Sweet Mystery (38 page)

Relaxing into the seat, Simon stretched out
his legs. In the darkness surrounding him, the rest of the
apartment complex was relatively quiet. He was grateful for the
occasional breeze that brushed his cheek through the lowered
window. Birdsong trilled from the trees to his right. It conjured
up the image of him lying next to Rae in her bed, listening to the
night sounds through her window. Heat spread through him; a heat
not caused by the seventy-five degree summer air.

Yet the sweet memory was tinged with guilt.
Despite all his high-sounding words about not being a snob, Simon
realized that he’d let years of upbringing influence him. It was
painful to admit that he had been raised to set himself and his
family apart. The St. Cyrs and Joves were among a group of old
families, descendants of the Creoles of color with roots in Africa,
Spain and France. They considered themselves a culture apart. He’d
grown up in a world where last names and bloodlines were important.
His friends in school had all been from those families.

Even worse, the elitist mindset was more
ingrained than he’d suspected. Shameful but true, his first
thoughts had been how his grandfather and Mr. Henry were right all
along about ‘those people.’ Then he remembered an unconscious slip
of the tongue by Toya that Marius somehow had knowledge of the
fire. That caused Simon to wonder. He knew all too well that Marius
had a dark side.

Simon had seen Marius bailed out of the kind
of trouble that led other young black men into the justice system.
But he was a Jove. Prominent black judges and even the local
assistant district attorneys were Creoles. Mr. Henry always
dismissed his grandson’s troubles as lack of judgment. Simon shook
his head. What an understatement!

His thoughts drifted back to Rae. Maybe their
break-up had been inevitable. She might even be better off without
him. Who could tell when his prejudice would pop out like an
unwelcome genie from a bottle? But Simon would never be able to
forget how good she felt. He could almost smell the lush fragrance
of her body, wet with perspiration from making love. The burning
inside his stomach became a sharp ache. That intoxicating scent was
now lost to him.

A movement to his right made Simon snap to
attention. “At last,” he muttered to himself.

Marius, dressed in dark jeans and a dark
blue, short-sleeved shirt, bounded down the steps from his
second-floor townhouse. A beeping sound signaled the disarming of
his car alarm. Simon waited until the black Maxima turned onto the
street before starting his engine. Marius led him down the highway
toward the dance hall.

Simon wondered if Rae would be there alone.
He would wring the little punk’s neck if he... But no, they kept
going on for another fifteen miles until they reached the small
community of LaLonde. Fortunately, there were plenty of other cars
on the highway; even a couple of trucks similar to the one Simon
drove.

Marius did not appear to be the least bit
concerned that he was being followed. The sporty car turned down a
bumpy road, leading to a poor neighborhood. Shotgun houses with
sagging porches, which all looked alike, lined both sides of the
streets. Men and women sat outside, trying to beat the heat that
held on, even at ten o’clock. Loud music blared. Simon followed
Marius to a rundown garage in a seedy, pitiful-looking, ghetto
business district of sorts. The garage was at the end of a street
that also had a tiny grocery store and a few other storefronts.

Parking along the street about three blocks
away, Simon got out of his vehicle and walked down a broken
sidewalk. He slipped into an alley on one side of the garage. Music
thumped through the wall and light spilled onto the littered ground
from a dirty window. Careful to crouch down, Simon risked a quick
peek inside. Marius was sat on the hood of an old car in one corner
while two guys in grimy overalls took apart a white Cadillac
several feet away. Two other cars were lined up.

Who are those characters? Is Marius involved
with stolen cars? This is no good. I’ve got to get closer.

Simon walked down the alley and froze when
his foot banged against an old, aluminum garbage can. When no one
came out to investigate, he continued around the back of the
garage. The rear entrance was closed, luckily for him. He crept
along the wall, hoping to get near a window to hear the
conversation between Marius and the two men. Soon he was able to
hear voices, although he couldn’t see what was going on inside.

“Look man, I told you we gonna take care of
it.” Sly-Man sucked in smoke from a cigarette and let out a long
stream of it in the air above his head.

“How? I don’t want another screw up.” Marius
looked at the two men with skepticism.

Tyrone grinned foolishly. “You don’t need to
know, awright? Let’s just say new evidence gonna show up.”

“No good. The cops went over her place with
tweezers. You two are pathetic.” Marius glared at them. “You won’t
stop until we’re all in jail.”

“What, you think I’m a fool?” Tyrone hunched
his shoulders.

“No comment,” Marius retorted.

Sly-Man stepped between them to block his
offended partner. “Hey, cut it out. Look, we gonna put it on her
property and have some pals of ours find it. Being good citizens,
they gonna make sure the sheriff gets it.”

“That’s your plan? Like I said, pathetic!”
Marius gave a snort of contempt.

Sly-Man did not seem the least bit upset.
“Well this stuff belonged to her; we borrowed it to do the job.
They’ll be able to trace it back to where she bought the wires,
turpentine and stuff.”

Marius looked interested for the first time.
“I don’t get it.”

“She did a few things around the place
herself. I’m sure the dude down at the hardware store will remember
her. She’s a fine woman.” Sly-Man chuckled.

“Wish I coulda caught her out there one night
by herself. Maybe later.” Tyrone gave a coarse laugh.

Sly-Man joined in. “Yeah, get me some of
that.”

Simon saw red. It took all his self-control
not to shout out a string of curses. He wanted to pound them into
the dirt. Instead he let out a long, slow breath. With a great
struggle, he pushed down the urge to lash out.

“Yes, she’ll have a tough time talking her
way out of that,” Marius said. “Maybe I was wrong about you guys
after all. Yeah, sounds like a winner to me. So you think a little
booty action with the lady would be nice, eh?” He joined the two
men in raucous laughter.

Simon was inching closer to look inside the
garage when he heard a thump. A dark shadow took shape as it
advanced straight toward him. Simon backed up and hid behind a
rusty oil barrel. The bulky figure stepped over some debris without
making noise. The man held a gun.

Simon looked around for some way to escape.
An old mattress leaned against the wall. He wondered if he could
cause a diversion by shoving it forward while running in the
opposite direction. He could dash down the alley and hope that the
distraction threw off the man’s aim. As the man crept closer, Simon
had to make a quick decision. He braced himself against the wall
and waited until he could hear breathing. Then he shot up, putting
all his weight behind a shove.

“What the hell?” a heavy voice shouted.

The man’s beefy arm struck out at his phantom
attacker. Old hubcaps and other trash made a tremendous clatter as
he stumbled about. Simon took a hard blow to the side of his head,
which made him dizzy. As the huge man pushed forward, Simon
scrambled back to avoid being pinned down. He leaped over a pile of
garbage and sprinted down the alley.

“I got him!” Tyrone ran out to join the other
man. Seconds later he landed on his back when Simon hit him at full
speed. Still he managed to fire a gun he held.

Simon felt a hard slap on his left arm,
followed by a spreading warmth. He ran only a few steps more before
a punch came down on his neck. Simon dropped to his knees.

“Drag his ass in here. Let’s see what we
got,” Sly-Man barked.

“Whoever you is, you in a lotta trouble,” the
big man rumbled as he pointed a meaty finger at Simon’s nose.

When the large man dumped Simon on the floor,
Tyrone kicked him hard in the shoulder. “That ain’t all I got for
you, mother–” He lifted his foot again.

Marius pushed Tyrone away, causing him to
lose his balance and fall against a stack of mufflers. “Cut it out,
fool! We need to talk to him first,” he yelled.

Tyrone shot him a mean look before heading
out of the back door.

“How did you find this place?” Marcus asked
in a deadly calm voice.

Sly-Man frowned. You know him? You better
tell me somethin’, Marius.”

“That’s the Dalcour woman’s boyfriend. He
used to be married to my cousin.” Marius rubbed his jaw with a
worried expression. “Wonder if Toya has been talking too much?” He
squatted down to peer into Simon’s face. “Is that what happened?
You might as well tell me because you won’t leave this place
breathing.”

The other man in overalls who had been
chopping up cars held up both hands. “Hey, I ain’t in this, man. I
didn’t sign up for no killin’. I’m out.” He darted out of the
garage and away into the dark before the other men could react.

“Aw damn! What else gonna happen?” Sly-Man
paced the floor. “You told us wasn’t nobody else in on this, man!
Now we find out your big-mouth cousin been talkin’.”

“Toya’s crazy about this guy. She wouldn’t
tell anybody else.” Marius jerked Simon’s head back. “Are you
alone?”

“Yes,” Simon said in a voice hoarse with
pain. His throat felt parched.

Marius stared at him. “Who else have you told
about me?” He punched Simon hard in the jaw when he didn’t respond
after a few seconds. “Talk!”

“No one. I followed you only because...”
Simon coughed hard. “Toya didn’t say anything except you were sure
the fire wasn’t an accident.”

“So you put it together. Smart man. “ Marius
pressed his lips together.

“A little thing like the law never stopped
you.” Simon did not flinch from the evil look that Marius gave
him.

Tryone came back inside. “I didn’t see
nobody.”

“You messed up bad, slick.” Sly-Man bared his
teeth in an ugly semblance of a smile. “Real bad.”

Tyrone rubbed his hands together nervously.
“What we gonna do?”

Minutes ticked by as Marius paced. Simon lay
very still on the dirty floor, sweat pouring down his sides.

“Well?” Sly-Man lifted both hands.

The big man in overalls stepped up to
Sly-Man. “Just say the word.”

Marius slapped his right fist into his left
palm. “I’ve got too much to lose.”

“That guy who got hurt in the fire took a
turn for the worse last night.” Sly-Man looked at them all.

“You mean–” Tyrone’s mouth hung open in
fear.

“A murder rap if he dies. Hell, it could be
attempted murder if he lives,” Sly-Man replied.

Marius stood with his back to them. “Do what
you have to.” He strode out of the garage without looking back.
Seconds later, they heard his car engine gun as he drove away.

The large man in overalls hefted Simon up
onto his feet. Simon swayed; his vision cloudy. He took deep
breaths to try to clear his head. The shoes on his feet felt like
blocks of concrete weighing him down, so that each step was a
trial. After the first few attempts to walk, Simon was dragged to a
late-model car, parked on a dark side street, east of the
garage.

“Say man, which way is it to the Black Cat
Cafe?” a loud, slurred voice shouted to them.

“The opposite direction from where you at
now, man. I’d get goin’ thataway if I was you,” the big man
rumbled. He turned to block the newcomer’s view of Tyrone and
Sly-Man struggling to heave Simon into the car.

LaMar wobbled in front of the man wearing a
senseless grin. “I’m ready to p-paartee.” He shuffled his feet.

“You gone be ready for the emergency room if
you don’t–”

The big man swung his arm out, but LaMar
didn’t back away. “Aw man,” he said. “Can’t we all get along?”
LaMar’s foot came up fast twice; the tip of his heavy boot smashing
into the big man’s crotch.

“Ye-oow oo-wee!” The big man bent double, his
wide face contorted in agony. Knees together, he hobbled in a
circle with tears streaming from his eyes. He crumpled to the
ground when LaMar punched him in the face.

With Tyrone momentarily distracted, Simon put
his head down and rammed into his mid-section as hard as he could.
Tyrone flipped over into a ditch beside the street and rolled into
a ball, clutching his stomach. The force of the effort brought
Simon down beside him. He lay still, pretending to be
unconscious.

Sly-Man pointed a gun LaMar. “You gonna die,
slick!”

LaMar held up both hands palm out. “You don’t
wanna do that. I got back-up. No undercover operation happens
without it.”

“Bull. They’d a’ been here by now. You ain’t
no cop.” Sly-Man wore a wolf-like expression as he took one step
closer.

As they talked, Simon crawled back up to
crouch a few feet behind Sly-Man. He steeled himself against the
pain and ran into his back with a loud growl. In the split second
that Sly-Man looked away, LaMar took a dive and flattened himself
on the ground. Simon grew strength at the thought that this man
wanted to harm Rae. He and the thug grappled with the gun. Their
grunts and panting were the only sounds for several seconds.

Then a deep voice called out. “Say, Sly,
whassup?”

Pookie stepped from the shadows with four
other men behind him. They stood several yards away. Both men froze
and stared at the newcomers.

Sly-Man looked baffled. “Pookie, man, what
you doin’ here?” He let go of Simon, looking at him as though he’d
been holding a poisonous snake. “You with Pookie?”