Hot Flash (24 page)

C
HAPTER
24

“I
killed him . . . I killed Cap,” Travis stuttered between gasps for air.

I embraced him. I wanted to tell him the man he'd killed was not worth brooding over, but the words stayed lodged in my throat. Cap had been like a father to me and Nareece after my parents died. Of course, now I knew it was out of guilt, which seemed more palatable, since only a moment ago he would have killed me and Travis for money.

My body caught Travis's tremors as we rode the storm together. The weight of Travis's body, all six-foot-two, 180 pounds, leaned into me.

“Travis, Travis, baby, don't do this, not now.” I guided him to the floor and leaned his back against the wall. I frantically checked him out and saw his arm bleeding as he slipped into unconsciousness. The shot Cap had squeezed off had hit his right bicep. I took off my overblouse, ripped it, and used it as a tourniquet. Travis fell sideways. Panicked, I laid him flat on the floor and checked his breathing.

“C'mon, baby, c'mon, baby, don't do this. You're all right.” I rubbed his cheeks, I checked the tourniquet, and checked his breathing. I crawled to the bin to retrieve my cell from my purse and called for an ambulance, then settled on the floor next to him.

The floor creaked before the sound of footsteps came through. The timing was too quick and the rhythm too slow and deliberate for it to be the medics. My stomach and heart collided. I slid Travis's body to the side and gently let his head rest on the floor.

Cap's body and Travis were behind the stairs, out of view of anyone coming down the steps. I pulled my gun from its holster and moved to a small utility room to the left of the stairway. From where I hid, I had a good view of the steps.

When the door at the top of the stairs opened, I was totally chilled, as in frozen in place. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The feet and legs of a man came in view, then his outstretched arms with hands clasped around the butt of a gun. The top half of his body was still out of view, as he switched around to either side, surveying the layout. After a few more steps, I recognized Jakes. Janey had the Dumbo ears. Or was it Jakes who had them?

I guessed and called out, “Jakes, Mabley here, I'm coming out. Don't shoot.” I stepped from the shadows, lowering my gun.

I guessed right. Jakes lowered his gun and plodded the rest of the way down the stairs. Janey and his Dumbo ears appeared in the doorway at the top of the stairs still pointing his gun. “Clear,” Jakes said. Janey lowered his weapon and went back in the darkness of the house. I quickly moved to check on Travis. He was dazed but conscious.

“We suspected the captain was the inside man for Jesse Boone,” Jakes said, checking Cap's body for vitals.

“Nice had you shared,” I said, helping Travis to his feet.

“Nice had you shared with the police about your sister being kidnapped. Mabley, we need to talk,” he said, stepping sideways to block the way.

I stopped in front of him, holding on to Travis's arm.

“I'll call after I take my son to the hospital.”

He stepped aside.

The ambulance showed up as we exited the house. It took Travis and me to Thomas Jefferson Hospital.

After surgery, the doctor reported Travis had lost a good amount of blood and was in shock, but that he would make a full recovery. It was hours before he was out of recovery and admitted to a room. I sat by his bed watching the slight movement of his chest, thankful that I still had my son with me. I woke to Calvin nudging me at 12:39 a.m.

“How'd you find us?” I whispered.

“It's not important. Only that you and the boy are all right.”

He picked up my purse and pulled on my arm to get me up.

“What about Jesse? Did you learn anything?”

“We'll talk tomorrow. Right now, I'll drive you home so you can sleep.”

I jerked away. “I can't leave.”

“I checked with the nurse. He'll be out until morning. There's nothing more you can do here.”

“I can be here when he wakes up.”

“You will be.”

I let him lead me out. When we got outside the room, Calvin nodded to one of his men, who took up a position by Travis's door. Calvin half-pulled, half-carried me through the corridors to the hospital parking lot. He put me in his car and directed another man to follow in mine.

Next thing I knew, light bounced up and down on my lids, seeping inside the cracks and burning my corneas. I sat up in a start. My head spun. A check of the clock on the cable box said 6:08. I fell back on the pillow and covered my eyes until the spinning stopped. A laugh gurgled its way to tears. “Laughton. . . Cap . . . Oh God, thank You for Travis,” I blubbered, unable to keep from dribbling spit and snot down the sides of my face and into my ears. A backhanded swipe and a few snorts to suck it up and I was settled enough to call the hospital. Travis was still sleeping and probably would not wake for another few hours, the nurse said.

I stumbled into the shower and let the hot water ease the knot in my neck and clear my head. I got out and dried off, every muscle and joint in my body screaming at me. When the steam from the mirror cleared, I cringed at the black and blue around my right eye and the thin film of dried blood serum that coated my cheek, the result of Cap's rebellion. Cap. I felt like my brain was exploding. Then I remembered Cap's last words.
Bancroft Building.

I dressed quickly, pulled my hair back in a ponytail, dabbed some A & D ointment on my cheek and headed out, first to the hospital. Travis woke up just as I arrived.

“I guess I'm official now,” he whispered in a raspy voice.

“Yeah, I guess you are.”

“Ma, that guy . . .”

“Don't worry about anything. You just rest now. Everything's going to be fine.”

“Ma, you can't keep me out of this, away from the ‘ugliness,' as you call it. You can't keep blinding me. I'm not a little boy anymore. You'd be surprised what I've seen, the things I've done.”

“I think you'd better stop there.”

“Why, so you can go on thinking I'm your perfect son?”

“No, so you can go on living. Now, get some rest. We'll do this later.” I was stung but determined to keep Travis bound, at least until Jesse Boone was in custody.

I stayed with Travis until the nurse came in, gave him some meds, and he was knocked out again.

Jakes ushered me into an interrogation room at FBI headquarters. I had it straight now. Janey, who had the Dumbo ears, was absent. Jakes sat across the table from me.

“You understand what happened to you, your sister, your parents? It didn't come together until Jesse Boone started his killing spree. The captain made sure of that.” He pushed two large files to my side of the table. “The captain's been under Jesse Boone's thumb for years. Jesse blackmailed him and threatened to kill his wife, daughter, and grandkids, his whole damn family.” He got up and moved to the door. “Jesse Boone's all that's left now, and we'll get him.” He gestured to the files. “You got twenty minutes.”

I flipped open the first folder. Reports described the Black Mafia and named Sam Christian as the head and others like Eugene “Bo” Baynes, Ronald Harvey, Robert “Nudie” Mims, Donnie “Pork Chop” James, Richard “The Pistol” Boone, and Frank “Big Daddy” Mann Johnson, with photos of them as young men. Other photographs showed Nareece, young, beautiful, and laughing, with her arms around Jesse Boone, Dad and Mom coming out the front door of our house, Dad and Mom's dead bodies, me hugged up to Daddy Mann, grinning like a damn Cheshire cat. I remembered the event, but I didn't remember having a picture taken. I stood on one side of Mann, his arm draped over my shoulders and Jesse Boone on the other. He had been there, and yet I had no recollection of him back then. The last photograph was of me in a hospital bed with death's face on. I was looking at the photograph, but I could not believe that Jesse Boone and I were so close and yet never knew each other, or was it that I had blocked him out years ago?

The second folder had a recent picture of Cap with Jesse at an unfamiliar location. There were photos of me and Laughton on several investigations, going into and out of my house, pictures of Nareece, John, and the twins. The last photo showed Kelvin Boone the way he looked before his transformation to Laughton. Kelvin Boone's face mirrored Travis's. Heat grew to a boil inside, forcing sweat from every pore until I had achieved wet T-shirt status. I left before Jakes returned.

Uncertain why Jakes had decided to be so forthcoming with the files and all, I was sure it wasn't because he'd suddenly found me likeable or needed to satisfy any guilt feelings. I doubted he possessed the capability to feel guilt. I was bait.

A call to Dulcey let me know she and the twins were safe. Then I went back to the hospital to see Travis. The doctor said all his vitals were good. He wanted the psychologist to check him out before discharging him.

I lay in the bed next to him and cuddled his head against my chest. “We'll get through all this.” I pressed his head closer to my chest and stroked his arm, as dampness from his cheek registered against my skin.

“Ma?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Are you my real mother?”

I did not stumble. I could not stumble. “If you mean did I give birth to you, no.”

“It's cool, Mom. I want to know the truth.”

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. I had gone over it in my head a thousand times,
the truth
that I would tell him when he was old enough. My heart thumped, I cooled, and the knot in my gut released. Travis sat forward and hugged me with all his might. My cell phone buzzed, disturbing the moment. A check of the screen showed Nareece's name. I started to move off the bed to go into the hall away from him to answer, but Travis grabbed my arm.

“You got the money?” It was Jesse.

“Let me talk to Nareece, make sure she's still alive before we talk money.”

“Muriel, don't come. He'll kill you. Don't believe anything he—” I heard wrestling on the other end, and Nareece screamed.

Then Jesse came on again. “She might not stay breathing if you don't come through. I know you're the whoring bitch Big Daddy and all the other niggers did. I woulda done your ass, too, woulda been the best you'd ever had.”

“You can't do anybody's ass, Jesse. You aren't equipped to do a damn thing because nobody can get past your stench. You have to kill women so you can do them.”

“Shut up or I'll do her right now. Be at the Bancroft Number Five Building, two a.m.” He clicked off.

Travis stared at me wide-eyed, I supposed, because he never heard me talk so bad. I also guessed he'd only heard one side of the conversation. I guessed wrong.

“You're not going to meet him alone?”

When I didn't respond, he moved to get up.

“I'm not going alone. Laughton . . .” I sighed. “I mean, Calvin will be with me.” I helped him back to bed and pulled the covers over him. “You stay put. I don't need to worry about you, too. Calvin and I will get Aunt Nareece.”

I drove back to my parents' house to get the money. Police tape was still across the front door. Children playing down the street stopped to watch as I tore away the tape and entered. I locked the door and moved quickly through the house, checking closets and behind doors. Paranoia aside, I did not want any surprises. By the time I got to the basement, I was breathing like I had just run a marathon. I knelt beside the bin, unscrewed four screws, and pulled the panel back—to an empty space.

C
HAPTER
25

I
fell back onto the floor, not knowing what my next move should be. Without the money, Nareece was dead.

I thought about the possibilities. Jakes and Janey could have been upstairs longer than they presented. They could have heard everything and learned about the money, then come back later and found it.

The previous tenants had moved out rather suddenly two months ago. The Williams family included two little girls who probably played down here like Nareece did. My fingers moved at lightning speed, finding Mr. Williams's number in my cell and dialing. A recording on the first ring said no incoming calls were being accepted.

Short of freaking out, I got up from the floor and looked in the cubbyhole again, then reached inside as far as my arm allowed. Nothing. I scanned the basement for something, anything, to smash apart the panels with. On top of the hot water heater was a hammer. Bashing in the panels required extreme effort. The money had to be here. By the time I got to the last panel I was swinging the hammer like a Hank Aaron wannabe. Still no money.

One other possibility came to mind. Dad had built storage bins in our bedroom. Maybe Nareece meant those bins. I raced up the stairs and banged out the panels. Nothing. I sat back on the floor and stayed awhile thinking, until my backside protested the punishment of hardwood against butt. And then Calvin called.

“Where are you?”

“I'm . . . wait, why? What's up?”

“The money's at my place.”

The entire drive to Calvin's, my brain was popping with unsavory thoughts about him. I never told him about the money, where it was hidden, nothing. I felt bedeviled by yet another man. Anger seeped in.

When I got to the club, he was waiting in the doorway. I breezed past him and sat at the bar. Neither of us spoke until he had poured two glasses of ginger ale and set one in front of me. I sipped the drink.

“Seems we're at an impasse,” he said.

“How the hell did you know about the money?”

“I didn't until Jakes called me. So I sent one of my guys to that house to find it because I knew you'd try to do this thing alone.”

“All I care about is getting Nareece back, and if giving Jesse the money is necessary, no problem.”

“I took the money because you can't do this thing by yourself.”

“How am I supposed to trust you? I don't even know who you are anymore.”

“I'm the guy who wants to make sure you get through this alive.”

“You need to be straight with me right here, right now, before I can even attempt to trust you again.”

“If I tell you, I'll have to kill you,” he said with a slight laugh.

“You asked me to trust you. You have to trust me. Who are you? You told me you didn't know where Jesse's brother was, that you thought Kelvin Boone was dead, and that Laughton was Laughton.”

“I'm a consultant of sorts for the FBI when necessary. Helps keep the neighborhood quiet. People around here don't ask for much. They want to live their lives and realize an expectation of safety.”

“And you're the man to see that their expectations are satisfied?”

“I'm able to, so yes. The Black Mafia has morphed into a much tamer but still lethal form. I mean, these young dudes are selling their junk, running numbers and such, but they keep it on the hush, not like the old days. If they aren't the ones selling and running, some other gangbanger looking to make a name will step in. Right now it's just about getting Jesse Boone off the streets. Laughton contacted me and asked for my help. That's when I found out he was Kelvin. I did tell you Kelvin and Jesse were brothers.”

“How does Cap fit in exactly?”

“Are you ready to hear this?”

“I'm sure I can handle it.”

“Captain Butler worked inside for the Mafia for years. He was good, always above suspicion somehow. Your father and the cap came up under Sam Christian before the whole Black Mafia thing got crazy.”

“Yeah, Laughton filled me in there. He also said my parents were murdered. Nareece thinks she's responsible.”

“And you think you're responsible.”

I hung my head and closed my eyes, trying to deny his words.

“You played a big role in bringing down the whole organization and you got messed up. The Feds should have taken better care of you, but they didn't give a damn. They figured you were expendable. What happened to your parents had nothing to do with what you were doing.”

I could not hide my surprise over the scope of his knowledge about me and my past.

He read my face. “I have my own sources. Your parents' murder had little to do with Nareece, either, and everything to do with Captain Butler making a choice: his family or your parents. I guess he figured he'd make it up by watching over you two, until the money thing came up.”

“Cap confessed to being the inside man. He also said he caused my parents' death.”

“Now Jesse with his craziness wants to muscle back in on the narcotics business of the black underworld and move in on the Italian families, which are so far out of his league. On the flip side is his insanity over your sister. The money means a lot to him, but your sister is his downfall. His problem is everybody's turning away from him and he's pissed. He thinks he can do anything he wants and get away scot-free. His entire life he's been handed a free pass.”

Calvin went on for about another half hour about Jesse and Kelvin, Laughton, stuff Laughton had already told me. I listened anyway. By the time he quieted, I trusted him and told him about the phone call from Jesse.

“If I don't go alone, he'll kill her and God only knows who else by the time he's through.”

“Jesse will kill you both anyway. You'll give him the money and he'll make you beg for your life first, then kill you.” He walked around the bar and stood in front of me. “Jesse's a psychopath, a serial killer. He's responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen women, and this is the first time the FBI's evidence is solid.” He fingered a strand of hair hanging in my face and pushed it behind my ear. I slapped his hand away.

“You keep interfering and messing with their program.”

“Jakes and Janey, you mean.”

“Yes, Jakes and Janey.”

“They don't know where Jesse is.”

“But you do.” He sat on the stool next to me. I faced the bar and kept my gaze fixed on my reflection in the mirror above the shelves of liquor. “I'll help you before Jakes and Janey step in, but you need to trust me.”

I checked my phone for the time. Five o'clock. A long night remained, waiting for the 2:00 a.m. hour Jesse connived.

“You only think you can do this alone,” Calvin told me. “And if I interfere and things go bad, he'll kill her. I'm telling you, he's going to kill her anyway.”

“Who's yanking your chain . . . besides me, I mean?”

“Whoa.” He laughed and rose from his stool, backing away with both hands up like he was being arrested. “I'm solo, woman. No ties here.”

“You're a regular double-oh-seven, huh?”

Ignoring my questions, he said, “C'mon, let me seduce your palate.”

“Calvin, where's Laughton?”

“Laughton's good. I had him taken to a doctor friend. He'll come around.”

I did not press for more. The idea that two men I loved were somehow connected at the hip caused a rift in my heart the measure of which I was not ready to embrace.

He helped me off the stool and into his arms. “I won't lose you on this,” he said.

We took an elevator to the third floor. Calvin's condo seemed a zillion miles from the nightclub scene and rank streets below. A modern, open loft-like layout was complemented with a brick accent wall and a wall of glass. Antique collections and contemporary furnishings included an ultra-soft leather sofa I melted into. I watched as Calvin whistled through clanking pots and pans, running water, chopping—a symphony concert.

I called the hospital to check on Travis. They were releasing him the next day. I chitchatted my way through growing anxiety, until he said the nurse was there to check his vitals and we hung up.

What if something happened and I never again had the chance to ruffle his hair? What if I never had the chance to tell him the truth about who he was or how much I loved him?

I struggled to push back the worst-case scenario and concentrated on our family being together again: Nareece, Travis, the twins, and me. I fell asleep.

Seemed like I had been asleep for a full night when Calvin nudged me to consciousness. In reality, it was only an hour.

He placed a tray with a plate of pasta, salmon, and red sauce on my lap and sat next to me. I devoured it.

Calvin held his hand out for my empty plate.

“The only solution for me is Jesse Boone dead,” I said.

He kissed my forehead. “I know.”