After All (38 page)

“
How are you holding up,
kiddo?” Gracie gave her a peck on the cheek.

“
Fair to partly cloudy. I
miss it though. Damn, I feel cut off. I never realized how little
we really say in those reports.”

Gracie laughed. “Oh yeah. Between
unconfirmed rumors, material that would hurt somebody without
adding to the story, grounds for a lawsuit, or somebody whipping
our butts, a whole lot gets left out.” She nodded rapidly, her
curls bobbing. “So you're doing good, huh?”

“
Not bad. Park it anywhere,
red.” Michelle made a sweeping gesture towards the sofa and two
large comfortable matching chairs.

Gracie sat down and cleared her throat.
“Place still looks great.” She gazed around.

“
You were here only last
month, Gracie. What'll ya have? I got your favorite, Dr.
Pepper.”

“
So you're doing pretty
good? Well heck, you just said so, right? So you must be doing
okay.” Gracie's voice was shrill with forced cheer. She fidgeted
with the stuffed pillows.

Michelle came back into the room with
two glasses and a large bottle of the soft drink. She studied
Gracie for several moments. “What's up? Come on, spill
it.”

“
Nothing,” Gracie screeched
then pressed her lips together.”Nothing... really.” She forced her
voice unnaturally low.

“
Gracie, your voice just
went from soprano to bass in five seconds, which means you're
lying.” Michelle slid the bottle out of Gracie's reach. “No truth,
no Dr. Pepper. And don't forget, I know how bad you need Dr. Pepper
when you're stressed out.”

“
Grand Jury,” Gracie blurted
then grabbed the soft drink taking a deep swig. She wiped tiny
beads of sweat from her forehead.

“
Speak in complete
sentences, please.” Michelle inched to the edge of her
seat.

“
God, I thought you knew.
But you don't do you? I mean, you would have said something, called
me at work if you had. Maybe it's not as bad as it looks. I mean
the Grand Jury is only investigating.” Gracie gulped down some of
the soft drink.”I'm so sorry.”

The doorbell rang forestalling Michelle
from further questioning Gracie. She went to the door and opened
it. Shantae rushed in wearing of look of concern and
sympathy.

“
Girl, how are you holding
up? Now look, don't jump to conclusions just because the Grand Jury
is going to question him.” Shantae patted her shoulder
rapidly.

“
What are you talking
about?” Michelle stood between them. She looked at one then the
other.

“
You mean she doesn't
know?”Noticing her for the first time, Shantae crossed to sit
beside Gracie.

“
Must not have watched the
noon news show,” Gracie said in a solemn voice.

“
No!” Michelle shouted. “I
don't know. So, damn it, somebody tell me what's going
on.

“
The DA has called a Grand
Jury to examine the evidence they have on the Troy Quarles murder
so far. Anthony has been subpoenaed. They say he's the prime
suspect.” Gracie looked down at the floor.

“
Prime suspect?” Michelle
sank onto the sofa slowly. She shook her head as if to clear
it.

“
An accusation isn't proof
of guilt, Chelle,” Shantae said with fervor.

“
She's right, Michelle.
Don't jump to conclusions,” Gracie said.

“
First Dom is beaten up, and
then this man is found dead. Could this be my fault? Maybe those
reports put so much pressure on Lonnie Mason and Ike that they got
desperate.” Michelle raked her fingers through her hair. “Or
Anthony could have repeated something I said to his uncle or Marcus
making them panic.” She rubbed her forehead trying to remember
their conversations. “What did we talk about?”

Shantae sat forward and took her hand.
“Don't do this. You're not to blame for what happened to Dominic or
that other guy.”

“
My Lord; what a mess.”
Michelle closed her eyes.

Gracie tried to soothe her. “I know,
sugar. It seems to get worse by the hour.” She started at the sound
of her cell phone. Taking it out, she spoke into it softly. “Okay.
On my way.” Gracie shoved the phone back into her satchel and
stood. “Listen, I've got to go. The DA has called a press
conference. Since Earl's down in Plaquemine covering that big
refinery accident, I'm on this story for now. Take care. I'll call
you later.” She raced off.

Michelle locked the front door and fell
back onto the sofa with a low sigh.” I don't want to think what I'm
thinking, Shantae. Anthony meant the world to me.” A tear slid down
her face. She quickly wiped it away.

“
Cedric says it's got to be
a set up. He swears Anthony has never been in on any of Ike's
crooked deals.” Shantae handed her a tissue.

“
But Ike wouldn't set
Anthony up. He may be a sleazy character, but he really cares about
Anthony. No, that doesn't make sense.” Michelle turned to her. “And
aside from what Cedric thinks, T'aneka says Anthony hasn't been in
on the contracts with the Housing Authority.”

“
So you do believe in him.”
Shantae grinned at her. “He hasn't done anything,
Chelle.”

“
Then why is Anthony a
suspect?”

“
Stereotype. He's a
well-dressed, successful black man. One of his employees was
involved in drugs and turned up dead. You figure it out,” Shantae
said hotly.

“
Uh-uh, too many
coincidences. First, this Quarles guy starts working for Anthony,
deals drugs, claims the boss is in on it, and then turns up dead.
With the connection to Ike, and everything else that's coming
out... it's logical to suspect him. No, there's another angle to
this.” Michelle stared ahead thoughtfully. Her mind whirled trying
to sort through the contradictions. She rubbed her eyes making them
even redder.

Shantae tapped Michelle's knee. “Come
over to my house for dinner. Don't sit here alone agonizing over
this.”

“
No, thanks. You and Laree
have done a very good job babysitting me.” Michelle smiled at
her.”But I'm all right.”

“
You sure?” Shantae rose
picking up her purse.

“
Positive. You go on and
give that handsome son of yours a big kiss for me.”Michelle walked
with her to the front door.

Shantae gave her a worried look. “I'll
check on you later.”

“
Fine. Now go on home.”
Michelle waved her out.

Closing the door, Michelle sat on the
sofa with her feet tucked under her. Using the remote, she switched
the television on and found Channel twelve. She reviewed her
experiences with Grand Jury investigations. Being questioned may
not lead to an indictment, but it could certainly leave an ugly
stain on a man's reputation. Especially a businessman. Michelle
tried to examine the facts objectively. Her anger at Anthony for
defending Ike could be clouding her judgment. Surely the man she
knew could not have deceived her so completely for so long. Anthony
had never given her cause to suspect him of aiding Ike in his
schemes. Yet didn't Anthony admit that he was headed down a path to
prison until Ike stepped in? Could those tendencies be hidden under
a veneer of respectability?

“
I have to find out one way
or another,” Michelle said.

Seeing the five o'clock edition of the
news starting, she turned up the sound of the television. Gracie
appeared shortly with her report as the lead story after a short
introduction by the anchor. Michelle flinched when Anthony's face
came on the screen. Yet she steeled herself watch. She pushed aside
her reaction to the terrible accusations and made details
notes.

***

“
Missing? How long?”
Michelle exclaimed staring at him with amazement.

Earl draped himself over her living
room sofa while Gracie sat in the chair with her feet propped on
the matching ottoman. Her friends had joined Michelle for lunch at
her apartment. They were stuffed on shrimp po-boys, curly-Qs, and
giant sized sofa drinks.

“
Two weeks. His sister
reported it when she couldn't get him at his office or home. Mrs.
Bridges dumped him before that. Seems adultery was one thing, but
putting up with him without the money isn't a sacrifice she's
willing to make.” Earl wore a lop-sided grin.

“
You think he's been...”
Michelle hesitated.

“
Killed? Could be. James
Bridges was the weakest link in their chain. And from what I hear,
he'd been spending a lot of time with the DA. Maybe somebody
decided to shut him up.” Earl drew a finger across his
throat.

Gracie shivered. “This is getting too
scary.”

“
Tell me about it. These
dudes play for keeps. Anyway, Connely doesn't seem to be acting
real panicky. Maybe he's got enough already to drop the hammer on
Ike and Co.” Earl shrugged.

“
Then why hasn't he moved to
get an indictment? No, something else is going on. I just wish I
could figure it out.” Michelle chewed on a fingernail.

“
Don't be surprised if they
find poor old James floating face down in Bayou Manchac.” Getting
up, Earl wiped his mouth and tossed his empty cup into the large
kitchen garbage can. “Gotta move, good people. There's a meeting of
the State Senate's Judiciary Committee in twenty minutes. Keep
keepin' on, babe.” He kissed Michelle on the forehead. “And I'll
see you back at the sweat shop.” He waved goodbye to
Gracie.

“
How are things in the
wonderful world of Channel Twelve?” Michelle poked Gracie's foot
with hers.

“
SOS. Same old stuff,”
Gracie giggled. “Jason swaggers around giving orders. Most of us
nod and do what we want anyway.”

“
And the lovely Jennifer?”
Michelle grimaced.

“
Still
obnoxious.”

“
At least she's consistent.”
Michelle joined Gracie in laughter. A knock on the front door made
them both start. “Wonder who that could be?” Michelle peered
through the peep hole then stepped back staring at the closed
door.

“
Well? Who is it?” Gracie
whispered. She wore a frightened expression seeing Michelle move
away from the door. A louder knock made her jump behind the
sofa.

Michelle opened the door slowly.
“Hi.”

“
Hi.” Anthony stood
uncertainly in the door without moving forward. “Can I come
in?”

“
Uh, yeah.” Michelle swung
the door wider, her heart beating double time. She watched his
handsome profile, breathed in the sweet aroma of him, as he passed
within inches of her.”You remember my friend Gra--” Michelle turned
around to find only the top of Gracie's head and eyes visible from
behind the couch. “What are you doing?” Michelle placed both hands
on her hips.

“
Oh, I was looking for; I
mean..., I dropped... something.” Gracie popped up with a sheepish
grin. “Hello again.” She waved at Anthony.

“
My friend Gracie. A good,
though slightly strange, friend.” Michelle gave her a baffled
sideways glance.

“
Nice seeing you again,
too.” Anthony smiled briefly at her then looked at Michelle
intently for a few seconds. “I came by to tell you I'm sorry about
Dominic. How is he?”

“
Dom is doing better than
expected. Everyday he's more responsive. Thanks for asking.”
Michelle fidgeted with the drawstring on her sweat pants. She
wondered what to do or say next.

Gracie tugged on her shoes and grabbed
her purse. “Um-humm. Well, I gotta be going. Lots of stuff to
do.”

“
Stay right there,” Michelle
barked at her. “Uh, I mean we haven't finished that story you were
helping me with.” She fixed her with a pointed stare.

“
Oo-kaay; if you say so.”
Gracie sat down as if she had been pushed hard.

Michelle squirmed at the
silence that stretched between them. Looking up into Anthony's
troubled brown eyes sent a tremor through her body. Her arms ached
with the desire to hold him. She set her jaw firmly, bent on
resisting this powerful attraction he exercised on her even
now.
Stop thinking of him like
that!
Michelle struggled to compose
herself.

“
Is that all?” Michelle
regarded him in what she hoped was a cold manner.

Anthony's face was drawn with
disappointment. “I guess. I'm really glad Dominic is going to
recover.”

“
No thanks to those thugs
who tried to kill him,” Michelle said angrily.

“
Do the police have any
leads?” Anthony shifted from one foot to another.

“
A few,” Michelle lied. The
police had no clues as to the identity of the attackers. “Hopefully
they'll make an arrest soon.” She studied his face for signs of
guilt.

“
I hope so, too.” Anthony
started to move towards her then stopped. “If I can help you at
all--”

“
We're fine. Thank you.”
Michelle went to the door and opened it.

“
Goodbye.” Anthony's
shoulders drooped seeing her implacable expression. He nodded to
Gracie before leaving.

“
Bye.” Michelle closed the
door hard behind him.