it research. She’d even helped Gamble’s people play good cop, bad cop in the practice interview. At the time he’d laughed, but now the dingy walls, two way mirror, metal table and folding chairs looked straight out of one of the episodes. Even Shorewood and Clemmons seemed really into their roles.

Clemmons turned off the surveillance tape from the hospital parking lot. The camera had caught Bruce going off on Dennis, and Jay was seated in a car a few spaces away.

Shorewood turned in his seat and faced Bruce. “You said you had no relationship with Dennis or Jay.” He motioned behind his shoulder. “Do you usually assault people you don’t have relationships with?”

“I don’t need to have a relationship with someone to curse them out.”

Gamble lightly tapped the back of Bruce’s chair, which was their sign for Bruce to calm down.

“What were you arguing about?”

“Him being a coward.”

“We have a witness that says you threatened to kill him if he ever came near Nefertiti again.”

“I don’t remember saying that, but I’m not shocked.” Bruce felt a tap on his back. “I’ve said I’m going to kill thousands of people and haven’t killed one yet. There are people who have never said they are going to kill anyone, yet have murdered. Go figure.”

“When did you learn that Dennis was involved in the attack on Nefertiti?”

“I’ve already told you about the man I planted in Butch’s cell. I learned about Dennis’s role a few days after my man’s report.”

“You are a man who seems to always get what he wants.” Shorewood sipped his coffee, then set his mug down. Clemmons continued to stand off to the side. “Let me make sure I have this correctly.” He glanced down at his notes. “You were able to plant a man in Butch’s cell and find out how your fiancée’s attack came about.”

“My client has already answered that question and given you the contact people to verify the information,” Gamble said from his position behind Bruce. “Mr. Maxwell is a busy man and does not have time to repeat information.”

 
“Does your client have time to tell us what his relationship with Marquise Jones, a.k.a Marco, is?”

“We were both interested in finding Dennis and Jay, so we joined forces.”

Shorewood didn’t flinch at Bruce admitting he knew Marco, but Clemmons choked on his coffee. Gamble had instructed Bruce and Marco not to lie about their association because the police most likely already knew about it and would try to use their lying against them. He’d told them what information was okay to give and what to keep to themselves.

“And what did you plan on doing to Dennis and Jay after they were located?” Shorewood asked.

“It doesn’t matter because someone killed them before we could catch up to them.” Tired of the nonsense, Bruce’s voice had a definite edge. Circumstantial evidence was stacked against him, and everyone knew he had motive, opportunity and the means to have Dennis and Jay murdered. Unless Ken found the real murderer quickly, Bruce expected a grand jury would say there was enough evidence to go to trial. He ran his hands over his mustache and goatee.

“We’ve wasted enough of my client’s time, detectives,” Gamble began. “If you have further questions, please call my office to set up an appointment.”

“What the hell do you mean Nefertiti is missing?” Bruce raged into his cell phone as he exited the police station. “Everyone but the dog was there!”

“Calm down.”

“How can I calm down, Auntie Vic?”

“She said something about taking a trolley around town. I’m sure she’s just lost track of time.”

“Nefertiti wouldn’t just walk off. Is she wearing her veil?” He stalked across the parking lot.

“Yes, darling. I’m sure her cell just needs to be charged. Janice, Betty, Tiffany and Rachel are staying behind for another hour or so. Don’t worry. Nefertiti knows how to get home. I’m sure she just needed a little time to herself.”

“I don’t like this.” He opened the door to his Mercedes. “What does Uncle Nathan say?” He sat behind the driver’s seat and closed the door.

“Why do you think May and I have him with us? He doesn’t know a thing and don’t call him. He’s just getting over a bad spell. He thinks she’s on her way to the police station to meet you.”

He smacked the steering wheel. “Something feels out of place, Auntie Vic. Which trolley was she going to take?”

“I’m sorry, darling. I don’t know which one she took. You know they all go to the same places. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about. Dennis and Jay are dead. Butch is in jail. She isn’t in any danger or we wouldn’t have allowed her to leave without an escort. I wanted to let you know what was going on, just in case.”

He saw Marco heading for his Lexus. “You’re probably right, Auntie Vic. I’ll catch you later.” He disconnected, then hopped out of his car and jogged across the lot. “Marco!

“ ’Sup?” Marco did a brotha-man lean and bobbed his head. “I’m likin’ that Gamble cat. He had them runnin’, didn’t he?” He chuckled. “I feel like bein’ arrested so he can get my ass out.”

An older lady and gentleman passed by.

“Yeah, he’s good. He let them get their information, then took care of business the right way. But I need your help with something. My girl is missing.”

“Damn, we gettin’ thick as ticks. What happened to her?”