Married Men (60 page)

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Authors: Carl Weber

BOOK: Married Men
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“Oh, Ms. Jackson.” He sounded like he was surprised to hear from me. I don’t know why, as many times as I’d called him over the last two weeks. Maybe even he thought my check should’ve arrived by now. “I was told that your situation would have been taken care of by today.”
“Well, it hasn’t,” I snapped.
“Okay ...” He paused. “Why don’t you hold on a minute? I’m gonna see if I can straighten this out.”
“You do that.”
I listened to the elevator music in one ear and the baby crying in the other as I waited. I needed this man to tell me some good news because Ray was starting to be a pain in the ass. He wouldn’t implicate himself in a murder, but I’m sure he’d make good on his threat to talk to Allen about the baby if he didn’t get his money soon.
“Ms. Jackson? You still there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Good. Let’s give this one more day. If it’s not settled, you can come down to our office and we’ll cut you a check. Okay?”
“Yeah, I can live with that.”
But after that, I’m gonna have somebody job if don’t get this damn money,
I thought. “I’ll call you tomorrow if my check doesn’t arrive.” I hung up the phone and was about to go deal with the baby. That’s when Allen walked in with Wil and Jay, who were carrying pizza boxes.
“Waaaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaa!”
I closed my eyes and held my breath, ’cause I knew what the first words out of Allen’s mouth would be.
“Why is he crying? I told you about that shit.” He shook his head and walked straight to the nursery. I followed behind him.
“I was just hanging up the phone. I was gonna get him. I swear,” I hurried to explain.
“Yeah, right. I could hear him when I got out of the car.” He bent over and picked up Jonathan, kissing his forehead. “What’s up, little man? You miss me?” The baby stopped crying and grinned at Allen.
Damn! I hated that shit. Here I am busting my ass all day to take care of his spoiled ass and he won’t even give me a smile. But the minute Allen walks in the door he’s grinning from ear to ear like he hit the jackpot. Sometimes I can’t believe I gave birth to him.
“Yo, dawg. Y‘all eating or what? Pizza’s gettin’ cold,” Jay called from the kitchen.
“Yeah, we’re coming.” Allen carried the baby out of the room and I followed. We all sat down at the kitchen table. I could tell Jay and Wil were whipped.
“You guys look tired,” I said sympathetically.
“Yeah, it’s been a pretty hectic few days.” Wil took a slice of pizza and bit into it. “Thank God Kyle’s gonna be all right.”
“Yeah, between him being in the hospital and getting you and Diane back together I haven’t gotten any sleep in three days.” Jay sat back in his chair, chewing pizza with an arrogant grin. If Diane and Wil did get back together, he must’ve had something to do with it. He was just too full of himself.
“Jay got you and Diane back together?” I asked Wil.
“Yep, he sure did.” Wil smiled humbly then turned to Jay. “Hey man, I know I haven’t told you, but I appreciate what you did. I owe you big time.” He wrapped one arm around Jay’s shoulders.
“You don’t owe me shit. Ain’t nothin’ you wouldn’t have done for me, dawg.” Jay grinned.
“That’s great. I’m really happy for you Wil.” I set my pizza down. “For a while there I thought Allen and I were going to be the only married couple around here.” I laughed, but stopped when I noticed I was laughing alone. They were all staring at me, and the tension in the air was thick. Allen finally broke the awkward silence.
“They’re not the only ones. Kyle and Lisa are getting back together too.”
“Hmm, it looks like everyone’s getting back together. Except you, Jay? When you gonna leave that young girl and get back with Kenya?”
“Will you shut up?” Allen poked me with his elbow.
“What? I was just asking a question.” I sucked my teeth.
“No, it’s aw’ight, Al. Better she hear it from me than out on the street.” Jay took a deep breath and picked up another slice. “Me and Tracy broke up for good a couple days ago.”
“I’m not gonna pretend like I’m surprised. She seemed real immature. Did you see the way she acted at the funeral? She had to be five or six months pregnant and had the nerve to wanna fight somebody ...” Allen elbowed me again so I stopped. Damn, I really wanted to know if that was Jay’s baby.
“Yeah, well. A lot of that was my fault,” Jay mumbled.
“So what about Kenya? You getting back with her?”
“I wish. The biggest mistake I ever made in my life was walking out that door. I should’ve never left her in the first place. At least not until I was really sure.” He dropped his pizza on his plate. Guess the conversation made him lose his appetite. “Y’know I was miserable most of the time I was married, but now that it’s over, I’d do anything to have my wife and kids back,” he laughed. “Go figure.”
“I guess it’s true. You don’t know what you have till it’s gone.” Allen kissed the baby.
“You got that right. You don’t know what I’d do to go home and make love to my wife tonight,” Jay laughed sadly.
“Yeah, I do,” Wil said sadly. “That’s why I’m telling you to go over there and ask her to take you back. What you got to lose?” Wil thought for a moment, then smiled. “If you want, I’ll talk to her for you. It’s the least I can do.”
“You don’t understand, Wil. Kenya hates me. You didn’t see how she acted when I left. Trust me. She don’t want me back.” This was something new. Who would’ve thought there’d ever be a day when Jay sounded so humble?
“Please, Jay. You was at the child support hearing. Diane didn’t want my ass back either, but she’ll be over here in fifteen minutes to pick me up. You never know what’s gonna happen ’til it happens, bro.”
“Yeah, but it’s been three weeks and she hasn’t tried to call me either.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Jay. Trust me, that’s what happened with me when Cinnamon left.” I swear I detected a sigh in Allen’s voice.
I cut my eyes at Allen and he had the nerve to smirk. Talkin’ about that bitch in my house? He was about to get cussed out. Lucky for him Jay and Wil were there.
“So Rose, what d’ya think? Think she’ll take me back?” Jay interrupted my thoughts.
“I don’t really know Kenya that well, but it can’t hurt to ask. I mean, you guys got two kids together. That’s gotta mean something. I don’t care what anyone says. You don’t just fall out of love with someone you been married to for six years. And believe me, if she loves you, she is probably lying awake at night thinking about you. Wondering where you are. Wishing you were there.”
“Well, she sure don’t act like she’s missing me.”
“Of course she don’t,” I laughed. “She’s still gotta have some pride, don’t she? When was the last time you called her?” He didn’t say anything. “Look, you owe it to yourself to ask her the question.”
“What question?” they all asked in unison.
“What question? Isn’t that obvious? Ask her if she still loves you. If she can look you in the face and say no, you haven’t got a shot. But if she looks away or doesn’t answer you, you’ve got a chance. You gotta read a woman’s body language.”
The doorbell rang and Wil got up immediately.
“I’ll get it. It’s probably Diane.” He grabbed a slice and walked to the living room. He returned quickly, but not with his wife. Two white men dressed in cheap suits followed behind him. I knew they were police right away. I started to sweat.
“Sorry to disturb your dinner, Mr. Jackson. My name’s Detective Thompson. I don’t know if you remember, but we met at the station house the day of your mother’s death. This is my partner, Detective Royce. We’ve got some good news about your mother’s homicide.”
“Just tell me you found my mother’s killer.”
“Actually, we have.” The detective gave a strange smile. “We’d like to talk to you and your wife about it in private if you don’t mind.” It had to be paranoia, but I swear it felt like both those detectives were staring at me when they said that.
“Look, we’re eating dinner, and the people in this room are the only family I got left. Anything you can say to me and my wife can be said around them.”
“Okay, suit yourself. Do either of you know this man?” He handed Allen a Polaroid.
“Nah, never seen him before.” Allen handed the picture to me. I looked at it, then passed it to Jay. I probably would have peed on myself if Ray had been in that picture.
“What about you, ma’am? You ever see this man?”
“No, I’ve never seen him before either,” I said truthfully.
“Is this the son of a bitch that killed my mother?” Allen demanded.
“That’s him. His name is Eugene Watson. He’s a small-time armed robber and member of the Bloods. A uniformed unit picked him up on a traffic violation and found the gun in his car. When we ran it for ballistics, it came up a match for your mother’s homicide, among others.”
“Thank God. Now my ma can finally rest in peace,” Allen sighed.
“Well, almost.”
“What do you mean, almost?” Allen stared at the detective. “Don’t tell me he’s gonna get off.”
“No, but Eugene had some accomplices.”
Oh, shit. Ray was supposed to get rid of that gun. What the hell was he thinking about? And why did this kid have it in the first place? Dammit, I don’t even know who this Eugene is.
I wiped the perspiration from my face and tried to conceal the way my hands were shaking. I was terrified of what else this detective knew.
“Have you ever seen this man?” The other detective handed me a second Polaroid. I handed it quickly to Allen, wondering if everyone else in the room could hear my heart beat like I could. It felt like it was about to pound right out of my chest.
“No, never seen him before either,” I mumbled. I didn’t take my eyes off the table as I spoke.
“You sure? You looked at it pretty fast. Why don’t you take another look?”
“I said I never seen him before,” I replied.
“Wait a minute, Rose. Isn’t this your cousin?” Allen studied the picture.
“No, Allen, I’ve never seen that man before,” I insisted. Wil and Jay seemed to be shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
“Yeah, you have. That’s the guy who ate my steak! I’m positive! I’ll never forget that smug-ass smile he gave me.” Allen waved the picture under my nose. “Look again, Rose.” Everyone was staring at me. Oh God, this could not be happening. Ray promised me they’d never be able to trace anything back to us.
“Are you sure you don’t know him, ma’am?” the detective repeated.
“Look! How many times I gotta tell you I don’t know him?”
“Well, his name is Ray Johnson. We took him into custody this morning and he seems to know you pretty well.” The detective’s tone was much harsher now. “He said that you hired him to kill your mother-in-law.”
“That’s not true.” I tried to sound angry. “I never hired anyone to kill anyone.”
“Oh, shit! Kyle was right!” Jay yelled from across the table.
“What the hell’s going on, Rose? Did you kill my ma?” Allen demanded.
“No, Allen. I don’t know what they’re talking about.” I was on the verge of tears by now. This wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
“Before you continue, Mrs. Jackson, I have to inform you that you are under arrest for the murder of Audrey Jackson. Stand up, please.”
“What for? I didn’t do anything! Allen, tell ’em I didn’t do anything!” He wouldn’t even look my way.
“Mrs. Jackson, please. Don’t make me have to use force.” I did as the officer said, and he handcuffed me while his partner read me my rights. I barely heard a word he said because I was too busy trying to will Allen to look at me. He hated me, that much I could tell. “Do you understand your rights?” The cop nudged me.
“Yes, I understand.”
“So Mrs. Jackson, did—” Allen interrupted the detective.
“Don’t call her that! She doesn’t deserve that name. My mother’s name is Mrs. Jackson.”
“Rose, did you speak to a Ray Johnson on the phone today?”
“No, I told you. I don’t know a Ray Johnson.” I had to play this cool and deny everything. The way the court process goes, I could probably beat a murder charge with a good lawyer. They didn’t have any evidence against me except Ray’s word. Who the hell would believe an ex-con?
“So you’re saying you didn’t speak to Mr. Johnson today?” the detective asked slowly as he produced a small tape recorder from his pocket. He pressed PLAY, and I knew my fate was sealed.
“Goddammit, Ray! Don’t you dare threaten me!”
“You call that a threat? That’s not a threat. A threat would be me going down to the cops and telling them you hired me to kill your mother-in-law Now that a threat.”
“Who you think you’re fooling’? You wouldn’t do that, ’cause you have just as much to lose as I do.
”

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