Secret Sins: Murder in the Church (15 page)

I ran from the mailroom and as ran into Tom Johnson on my way out the door,
“Out of my way!” Tom tried to stop me and take the ticket “Stop running in here!”
I pushed him out of my way and had he not gotten out of my way I sure I would
have shot him dead on the spot, but Captain West came up and grabbed Tom from
the back and slammed him against the wall and shouted, “Assaulting an officer?”
Tom yelled, “I’ll have your job!”
Captain West shouted, “Maybe, but not today!” Captain West slapped a set of hand
cuffs on Tom and dragged him down the hall into the booking room.

Detective
Breeze
is
very
married. Shawn
and I have known one another from childhood. I lost contact with him while
he was
in
prison
and
when
he finally got
out, everyone notice a difference,
including his mother. I suppose that was part of the reason she was placed
in a
sanitarium for the criminally insane after the death of the Elder Reverend Graves.
Elder
Graves
died shortly after
ordaining his son
Shawn.
Shawn
has a yellow
marker in his hand and his bible open outlining a section. He has a legal pad at
his side with notes jotted halfway down the page. I
begin
flipping
through
a
fashion
magazine, and stopped at one of
the pages and looks at the Hooded
Chocolate Cotton-Blend Jersey Cardigan by Alexander Wang, “I’d look fabulous in
this,” I said to Shawn.
Shawn glances at the outfit, “Yes you would, but not in church.”
With my lips curled in a sneer, “I go other places as well as church.”
“You not wearing an outfit like that anywhere unless I’m with you,” said Shawn.”
“Never mind my wardrobe…you better be worried about Detective Breeze I said
with a dash of tart sarcasm.
“God
is my shield and my Fortress,” replied Shawn as he leafed through the
book of Psalms.
suspicious
of
Shawn, but
so
was
I
when
we
first
The
time
has come
for me to present
the most
compelling
argument
I
could, “A
warrant is eminent and if she proves you’re Eric Campbell-you go back to prison
or even
death row.”
“Incidentally,” added Shawn , “I’m probably not the only one under suspicion.”
I closed my fashion magazine and looked dead at Shawn and asked, “Just what are
you implying?”
He answered, “Beulah and you.”
“That’s a curious statement,” I continued,
“But if I were you I would be gone by morning.” I turned on the television and a
male reporter in front of Spirit Temple Pentecostal Christian Church, “The crowd
has been camped out here all night after the discovery of the body of Director of
the Gaming Commission, Tyrone Lane was discovered in the coffin of the late
Raymond Murdock.”
Shawn stopped what he was doing and watched and said, “Look at the crowd.”
The Reporter walked up to a man in the crowd and asked, “Why is everyone
gathered here tonight?”
“THE SECOND COMING DUDE!” the
man laughs, “YOU DIDN’T KNOW?” The crowd laughs.
The reporter says, “It has been confirmed that the wife of Tyrone Lane, Kirsten
Lane was found dead earlier from an apparent suicide.” The reporter at the news desk
interrupts, “We need to switch to Rachael
Russell
at
the Gaming Commission.”
Rachael Russell a woman of about twenty three and she is chicly dressed in tight,
black,
Club Monaco pants with an oversized tie-dyed shirt with
a long blue
scarf and
black ankle
boots. She reports, “Alan
Douglas has been appointed interim
Director
until
his official
conformation and according to a statement released earlier that there was a winner
for the One Billion Dollar Multi-State Lottery Drawing, but the winner has not
came forward.”
Nichelle looks at Shawn and says, “That could have been us.”
Shawn shook his head, “I’m glad that cursed ticket is out of here.” Shawn turns
off the television.
I leaned over to look at what section Shawn was reading with such intensity. I
looked at he was looking at Psalm 90:8 of the Old King James version of the
Bible.
Shawn closes his bible and says, “I’ll be back later…I’ll be in my prayer room if
you need anything,” then he walks out of the bedroom and closes the door behind
himself.
My iPhone-5 rang and I looked at the caller- Id, and it says, unknown caller. She
presses one of the buttons and turns the phone off. Shawn returns to the
bedroom and
I am certain it is because my phone rang. He gets back in bed with
the bible open to Psalm 90:8. I looked at him slightly sideways as though I was
looking at the Devil, “I thought you were going to your prayer room?”
He glanced sideways at me, “I was, but some answers
come
faster than others,” he
said
warmly as he kisses me goodnight, then reads Psalm 90:8 again, and leaves the Bible
laying
open on Psalm 90:8 between the two of us.

Shato
ya
Quin
n

I am glad to be out of ICU and together in a regular hospital room. We are doing
better than anyone realizes even though Jade has left leg is in a cast and my left
arm is in a cast. Jade asks, “I wonder what happened to our lottery ticket?”
“Girl, are you nuts? We stole that ticket off the body of a dead man in church,”
said Shatoya.
“It’s not like he was going to cash it in,” remarks Jade.
“Jade, you seen
the news just like I did…a bunch of people done turned up
dead, and someone tried to kill us over that ticket.”
“I wished I knew what happened to that ticket,” said Jade.
I said point blank, “Don’t bring up that ticket again-that thing is bad luck.”
Jade tries to get out of bed using crouches, “Where are you going?” I demand to
know. “Outta here…I’m going get back what the Devil stole from me,” said Jade.
“Fool, get back in bed before they call the police,” said Shatoya.
Jade
hobbles
to
the
closet
to
find
her
clothes, but
the
closet
is
empty,
“Dang…what happen to my clothes?” She opens the closet next to it and it was
empty.
“That’s God trying to tell your stupid butt to stay in that bed.”
Jade tells me, “No that’s a sign from the devil that I need to call kayak and NaNa
and have them bring us some clothes.”
My bed
is nearest to the door and I lean forward
and
peer
down
the
hall,
“Quick…get back in bed…here comes the nurse!”
“I’m calling Kayak and NaNa,” said Jade. “Anything’s better than sneaking out in
the middle of the night,” commented Jade as the nurse enters the room.
The nurse, “Time for vitals and the RN will be around in a few minutes with
your medication.”

The day’s events kept replaying themselves through Virginia mind the entire night,
but finally she drifted off in a deep slumber. Her Rim sleep is interrupted by the
screams
of Liza, she rushed into Liza and Madison’s room, and turned on the
lights, and found her wrapped in her covers, kicking and screaming, “Grandma,
Grandma, don’t go!”
I rushed in Liza’s room and sits down on the side of the bed to gently wake her
up, “Honey wake up.”
I cried, “It was a terrible dream.” “It was only a dream,” I said.
Nadine comes to the door and looks in at Liza and Virginia and was about to
walk away when Liza sees her and screams, “Grandma, Grandma! You’re ok.”
Nadine smiles and walks in and I jump out of bed to and gave Grandma a big hug
and she asked, “What were you dreaming?”
Liza’s screams awoke Madison down the hall and Madison came and stood in the
doorway as I begin to tell them my dream, “In dreamt some shot and killed
Grandma and we had to go live with Uncle Oliver and Aunt Eileen.”
I tried to ease and console Liza, “It was only a dream.”
By 7 A.M. I had finished dressing and was having coffee with Nadine in the
kitchen. I knew this was the opportunity to talk to Nadine and discuss my plan. I
got up to pour myself another cup of coffee and
told Nadine, “I have the Lottery
Ticket.”
Nadine looked at me, “You’re kidding me!”
I informed her, “Nope, I got it in the mail yesterday.”
Nadine is happy to hear the news, “Now you can solve the Murdock Case.”
I sat down at the table and sat my coffee cup down, “Not quite.”
Immediately, Nadine knew something is fishy and she asks, “But there’s a catch, so
what is it?”
“The killer is still in the church and Ray Murdock was killed because Tyrone Lane
had rigged the lottery,” I paused, “And I want to use the ticket as bate to catch
the killer.” Nadine drinks down the last few drops of coffee like she’s taking a swig
of Jack Daniels and sits the cup down
on the table, “What does it have to do
with me?”
Nadine
can
refused
and
I
would
have
to change the plan a slight bit, but I
continued to persuade her, “You want be in any danger and you’ll be protected the
entire time.”
Nadine asks, “What’s the catch?”
I reached into my jacket pocket that is hanging
on the back of my chair and handed her a one dollar bill and folded in with the bill
was the lottery ticket, “Just before you
begin
the morning collection…I need
for you to plant the ticket in the church collection plate.” Nadine commented, “I’m
glad you didn’t ask me to walk in water and not get caught.”
“I know I’m asking a lot,” I said.
Nadine thought about it for a few seconds,
“Don’t let Liza dream come true.”
“It was just a dream,” I paused and thought, “All you have to do is put it in the
plate like to do your regular tithe.”
“I always put my tithe in an envelope in the plate,” said Nadine.
“I guess so,” said Nadine.
My iPhone rang and Nadine sat quietly at the table as I took the call from the Social
Worker at the Hospital, and they called to inform me that Shatoya and Jade are out
of ICU and that I could come and questioned them at any time, and to let the nurse
in charge know if I need any special accommodations.
“Great,” I said as I got up from the chair and put on my jacket.
Nadine’s eyes are fixed upon me, “Shouldn’t you be wearing your gun?”
“I am,” said Virginia.
“Well, dog gone if I see it,” said Nadine Virginia laughs, “That’s the idea.”
Nadine says, “Okay,” and gets up to pour herself another cup of coffee.
“Call me if you need anything,” said Virginia as she heads toward the door.
“The girls will be fine,” said Nadine.
Nadine reassures
her, “Don’t worry,” as Virginia walks out of the door.
Virginia walks into the spacious lobby of the hospital and stops at the
information desk, and asks the receptionist, “I need to know what room Shatoya
and Jade Quinn are in?” The male reception clerk says, “One moment and I’ll find
out.”
He begins typing on the key board, and he looks strangely before responding,
“That’s strange.”
Virginia takes a quick survey of the people in the lobby, and then turns back to the
receptionist, “Is there a problem?” The receptionist keeps typing on the keyboard
before he finally looks up at Virginia and instructs her to, “Go up to the 7
^th
floor
Nurse’s station.”
“Thank you,” Virginia responds, and then walks away towards the two columns
of elevators, a number of people wait to board the elevator.
The elevator bells rings and the arrow points up, Virginia walks onto the elevator
as the reception desk clerk watch’s the elevator door closes.
A hospital worker walks over to the reception desk…the
male
receptionist
tells
the female, “I’m glad she’s gone.”
“Who was that,” she asks.
“That police officer from the television…she came here asking about those twins,”
said the receptionist.
“The two they found missing at six o’clock this morning?” she woman gasped.
In an effeminate voice, the male receptionist responds, “Yes, Girl.”
The female says in a shocked, but whispered tone, “Oh…somebody’s in trouble.”
Virginia patiently rode the elevator as it stopped and people got off, and some got
on
and rode to the next floor. The elevator stopped on the sixth floor and everyone
got
off; however, an elderly woman in her eighties slowly navigator her way off the
elevator and
Virginia held the elevator door open with one hand, the old woman turns to
Victoria, “You getting off ?”
“No, I’m going up to the next floor,” Victoria answered as she continued holding
the door. The old woman looked up at the numbers above the door, and there are
only six floors. The old woman smiled and waved, “Good luck as the elevator door
closed.”
The elevator door closed and Victoria looks up at the above column of numbers,
and there are only six floors, “What in the…” the elevator seems to be going
straight down without stopping on any floor. The elevator suddenly stops on the
ground floor, and an automated voice on the elevator say, “Please exit to your
left, and have a good day.”
Virginia exited the elevator, and turned to her left and walked down the dark chilly
hallway. There were numerous empty gurneys and wheelchairs lined along the wall.
The only sound was the sound of Victoria’s boots on the concrete floor, and she
thought to herself, “That receptionist…”
She continued walking and a sign on the wall read,
Please
Turn Left. Virginia
turned left, came to the dead end of a brick wall, and said aloud, “I can’t believe
this!”
Virginia turns around in long hallway and headed back in the direction she came
from. As she got closer to the elevation, the bell, “Ding,” sending a signal that
someone was getting
off. She thought to
herself, “I don’t know who it is, but
you may as well stay on the elevator.”
The elevator bell continued
dinging,
but
the door failed to open. Virginia kept
pressing the up arrow
button to no avail, so she began looking around for the
stairwell, but there were none. Without warning, the elevator door opened, and she
stepped on and the door closed behind her.
The elevator went up to the next floor and the door
opened,
and
an
elevator
technician
was standing in the door when it opened, “This is the
third
time
today…this elevator seems to have a mind of its own. “
She was back in the lobby where she started. Virginia headed in the direction of
the information desk and there were a group of hospital Security Officers and a
young business woman standing among them and they
are
gathered around the
desk,
some
of them murmuring among themselves. The attendant sitting at the
information desk rose to his feet, and said, “I’m so sorry, but you need the East
Elevators,” and he points in the direction of the fountain in the center of
the
lobby.
The
business
woman
walked
up
to
me
and politely
introduced herself, “I’m
Maria Small and I am head of the Senior Nurse Manager, she smiled and asked
me, “How may I help you?”
I
nodded
and
showed
my
badge
and answered, “I need to
know the room
number for Jade and Shatoya Quinn?”
The woman looked at one of the guards before she answered, “They were here,
but they have apparently left.”
“They left,” I said and I pause for a second to keep my composure, “What do you
mean they left? My words seemed to have disturbed Maria, but depending on her
answer, it will only serve to make me more inquisitive and once I find a gap I
will have her running all day for an answer.
“That is currently under investigation, but security tapes show the woman leaving
with an unknown woman,” said Maria.
I said, “We’ll also be investigating and I will be in contact,” and I walked away.

Melvina Page is caught in morning rush hour traffic on the
MLK Bridge that
crosses the Mississippi River going east. Shatoya is the passenger seat, and Jade is
in the back seat fidgeting, “You need to hurry…we
need
to get out of sight,”
urged, Jade.
“I glad we took a pain shot before we left,” said Shatoya.
Jade added, “This is going to hurt like the devil later, then what will we do?”
Malvina hops from lane to lane, “I’m doing the best I can,” she answered, and
I’m sure Mom has something you can take that will help.
Shatoya, Jade and Malvina have known one another
from
grade
school,
and
although
Malvina is as sweet as she can be will do anything for anyone in need of help, but
it’s
been well established that she is not playing with quite a full deck, but Malvina’s
house is
the only place no one would think to look for them or so they thought. When
Melvina pulled into
the
driveway, Captain
West
and two
squad
cars pulled
up
directly behind them.

I was on my way to the church, and decided to stop at a nearby coffee house for a
cup and
coffee and a cheese Danish. As usual, I took
my notebook computer in the shop with me, and I was typing the eulogy for
the double
funeral for Tyrone and Kristen. I was in deep concentration and typing when, she
came in,
Dana Khan…Dr. Dana Khan. We have not seen
one another
since
I married
Nichelle
nine years ago. Dana had pale golden hair, and fair skin and hazel eyes. Dana is the
daughter
of Nobel Prize Botanist, Dr. Virgil Khan. Virgil had three daughters, Grace, Amy
and Dana. All his daughters have hazel eyes and fair skin.
Dana nodded at the server without saying a word and walks over to Shawn table.
I quickly typed my last thoughts as they poured out of my soul and she came over
to my table, “Reverend Graves,” said Dana.
I looked up and pretended to be surprised when I saw her standing there in a low
cut red dress with a split that begins at the hem with her
brown hair
flowing
down her shoulders. She pulls her hair off her shoulder, and reveals her diamond
stud earrings.
She tilted her head and smiles as I stood up, “Dana…wow!” In the back of
my
mind, I
wished she were my wife rather than Nichelle, but when I married her it was until
death do
we part. Seeing Dana brought back memories and I decided perhaps she had finally
forgiven
me, but I was determined to keep it short and exit. Shawn knew better than to take
a woman at face value. Too many women want me for my
money
and
would
turn
his
life
and ministry more upside-down than it already is. They hug one
another, “I never expected to run into you,” said Dana.
“I can’t believe this…what brings you here?” asks Shawn.
“I was called in to consult on a murder investigation,” said Dana.
“You’re a botanist, not a detective,” jokes Shawn.
“Someone
was
poisoned,”
said Dana “Poison…sounds
interesting,”
responds
Shawn.
“It involves some church murders,” said Dana.
I looked at her with surprise and awe, and begin placing my computer in my bag.
I closed my bible and she said, “Don’t tell me it’s your church?”
“I’ve got to go and it was nice seeing you again,” I said.
“I had no idea-I’m so sorry,” she said.
I glance at her and said, “Sure you are.”
I quickly exited the coffee house wishing that I had went straight to church as I had
planned and as I was about to get into my car, Tony Rome appeared without
warning and said, “Looks like you’re in a tight spot?”
“Everything’s under control and God’s going to work this out,” I said.
“Detective Breeze is on to you and your exit is eminent
and you go
straight
to
prison,” chuckled Tony.
I stopped and looked at Tony and said, “I know who I am and who God said that I
am,” I persisted.
Tony said bluntly, “At the moment
it’s
not what God thinks, but man or rather
Detective Breeze and at the moment she wants to prove that you are Eric Campbell
not Shawn Graves.”
I
suddenly
froze
up
and
took
off
my
glove and
looked
at my burnt hands
fearfully, “I know who I am…”
He said, “Consider this option,” he gazed at me, “Disappear right here and now.”
“It would make sense until this has blown over,” I suggested.
“You
shouldn’t
have
fingered
as
the killer
whomever else that may have been murdered over the past thirteen months,” said
Tony.
I looked glanced at the coffee shop and saw Dana sitting at table next to the front
window watching Tony and I, “When do I do this Harry Houdini number?”
He answered, “Right now.” An Indigo Blue Metallic Jaguar F-type with a jet black
roof and twenty inch cyclone black wheels and red calipers speeds onto the parking
lot and Tony opens the door and said, “Get in and don’t look back and don’t ask
any questions.”
to
hid,
but
why
would you
take
the
chance
of
being

of
Murdock,
Newton,
Lane
and
his
nutty
wife
and
I looked at the driver with complete shock and couldn’t believe my eyes and she
looked
at me and smiled then looked at Tony. Tony looked around and saw Dana watching us
and
he said to me, “Stop staring and get in now.”