Trickery & Envy (31 page)

Vivian sip
ped from her bottled water. “That’s the last thing I want to think about. The police think Vernon is behind it. This spaghetti is good.”

“Thanks
...and that wouldn’t surprise me at all. If they find that he is, are you going to press charges?”

“
After what he let happen to me, without hesitation I’d press charges. Brother or not, Vernon will be returning to the penitentiary. Would you believe he’s been dating the stylist I fired a couple months ago and she was in on it?”

“Are you serious?
Girl, they ought to throw her in a cell right next to his. I just don’t understand how Vernon ended up this way. He was smart, caring and nice looking. He could have been helping you out around your salon instead of trying to destroy it.”

Vivian nod
ded her head a couple times. “That’s another thing. I’ve just about abandoned my shop. I don’t know what I would do without Patricia. I told her I was going to take a few weeks off and if she needs me to call.” Vivian then wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Girl that spaghetti hit the spot,” she said and then moved back into the sofa and rested her hands over her belly protruding from the cranberry-colored jogging suit she had on.

Jennifer look
ed over at her and smiled. “Have you picked out any names yet?” and having had enough too, wiped her mouth and sat the crinkled napkin in her plate.

“Hasn’t crossed my mind
,” and Vivian burped. “Listen to me I sound like a pig.”

“Maybe that was little Toni in there burping, too. Vi I am so happy that you’re pregnant.”

“Why are you happy that I’m pregnant? I’m gon’ be big as the moon in a couple months. Forget about favoring Wendy Raquel Robinson, I’m going to look more like MADEA,” and they both laughed.

“That’s a good one.
”

“Girl, I done lost my mind.”

“What?” Jennifer said.

“Toni was bringing ribs and mash
ed potatoes with him. How am I going to explain I already ate?”

“Blame it on Toni Jr.”

“What?”

“Girl pregnant woman are always blaming the things they
eat and do on their baby. Mark my words Vi, you and Toni are going to end up married. I may not be here to witness it, but you two are going to be married one day.”

“Whatever. I better head back,” and she rose from the sofa. Vivian then
lifted her plate and bottled water from the food tray and headed to the kitchen with it.

***

Tracie stopped styling her clients hair to answer the phone after it rang. Since going to the police she felt a bit at ease. Vernon had not come back around or tried to contact her by phone. Even so, Tracie had instructed her clients to call her upon ringing her bell. She had fabricated a story that she ended her relationship with her boyfriend and felt he was now stalking her.

Tracie
hesitated answering the phone when she saw the caller ID displayed Police Department. She let the phone ring again before picking up. “Hello,” she softly spoke into the phone.

“This is Sergeant Grayson. I’m trying to reach Tracie Allen.”

“This is her.”

“Ms. Allen, we need you to come
back to the station as soon as possible. We have a few questions about Vernon Fowler. How soon can you get here?”

“I
style hair and have clients at my house. Can this please wait until after I’m done?”

“At what time would that be?”

“Around four o’clock?”

“Stop at the reception desk and ask for me, Officer Grayson. It’s imperative that
we talk to you.”

“Okay,” Tracie said and
hung up.

Tracie return
ed to her client.

“Was that the mad boyfriend
?” the client asked.

Tracie nod
ded.

“Girl, you may have to put out an order of protection against him.”

“If you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about him,” and Tracie began to drive herself crazy thinking what other questions the police had for her. She didn’t even hear her client when she said no problem before reverting to reading the book she brought with her.

It was three-thirty when Tracie finished
up. She knew she was going to be late getting to the police station because she had no one to keep Cassidy. The babysitter she had when she was working for the salon had gone back to school. Fran would sometimes keep Cassidy, but today she was at work and her grandfather had gone to play poker with his friends.

Tracie walk
ed up to Cassidy’s bedroom door changing her unhappy face to upbeat.

“Cassidy get ready. We’re about to go somewhere
.”

Cassidy
was sprawled on the floor and coloring in one of her books.  The two twisted ponytails in her hair swung to the motion of her head as she looked over at her bedroom door.

“Where
to mommy?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you when we get almost there,”
Tracie said to buy herself time for a believable reason they were about to visit the police station.

“Okay.” Cassidy happily r
ose from the floor and headed for her blue jeans and red sweater putting them on. “Mommy should I wear my boots even though there’s no snow outside?” she queried and went for her jacket that she had tossed into her closet a couple days ago. Cassidy then headed for the front door where most of their shoes were lined in a row.

“If you want to
wear your boots it’s okay.”

“Mommy
is you sad again?”

Cassidy s
at on the floor to put on her black boots.

“No, why do you ask that?”
and Tracie slipped into her boots covering her sadness with another fake smile.

“I don’t know
mommy, you just look sad.”

“Mommy’s fine,” was all Tracie offered.

Tracie took a deep breath parking about a block from the police station.

“Look mommy policemen,” Cassidy
said with bright eyes at two officers standing across the street talking.

“Ye
s, they are. They don’t mind if we bring children sometimes so they could see what police stations look like. Come on let’s go see what the policemen do inside.”

“
Okay!” Cassidy said looking forward to the escapade and opened her side of the car to get out. She exited with a big smile then waved at two policemen across the street paying her no attention.

“Give me your hand,”
Tracie said as they were about to enter the station.

Tracie walk
ed in and her eyes quickly moved in zigzags at the officers moving about while Cassidy smiled and waved at them. Tracie headed a bit nervous over to the counter.

“I’m here to see Officer Grayson,”
she said to a Hispanic female officer.

“Just a second
,” Officer Hernandez replied.

Officer Hernandez
did a quick visual inspection of Tracie and then looked down at the little girl whose attention was drawn to an officer making goofy eyes at her. She then lifted the receiver to the phone on the counter. After she hung up from her call Tracie leaned in a bit.

“Officer, I’m here for questioning and I don’t want my daughter to know that’s why I’m here. I told her that the police sometimes let children visit. Is there somewhere she can go while I talk to Officer Grayson?”

The female officer gave a nod. “I understand and I’m Officer Hernandez. I’ll have her sit behind the counter with me. I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”

“Thank you
.”

Officer Hernandez
then saw an officer bringing in a man who looked like he had been roughed up and was in handcuffs. She looked at Tracie then shifted her eyes in the direction of the officer. Officer Hernandez then leaned over the counter. “So Cassidy, you want to see what we do here as officers.”

Cassidy nod
ded with a little excitement in her eyes.

“What do you say we go on a little tour start
ing with the cafeteria,” Officer Hernandez said as the officer and the hand cuffed man walked past them. Officer Hernandez then came from behind the desk and took Cassidy by the hand. Cassidy looked at her mommy for permission to go with the officer.

Tracie nod
ded with a smile. “It’s okay. I want to know all about your tour.”

“Okay,” Cassidy answered and
then walked away holding the officer’s hand.

“Ms. Allen,” Officer Grayson said walking up to her from behind.

Tracie turned to him.

“Is that your daughter?”
Officer Grayson asked and looking at Officer Hernandez and Cassidy walking down the hall.

“Yes. I didn’t have anyone to keep her. I asked
her if she could keep Cassidy busy while I talk to you.”

“No problem
, you can follow me.”

The
officer led Tracie to the same room as before.

“
Have a seat,” he said and took a seat in front of the tape recorder on the table.

Tracie
took a seat across from the officer. Officer Grayson moved the pad that was also on the table to him.

“Ms. Allen we spoke with Vivian Fowler about what happened to her the night of Halloween and she fingered you as one of the perpetrators.”

“I knew she may have heard my voice,” Tracie said. “But I didn’t touch Ms. Fowler.”

“
We also picked up your boyfriend, Vernon Fowler.”

Tracie interrupt
ed him. “Officer, if you don’t mind, he’s no longer my boyfriend,” she said.

“Okay. We have you
r ex-boyfriend in custody. He has a different tale of why you two were at his sister’s house Halloween night and what happened.”

“
What did he say happened?”

“He claimed that it was your idea to go to her home
. He also claimed that you went there for your last pay check. I need to find out whose telling the truth before we can bring charges against him or possibly the both of you.”

Tracie look
ed a bit horrified. “Officer, he’s lying.”

“Did you receive your last pay check?”

Tracie’s horrified look suddenly turned into anger at Vernon trying to put this on her. “Officer, she doesn’t pay us. We pay her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stylist work independently. We are responsible for paying our own taxes and expenses. We pay the owner booth rent. So if anybody owed someone, it was me and Ms. Fowler told me to keep what I owed for the month. She wanted me to get my things and leave, which I did. Vernon’s lying behind needs to try another lie.” Tracie rolled her eyes away from the officer.

“Despite who owed who, you didn’t ask
your ex-boyfriend to come along? So that maybe he and his sister could patch up some difficulties they were having.”

“No!” Tracie said. She was trying to be strong and
quickly wiped at one eye which threatened to dispense a tear.

“Where were you
, your ex-boyfriend and his two friends planning to go after leaving his sister’s house?”

“
Officer, we didn’t have any plans. I thought they were there to give us a ride home. Vernon didn’t want me to drive my car because he said she might recognize it.”

“
You guys had no plans?” Officer Grayson said.

“No,” Tracie said looking at him then shift
ed her eyes to the tape recorder.

“So you guys didn’t plan to go to a Halloween party afterwards?”

“Halloween party,” Tracie said forgetting they had on costumes. “Officer, no, Vernon didn’t say anything about going to a Halloween party. He made me wear that costume. When I saw what they were about to do, I left. I was scared. I didn’t want to be a part of them stealing her stuff. After I got home he came there and I wouldn’t let him in. He ended up leaving. I don’t know where he went after that. Officer, I’m telling you the truth. I don’t want to go to jail because I went with him to his sister’s house. I am truly innocent. I have been saving my money to get away from Vernon.” The tears Tracie withheld fell. “Can I take a lie detector test?”

“Ms. Allen
, that won’t be necessary. However, I’m going to ask that you stay close to your home. We may need you to come back in for further questioning.”

After leaving the room, Tracie
thanked Officer Hernandez for keeping Cassidy busy. Relieved that she was free to go Tracie grabbed Cassidy by the hand. She pulled her away so fast that Cassidy could barely wave goodbye to Officer Hernandez that was now her friend.

“Grayson,”
Officer Hernandez then called out as he turned to walk away.

“What do you have,” he said.

“The other accomplice, Reggie Morrow, was just picked up.”