When Perfection Fails (20 page)

Linda raised her eyebrows. “Yes, ma'am. It appears that way. That's surprising.”

Serena stood back. “It is surprising that Charmayne would be attracted to him.” Of course, the Lance Ryan of today wasn't a bad-looking man at all. She recalled her initial impression of him. Some of the unease she sensed from Lance might have had something to do with the new body he was sporting.

Linda's voice drew Serena out of her thoughts. She tuned in.

“That girl could never keep a man around. The bishop didn't like anyone for his daughter. I don't care how old she was, he'd managed to butt into her love life. Anyway, despite all that, I agree with you, this guy can't be her type. Look at him. I wouldn't date him myself.”

Linda's laugh came deep from her belly.

Serena couldn't help but chuckle too as thoughts raced through her mind faster than she could process. Was Charmayne really involved with this man? How was all of this related to right now? Serena was confident that she needed to find a way to contact Lenora Freeman.

Lenora walked briskly around Victory Gospel Center with Sarah in tow behind her. She stopped suddenly and turned. “Are you sure the caterer received all of the special dietary requests for tonight? I just remembered that Rachel mentioned she had started eating vegan food.”

The clipboard in Sarah's hand flew in the air as she tried to keep from bumping into Lenora. She caught the clipboard right before it hit the floor. Sarah stood and stared at Lenora. “I promise you everything is taken care of for this evening. I even checked on the special dishes for the reception tomorrow.”

“And what about—” Lenora interrupted.

Sarah held up her hand. “The cake is perfect. It will be delivered in the morning.”

Lenora smiled. “I'm sorry. I know you took care of all this while I was sick.”

The younger woman laughed. “I think we can agree that nothing stops you from aiming for perfection.”

Lenora bent over the table and fiddled with the centerpiece. “Honey, I do believe God is dropping hints to remind me that everything can't be in my control.” She turned to Sarah. “Please forgive your OCD boss. I do appreciate you.”

Sarah shook her head. “You are too much! I'm going to go up front and gather everyone in to the sanctuary.”

“That would be great, so we can get started on time.” After Sarah left, Lenora crossed her arms. This wedding was really important to her. Not that all her brides weren't important, but she had bonded with Candace and her daughter, Rachel. They were like family.

“Everything looks good.”

Lenora turned around to see her husband walking toward her. She sensed Jonathan studying her. She returned his stare. “What are you thinking?”

“Are you up for this tonight?”

She placed her hands on her hip. “Do I look fragile to you?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Not in the least. But I know you. You won't admit to me when something is wrong.”

“Look, I'm still disappointed, confused, and hurt, but I'm happy to be here tonight. During the rehearsal and the wedding tomorrow, I hope these thoughts will get pushed to the side, at least for a while.”

Jonathan placed his hands on both her shoulders. She let him pull her into his arms. Surprised at his public display of affection, Lenora melted into her husband's arms. Any tension she had dissipated for a few moments.

Jonathan stepped back. “I will be in my office. Call me when you're ready to run through the ceremony.”

She nodded, unable to speak because of the lump that had formed in her throat. Lenora appreciated her husband's concerns. She was trying to move to a place of normalcy, but something wasn't right. She didn't know if she would ever make peace with Charmayne's death until she found out who was behind all of this.

Who hated Charmayne that much?
Despite the police not finding any evidence, the threats were real. Lenora had been looking at her phone wondering about the strange text messages. What bothered her even more was why this person felt the need to pull Lenora into the situation. It was like this person knew Lenora was the perfect person to find Charmayne. It was no secret that they had been on-and-off friends since they were little girls.

Voices were making their way in the distance down the hallway. She took one last look at the setup for the reception. It was amazing how they were able to transform the Victory Gospel Center for either a basketball game or an elegant wedding reception. Lenora closed the door behind her and headed down the hallway that led to the sanctuary. She could see most of the members of the wedding party were sitting on the pews.

She walked up to Candace who was laughing with Angel.

“So what are we having so much fun talking about?” Lenora asked.

Candace looked at her wide-eyed and pointed her thumb toward Angel. “She didn't tell you yet?”

Lenora looked at Angel. “What didn't you tell me?”

Angel was grinning with tears in her eyes.

Lenora could tell they were tears of joy. “Did you do what I think?”

Angel nodded her head. “New Year's Eve is the date.”

Lenora dropped her mouth open. “What? I have never done a New Year's Eve wedding. Ever.” She smiled. “Come here.” She hugged Angel, and then stepped back. “I'm so happy for you. You do know we have less than nine months to pull this off.”

Angel waved, “If anyone can plan this wedding, you can.”

“You're a mess.”

The rehearsal took about an hour longer than planned, but Lenora felt good about all the participants. She took one last look at the sanctuary. It was all going down at one o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday.

Candace opted to go very simple with candles around the altar. Lenora thought the addition of baby's breath tied with lavender ribbon down the aisle was beautiful.

Lenora's body tingled all over. Without fail, for any wedding, she had that same feeling she had as a little girl getting ready for the first day of school. It was truly an honor to help a couple prepare for their first day as husband and wife.

“Lenora, you ready?”

Lenora smiled at her husband. “I'm ready.” She hooked her arm inside his and let him lead the way to the car.

Lenora always planned the rehearsal dinners at a local restaurant. Tonight, Sammy's, one of her favorite restaurants, would serve as the setting for Candace and Darnell's rehearsal dinner. The restaurant had a large intimate room in the back. It was decorated like a dining room, with a very long mahogany table and burgundy-cushioned chairs. Lenora liked the fabric-covered walls because they blocked out the voices and noise from the other patrons in the restaurant.

Sammy's was a short fifteen minutes from Victory Gospel. When she and Jonathan entered, she looked around the table, happy to see all of the wedding party seated.

Keith had come down for the weekend. He and Rachel were sitting with their heads together.

Jonathan slid out her chair, and she sat down. Lenora nodded at Beulah Samuels, Candace's maid of honor, who winked back. Lenora grinned as she noticed Beulah was holding Mr. Harold's hand. Lenora was reminded of her brief, but very much welcomed hug from Jonathan earlier. Nothing like a wedding to bring out the romance for both the young and old.

She turned her attention to Jonathan who sat down across from her. After Jonathan said grace, salads and fresh hot rolls were placed on the table. Utensils clicked plates, and laughter floated around the table. Lenora kept an eye out for when everyone was finished with their salads, and then signaled the head waiter. Selections had been made earlier for those who wanted baked chicken breast or sirloin steak. Alongside the entrées were broccoli and a baked potato.

Lenora was enjoying brainstorming wedding ideas with Angel and Wes when her phone buzzed. “Excuse me while I check on this call.” She normally didn't want to be rude, but with so many things done at the last minute for the wedding, she wanted to make sure not to miss a call.

Lenora walked to the other side of the room and frowned when she saw their home number. Michael usually couldn't be convinced to attend these types of events. He was a responsible sixteen-year-old, and Lenora felt comfortable with him hanging around the house on his own. Tonight, he wasn't alone since Eliza had decided to join the wedding festivities tomorrow.

Lenora wondered what would cause him or Eliza to call. “Hello, Michael?”

“Mom, you have to come home quick.”

Lenora glanced over her shoulder at Jonathan. He was having a conversation with Darnell, but he must have sensed her stare because he turned his head.

Lenora swallowed. “Michael, what's going on?”

“Someone was trying to break into the house.”

“What? Are you okay? Did you call 911?”

“The alarm went off, and the cops are here now.”

Lenora whirled around and gestured to Jonathan.

Jonathan wiped his mouth and stood. As he approached, he mouthed, “What's going on?”

“Michael, we will be there soon.” She clicked off the phone. The day had gone so well. She stepped closer to Jonathan, trying to keep the trembling and volume out of her voice. She didn't want to alert the wedding party to the chaos. “That was Michael. He said someone tried to break in to the house.”

“Okay, let's tell everyone we have an emergency and head home.”

She agreed. They said a hasty good-bye to everyone. Lenora did her best to dodge questions and assured Candace and Darnell that everything would be okay for their big day.

As Jonathan and she left the restaurant, Lenora's feelings of euphoria had been replaced with the underlying fear that had been by her side for the past few weeks.

When they arrived home, there wasn't only a police cruiser in the driveway, but an ambulance too.

Lenora sprinted behind Jonathan through the garage and up the steps to the kitchen. As soon as she entered the house, she called out, “Michael!”

“I'm in here, Mom.”

Lenora rounded the corner into the hallway leading to the living room. She reached out to Michael, who was standing with his shoulders slouched. “Are you okay, honey?”

Her son turned his stricken face to her, looking ready to cry. “Grandma kept saying something didn't feel right. I should've listened.”

Jonathan ran over to the paramedics who were talking to Eliza. Eliza was sitting in the seat with an oxygen mask on her face. She grabbed it and tried to remove it. “No, Mother. They gave you that for a reason. Leave the mask alone and let it do what it needs to do.”

Jonathan turned to the paramedic kneeling in front of his mother. “What happened here?”

“Is this your mother, sir?”

Jonathan angrily asked, “Yes, tell me what's going on.”

“Well, it looks like Mrs. Freeman here had an elevated blood pressure. Sounds like it was pretty stressful around here. When we arrived, she had passed out, and you can see, she's come around. We would like to take her to the hospital to get her thoroughly checked out.”

Lenora walked over and stated, “I think that's a good idea.” She patted Eliza's hand and observed her. Eliza's eyes were glazed, and she looked like she wanted to fall asleep. For a brief moment her eyes registered with Lenora's. Despite protests, she took the oxygen mask off her face. Her voice was raspy as she tried to speak.

She lifted her wrinkled finger toward Lenora. “You need to be careful.”

Lenora exchanged a look with Jonathan, and then turned her attention back to Eliza. She couldn't ask the woman what she meant because the paramedics were ready to lift her on the stretcher.

As Lenora stepped out of the way and returned to her son's side, her heart was beating so fast, she didn't quite feel steady on her own feet. Why was she supposed to be being careful? Did tonight's break-in have anything to do with her personally?

Lenora's worst fear of bringing her own transgressions on her family seemed to be coming true. If only she knew which sin and the identity of the source.

After her conversation with the Greater Heights Church secretary, Serena decided to explore. She hated standing outside the woman's house like some stalker. Martha German was one of those people who didn't mind having her curtains open despite the fact the sun had long disappeared in the sky. At least she knew the woman was home. Serena had to figure out a way to talk to her.

Serena dialed her number and waited for Martha to pick up. Once Serena heard the gravelly voice, she hung up the phone. The woman must have been a smoker at one time. Maybe she still smoked. No concern to Serena. She had decided to rest her tired eyes and ambush the woman bright and early the next day. If Martha took over as financial secretary after Charmayne, then she seemed to be the only one who could give an accurate account of the finances.

It was morning as Serena approached the house she had scoped out the night before. She parked her SUV a few houses down from her destination. This must have been one of those neighborhoods that required homeowners to have well-manicured lawns. Martha German's two-story brick home appeared larger in the daylight. Serena had done her homework and knew the woman had her own healthy pension from being a schoolteacher. Digging a little deeper, Serena knew Martha was married to a well-known real estate lawyer who had acquired a significant amount of wealth before his death. So what reason would the woman have to comb money off the top of a budget designated to help a low-income population?

Serena walked up to the door, rang the doorbell, and waited.

The deep-throaty voice she recognized called out, “Who is it? No soliciting, please.”

“I'm not here to sell you anything or to pitch a religion to you. I want to talk about Charmayne Hudson.”

Serena heard locks, several locks, being unlatched. When the door opened, she could see that a gold chain kept the door attached to the door frame. The woman peered out at her.

“What do you want?” Martha narrowed her eyes. “You're some reporter, aren't you?”

Not just some reporter.
Serena held out her hand. “I'm Serena Manchester. I understand you knew Charmayne Hudson fairly well.”

Martha glared at her for a moment longer, and then decided to unlatch the chain. When she opened the door, Serena was surprised to see the elegant woman dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. She looked so ordinary.

Martha asked, “Why would you think that I knew that woman? I wasn't friends with her, but her father.”

“That's good to know because I'm particularly interested in you inheriting her role as financial secretary on the Hudson Housing Development Committee. I understand you are the fund-raiser extraordinaire.”

The slightest of smiles touched Martha's lips. “I wouldn't say all that, but it's a project my dear friend Bishop Hudson entrusted to me when Charmayne felt like being on the city council was enough for her.”

“How much money would you say the committee raised over the years? I'm sure you know Charmayne had a hard time trying to get the council to see the benefits of supporting the project.”

“I don't have financial records on me and it's all public record. From recollection, I believe we raised about $750,000. Which isn't bad, but we need a whole lot more to pursue some of the more ambitious elements of the housing development. In fact, before Bishop Hudson died, we were meeting with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission on zoning.”

Serena asked, “How much money are we talking for the final budget?”

“This project was a dream that grew big in proportion. To really make it happen would involve millions of dollars.”

Serena thought about Lance Ryan. Was he purposely trying to destroy the project? But why? What did he hope to gain by having her dig into finances that were minor in the evolution of the project?

Martha crossed her arms. “I thought you were here to talk about Charmayne.”

Serena nodded. “I am. I'm sorry, but you did say you didn't know her that well, so I thought I would ask a topic that you may have some knowledge about. Would you mind if I ask another question?”

Martha's neck looked strained, like she really wanted Serena to move away from her front door. She finally answered. “I need to get ready for an event early this afternoon, so go ahead with your question, Ms. Manchester.”

Serena looked over her shoulder. A next-door neighbor marched out toward the driveway. He appeared to be picking up a newspaper. The man looked over and waved. Serena smiled, and then looked at Martha. “Is it possible I can come in for just a few moments? I mean, you don't want all your neighbors to know you're talking to a reporter, do you?”

Martha stuck her head out the door. She sucked in a breath as though she was offended at the proposition. She opened the door wider and stepped to the side so Serena could enter.

Serena slipped inside the house, which, at a glance, was as immaculate as the outside. It wasn't like it was out of the pages of a magazine, but more or less very neat and orderly. The house smelled of lemon Pledge, like someone had just gone through the house on a cleaning spree.

Martha shut the door and folded her arms. “Well, what do you need to ask me, Ms. Manchester?”

Serena pulled out her phone from her bag. She scrolled to the photo she had downloaded and shared the picture of Charmayne standing next to the overweight Lance. “Do you know this man?”

Martha reached up as if to push her hair away from her face, but the woman's silver hair was wrapped tight in a bun. “Yes. I mean, I don't know him personally. He was invited, or rather, I should say he invited himself, to the committee meetings years ago.”

Serena put her phone away and asked, “What do you mean he invited himself?”

“He was a friend of Charmayne's. She met him Lord knows where. Sometimes that woman wasn't too bright when it came to the company she kept. She convinced her father that her friend was a reputable housing consultant who dealt with housing development projects.”

Serena narrowed her eyes. “Let me guess. He wasn't that qualified, which is why Bishop Hudson gave him the boot.”

“The man actually was very knowledgeable. In fact, Alex Carrington, before he became our mayor, was familiar with him too. You know the mayor has his own real estate firm.”

Serena nodded and stored that bit of information about the mayor in her head.

Martha continued, “He didn't strike me as a people person though. Bishop Hudson liked to be in charge. I had known the bishop for decades. He was always ambitious and a take-charge man. I think Bishop simply didn't like the man. He had only allowed him in as a consultant to pacify Charmayne. I guess she had a need to contribute.”

“Interesting. Do you think Charmayne and this man were romantic?”

“I don't know. You know she never did marry, although a few years ago there was a rumor about her being engaged. No one ever met the fellow, but she was certainly seen trying on wedding gowns at her friend's boutique.”

Really?
Serena didn't think she had run across a woman who had more men issues than she did. She would have thought twice or more before pursuing a relationship with Lance in his heavier days. Funny though, he was all muscle now, and not bad looking. She thought the transformed Lance was the kind of man a girl should run away from. Maybe something changed in him after the weight loss. He could have been a really decent guy for all she knew.

Serena glanced at the clock. She needed to get home so she could dress presentably enough to crash a wedding. She looked at Martha. “I just have one more question. Do you remember the man's name?”

Martha placed her hand on the door. As she opened the door, she said. “I'm afraid not.”

Serena stalled moving toward the door. “What about where he worked? Was he a one-man show? Did he have employees?”

Martha had opened the door wide. She looked at Serena. “I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. I used to be able to remember frivolous facts, but not anymore.”

She could argue with the woman. Martha had to be in her seventies, though she was looking sharp in those jeans. At the rate she was going, Serena could only hope to look that good when she hit seventy. She walked out the door. “Thank you for your time.”

Before closing the door, Martha stated, “Wait. I do remember there was a time we met him at his office, or I guess it was his office.”

Serena spun around. “Where?”

“It was an office building out on Parklane Road. Different businesses could lease space. You know my husband was a lawyer. He knew everyone in Charlotte, but he wasn't familiar with the law firm in that building. Anyway, he may still be there.”

With that, Martha German closed the door. Serena turned around and started walking to her car. The mention of the law firm seemed odd, but the woman was old and had been gracious. Serena finally had a place to start looking for the elusive Lance Ryan.

She had no doubts that Lance Ryan had an axe to grind with Charmayne Hudson from the very beginning.
You're not getting away with what you did.