The Conglomerate: A Luxorious Tale (28 page)

             
Cee suddenly halted causing Joey to almost run into her back. Spinning around on one heel Cee faced Joey down. “What is it you have to say?  What! What! What!” she yelled.

             
“I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry and-”

             
“Your sorry don’t mean jack shit to me.”

             
“But Cee,”

             
“Shut up and listen for once!  It’s my turn to talk!  What you did hurts the worst because you have a husband! Standing here with no doubt in my mind I can tell you if our roles were reversed and Zay had died that night. If I had an inkling,” she held her index and thumb up to Joey’s face pressing them as close together as she could without touching, “the smallest iota about the who, the what, the when, the where, or the why.  I would’ve come to you, even if I was ninety-nine point eight percent sure about the who, the what, the when, the where, or the why.  So there is nothing you can say to me to rationalize that bullshit you did.  I never knew that I would live to see the day that I would say this to you,” Cee paused to make sure she was truly conveying what she felt. “I hate you. I fucking hate you.”

* * *

              The footage of Joey and Evan fighting played out on a thin sixty-five inch smart television that hung on a honey sickle colored family room wall in the home of John Doe’s girlfriend.  Sitting on the edge of a brown suede ottoman, money from the robbery at his feet, John Doe stared at the smart TV with a wide smile plastered across his face.  He loved seeing the destruction that he was causing in the women’s lives.

             
“Damn Joey fucking Evan up,” he pulled on the blunt. “I didn’t even know her pretty ass could fight.”

             
“Oh you think she pretty?” his girlfriend slapped him upside the back of the head.

             
“Just because I say shawty is pretty, don’t mean I want her. I hate both them bitches.”

             
“I know baby. I’m just playing with you.”  She stood up, a turquoise lace bra and matching thin v-string thong was all that she donned on her smooth mocha skin. “Told you that you would love it,” she said crossing the room. Reaching up she powered the plasma off. “Enough of this.”

             
“You did a good job. You always do. Come here,” he patted his thighs.

Obliging she sat on his lap and locked her arms around his neck, “what’s up boo?” she asked sexily anticipating and hoping
that he was ready to have sex. She loved making love to him.

             
“Like I was saying you have been doing your thing. Without you none of this shit would be going as smooth as it has. I think it’s time for you to have a little break from it all.  We’re going to take a long vacation and spend some of this money,” he picked up a stack of money and fanned it.

             
“I don’t know if I can get vacation time off this soon and we have a few big events coming up.”

             
“Man, listen it’s not like you’re going to be working there much longer.  After I get the rest of my money and kill Evan, we’re done here!”

             
“Yeah, in order for the plan to work I need to keep my job.”

             
“Tell them someone died in your family and you need some time off.”

             
“Yeah, that will work. I think in my contract I get two to four weeks of bereavement leave.”

             
“I’m going to take you to Vegas and Beverly Hills,” he scooped up ten banded stacks of money and laid it on her lap. “I want you to spend all of this on yourself.”

             
“Thank you, but I don’t need to do that. I just want to be with you.”

             
“That’s why I’m going to spend on you, because I know that you don’t care if I do or don’t, you’ll be with me.  That’s why I love you so much Isadora.”

Chapter Ten

             
“You expect us to believe you don’t know anything about the disappearance of Dawhar Bradley.” a tall white detective with a buzz cut stated to Zay, who was seated across the table from him in the small interrogation room.

             
“I don’t  have any expectations. I told you I don’t know anything about that man or where he is.”

             
“Detective McIntyre,” Scott Fleishman, Zay’s attorney stepped in. “my client has been more than cooperative in speaking to you when you didn’t even have sufficient evidence to bring him in for questioning.”

             
“Your client threatened to kill Bradley in room full of police officers.”

             
“That may be true indeed, but we’ve already given you his alibi and a complete list of respectable people to confirm with for the time that you’re saying he disappeared.”

             
“And when my partner gets done running them down we’ll be done here.”

             
“Are you charging my client?”

             
“Not yet.”

             
“Well we’re done here then, let’s go Mr. Tappens.” The door opened and in walked Detective Wells, a medium height man with bulging muscles.

             
“I just spoke with three senators, a governor, two mayors, and a police commissioner who all vouch for this guy for that whole week!”

             
“Senators and a governor,” Det. McIntyre scoffed. “It must be some type of prank.”

             
“No it was the real thing,” Wells replied. “We are done here now and thanks for your time.”

             
Fleishman and Zay left the room. Shortly after the original investigators on the assault case, Detectives Robbins and Blankenship filed in. 

             
“What is so special about guy that he has politicians and a commissioner alibiing for him?”  Robbins wanted to know

             
“I don’t know,” Wells replied. “But they all said that he was at the same week long golf tournament with them that closed out with some ritzy gala.”

             
“I want to know more about this Zavian Tappens,” Robbins said. “Something about him just doesn’t pass the smell test.”

             
“Would you give it a break already Robbins,” Blankenship said. “You’re still pissed that your football hero was exposed for the rapist that he is.”

             
“Excuse us ladies,” Wells laughed. “I would love to stick around for this little marital spat, but we followed the lead. It was a dead end and we have to go look for people that are really missing.”

             
On the way out McIntyre stopped and told Robbins, “Dawhar Bradley may be just a fugitive on the run. I know his wife thinks he’s missing.”

             
“How is he on the run when he hasn’t withdrawn any cash, used a credit card, and his car hasn’t been seen.”

             
“The guy is a multi-millionaire, no one know how much cash he had on hand.  At the end of the day this guy is a rapist and if those girls had been a year or two younger he’d be a pedophile. Let the fugitive task force locate him.” he patted Robbin’s on the back, “ok buddy?”

             
“That’s fine, but I’m still going to look into this Zayvian Tappens.”

              As soon as Joey saw Zay and his attorney step off the elevator into in the lobby of the Trade St. police department lobby, she went over to him. “Are you okay? What did they want?” Zay wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Not here baby, let’s get in the car first.”

             
It had been a contentious two and a half weeks for the couple. Since she’d revealed Evan’s secret to Zay he’d barely spoken to Joey. If and when they did speak it was with regards to their children or the welcome home party for Zay’s older brothers that was less than twenty-four hours away. Joey’s home was not the only place filled with tension as a result of the revelations of Evan’s past. At the Luxe the three former best friends were not speaking. All business was handled by the managers underneath them.

             
“Let me drive,” Zay said as the couple approached Joey’s Panamera that was parked on the street a few blocks from the police station. “I have places I need to go.” 

A nervous wreck, Joey happi
ly turned the keys over to him. She would not be able to calm her nerves until she knew what the police had brought Zay in for. When Joey arrived home from dropping the kids off at school, Zay was being placed in the back of an unmarked Dodge Charger. Immediately calling his attorney she’d followed the car all the way down to the station and waited with no knowledge of what was going on. Joey fastened her seat belt.

             
“What is going on Zay?  What did they police want with you?”

             
“They questioned me about Dawhar.”

             
“Oh my God are you serious?”

             
“Yes, but they don’t have anything.”

             
“How do you know?”

             
“Cause there is nothing to have and those detectives were from missing persons, not homicide.”

             
“When I saw them putting you in the back of the car I didn’t if was the narcs, the feds, or the DEA. I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack.”

             
“I didn’t know you cared.”

             
“What in the hell does that supposed to mean?”

             
“You haven’t had much to say to me since we got back from Miami, like you got a reason to be mad.  Like I hid something from you and your spots got robbed.”

Joey was tight. Inhaling deeply she f
olded her arms across her chest.

              “You shut me out. Every time that I try to make small talk you give me the cold shoulder. The only time you’ve said more than three words to me is tell me something you want at your brother’s party. I only respond to the way you treat me. I’m not going to beg and grovel for you to talk me.

             
“You should  try it sometime instead of being so stubborn.”

             
“You’re crazy as hell Zay. I’m your wife and I’m scared as hell of this maniac that’s stalking Evan. He’s saying I owe him money. What if he tries to do something to me next? This is a time when we should be banding together instead we’re at odds. I’m confused and I’m lonely. I need you to tell me it’s going to be alright. I need my husband.”

Hearing that she needed him
was always enough to melt him. Zay never wanted her to feel as if she needed him and he wasn’t there. He reached over and held her hand.

             
“I apologize. I should’ve never let it go this far. This shit is stressful though, trying to find this nigga that robbed my spots is like chasing a ghost.”

             
“I know. Evan has tracked down every dealer that they robbed and even put a private investigator on them and it’s not any of them.”

             
“What do you think about Reza?”

             
“What do
you
think about him?” Joey shot back. “He’s your dear old friend.”

             
“I think he’s on the up and up. If he wanted revenge he would’ve just beat the hell out of her or killed her.”

             
“Whenever I see them together on the property, he seems like he’s really into her.”

             
“Every time I try to figure this shit out my damn head start hurting and it’s banging extra hard now right ‘cause I haven’t eaten today.”

             
Joey reached over and massaged his temples. “Why don’t you stop and get something?”

             
“I don’t have time I gotta meet with this man and sign this paper work so everything will be straight for my brothers when they get out this evening. After I’m done with him we can go to the crib and you can whip me up something good.”

             
“I wouldn’t mind doing that, but I gotta get to the Luxe. There is a lot of work to be done to prepare for your brother’s party tomorrow tonight. Isadora won’t be back until tomorrow, so I’ve had to help Bev with every little thing.”

             
“I’ll only be a second in here,” Zay pulled into an office development and parked the car. “When I’m done we can swing by the house so I can get my truck and you can go on to work.”

             
While waiting for Zay, Joey went through her business emails and returned calls.  A group text popped onto the screen of Joey’s smart phone, she opened it and was shocked to see pictures of her children at school. Pictures of Zay and Jason out and about came across the screen, followed by shots of Joey, Evan, and Cee inside different areas of the Luxe. The message beneath the photos read:
PAY ME MY MONEY… Or ONE Of THESE PEOPLE WILL BE HURT.