When Perfection Fails (15 page)

Last night she woke up in a state of panic. Again. Lenora's body was wet with sweat and her damp nightgown clung to her. She felt like she hadn't slept at all even though the clock displayed five hours had passed since she climbed into bed. Her energy level was depleted from the running wheel of questions. As complex as her relationship with Charmayne could be sometimes, she grieved for her friend.

With much effort, Lenora had pulled herself from bed knowing today was the day she would officially say good-bye to a lifelong friend. She applied extra concealer under her eyes to hide the darkness. At one point she caught Jonathan staring at her in the mirror. She saw his concern, but she moved to applying her foundation without acknowledging his silent questions.

A few hours later, Lenora peeked out from under her hat. The funeral services had been held at Greater Heights Church. The turnout was not as great as for Bishop Hudson, but many came to pay their respects to his daughter. The entire service was a blur to Lenora, like how she felt after driving a familiar route and had arrived at her destination. She remembered feeling unsteady standing in her three-inch pumps.

 

 

Her mother-in-law had sat next to her while Jonathan sat in the pulpit with other clergy. Eliza stayed by her side as they sat in the Greater Heights fellowship hall. Lenora found her mother-in-law's presence strangely comforting.

Eliza inquired, “Dear, are you okay? You don't look well.”

Lenora felt like her head was in a fog, and it seemed like every so often the room shifted. Or was she just that tired? She rubbed the back of her neck and moved her head from side to side. “I think I'm coming down with something.”

“Honey, there's nothing wrong with taking it easy. You've been pushing yourself when you probably need to be sitting down. I know this has been rough on you.”

She was touched by Eliza's motherly attention. “Don't worry. I'll be lying down soon.” Lenora searched the crowd for Jonathan.

She finally spotted her husband.
What is he doing?
Lenora didn't know why Jonathan was talking publicly with Mayor Carrington. It could have been harmless banter since both men were friends, but she knew the mayor had an agenda. They had just buried Charmayne, but Lenora had no doubts a replacement for the district seat on the city council would be swift.

Who knows? Maybe that reporter was on to something. Maybe Charmayne's death was about political reasons. That might explain why someone would dig up an old crime to hold over Charmayne's head.

She couldn't think. Lenora placed the back of her hand against her forehead. Her skin felt warm and clammy. She was almost afraid to stand, but she needed to get out of the room which was full of people. Various conversations were going on around her and she tried to be polite when she could, but Lenora really wanted to leave.

“Eliza, I'm going to visit the sanctuary for a while.”

Eliza frowned. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, I need some time alone. If Jonathan comes looking for me, let him know where to find me.”

Lenora folded her arms and walked out of the fellowship center. Greater Heights Church was much older than Victory Gospel Church. It was a large church, but it had a historic structure to it compared to the contemporary architecture of Victory Gospel.

She pulled the walnut wood doors open. The sanctuary was quiet and lit only by the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows on each side. It was almost four o'clock and she could tell the sun would be descending in just a few hours. Lenora stopped for a few moments to revel in the deep silence. This was the church she grew up in, where she first met Charmayne in Sunday School. She stepped across the plush deep burgundy carpet, which she was sure had been changed over the years although it seemed to be the same.

After marrying Jonathan, Victory Gospel had become her church home. The last time she had been in the Greater Heights sanctuary was for Bishop Hudson's funeral. Who would have known a little over three months later his only child and daughter would be memorialized in a funeral.

Lenora kept walking until she came to a pew. Like others, at the end of this pew was a small gold plaque. A few years back she had purchased a plaque in memory of her mother and brother. Lenora leaned over and rubbed her hands across the gold plate. She sat down. There were some sweet memories. Her and Charmayne hanging out on the pews, giggling and poking each other while Bishop Hudson preached until his face was wet with sweat. When they were little girls, Charmayne had been sweet and gentle. As she grew older, Charmayne's tongue grew sharper. Lenora smiled and thought Charmayne was always sharp and smart.

Why would Charmayne come to see her the day before asking for help? Lenora thought again and again. There was nothing in Charmayne's demeanor that indicated a last good-bye. Usually when Charmayne said she would take care of something, that meant she was going into fight mode.

The sanctuary door behind Lenora swung open, startling her. She turned around to see who had entered the sanctuary. From a distance, Lenora could tell a male figure was standing at the doorway.

As the man approached, Lenora caught her breath. It was the same man she saw a few weeks ago at Pastor Jeremiah's funeral. He had crossed her mind on several occasions. She stood to leave, but had to grip the back of the pew in front of her as her head swam.

The man stood a few feet from her. “Are you okay?”

Lenora touched her right temple, which was throbbing. She spoke to the man, but her words seemed to sound slurred. “I'm sorry I'm in your way. I just needed some time away from the crowd.”

The man came closer. “Of course not. This is the best place to draw comfort. Grief is a heavy load to bear.”

Lenora shook her head. “You look so familiar to me. How do I know you?”

The man shrugged. “I knew the Hudsons well. I worked on a lot of projects with both father and daughter, in particular the Hudson Housing Development.”

Lenora observed the man as best as she could. With her heels on, she stood eye to eye with him. He stood with his arms to his side and almost stood as if he had a superstraight spine. She didn't know what to think of him. Mainly she was trying to keep herself from falling apart in front of a stranger. “Okay. I thought I saw you a few weeks ago at Pastor Jeremiah's funeral too.”

“Oh yes. He was a great man of God. I'm sure he's missed.”

“Yes, he will be missed.” A brief wave of nausea passed over her. She placed her hand over her stomach.

“Do you need some help?” he asked.

Lenora shook her head. She was startled with how close the man seemed to have come to her. Maybe he thought she was going to fall over. She certainly felt like the floor wasn't steady. Oh no, that was her legs.

“I'm fine. I don't think I caught your name.”

“Lance.”

“Lance, it was nice to meet you. It hasn't been a good day, plus I probably should be getting back before my husband comes looking for me.”

“Pastor Jonathan Freeman. Another great man of God. It is so good to be around such genuine people.”

Not sure what to think of the man's compliments, Lenora nodded. The sanctuary felt very stuffy all of a sudden. She walked down the aisle hoping she wouldn't stumble. By the time she pushed open the door, she realized she was feeling out of breath. Before she let go of the door, she turned around to take a quick look at the man named Lance.

He stood in the same spot where she had left him, watching her.

Not knowing what else to do she waved and let the door shut.

She really didn't feel good. Before heading back toward the fellowship center Lenora decided to veer off toward the restroom area. Thankfully, no one was in the restroom. She pressed her manicured fingernails into her hands but the pain didn't help her ignore the wave of nausea sweeping through her stomach. She stumbled toward the sink and grabbed a few sheets of paper towels. With a bit of effort, she twisted the cold water faucet on. Once the paper towels were wet, Lenora squeezed the excess water and blotted her face.

The coolness briefly stopped the world from spinning. As she looked into the mirror, she thought about the man she'd just met. Lance. This Lance was a very strange guy. Why was it that the only time she saw him was at a funeral? And why did she have this feeling of familiarity about him, as if she had encountered him in her life before?

She was pretty sure he ran from her before when she spotted him at Pastor Jeremiah's funeral. Why did he come to her this time?

Suddenly, the mirror seemed to swirl in front of her. Lenora reached out to grab the sink, but she was unable to stop her descent to the tiled bathroom floor. She cried out as she hit the floor on her behind sending her legs sprawling. Lenora though she heard the bathroom door swing open as she slipped into a realm of unconsciousness. She didn't know who came in, but she sure needed help. She could see Lance's face as her eyes closed. Her last thought:
it's almost as if he's stalking me.

Serena sat in the television van with Bud reviewing interviews. They had covered Charmayne Hudson's funeral. Serena carefully questioned members of the Greater Heights Church congregation about their thoughts on the Hudson Housing Development project. With both the bishop and his daughter gone, she was curious to know if anyone was going to take up the reigns. The majority consensus from the people was the project may never see the light of day.

As Bud scrolled past footage on the editing monitor, Serena kept her eye on the clips she wanted to include in the evening lead story. She leaned forward. “Wait, go back. We definitely want this clip included.” Serena couldn't help but feel smug about catching Mayor Carrington on camera with his deer-in-headlights look.

Earlier she had observed the mayor making his rounds, including talking for quite awhile with Pastor Freeman. She had questioned him as he was exiting the church. “Mayor, now that Charmayne is no longer on the city council, what's going to happen to the Hudson Housing Development project? You know many people in this church helped build up that funding for several years.”

“I don't know the answer to that—”

Carrington had tried to take off down the sidewalk, but Serena walked beside him, keeping up with his pace. She knew the mayor was going to share the same rhetoric, so she spat out her next question and shoved the microphone in his face. “Mayor, I understand that there are some questions swirling around about the project. Is it possible that some of the funds are missing?”

The man stopped and whirled around, forgetting he was on camera. “Where did you hear that?”

Now as she watched Bud play back the footage, she observed the mayor's reaction. “Do me a favor; play that slowly forward for me.”

Bud raised his eyebrow. “Are you serious? We got to get this piece edited if you plan to make the six o'clock broadcast.”

“I know. Humor me; play the mayor's footage really slow.”

Serena smirked as the mayor's eyes stretched wide in horror. It was only a split second when played in real time, but she got what she needed. The mayor was holding out on what he knew about the Hudson Housing Development. In her gut, she knew he'd pulled back from that project after Bishop Hudson's death for a reason. Now she just needed to dig a little deeper.

What if Charmayne Hudson wasn't the only one receiving threats?

“Okay, let's end the story with the mayor's interview. I'm going to freshen up my makeup before we go live.”

Bud had already started making adjustments on the time. “Got it.”

Serena stepped down from the back of the van. She was already dressed in a suit from attending the funeral. Her feet were about to kill her in those heels, especially the right foot which was sporting a nice-size blister by now. She opened the passenger door and pulled out her makeup bag. Before pulling the zipper on the bag, she paused. She was very aware of the hairs on her arm.

Serena spun around. No one was behind her.

Realizing her shoulders were practically up to her neck, she tried to relax, but the muscles around her back were tense. Ever since that Lance dude had snuck up on her, she had grown paranoid about watching her back. She doubted he would show up with her cameraman around. Up until now, she'd only met with Lance alone since the man seemed to be particular about keeping his identity a secret.

The thing was, she really wanted to know his identity. As much as she didn't want to run into him again, she knew there was a hidden story. Lance made a mistake showing his creepiness to her. Serena wanted to expose him and whatever plan he had brewing.

Serena popped open the powder and dusted her nose and forehead for any shine. She pulled out her lipstick and touched up her lips. By the time she brushed through her hair, Bud was out of the van getting the camera set up. She looked at the clock on her phone. It's about that time. Once she hit the airwaves at six o'clock, she fully expected to see social media heat up as others tried to clamor for her story.

Serena peeked inside the back of the van and saw the evening news opening. Tonight, Wes was sitting in the anchor seat. She smiled. That young man might as well say that position would be his as soon as the longtime anchorman retired in a year.

She had always been told she had the looks to be in the anchor chair, but Serena enjoyed hitting the streets, day or night, tracking down interviews and getting video footage. It was actually more exciting these days, because she was snapping photos on her phone and iPad, sending them to Twitter and Instagram.

Speaking of photos, she pulled out her phone and pressed the photos icon.

Bud yelled, “Hey, what are you doing? We need to check the sound.”

“Okay, I'm coming.” She pocketed the phone. Serena went over to Bud and placed the earpiece in her ear. She could hear Wes's smooth voice talking about a fire burning out in California. Serena stood in front of the camera and held the microphone to her mouth. “Sound check 1, 2, 3.” She kept talking as Bud played with the camera. He finally gave her a thumbs-up.

Just in time she heard Wes say, “Now, tonight, we want to turn to a story that is affecting the local community, in particular, District 2. The daughter of the late Bishop William Hudson was laid to rest today after she was found unconscious in her home last Friday. Charmayne Hudson was pronounced dead on arrival at the Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Today, many came out to pay their respects. Tonight, Serena Manchester is live on the scene at Greater Heights Church.”

Right on cue, Serena held the microphone up to her mouth. “Thank you, Wes. Behind me is the historic Greater Heights Church. Today was indeed a sad day as Charlotte lost one of its daughters, a woman who won the hearts of the community when she was elected as the youngest African American woman to Charlotte's City Council. Let's look and see what some people had to say about Ms. Hudson.”

Serena listened as she heard the first of three interviews roll through. As far as she was concerned, these interviews were for fluff. The interview that would really hit home would be the man who insisted on isolating Charmayne on the council. In her ear, she heard the coolness of Mayor Carrington's voice turn to an odd strangle as he tried to respond to her question.

That wouldn't be the last time the mayor would hear from her. She knew next time he would probably be ready. Serena couldn't wait to hear the mayor's next response.

She composed herself as her turn came up again on camera. “There are many people in this community who will not forget the Hudson legacy here in Charlotte. We will keep you updated on what the city intends to do to keep this remarkable woman and her well-loved father's efforts alive.”

Serena waited for Bud's cue. The story was done. She hoped wherever Lance was that he saw the story and he got what he wanted. People would be talking about and questioning the validity of the Hudson Housing Development. She placed her headset and microphone in the van.

It wasn't a cool spring night, but she was warm from the mad dash to get the story ready for airing. She removed her suit jacket, but before placing it on the seat, she remembered her phone.

A few hours back, she took and tweeted snapshots of an ambulance showing up at Greater Heights Church. It took her some maneuvering through the crowd, but apparently Lenora Freeman had collapsed. Remembering her meeting with the woman at her bridal boutique, Lenora was struck by the fact Lenora didn't think Charmayne had killed herself. The information shared by Dorothy meant that the first lady of Victory Gospel was still protecting her friend. Why? Was it worth it now that her Charmayne had been laid to rest?

What really concerned Serena was not Lenora's collapsing, but the person Serena had inadvertently caught in a photo. She flipped one photo forward and stared at Lance Ryan. Lance had been standing in the crowd watching Lenora being loaded into the ambulance.

Bud came up behind her. “Hey, you ready to head back to the station?”

Serena flinched, almost dropping her phone. She bounced the phone back and forth in her hand until she got a good grip. It's a good thing she didn't drop it. Serena had been known to break quite a few phones. “Bud, you scared the crap out of me.”

Her cameraman shrugged. “Sorry! I just wanted to see if you were ready to go. Why are you so jumpy lately?”

“No reason, let's go.” Serena looked back at the church. There was a storm cloud in the distance. They needed to make it back to the station before they got caught in a spring downpour.

She climbed into the van and shut the door. Serena peered down at the photo of Lance again. She remembered he was hanging around the day she was at city hall. Why was he there that day? Was he hanging around Charmayne? He couldn't have known that Serena was going to run into Charmayne and talk to her.

By the looks of the photo, she felt like Lance was more than just another spectator in the crowd. It could have been Serena's imagination, but the man seemed really focused on Lenora Freeman.

Whatever Lance Ryan's intentions, Serena was determined to find out now that she had his photo on her phone. Lance had slipped in and out like some phantom, but somebody out there had to know this man.