After All (33 page)

“
In fact, he's been using
one of your trucks to transport illegal drugs.”

“
If you have solid evidence
of that then he won't have the chance to do it after today!”
Anthony said angrily.

“
Mr. Quarles won't be doing
anything. He's dead. We found him in his car at three o'clock this
morning with a single bullet wound to the head,” Detective Robin
said evenly.

“
My God.” Anthony shook his
head slowly.

“
And you say you were
unaware of his activity?”

“
No, I--You think I'm
involved in drug dealing?” Anthony's head snapped up. “This is
incredible!”He fell back in his chair stunned.

“
We had some indications
before his death that you did know about the movement of the
drugs.”

“
Wait a minute, what
indications?”Anthony leaned forward.

“
Mr. Eames usually handles
hiring. Isn't it true you hired Quarles over in spite of his
objections?”

“
Sure, Cedric was skeptical.
But my uncle said that he'd done well working on some temporary
jobs for him. Knowing how hard it is for men with a prison record
to get work, I didn't want to hold his past against
him.”

“
That would be Ike Batiste.
Mr. Batiste has hired quite a few ex-cons over the years.”
Detective Robin glanced down briefly at the papers before
him.

“
He's worked closely with an
ex-offender rehab program for a long time, yes. Because we try to
help these guys doesn't mean we're crooks.” Anthony spoke with
intensity.

“
According to several
monitored conversations, Quarles said his boss had a `piece of the
action'.”

“
That's a damn lie!” Anthony
sprang from the hardwood chair.

“
Do you know Dominic
Toussaint?”

“
What?” Anthony, thrown off
balance by the abrupt change in the questioning, blinked in
confusion. “Sure I know him, or at least his sister. I don't
understand what that's got--”

“
Two days ago he was beaten
severely. So severely that he's in intensive care. What do you know
about that?” Detective Robin shot the words at him like bullets
from an automatic weapon.

“
Dominic in intensive care?”
Anthony sat down again heavily.

“
You know what we think, Mr.
Hilliard? We think it's related to the Quarles killing. The common
thread seems to be the business dealings of Ike Batiste. Quarles
first worked for him and then Buster Wilson on contracts with the
Housing Authority. We've long suspected that some of the men
Batiste hired helped establish a lucrative drug trade in the
projects around town.”

“
I don't know anything about
any of this.” Anthony's fist crashed down on the table between
them.

“
Seems Quarles started
skimming a few ounces of cocaine each time he picked up a kilo. He
went into business for himself. Our undercover officer met with him
several times.” Robin hammered at him in a cold voice like
granite.

“
I don't have anything to do
with drugs, and I damn sure don't know anything about a murder.
This is insane! The only contact I've had with the police is a
couple of parking tickets.”Anthony glared at the detective
defiantly.

“
Yet you know
Quarles.”

“
I gave him a job, that's
all.” Anthony made a sharp chopping motion in the air with his
hand.

“
Dominic Toussaint worked
for Buster Wilson. His sister is Michelle Toussaint the news
reporter. Sources tell us he was beaten because of his sister’s
stories; stories damaging to your uncle's business.”

“
I didn't even know Dominic
was attacked.” Anthony imagined the torment Michelle and her family
must be going through. If only he could comfort her.

“
We've spoken to the
Toussaint family. There seems to be some history between Thomas
Toussaint and Mr. Batiste.” Robin crossed his arms. He regarded
Anthony steadily.

“
That was years ago and had
nothing to do with Dominic.” Anthony shook his head.

“
Ms. Toussaint seems to
think her brother stumbled onto something. She thinks Batiste gave
the orders for the attack on her brother.” Robin squinted at him
under the harsh florescent light.

“
Michelle still has a grudge
against my uncle for what she thinks he did to her father. They
were in business, it went sour, and her father suffered heavy
financial losses. My uncle tried to help him. And he doesn't order
hits on people.” Anthony sighed deeply. These are words he wanted
desperately to say to Michelle.

“
She said you'd defend him.
You're very close to Mr. Batiste I understand. You might go to
great lengths to protect him.”

“
Did you tell her about
these ridiculous allegations against me?” Anthony felt tightness in
his throat. The thought that Michelle suspected he was a party to
the savage attack on her brother filled him with a horror no
accusation made by the police could possibly inspire. Surely she
knew him better than that? He must find a way to make her see the
truth.

“
Mr. Hilliard?” Majors
leaned forward speaking in an emphatic tone to get his
attention.

“
Am I being charged with
anything?” Anthony looked from Detective Robin to
Majors.

Several seconds passed before Detective
Robin spoke. “No.” His dour expression seemed to say wished the
answer was different.

“
Then if that's all, I'll be
going.” Anthony pushed his chair back roughly and started for the
door.

“
Not yet. We need a written
statement before you leave, sir. ”Detective Robin still sat at the
battered table.

“
How long will that take?”
Anthony noticed Detective Majors stand straight as though on alert.
Majors seemed poised to stop any attempt to leave by force. Anthony
felt trapped in a bad dream from which he could not wake
up.

“
A clerk will be in shortly.
Take a seat, please.” Detective Robin rose slowly. He started to
leave the room then paused in front of Anthony. “Would you like to
call your attorney?”

“
No. Let's get this over
with,” Anthony said in a crisp tone.

Anthony wanted to pound the walls with
frustration. Instead, he forced himself to focus on getting through
this obstacle to finding Michelle. He answered the same questions
and gave the same answers for another maddening hour. Then he had
to review the printed statement before signing it. At last he
emerged from the small interview room to find Cedric waiting for
him on a hard wooden bench in the hallway. It was almost nine
o'clock, four hours since they had left the library
site.

“
Man, what the hell's been
going on? I've been out here for two hours.” Cedric matched
Anthony's long strides as they left the building.

“
They think I've got
something to do with Troy's murder. Detective Robin says they have
information that I was involved in drug dealing with Troy.” Anthony
yanked opened the door to his car.

“
Damn!” Cedric got into the
passenger side. They sat in bleak silence for several
moments.

“
What did they ask
you?”Anthony leaned his head back against the seat.

“
A bunch of questions about
how we hired Troy and why. Officer Oubre asked if I ever noticed
you spending time talking to Troy or sending him on errands. If you
worked late a lot; how well I knew Troy. Stuff like that. I gotta
tell you, this is blowing my mind.” Cedric rubbed tired
eyes.

“
It gets worse. Michelle's
little brother, Dominic, was beaten up. Not only do the police
suspect Uncle Ike is involved, but Michelle thinks I'm covering for
him. God, Cedric. What is happening?” Anthony spoke in a strangled
voice.

“
I wish I could tell
you.”

“
I've got to go see
Michelle.” Anthony gunned the engine.

Cedric placed a hand on the steering
wheel. “Hold on, Anthony. That's a bad idea. The cops may think
you're trying to intimidate her. They're probably watching
you.”

“
I don't care what the
police think! Michelle has got to listen to reason. She's got to.”
Anthony gripped the wheel tightly.

“
Listen to me,” Cedric spoke
with urgency in his voice. “Her brother is in intensive care. If
she really believes your uncle is responsible, what chance do you
have of making her see reason? Besides, she's probably at the
hospital. That's not the place to hash this out.”

“
I can't take it, Cedric.
Knowing she thinks I'd hurt Dom is tearing me up inside.” Anthony
squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain.

“
I know. But rushing into
anything isn't the answer.” Cedric watched his expression
anxiously. “Give it a day at least. For your sake and
hers.”

“
Maybe you're right.”
Anthony's shoulders sagged. “I feel like I'm standing in a dark
tunnel with a huge train heading straight for me.” He loosened his
hold on the steering wheel.

“
I hear you, man.” Cedric
put a hand on his shoulder. “Let's get my truck and head over to my
place for a beer. Come on, it's been months since we just hung out.
What do you say?”

“
Thanks, Cedric. Going home
to an empty apartment right now would be rough.” Anthony broke off.
He stared straight ahead. With a deep sigh, he put the car in gear
and nosed out into traffic.

***

“
The police think Anthony is
connected to that murder and,” Michelle said. Her voice quavered
before she could go on. “And to the attack on Dominic.” Michelle
held onto the edge of her desk. For one brief moment the room
seemed to dip and sway around her. She swallowed hard in response
to a surge of nausea that hit her.

“
It's only a suspicion,
'Chelle. They can't prove a thing.” Shantae placed steadying hands
on both Michelle's shoulders. “Maybe you should sit down.”She eyed
the pasty look on Michelle's face with concern.

“
Then why did they question
him?” Pushing Shantae's hands away, Michelle ignored her attempts
to guide her into a chair.

“
They think Anthony was in
on this guy's drug dealing. Ike got Anthony to hire him when he got
out on parole. And there's some kind of connection to the Housing
Authority.”Seeing the growing horror on Michelle's face, Shantae
rushed on. “It's circumstantial, Chelle. They have no
proof.”

“
Anthony has been defending
Ike for years. Maybe he has more of a motive than family loyalty.”
Michelle closed her eyes trying to blot out the ugliness of the
picture forming in her head.

Shantae's voice became a distant hum as
her mind raced replaying scenes of she and Anthony together. Could
she have misjudged him that much? Had she been so blinded by desire
she saw Anthony as the man she wanted him to be completely missing
the real man? Yet he had never denied that Ike was his role model,
especially when it came to the business world. And she had been
foolish enough to trust him again. Only this time Dominic may have
been hurt because of her.

“
Anthony would never deal
drugs.”Shantae shook Michelle's arm to get her attention. “Chelle,
are listening to me?”

Michelle gazed around her as though
trying to find her way. Shantae's voice broke through her thoughts
as if waking her from a hypnotic state. Michelle's grief-stricken
expression became venomous.” Anthony can rot in jail with his
precious uncle for all I care. Don't ever defend him to me
again.”

“
Now just a minute, Michelle
Toussaint,” Shantae snapped, wagging a finger under her nose. “If
he says Anthony is being framed, then you can count on it.” Her
chin jutted out pugnaciously.

“
Then maybe he's fooled
Cedric, too.”

“
Oh, Chelle,” Shantae wailed
in exasperation.

“
Shantae, Dominic almost
died. He still could for all we know.” Michelle's eyes welled with
tears.

“
And whoever did it ought to
get sent away for a long time,” Shantae said in a gentle voice
putting an arm around her. “But nobody can tell me Anthony would
murder somebody and sell drugs to children.”

“
Lord, Shantae. I just don't
know what to think anymore.” Michelle covered her face with both
hands. Her shoulders trembled.

Shantae embraced her. “You've been here
two hours past quitting time. Let's get out of here. You're
spending the night with me.”

Michelle pulled away wiping her face
with a wad of tissues. “I'll be okay.”

“
Don't argue,” Shantae said
firmly. She handed Michelle a handful of dry tissues. “I'll drop
Devonne off at Mama's. Me, you, and Laree are going to have one of
our sister to sister group healing sessions.”

“
That sounds good,” Michelle
said, her voice weak with emotion.

“
We're going to survive this
together,” Shantae whispered. She held Michelle tightly for a
second before stepping back. “Now, first thing we'll do is call
Laree. Then we'll stop by your apartment to pick up a few
things.”