Authors: Mercedes Keyes
"Damn him... slippery as an eel!"
"What is it about Gert?"
"Its personal. I'll have to catch him when he returns... oh... his cell phone, give me that new number of his, I keep misplacing it."
"Okay... hang on." Doris answered and left the phone, returning a moment later, and read off the number to Gert.
"Thank you... you coming to the wedding Friday?" Gert asked.
"I wish I could, but I'll be out of town this weekend with my kids, I tried to get Jake to come, but he says he can't come, he has to go to his brothers wedding."
"Yeah well... to be honest with you, I'm wishing you would take him on with you. Never mind... I'll get a hold of him myself. Bye bye."
Monday, four days before the wedding, everyone was busy. The cake was ordered. The flowers ordered. A photographer found and hired. Catering was paid for, and gifts from those who couldn't be there were already showing up for the happy couple from Gert's family. Monday and Tuesday, Shawn, Sylvia, Crystal and Mundo, cleaned out the house in La Crosse and put all of the furniture Crystal had in storage. Followed by Shawn moving them into his house, where there were two fully furnished bedrooms, and the third was set up for the boys. The entire week, Mundo and Shawn were always together going out for one thing or another. He brought all of his things to Shawn's, all the equipment they purchased. Sylvia felt that she only got to see him in the evenings for dinner and when they went to bed at night. So busy... the week was whizzing by like a dream, it was already Wednesday before they knew it. The phone was constantly ringing, from those who were coming Friday. The list they made, pretty much all on it were showing up, and then some - a few people were asking could they bring this person or that one.
Shawn was on the phone with his friends, laughing as he was being teased about being hooked once again, they were dying to know who got him after they learned it wasn't the stewardess. "I guess you'll find out when you show up at the wedding." He laughed, the devil in him made him relish the idea of seeing the looks on some of their faces when they met Sylvia... his black wife. Sylvia shook her head at him. "You wrong... you need to be telling them. So don't get mad if one of them say the wrong thing." She warned.
"Honey... they're my friends... they know me. They may say it after they leave... but they won't say it there in front of me."
She left it alone, too busy with Angela, Crystal and the boys. Plus she was on the phone with Shanna and if not Shanna, Meribel, or Sheila... she called to warn her, the girlfriends were coming... so get ready. Sylvia just wanted it over with, the sooner the better so they could get on with their lives.
Wednesday night she and Shawn lay in bed... both exhausted.
"Goodness me, I'm exhausted." He said.
"Emmm." She moaned.
"We're getting married in 48 hours."
"Emmm."
"Aren't you excited." He yawned.
"Emmm." She yawned too.
"Goodnight wife."
"Emmm."
Chuckling, he turned and kissed her brow, "I love you too."
Shawn and Sylvia sat in the courthouse police station through an interview by detective Meridoc. It was Thursday - they were both on the edge, they had so much to do and get ready with little time for this, so naturally it prompted Shawn into asking, "How long is this going to take? We have a really busy day ahead of us. We have friends and family coming for our wedding tomorrow and this is inconvenient. Why couldn't it wait until next week?" They'd dropped Angela off at school and had come straight to the courthouse. Shawn was meeting Shanna in town to get the ball rolling on helping her with the down payment on a doublewide mobile home. He and Mundo had gone and made the purchase of the lot next to his property the day before. Now Shawn held the land deed for it, and they needed to get it cleared, the sewerage drains put in and connected to the city drains, thankfully they were just within the city limits not to have to worry about digging a well and septic tanks.
The property had already been lived on previously, and all the lines and pipes just needed clearing and running to match up to her mobile home... which she was looking over now. So Shawn was anxious to get going.
"Next week might hold other surprises for us, we need to gather as much information as we can this week. So - the sooner we get started, the quicker we can let you go, unless of course we think of another reason we may need to question you. Let's start with you Ms. Payne... how long have you known Ray Olivetti?"
"I didn't know him, and if I remember correctly, these questions were asked of me then... the night of the attack."
"That was another day, another officer. So you didn't know him previous to the night of the attack?"
"No... I didn't. The first time I saw him, was outside of Maggie's store, very few words were exchanged, I got into my vehicle and was escorted home by officer Royce Collier." Sylvia answered, sitting next to Shawn on the wooden bench, his arms stretched across the bench behind her, his body turned inward toward her, watchful and protective.
"Very few words? Such as?"
"I don't remember." She returned exasperated.
"Can you try?"
"What does his few words to me, have to do with his dying? I didn't kill'im!"
"Well that's nice to know, now... kind'ah sort'ah... what did he say?" The detective persisted.
"Something referring to my name, he asked me could he call me Sylvia - I think... something like that."
"And your reply was?"
"I was too scared to reply, I found him threatening. It was at night, I was alone, there were three of them and he was approaching my car, I was too afraid to speak at the time."
"What exactly was it that made you afraid?"
"Are you listening? Are you paying attention?" Shawn asked irritated. Hearing what she'd gone through while he was gone was stirring his anger, and then to have this man ask her asinine questions where the answer was obvious was too much.
"Perhaps this interview would be better conducted separate. By yourselves?" The detective suggested.
"You will either interview us together as we sit here before you, or you get no interview at all. We've committed no crime, nor are we suspects and you don't intimidate me, not one bit. My advice to you is to get on with it."
The two men stared at each other for a moment, while Sylvia was getting the hang of just leaving it to Shawn. She couldn't control him, she couldn't make him act one way or another in any given situation, so she learned to just sit back and let it be, to see how it would play out.
"Yes well... my questions are necessary, so I'd appreciate it if you would let me ask them."
Shawn said not another word, but the look on his face did not make it any easier on the detective. "Now, Ms. Payne... why were you afraid?"
"Because just moments before that, in the store, the woman Sherry, made reference to me being a nigger-..."
"You never told me that! She called you that?" Shawn demanded.
"Shawn! Let me finish."
"Yes... let her finish please." The detective blurted backing her.
Sylvia sighed, "...anyway, being a black woman, a minority in a majority white town, at night, and then being faced with her once again on the outside of the store, now accompanied by two white males, I was afraid... they scared me, I'm not gonna lie."
Shawn was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees leaving her to talk, wishing he'd broken Ray Olivetti's neck. With his hands clasped before him, he let the detective finish questioning Sylvia... and now... more than ever... he was getting the gun. The detective was ready to turn his questions to Shawn now.
"Now... Mr. McPherson, when was the first time you'd met Ray Olivetti?"
"The night of the attack on my fiancée."
"So you'd never met him before then?"
"No."
"Can you explain how is it that he knew you?"
"What?"
"Yes... he knew you. Once we located his residence, we found your name, number and address among his things. Pictures of you as well, how do you explain that?"
Shawn sat upright and stared at the detective, and finally said, "I haven't a clue as to why he would have any knowledge of me."
"Well, we've run a check on him, we've traced him having lived here in Wisconsin only weeks before the attack. Previous to that, he was a resident of California, L.A. And you sir, Mr. McPherson... come from L.A. as well... is that not so?"
"Yes, that's so... I imagine I'm not the only person from L.A. that has relocated for whatever reasons to Wisconsin."
"Fair enough, but don't you find it just a bit of a coincidence that he would be from there, knows of you, if... he does not know you personally... and then, he attacks your fiancée - I find that a bit too close in circumstances not to follow up on."
Shawn sat back with his mind spinning, thinking, trying to figure out what was going on, he too found that too much of a coincidence.
"Well... have you nothing to say?"
"No I don't. I never knew of his existence before this. Why he had information on me, who knows - but I didn't kill'im. I wanted to, but I didn't. I've had no contact with him again since."
"Do you think he might have been following you for some reason Mr. McPherson?"
"Who knows."
"Can you think of any reason why he may have been after you? Have you perhaps, done anything to anyone in L.A. - is there any reason why anyone would wish to have someone follow you perhaps? Mr. Olivetti had a very... how shall I say it... unscrupulous background."
Shawn crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the detective. Only person that may have sent Ray Olivetti to follow him was one of the Wherrington's. Question is, which one? Oscar T. or Georgiana? And if so, why? He decided it was time for him to make a trip to L.A. to see what the hell they were up to. He and Deidre were divorced, end of story... so what was Ray about? If - that is, they were indeed guilty of sending him.
"Have you no answer Mr. McPherson."
"No answer."
"How long did you live in L.A.?"
"Too long."
"How long would that be?"
"Up until last year."
"From when?"
"From the time I was eighteen."
"And you are what now?"
"Forty-two, will be forty-three this fall."
"Why did you leave L.A.?"
"No reason to stay."
"From nineteen to forty-two, that's a long time. We're talking, what - twenty-three years? Then just suddenly, no reason to stay anymore after twenty-three." The detective fished looking Shawn in the eyes.
"That's about right... bet you got B's in math." Shawn returned.
"Shawn!" Sylvia gasped.
Shawn smiled at the detective, whom gave a tolerant expression. Sylvia was looking from the detective to Shawn, and could see, that Shawn was being deliberately difficult with details. She turned back to the detective and filled him in on what Shawn should be saying. "It might help you to know, that Wisconsin is my fiancé's home. His family is here, in Wisconsin, simply put - he thought it was time to come home."
"I see and ummm, when did you two meet? Are you from California as well?"
"No... never been there." Sylvia answered as Shawn glanced at her, he knew she was probably getting irritated at him for being difficult, but he didn't see the point of insisting they come in anyway. However, still on his mind was, why - why did Ray Olivetti have information on him, and why had he attacked Sylvia? The more thought Shawn gave it, the angrier he grew, wondering if one of the Wherrington's did have something to do with it, and if they did... had they set out to hurt Sylvia? God help either of them if they did anything to interfere with her or his family.
"So you met... when, how?" Meridoc turned back to Shawn to question.
"We live across the road from each other, only two on the road, neighbors meet all the time. Just so happen, I like my neighbor, she likes me. Simple as that."
"Emmm, I take it you like her a lot?" Meridoc furthered.
"Put a ring on her finger."
"I see, you a violent man Mr. McPherson?"
"Can be - if provoked."
"What is your personal feelings toward taking revenge?"
"I didn't kill Ray Olivetti, felt like it... but I didn't. As I stated, I hadn't spoken with him, nor had I seen him again from the moment they wheeled him away. Obviously, Ray has more enemies than myself. Might I suggest you find out who they are... bring them in for questioning. How did he die, by the way?"
"That is not yet confirmed, his body is still being examined by the coroner, autopsy is not yet complete."
"Well, we've told you all we know... as we've said, we have a busy day... can we go now?"
"Emmm, yeah... should I need to question you any further Mr. McPherson, I know where to reach you. Not moving again are you?"
"Not anytime soon."
"Glad to hear it... and um, congratulations on your up and coming marriage."