Soulful Strut (18 page)

Her severe expression softened a bit. “Y’all
hungry? I made some of my turkey salad and baked a sour cream pound
cake.”

“We’re cool. Stopped at the Chicken Shack
right before we came home,” Candi said. “But we’ll enjoy some of
that cake tomorrow for dessert.”

“Okay then. Goodnight.” Miss Inelle yawned as
she opened her book and removed a fancy bookmark.

“We might watch a little television if you
don’t mind. Maybe I’ll have a teensy slice of cake tonight. C’mon,
Candi. Let’s get in our pajamas and have a slumber party,” Monette
said.

Candi followed her moments later, after
thanking Miss Inelle for baking the cake. “Whew, better not step on
her toe again. Tough old lady.”

Yarva came down the stairs. She wore pink
fuzzy slippers and blue sweats. “Well if it ain’t the party girls
back from a night on the town. Surprised you got in so early.”

“Keep your voice down,” Candi whispered. She
looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen. “Miss Inelle might be
old, but she can hear through walls without straining.”

“We went to the movies, for your
information.” Monette brushed past her.

“So Faye is showin’ movies at her house on
Saturday nights,” Yarva said, lowering her voice as she walked
behind them.

“Faye who?” Monette said before Candi could
answer. She grabbed Candi by the sleeve of her T-shirt and pulled
her into the living room.

Tyeisha hopped from the stuffed chair. She
peered around them. “Hope Lenore is with y’all.”

“Lenore didn’t come to the movies with
us.”

“Movies my ass,” Yarva blurted out. She sat
in another chair but watched Monette and Candi instead of the
television.

Monette ignored Yarva’s comment. “Lenore is
probably just running late like us.”

“Yeah, sure. Bet she missed the last bus.”
Tyeisha slapped the paperback romance novel she held against one
thigh. “Guess I’ll go upstairs.”

“Me, too, girl. By the time I shower and get
in my jammies, television will be watching me instead of me
watch¬ing television,” Candi said with a grin. She headed for the
staircase with Tyeisha close behind.

“You better watch yourself. Don’t wanna end
up back on the cell block,” Yarva said casually. Her expression
made it clear her comment wasn’t because she cared. She picked up
the remote and switched to a movie channel.

“We got here on time, remember?” Monette sat
back and stretched her legs out.

“Right, from ‘the movie.’ Better be careful
going over to that particular playhouse. Faye ain’t servin’ popcorn
and soda pop. Lots of reasons for you to go back to prison.”

“How sweet of you to care, but don’t bother.
I’m awright.” Monette adopted her street persona, the tough
exterior that had helped her survive time after time.

“LCIW is the last place you wanna be. From
what I hear, some ladies on the block would love to see you come
back.” Yarva let a slow smile pull her mouth at the comers. Her
expression was more feral than amused.

Monette’s jaws tightened. Obviously Yarva
still had connections inside to know about the feud Monette had had
with another inmate. Pepper Banks was six feet tall and lifted
weights to keep her figure trim. She had a mean streak and an
intense dislike to Monette. They hadn’t clashed—Pepper had just
decided she hadn’t liked Monette on general principle. Pepper’s
crew, three other women, had of course fallen in line. They’d taken
every chance to bait Monette.

“Yeah, well I’m here and they’re not. Gonna
be that way for a long time.” Monette forced the light tone into
her voice.

“We’ll see.” Yarva stared at the television
with a slight smile on her round face.

“Yeah. You will,” Monette threw back at her
and walked out.

She’d had all she could take of Yarva.
Tyeisha met her at the top of the stairs and followed Monette into
her bedroom. Candi came out of the bathroom with a towel still
around her neck.

“Lenore hooked up with that no-good boyfriend
of hers. She swore she was through with him. He called up, and half
hour later Lenore leaves to meet him.”

“Ramone, the no-good man who likes knockin’
the crap outta her when he’s in a bad mood.” Candi shook her head
slowly.

“And he’s hardly ever in a good mood. At
least not for long,” Tyeisha bit her lower lip. “I tried talkin’
some sense into her.”

“You know she still has his picture in that
fancy frame.

I’ve seen her lookin’ at it.” Candi sat down
on one of the beds. “Gotta say he’s one fine hombre with that
dangerous sexy Latin vibe.”

“You don’t think he’d do anything to her
tonight, do you?” Tyeisha’s large brown eyes widened. “He must know
we’ll miss her if she doesn’t come back.”

“I’m sure she can take care of herself.”
Monette gave Tyeisha a reassuring pat on the shoulder. She was
about to go on but stopped when the bedroom door opened.

Lenore came in. Her face glowed. “I figured
Tyeisha was up worrying about me. I’m fine.”

“You had me goin’ nuts. I oughta whup your
butt,” Tyeisha blurted out She hugged Lenore despite her tough
talk, then let go of her, still angry.

“You need to drink some of that herbal tea
Sherrial is always trying to push on us and relax. Maybe practice
some yoga moves,” Lenore teased. She ducked when Tyeisha aimed a
playful swat at her head. She brushed her thick black hair over one
shoulder as she laughed.

“Now that all the kids have made it in, mama
hen here can calm down.” Monette gave Tyeisha an affectionate look.
“Us older girls need to set a better example.”

“What fun is that?” Candi quipped.

“I’m relieved y’all came back okay. Yarva
kept makin’ comments about the murder rate and dudes killing their
girlfriends.” Tyeisha let out a long breath.

“She likes yanking your chain to watch you
get upset. Learn to ignore her,” Monette advised. She gathered up
her toiletries in preparation for going to the bathroom for a
shower.

“So, Lenore. You look satisfied from your
hair roots down to your toes. Wanna share some of the hot, nasty
details?” Candi leaned back on the bed with both elbows. She
wiggled her eyebrows at Lenore.

Lenore blushed until her cheeks looked like
she’d smudged both with rouge. “We had a long talk about
things.”

“Okay, that was after. I’m talkin’ about the
first thing y’all did,” Candi tossed back.

“None of your business,” Lenore flipped her
fingers at Candi, and then gave her a smug look.

“Don’t matter, girl. I got my imagination to
fill in the blanks. Good thing I was about to jump in a cold
shower, since I couldn’t get my groove on tonight.” Candi
stood.

“Anyway, it was so good to have a
conversation with him, ya know? Ramone really listened to what I
want. I think he’s changed this time. For real,” Lenore added when
the three women glanced at her.

“Just be careful, honey,” Monette finally
said.

“I think we’re gonna make it this time. I
mean the right way.” Lenore’s face lit up with happiness. “I’m all
sweaty. Can I hit the shower first?”

“I can wait. The other bathroom is free, so
it’s all yours.” Monette put her soap and pajamas down on the
bed.

‘Thanks. You guys are like my sisters.”
Lenore gave them all a soft look of fondness. “I’ll be out in no
time, then we can watch one of them corny horror movies.”

They watched her bounce out. Lenore acted
like a sixteen-year-old who had just come in from a date with the
captain of the football team. She hummed a Tejano song down the
hallway. Candi took a deep breath, and then let it out.

“That’s great, huh? I mean, Lenore looks so
happy that Ramone is different now,” Tyeisha said. She looked at
the two older women with the hope of a young woman who still wanted
to believe in fairy-tale romance.

“Pit bulls don’t turn into pussycats
overnight,” Candi retorted.

“Anybody can make a change if they work at
it,” Monette replied. She and Candi gazed at each other for a few
moments.

Candi looked away first. “I’ll see y’all
downstairs in a little bit.”

Tyeisha’s expression combined worry with
puzzlement. She looked at Monette. “Is everything okay?”

Monette forced a smile that she didn’t feel.
“Yeah.”

Chapter 8

Two days later, Monette sat in the Baton
Rouge branch of Jim’s law office. Even at nine-thirty in the
morning, the place was busy. As Monette glanced around at rich,
dark cherry wood and leather, she felt a little uncomfortable. A
parade of expensively dressed clients did not help. She felt out of
place. One legal secretary answered the phone while another tapped
away on the quiet keyboard of a fancy gray-and-black desktop
computer. The flat-screen monitor was turned discreetly away from
prying eyes. The woman read and typed without once checking the
accuracy of her work on the screen. Occasionally the women would
steal a look at Monette. Lucy Chen started to hurry by with a brown
folder in her hands. She stopped when she saw Monette.

“Hello, there. How’s life treating you?” Lucy
glanced at her watch and must have decided she had a few minutes to
spare.

“Not too bad, as a matter of fact,” Monette
said and stood to give her a quick hug. “What about you?”

“Don’t ask. Jim may look mild-mannered, but
he cracks a mean whip.” Lucy gave a melodramatic sigh. When Monette
sat down, Lucy sat in the chair next to her.

“I know, but you love it,” Monette replied
without a trace of sympathy.

Lucy gave an impish grin. “You betcha. My
friends are green with envy that I got to work with the famous Jim
Rand and The Justice Project”

“Nice thing to put on your resume. Your
career seems off to a big start.”

“That Wall Street Journal article on your
case didn’t hurt either. You and Jim were sweet to make sure that
reporter included quotes from me,” Lucy replied.

“Hey, you helped out a lot Instead of being a
lawyer; you should open up a private detective agency. The way you
dug up dirt on Winn Barron and his posse was awesome.” Monette
smiled at her. “Maybe get your own show on Court TV.”

“No, thanks. I’d rather be in front of a
judge than a camera any day. I love a challenge.”

“You got one in me, and did great. Now just
repeat the performance with this pardon.” Monette winked at
her.

“Uh, yeah.” Lucy bit her lower lip and
frowned.Monette’s nose for trouble got a strong scent of it. “That
wasn’t the shout of confidence I was hoping for, Lucy.”Before Lucy
could reply, Jim came down the hallway. He shook hands with a tall,
thin man with blonde hair and said good-bye. When the man was gone,
he turned to Monette.

“Sorry you had to wait. I thought having you
come this early would help.”

“Jim, you have these messages and two faxes.”
One of the legal secretaries handed him a manila folder.

“Thanks Grace. It never stops,” he said to
Monette, then led the way to his office past a winding
staircase.

“I’m off to a pretrial conference,” Lucy
called after them. “See you guys later.”

“Bye,” Monette said and waved to Lucy as she
followed Jim. She admired the dark polished wood of the banister
that curved up two floors. “Beautiful house.”

“Thanks. It’s an official historic
preservation site. My partner’s grandfather built it in 1909 after
he made his fortune in the oil and gas industry.” Jim scanned the
messages as he walked.

“I’m impressed. Why does your partner work if
he comes from that kind of money?” Monette managed to catch a
glimpse of a collection of antique prints on the wall.

“Gary isn’t the type to play tennis all day.
He actually believes in fighting for justice.” Jim turned down a
short hall that ended at his office. He stood aside and allowed
Monette to go in first and closed the door. Tall windows faced busy
St. Louis Street.

“Rich guy with principles. Now why couldn’t I
have hooked up with somebody like Gary instead of Winn?” Monette
sat down across from his desk of rich dark mahogany.

Jim smoothed down his tie, took a deep
breath, and faced her. “Speak of the devil. I’ve got some good news
and some bad news.”

“How bad?” Monette already had a clue by the
deep furrows in his brow.

“Winn Barron has moved back to Louisiana. I
hear he’s decided to go on the offensive if you keep talking about
him. With your book and the media coverage, I guess he figures it
won’t go away so he better hit back. Not what I would advise if I
was his attorney. I’d tell him to ride it out and keep his mouth
shut.” Jim rubbed his square jaw and blinked rapidly.

“Thank goodness he’s not your client. Winn
probably wouldn’t have listened to that advice anyway. He’s gotta
be one of the most arrogant bastards on planet Earth. Thinks he’s
bulletproof.” Monette remembered how enticing she’d found that
combination of arrogance with the money and power to back it
up.

“So far he has been. He sure covered his
tracks well enough,” Jim replied.

“Just enough to stay out of jail. At least
the scandal brought him down a few pegs. What’s the worse he could
do anyway? I mean, his reputation has suffered. All you have to do
is keep track of everything he says. I’ll bet he talks himself into
more trouble.” Monette also knew how well Winn could talk himself
out of a tight spot.

“Maybe.” Jim seemed to be calculating the
odds. His expression implied that the jury was still out, the
results far from certain.

“At least Hines finally told the truth,”
Monette offered. She wanted to see the bright side.

“He’s got credibility problems of his own,
Monette. Hines has nothing to gain by helping you again since he’s
already in prison. Besides, I talked to his lawyer. I get the
distinct impression Jerry might want to kiss and make up with
Barron.” Jim’s long, thin face pulled into a scowl. ‘To think
Barron held high positions of public trust. Scary.”