Trickery & Envy (24 page)

“Sounds plausible but its bullshit, try again rapist.”

“Look there’s no doubt that I wasn’t busted getting some, but that’s all I’m guilty of. As a matter of fact, don’t I get a lawyer?”

“Where you’re going
, trust me, you’ll be getting more than a lawyer,” the officer said and left the room.

Five minutes later
Officer Grayson reentered the room. He grabbed the chair across from Richard and sat in it backwards, resting his arms on the table. “Why her house?” he inquired.

“What?”

“I didn’t stutter or mumble answer the question.”

“Why not her house,” Richard responded then look
ed away at nothing.

“So
let’s get this straight, when you woke up this morning you said its Halloween. I’ll guess I’ll dress up like a vampire and rape and rob a woman way across town.”

Richard shove
d his shoulder. “Sounds just like the plan I made and executed.”

“What’s your relationship to Vernon Fowler Jr.?”

Richard reaction to the name was stoic.

“I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“You don’t know anyone by that name.”

“No
pe.”

“He knows you.”

Richard looked blankly at the officer.

“A lot of people know me
. I’m a criminal. If you’re spitting his name at me then he must be a criminal, too. What we do...spend time together in prison,” Richard said in an attempt to back up his lie that he didn’t know Vernon.

“You know him,”
Officer Grayson came back with then stood. He turned the chair he was sitting in back around to the table and then left the room again.

Richard was then watched by all three
officers behind the one-way mirror. He knew better than to show any expressions while facing it, so he tilted his head and began to rip himself to pieces.

“Damn, why did I touch her? I’m stupid
,” he said of his mistake.

***

Vernon was agitated. He had been pacing in front of the building Traci lived in for the last two hours. It was actually Tracie’s sister Fran’s building. Vernon constant ringing of the bell last night and now out front again had Fran discreetly watching him from her window.

“I don’t know why she doesn’t leave that bum alone,”
she uttered and frowning up at him. “He just looks like trouble.”

Fran felt Vernon was
a problem from the minute she met him. When Tracie introduced them he just peered at her with a slight nod of the head. It wasn’t long before Fran began to see how controlling Vernon could be. When he wanted to tell Tracie something he would clutch her elbow and pull her to him. Although Fran never saw Vernon strike her sister she was sure he had laid his hands on her. ‘Black eyes don’t just appear out of sky blue’ she told Tracie one day. One more thing that annoyed Fran was how Vernon would suck on toothpicks and then spit them out not caring where they landed.

“Tracie, girl, open the door
,” Vernon said looking up at her apartment. He knew she was home because her daughter came to the window when he first called out to Tracie and she was quickly pulled back from it.

T
racie barely slept last night. She couldn’t believe she allowed Vernon to talk her into committing a crime. It didn’t matter that they didn’t force their way into her former boss’s house, their entrance was violent. Tracie knew she was just as guilty if the police found out she was there. The thought of going to jail made her a nervous wreck.

“I don’t know what to do,”
she kept saying over and over, her arms wrapped around her waist tight.

Tracie still had on the j
eans and red sweater she wore yesterday under her costume. A costume she cut to pieces when she got home and stashed deep into the trash.

“Girl what
are you afraid of? Come open the door!” Vernon yelled out and getting frustrated with being ignored. “I just want to talk to you,” he stated and spat the toothpick out and shoved another in he took from behind his ear.

“I’m getting ready to get to the bottom of this
,” Fran uttered, and getting madder. “Whatever happened yesterday you will not bring it here,” and she attempted another phone call to her sister after the three last night went unanswered.

Fran
a five-foot seven, full figured woman, changed from her pale yellow pajamas into Jeans and a black sweatshirt that read, “Working Toward Success” She put on her gym shoes, grabbed her house keys and headed upstairs for an explanation to the troublemaker hanging around outside.

Fran
’s building was a three flat so she wasn’t worried about Vernon seeing her heading upstairs. He would have to gain entrance through the front door. Fran used her spare keys and let herself into the first entry to her sister’s apartment. She then went up the flight of stairs and knocked hard on the door. The rap to the door sent shockwaves through Tracie.

“How did he get in here,” she mumbled and biting at the tips of her fingernails.

Cassidy hearing the solid knocks came galloping out of her bedroom. Her eyes widened after seeing her mommy’s eyes big.

“What’s wrong mommy,”
she asked and stopped in front of her mother with a Barbie doll dangling from her hand.

Tracie was about to place her finger to her mouth to hush Cassidy when they heard,
“Tracie, open the door,” come from Fran. “I know you’re in there.”

“Mommy
its only Auntie Fran,” Cassidy said to her.

Tracie was relieved that Vernon hadn’t made his way into the building and blew out a gush of air.

“You know I have keys, Tracie,” Fran said.

“Go back
in your room,” Tracie told her daughter who remained there in her pink footed pajamas.

“I want to see auntie Fran
.”

“You can see her in a minute go back in your room. I need to talk to auntie.”

Tracie knowing her sister would use her key still debated letting Fran in because she would have to explain why Vernon was hanging around her building.

“Tracie, I know something is going on. I’m going to give you to
the count of three and then I’m coming in.”

Tracie
’s eyes grew large at her daughter still standing in front of her, ignoring her demand to go back to her room.

“I said go to your room
!” she repeated and began walking to the door to let her sister in.

Cassidy
smiled then began walking backwards back to her room. She then disappeared inside it.

Tracie open
ed the door and then quickly locked it after Fran walked in.

“What is going on and don’t lie to me because I know something
is.” Fran placed her hands on her hips for an explanation. “He’s not standing out there just to be.”

Fran ten years older than Tracie
moved over to the window and looked out between the blinds. Vernon had calmed down and was sitting on the hood of Tracie’s car.

Tracie
went and took a seat near the edge of her brown leather sofa.

“I did something bad Fran,”
Tracie said and began rocking with her arms wrapped around her waist.

Fran move
d from the window and went over and sat next to Tracie.

“What
did you do?” she calmly asked.

“I don’t know why I went along with it
.”

“Tell me what happened
, Tracie.”

“Nobody was supposed to get hurt,”
Tracie desolately expressed.

Fran
was getting inpatient. “Tell me what happened, Tracie.”

Tracie sniffle
d and then leaned her head over onto her sister’s shoulder.

“Vernon had us dress
in costumes yesterday. We went to his sister’s house and then two of his friend’s showed up,” Tracie sniffled then said, “He let them rob her house.”

“What?” a confused
looking Fran said drawing back some to look at Tracie.

“
Vernon said his sister owed him a lot of money and he wanted me to go with him to get it. He then said she wouldn’t know it was me because we’d be in costumes,” and Tracie began bawling.

“
Tracie...Tracie you should have known better,” Fran said moving her head from side to side and consoled her sister by rubbing up and down her shoulder.

“
When his sister opened the door...he slammed his fist in her face...and she fell to the floor. He knocked her out, Fran.” Tracie sniffled. “He then told me to take food from her refrigerator. You think he killed her? She wasn’t moving after he hit her.”

“I knew he was trouble
,” Fran said moving her head from side to side.

“
Fran when his friends showed up I was scared because I didn’t know they were going to rob her house. He said they were coming to give us a ride. When I saw what they were getting ready to do I just ran out of her house and down the street. I was really scared Fran. They had on costumes too and it was my former boss house,” and Tracie began bawling into her hands.

F
ran jumped up from the sofa. “Tracie!”

“I know, I know, Fran. I just went along with it because she fired me.
I didn’t know he was going to hurt her.”

“You lost your job!”
and Fran’s mouth hung open. “Why didn’t you tell me? When did you get fired?”

Cassidy heard her mommy crying and peeked at her from her bedroom door.

“It happened a couple months ago.”

Fran s
at back down next to her sister. “You need to go to the police,” she said.

Tracie
shook her head no, opposing the suggestion.

“I can’t. I don’t want to go to jail.”

“Tracie you really didn’t do anything wrong. He had you going over to his sister house under false pretense. They need to know that. The fact that she fired you and this happening spells conspiracy. It’s going to look like you knew she was going to be robbed, that you were part of their plan.”

“
But I didn’t,” Tracie maintained and looked over at her sister, her eyes glazed with new tears.

“What
does that mean, conspiracy,” Cassidy said. “Hi auntie Fran,” smiling at her from the bedroom doorway.

“Hey baby,” Fran said
to her niece. “Go on back in your room your mama and I are talking. I’ll explain it to you later.”

“Okay,” Cassidy said and
stood and closed the door to her bedroom.

Vernon
began to get restless again and moved from the car and back in front of the building stashing his hands in the front pockets of his black jeans.

“
Tra…cie,” he slowly called out and then mumbled, “See this girl is going to make me hurt her.”

Fran stood plac
ing her hands on her hips. “That man is a nut. Tracie, listen to me. If you don’t go to the police and even if they don’t find out who robbed and assaulted his sister, he will hold that over your head for the rest of your life. You need to rid yourself of him and going to the police is the only way you’re going to do that. If he assaulted his sister and had her home robbed, what do you think he’ll do to you or will have someone do to you? You are a witness, not only to what he did, but to whoever else is involved.”

“Okay. Do you think they are going to keep me after I tell them what happened?”

“I don’t know they might. This is serious and someone got hurt, Tracie.”

“What about my clients? I have three coming to get their hair done today.”

“I was wondering why all of a sudden you had so many new friends.” Fran then looked as if she was thinking and then said, “You know what. I have a plan. First you need to call and cancel your appointments.”

“Fran I need the money,”
a distressing looking Tracie said.

“Money that most
of is going to end up coming to me, don’t worry about your rent for this month.”

Tracie rose from the sofa
with her arms wrapped around her. She moved over to the window for a peek out and became startled when Vernon called her name again.

“I hate him Fran,”
Tracie said peering down at Vernon.

“We’re going to set him up
for the police to catch him. What we are going to do is go out of the back and down the alley over to grandpa’s house. We’ll use his car to go to the police. After you explain what happened, if Vernon is still out in front of the house, the police will pick him up.”

“Okay,” Tracie
said and she began walking toward her bedroom to get her keys and purse.

Fran sa
id, “I’ll get Cassidy ready,” then thought,
God please be with this woman during her confusion. She’s really going to need you.