Shadow of Death (13 page)

“I'm so sorry.” Ann came running up the driveway. “I have a friend over and we got so caught up in our conversation that I didn't realize she'd slipped out. I need to change the alarm code again.” Ann's attire wasn't necessarily intact which led Natalie to believe that she and her gentleman friend had been doing more than talking. This was a different one than the man who used to come by when the Harrows first moved into the neighborhood. The new guy was older; someone she'd met at the gym who Troy said had a reputation for being a player. “Charla, apologize to Miss Natalie right now for coming over and disturbing her,” Ann demanded.

Like a puppy scolded for misbehavior, Charla's head drooped. “I'm sorry.”

I saw a lady…
“Charla, I want to clarify something real quick. You said there was someone at my house earlier?”

From the way Ann quickly cut in, she obviously sensed that Natalie was attempting to squeeze her daughter for information. “Charla's imagination can run wild sometimes. I'm sure she was mistaken. C'mon, Charla, let's get back home and leave Miss Natalie alone.” As they were walking back across the street, Natalie could hear Ann chastising Charla for sticking her nose in other people's business.

I saw a lady…
Natalie couldn't allow herself to get emotionally worked up again. Aneetra had pulled up with the kids. Seeing her babies reminded her that her time with Troy hadn't been in vain. Without him, there would be no them and that helped her keep things in perspective in regards to their relationship.

Ean and Ebony were both cranky. Natalie could tell immediately that they either had not had a nap or had a very short one. Nate talked nonstop about his recent visit to Magic Mountain, which is where Aneetra took them after she picked them up. When Natalie commended her for bravely taking on such an adventure after having put in a full day's work, Aneetra admitted that she bribed her daughters to help.

“Where are they now?”

“Still there. Marcus dropped them off and is on his way to pick them up because everyone couldn't fit in my car.”

“Mommy, is Daddy downstairs? I wanna show him my yo-yo.”

“No. He's not here. Let's get ready for bed and you can show him tomorrow, okay?”

Nate started to whine, an indication that he, too, was tired. Still, he was getting too old for this. “Nathaniel, stop it!” Rarely did she ever call him by his full name and when she did, he understood that his grace was running thin. “You're a big boy and big boys don't whine when they don't get their way. Your dad isn't here; you'll show him tomorrow, okay?”

“ 'Kay.” He still chose to have a pout face that Natalie ignored.

Aneetra helped Natalie get the kids bathed and in bed. They gathered in a circle to pray and Natalie felt a twinge in her heart when Nate prayed that his daddy would come home so he could show him his toy. It was then she realized that Nate would take the breakup hardest. He'd only known life with the two of them being together. His world was about to change more than either of theirs. “God bless my sissy and my friends. In Jesus's name I pray, amen.”

After tucking him in and laying the little ones in their crib, Natalie joined Aneetra downstairs at the island. “So, do you want to talk?”

“What's there to say? My husband cheated on me. I'm sure you know how I feel.”

“I do.”

“At least in your case, Marcus came clean when he was confronted. Troy had to go all Clinton-Lewinsky on me, claiming that he ‘did not have sexual relations with that woman.' ” When Aneetra laughed, Natalie was also forced to find humor in her bad impersonation of former President Bill Clinton and the statement he'd made about Monica Lewinsky during the investigation to impeach him. The fun lasted only a second. “Troy lied…but as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.” Natalie filled her best friend in on the horrid details of her encounter with Cheryl that morning. She then retrieved the envelope from the trash and pulled out the pictures before Aneetra had a chance to object. “I know those are Troy's butt cheeks.”

“I'll take your word for it.” Aneetra kindly slid the pictures back Natalie's way. “What does he have to say about all of this?”

“He claims that she drugged him.” As Natalie began to relay Troy's lame excuse about the events of that weekend, she separated anger from hurt, making sure that only the former came through and not the tears. “Like I said, at least Marcus told you the truth. You've seen Cheryl before, haven't you?”

“No. Not that I recall.”

“Well she's petite, like my neighbor, Ann. There's no way Cheryl could force Troy to do anything. Besides, right before you came, Charla told me that she saw some woman over here today. I bet you it was Cheryl.”

“No offense, but Charla isn't the most reliable witness. I'm inclined to believe Troy. I'm not saying that
nothing
happened between them. I think their emotions may have temporarily gotten out of control, but if Troy says he didn't have an affair with her, I believe him. I don't know how you and Troy roll behind closed doors, but I'm pretty sure the brotha wouldn't have someone stand around and snap photographs, especially if he was cheating on you. Someone else has to be involved.”

Natalie did not want to have to apologize to Aneetra a second time, so she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before speaking. “Not necessarily. Cameras can be set to automatically take pictures. We can do that with our cell phones. I don't care if there was a third party involved or not; all I know is that Troy's story is completely absurd!”

“I agree. It sounds crazy. So crazy that it could be true. If there's anything I believe about Troy, it's that he loves you, Nat. I couldn't see him doing anything to jeopardize what you have.”

“Yeah, I felt the same way about Marcus and we see how well that worked out.” As soon as Natalie spat out the words, she regretted them. Immediately, Aneetra started gathering her things to leave. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”

“Let's not talk about it. I understand you're upset and rightfully so. I can't be your verbal punching bag right now. I love you and I'm praying for you.” She blew a kiss to Natalie with her hands and left.

A
t Robert's urging, Troy stopped trying to contact his wife. Doing so was likely irritating her more than anything. Natalie needed her space and as much as it pained him, he would give it to her. Troy spent hours hanging out in Robert's office, even falling asleep on the couch after getting the invasive procedure done at the lab. The entire day, Troy ignored every call that rang through as there was only one person with whom he wished to speak. The sworn officer couldn't, in good conscience, throw his cases totally to the wayside. He had taken an oath and there were heartbroken families dependent on him for answers. Thus, he reached out to a fellow detective to make sure things were covered in case there was a break in any of his cases.

Thankfully, his tests for HIV and Trichomoniasis came back clean. It would take twenty-four hours to a few days before he got the results for other STIs. Overall, Troy felt fine, at least in terms of being drugged. He hadn't had a headache since Saturday evening. Still, it would be good to know for sure what Cheryl had given him and if there were any additional side effects he could experience.

Troy felt like a bum hanging around Robert's workplace though Robert didn't seem to mind. Robert went about his daily routine while Troy lay back on the sofa not knowing what to do about anything. He was in no mental or emotional condition to be on his own and he didn't want to go home. Not until he knew Natalie was there. If she saw his truck, she might be tempted to take off again and he wasn't going to let that happen. Somehow Robert convinced Troy to follow him home and he had dinner with Robert, Lisa, and their little one. Aneetra had already picked up the twins by the time Troy had gotten there and Lisa wasn't sure if she was taking them straight home or elsewhere. It was clear by watching Lisa and Robert interact that dinner together wasn't a special event they were doing because he was present. It was their routine. Troy couldn't recall the last time he'd actually sat down at the table and had dinner with his family, excluding the times when they ordered pizza or picked up fast food and ate on the go. The nature of his job didn't allow it. “How much do you know about my situation?” Troy asked Lisa.

“Nothing really except that you and Natalie are obviously having a tough time.”

Troy gave her an abbreviated version of the recent events. “I'm not trying to pry, but can you give me some insight on how to repair things with Natalie based on what you and Robert went through? He and I have been talking, but I would like to have a female perspective.”

Lisa seemed more than happy to oblige his request. “Well, you know that RJ and I were divorced for what, about five or six years?” She turned to him for verification.

“Something like that. I try not to dwell on those days.”

“Yeah, it's a blur to me as well. Anyhow, my point is that we were apart for a while and although he made it clear that he wanted to get back with me, I was stubborn. I'm not sure there was anything he could have done differently. It was on me and unfortunately, it took a tragedy to bring us back together.” She paused for a second. “I say all of that to say don't give up fighting for your marriage. It's worth it in the end.”

Troy had no intentions of giving up, and he stated as much.

“Good. I want to talk to Natalie, but I don't want to press her. I can tell from our Wise Wives meetings that she's a private person. She and Aneetra don't talk much during our sessions, so I don't want to overstep my boundaries. I know she has Aneetra to lean on, so I'm using the most powerful weapon I have, which is prayer. I'm praying that her heart doesn't become hardened as a result of this situation.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. Please pray with me that Natalie will eventually see the truth.”

“She will,” added Lisa. “I already believe it. There's a proverb, I can't remember which one, but in the NIV, it says that the truth endures forever and a lying tongue is only for a moment. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but you get the point.”

Proverbs 12:19.
Troy was almost sure of it as he'd come across that scripture numerous times during his readings of that book.

Robert furrowed his brows. “Honey, I hate to see you misquoting the Word. Are you sure that scripture says endures and not
endureth?
” The two of them busted out laughing at some kind of inside joke that Troy obviously wasn't privy to with Lisa telling Robert that he was “wrong for that,” all while cracking up.

Troy found himself chuckling as well, but only because their reactions amused him. “
O
-kay. Does someone want to fill me in?”

“My bad, man. I was making fun of Eric Freeman; you remember him, don't you?”

Troy nodded. How could he forget? Eric had been smack dab in the middle of one of Troy's biggest cases a couple of years ago. “You don't have to say any more. I'm all too familiar with the idiosyncrasies of Pastor Eric Joshua Freeman of the Tabernacle of Jesus.” Troy said the latter part of his sentence using his best impersonation voice.

The Hamptons got a kick out of it. “See, God's going to get y'all for talking about that man,” Lisa, still laughing, warned.

After the laugh fest, Troy and the Hamptons talked a little more. Lisa filled him in on all the funny things that Ean and Ebony had done while in her care. She'd gotten a chance to witness their eerie synchronization firsthand and always found it amusing. By 9:30, Troy had worn out his welcome and thanked them for their hospitality. Robert walked him out to his truck.

“It's going to be all right, man. It may be rough for a little while, but ultimately, I believe everything will be okay and you and Natalie will be stronger as a result of this.”

“Man, I hope so. I appreciate you being there for me, Robert.”

“Not a problem. You know,” Robert looked at him wryly, “It's mostly older people and strangers who call me Robert. My friends call me RJ.”

Troy smirked. “All right. I'll keep that in mind.” The two men shook hands and Troy hopped in his Navigator whose alarm was still acting crazy. It had been several hours since he'd last tried Natalie, so he called her again.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,
he thought as his call went into his wife's voicemail. Wanting to be sure that someone had at least spoken to her, he called Aneetra.

“I'm starting to think you have my number on speed dial because this is the most you've ever called me since we've known each other.”

“Hey, Aneetra. I don't mean to harass you—”

“You're not harassing me, I was only playing. What's up?”

“Have you spoken with Natalie?”

“Yep. I literally just left your house. I'm driving down the street now.”

“Good. So she's home. How is she?”

“Angry and hurt.”

Troy had been hoping she would have cooled down by now. “This is a big mess. I don't know what to do, Aneetra.”

“And I don't know what to tell you.”

“I didn't have an affair with Cheryl.”

“I believe you, but I'm not the one who matters. I think Natalie will come to that same conclusion in time.”

“I hope so.” Aneetra did her best to provide words of encouragement and Troy thanked her before ending the call. He felt so defeated. If only he could go back to that Friday two summers ago when he and Cheryl met at Starbucks on High Street and her sexual innuendos made him feel uncomfortable. He would have never met her there if he'd known how much of a problem she'd become. He'd gone only with the intentions of talking about the case they were working on, but things took a detour when she began taking a trip down memory lane. Immediately, Troy left and he'd rejected all of her advances since then. Like cancer, she started out at a small lump and then infected other areas of his life. If he never saw Cheryl Hunter again, it would be too soon.