Eye Candy (19 page)

“Well, not at this moment,” I said walking slowly and looking for Tiffany’s pretty face.

The receptionist sat back down, picked up the phone, and began to dial a number. While doing this, she continued to keep her eyes on me.

“Where the hell are you, Tiffany!” I screamed out as I walked at a snail’s pace. “You have some serious explaining to do.”

“Oh my God,” said a frightened woman placing her hand over her chest as I walked up to her cubicle. “I hope you’re not going to do something crazy, I have two young kids at home.”

I shook my head at her as she wasn’t the scumbag I was looking for. Then I continued my journey as everyone remained completely silent.

“Come on, Tiffany, don’t be so bashful now,” I screamed louder as I looked around the area I was in. “It’s Jack and I promise you I won’t be a dull boy today.”

As I pass another row of cubicles, I came across two women huddled up together. There was an obvious look of fear in their eyes as I glanced at them for a second. Then I moved on.

“I swear that man has lost his freaking mind,” said one of the two women after I was no longer in their view.

“Be quiet, Irene, before he hears you,” her friend said back to her.

After the small disturbance I had caused, a man began to approach me. He was wearing a suit and seemed to be rather upset.

“Sir, I’m the operations manager,” he said with an attitude. “We run a respectable and reputable business here. And we don’t condone someone coming in here ranting and raving as you have.”

“Listen, buster,” I said putting my index finger in his face. “You better get Tiffany out here now or it’s going to get worse.”

He quickly moved backwards as I saw a sense of intimidation in his eyes. He knew I meant business and really didn’t care at what expense.

“Melissa, call the police,” he yelled out to the receptionist who was still looking on from the front entrance.

Meanwhile, I looked around disappointed and realized Tiffany wasn’t in the small office. Even so, I did know where to look next and that was her condo at Atlantic Station.

“Well, when they get here, tell them to meet me at Tiffany’s condo at the Twelve Hotel,” I said moving fast back to the front door. “It’s on the twenty-fifth floor.”

I ran past the receptionist who was busy on the phone calling the police and bolted out the front door. Outside, I picked my way through the mass of pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. When I made it to my car, there was a meter maid standing there writing me a ticket.

“Hey, I was only parked there for a second,” I said looking shocked.

“A no parking zone means just that, sir,” she said placing the ticket on my windshield.

“Come on, ma’am, cut me some slack,” I said with empathy. “I swear it was an emergency I had to tend to.”

“Tell it to the judge,” she said as if my concerns didn’t bother her one bit. Then she blended in with the rest of the pedestrians on the sidewalk moving away.

I snatched the nominal parking ticket off my windshield and jumped into my car. I decided to travel the surface streets until I made it to the Twelve Hotel. When I did, there was no time to find a parking space. So I simply pulled up to valet parking, left my car running, and jumped out. A young valet scurried to my car as I ran past him towards the hotel’s lobby.

“Sir, I need to give you your ticket,” he said with a perplexed look on his face.

“Sorry, kid, I’m in a hurry,” I said looking back at him.

Once I was inside the lobby, I went to the elevators that Tiffany and I had used previously. I pressed the upwards button and waited while I caught my breath for a moment. When the elevator arrived, I was the only person going up. I quickly got on and pressed the number twenty-five on the elevator’s panel until it lit up.

When I walked off the elevator, I saw Tiffany’s condo, front door in the distance, wide open. I then sprinted down the hallway to her residence which was a short distance in front of me. As I got closer, I could hear rumbling going on from inside.

From the front door, I saw Monica and Tiffany locked in each other arms as if they were two pit bulls fighting. The condo was a mess as furniture was overturned and items from the home littered the floor.

“Stop it, Monica!” I yelled out.

Tiffany was the only person that paid attention to my remark as she turned her head towards me. Monica seized the moment by placing both of her hands around Tiffany’s neck. With all her strength, she flung Tiffany around onto the glass cocktail table which was in front of the large sofa. The table shattered into pieces as Tiffany’s body rested upon it. I was speechless as my eyes expanded to the size of a silver dollar coin. I didn’t know my wife possessed that much power in her petite body. Calmly, Monica walked over to Tiffany’s body which lay on top of what seemed to be thousands of tiny shards of glass. As she stood over Tiffany’s half-dazed body, she simply shook her head in disappointment.

“You pathetic little bitch,” Monica said with hatred in her voice. “I’ll teach you a lesson or two about messing with my family.”

Monica carefully kneeled down next to Tiffany’s body and grabbed as much of her long hair as her hand could hold. Then she turned Tiffany’s face towards her so she could look into her eyes while she commenced to give her a good old-fashioned ass whipping. Monica took her hand and slapped Tiffany’s face firmly. Then she back slapped her quickly. The blows made Tiffany come out of her daze as she frantically tried to escape but Monica had too tight of a grip for that. In all the shock and excitement, Tiffany moved her hand and legs wildly as Monica continued to slap her. The tiny pieces of glass began to cut into her body causing blood to spew out.

“And to think I let your awful ass in my house,” Monica yelled out giving another round of blows to Tiffany’s face. “Now, my children are dead on count of you!”

“Monica, please stop it!” I shouted out from the front door still amazed at what I witnessed. “You’re going to kill her.”

“That’s what I plan to do, Aaron,” Monica said giving me an evil look. Then she went back to delivering the harsh blows on Tiffany’s face.

I knew I had to intervene before my wife seriously injured Tiffany. I ran over and bent down trying to pull Monica off her. When I did, Monica wisely elbowed me in my sternum causing me to fall backwards. The impact to my chest knocked the wind out of me momentarily. As I grasped for air, lying on the floor, Monica continued her trouncing of Tiffany. It was as if I had a front-row seat of a heavy weight boxing match. My wife was the prized fighter and she was beating the heck out of her opponent.

“This one is for Brandon you scandalous tramp,” Monica said before delivering another hard blow but this time with her closed fist.

“Okay, Monica, please stop,” Tiffany sounded off in the agony of defeat.

“I’m not done yet,” Monica said raising her fist. “And this one is for Braylon.”

The last blow caught Tiffany dead square on her nose and blood poured out immediately. The sight of it seemed to make Monica more deranged as she continued to strike her harder.

“I’m so sorry,” Tiffany said faintly beginning to lose consciousness.

“I knew there was something fishy about you when we first met,” Monica said pausing for a moment. “You were just too damn friendly for me.”

“But it wasn’t my idea,” Tiffany said hoping to get Monica to stop. “I promise I had nothing to do with it.”

“Let her talk, Monica,” I said as I was eager to hear what Tiffany had to say.

Monica finally eased up on beating Tiffany’s face in. She even let go of Tiffany’s hair and her head hit the floor. Then she continued to kneel over her and look on waiting for her to speak.

“He was responsible for it all,” Tiffany said beginning to cry as tears fell down her face and mixed with the blood that was on it. “He was the mastermind behind it all. After the accident, I couldn’t continue to deal with what just happened.”

“Who is he?” Monica asked.

“It was Sebastian,” Tiffany answered softly. “We were lovers long before we were friends.”

Dismayed and not wanting to believe what Tiffany had just said, Monica and I looked at each other. However, we could clearly tell Tiffany wasn’t lying based on the emotional state she was in. She closed her eyes and passed out as her head lay in a small pool of blood.

CHAPTER 22

“Atlanta Police!” shouted two male uniformed officers as they entered Tiffany’s condo. They both walked in with a hand on their gun holster being cautious. “Everybody remain calm and stay in your position.”

Before they arrived, I had managed to console Monica who was now crying in my arms. We sat near Tiffany’s body which was lifeless.

“Officer, there’s a woman here who needs medical attention,” I said looking over at Tiffany.

One of the officers raced over to Tiffany and felt her wrist for a pulse. He carefully did so being sure he didn’t touch any blood on her body.

“She has a faint pulse,” said the officer. “I’ll call dispatch to send over the paramedics.”

“I’m Officer Jackson and that’s my partner Officer Crews,” said the policeman standing over us. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Aaron Malone and this is my wife, Monica,” I said. “The woman lying over there is Tiffany Towns.”

“Mr. Malone we received a call from Topaz Consulting Group that you were causing a disturbance at their office on Marietta Street,” said Officer Jackson looking right at me.

“Officer Jackson, he was only trying to protect me from Tiffany,” said Monica speaking up quickly. “I have evidence that will prove she was involved with the deaths of our twin boys.”

“Really, Mrs. Malone,” said Officer Jackson showing interest. “And what evidence do you have that will show that?”

Monica detached herself from me and unzipped the front pocket of her jogging jacket. She pulled out the DVD Ms. Chastain was referring to and held it up as if it was a key to a treasure chest.

“Here it is, Officer Jackson,” said Monica with pride as the sunlight reflected off the DVD in her hand.

“Well, let’s just see what you have here,” Officer Jackson said taking the DVD from Monica’s hand.

He walked over to Tiffany’s fifty-two-inch flat screen television mounted on the wall. Then he located the DVD player nearby and turned both electronic devices on. Soon we all were watching the incriminating evidence against Tiffany. The plot to sabotage Monica’s Tahoe unfolded right there in front of our eyes. It was too bad Tiffany was still knocked out and wasn’t able to see her star performance.

When the viewing of the DVD had ended the paramedics arrived. They were two females wearing rubber gloves and both carried a small medical box.

“We received a call for a request for a paramedic,” said one of the women standing in the front door.

“This woman needs your assistance over here,” said Officer Crews who was still positioned by Tiffany.

The two women rushed over to where Tiffany was and began to check her vital signs. Everyone was now focused on the outcome of Tiffany’s status as we patiently waited.

“It seems as if she is going to be all right,” said one of the paramedics. “She just has a slight concussion but she’ll be okay.”

Tiffany was beginning to come to as her eye lids batted while she looked around. One of the paramedics managed to clean the majority of blood off her that once graced her body. The second paramedic then made her way over to Monica to make sure she was alright.

Officer Jackson walked over to Tiffany as if he was concerned about her safety. He looked down at her as the paramedic helped her sit up.

“Ms. Towns, do you know where you are right now?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m in my condo at the Twelve Hotel,” she replied back.

“Ma’am, I just watched some footage of you which may prove you were involved with the deaths of the Malone’s twin boys,” continued the officer.

“I’ve already told them it was all Sebastian’s plan,” Tiffany cried out.

“Ma’am, I’m going to ask you to stand on your feet.”

The paramedic helped Tiffany to her feet. She was still groggy but able to stand all by herself.

“Now, place your hands behind your back,” ordered Officer Jackson.

“What’s going on here, officer?” Tiffany asked.

“You’re being arrested for conspiracy to commit murder,” he said with force. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand?”

“Yes, officer, I understand.”

“What’s going to happen to her now, officer?” asked Monica as she and I gathered around Tiffany.

“She’ll be booked into the Fulton County Jail and held there until her arraignment in front of a judge,” he said tightening the handcuffs on Tiffany’s wrist.

“What about Sebastian?” Monica asked in an angry tone.

“I’ll have one of the detectives at the station issue a warrant for his arrest,” he replied. “It may take up to forty-eight hours before a judge signs off on it.”

“Forty-eight hours!” I yelled out. “You mean he gets to walk free for that long?”

“Mr. Malone, we have to make sure we follow proper protocol,” Officer Jackson stated. “Otherwise, if we arrest him prematurely he could walk on a technicality.”

“Well, we both work at the same architect firm called Donaldson and Bradshaw,” I said.

“I’ll suggest the detectives pick him up there,” said Officer Jackson. “We want to preserve the element of surprise. But first things first, let’s get Ms. Towns out of here.”

By now, the two paramedics had filled out their report, packed their medical boxes, and were headed out the condo. Officer Crews grabbed Tiffany by the arm and proceeded to take her to the squad car located downstairs.

“There’s one other thing I failed to mention to you, Monica,” Tiffany said before the officer led her out the door.

“What is it, Tiffany?” Monica asked still sounding pissed off.

“I thought about Sebastian the whole time I fucked your husband’s brains out,” she said with a silly smirk on her face I had seen before.

“Get her out of here!” ordered Officer Jackson as his partner did exactly that.