Under Abnormal Conditions (16 page)

“Why are you bothering us? We are not at work
and you can’t boss me around at my own home,” she said in a way
that sounded like she had been coached.

I reached in my pocket, pulled out the gold
hoop earring and asked, “What did he tell you about this? Sooner or
later you are going to get sick of his lies. What does he tell you
when he goes back home to his wife? How does that make you feel? Do
you really want-”

“Stop. Just stop. He’s in the bedroom. It’s
right through that door,” she said pointing behind her in
disgust.

I walk by her and entered the room. The room
was dark, but I could see the bed was empty. I looked behind the
door, but there was no one there either. The window didn’t appear
to have been opened.

I walked out of the room and apologized for
bothering her. I got into my car and drove around the corner. I
waited for about five minutes before I went back. Not bothering
with a knock, I planted a firm kick next to the doorknob. The
doorframe crumbled to the floor like a box and fallen
toothpicks.

Dexter was shirtless, standing over Mona. He
appeared to have already knocked her down and I wasn’t going to let
him hit her again.

He turned to square up his body for a
confrontation of which he wanted no part. I hit him with one good
shot to the chin and he fell to his knees and then to his back. I
helped Mona up and told her to get dressed and leave.

She grabbed her pants and purse and quickly
left. When she was out the door, Dexter asked, “I didn’t think you
had it in you, Church-boy.”

I noticed he wore a small bandage on his left
ear. I tossed the earring at him and said, “You left this at my
house last night. Explain.”

“Go to hell. I ain’t got to say nothing.”

As I walked towards him, he tried to crawl
away like a crawfish. I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to
his feet and pushed him against the wall.“I’ve got all the proof I
need that you broke into my house. With your record you’ll be back
in jail before the sun goes down. Tell me what I want to know.”

As his eyes began to bug out, I realized
maybe I needed to loosen my grip. I let him go and he grabbed and
massaged his throat.

“Phil, man. It was Phil,” he said when he
regained his ability to speak. “Who did you think it was?”

“Why?”

“He wanted me to find out what you knew. I
don’t know what you said to him yesterday, but he was acting all
crazy and stuff. I don’t know and I don’t care.”

“Why did you give him up so easy?”

“I told you before, I ain’t going to fight
you and I don’t owe that old white man nothing.”

“If you don’t owe him anything, why did you
break into my house?” I asked.

“Look Church-boy, I had my own interests to
protect and I don’t need you in my business either. I ain’t got no
love for him but he was good for business.”

“The gambling?”

“Hell yeah. Don’t act like you didn’t know. I
would have all these big politicians in there. We snuck them in and
got their cash. They got a little smoke and some females and that
was it. They thought they were having a good time.”

“Did Sherry know about it?”

“She kept the books didn’t she?” I don’t know
how she didn’t know,” he answered as if I was stupid.

“Did you tell that to the police.”

“I ain’t lost nothing down there. What I’m
going to talk to them for, fool. You better get outta my face and
outta my house. I’m about finished playing with you.”

“This is not your house and I expect you to
be gone before Mona gets back. If you lay one finger on her, I’ll
come back and we can finish what we started last night.”

As I left, I basically knew what I needed to
do, but I didn’t know how. If I could figure out what was going on
at the club, then it should have been easy for the police.

Ricky’s car was still parked in the yard when
I turned into my driveway. I don’t know why but I was surprised. I
really hoped he had changed. When it came down to it, I guess it
was just the same song he had sung so many times before. I was glad
to see there weren’t any other strange cars parked close by, police
or otherwise.

The heat mugged me as I walked through the
door. I didn’t think it was quite cool enough outside for that, but
I was too tired to argue. It didn’t matter as I heard Ricky snoring
away the day. My first instinct was to go wake him up and find out
why he was still there.

I gently tapped on the door and walked in. I
left my patience and courtesy outside. He was passed out on the
chair in front of the computer. I don’t know whether it was from
lack of sleep or from alcohol. I remembered he had a bad habit of
staying awake all night surfing the Internet and sleeping during
the day. I left the room without saying anything. Anything I would
have said would have been more out of anger at someone else than at
him.

After turning the heater off, I turned on the
television. Nothing caught my attention, and I chuckled at myself
thinking that nothing on television could compare to what was going
on in my life anyway.

The phone started ringing. I didn’t want to
miss another call so I walked into the bedroom and answered it. It
was Trey.

“I’ve been trying to get you all day,” he
said.

“I had the funeral and some other business to
take care of. What’s up?”

“Well, I noticed a dark colored car parked in
that empty lot across the street from you this morning when I
dropped the car off. I wouldn’t have noticed it, but it followed us
back to the apartment.”

“Could you see the driver?” I asked.

“In a situation like that, you try to see as
little as possible. Are you in trouble? Did Ricky-”

“No its not Ricky. I don’t know what’s going
on, but sitting around here isn’t going to get me anywhere. I’ll
call you later. Thanks.” I hung up the phone and reached in my
pocket. With so much going on, I forgot to look at the piece of
paper I got from the librarian. It read C.R. Harrison – Private
Detective.

Chapter 23

If Sherry and Phil really did have an affair,
he would be the one to talk to. Why else would his call have been
so mysterious? What if he had already given James the news about
whether or not she had been cheating? I didn’t know any more than I
did the day before. I folded the paper back and placed them in my
wallet.

I didn’t have enough to go to the police
because everything I had was circumstantial. The only way I would
tell them what I knew was if they approached me first and that
would only be a matter of time.

I remembered I had my meeting with Carmen. Of
all the decisions I made that day, that was the worst. I shouldn’t
have even agreed to meet her. My life was far too complicated to
bring someone new into it.

She was beautiful though and beautiful women
always did have a tendency to bring out the idiot in me.

As I looked at myself in the mirror, I
wondered how I could have gotten myself in this situation. I
flattered myself with the fleeting thoughts she could be interested
in someone like me. At any other point in my life maybe, but not
then.

I was almost out the door when I remembered
my slumbering houseguest. I knocked on the door of the spare
bedroom to wake him up. He slowly answered.

“Hey,” he grumbled. “I know what you are
thinking and I promise-”

“Have you been out of the house lately,” I
said as I entered the room and ignored his lie.

“Umm hmm.”

“Ricky, this is not a game. When Trey dropped
your car off, he said someone followed him back to his
apartment.”

His face flushed as much as his skin would
allow and he said, “What am I going to do? They’re out there
waiting for me. They know I’m here.”

He walked over to the window and was about to
try and peek out of the blinds, when he cautiously put his hand
back down to his side.

“Look, if you hadn’t been outside, then they
may still think your mother is here.”

“But Doc, they are not going to wait forever.
These guys are ruthless. I can’t remember how many stories I’ve
heard about them just rushing into someone’s house and taking
whatever they wanted. What if they break in here after you’re
gone?”

I thought to myself it wouldn’t be much
different than if they broke in when I was there. I didn’t believe
in having guns around the house so the only weapons I had were the
golf clubs I threatened him with late Monday night.

“I have got an idea. I don’t know if it is
going to work, but you have to try it.” I walked over to him and
grabbed his arm. I looked into his fearful eyes and said, “If you
don’t, then there is nothing else I can do for you,” I told
him.

“Anything. I don’t want to die. I’ll try it,
whatever it is.” The fear in his eyes had turned to terror.
“I have to leave the house in a few minutes. If Junior and Lewis
are the only ones watching the house, maybe they will follow me.
Maybe they have been following me the entire time. I don’t know.
When I leave, watch to see if any strange cars follow me. If they
do, you grab your keys, jump in your car, and head in the opposite
direction.”

“I’m scared, Doc.”

“I know. I am too, but what else can we
do?”

“Maybe we could-”

“This is the only way, Ricky. The only
way.”

I waited in the living room as Ricky picked
up his things. Every few minutes I peeked through the shades to see
if anyone was watching, but I never noticed anything.

Ricky soon came out carrying his overstuffed
suitcase, sweating profusely. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll be all right when this is over.”

“When is it going to be over? You can’t keep
living your life like this. It’s time to grow up.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a
wad of money. He counted out five hundred dollars, and tried to
hand it to me.

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I know you don’t think so. Do you think this
is the first place I came? No one would let me stay. I tried to do
the right thing, Doc. I really tried, but every door but yours was
slammed in my face. All you tried to do was help me, like always,”
he took my hand and placed the money in it. “You never asked for
anything, you just wanted to help.”

There was nothing for me to say. I hugged him
for what I hoped wasn’t the last time and I walked outside. Nothing
seemed out of the ordinary.

I got into my car and pulled out of the
driveway. I don’t think I had driven fifty feet when I saw the
burgundy import fall in behind me, seemingly from nowhere.

I tried to remain calm, but my heart raced
with excitement and trepidation. Hopefully, Ricky would be able to
escape. I drove down Florida Blvd until I crossed the bridge that
lead to Baton Rouge, but they continued to follow. The time whizzed
by as I ducked in and out of side streets, but they continued to
follow. It wasn’t until I got to the myriad one-way streets
downtown that I was able to lose them. Until about five years ago,
my sister worked downtown in one of the governmental buildings, so
I knew the area back and forth.

The once prosperous downtown area was gothic
and dark. I found a parking lot that was free. The only drawback to
it was it was the only one that wasn’t lighted. I couldn’t count
the broken street lamps that ran along either side of the street. I
didn’t like it, but it gave me the cover I needed to find my
destination.

The French architectural monuments that made
the area a tourist attraction during the day gave the mysterious
street an eerie feel at night. The cool weather and light rain
allowed me to see my breath as I walked the dark streets. If I had
to get lost, that was the place.

Even though all of the buildings seemed to
blend together, from her description, I knew I had found the right
place. The building was a large two-story warehouse that was a
stone’s throw away from the Mississippi River.

The layout of the place reminded me of an old
west saloon. On the left of the smoke filled room, was the bar.
Behind it was a tall scarecrow looking white guy, serving drinks.
To the right was a stage, where a smooth jazz quartet played. I
tried to blend in, found my way to the back and sat at a small
table in the corner.

It was a nice place but not as homey as the
Cool Breeze. It was dark and mysterious, just like Carmen. I didn’t
see her so I sat where I had a good view of the door. I wanted to
make sure when she arrived I wouldn’t miss her and to make sure if
Junior and Lewis found the spot I could make an escape.

That was a lesson I couldn’t help learning
from my father. I never understood why he wouldn’t sit with his
back facing an entrance or a window. He said a man should never
ever sit with his back facing a doorway. Finally, when I was
sixteen I was sick and tired of not being able to sit where I
wanted to just because he was paranoid. I sat where my mom usually
sits. He didn’t say a word about it. He stood from his chair and
walked to the bathroom.

Looking back at the incident I realize it was
more of me thinking I was a man than the issue about where I was
sitting. My mother chastised me, and I moved back to my regular
spot. Just as I was about to pick up my fork, I noticed my mom
covering her eyes.

When I woke up I was bound to the chair and
gagged. He stood there over me as I tried in vain to untie myself.
After an hour of my mom begging and pleading, he released me and
said, “The minute you let your guard down, you give up the right to
have control.”

A short, fluffy waitress interrupted the
thoughts of my less than functional childhood by asking me if I
needed anything. I declined, and enjoyed the music. The band played
for about twenty more minutes, and took a break.

The small crowd consisted of a few of the
black turtleneck wearing beatnik college students and the rest were
what looked to be college professors wearing their uniform,
unexpressive, bland teacher’s outfits.