Page 11

“She hung herself, man,” Tyson said as soon as he entered my chambers.

“What? Who?”

“Darlene. She killed herself in the middle of the night.”

I slid my hand down my face. It had been a week since the incident at the firefighters’ initiative, and I was still somewhat rattled. I didn’t go back to Genesis’s house, because I was obviously being followed. I refused to put her in danger by leading them to where she rested her head. She would be in danger any time she was around me.

“This isn’t good.”

“I know. I hate this shit, but whoever is after you, they may come harder. The guard found her hanging there. They think she had been there for two hours.”

“So let me guess, the masses are blaming me.”

“They’re saying that the sentencing played a big part in her demise.”

“Yeah. Blame the black man. They fail to remember that her actions are what contributed to her being there.”

“Yeah. So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to really dig into this shit so I can solve it myself. I feel like she was the fall guy. There are more people involved in this, and no one seems to be concerned about it.”

There was a knock on my door, so Tyson turned to me, and I nodded. He went to it and opened it, then left out of the door. The DA stood there with a folded piece of paper in his hand. “Good morning. This had your name on it. They found it in Darlene’s cell.”

My eyebrows lifted. Why would she leave a note for me? I took the note from him and stared at my name on the outside of it. When I looked up at Carl, I asked, “Did you read it?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to, but at the same time, it was addressed to you. I figured if it was something I needed to know, you would tell me.”

I nodded, but I felt like his nosy ass was lying. I opened the letter and read.

Judge Patrick,

You did your job, sir. I could tell during the proceedings you were irritated by my silence. I got myself into the foolishness I was involved in because my husband and I were in a bad spot financially. He doesn’t know what all I was doing. I just told him I’d gotten a significant raise and that I was doing other jobs that allotted me another paycheck. He is gullible when it comes to me.

I’m writing this letter to let you know that I wasn’t working alone. There are other high profile people that were involved in this. Watch your back, because they will be coming for you, doing their best to destroy evidence. I heard you wanted to be a detective at one time. Well, it’s time you put those skills to use.

This ring goes deep. I could tell by your demeanor in the courtroom that you were seeing right through the charade. I was the fall guy to protect them, but I lost the most. I lost my family. I won’t get to see my kids graduate from college. I won’t get to see them start families and give me grandkids to spoil. Now, I’ll never be able to see them. This isn’t on you, Judge. However, if you want to know who all is involved, you’ll have to solve it yourself. Good luck.

My final words,

Darlene Doll

P.S.- No one needs to see this letter but you. You never know who you could be talking to.

I folded the letter as I repeatedly nodded my head. She confirmed what I already knew, but I wished she would have included names. Now everyone would be a suspect. I brought my gaze to Carl’s and said, “She only wanted me to know that I wasn’t at fault for this. That she deserved the sentence she got. I was doing my job.”

“That’s it?” Carl asked.

“Yes. She knew people would be blaming me. She took responsibility for her actions that led to the sentencing. That’s it.”

“Okay. I guess she didn’t know that you wouldn’t think it was your fault anyway.”

I gave him a one-sided smile. “Apparently not, because I don’t feel an ounce of guilt about what she did. It was her crimes that got her in the predicament she was in. I hate that she chose to end her life, and my condolences go out to her family, but I know this isn’t on me.”

Carl nodded and shook my hand. “Well, enjoy the rest of your day, sir. The detectives may want to take a look at that letter, if need be.”

“If the time comes that they do, I’ll have it.”

He nodded and left the room. I didn’t know how I would keep this letter private. She had to know that I wouldn’t be the first person to see it. I was more than sure several people read it before it got to me. Just my luck, the main person I needed to watch out for had read it already as well. I closed my eyes, searching within myself for the courage and determination I would need to begin my private investigation. I would need help though… someone on the inside.

My mind immediately went to Detective Johnson. She wasn’t that impressed with me, but she also seemed to want justice. I would need her to get the inside information that I needed. It would be obvious that I knew something if I was the one making all the moves. I could do the behind the scenes investigating, but Johnson would have to handle the other stuff.

I checked the time as Tyson walked back inside. It was nearly nine, and my first case was at ten. I’d already read over the case notes and files, so I was familiar with the details. Grabbing my phone, I told Tyson, “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. What did the DA want?”

“To give me a letter Darlene left, saying that this wasn’t my fault. She was basically accepting responsibility for everything that happened.”

“Oh, okay. Don’t forget, we have an hour.”

“I haven’t.”

I made the ten-minute walk to the police station. Thankfully, it was connected from the inside, because it was raining cats and dogs, and the temperature had dropped some. When I got inside the station, I looked toward her desk to see her head down like she was writing. As I made my way to her amid the greetings, she turned to me and frowned slightly.

“Judge. What are you doing here?”

“I need to speak with you privately.”

Her frown deepened. “Did I do something? I haven’t been investigating your threats because they assigned them to someone else. I was told that I was needed on the street, since crime has risen in the north end of Beaumont.”

That was interesting. Someone was dirty at the police department. For them to take her off my case, that told me she would have possibly gotten to the bottom of it and uncovered the corruption. My gut hadn’t steered me wrong.

“It’s not about that, Johnson. Can you meet me somewhere after your shift?”

“Umm… sure. I would have to let my husband know. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course. He can be in the vicinity, but he won’t be able to hear what I need to talk to you about.”

“Okay. I leave at six. Is it okay if we meet right after?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

She pulled a card from the holder on her desk and handed it to me. “If anything changes, just text me.”

“Is this your personal number or the phone the city issued?”

She took the card from me and wrote her personal cell number on the back. “I have to admit, this has me nervous.”

“I’m slightly nervous, too, but we’ll get to the bottom of everything. I’m sure about that.”

She nodded, and I turned to walk away as I noticed her captain watching me. He looked suspect. I wanted to go ask him why he passed my case over to people who weren’t producing results, but I held my tongue and got out of there, heading back to my chambers. Apparently, I was moving like I was on a mission, because I was getting plenty of attention. I slowed my pace as my cell phone vibrated.

I pulled it from my pocket to see a message from Genesis. I’d been kind of distant with her since last week. When she dove on top of me, it drove my masculinity to heights unknown to me. What I looked like having my woman protect me from gunshots? That was crazy as hell to me. I didn’t care what her career was.

I opened her message to see, Hey. Can you call me when you have time?

I slowed my pace even more. She deserved an explanation. I called her as I walked, and she answered on the first ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby. What’s up?”

“Hey. I umm…” She remained silent for a moment, and I did too. I didn’t want to assume she would say what I was thinking she would. “Kyrie, I miss you. I haven’t seen you since last Saturday. I mean… I know I worked this past weekend, but I feel like you’re pulling away from me. Am I right?”

I stopped walking for a moment and closed my eyes. Is that what I’m doing? “I’ve been in my head a lot lately. I feel like I’m putting you in danger, and you diving on me to protect me did something to me. I understand your training and all what you were saying. As your man, though, I never want you putting your life on the line for me. Never. I love you. My love for you is making me pull away, because I don’t want you to get hurt. Your brother is right.”

That pained me to admit. He’d told me that I was no good for her, especially with all that I had going on. If his sister got hurt or worse, he said he would do serious time after he got at me. Not that I was afraid of his threat, because I wasn’t intimidated in the least, but Genesis didn’t deserve to be put in the situation she would be in if she stayed tied to me.

“Kyrie, really? I apologized for that. Being a protector is my natural instinct as a firefighter. Being that we were at a work function, I was in firefighter mode. And what exactly did my brother say that you agree with?”

“That I’m not good for you. I have too much going on, and you didn’t deserve to be caught up in the crossfire. Please, Genesis. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

“Oh, I won’t. I love you, but I’m not going to allow you to play with my heart. I’m not going to beg you to do something that you clearly don’t want to do. So, good luck with everything, and I’ll continue praying for you, asking God to protect you, since you have such a problem with me doing so. Bye, Kyrie.”

“Genesis…”

She ended the call. When she said, ‘Bye, Kyrie,’ I could hear the tremble in her voice. I broke her, and that only made me feel worse. I wanted to call her back and try to get her to understand, but I didn’t. She was strong in her position, while I wasn’t. I wanted her in my life. I was a better man when she was around. I’d become a better man around everyone else as well, simply because she was in my life.

Even my mother had noticed the change in me. She said I was a little softer and more playful. I found that I had become more playful with people I loved. My mother had admired the change in me and had attributed it to me finally opening my heart to someone. She said that Genesis would be her daughter-in-law if I didn’t screw it up. Well, I screwed it up. I fumbled her heart big time, although I felt like I was only protecting her.

She was done with me. Her last line sounded like she wouldn’t talk to me anymore. I didn’t know how I would handle not being able to hear her voice. My days would be a lot longer, and my soul would be darker… like it was before I met her.

I walked into Sertinos Café and found a seat to wait for Detective Johnson to arrive. After dropping my briefcase onto the chair, I went up front to order a latte. I really didn’t need to drink that so late in the evening, but the temperature had changed tremendously. It was in the eighties when I arrived at work this morning, and it was now in the fifties. I needed to heat up my core.

After getting my drink, I went back to my seat and moved my briefcase to the bench next to me. Once I took a couple of sips, I saw her walking inside alone. She noticed me immediately. When she got to the table, she said, “I think I’m going to need one of those too.”

“Have a seat, and I’ll get it for you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

I went back up front and noticed a man sitting in a car outside, staring inside the café. That must have been her husband, but I would ask. It didn’t hurt to be sure. Once they finished her latte, I made my way back to the table. I handed her the latte and asked, “Is that your husband in the Chevy?”

“Yes. Was he watching you?”

“Okay. Yeah. You know I’m having issues with that. What I have to tell you and ask for your help with is along those lines.”

Opening my briefcase, I pulled the letter from it and handed it to her to read. Her eyebrows lifted higher and higher the more of it she read. When she was done, she stared at me, her eyes wide. “Wow. Umm… I don’t know what to say. This isn’t good.”

“Right. What you told me earlier about them assigning my case to someone other than you only confirmed my gut.”

“What is your gut saying?”

“That you are one of the best and would find out more than they wanted you to know. My gut says I can trust you, Johnson. I need your help. There is no way I would be able to dig efficiently without access to the information you have access to. Please. I feel like it’s a matter of life and death that I figure this out, mainly my life.”

She took a deep breath and lowered her head for a second. She then looked outside toward where her husband was parked. Her gaze went back to the letter as she handed it back to me. “Since we’ll be working together, you can call me Stephanie. I’ll be calling you by your first name as well.”

“Fine by me. Thank you for agreeing to help me with this.”

“Of course. I seek justice. I thought it was strange that they took your case from me too. I figured since you’re a judge, it would be of utmost importance to get it handled right away. They gave it to Montez, one of the new guys. He doesn’t have a clue.”

I slowly shook my head. They wanted me dead. What they wanted more than that was for evidence of their involvement to disappear. If I had my way, that wouldn’t happen. Stephanie and I would find out who each one of them were and hang their asses. She took a sip of her latte, then looked back up at me. “So who are we looking into first?”

“Well, I want to start by going through the files from Darlene’s case. I think the evidence will lead the way. We will have to analyze every bit of it, like who would have had to sign off on things with her, which departments would be involved in each transaction. We will have to use every bit of training we learned to think analytically about all this evidence that only points to her. I figured more people were involved and was trying to look into it myself, but…”

My mind went to Genesis. I closed my eyes briefly. I missed her too. My heart was aching, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t have her in harm’s way. I didn’t give a damn about her training. She was my woman. It was my job to make sure she was safe. It was like I kept repeating my reasoning to convince myself I made the right decision by pushing her away. I lost the love of my life over this shit. We had to get it solved as quickly as possible.

“But what?” Stephanie asked.

“I had other obligations that caused me to put it on the back burner. Now that I’ve gotten this letter, I know I need to seriously dig into it. She killed herself, and I don’t want her death to be in vain.”

“It won’t be. We will get to the bottom of this… discreetly, of course.”

“Yes. I know your husband will want to know details, but just let him know it has to do with the mayor, and it’s extremely confidential. We don’t know who all is involved, although I have question marks by different people in my head.”

“Well, let’s see if they are the same people I’m thinking about.”

“Your boss… the sergeant.”

“That’s a thought, since he reassigned me. I also thought about his boss, the deputy chief.”

“You think it goes that high?” I asked.

“Yes. The mayor was the little fish. That was why she had to take the fall.”

“Smart. I’m questioning the DA. For him to not try to investigate further makes me pause concerning him.”

“I agree. He should have been the main one requesting we look into other folks. I also believe some people on the council may be involved as well, but they are small fish too. However, if we go after them, it may lead to the big fish.”

“Or we can leave them out there to bait the big fish.”

“Okay, Judge. Let me find out you have aspirations of being a detective.”

I chuckled. “I used to. I thought I could serve the people better by being a judge due to some stuff that happened within the police department some years back. There was blatant police misconduct that led to the deaths of two teenaged boys. They only got a couple of years in jail, while the boys’ families were left to grieve the deaths of their loved ones due to ‘mistaken identity’ that was clearly profiling.”

“Oh, man. That’s sad.”

“I was so disgusted. I knew those boys, played basketball with them, and had established a trusting relationship with them. That incident knocked us back to square one with the community, and unfortunately, I didn’t blame them. They had a reason to not trust the police.”

I couldn’t believe how easily I told her those details. Doing so only caused me to think about Genesis and how patient she had been with me. The woman made me better in every aspect.

“Well, we’re going to get to the bottom of this, and when it’s all said and done, you will get to be the one to make sure they get the sentence they deserve.”

“Hell yeah. Thank you for meeting me.”

“Of course. Thank you for trusting me. I try to do my job to the best of my abilities, and there is no one that can scope foolishness out like a black woman.”

I laughed. She was right about that shit. I downed the rest of my latte since it had cooled off, and I watched her do the same. I reached across the table and shook her hand and said, “I’ll be in touch.”

“Yes. Same.”

She walked toward the door with me following right behind her. I opened the door, allowing her to walk through it first. Her husband was watching closely, so I gave him a head nod. He did the same.

Making my way to my vehicle, my mind went right back to Genesis. It didn’t help that I was only about five minutes away from her house. I wanted to go there and just hold her in my arms, but I knew I couldn’t do that. My heart was extremely heavy, and the best place to go when I felt this way was to my mama’s house. She was gonna kill me for losing her daughter-in-law.