The Joneses (28 page)

I looked at Royce. He said, “Sheryl, maybe we shouldn't.”

“I insist.” Sheryl reached for my hand.

As much as I hated Jason, my heart ached for his sister. I could tell she'd been crying. I embraced her.

“We'll do it,” I responded.

“Where are the kids?” Sheryl asked.

“They're probably already inside,” I assured her.

It was their choice whether to come or not. As long as Royce and I were here to represent the family, it wouldn't cause any suspicion.

The usher opened the door to the sanctuary. The minister walked in front holding his Bible and started reciting scriptures. The congregation stood up.

I held on to Royce's hand as we walked up the aisle behind Jason's family. I could see familiar faces in the audience as we walked by.

We walked up to the casket, paused, and went to take our seats.

The minister got up and said a few words. After the Old and New Testament scriptures were read, someone sang a solo. Several people got up shouting.

The homegoing service for Jason was spiritual. If they'd only known the man we knew, the service would have been shorter. He was heartless, selfish, and a thief. Several people got up to express what they would miss about Jason. It seemed Jason was good at camouflaging his true self.

Sheryl turned around. “Royce, it's okay if you get up and say something.”

I squeezed Royce's hand. He shifted in his seat. I whispered, “You don't have to if you don't want to.”

“I think it's best.”

I disagreed, but let go of his hand as he walked up front to the podium. I clenched the program. Someone coughed out loud. I looked in the direction and locked eyes with Charity.

I looked back up front at Royce. He cleared his throat. “I'm here this morning to express a few words about the man of the hour, Jason Milton. For some, Jason was a good brother.”

Sheryl shook her head in agreement.

“For some, Jason was a good uncle and good provider.”

Some of Jason's nieces and nephews mumbled a few things.

“For some, he was a good boss.”

“Yes, he was,” I heard Jason's secretary yell out.

“For some, like me, Jason had been a good friend.”

Royce paused. “I'm sorry. I can't do this.” Royce got choked up.

He walked back to his seat. I removed the handkerchief from his jacket pocket and handed it to him. I wrapped my arm around him and comforted him.

The funeral continued. As much pain as Jason had caused us, the fact remained Jason had been Royce's best friend for over thirty years. Having to come to grips with the betrayal and the pain he'd caused us couldn't have been easy on him; it wasn't easy on me.

Royce squeezed my hand as we listened to the rest of the service. It seemed like the pastor preached longer than necessary. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was ready for the services to be over. He should have shortened it at least out of respect for the family. I couldn't even imagine what they were going through.

One of Jason's ex-wives got up, and sang a solo. Then, it was time to leave.

The kids joined us in the processional as we walked out of the sanctuary.

Whether our grief was sincere or not, we had all been crying for one reason or another.

I
wasn't just going through the motions. I truly was in mourning. I'd lost my friend long before we found him laid out in the pool of blood. The day I found out he stole from me hurt. The pain resulting from betrayal hurt even more. Finding out he'd slept with my wife and daughter, felt like a dagger being dug into my heart.

No matter how much I drank, the pain wouldn't go away. The only time I felt at peace was when I was sleeping. I was doing a lot of that lately. After the funeral and the burial, I left my workers in charge, came home, and went straight to bed.

Lexi's been trying to get me to get out of bed. The kids were here. They wanted to see me. I didn't want to disappoint them. I'd disappointed them enough. I was supposed to protect them, but instead I brought the monster into our house.

“Baby, it's getting late. The kids will be leaving shortly. Don't you want to come down and spend a little time with them,” Lexi said from the doorway.

“Tell them I'll be down in a minute.”

It took everything within me to drag myself out of bed. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. I went to the closet and found some jeans and a New Orleans Saints t-shirt.

When I made it downstairs, they were all seated in the living room. They too had changed into comfortable, casual clothes.

Charity and Hope greeted me with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Hope held my hand. “Thought we were going have to come crash in your room for a minute.”

“I was just tired.”

I sat down in my favorite recliner.

Lexi walked in the room carrying a plate and a drink. “You haven't eaten anything all day. Someone from the church brought us a whole bunch of food.”

Lovie wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Whoever baked this pound cake, put their foot in it.”

Lexi said, “That was Lula. She can make some of the best pound cakes around here.”

I agreed. “Forget the rest of the food. Just bring me a slice of cake.”

The doorbell rang. Lexi said, “I'll get it. Eat up.”

A few minutes later, she walked in, followed by Officer Underwood. “I hate to disturb you. Especially today, but Mr. Jones we need to ask you a few questions.”

The smile on my face disappeared. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I placed the plate on the table. I stood up and greeted him. “Whatever you have to ask, you can ask in front of my family.”

“Sure, sir.”

I motioned for him to sit down. Charity moved over. He sat next to her. He pulled out his notepad and a pen.

“It's come to our attention that Jason Milton wasn't killed in the fire. He'd received a fatal gunshot wound prior to the fire.”

Hope yelled out, “Are you serious?”

She needed to bring it down a notch. If she overreacted, it would look suspicious.

“So, it wasn't an accident?” I asked.

“No, I'm afraid not. You were his best friend. Do you know any reason why anyone would have wanted to see him dead?”

Everyone looked at me. I paused before responding, “No. None. Everyone liked Jason.”

“Apparently not, Mr. Jones. Someone didn't like him because they killed him.” Officer Underwood wrote in his notepad.

Had I said too much? I wiped my hands.

Lexi stood beside me. “Officer Underwood, can this wait another time? He just buried his best friend.”

I squeezed Lexi's hand. “Dear, he's only doing his job.”

“One of the neighbors thinks they saw your car the night before the murder,” Officer Underwood said.

“Jason and I spent a lot of time together, so that's nothing unusual,” I responded.

“Can you confirm the time?”

Before I could respond, Lexi said, “That night, he and I both stopped by. It was about nine-something, wasn't it, dear?”

I squeezed Lexi's hand hard. She knew why. She should have kept her mouth shut. Let the police think I was a suspect, but she shouldn't have put herself in the picture. I looked at her and then back at the officer. “Yes, Lexi's correct.”

“Did you see anyone suspicious as you were leaving?” he asked.

“No. Nothing out of the ordinary,” I responded.

“Well, according to the coroner, the time of death was between ten and midnight. It's probably a good thing you left when you did because you two could have become victims too.”

Charity said, “I couldn't bear losing either one of you.”

Officer Underwood grabbed Charity's hand. “They're going to be fine.”

He released her hand and looked at me. “If you like, I can make sure there's extra surveillance in the area. Whoever killed Jason Milton may think you saw something and come after you too.”

“Officer, I appreciate it, but I don't think that will be necessary.”

He stood up. “If you change your mind, you have my card.”

“Yes. It's in my wallet, as a matter of fact.”

“Charity, can you walk me out?” Officer Underwood asked.

Lexi said, “We'll both walk you out. Would you like a plate or something to drink? We have plenty of food.”

“No, ma'am. I'm still on duty.”

“Come on. If you don't tell, I won't tell.”

“Well, it wouldn't hurt,” he responded.

Lexi turned around and winked her eye at me.

I mouthed the words, “Get him out of here.”

She gave me the thumbs up signal.

“Dad, you did good,” Lovie said, as he took a seat near me.

“Just telling the truth, Son.”

Hope, Lovie, and I didn't say anything else. I sat hoping and praying that Officer Underwood would leave sooner than later.

I heard the front door close.

Lexi walked in the room and said, “He's gone.”

“That was close,” Lovie said.

“Too close.” I sighed with relief.

I
t had been a few weeks since Jason's funeral, but the whole family was still walking on eggshells. Omar had been finding every excuse to call me.

“Dear, that young man seems to be interested in you. You should talk to him. See where his head is,” my mom said to me one day over lunch.

Which translated into, talk to him and see what he knows about Jason's case.

I began having second thoughts about accepting his dinner invitation. It was too late, however, because he was walking around to open my door.

The door opened. Omar extended his hand out. I reached for it and exited out his sports car. He gave the valet his keys and we walked inside of the casino and straight to the restaurant.

“There's one thing I've been trying to figure out,” Omar said, while we waited on our food.

“What?”

“You're pretty. You're smart. Why don't you have a man?”

I felt a sigh of relief. That was an easy question. As long as it had nothing to do with Jason, I could answer. “Because I don't. Next question.”

He licked his big, juicy lips. “Will you accept my application? I'm a hard worker. I come on time and I'll do anything—and I mean anything—to make sure you're happy.”

He emphasized the words “hard” and “come”. He had me squirming in my seat. Although I regret sleeping with Tyler, I didn't regret allowing myself some sexual freedom.

“Officer.”

He interrupted. “Call me Omar.”

“Omar, who said I was taking any applications?”

He reached over the table for my hand. “Well, if you are taking applications, I want to put mine in, and I'm willing to interview on the spot.”

“I'm a hard person to work with. Slackers need not apply.”

“That's not me.”

“Cheaters. This is not the place for you.”

“So far, I'm none of those.”

“Liars can keep it moving.”

“I might get this job,” he said, with confidence.

“There's a ninety-day probationary period.”

“Ninety days. That's nothing.” He blew on his fingers.

“I call the shots.”

“Charity rules. I follow directions well.”

“Then Omar, your application has been accepted.”

“When can I start my first day on the job?” he asked.

“You might be required to put in some overtime.”

Omar made a muscle. “I'm built for that.”

Our playful banter continued throughout dinner. It'd been awhile since I'd had fun, out on a real date. He walked me to the door. He assisted me with putting the keys in the lock.

I stopped and blocked him from coming in. “I would invite you in, but I'm sure you have to get up early in the morning.”

“I traded shifts with a co-worker. I don't have to be to work until three p.m.”

I threw caution to the wind. I pulled him inside. Our lips locked. I heard him moan. I moaned. I led him down the hallway and to my bedroom. I'd never brought a man to my bedroom. He was the first.

We tore each other's clothes off. We were now only in our underwear. Omar picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist. He carried me to my bed. I fell back on the bed, and he fell back on top of me. His lips never left mine. His hands roamed my body. He unfastened my bra with his hands. He cradled one nipple with one hand, and his mouth left my lips and wrapped around my other nipple.

My panties were soaked with desire for Omar. He eased them off with his available hand, and brought me to an orgasm using his fingers. He replaced his fingers with his lips. I rocked back and forth on the bed.

He removed a condom from his wallet and placed it on his long and stiff manhood. It felt like the Fourth of July. I saw sparks the moment our bodies united. I had lost all control and so had he.

Omar cradled me in his arms and we fell asleep as if we'd known each other forever.

I'd promised myself that I wouldn't sleep in all day, so I got up around nine instead of noon.

“Charity, what's on the agenda for today?” I burst through her door. “Oops.”

Omar and Charity were naked in her bed. The sheet covered them, but still. I knew they were naked because I could see his brown, muscular chest. Yes, I was definitely checking him out.

I'd vowed off men for awhile, but big Sis hadn't. I eased the door shut and went back to my room.

A few minutes later, Hope entered. She held on to the belt of her robe. “I'm sorry you had to see that.”

“And I thought I moved fast. I ain't got nothing on you.” I reached my hand up for a high-five. “Oh, you leaving me hanging.”

“Please, don't tell anyone about this.”

I twisted my fingers in front of my closed mouth. “My lips are sealed. Charity got a new boyfriend.”