Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise (40 page)
Read Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise Online
Authors: Keith Lee Johnson
Just as she was about to go to the bathroom, she thought she heard somebody say, “It’s time to pray.” She looked around the room, wondering who was there beside her and Earl Shamus. She knew it wasn’t him, and she knew she hadn’t thought of praying. But the voice was so clear. And then, she heard it again. “It’s time to pray.” Her heart started pounding again as she looked around the room again. Seeing nothing, she realized that it was the voice of God himself—at least that’s what she thought. Whether it was God speaking to her or not, the voice was right. She had tried everything but prayer. She bowed her head and closed her eyes.
Lord God, up in heaven . . . I know I did wrong, but if you’re everywhere at the same time . . . that means you were here, and you saw that I didn’t mean to kill him. I know I shouldn’t have been having sex with him, but you heard him threaten me. What could I do?”
“You could have trusted me,” the voice said.
Frowning, she opened her eyes and looked around the room again. Seeing no one, she bowed her head and closed her eyes again. She was about to start praying again when she heard, “Why are you running from me?”
She opened her eyes again and seeing nothing she closed them and listened. She felt a presence in the room, but she didn’t bother opening her eyes. She knew she wouldn’t see anyone. But she felt a peace that she had never experienced before. Even though she couldn’t see him, she sensed that God was in her room, surrounding her, comforting her. She said, “Have mercy on me and help me.”
The voice said, “I sent you my angels in the City of the Dead. And I have sent you help again.”
While the voice was still speaking, someone knocked her at door. “Open up! Jackson police department! We have a warrant for your arrest!”
Chapter 74
“
I need to take a quick shower.”
J
ohnnie’s heart was about to explode. Her eyes shot open as she realized that she had imagined it all. No one was talking to her. And her prayers had bounced off the ceiling. She wasn’t going to get any help from God, and if she did, it was going to be through the police.
Could they be Angels?
She took a deep breath and gathered herself, ready to face the inevitable. She figured that if God had spoken to her, He wanted her to turn herself in, and He would make sure that justice was done. But still, she was uncertain. Uncertainty made her afraid to go to the door and find out. As she slowly made her way over to the door, a single tear dropped out of her right eye, slid down to her dimple, and careened inside. She pulled the door open and stood behind it. Expecting the police to come in and arrest her, she said, “I didn’t mean to do it. I swear I didn’t.”
“Didn’t mean to do what,” Masterson said, laughing. “I must have scared the living daylights out of you.”
“Paul?” she said, coming from behind the door. “Is that you?”
Still laughing, Masterson said, “Johnnie, why are you hiding behind the door?”
“You said you were the police and that you had a warrant for my arrest.”
He stopped laughing suddenly when he saw the tears in her eyes.
She fast-walked over to him and embraced him. Suddenly feeling safe, she buried her face into his chest and wept, repeating, “I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to do it.”
“Do what,” he said.
“I didn’t mean to kill him, Paul. I didn’t.” She looked into his eyes. “You believe me, don’t you?”
“Of course I believe you,” he said, closing the door, listening intensely. “Now tell me what happened.”
“Oh, Paul, just hold me for a few minutes, please. Just hold me.”
He did as she asked, and then he saw what looked like the bear foot of a man lying in Johnnie’s bed. He put both hands on her shoulders and gently moved her back a few feet, so he could look into her eyes. “Who’s that in your bed, Johnnie? Is he dead?”
Looking into his eyes, she nodded rapidly, and then buried her head into his chest again. “Oh, God! It’s Earl Shamus. He’s dead!”
“The man your mother sold you to?”
“Oh, Paul, it’s such a long sordid story. Will you help me, please?”
“Of course I’ll help you, but you’ve gotta tell me what happened here.”
“He came here to blackmail me, Paul.”
“So you killed him?”
“No . . . yes . . . but not intentionally.”
“You killed him, but not intentionally?”
“And definitely not because he was going to blackmail me.”
“Well, what happened?”
She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Sit down, Paul. This is going to take a few minutes.”
Masterson walked over to the dining table and sat down, shaken by what little he knew so far. He had a thousand questions running through his mind at that moment. He liked Johnnie, and he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it was hard to believe that the man who had paid her mother for sex had driven all the way from New Orleans to blackmail her. And even if he had, what was his leverage?
She sat at the table opposite him and looked into his eyes. She could tell he was having trouble believing she hadn’t killed him on purpose. “He came here because he wanted me back, Paul.”
“Can I ask you a question, Johnnie?”
She nodded.
“Is he in there naked or what?”
She nodded.
Masterson ran his hand down his face. Then he scratched his head and said, “Do I need to ask what he was doing in your bed naked, Johnnie?”
She looked away and shook her head.
“So . . . you were having sex with him?”
She nodded. “I had to, Paul. He threatened to send me to jail.”
“For what?”
“It’s so complicated, Paul. Let’s just say he could have gotten me for the abortion I had and two other murders that I didn’t have anything to do with. I was getting an abortion when they were killed.”
“They? You mean more than Earl is dead?”
“Yes, my stockbroker, a woman named Sharon Trudeau is dead. So is the bellhop who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was tried and acquitted of Sharon’s murder, and I think I was acquitted of the bellhop’s murder, too. I can’t remember. But I did have the abortion, and so even if they couldn’t get me for the bellhop, they could get me for the abortion.”
“So that’s why he was here? To blackmail you into sleeping with him again?”
“Yes. But to be totally honest with you, Paul, he offered me a lot of things. And I took the offer. We were just sealing the deal when he had a heart attack and died. Now are you still going to help me?”
“Let me ask you something, Johnnie?”
“Did you ever love this guy?”
“Never, Paul. I never did, and I don’t think I ever would have.”
“But you accepted his offer.”
“It was a great offer, Paul.”
“What was on the table?”
“A mansion, tuition for school, medical bills, a brokerage firm with a secretary, money, cars, four vacations a year with the promise of not telling the district attorney’s office about the abortion and the bellhop, and a strong defense if I was ever indicted.”
“Don’t they know about the bellhop?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure if it was a part of my indictment, and I’m not about to go back to New Orleans and find out. I didn’t kill either of them, but no one would want to hear that. Just so you know Earl had detectives on us.”
“What do you mean on
us
?”
“I mean he had detectives following me, and now they’re on you. I don’t know how many there are, but they’re in Houston checking into your background, I guess.”
“Are you sure they’re in Houston, Johnnie?”
“That’s what Earl told me.”
“And you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Earl wouldn’t lie to me, Paul.”
“Why wouldn’t he? He came here for sex, and you gave it to him. What makes you think he wasn’t going to put the authorities on you after he left here?”
“Because he gave me money.”
“How much money?”
“Twenty thousand.”
“Twenty thousand? Dollars?”
She nodded rapidly.
“We still don’t know if the detectives are here or not? We need to know before we move the body.”
“They’re not here, Paul. He wouldn’t come here if they were. Frankly, I think one of the reasons he sent them to Houston was to make sure they weren’t here so no one would know.”
“Either that, or he was bluffing.”
“I don’t think he was, Paul.”
“Why not?”
“There was no reason to. I told you what the offer was, and I told you what he had on me. With all he had on me, he didn’t need to run a bluff. When Tony Hatcher told him that you and I were spending time together, he probably felt threatened and wanted to know who you were and if you were really a legitimate preacher. Since I’d had a bite to eat with you two days in a row, he probably thought that it was now or never. So he sent them to Houston, drove up here, and made his pitch.”
“Do you think he would have told the district attorney about the abortion if you hadn’t given him what he wanted?”
“Yes.”
Masterson frowned. “How did he know about the abortion in the first place?”’
“His wife, Meredith, hired Tony Hatcher to follow him. Hatcher bugged my house. He heard about the abortion, all my other business, and guess what else?”
“What?”
“Everything, and I mean everything, is on tape. Now that Meredith is dead, Earl has all the money and it is substantial.”
“Okay. We’re gonna have to move fast. You need to get downstairs and keep Gloria busy.”
“You mean she’s awake?”
“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t come up right away when I saw your light go on.”
“If I have to keep Gloria busy, I’m gonna need a shower first.”
“Make it quick. I’ll get Shamus dressed. And when I’m sure you’ve got Gloria distracted, I’ll bring him down.”
“Maybe you should get his car first.”
“Good idea. What kind of car does he drive?”
“A Cadillac. There shouldn’t be too many of them out there.”
“Okay, get in the shower, and I’ll search his clothes for the keys.”
Chapter 75
“
Listen, you need to get going.”
F
ifteen minutes later Masterson had moved the Cadillac to the side stairs, where it would be easier to get Earl Shamus out of the hotel and into the car without being seen. He was sweating because he was nervous, but also because it was a struggle to maneuver a dead body so that he could put clothes on it. Fortunately, Earl wasn’t completely naked. He still had his T-shirt and one of his socks on. It had been essential that he get Earl’s underwear and pants on first, which was incredibly difficult. He sat on the bed and waited for Johnnie to come out of the bathroom. Moments later, the shower shut off, the door opened, and she came out wearing nothing but a white towel. He noticed that she had a terrific figure, beautiful skin, and he couldn’t help staring at her for a moment or two. Then he said, “Could you dress in the other room. You don’t have to get fully dressed, but throw something on and hurry back. When you finish, I need you to come back in here and help me put his underwear and pants on. I can put his shoes on by myself.”
