Betrayed (27 page)

“You've been stalking her?” Raphael asked, his mouth clinched and grinding his teeth.

“Stalking her? No,” John said. Then it came to him; he believed that he understood what Raphael was making reference to.

“Mimi called me one night and told me that she saw this guy who used to harass her in college. When you came into the room yesterday and Mimi said you were old college friends, I assumed it was you that she had referred to.”

“No, she wasn't talking about me.”

“Well, if it wasn't you she was talking about, then who?”

Why had he tried to be the negotiator? John had opened Pandora's box, and there was no way he could lie about what he knew because he wouldn't be able to keep the facts straight. John looked at Raphael and decided he would skirt as far away from Mimi's secret as possible. It wasn't his to tell and he'd already given up too much information.

Raphael picked up his beer and drank half without stopping, the foam making a visible moustache when he came up for air. “You going to tell me, man?” Raphael asked.

“Victor Christianson.”

John watched Raphael as he seemed to roll the name over in his head—like it was a name he'd heard before but couldn't remember where. “Christianson?” Raphael asked.

John didn't try and connect the dots for Raphael. Instead, he picked up a hot wing and began to munch on it.

Snap, snap
went Raphael's fingers as John continued to tear at the meat. “Mimi's best friend…Christianson…that's it.” Raphael continued to marinate on a possible connection…the wheels turning ever so slowly in his head.

Licking sauce from his fingers, John dove in and picked up another wing and began to gnaw on it. Somewhere between
breaking news story
and
Victor Christianson
, John snapped his head backward and faced the wall of television screens along with the two dozen other patrons, his eyes glued on the image of Victor. The newscaster was in the middle of her teleprompter scripted dialogue when John caught up with the commentary that linked it to the picture.

“If you have any information on the whereabouts of Victor Christianson, please call CRIMESTOPPERS at the number posted at the bottom of your screen. Again, Victor Christianson, Director of Admissions at North Carolina Central University, is being sought as the key suspect in the shooting on the campus of NCCU of student Afrika Nicole Bailey, that occurred at the end of NCCU's Saturday afternoon football game. Again, this was not a random shooting. This is Charlotte Wilson reporting to you live from Raleigh for WTVD Eyewitness News.”

The chill rolled the numbness off of the room as the patrons slowly returned to their private conversations at their individual booths, at the pool table where a pool stick was now raised in preparation to hit an eight ball in a side pocket, and at the bar where the bartender, who had temporarily closed the lid on the beer tap because she was entrenched in the story, was back to the business of serving beer. The chill had rolled off of everyone except Raphael, the victim's father, who sat in utter silence…in shock, baffled by what he'd heard.

Raphael looked straight at John who was stuffing yet another wing into his mouth. “Why would he want to shoot Afrika?”

John finally put the remnant of the chicken wing down on the plate when he saw the anger in Raphael's eyes. “It had to be a random act of violence, man. Hopefully, they'll catch his ass soon.”

“I'm ready to go back to the hospital,” Raphael said without expression. “I need some answers.

John scrambled for his coat, pulled out a twenty and some ones from his wallet, and laid them on the table. “I got this man; let's go.”

The air was thick in the car as silence lay between John and Raphael. John moved to turn on the radio, but a large hand waved him off. Traffic moved along well, and John pushed his SUV as fast as it would go without exceeding the speed limit. This was not his battle; this was Mimi's husband, and she needed to do the explaining. All this Victor stuff had unearthed more than John really knew.

John's anxiety seemed to evaporate as he approached the hospital. He couldn't wait to get rid of his passenger. As he pulled to the curb, John kept his foot on the brake as Raphael got out. “If you need me again, holler.”

“Aren't you coming in?” Raphael asked.

J
ohn's immediate thought was to distance himself from the explosion he anticipated was about to happen. He was a grown man and had no plans to jump at Raphael's bark. He wasn't one of Raphael's soldiers who saluted every time he walked past. He was the Colonel's wife's friend who, against his better judgment, had come to the rescue in the time of crisis, although he would've rather been somewhere else.

Letting his thoughts roll through his brain, John allowed his subconscious to take a right turn into the parking garage of the hospital. He rubbed his head, sighed, and caught his breathe as he moved forward toward unchartered waters.

When John entered the lobby of the hospital, he was surprised to see Raphael standing inside almost as if he knew that John would show up rather than be AWOL—absence without leave. They walked and then rode the elevator to ICU without uttering a word, tension mounting the closer they got to Afrika's room.

There was no warmth or smile when Raphael pushed the door open. Once inside, Raphael's eyes zoomed straight for Mimi, like a target he'd locked on during combat. She was talking to Brenda, while Asia chatted with Afrika about who knows what. It was obvious they hadn't seen or heard the broadcast about Victor.

“Excuse me,” Raphael said to Brenda, “do you mind if I speak to Mimi?”

“Of course not,” Brenda said, a little taken aback by the gruffness in his tone.

“What is it, Raf?” Mimi asked, looking from him to John.

Raphael looked at the girls who stopped their chatter and looked directly at him. He wanted to blurt out what he'd just witnessed on a television screen that was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, but thought better of it. The girls need not be witnesses to what he wanted to ask Mimi.

“Mimi, sweetheart, let's go outside a minute. I need to talk to you.”

Everyone looked from one to the other, wondering what was so important that Raphael couldn't say it in front of everyone. Brenda glanced at John, who turned away without offering any further explanation.

“What's going on, John?” Afrika finally asked. “Why is Daddy so upset? Wasn't he with you?”

“Only your dad can answer that question, Afrika. Maybe you should ask him when he returns to the room.”

“John,” Brenda interjected, “what's going on? You know something that you're not telling us.”

John threw his hands up. “I'm out of here. Tell Mimi to call me if she needs me.”

R
APHAEL AND
M
IMI STOOD IN THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE OF THE
double doors to ICU and out of earshot of the women who manned the nurses' station.

“What is it, Raf?” Mimi barked before Raphael had a chance to get a word out. She was thinking the worst since he and John had some time together. “What's so important that you needed to drag me from our daughter's room?”

“Victor Christianson is what's the matter.”

“Vic…” she began and cut short as John breezed by without a word.

“John,” both Mimi and Raphael said simultaneously.

John stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at the couple that seemed to be pleading with their eyes.

“You're not leaving?” Raf asked before Mimi had an opportunity to do so.

“Yes, if you don't need me. I need to head back to the office and wrap up a few things.”

“Tell Mimi what we saw on television today,” Raphael said, holding up John's pending exit from the hospital.

“What did you see, John?” Mimi said with a puzzled look on her face.

John looked at Raphael and then back at Mimi. “They named Victor Christianson as the suspect in your daughter's shooting.”

Mimi cupped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God.”

“His picture was also splashed on the screen for everyone to see,” John offered, looking at Raphael. “Satisfied?”

“John tells me that Victor's the person who's been stalking you. Is that correct?” Raphael asked.

Mimi let out a long sigh. “Yes, Raf, Victor is the person who was stalking me.”

“But why? And how is it that John knows all about this and I don't? I'm your husband, damn it. We aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other. We've always been a team, Mimi.”

“Maybe Mimi felt comfortable sharing that with me,” John put in.

“You're the ex-boyfriend; I'm the husband,” Raphael reminded John.

“True as it may be, I was here for her when she needed me…not on the other side of the world.”

“Let me tell you something, John Carroll. I work hard for my family and my country…to keep your ass safe from harm, but that doesn't mean you're supposed to be all up on my wife while I do so.”

“I've had about enough of your—” John began.

Mimi threw her arms up in the air. “Stop it, both of you.” Mimi stood in front of Raphael and held his hands. “Baby, we've got to talk. I realize that all of this is upsetting, but now is not the time for you to take it out on John. I ran into him in the park and I kind of poured my heart out to him. Nothing more. Our daughter needs our attention. We're fortunate that her life was spared, and the person we should be upset with is Victor.”

“Hell, if I had a gun, I'd shoot his brains out now,” Raphael said.

“Raphael, please listen. You're talking irrationally. What is there to gain by taking someone's life?”

“I'd like to know your take on that, Mimi, since John tells me you purchased a gun. What were you going to do with it?”

Mimi fell silent and looked at John in disgust. What else had he told Raphael? Does Raphael know about the rape? “I bought the gun for protection…in the event Victor tried anything crazy.”

“Look, I'm going to leave.” John tried to beg out. “This conversation is between the two of you.”

“No, I believe you're part of the reason we're having this conversation,” Mimi said without a smile. “If—”

“What's wrong with Brenda?” John cut in, pointing at Brenda, who had surfaced from Afrika's room. Mimi and Raphael turned around to see Brenda frantically pacing outside the room. “I think she's looking for you. I hope nothing is wrong with Afrika.”

The trio pushed through the double doors to ICU and headed for Afrika's room. Brenda held her heart while tears dripped from her face. Brenda pulled them into the room.

“What's wrong, Brenda?” Mimi whispered as the trio huddled together. Then she turned when she heard Afrika crying. Raphael was at her bedside before Mimi.

“What's wrong, baby girl?” Raphael asked.

Tears covered Afrika's face. Then Mimi heard more muffled cries. She looked at the window where Asia stood looking out. Brenda hurried to where Asia was standing and took her in her arms. Asia buried her face in her mother's breast and continued to cry.

“Why did Daddy do it? Why did he shoot Afrika? Tell me it's a lie, Mom,” Asia moaned.

Afrika looked into the faces of her mother and father, wet tears staining her face. She tried to stop but the water kept coming. “Why me? I didn't do anything to him.”

“Baby girl, you don't have to worry about him trying anything again. Daddy is here, and your mother and I aren't going to leave your side,” Raphael said.

Mimi stroked Afrika's face and reached down and kissed her. “Like your father said, we aren't going to leave you. We'll be here every minute.”

“But why, Mommy? Why did he shoot me?”

Mimi looked from Afrika to Raphael, who also wanted answers. “I'm not sure why,” Mimi lied.

“I've never liked him, Daddy,” Afrika said to Raphael. “He was always watching me like I had some kind of disease. Mommy warned me not to get too friendly with Asia's family.”

Asia unlocked herself from her mother's embrace and walked to Afrika's bed. “Your mother warned you about staying away from us?” Asia snapped, the tears free-flowing down her cheeks. She looked at Mimi. “What are you trying to insinuate?” Asia turned back to Afrika and placed the tips of both hands on her chest. “You come to my house, pretending to be my friend, when all the while
you were afraid that my father was going to do something to you? My father is the Director of Admissions at a prestigious Historically Black University. You're a peon to him. Why would he give you the time of day?”

Afrika stared at Asia, both parents flanked on either side of her.

“Because your father is Afrika's father,” Brenda blurted out, looking at no one.

The room was deathly silent. Five pairs of eyes had Brenda on lock down. An occasional beep on the monitor that read Afrika's vitals and several rapid exhales from one of the six people in the room was the only sound that could be heard.

Asia looked from her mother to Afrika. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Asia yelled, holding her chest as the words settled in.

“He raped Afrika's mother,” Brenda continued her litany, “and instead of calling the police, Mimi left town. But when you brought Afrika home Asia and your father found out that Mimi was her mother, I believe your father was afraid that what he'd done so long ago was going to come into the light. I believe he was trying to get rid of his secret. Now let's go; we've distressed these people enough for one day.”

“I don't believe you, Mother!” Asia began to shout. “You're lying!” Tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Afrika stared in disbelief. She was unable to move her body, but the words had penetrated her to the core. Everyone continued to stare at Brenda without uttering a word.