Loves Redemption (4 page)

After the initial shock of her inheritance had worn off, Maya had fallen in love with her

new home. She knew she would never feel comfortable in the sheer massiveness of the mansion; therefore, she divided her new home into three separate units, each one still large enough for a family to enjoy.

However, the most precious inheritance had been in the videotape and package that didn’t

really hold any monetary value. Not knowing what the videotape and package may contain, she had opted to wait before delving into its contents. Once she did, the tears had run unchecked down her face.

Her grandmother had begun by introducing herself as Catherine Elizabeth Rutherford-

Spaulding, of the Atlanta Rutherford’s, and that she was the mother of Elizabeth Chris

Spaulding-Richardson, her Lizzy, and the proud grandmother of Maya Grace Richardson.

As Maya prepared her bath, she recalled how she felt as she watched the videotape of her

deceased grandmother. Her Grandmother had told her that she’d wished she could have had the opportunity to meet Maya in person…

“…However, fate has decreed otherwise, it would seem. Obviously dear, if you’re getting
this videotape now, then I am no longer a member of this plane of existence and have gone on to
my ‘ reward.’ She uttered a small half-hearted chuckle.

“If the good Lord has any mercy, I am reunited with your mother, and we are finally

together. Oh how I’ve missed that child. She was a precocious little thing, even as a baby. Why
she was in such a hurry to experience life, she came almost two months earlier than they
thought. Now back then, that was something to be concerned about. Babies didn’t always make it
when they were born so early.

“Well not your mother. She was not much bigger than your granddaddy’s hand, but when

she opened those big beautiful green eyes of hers, well we all knew we had us a fighter on our
hands.”

Pausing for a moment, Catherine began to pull her lower lip into her mouth with her top

teeth before visibly catching herself.

“As your mama grew up, she maintained that same fighter spirit. Lord have mercy, the

disagreements that girl and I would have! She was what your grandfather would call an ‘alpha
female.’ I thought she was just plain old stubborn. In all honesty it was a trait that most women
on the Rutherford side seem to share. Maybe I didn’t receive my fair share of that trait. If I had,
then I would have been able to stand up to my husband on behalf of my only child.

“I won’t try and defend myself, but I will say that it was a different era. Women didn’t
have the same options that they do today. But that’s no excuse, Maya, and I won’t use that way
out.

“She was our only child. So, I guess you can imagine how very indulged your mother

was. My goodness, there was nothing, and I do mean nothing, that she lacked.”

An unhappy frown crossed her aged features.

“The era that your mother was a young person in, the1960s and 70s, were fraught with

turmoil. The war, the civil rights movement, and the assassination of the president--yes it was
definitely a tumultuous time in our nation. Your mother went to college up north against your
grandfather’s wishes. He’d wanted her to go to the women’s Baptist college right in Savannah,
but there was no way your mother was going to agree to that. No, that young hatchling was
ready to test her wings to see how far and fast she could soar. Finally giving her his blessing,
your grandfather ‘allowed’ her to go.”

She uttered a small chuckle.

“We didn’t know it, but your father, who was the nephew of our gardener, had earned

himself a full scholarship to this same college.

“Her visits became more and more sporadic as time went on. Your mother was very

intelligent, but it took her a long time to graduate. She told us she couldn’t decide on a major.

Finally, she’d written us to tell us that she’d completed her degree in psychology.

“When it came time for your mother to receive her degree, we happily made the trip to

see our baby girl cross the stage, there was no way that we were going to miss this!! When we
got there not only did we see our baby cross the stage, but we also saw her cross the stage with
you strapped to her back! When I got over the shock, I could not believe they had allowed her to
do that. Your grandfather left in the middle of the ceremony.

“When it was over, I found him and convinced him to come back to the auditorium. We

saw your mama at the same time that she saw us--and she waved us over, as though everything
was as right as rain! ‘Mama and Daddy’ she said, ‘I know this may come as a surprise to you,
but I’d like to introduce you to my baby Maya Grace Richardson.

“And then she took you out of this native wrap thing she was wearing around her body,

and handed you to me. You were absolutely beautiful. You had the prettiest eyes that I had ever
seen, and so much hair!

“When I turned to your grandfather I noticed that his face had gone totally gray.

“I didn’t know what was wrong. In my excitement, I hadn’t noticed the one thing that

your grandfather had zeroed in on. Although you were very light at the time, you were definitely
not a white child. Your skin was a beautiful lightly toasted brown that had a gorgeous shining
glow. I promise you Maya that is all that I saw when I looked at you. But not your grandfather.

By that time your father had
joined us, and your mother introduced him to us as her husband.”

Pausing, she’d closed her eyes, as she placed her fingers against her mouth, before

continuing.

“Your grandfather, in a voice devoid of all emotions, told your mother that he never

wanted her or her ‘spawn’ to grace his presence again. Your mother didn’t say a word; she took
you back and walked away. She and your father walked away to join their friends by the stage.

Before she turned, I saw tears in your mother’s eyes. She’d always been a daddy’s girl, and I
knew it was unbearable to her, what her daddy said. I never saw you or my baby girl again....”

*
* * *

“Maya, I have brought your tea. I thought perhaps you could enjoy it as you take your

bath.” Speaking through the closed door, Dalia waited outside the bathroom.

Coming out of her reverie, Maya turned to the authentic, claw foot, scarlet tub and turned

off the water taps. Opening the door, she motioned her friend inside.

As Maya was adding bath salts to her bath, Dalia walked over to her and gave her friend

a tight hug before kissing her lightly on the brow. “Maya, I am going to leave you to your bath.

You and I will talk tomorrow. If you need me for anything, please call me. I am so sorry about your sister, Maya. You will see that you will feel better tomorrow.” She promised.

After she’d left, Maya slumped against the door. Peeling her body away, she undressed

and slowly sank into the fragrant, steaming water. The water began to work its magic; Maya felt her rigid muscles start to loosen, as the combination of the water and heat made their way into every tense muscle and tendon.

She sighed and leaned back against the inflated cushion and allowed the day’s events,

and the warm bath, to wash over her. She loosened her hair and pinned it on top of her head as she picked up the teacup and took a sip. As she tried to relax, her mind refused to allow that to happen. Instead images of Ally’s lifeless body on the cold impersonal slab in the mortuary

played havoc behind her closed lids. Although they’d grown apart, in her heart, her love and commitment to her foster sister had remained strong, something that time or distance hadn’t erased.

She finished her bath and dried her body. After she finished her nightly routine, she

turned off the light and slipped under her quilt. She hugged her pillow tightly to her chest and fell into an exhausted sleep, tears staining her pillow.

* * * *

In another part of town someone else was also preparing for bed. Walking into the

bathroom, the reflection that gazed back mirrored a small smile that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

The mirror images reflected the olive-toned arm as it reached up and took off the

cascading blonde wig, and then opened the cabinet to carefully place it atop its Styrofoam head.

There it sat next to its three companions.

Staring long and hard at the reflection, a well-manicured hand opened a jar of cold cream

before meticulously scrubbing all traces of makeup away.

Keeping skin smooth and soft was no easy task.

The carefully manicured hand began to vigorously scrub each and every tooth, making

sure none were neglected, with excruciating slowness.

After completing the last tooth, the face that stared back was one that was quite different from the one that was presented moments ago. With a satisfied smile, the wig cap was tossed aside and both arms reached up to begin a deep massage throughout the much shorter tresses.

It had been quite a day at work. The investigators had found two more, after much careful

and deliberate planning. One interesting tidbit was the apparent popularity of the male. He was known as quite the philanthropist around town.

Well,
his
damn benevolent days were over. It would take the idiots a while to find the latest that ‘justice’ had been dispensed to.

The woman had been an accident. Unfortunately it couldn’t be helped.

If she had been allowed to escape, there was a chance, although
really slim
, that she would have been able to make identification.

That could
not
happen yet. The time was not right, not quite yet. There were still so many who needed to learn their lesson.

Jaime wondered what Aunt Meg would think. She’d raised Jaime from the time her sister

had overdosed on cocaine. Aunt Meg and her lover were the reason Jaime was compelled to

dispense judgment to those self-righteous pillars of society.

Walking into the bedroom and turning off the light, a satisfied smile settled across small

attractive features, as the slayer
quickly climbed into bed and within moments fell into a deep, content sleep.

Monday morning, Mark was at his desk working before his customary 8 a.m. He’d been

restless the entire weekend, at loose ends.

It wasn’t as though he didn’t have plenty to do in his off hours. He’d recently purchased a turn of the century Victorian farmhouse and had already clocked in most of his free time

renovating it. Jordan often joined him, and the two would participate in traditional male bonding that only the presence of hammer and nails seemed to inspire.

“Hey, man, when did you get in?” Jordan went directly to the coffeemaker after entering

the squad room.

Mark silently asked for a refill before answering. “A few hours ago. I needed to clear up

a few cases. This damn case has demanded so much of my time, I haven’t had much time to do

anything else.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. By the way, did the lieutenant get the DNA results back from the

strand of hair they found on the female victim?” Jordan asked as he handed Mark the steaming Styrofoam cup.

Mark took a tentative sip before grimacing. “Damn, man, how long has this stuff been in

there?” He set the coffee aside and went back to his files.

“Snob.” Jordan laughed. “The night crew made it, I think. Man, what happened Friday

with the doc? Did she make a positive ID?”

“Yes. It was her foster sister, Allison Hill. I asked Maya if she knew any of her sister’s

‘friends’ but she didn’t. It seems as though Allison kept a tight lid on who she hung out with.”

“Maya, huh? First name basis? I guess the two of you got pretty acquainted.” Jordan

flopped his large frame in his chair and crossed his equally large feet on Mark’s desk.

Mark rudely tossed his partners feet back to the floor and decided to ignore the question

for the moment. He remembered the necklace that Maya asked about. “Jordan, do you remember

seeing a necklace with a pendant on the female victim’s neck? I don’t remember seeing it on her body or in the evidence bag.”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“Maya mentioned that she and Allison wore matching necklaces from the time they were

kids. You know the type; they look like two halves of the same whole. I’ll go and check in the evidence room later.”

After several hours of nonstop work, Mark glanced down at his watch and noticed it was

well after lunch. Thoughts of Maya had made their way fleetingly into his mind throughout the morning. He’d had enough, and knew if he didn’t do something about it soon, he’d lose it.

Mark stood and looked at the clock. Jordan noticed him and said, “I didn’t know it was so

late. You want to go grab a sandwich or something? Man I’m starving. Chips and coffee can

only hold a man so long.”

“Go ahead without me. I need to follow up on something, and I’m not sure how long it’s

going to take. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Do you need any backup?” Jordan volunteered as he stood and kneaded his neck, and

then picked up his jacket.

“No I can handle it. I’ll be back as soon as I’m finished.” Mark didn’t want to disclose

the exact nature of his errand. “I’ll pick something up to eat on my way back.”

Before he left the station, he verified the address for Imani House, and as he went to his

SUV, he felt an unfamiliar clench in his stomach. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear it was nervousness. Which, he thought, was ridiculous. He never felt nervous about a woman, no matter how good she looked.