Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise (42 page)

“I don’t think you killed him, Johnnie. I think he had a bad heart. The coroner will prove that, and you should be off the hook. We’re getting married just in case.”

“But what if we fall in love?”

“If we fall in love, that’ll be a bonus. I hope to God we do. You can help me when I’m on the road going from church to church.”

“Yeah. I think I’d like that, Paul. When you need a passage read from the scriptures, I can do that for you or whatever else you need done. I’ll be real good to you.”

Masterson looked at his watch and said, “Listen, you need to get going. Remember to keep Gloria away from the desk for about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, I will.”

Chapter 76

“
If you hurry up, she might see that you at least showed up.”

A
fter three weeks of rigorous training, and constant testing, which he passed with flying colors, Lucas had come to love the Army and had fully embraced its protocols and traditions. Even though he still had eleven weeks of basic combat training remaining, he knew that he had found his calling in life, which was to be a military officer, and nothing was going to stand in his way. Other than being a professional football player, he thought the Army had the best deal going, and he had already decided he was going to serve for thirty years—longer if they let him.

The Army had given him clothing, shoes, a bed, and three square meals a day. While the food would never compare to the delicious meals his mother, Johnnie, and Marla Bentley made for him, or any of the other food he ate in his native New Orleans, he had developed a taste for the grub the cooks prepared for him. In short, the Army had become the family he never had. Sure, he had half brothers, but the Army was different, and in some ways better. They were brothers in arms, and they all had the same father—the president of the United States, and they obeyed his will to the letter.

He had figured out early on that if he did as he was told, he would be just fine as disobedience was punished swiftly and without apology or remorse. Lots of recruits thought the rules were too strict, but he didn’t think they were strict enough. He had already planned to remedy that when he became an officer. Even though racism was deeply woven into the fabric of the Army, he noticed that a man could earn respect in spite of racism’s fierce bite. Colonel Strong and Sergeant Cornsilk were clear examples of this.

Having immersed himself in the culture of the Army for almost a month, he hardly ever thought of Johnnie, which was why he was stunned when a guard at Fort Jackson told him that a beautiful woman from New Orleans had driven all the way to Fort Jackson to visit him. He had been spending much of his freedom with Cassandra Perry, which helped bring closure to his relationship with Johnnie for good. They had just seen another film and had another scrumptious dinner at the Blue Diamond to celebrate his first liberty. Normally, recruits didn’t get liberty for six to eight weeks after basic began, but he had impressed Sergeant Cornsilk by his ability to lead the men by example, which earned him an early weekend pass. Nevertheless, he was still impressed that Johnnie had driven nearly seven hundred miles just to see him. But at the same time, the last thing he wanted at the moment was to hear from his former flame while Cassandra was in his car pressed up against him.

The guard added, “I can’t remember her name, but she left this letter for you. She said to tell you that if you returned in two hours, you could catch her at the train station.”

Lucas looked at his watch and calculated that he only had about twenty minutes to get there before the train left. It was 10:35, and the train would be leaving at 11:00. He would have to get there with time to spare so that he could go inside and find her. He was hoping that the train would leave late, that way he would have a real chance of catching her. As he drove, he thought about the letter the guard had given him and what it might say. He couldn’t wait to read it, but he knew Cassandra would want to know what it said, too. He figured she wanted to read it more than he did even though she hadn’t let on.

When he reached the train station, it was 10:58. He parked his car right behind Johnnie’s. He looked at Cassandra and said, “She must be abandoning her car.”

They hustled into the train station. The place was a ghost town. No one was in there except them. But there was a train on the tracks. They ran over to the ticket booth and asked the clerk if the eleven o’clock train had left.

“It should be pulling out at any moment. Would you like two tickets?”

“No,” Lucas said, “I’m just trying to see my friend who’s on it.”

“Oh, you must mean, Johnnie Wise,” the clerk said. “She’s a beautiful girl. What happened? She waited until the last moment to get on the train. She kept watching the door like she expected you to come through it and stop her from leaving. I felt sorry for her when she got on the train and looked back at the door one last time. I think she was crying.” The train whistle blew. “If you hurry, she might see that you at least showed up.”

Lucas took off running, and so did Cassandra, who had pulled off her heels so she could keep pace. They blasted through the depot doors at full speed. The train was pulling out of the station. As they ran down the platform, he looked into the cars, hoping he would see her. Still running, the train was moving faster as it moved away from the station, offering a congested choo-choo as it picked up speed. And then, he saw her. She was sitting in a window seat, but she wasn’t looking out of the window.

“Johnnie! Johnnie!” he called out to her, but she couldn’t hear him. He was still calling her name when he reached the end of the platform. He doubled over and rested his hands on his knees, sucking in as much oxygen as he could. When his wind returned to him, he turned around, looking for Cassandra. She had given up long before he had, he guessed. Then, he made the long trek down the platform to where she waited for him.

Chapter 77

“
Can we just sit here for a minute please?”

A
t least you’ve got the letter she left for you,” Cassandra said with compassion, looking at Lucas as he held the letter while they sat in the front seat of his car, knowing he still had strong feelings for Johnnie. “Well . . . aren’t you going to open it?” When he didn’t respond, but rather sat there like he was in a trance, looking at the trunk of Johnnie’s car, she snatched the letter out of his hand. “Give me that. I’ll open it if you won’t.” She sat there, holding the letter, waiting for him to offer some resistance, but he didn’t. He just sat there, stoic, staring out into the night, longing for the girl he still loved even though Cassandra was with him and had been with him for about a month. As she was about to rip the letter open, she felt something hard. She opened the letter and unfolded the paper. A car key fell into her lap. She picked it up and said, “I guess you were right.”

“You want
me
to read
your
letter from the woman you’re still crazy about?”

Without looking at her, he said, “Sure, why not? You’re just going to bug me about it until I tell you what it says anyway, right?”

They went back into the station and sat down on one of the many empty benches provided by the railroad. She unfolded the letter again and started skimming it. She wanted to have an idea of what it said before she read it to him, anticipating the worst. She was a woman, and she knew without knowing Johnnie that she didn’t drive all the way from New Orleans just to say goodbye. Johnnie had driven that distance to try and patch things up. The fact that she left her car told her that not only wasn’t she planning to ever return, but wherever she was going, there was a good chance that another man was involved. As far as Cassandra was concerned, even before reading the letter, Johnnie Wise had driven all the way to Columbia, South Carolina hoping that Lucas would stop her from making a huge mistake. And since she didn’t bother waiting for him to return, she was on a tight time schedule, probably to meet the other man. After skimming the letter she read:

My darling, Lucas,

I’m so very sorry you had to hear what you heard in court that day. I had no idea you were out of jail, in town, and in that courtroom. I suppose that it wouldn’t have made a difference had I known you were there and could hear it all because my life was at stake. All of what you heard had to come to light whether I wanted it to or not. I’m sure it won’t make a difference, but I must explain why I did what I did with Martin Winters, my former stockbroker.

As you know, I wanted to learn about the stock market so that I would know how it worked and so forth, but I noticed that Martin wanted me. And foolishly, I made a deal with the devil, thinking that evil would somehow lead me to heaven on earth in the form of riches. But as you know, the devil doesn’t make deals. He makes us think we have a deal when, in fact, he’s the one that has the deal. We get the crumbs, and we’re foolish enough to think the crumbs are a seven course meal.

Well, foolishly, I made that deal with the devil, and I got rich, but I lost you in the process. And I almost lost my freedom as well. To make matters worse, all my money burned up in my house when the white folks came and burned Ashland Estates to the ground. Had I known I was going to lose all $250,000 and end up destitute with no money, no home, no clothes, and no shoes, I would never have made the deal. So, then I was the bigger loser. The devil and Martin Winters were the big winners.

I thought I had everything. I thought I was going to be calling the shots. I thought I was going to parlay that money into a fortune that I could never lose. I thought that you and I were going to live happily ever after the way lovers do in fairy tales. I didn’t know there was a worm in the apple until after I bought and bit into it. But I’m learning that we all get what we deserve. I messed you over, and the devil messed me over, but good.

But God is good, and his mercy is from everlasting unto everlasting, and I for one, am grateful. In a way, I’m hoping I don’t see you so that I don’t have to look into your eyes. For in them, I know I would see the disdain you now feel for me. You trusted me, and I let you down. My intentions were good, but the path I chose to goodness blinded me, and I couldn’t see where I was going and I fell into a deep dark hole that only God could get me out of. I am still searching for the correct path. I’m still in need of and seeking spiritual wisdom and guidance. I think I’ve found it. I think I’m finally where I’m supposed to be.

I’m leaving the country, and I’ll probably be gone for two to three years. I’m going to travel the world. Can you believe that? Me? Traveling the world? Perhaps, I’ll send you a postcard or two to let you know I’m still alive and well. I know you’re going to Germany and perhaps I’ll find a way to send you something from my travels. I’m so excited about my new life and where it might lead me.

Anyway, I think I’ve said all I need to say. I want you to know that I love you, and that I’ll always love you no matter who comes into our lives. May my God bless and keep you, and may He give you all the desires of your heart. You’ve been a great friend in time of need. I just wish I had been as true to you as you were to me.

Farewell,

Johnnie Wise.

When Cassandra finished the letter, she looked at him to get his immediate reaction. He just sat there, looking forward like he was in a land far, far away. “A penny for your thoughts,” she said.