Blind Delusion (53 page)

“Deek, this isn’t funny. Those charges against Brenda are serious. We need to do something. The real killer is still out there somewhere.”

“Sweetheart, I realize it’s serious and I didn’t mean to sound glib. But I don’t know what else I can do. Mel is lead investigator on this case and he can pretty much do as he damn well pleases. In his mind, he already has the real killer in custody and he’s working on getting her accomplice put away too.”

“It’s absurd to think Brenda had anything to do with this. We can’t just sit here and let this happen to her.”

At that moment Marvin Adams, Brenda’s father and her attorney, K. C. Bloodstone, a squat, no-neck man, walked in. Renee leaped from her chair and re-introduced herself to Mr. Adams, whom she had met at Jerome’s funeral a few days ago. She identified herself to Mr. Bloodstone as Brenda’s close friend and employer. Renee asked the attorney what could he do to get Brenda released on bond with charges as serious as suspicion of murder, arson, insurance fraud, and filing a false report.

“Dr. Hayes, it’s obvious your concern for my client and her little boy’s welfare is genuine,” said Mr. Bloodstone. The attorney explained his strategy for getting Brenda out on bond, while Mr. Adams nodded in approval.

“I reviewed the arrest warrant and intend to use the fact that the police don’t have any physical evidence against her,” said Bloodstone. “I’ll suggest that she be on an electronic monitor inside her parents’ house until trial. In her favor, Mrs. Johnson has no prior convictions.”

“I should be able to convince the Court that she’s not a danger to the community because she won’t be out of the house and won’t flee because of the ankle bracelet,” said the attorney using animated hand gestures. “I’ve just come from speaking to my client in lockup and we’ll be entering a plea of not guilty to all charges. If the judge grants bail, the longest it should take to get her out is one week.”

“So she’ll be spending the weekend in jail for something she didn’t do,” said Renee. “I know Brenda’s innocent and shouldn’t be locked up at all. She’s so fragile after losing her husband and having her baby missing for an entire day. I really don’t know how much more she can take.”

“Mr. Bloodstone, I’ll put up whatever bond money is necessary to get my daughter released,” said Mr. Adams. “Now, where is that Detective who had her arrested? Lt. Bradford, I believe my wife said his name is.”

Renee pointed Bradford out to Marvin Adams. Detective Bradford had his back to them and was talking to a police officer.

“I’ll contact you later this evening, Mr. Adams,” said Bloodstone, “I’m on my way to file a motion to have your daughter’s bond status reviewed and request that it be expedited. Don’t worry, Mr. Adams, we’ll have Brenda out of here and back home with you and Mrs. Adams as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bloodstone,” said Brenda’s father, grasping the lawyer’s outstretched hand, “I have every confidence in you, sir.”

Marvin Adams approached Lt. Bradford from behind and demanded to see his wife.

“Sure thing Mr. Adams, your wife’s waiting for you in the coffee room. By the way, you have my deepest condolences, Mr. Adams,” said Bradford, “and I’m not talking about your late son-in-law.” Bradford walked away. He didn’t see the confused look on Marvin Adams face.

Deek clasped his fingers together and rested folded hands against his chin as he reflected on the case. “There’s still one thing that doesn’t add up, Renee.”

“What’s that, Deek?”

“Brenda said she was certain her husband had stopped using drugs and there was no indication of problems at work. Alonzo Woods, Jerome’s coworker basically said the same thing when I questioned him at the funeral, remember?”

“Yes, that’s right. What’s your point?”

“If Jerome was clean, why did he fail a random drug test that resulted in his termination?” Deek asked. “If everything had been going so great prior to him getting fired, what suddenly happened to change all that?”

“Perhaps Brenda missed the signs,” said Renee, “Quitting is not as difficult as staying quit. Addicts often incur so many physical and mental changes that they need to get their fix merely to sustain homeostasis.”

“Homeo-what?”

“In layman’s terms, withdrawal can be very rough. It’s easy for a recovered crack addict to slip back, especially when pressures escalate.”

“What pressures though? He had a decent job, a loving wife, nice kid.”

“And an ex-girlfriend he couldn’t stay away from. That’s pressure right there,” said Renee.

“Exactly. I think we should backtrack and talk to Leenae Lewis again,” he said, “but first I want to stop by Union Delivery Service where Jerome worked and get a copy of those drug test results from Jerome’s boss. Deek searched his PDA for the telephone number. “Ah, here it is, Odessa Dillon. Let’s see, it’s after two now. She might still be there on a Saturday.”

“Mrs. Dillon is also Veda’s supervisor. From the tidbits of information that Veda has told me about working for her, I think you may be right,” said Renee. “I hear this woman is a classic workaholic.”

Deek called Odessa Dillon at UDS and caught her at her desk just before she was about to leave for the day. She agreed to wait for him since he said he could be there in twenty minutes and it wouldn’t take long. As for Miss Lewis, they decided to pay her a surprise visit afterwards. Deek helped Renee with her coat and they left without telling his partner anything. Bradford had moved on to his next case and they knew he would not pursue any other leads to help Brenda. It was up to Deek and Renee to find new leads and find them fast so that Brenda wouldn’t have to be away from her child any longer than necessary for a crime they truly believed she did not commit.

Chapter 39
 

T
wenty minutes later, Deek turned into Union Delivery Service’s rear parking lot. He maneuvered his low-to-the-ground, tire screecher around drivers handling ‘tractor trailer’ sized cabs. It was a busy late Saturday afternoon. The lot was full of UDS’s regular blue trucks pulling in, as well as others on their way out to deliver packages. Deek parked in one of the few visitor spots. Renee did not expect to find Veda in her office since she was normally off on Saturdays.

Deek and Renee walked carefully through the loading dock area. They passed drivers that steered their trucks from one bay door to another, receiving incoming and outgoing packages to be unloaded, sorted, and reloaded. Deek went over to speak to a security guard, while Renee stood in the walkway and looked around. Suddenly, she spotted Alonzo Woods standing in front of Bay 25 smoking a cigarette. Alonzo loafed around and watched as a petite-framed woman struggled to unload packages from his truck. At that moment he noticed Renee staring at him. He stamped out his cigarette then strolled up to her in a cool, bopping gait.

“Yeah, Miss Dillon just gave me a raise to 50 K this morning,” he bragged. “I been shifting in the yard for the past few days. That means all I gotta do is sit on my sweet ass all day long and move my cab from bay to bay,” he grinned, “I ain’t gotta make no deliveries or pick up no packages. Those other losers gotta do all the heavy loadin’ and unloadin’.”

Renee realized he was trying to emphasize his importance since that was his typical behavior at Good Looks Salon where he was always trying to impress the girls at the beauty parlor. “Good for you, Mr. Woods. Congratulations on your promotion.”

“You like barbecue, Dr. Renee?” he asked, “’cause I know this little rib joint around the corner. Man, the meat just melts off the bones. They got cornbread, biscuits, baked beans, ‘tata salad, you name it.”

“I, uh, don’t …”

“Maybe you might lemme take you one day,” he winked.

“Didn’t you tell us yesterday at Jerome’s funeral that you’d be home this morning in case Detective Hamilton and his partner, Detective Bradford wanted to question you further? So what are you doing here at work today? It’s a good thing they didn’t waste their time going over to your house to see you.”

“Well uh, yeah, guess I did tell ya’ll that. But I decided this morning to get the hell outta Dodge. My wife, Izza’s on the rampage with her damn ‘honey do’ list. I had to come to work so I could take it easy and get me some peace and quiet. Izza was spittin’ bullets when I left. I know I’ma catch hell when I get home. So may as well keep my ass out all night since I’ma catch it anyway,” he grinned. His relaxed body stance straightened up abruptly and the suggestive leer on his face turned serious when he saw Deek walking towards them.

“Mr. Woods, how are you?” said Deek, shaking Alonzo’s hand. “If you’re not too busy right now, can you direct us to your supervisor’s office. She’s expecting us.”

“Sure Detective, Miss Dillon said you was comin’ by to pick up Jerome’s things outta his locker. I boxed everything up for you. I didn’t know Dr. Renee was coming too. Anyway, follow me, I’ll take ya’ll to Miss Dillon’s office.”

Alonzo pointed out an office with the name Odessa Dillon, Supervisor, printed in gold lettering on the closed door. Alonzo pimped away, trying to be cool and nonchalant on his way back to the yard. Deek knocked and waited for Mrs. Dillon to invite them in.

“Who is it?” said a firm voice behind the door.

“Detective Hamilton, Mrs. Dillon. And Dr. Renee Hayes.” They heard lumbering sounds and heavy footsteps approach and the click of a door latch as Mrs. Dillon unlocked and opened the door. A fairly attractive, mid-fiftyish woman with a round, overly made-up face stood before them. Creamy eye shadow in shimmering bronze made her honey-colored, oval eyes glint like jewels.

“Won’t ya’ll come in,” said the robust woman, wearing a tailored beige pantsuit and a forced smile on her caramel complexioned face. She motioned them forward into her office and returned to her desk. When she walked, her extra-wide, one-inch pumps suffered under her weight. The coppery toned medium-length hair flipped up at the edges in a relaxed bob softened her square jaw and gave Mrs. Dillon a polished, well-kept look of professionalism.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice, Mrs. Dillon,” said Deek in his deep, mellow voice, “We won’t take up much of your time.” Deek and Renee still stood near the doorway and did not remove their coats. The stark, white walls and shades of khaki and pale army green gave the office a chilly, distressed aura.

“I hope not, Sugar. Actually, I was on my way home when you called. I’m not sure what else I can tell you Detective Hamilton. I already told everything I know to your partner on Tuesday.” Mrs. Dillon spoke in a mid-western accent and volunteered that she hailed from Houston, Texas but had lived in Washington, D. C. for the past twenty years yet still couldn’t completely shake her roots. She unbuttoned the double-breasted jacket over her thick middle and sat down behind her desk.

“There’s Jerome’s locker contents, already boxed up and ready to go,” she said, pointing to a box sitting on a round conference table. “I doubt there’s anything in there that you’d consider evidence, Detective. I already went through it, of course.”

“Of course,” nodded Deek, and walked over to the box to check its contents. He pulled out pictures of Brenda and Baby Justin. A bottle of shampoo, lotion, a tube of deodorant, a change of clothes, and a picture of Leenae Lewis in a heart-shaped frame with an inscription ‘Always yours’ written in the bottom corner.

“Looks like you were right, Mrs. Dillon,” he said and packed everything back in the box, “I’ll make sure Jerome Johnson’s family gets his possessions.”

“That’s good, Darlin’,” she curved her full lips, painted and glossed, into a half-smile.

“’Course, I meant to mail that stuff to his parents’ address but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Jerome left in such a huff two weeks ago on Friday when he failed that drug test. He didn’t even bother to clear out his locker,” Odessa explained.

“I’ve been pulling double-shifts myself right along with my guys so it just slipped my little ‘ole mind to take care of it. You know, we at Union Delivery Service aim to please and serve our customers 24 hours a day.”

Renee thought to herself, this is UDS and they don’t have time to ship a terminated employee’s possessions? Odessa Dillon stood up as if to see them out when Deek helped Renee out of her coat. He sat down on one of the contemporary chairs in front of Mrs. Dillon’s desk and draped his overcoat across the arm of the chair. Renee sat down nearby on the muted sage sofa. Mrs. Dillon pursed her lips but followed suit and sat back down as well. Renee noticed a stack of fashion magazines spread out on the chrome-rimmed, glass end table. She stared curiously at a glossy folder labeled National Park Seminary Historic District that rested on top of an end table.

When Odessa saw Renee staring at the folder, she piped up, “I’m interested in old buildings and the Seminary’s full of interesting structures with their own history.”

“I understand you’re a busy woman, Mrs. Dillon and I appreciate your time. This will only take a few minutes. If you don’t mind I’d just like to clarify a few things you told my partner on Tuesday. I’d also like to take a look at Jerome’s employee record.”

“Good Lord, Detective, don’t ya’ll talk to one another? No wonder crime is out of control in this dang city. I already showed his records to the other fella, the short, chubby guy. And answered every last one of his questions.”

“Please, Mrs. Dillon, this will go faster if you cooperate. I have things to do just like you do,” said Deek, “The employment records, please Ma’am.”

Odessa unlocked the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out Jerome’s file then handed it to Deek.

Deek saw that during Jerome’s first two months of employment, he showed exemplary work habits working under his uncle, Issac Temple. However, when his route shifted to Odessa Dillon’s unit, he received a total of seven days worth of suspensions in four months based on deficiencies and violations with: methods, lateness, absenteeism, personal differences with supervisor, stubbornness, and failure to follow instructions.