Murder in Germantown (34 page)

“
I’ll let you know. I’ll call you later,” he replied and pulled out of the parking lot.

“
Oh sure, anything to get me on the phone.”

He chuckled, “Maybe.”

He loved her confidence. An attractive woman who knew her worth.

“
Highly likely.”

What he should have been paying closer attention to was Mr. 357 tailing him in a non-descript station wagon.

CHAPTER 77

Wydell sat in front of me with an irritated expression on his face. I really wanted to know what the hell he was perturbed about. After all, he simply had to sit in prison a week, while I wreaked my brain coaching a team to assure his release. He was before me with a long face, as opposed to a smile. Ungrateful ass.

“
What’s up with the dog face?” I asked. “Haven’t you heard the good news?”

“
I saw the news and read the paper, but Shannon just told me some stupid shit on the phone.”

“
Okay, you can get out Tuesday after the hearing and deal with her.”

“
No, I can’t,” he said and hung his head low. “Shit is fucked up!”

“
Wydell, what the fuck is up with you?” I was more irritated now.

“
Man, she told me that the cops found shells in my room and drugs.”

“
What room?”

“
My dorm room.”

“
Why would you leave that shit there and not tell her to get it when you were arrested. You should have had someone clean that shit out!”

Yes, I just coerced him to commit a crime. What the hell was I thinking?

“
It’s not mine, crazy damn man,” he yelled and jumped to his feet. “I do not fucking sell drugs, Ray-Ray. I hate drug dealers. Somebody planted that shit.”

Damn. Now that was a performance. Either he was very innocent or belonged on Broadway. If the drugs weren’t his, who planted them? And why did the police just all of a sudden trot into his room a week after his arrest?

“
Wydell have a seat.”

I was cautious. Had I not known him, I would probably have been on guard with him walking around like a tiger trapped in a cage for the first time.

“
Do not fucking tell me to have a seat, Ray-Ray. For the past week, I have had a bunch of overpaid high school grads and former welfare recipients forced to work tell me what to fucking do. I paid you to work for me. I tell you what to do.”

Was he kidding me? No one told me, Ravonne Lemmelle, what to do. Especially not my clients.

“
I understand that you’re upset, but we are on stage. Look at the clowns in guard suits out there looking at us. Sit the fuck down, now!”

He looked at me with his fists balled tightly. Had I been a public defender, he may have rushed me. Instead, he stood there and clasped his hands together and slammed them hard on the table. The windows to the room looked out at the other inmates having personal visits. They now seemed more intrigued by what was going down in legal interview room number one than their own visits.

Officer Lynch tapped on the door, and I signaled for him to come in. He asked was everything okay, and I gave in a nonchalant thumbs up that would have pissed me off. CO’s was right up there on my list of people that I disliked for no reason. Lynch looked at me strangely, gave me a tough stare and then told Wydell to have a seat or his official visit would be terminated. He then left as if nothing else needed to be said.

Wydell dropped into the chair and threw his palms over his face. He was becoming increasingly angry that he was being bullied and could not defend himself.

Wydell said, “Somebody is trying to kill my thunder, Ray-Ray. I do not deserve this. I am a good man trying to do all the right things. What the fuck is going on here? Why am I the scapegoat? Why man?”

“
Whoever it is lives on that campus. You have to have an idea who the culprit may be. Any idea?”

“
I don’t,” he confirmed. “If I knew, I’d be all over they ass.”

“
Speaking of ass, any females that you didn’t fuck on campus?”

“
What?”

“
It’s well settled that you’re a man whore.”

“
Come on, Ray-Ray. We’re talking about a college campus. A majority-white, female student body who were trapped in their sterile homes and now free and dying to get some dick. I happen to supply dick. But that’s no reason to frame me to a life or death sentence.”

“
Any of them get told no?”

“
Absolutely not. I don’t turn down pussy.”

“
Ever get into it with a female. I mean a fight.”

“
Nah, Ray-Ray. My shit was discreet and I kept my mouth shut.”

“
What does Shannon think about this dick slinging?”

“
She didn’t know. She did catch me once, which is the reason that we left the party and the campus the night of the shooting. Everyone saw the fight. I was embarrassed.”

“
One of the shooters was a female. Got any idea who that might be?”

“
Hell no. You sure it was a bitch. I mean, that’s crazy. Why would a girl kill them? Or want to frame me?”

“
Beats me. I do know that if the Barclay kid was involved, he was with a female accomplice, or he wears a man’s size seven. Just an angle. Nothing puts the smoking gun in his hand.”

“
No, he has huge feet. Thirteens, I think.”

“
I figured as much. Our girl wore a nine.”

“
If you looked for a specific vagina and asked for the hair color, whether it was shaved or unshaved or bushy, I’d be able to help. But I do not do feet. That’s not why I like them.”

“
You need to think long and hard about a female you’ve pissed off, hurt, lied to, or something. You’re not perfect. I know you’ve done something on that campus.”

“
No, but there’s some feminists looking to show me a serious lesson.”

“
This is not the MO of a feminist. Maybe a poster of you calling you a dog posted all around campus, but a death penalty is harsh for them.”

“
I guess. What about the drugs?”

“
That’s nothing. They haven’t charged you. You’ve had no access to the room since the first time they searched it. I would get that dismissed easily.”

“
I thought that Shannon had cleaned my room out.”

“
So, she forgot the drugs?”

“
Nice try. They weren’t mine.”

“
I had to.”

“
You’re dying to know where that retainer came from.”

“
I am.”

“
I am not telling you yet.”

“
Whatever. What’s the purpose of having all that money if you’re not living life like it’s golden?”

“
Ray-Ray, I’m comfortable knowing that I need to wait before I make the big move. As long as people perceive me as poor, they’d be scared of me. That’s why I hide my new-found wealth. It’s common knowledge that a poor man will kill you over a dollar. I have a dollar, and no reason to kill and ruin my life.”

“
Here’s a written summary of everything that I’ve done thus far and a copy of the Motion to Dismiss that I filed. I’m going to need you to come up with a girl for me to place a microscope up her skirt.”

“
To bad that I am here, because I have the perfect microscope,” he chuckled, which was a good thing. I hated to send him to his cell angry.

“
Your dick got you in this mess as is.”

“
Hey, you keep my dick off your mind,” Wydell said and cracked up.

“
I quit. Get a PD,” I replied laughing.

CHAPTER 78

Despite a few media hounds being outside of the prison when I left, I pulled into my driveway in peace. I parked and walked into the living room. Dajuan was playing the piano and Brandon was teaching the rabbit to two-step.

“
What is this, some sort of animal club? Dajuan the DJ and Brandon the dance instructor.”

“
Nah, we’re just having fun, babe,” Dajuan said as my cell phone rang.

“
Kensan?” I said into the phone. “Come down, I have time, finally. I am at 321 Arch Street.”

I hung up and Dajuan asked who I invited over. I had that chat in his face as a way to broach the topic that I thought may be a problem. It wasn’t for me, but this was a new area for me.

“
Childhood friend. The one who wrote the script that I have been reading.”

“
Oh, what’s for dinner?” Dajuan asked. He then added, “Why do you look all suspicious?”

“
Huh?” I replied dumbfounded.

“
You look...”

“
Okay, here’s the deal. Me and Kensan used to...when we were kids. Of course, that’s in the past.” I paused and gathered my thoughts, before I said, “I only informed you because he thought that I was afraid to invite him here thinking that you’d trip out.” I had to talk cryptically to fool Brandon.

“
Why would he think that?”

“
See, he’s just out of prison. He told me that he wanted to get his life together and thought that I would be sensitive to his situation because one, I am...and two, he thought, correctly that I was a true friend.”

“
And when was the last time that you two...?”

“
My freshman year at Georgetown during Christmas break.”

“
Hell of a Christmas gift for you, I bet,” Dajuan said with an air of sardonicism. “Any feelings at all?”

“
He’s like my brother.”

“
Don’t trip then. Now back to the question at hand, what’s for dinner?”

“
Let me see,” I said going toward the kitchen. “I could make...”

“
Does he still get down?” Dajuan asked, not willing to let the Kensan development go away without an investigation.

“
He said he had a little shindig in jail. Got hurt, or some bull shit like that. He claims to admire us and hinted that he’s tired of women. All he wants is a career and future. I encouraged him to add a wife to that mix.”

“
That could be a man,” he replied and gave me a faux smile. “Does he want you?”

“
No, Dajuan. And for the record, he told me so. I do not want him either.”

“
You just turned out the whole Germantown,” he told me chuckling, before he added, “You little freak.”

“
No, I didn’t,” I said laughing and shaking my head.

“
I hope that he understands that this is not a game. I’d hate for you to defend me for murder.”

CHAPTER 80

At 2:30 in the morning, I found myself inside of a twenty-four hour Kinkos, located inside of the downtown Marriott Hotel at 12th and Market. I had had a great evening with Dajuan and Kensan. Kensan was in my office asleep on the pull out sofa when I left for this late night meeting. He was drunk and could not drive home in that condition.

The empty computer station area, if anything, enhanced my mental rejection of that unwanted appearance. It made me brood for my Harvard days. My laptop had been stolen, and I had to use the computer lab to get a major paper done. I did the assignment while I chatted with Dajuan. I turned in a profound paper, too. It was published in the Harvard Law Review. I was so elated that I drank continually for three days until Dajuan came up to Boston and gave me something else to do.

My cell phone rang and I answered it asking, “Where the hell are you?”

It was Aramis’s ring tone and he should have beaten me to Kinkos.

“
He’s a little tied up at the moment,” an evil voice told me, “get a computer, log into your AOL account, and I’ll see you there. You will not call the police or your home! Or Aramis and your family will die. Including Constance. And I have no problem getting into the Governor’s mansion.”

The caller hung up and my thoughts were clouded. I began to shake uncontrollably. I was so afraid that I wanted to die trying to save Aramis and warn my family. Who was this monster? My mind swirled to all of my disgruntled clients, which weren’t many because I had a great acquittal rate. None of them appeared to be the prototype for an insane ingrate out to kill me.

What about Aramis? Who has he, or hasn’t he reported the facts on? The only case that he actually had a pivotal role in solving was my current client: Wydell James.