After All (37 page)

“
Now let me finish. You and
Anthony belong together. There, I said it,” Lizabeth said in a
resolute tone.

“
Mrs. Hilliard, I'm not sure
what to say. But. .” Michelle's voice trailed off.

“
But it's none of my
business.” Lizabeth studied her face.

“
Oh I didn't mean that.”
Michelle wondered how to explain without insulting Ike. Surely
Lizabeth must be as loyal to him as Anthony.

“
Ike,” Lizabeth said as if
having read her thoughts. “I know all about it. Let me tell you
something. Ike has been wonderful to us. There were months he paid
my electric bill, water bill, and house note because I couldn't. He
treated Anthony like he was his son. If I tried to tell you
everything he did for us during the first two years after Anthony's
daddy left, I'd be here all night.”

“
Anthony told me how much
Ike helped you both.”Michelle looked down at her hands in her lap.
She braced herself for a tongue lashing about the news
stories.

“
Oh he has. And I love him
for it. But he's got some low down dirty ways, too.” Lizabeth
chuckled at the look of astonishment on Michelle's face. “Baby, you
think I had no idea what kind of shenanigans that rascal has been
up to all these years? In fact, I could tell you things that would
keep you writing for months.”

“
But Anthony worships
Ike.”

“
Anthony still looks at Ike
with the eyes of a little boy. He was young, impressionable, and in
pain. I did the best I could to make up for the loss of his daddy.
But there are times when a boy needs a caring man in his life. Ike
was there when he needed him most. I can see both sides of Ike.
Anthony hasn't gotten to that point yet.” Lizabeth leaned forward,
a worried frown creasing her face. “I'm afraid he'll be devastated.
That's why it's important that he have you.”

“
Not me, Mrs. Hilliard.
Anthony will never forgive me for those reports I did.” Michelle
could still feel the sting of angry words they had
exchanged.

“
You love him. I can see it
in your eyes when you talk about him. He'll need that love when he
has to face up to what Ike is.” Seeing Michelle open her mouth to
speak, Lizabeth held up a restraining hand cutting off her protest.
“And to lean on while he fights to clear his name. Unless you
believe he's guilty.”S he held Michelle's gaze for a long
moment.

“
No,” Michelle said in a
small voice.

“
I thought not.” Lizabeth
smiled at her warmly.

“
At least not
directly.”

“
What does that mean?”
Lizabeth asked. The smile vanished.

“
There are a lot of ways to
be an accessory to wrongdoing. Anthony has helped shield Ike from
the consequences of his actions for a long time. Ike has gone way
past `shenanigans' as you call them.”

“
Anthony cares for the man
who has been a father and friend. His only fault is loving Ike too
much to see his faults.” Lizabeth hands trembled as she gripped her
purse.” Anthony could go to jail.”

Michelle looked away. She felt a chill
of fear at the idea of Anthony being sent to prison. Yet how could
she be sure of how much he knew of the attack on Dom. “ Mrs.
Hilliard, I'm sorry. I hope that doesn't happen. I really do. But
Anthony and I don't have a future together.”

“
I see.” Lizabeth stood up.
“Giving up on a good man has been the sorrow of many a woman,
Michelle. Trust me, I'm a living witness. Before I married
Anthony's father, I was dating a man named Fred. I thought he was
so boring. He didn't have one ounce of romance in him. Then along
came handsome, charming Sonny Hilliard. Sonny said all the right
words and did all the right things. I fell for him hard. Fred is
still his same old plain self. But he's stuck by his wife for
thirty years now and been a wonderful father.” She paused before
going out. “Take my advice, Michelle. Don't be too quick to judge
because of one mistake. Keep the whole man in mind.”

Michelle locked the door and leaned her
forehead against it. Brian's voice came back to her. He too had
admonished her against making harsh judgments quickly. Michelle
wanted to believe in Anthony. Part of her yearned for his touch
even while a sharp inner voice warned her he could never be
trusted.

Her mind reeled with the effort of
sorting through the tangle of thoughts and feelings assailing her.
But Michelle did not want to think anymore. Work seemed the only
constant left in her life. Everything else seemed to shift and
change shape. Writing always helped to center her no matter what
else was going on. But she could not look at anything to do with
Ike just now. Instead she sat down and plunged into finishing an
article on black tourist attractions in Louisiana for a
magazine.

Chapter 15

“
You got yourself in a mess
of trouble I hear.” Marcus sprawled across the large leather chair
of his father's den. He regarded Anthony with a sardonic smile.
“Tsk, tsk, cousin. Getting involved in drug trafficking.” He wagged
a finger at Anthony.

“
Very funny.” Anthony fought
the urge to knock the smirk from his face.

He had come over to have a private talk
with his uncle only to find Marcus waiting with Ike. Marcus made it
plain he would not voluntarily leave them alone. Ike sat nursing a
drink.

“
I think so, cuz.” Marcus
guffawed.

“
Shut up, Marcus,” Ike
muttered into his glass.

“
Come on, Pop. Lecture him
on the evils of hanging with the wrong crowd. If you ain't up to
it, let me. I remember all the ones you gave me word for word.
They're classics.” Marcus winked at him.

“
Ignore him, Anthony. He's
acting like a fool, as usual.”Ike shot Marcus a cutting glance.”The
cops won't charge you with nothin'. No evidence.”

“
But where did they get the
idea I was involved with Troy's drugs deals? They mentioned a
connection to the Housing Authority and some of the guys you helped
get jobs, Uncle Ike.” Anthony took a seat across from
Ike.

“
I dunno. Maybe some punk is
tryin' to throw them off by fingerin' you.” Ike avoided returning
Anthony's gaze.

“
But why me?” Anthony rubbed
his chin.

“
I said I don't know.”Ike
rose abruptly and strode to the bar.”Look, quit worryin' about it,
all right? I’ll fix it.”

Anthony stiffened at his words. “Fix
it? What are you talking about?”

“
Please, father dear, please
let me tell him.” Marcus leaned forward sneering at
Anthony.

“
I told you to shut up!” Ike
whirled on Marcus his eyes blazing with rage.

“
No, I want Uncle Ike to
tell me.” Anthony spoke in a tight, grim voice.

“
I have contacts. They can
get the police to see this was a set up job,” Ike said
evasively.

“
How can they prove it when
I can't?” Anthony pressed.

“
Because-- look I said don't
worry about it, all right?” Ike yelled. “I got business to see to.”
Without a backward glance, he stalked from the room. A quiet
descended in the room as though his departure created a vacuum that
sucked out all sound.

“
He didn't answer your
question, did he?” Marcus jeered.

“
Since you're so eager to,
you tell me.” Anthony was not sure he wanted to hear. Ike's
reluctance to explain planted a seed of fear that grew with each
passing minute.

“
Pop doesn't know details
because he's made a point not to know them. Code words like ‘take
care of it’ come in handy. Personally, I don't think he can save
your butt. He's got his own problems.” Marcus smiled with
satisfaction.

“
So Michelle was right about
Uncle Ike all along.” Anthony sat down as the full meaning of his
words hit home.

“
Don't be naive. Pop
couldn't care less what Lonnie and his gang does as long what they
don't hurt his pocket.” Marcus shrugged. “It's his version of
employee benefits, you know? Sort of like profit
sharing.”

“
And the contracts to repair
or renovate low rent housing?” Anthony said in a strangled
voice.

“
What can I say? Pop has his
own way of handling overhead, too. Getting paid for work you don't
do makes for a nice profit margin.” Marcus watched the effect of
his words on Anthony with relish. “So your girlfriend had his
number all along. Unfortunately she can't prove it now.”

“
But her
reports--”

“
Word is she can't back them
up with evidence. I hear she may have forged all those invoices.
Too bad her little purple notebook has vanished,” Marcus snickered.
“Our lovebirds are both in hot water. You can't prove you're not a
drug dealer and murderer. And little Lois Lane can't prove she's
not a liar.”

“
No, it can't be,” Anthony
mumbled, staring ahead.”Uncle Ike connected to drug dealers and
looking the other way?”

“
Get off it, man! You knew,”
Marcus barked viciously.”You've been hearing it like I have for
years. So don't come on with that innocent act. Hell, he's made me
what I am today. I don't intend to scrounge around in the dirt with
a lot of other guys for scraps. I want to be a big time player.
Just like dear old dad.”

Anthony jumped up and marched down the
hall after Ike. He found him in his library punching the buttons of
a large black phone on his desk. Ike took no notice of him but
spoke into the phone.

“
Tell him Ike wants to talk
to him. I don't give a damn if he is. Get him on the phone now!
Lonnie, this situation with my nephew.” Ike's face grew rigid with
rage as he listened. His fist came down on the desk top with a
tremendous bang. “You listen to me, I know about a certain incident
that happened on St. Claude Street two years ago. There are a
couple of men still very pissed off. They'd be interested to know
who was responsible. I thought you'd see it my way.” He slammed the
receiver down.

“
I need to talk to you,
Uncle Ike.” Anthony stood in front of him.

“
It's going to be handled,
okay? Quit worryin'.” Ike downed the rest of his whiskey with one
gulp.

“
Thank you. Is that what you
expect me to say? I should be happy you've got the criminal
connections to help clear me of something I didn't do anyway? What
the hell do you think you're doing?” Anthony placed his palms flat
on the fancy blotter and leaned forward.

“
Business, boy! Takin' care
of business,” Ike shouted.

“
Drugs and murder have
become regular business for you?” Anthony shouted back.

“
You oughta know me better
than that! Some of them guys I helped get out of prison been up to
their old tricks, but I can't help what they do. Sure, I cut a few
deals here and there. But that's as far as it goes.”

“
You can't just turn your
head and say it has nothing to do with you.” Anthony stood erect
and grunted with disgust. “It seems Marcus is right. As long as
it's good for your wallet, you don't care about anything else,” he
said. A sick feeling took hold in his chest. He could only feel
repulsion as he saw the unrepentant look on Ike's face.

“
Goddamn it, boy! I've been
fightin' to make it in this world a long time. Diggin' my way out
of the dirt with nothing but brains and guts. There's white guys
doin' things a helluva lot worse than me. Know what they're called?
Sharp businessmen, that's what. Tycoons, yeah. They makin' millions
suckerin' the rest of these fools into thinkin' they been done a
favor.”Ike got up and paced as he spoke.”I built what I got from
nothin'. Used to be a black businessman couldn't get the time of
day at Louisiana Premier Bank downtown. Now I got a five hundred
thousand dollar line of credit. I didn't get nothin' without takin'
risks.” He whirled to face Anthony.

“
That's your excuse; because
everybody else does it?” Anthony shook his head, his face a mixture
of disbelief and dismay.

Ike drew himself to his full height.”
Excuses are for men who feel guilty for what they've done. That
ain't me.”

“
Then we don't have anything
else to talk about.” Anthony turned to go.

“
Wait, son.” Ike caught his
arm. “Maybe you think there was a better way; maybe you're right.
But this is a hard world with a lotta folks waitin' to kick you
down. Survival takes bein' ready to kick back. One thing you gotta
believe, anything I've ever done was to make a better way for my
family.”

Anthony looked at Ike's hand on his arm
then up into his uncle's eyes. “But not like this. You've built the
family estate on a garbage dump. You can dress it up all you want.
But the stench is still there.” Anthony pulled away from
him.

Outside, Anthony paused to look at the
house one last time. He felt a sick feeling in the pit of his
stomach as he realized once more he was saying a final goodbye to
someone he loved dearly.

***

“
Hey, Gracie. Come on in.”
Michelle smiled broadly at the sight of her friend. “It sure is
good to see somebody from the old salt mines.”