The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (26 page)

The DEA promised to contact him should they need his assistance. In the meantime, he was instructed to just ‘hang loose’ and report any unusual happenings at the agency. In a way, he was relieved. This would give him the time to investigate a few things on his own.

Melinda called to see how things were going and to thank him for the trip. In the midst of the conversation, he mentioned Sill’s leaving. Melinda’s shock mirrored his own initial reaction but she regrouped rather quickly almost too quickly. William was suspicious of everyone at this point. He wondered if Sill had given Melinda any inclination that she was about to walk out on him. Too proud to ask, William didn’t understand, couldn’t fathom Melinda’s cheeky attitude when Sill’s departure was brought up. Several times during the conversation, she had intentionally brushed off the topic of Sill’s leaving. This aroused his curiosity even more. After all, they had been friends. Or so he thought.

“If you need anything, anything at all, William, be sure to call me. You know the number,” Melinda offered.

William stopped her. “Well, actually I do need a few things, now that you mention it, Melinda. I could use some groceries and maybe something to drink, you know, purely for medicinal purposes to kind of get me through these next couple of weeks. I’ve got to do some furniture shopping also. Sill cleaned me out.”

“You po’ thang. Look, give me about fifteen or twenty minutes and I’ll see what I can do. Lord knows we can’t have you pickin’ out any furniture. If your taste in furniture is anything like your taste in clothes, it’ll be stars and stripes forever. Remember that green plaid jacket you tried to match with the lime green paisley tie in Lagos?” They both laughed out loud.

“Hurry up, Melinda. I’m gonna grab a quick shower so I’ll leave the front door open for you.”

Melinda pulled up in the long driveway right as William stepped into the shower. Hearing the screen door slam, he shouted. “Melinda, is that you?” When she affirmed that it was he continued. “I’m in the shower. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. You noticed that I didn’t say, ‘Have a seat.’ Sill took the chairs. There’s a bottle of
Courvosier
on the dresser in the bedroom. I would tell you to get a glass but Sill took them too.

“I must admit, girlfriend didn’t leave much, at least she left your bed. A man don’t need much more than that, makes for a simple life. Go to work, come home and go to bed.”

William finished showering and stepped from the bathroom just in time to see Melinda peering in empty room after empty room as if by some divine intervention they were suddenly going to be refurnished. Shaking her head, she turned and faced a partially dressed William Stanton. William finished buttoning his shirt and bent over to tie his shoes. Feeling the intensity of

Melinda’s gaze, he looked up only to confirm his feeling. She was staring—staring at him like he’d just committed a cardinal sin. She was mystified.

“What?” William was at a loss.

“And what masquerade party you plan on attendin’ on a Thursday afternoon, William Stanton? Did Sill take your clothes, too? Lord knows you need someone. If no more than to help you get dressed. Maybe undress too. Whatcha’ think? But seriously, William, just tell me this. Was one of your parents color blind?”

He scarcely heard the last remark. He was used to her subtle little innuendoes about needing help getting undressed. This was not the first time she had made remarks with sexual connotations. It happened from time to time at the office. And he had joked about her sexually harassing him in the workplace.

In Lagos, it had become almost a daily occurrence with him dismissing it in the course of the conversation. But there was no dismissing her remarks now. Still, everything needed to be put in proper perspective. There was a time and place for everything. Now was neither the time nor the place. Not ignoring the remark William replied, “I’ve come to accept the fact that I may need help getting dressed but I wasn’t under the impression that I needed help getting undressed too. Maybe when I get this mess sorted out you can give me some pointers in that area too.”

William’s attempt to waylay her advances did just that. Without discouraging Melinda or hurting her feelings with a cold rebuff, he let her know that her timing was all wrong. Yet, he left her hopeful. And with Sill gone and winter rapidly approaching, her tight young body might be just what the doctor ordered.

Melinda grinned from ear to ear.

“Goodness gracious William, that’s the closest thing to an
almost
I’ve heard from you in six years. You must be slippin’. C’mon, let’s go shoppin’. Oh, I almost forgot. Please change those clothes.”

William and Melinda chose a charcoal leather sofa and loveseat for the living room, a couple of stylish glass end tables and a gorgeous, mahogany, dining room set. Melinda was ecstatic. For the first time in her life, she could actually shop without having to worry about how much she had to spend or what something cost. Of course, it wasn’t for her but it sure as hell felt good to be able to spend freely regardless of whose money it was. She’d been obnoxious through the entire shopping spree, knowing that whatever furniture she suggested, William would gladly go along with.

During the course of the day, she had driven the salesgirl up the wall with unnecessary queries about this wood and that, simply because, for the first time in her life, she could. William’s Gold Card gave her the right. By the time she finally made her final choice, she was so exhausted that she came close to dozing off on the loveseat while they waited for the salesgirl to run William’s
Visa
card through. Minutes later the salesgirl returned, her walk punctuated with a new rhythm.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stanton, but your credit card’s been denied. I’m afraid I’m going to have to hang on to it”

“Not a problem.” William searched through the bevy of cards before handing the girl his
American Express
card.

“Good as gold,” Melinda said to no one in particular. The salesgirl assumed the remark was intended for her.

When the
American Express
card met with the same fate, the sales clerk made sure she handed the card to Melinda.

“Sorry,” she then smiled before attending to another couple who had been waiting patiently for some time.

William and Melinda left the store in silence, puzzled to say the least. William drove to the nearest ATM where he was again notified that there were insufficient funds for him to withdraw any amount of money from his savings. The results were the same when he tried his checking account. He was livid now.

“There’s close to a hundred grand alone just in the savings and I can’t get a damn dime out of the machine. Will you please tell what’s happening, Melinda?”

Clearly shaken by this latest turn of events, William was sure that Terry Shannon had frozen his accounts without telling him. He pulled the Mercedes into a 7-Eleven, found the DEA agent’s business card in his wallet in between the worthless credit cards, grabbed his cell from the glove compartment and dialed Agent Shannon.

“Terry Shannon, please.”

“Mr. Shannon’s in a meeting. May I ask who’s calling?”

“Tell Shannon it’s William Stanton. Tell him it’s important that I speak to him
now.”

“Shannon here. What can I do for you, William?”

“Shannon, let me ask you a question. I need you to be perfectly frank with me. Do you have any earthly idea of what’s been going on since I got back? No credit cards, no savings or checking accounts. Tell me, honestly. Do you know anything at all about this?”

“William, right now I need you as much as you need me. DEA and customs are doing their best to do absolutely nothing to disrupt any of the lives of the people involved in this case. This is a very delicate situation, and a very sensitive case, William. Our best chance for an airtight case and perhaps a conviction is to make sure that everything runs smoothly and according to plan. If it does, then we can better observe the players in their natural environment. If they’re comfortable they may slip up and make a mistake. Then we’ve got ‘em. If, on the other hand, we disrupt the normal flow of things, we’ll set off a widespread panic. With the money and resources those two fellows have it’s very, very possible that they’ll seek refuge in a foreign country in some hidden villa where we’ll never find them. And, even if we were to find them, they’d probably be dead and gone by the time extradition proceedings took effect.

Furthermore, you’re our only link to the inside, our ace in the hole. What sense would it do for us to make problems for you when you hold the key to our success? I’m sorry, William but you’re barking up the wrong tree this time, my friend.”

Terry Shannon seemed to be speaking in earnest. But he was not above suspicion. And even after the long spiel, William was not convinced.

“Tell me again, Shannon. Make me understand.” An exasperated William confessed he couldn’t even buy gas at the 7-Eleven.

“Look, William. Believe it or not, but it’s in your best interest as well as ours that you maintain the same lifestyle that you had before any of this madness took place. In Morris’ case, the slightest change could raise suspicion. We don’t want that at all, believe me. If there’s the slightest change in your financial situation, it’s not us. What we need is for you to maintain everything as it’s always been. Are you followin’ me, William? I know you don’t know me very well, but try to trust me. Ask around. Find out about me. Trust me, William. If all goes according to plan and it should and we bring Morris down, you won’t have to worry too much about the balance in your savings. Just be patient and stay in touch. Now, if you like I can check into your account history and find out what the problem is.”

“No, no that’s okay,” William replied.

Terry Shannon hung up the phone. And for some reason, William believed the dumpy, little Irishman on the other end. And since he believed him, William threw the Mercedes in gear, made a U-turn and headed for First Union Bank on the corner of East Lansing and Bessemer. Entering the bank, it became obvious to the tellers and bank manager that William Stanton was not about to wait in line. A shapely brunette with far too much mascara and too little personality cut William off before he could enter the branch manager’s office.

“May I help you, sir?” she asked.

“I really don’t think so. That is unless you’re the branch manager. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Unaware of the slight, she led him to the branch manager’s office, showed him in, did the introductions and closed the door behind her. When he exited twenty minutes later all anger had dissipated and in its place was a firm resolve. The shapely brunette smiled apologetically or at least that’s the way William took it. It seemed like everyone knew that Sill had taken him to the cleaners yet no one was talking. And there were no leads. It was almost as though Sylvia Stanton had simply vanished into thin air. He thought about placing a missing persons report and then decided against it. If he found her at this juncture in his life, he couldn’t be responsible for his actions. Besides, Sill could wait for now. There were more pressing matters to be addressed.

“Are you OK, William?” Melinda asked, concerned.

“Fine, Melinda. I guess I just have a lot on my mind,” he lied.

“I can imagine. Why don’t you stop by the supermarket? I’ll grab a couple of steaks, throw them on the grill and well see what happens.”

“See what happens?” William laughed aloud. “If anything else happens they’ll be carrying me off to the funny farm.”

“That’s what happens when people get
too
attached to the almighty dollar. That’s why all those fools went jumpin’ out windows back in the late twenties. Didn’t see no black folks jumpin’ though, did you? Black folks are useta’ not havin’ nothin’.” Melinda laughed a big hearty laugh that made William chuckle, too.

They stopped off at the Super K and Melinda was in and out within minutes .”Where to?” William asked.

“Well, I don’t have a big fancy house like yours, William, but I think my furniture may be a tad bit more comfortable.” William chuckled; made a right at the light, then drove down Decatur to Coolspring Street.

Despite having driven Melinda home on several occasions, he had never been in. Always in a hurry to get home to Sill. Perhaps, if he had stopped in earlier the loss of Sill wouldn’t have been quite so hard to take now. In any case, he was here now and was pleasantly surprised at how charming and tastefully

decorated Melinda’s home was. But then, why should he have been? She was meticulous and an impeccable dresser.

“Pour yourself a drink while I get comfortable. Might wanna grab a couple of glasses too, you know, to take with you.”

She flicked on the stereo. Aretha Franklin lit up the room with
Natural Woman.
William made himself a gin and juice and flipped through the
Essence Magazine
on the coffee table. Making his way to the étagère, he leafed through the albums, recognizing artists like King Curtis, Jimmy McGriff and a few others when Melinda returned wearing only a faded blue terrycloth robe.

«William, I was goin› to go in and put on somethin› sexy and try to seduce you after you›d had a couple of drinks but I don›t know what I›d of done if I›d gone through all that trouble and you›d rejected me. I›d really have felt bad if I couldn›t turn your head, bad as you›re feelin› right now.»

William didn›t respond right away. He noticed Melinda›s head drop but was at a total loss for words. After some time he spoke. «Melinda, what I need more than anything else at this point in my life is a friend not a bed partner but a friend.»

He held Melinda›s hands in his own, gently.

«I›m sure you›ve known how I›ve felt about you for a while, William. I appreciate the fact that you were sensitive enough not to laugh in my face. I had the hardest time sittin› in the next office, just achin› to seduce you. Those nights we stayed late finishin› this project or that, tryin› to beat a deadline were the roughest. I tried my best to respect your marriage—to respect Sylvia. I knew I wasn›t in the runnin› but that doesn›t stop me from wantin› you. Some nights I would come home and just fantasize about you having romantic candlelight dinners. But you know what I admired most about you, William? I admired the fact that in spite of my little snide remarks you always remained so faithful and so true to Sill. I guess it›s every woman›s dream to have a man›s undying devotion. And you were never short, William. You never brushed me aside. My little sly innuendos were like so many countless teardrops that you simply let roll off.