After All (39 page)

She kept her back to Gracie for a few
seconds before turning around. “That's that.”

“
Want to talk about it?”
Gracie asked in a soft voice.

“
No,” Michelle said in a
curt tone. “Subject closed.”

“
If you say so. Well, what's
next?”

“
Work. Thankfully my career
in radio isn't dead. WDUP- 102 lost their reporter to a rival
station. Steve Peters is the station manager now and he offered me
a job. And I still haven't given up on the Housing Authority
story.”

“
Will work be enough?”Gracie
raised an eyebrow at her.

Michelle went to the table and picked
up a stack of papers. “I'll make it be enough.”

***

“
That's the third one this
week, Anthony.” Cedric sat down heavily in the chair across from
Anthony's desk. “I thought we had that job sewn up. Man, sure do
find out who your real friends are when you're down.”

“
Um-hum.” Anthony continued
to gaze out of the large window to his left that gave him a lovely
view of the early spring day. The courtyard was bright with
sunshine and the light green burst of new vegetation coming forth.
But his melancholy expression was in stark contrast to the scene
before him.

Cedric got up and poured a cup of
coffee. “Old man Taylor was stuttering and stumbling about some
kind of delay. He's trying to back out because of those damn
rumors. We oughta sue his behind. We signed a preliminary agreement
with him.”

“
If you think we should,”
Anthony said in a flat voice. He sat as still as before.

“
Damn straight. We got a
letter from his assistant saying we should prepare the specs, too.
Who does he think he is anyway? He's been in caught up in so many
scandals, the reporters in this town have him on speed
dial.”

“
Maybe so.”

“
You're not listening to
me.” Cedric frowned at him. “Hell, forget about those jerks. We'll
get more and better jobs. Wait and see.” He tried to lighten his
tone.

“
I guess.” Anthony could
muster no strong emotion. No anger and certainly no
hope.

“
Say, man. It's going to get
better.” Cedric perched on the desk near his friend.

“
How? Projects that we spent
weeks working to get are drying up. It's only a matter of time
before we have to lay off some of the men.”Anthony massaged his
temple. “Maybe it's a sign that coming home wasn't such a hot idea
after all. Atlanta is looking real good to me right now. And
without me holding you back, it’s a cinch the phone would start
ringing again.”

“
No indeed, brother man. We
went into this business as partners and we're going to fight to
save it together.” Cedric jabbed a finger at him.”

“
Cedric, I don't have the
heart for it. Things are crashing down on me.” Anthony squeezed his
eyes shut.

“
You've taken some hard
knocks here lately, but hang tough.” Cedric leaned towards him to
put a hand on her shoulder. “I'm with you all the way.”

“
I appreciate it, Cedric. I
really do. But finding out about Uncle Ike... Damn. I feel like
such a fool.” The despondency Anthony felt was etched on his
face.

“
Ike did a number on you and
a lot of other people.”

“
It's as though he’s two
different men. The Uncle Ike that reached out to help me and Mama
doesn't look anything like the man I saw three days ago. Did he
change or have I been that blind all these years?” Anthony held out
both hands to Cedric begging for understanding.

“
He was two men, Anthony.
That's the thing. Nobody is all good or all bad. With Ike, he just
swung between both extremes. He'll go the extra mile to help his
family and friends. Problem is, he goes about it the wrong way.”
Cedric lifted a shoulder.

“
Wrong way is an
understatement. Try criminal.” Anthony said, his voice laced with
bitterness.”And the worst thing is I've lost the woman who means
the world to me. All because I was too stupid to see the
truth.”

“
No chance?”

Anthony shook his head, his eyes full
of misery. “I went by her place yesterday; to talk to her.” He fell
silent unable to go on.

“
Didn't go too well, huh?”
Cedric gave him a sympathetic pat on the forearm. “Listen, it's
still kind of soon. It may take a few days or weeks, maybe longer,
but Michelle will come around. Shantae says she's crazy about you,
man.”

Anthony attempted a smile but his mouth
turned down instead.” Thanks for trying, buddy. But with the attack
on Dominic, I doubt she can ever feel the same about
me.”

“
Michelle can't believe you
had anything to do with that.”

“
Yeah, but my uncle, the one
I've been defending so long, probably did.” Anthony's voice rose in
anger. “I can't say I blame her, either.”

Cedric placed both hands on Anthony's
shoulders and stared at him hard. “Try again. Maybe you can talk to
her.”

Anthony moved Cedric's hands firmly.
“It's no use, Cedric. You didn't see the coldness in her eyes when
she looked at me.

“
I've got to get out of
here. Listen, you do whatever you think best. I don't really care
anymore.” Anthony's eyes were dulled by pain as he gazed at his
friend. “I'm no good for you, Cedric. With all you put into this
place, you deserve better than me.”

“
Anthony, don't give up
everything you have,” Cedric pleaded.

“
Trouble is, I probably did
that months ago. I just didn't know it.” Anthony walked
out.

Anthony drove aimlessly for over two
hours. Thoughts of Michelle filled his mind, blocking out his sense
of time or place. The knowledge that her smile would never welcome
him again created a dull ache no medicine could cure. He headed
towards False River. Without realizing it, he traced a favorite
route of theirs for long Sunday drives in the country. The parking
lot of Sonnier's boat landing in downtown New Roads had only a few
cars with empty boat trailers. Anthony got out of his car and sat
on a bench. Watching the water gently lap against the bank. The
reality of learning to live without Michelle settled on him like a
gloomy fog that dimmed the bright sunlight.

***

“
We can't find him nowhere,
Lonnie.” J. J. eyed him with an uneasy feeling.

Lonnie had been striding back and forth
for ten minutes alternating between shouting obscenities and
ominous silence. The news of James Bridges disappearance disturbed
them because they were not the cause of it. Tia sat next to Marcus
on the battered couch of their headquarters. Of the seven men
spread around the living room, she alone seemed unaffected by
Lonnie's blasts of rage. She watched him with a calm
expression.

“
Maybe somebody beat us to
it, man. What I'm sayin', could be he's dead already.” T-Bone
grinned foolishly flashing gold teeth. “Saves us trouble and
bullets, yeah.”

Lonnie whirled around. His eyes filled
with wrath. Clearly he was eager for a target. “This some kinda
damn joke to you, huh?” Both of his arms were down at his sides
with his hands balled tightly into huge fists.

“
Nah, man. I'm sayin'...”
T-bone let his voice trail off seeing the savageness in Lonnie's
face.

“
T-Bone's right though,” Tia
said in a controlled voice. She allowed her gaze to flicker across
them all. “Bridges could only make things a little hot for us.
After all, how much does he know?”

“
He knows me! He's been over
to Charlotte's office with me and Ike,” Lonnie shot back, striking
his chest with a thud.

“
And you talked in front of
him?” Tia's eyes closed until her eyes were almost hidden. It gave
her the appearance of a tigress about to strike.

“
Nothin',” Lonnie blurted
looking away. “I didn't say nothin' outright he can testify to in
court.”

“
But you said somethin'.
Hummph,” Tia's voice dripped with scorn. “Real smart. What you're
sayin' is you gave him enough to put the DA on the right
trail.”

“
Look b--” Lonnie started
towards her. All five men blocked his path with menacing stances.
Lonnie staggered back in shock at the protective ring they formed
around her.

“
Back off,” J. J. growled,
no trace of fear on his coarse features.

Her position established,
Tia sought to smooth over the tense moment of friction. “Listen up,
we got to get our heads together. This ain't no time for fightin'
between us. Let's consider all the options. Bridges know about a
lotta skeletons that could get some powerful folks jail time. Maybe
one of
them
decided to take him out.”

Lonnie let his shoulders relax. “It's
possible. But we gotta make sure somehow,” he muttered still eyeing
the other men with hostility.

Tia turned to the other men. “J. J. and
Leo, I want everybody we own, everybody that owes us to get the
message out. Five hundred for whoever can tell us where Bridges is.
Concentrate on the crack heads for sure. The bourgeois ones
especially. They got friends of friends in his social circle. Tap
the most desperate, offer 'em merchandise. But find him; alive or
dead.”

Marcus placed a hand on her thigh. “One
way or the other, Bridges won't be a problem much longer. We'll get
him.”

“
You think so?” Lonnie
snarled. “How do you know he's not somewhere spillin' his guts to
the DA or some cop? They could have him stashed in any of a hundred
places.”

“
I doubt that, man,” Marcus
said with confidence. “My old man has a source down there. If they
had him, Pop would be meeting non-stop with his
attorney.”

“
Then where the hell is he?”
Lonnie shouted.

“
Why don't you ask Miss
Charlotte?” Marcus smirked at him. “They're pretty close I
understand.”

“
Be real careful,” Lonnie
said. His chest rose and fell rapidly.”He ain't nothin' to her, you
hear me? Nothin'.” He stood very still in front of
Marcus.

After several taut seconds, Marcus
lifted his hands palms out as if surrendering. “Okay, no
problem.”

“
He's got a point, Lonnie.”
Tia stood between them. “Everybody knows they were goin' together
before she met you. Could be she'd be able to give us an idea where
he is.”

Lonnie inhaled sharply then let the air
out noisily from flared nostrils. “I already asked her. She don't
know,” he admitted grudgingly.

“
Well, we need to get to him
fast no matter where he is or who's hidin' him.” Tia tilted her
head up to look Lonnie straight in the eye. “Meantime, let's all
just hang loose.”

Lonnie lifted both arms in a casual
gesture. “Hey, I'm cool.” He cracked a humorless smile at everyone
in the room.” He moved back. “Let's take care of
business.”

For another ten minutes, Tia issued
instructions to J. J. and the others. Plans to use every gang
member and all of their contacts were put into action. J. J. began
muttering into the small cell phone he carried. The other four gang
members left hurriedly.

Lonnie rubbed his jaw while eyeing
Marcus with eyes clouded with suspicion. “Bridges been hangin' with
your old man a long time.”

“
Yeah. So?”Marcus raised an
eyebrow.

“
So he could be hidin'
Bridges.” Lonnie shot a sideways glance at Tia who continued to
examine her long, acrylic fingernails studded with
rhinestones.

“
No way. I would definitely
know.”

“
Maybe not. Your daddy don't
exactly think all that much of you,” Lonnie retorted. He spoke to
Tia directly ignoring Marcus. “They could be cuttin' their own
deal. Givin' us, you and me, up to the DA right now.”

“
Interestin' theory. What
about it, Marcus?” Tia said without looking up from her
hands.

“
That's crazy. I'd know if
my old man up to something like that.” Marcus glared at Lonnie.
“Don't try it, man,” he warned. Turning to Tia, he rushed to close
any beginning distance Lonnie may have caused with his suggestion
of treachery. “Besides, he's got as much to lose. My old man
wouldn't cut no deal. He'd rather go down fighting.”

“
A man gonna do whatever it
takes to save his ass when push comes to shove. Know what I'm
sayin'?” Lonnie's lip curled in contempt.

“
Let's find Bridges first,”
Tia cut in to head off another confrontation between them. “Then
we'll do whatever is necessary to get rid of any threat to our
business interests.” Her cold, probing gaze flickered between the
two men as they both grasped the deadly meaning behind her
words.

Chapter 16

The hallway outside the Grand Jury room
was crowded with reporters from as far away as Shreveport. Michelle
stepped over light cables and dodged cameramen as she made her way
closer to the crew from Channel Twelve.

Bob swung the mini-cam around checking
the settings and pointed it directly at her. He smiled broadly.
“Hey, now. You still looking good.”