Murder on the Down Low (8 page)

After leaving the library, Marvin headed back to the apartment off Vermont that he shared with his girlfriend. Jana was nice enough, but she didn’t turn him on. Sex with most women bored him and it took all the mental energy he could muster to force himself to get off. With Jana, it was easier than with some, but still nothing he looked forward to. But she was safe because she trusted him completely and didn’t ask a lot of questions.

When he opened the front door, he saw her sitting on the couch in a pink, frilly teddy.

Damn.

“Hey, sweetie. I was waiting up for you.”

He gave Jana a quick peck, then headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She followed after him, throwing her arms around his waist and standing on her tiptoes to give him a wet kiss on the back of the neck. He could feel the two sunny side-up eggs she had for breasts pressed against his back. She was a beautiful girl. She was a beautiful redbone with long thick hair. But she had the body of a twelve-year-old boy. Marvin preferred men, not boys.

“I missed you, sweetie,” she squealed in an annoying, high-pitched voice. “Did you miss me?”

Marvin did not bother to turn around. “Of course.”

He pulled away, lifted his T-shirt over his head and stepped out of his jeans.

Marvin resigned himself to having to make love to her, but he needed a few minutes alone to psyche himself up for it. He turned around and kissed her pancake-flat breasts, then ran his hand between her moist little stick thighs.

“I see you’re already nice and wet for me.” He rewarded her with a long, passionate kiss. “Why don’t you go pour me a glass of wine and wait for me to finish my shower so I can give you what you need?”

Jana grinned excitedly and scurried away. Marvin stepped into the shower and turned on the water as hard as it would go and soaped himself down. He hoped Nathaniel didn’t have another dude. He did not want to lose him.

Back in the bedroom, Jana had turned out the lights and placed scented candles on both nightstands.

“Here’s your wine, sweetie.”

Marvin took the glass from her and chugged it down, wishing he had asked for something stronger. He sat back against the headboard as Jana did a cat crawl from the foot of the bed and took him into her mouth. Her blow jobs did absolutely nothing for him. He closed his eyes and thought about Nathaniel. That image immediately brought him to life.

“That’s my good boy,” Jana cooed, taking credit she didn’t deserve. She slipped out of her teddy and was about to climb on top of him when he turned away and pulled a condom from the nightstand.

“Sweetie, I already told you, we don’t have to use protection anymore. I’m on the pill and we’ve been together long enough to trust each other.”

That made the third time this month that Jana had protested when Marvin reached for a condom. He’d be able to come faster without it, but he wasn’t about to play Jana’s little game. She was on academic probation for the second time and would almost surely be kicked out of school next semester if she didn’t get it together. Getting pregnant would mean child support payments for the next eighteen years. He wasn’t about to fall for that.

Marvin tore open the condom wrapper with his teeth, slipped it on and gave the girl what she wanted. He never took his eyes off the clock on the nightstand. It took her exactly seventy-eight seconds to come. He didn’t bother to.

The next morning, while he lay in bed, Jana ran out for coffee and croissants. Neither of them had classes on Tuesdays, so Jana had dubbed Tuesday mornings their
cuddle time
. Marvin had gone along without a fuss. They usually spent the morning watching movies recorded on TiVo. It was one of the few times that Marvin actually enjoyed Jana’s company.

Despite his indifference, Marvin knew that he might actually end up marrying the girl. Having a wife who was as trusting as a two year old would make things much simpler. As long as he paid the bills, pampered her with flowers and expensive gifts, and dicked her good a few times a month, she would have no complaints. He could keep Nathaniel on the side and they could all live happily ever after.

Marvin heard the front door open and slam shut. Jana bolted into the bedroom, a stricken look on her face. She was panting like someone in need of a respirator. She had a copy of the
L.A. Times
in hand, but no coffee or croissants.

Marvin sat up. “What’s the matter?”

Jana held up the newspaper and pointed to a large headline across page one. “Somebody shot him.” Her face crumpled into tears.

“Shot who?”

“Your friend. Nathaniel Allen. He’s dead. Somebody shot him last night.”

Marvin tried to stand up, but his equilibrium was way off kilter. The floor actually seemed to be swaying. He grabbed the newspaper from Jana and read the first paragraph, then read it again. When he finished the entire story, he dropped the paper on the bed and brushed past Jana into the bathroom.

Marvin locked the door and turned on the shower to drown out the sound. Then he sobbed.

E
ugene drove his BMW into the underground parking garage at Ramsey & King and turned off the engine. Everything was going well in his world and he refused to believe it was anything but the grace of God.

He’d seen the doctor the day before and his T-cell count was still strong. He’d been taking a combination of several new AIDS drugs which gave him a lot more energy. He’d also given up beef and pork and limited his alcohol intake to red wine. He was basically turning into an all-around health nut.

Eugene had actually enjoyed his first new members’ class at Ever Faithful on Monday night and was feeling as if his life was finally back on track. And Belynda was absolutely incredible.

For the first time in his life, he felt comfortable enough with a woman to tell her everything about his past. His attraction to men, his promiscuity, even Maya’s death. Belynda had listened without comment, clearly in shock at first. But later, she told him she truly believed that he was ready to commit himself to God. The fact that he was being so honest with her was proof of that. If God could forgive him, so could she.

Turning off the engine, Eugene pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket and dialed Belynda’s number. He couldn’t believe how he had connected with her on such a strong, spiritual level in just two short days. They had talked on the phone for nearly three hours after brunch on Sunday, and last night after class, she had invited him over to her place.

When Eugene heard Belynda’s voice on the phone, he grinned. “I just wanted to be the first to tell you good morning. I really had a nice time last night.”

“So did I,” Belynda said. They had read Bible verses, then gone for a long walk at Fox Hills Park. Belynda was deeply religious and did not believe in sex or even intimate kissing before marriage. With everything going on in his life, Eugene welcomed her rules.

“I’m wearing that lapel pin you gave me.” He glanced down at the small, gold circle with a mustard seed glued to the center.

“I didn’t expect you to wear it to work.” Belynda was obviously pleased.

“I plan on wearing it everywhere I go.”

“Just remember what it represents,” she said. “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, God will do the rest.”

“You have no idea how much your support means to me. I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. I’ll call you later.”

Eugene opened the car door and removed his jacket from the back of the headrest. His buttoned-down Hugo Boss was the most expensive suit in his closet and wearing it always made him feel like a million bucks.

He stepped off the elevator onto the twenty-first floor and waved at the receptionist, a Filipino chick who had been hitting on him since the day he’d joined the firm.

“Good morning, Marci.”

She frowned and turned up her nose.

What was that about?

He strolled down the hallway, past cubicle after cubicle where the secretaries sat. Either he was being paranoid or all of them were shooting him hateful looks. When he passed an older black woman who’d always been chatty with him, she rolled her eyes. The woman in the next cubicle looked away.

What was going on?

When he reached his office, his secretary wasn’t at her desk. He set his briefcase down and turned on his computer. While it was booting up, he checked his voicemail.

“Hey, man, call me as soon as you get this message. It’s extremely important.” It was Liam, an associate in the Tax Department. The urgency in Liam’s voice concerned him. Liam was the only openly gay associate in the firm. His partner was HIV positive. They had spent many hours talking about Eugene’s situation.

He dialed his coworker’s extension and Liam picked up on the first ring. “Have you read your email?” Eugene sensed panic in Liam’s voice.

“No. I just turned on my computer.”

“Well, you should check it. Right now.”

“What’s going on?”

“You’ll see in a minute. I’m on my way down.”

Eugene typed in his password and waited for access. There were ten new email messages. He opened the one that read, “Important Alert—Read Immediately!”

When the words of the email hit him, he felt like someone had bashed him in the head with a baseball bat.

Did you know that your coworker Eugene Nelson is a murderer? His beautiful fiancée, Maya Washington, recently died after a long, painful battle with AIDS. Eugene’s story about her dying of pneumonia is a big, fat lie. Maya died because Eugene is a closet homosexual who failed to tell her that he was HIV positive. Maya would be alive today if Eugene had told her he was running around having sex with men. Do you really want a liar and a murderer working at your law firm?

Liam charged into his office just as Eugene finished reading the message.

“Are you okay?” Liam closed the door.

Eugene’s cheeks burned with rage. He did not deserve this. How could he continue to show his face around the firm? Now the nasty looks from the support staff made sense.

“Did everybody in the firm get this email?”

Liam nodded and sat down. “I think so. Who could’ve done this?”

Eugene knew exactly who was responsible. He had no idea how the crazy bitch had been able to hack into his law firm’s computer system, but there was no doubt in his mind that Special was the culprit. No one else held this kind of animosity toward him.

Two weeks before Maya’s death, Eugene had tried to visit her in the hospital, but Special had stood in the doorway, blocking his path, loudly threatening to call security if he didn’t leave. Special was the only reason he didn’t show up at Maya’s funeral. He couldn’t handle another angry confrontation. Their altercation at the burial site confirmed that he had made the right decision not to attend the church service.

Before he could figure out what he was going to do, his telephone rang. The mailroom had a package for him, but the messenger insisted that Eugene, not his secretary, had to sign for it. Eugene didn’t have time for this right now, but then he remembered that he was waiting for some confidential documents from a client.

He told Liam to stay put and took off for the mailroom. This time, he ignored all the evil looks from the secretaries.

Eugene scribbled his name on a clipboard and rushed back to his office. As he tore open the envelope, he noticed that it wasn’t from his client. His face clouded after he read the first few words.

“Are you okay?” Liam put a hand on Eugene’s shoulder. “What is it?”

It took a second for Eugene to respond. “Maya’s mother is suing me,” he said, fighting back tears. “For wrongful death.”

T
he day after her big fumble at Vista Electronics, Vernetta was headed out for a late lunch when she ran into Haley and O’Reilly in the lobby of their office building.

“Hey, Vernetta,” O’Reilly beamed, “great news. We got that Vista Electronics case. And we owe it all to Haley.” He gave her a fatherly hug. “The Assistant General Counsel said he’d never met such a sharp young lawyer.”

Haley glowed up at O’Reilly, then treated Vernetta to a more modest smile.

Vernetta tried to fight it off, but pure jealousy made her stomach churn.

“We just had lunch at Spago to celebrate,” Haley announced. “I dropped by your office to invite you, but you weren’t there.”

Vernetta could not hide her disappointment. She was part of the team. They should have postponed their little celebratory lunch and waited for her.

“I had the lobster salad.” Haley splayed her fingers and pressed her palm against her belly. “And it was fantastic.”

“We’re getting together at three for a planning meeting,” O’Reilly said. “Are you open?”

O’Reilly should have checked with her before scheduling the meeting. He was treating
her
like the junior associate. “Yeah, I’m open,” she said and walked away.

Vernetta ate a dry turkey sandwich at her desk and pouted. After about fifteen minutes of feeling sorry for herself, she decided to shake it off. If she were going to make partner, she couldn’t let things like this get to her. Haley was jockeying for lead on this case, and Vernetta would just have to jockey her out of the way.

The meeting with O’Reilly and Haley was in less than forty-five minutes. Vernetta pulled a legal pad from her desk and started making a to-do list. The key to handling a wage and hour lawsuit was getting organized at the beginning. She began drafting a detailed litigation strategy.

The time flew. Fifteen minutes before three, Vernetta made her way to O’Reilly’s office. She wanted to get there before Haley so she could have a little bonding time with the boss. When she reached the doorway she found the two of them sitting at his side table, already fully engaged.

O’Reilly waved her inside. “Come on in. Vista Electronics is anxious to get going with this case. A messenger dropped off these payroll records this morning. We’ve been taking a look at some of them.”

Haley gave Vernetta a look that told her in very clear terms that she was prepared to do battle. If Vernetta had any doubts about Haley and O’Reilly’s relationship, she didn’t anymore. It was clear that Haley was now holding down the top spot on O’Reilly’s list of favorite associates. If Vernetta wanted her title back, she would have to fight for it.