The Prodigal Son (A Reverend Curtis Black Novel) (21 page)

F
or hours, Matthew had debated calling Racquel’s mom, Vanessa, wondering if he should inform her about yesterday morning. Shortly after Racquel had threatened both him and Nicole and then flew out of the parking lot like some psycho, he’d gone into the bank and called Alicia. He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen to contact his sister, although, truthfully, he still didn’t feel comfortable discussing his marital problems with his parents. His mother regularly hinted around about his filing for a divorce, and his father supported him either way, but he still didn’t want to involve them if he didn’t have to. As it was, he’d been forced to move back in with them, and that was enough.

He glanced at his watch and saw that it was four-forty. He only had twenty minutes to go at work and since he didn’t have any customers waiting, he dialed Vanessa.

“Hello?”

“Hey, how are you?” he asked.  

“Hi, son. I’m good. What about you?”

“I’m okay, but I wanted to tell you about Racquel.”

“Did something happen?”

“Yeah. She showed up at my job yesterday morning, screaming and yelling and then she accused me of sleeping with one of my coworkers.”

“Oh no. What time was that?”

“Just before eight. I hadn’t even gone inside the bank yet.”

“I am so, so sorry, Matt.”

“Is she still taking her medication?”

“As far as I know.”

“I don’t think she is,” he said.

“Well, she seemed fine this morning and also this afternoon in court.”

Matthew was starting to wonder if his mother-in-law was truly that naïve or whether she was wallowing in permanent denial. “Maybe she took it because she knew she had a court date.”

“I don’t think so, because she’s been pretty happy for days now. In a lot of ways, she’s like her old self again.”

Matthew didn’t bother responding, because it was obvious he was wasting his breath.

“I really wish you’d sit down and talk to her, Matt. I wish you’d help her through this court situation. Then maybe the two of you can see a marriage counselor.”

“I can’t talk to Racquel. She’s too angry and violent all the time. Who she needs to talk to is her psychiatrist.”

“But it’s like I told you before, she’s hurt. She’s only acting like this because she wants you back.”

“Does it sound like she’s going to jail?” he asked.

“We hope not.”

“What about a mental facility? She really needs help.”

“Her doctor believes she’ll be fine as long as she continues outpatient treatment.”

Matthew listened as his mother-in-law gave one excuse after another, but all she’d done was confirm his decision. He was finally contacting his dad’s attorney first thing tomorrow morning, and he was also filing for full custody. If Racquel showed up threatening him again, he would file for an order of protection, too.

When Matthew ended the call, he dialed Stacey.

“Hey you,” she said.

“Hey, what’s up? You outside yet?”

“Yep. Just got here.”

“I’m glad you came,” he told her.

“I am, too. You still wanna pick up some food from that little Mexican restaurant?”

“Yeah, and then we can head out to the forest preserve.”

“Okay, well, you only have about ten minutes left, so I’ll just wait for you.”

“I’ll be out as soon as I can.”

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you, too, Stacey.”

No matter how many days passed or how badly Matthew wanted to spend time with Stacey, the guilt still ate him alive. He’d thought he might feel better about seeing her, especially since Racquel had shown her behind yesterday, but his love for God and knowledge of the Word wouldn’t let him. He remembered how years ago his father had compared himself to Paul in the Book of Romans. He would tell the congregation how Paul hadn’t wanted to sin, but he sinned anyway, and he couldn’t seem to help it. Paul also hadn’t understood why he did some of the terrible things he did and then did them over again. As a child, Matthew hadn’t fully comprehended that kind of thinking, but now he understood it very well. He didn’t want to sin, but he also didn’t want to stop being with Stacey, and for that reason he tried not to think about what he was doing.

Matthew cleared off his desk, but then someone knocked at his door.

“Come in.”

Nicole eased his door open, smiling nervously. She’d sort of been avoiding him ever since Racquel had shown up yesterday morning, acting a stone fool, and Matthew didn’t blame her.

“Can I chat with you for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, have a seat.”

Nicole closed the door and sat in front of him. “I really do like you, Matt, but after seeing your wife yesterday, I agree that this isn’t the time for you to be seeing someone else. Still, I hope things won’t be awkward between us and that we can go back to being strictly friends and coworkers.”

Matthew was relieved. “As far as I’m concerned, nothing’s changed. Everything’s fine.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. And who knows, maybe things will be better down the road.”

They chatted for another five minutes and walked outside to the parking lot. But to their great disappointment, they saw Racquel parking next to Matthew. She quickly jumped out, ready to confront them again.

“Maybe I should go back inside the bank,” Nicole whispered but kept looking ahead.

“Just get in your car and leave.”

“Well, well, well,” Racquel said. “I see you’re still hanging out with this skank of yours.” Then she glared directly at Nicole. “You do know he’s married, right?”

Nicole walked a little faster, and Matthew looked over at Stacey, who didn’t move. He was glad Racquel hadn’t spotted her, because if she did, she might realize that she’d been accusing the wrong woman. She still didn’t know Matthew was seeing Stacey, but she would certainly recognize her from high school.

Nicole finally opened her car door, but as soon as Racquel noticed it, she jetted between cars with a knife. Matthew yelled out Nicole’s name, but before she could turn around, Racquel slashed her across her back.

Matthew rushed toward them. “Oh my God. What have you done?”

Racquel raised the knife again, charged at Matthew, and slashed him across his arm. Still, he grabbed her wrist and shook the knife out of her hand.

“Let me go! Leave me alone, Matt!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” a fifty-something, muscular security guard yelled, rushing toward them. “What’s going on?”

Racquel yanked away from Matt, dashed to her car, started it up, and raced into the street. Screeching sounds could still be heard even after she was out of sight.

Matthew knelt down to help Nicole, and Stacey got out of her car to help also. Soon, other employees gathered around, and squad cars and sirens approached them.

Matthew removed his blazer and covered Nicole up with it, and Stacey held her hand. She was clearly in excruciating pain, and Matthew couldn’t help thinking about how when Nicole had first seen Racquel, she’d asked if she should go back inside the bank. Now he wished he’d advised her differently, and he would never forgive himself for not doing so. It had just been earlier when he’d realized his mother-in-law was in denial about Racquel, but this proved that he was as well. She’d already stabbed him multiple times two weeks ago, so why hadn’t he thought she might try this again? Why had he trusted her to do the right thing when he knew what she was capable of? Maybe a part of him still loved her, or maybe he just didn’t want to think the worst of his own wife. He wasn’t sure, but either way, he knew Racquel needed to be locked up before she killed someone.

A
fter meeting Racquel at their usual Chicago-area spot last night, Dillon wasn’t sure why she was so adamant about meeting him at a local truck stop, specifically on the outskirts of town. She’d also wanted to leave her car there and ride with him to a hotel on the other side of Mitchell. Actually, he hadn’t seen her car, because right when he’d pulled up, she’d been coming out of the truck stop. But when he’d asked her about it, she’d told him she parked it in the back. She’d also told him that she just hadn’t felt like driving nearly an hour just to be with him, and that she didn’t see a reason for them to keep hiding. Dillon didn’t see a reason to either, and to be honest, he’d only hidden their affair for her sake and also because when they’d first started seeing each other, he hadn’t wanted his father to find out about them. But both of those reasons were a moot point, and he was glad to not have to drive toward Chicago any longer.

“Can we just spend the night here?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck, wreaking of alcohol, the same as always.

“If you want.”

“I do.”

“Are you okay? You seem a little different.”

“I’m fine. I could definitely use a drink, though,” she said, slurring her words.

Dillon wasn’t surprised that she was already asking for more liquor, but he still wondered why she seemed a little strange, and nervous even. He also couldn’t help asking himself why he was so attracted to an alcoholic. This wasn’t normal for him, but it was just that he loved the fire and boldness about her.

Racquel gazed into Dillon’s eyes, and he kissed her.

“I’m so in love with you,” she said, “and I want us to leave here. Let’s go away together.”

“I’m already planning for that, and we will, just as soon as I get that money from my dad.”

“So you really think he’s gonna do it?” she asked. “Give you millions just to keep quiet?”

Dillon had told her the details of his plan last night at the hotel, but he could tell Racquel seemed a bit worried about the outcome.

“He doesn’t want any more trouble. Plus, all he has to do is write a few more books and travel around to a lot more speaking engagements. He’ll have his ten mill back in no time.”

“I really want you,” Racquel said, not paying much attention to what he’d just told her. She kissed him wildly and heatedly and tore his V-neck shirt over his head so roughly that it ripped in two places. He didn’t complain, though, because he loved the way she took control.

Finally, she pushed Dillon onto the bed, but just as she reached for his zipper, there was forceful pounding on the door.

“Police! Open up!”

Dillon sat up, and Racquel backed away toward the wall. “Baby, please don’t open that.”

“Why?”

“Just don’t. Just ignore it.” There was more loud beating against the door, and Racquel looked terrified. “I’m not going to jail.”

“Baby, what did you do?” he asked.

“I’m not going back to jail” was all she said again.

Dillon stared at her, but then he looked toward the door when he heard a key being inserted.

Racquel hurried over to her purse and pulled out a handgun.

Dillon bucked his eyes. “What’re you doing?”

“I told you I’m not going to jail.”

Dillon felt like he was in the Twilight Zone. He couldn’t speak if he wanted to.

He didn’t have to, though, because barely a second later, two detectives and two officers stormed into the room, pointing their weapons.

Dillon raised his hands and surrendered without being told, but Racquel cocked her gun. “Don’t come any closer,” she instructed them.

Dillon wondered what was wrong with her, and regardless of all the startling commotion happening at the moment, he thought back to that day she’d admitted to not taking her pills. Had he been that blind? Had he pretended nothing was mentally wrong with her? Had he wanted to be loved by someone so much that he’d been willing to ignore her emotional issues?

“Please put the gun down!” the female detective demanded. “Drop it now!”

Racquel stared the woman down and then looked back and forth between the others, and suddenly, she seemed as calm as a country road. It was as if she no longer had any feelings, one way or the other, and Dillon couldn’t see how this would end well.

And it didn’t. Racquel fired the gun and hit one of the male officers, and the two detectives fired back at her. Racquel’s gun fell to the ground, and she dropped to the floor beside it.

W
hat a night. Dillon parked his SUV inside the garage, but when he turned off the ignition, he sat there. The officers had asked him to come to the station for questioning, but he was still in a total state of shock. What he was more astonished to learn was the fact that Racquel had stabbed a woman whom Matthew worked with, and then she’d hit a car and run. The passengers in the other vehicle had been rushed to the hospital and were in stable condition, but Dillon knew Racquel was in a lot of trouble. Aggravated assault, along with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer, was bad enough, but now she was facing felony DUI and possession of a firearm charges—and that was in addition to the felony assault charges she was already dealing with for stabbing Matthew. The good news, though, was that the officer she’d shot had been wearing a bulletproof vest, and she was alive. Racquel had been categorized as being in fair condition, but Dillon saw that as great news, considering she could have been killed.

Dillon leaned his head against the backrest and took a deep breath. He felt sorry for Racquel, but he also couldn’t lose sight of his own plans, so he pulled himself together. The videographer would be recording Sasha’s confession tomorrow, and he needed to get some rest so he’d be ready.

He got out of the car and went inside. He frowned when he saw that no lights were on, because normally when he stayed out late, Melissa never turned them off. Maybe she’d thought he was going to be home a lot earlier. Who knew when it came to Melissa, though? It wasn’t as if she was the brightest scholar in the bunch.

Dillon turned on the lights, but when he did, he saw a garment bag and an overnight suitcase. Maybe she’d taken him seriously and had decided to move out tonight instead of waiting until the end of the month. He hoped so, because that suited him fine. He would no longer be seeing Racquel, but he still wanted nothing else to do with Melissa, so the sooner she left the better.

Dillon walked farther into the hallway leading into the family room, but as he turned to walk up the stairway, Melissa flipped on the light and snaggletoothed Roger walked down in front of her, holding a gun. Dillon knew he had to dreaming.

“Back up!” Roger yelled when he landed at the bottom of the stairs. Then he turned Dillon’s body around with his other hand and pushed him into the kitchen. “You’d better get your country hands off of me,” Dillon said.

There was no way this bumpkin was going to do anything. He and Melissa were simply playing some childish, knucklehead game, and when it was over, Dillon would punish both of them.

“Sit down and shut up,” Melissa said curtly, and Roger pushed Dillon into the chair and pointed the gun at his head.

“All I did was try to love you,” Melissa said. “All I ever did was try to be here for you, even when no one else cared anything about you.”

“Melissa, I’m not playin’ with you. You’d better call off this country dimwit before I snap on both of you.”

Melissa laughed. “Still talkin’ crazy, even with a gun to your head. But the thing is, Dillon, you’re gonna listen to everything I have to say.”

Dillon wanted to protest, but this fool Roger seemed a bit fidgety, so Dillon kept quiet. He was going to beat the mess out of Roger, though, when he got the chance.

“It was one thing when you started talking to me like I was some idiot, but when you started putting your hands on me and hurting me, that was something different. Then all those times you forced me to have sex when I didn’t want to. Then all those times you called me dumb and stupid and told me you never loved me. Well, that was way too much, Dillon. But none of that compared to when you started sleeping around with your brother’s wife. Only a dog would do something like that. But even so, after all I’ve done for you…after all I’ve gone through with you…after all the verbal and physical abuse I’ve taken from you…you still decided it was okay to sleep with another woman behind my back? I was pretty much done with you then, but the icing on the cake was when you admitted to my face that you’d been sleeping with my best friend. I don’t think I’ve ever been more hurt in my life. I loved Venus like a sister.”

Dillon rolled his eyes, but he did wonder how she knew about his sleeping with Racquel. She wasn’t smart enough to find out something like that on her own, so he wondered who’d told her.

“Venus was everything to me,” she continued. “And now I know why she rarely called me after we left Atlanta, and then when I would call her, she was always busy. You’re such a snake, Dillon, and so is she, and I hope I never see you again. Oh and for the record, whether you think so or not, I
can
do a lot of things right. I hired that private investigator just like you wanted…one of the best in the business…but instead of having him follow Charlotte, I had him follow you. Instead of him digging up dirt on her, I had him find out where all your bank accounts were. Then, while you were out sleeping around all night, I found two of your checkbooks.”

Dillon tossed Melissa a dirty look. “All my money better be right where I left it.”

“Yeah, okay. Whatever you say.”

“I’m not playin’ with you, Melissa.”

“I left you a few dollars, but the other four hundred fifty thousand has already been deposited into another account. And, of course, you put down a hundred thousand on this condo, remember, and then you used the other hundred on living expenses. What you should’ve done was get a job the way your father told you. But nooooo,” she sang, “you were too good for that,
remember
?”

Dillon wanted to strangle Melissa. She’d taken the money his father had given him and also the proceeds from the insurance policies his aunt Susan had left him. He would never let Melissa get away with this harebrained scheme of hers, though, and she had to know that. He also still couldn’t get over Country Roger, who had the nerve to be standing there holding a gun to his head. This whole travesty was ludicrous.

“Are you ready, Roger?”

“Oh, so I guess you’re sleepin’ with this country clown, huh, Melissa?” Dillon laughed out loud, knowing that wasn’t true, but he couldn’t help joking about it. Then he turned his attention to Roger. “So is this the reason you’re suddenly tryin’ to work on that raggedy mouth of yours? Tryin’ to impress this dumb chick?”

Melissa leaned against the wall and folded her arms. “As a matter of fact I am impressed. When you went to Atlanta, Roger gave me more love and intimacy than any man has. Especially that night you called here. Remember when I didn’t answer the phone at first, and you had to call back? And I hadn’t even heard about your brother being stabbed? Well, that’s because Roger and I had been together all that day….right here in bed. And you know what else, Dillon, you’re nothing compared to Roger. Not in bed, not with anything.”

If only this nut wasn’t holding a gun to Dillon’s head, he would beat Melissa into oblivion.

“You thought you were so smart, but Roger always knew how awful you were to me, and he kept telling me I deserved so much better. You just never realized it, because he was always so polite to you. I guess he wasn’t as country and as dumb as you thought, now was he?”

If Dillon could murder Melissa and get away with it, he would. “You do know you’re going to jail for stealing my money, though, right?”

“I doubt it. Not when Sasha has already given me the tape she used to record your conversation.”

Dillon swallowed the colossal lump in his throat.

Melissa’s eyes turned cold. “Yeah, that’s right. The investigator saw you sitting in the car talking to her on Sunday night, but when you left, he had his own conversation with Sasha. It didn’t take much at all to get her to tell what you wanted, and when I promised her twenty-five thousand, that was the end of it. She recorded everything you said on Monday.”

Dillon was speechless. What was he going to do without any money?

“Let’s go, Roger,” she said and they both backed away from him, picked up the two pieces of luggage sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, and headed toward the garage.

But then Melissa stopped. “Oh, and one last thing. Your father already has a copy. I gave it to him a couple of hours ago, and if you try to come after me, he’s giving that tape to the police. You’ll be arrested on extortion charges. He also said he was fine with me keeping that money he gave you. I told him everything, and he couldn’t believe how much you’d been abusing me.”

Now Dillon knew the reason Curtis had been calling him. He’d been told about Dillon’s blackmail plot, and he wanted to confront him. It was a good thing Dillon didn’t have access to his own gun, because if he had, Melissa and Country Roger would be dead.

But more than anything, Dillon thought about the fact that he’d lost everything. His mother, his aunt, his father, Racquel, and all his money. He had absolutely nothing. Not even the words to explain it.