Wrongful Accusations - Chapter 13
Got Her
A flight attendant and a maid, Mrs. Muhammad was a very busy woman. Two men, two jobs, two cities, and two kids. I wondered what kind of vitamins she took. Before I asked Carl to let me use the bathroom so I could check the medicine cabinet, Peaches walked into the house. I thought she was going to have a coronary when she saw me standing in her living room.
“Hello, Peaches, it’s so nice to meet you,” I said, walking over to her and holding my hand out to shake hers.
“Hello, Sassy, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, shaking my hand, and squeezing it like a vice grip. I continued to smile at her even though I wanted to scream bloody murder.
“Good things I hope.”
“Yes, of course,” Carl said, coming over and putting his arm around both of us. “Would you ladies like something to eat? Peaches is a great cook.”
“No thank you but can we have something to drink?”
“Yes, you can,” Peaches said heading to the kitchen.
I gave Cole Slaw a look and she followed Peaches offering to help. I didn’t want the sneaky lady to disappear out the back door.
“She’s nice, Carl, I like her.”
“I’m glad you like her, she’s great for me. She reminds me a little of you, she keeps me straight.”
“Good to hear, where’s your bathroom?”
“Up the stairs and soon as you get to the top, it’s the first door you see.”
“Thanks.”
I hopped up the stairs two at a time. As soon as I got into the bathroom, I called the police. It was time to let them take over; I had done all of the hard work.
I flushed, ran water into the sink for a minute, and made my way back down the stairs.
Peaches, Cole Slaw, and Carl were drinking tea in the living room. I sat down in the chair facing the happy couple. When I took a sip, I noticed that the tea was of the Long Island persuasion, and I smiled.
“What brings you girls to Philadelphia?” Peaches asked.
“Oh, we wanted to come up here and check on you guys and make sure everything was all right. I know how upset Carl had been when he didn’t know where you were. Did you guys fight before you took off?”
“Just a small disagreement, I have a terrible temper. I just overreacted but we’re fine now.”
“That’s good to hear.”
We sat and exchanged small talk until there was a knock at the door. From the look on Peaches’ face, I’m sure she felt she had had her fair share of unexpected guests. When she opened the door and saw the police standing there, she turned as if she wanted to make a run for it. My girl, Cole Slaw, made it to her before the police stepped in.
“You,” Peaches said, shooting missiles at me with her eyes. “You think you are so smart.”
“What’s going on?” Carl asked. “Why are you taking my wife away?”
“Mrs. Muhammad is a suspect in her other husband’s murder back in Memphis,” one of the officers volunteered.
We watched as they walked Mrs. Muhammad out and put her in the back of the police car. I turned around and Carl was staring at me.
“What just happened here?”
“Do you want the long version or the short version?”
“Make it quick and if I don’t like what I hear you can give me the long version.”
“Well, I was hired by a woman named Shannon Heard, back in Memphis, who was accused of murdering the father of her young daughter. She is innocent and needs my help to find the real killer. Turns out that her housekeeper, who also happened to be the wife of the man they thought she killed, was the same person. I didn’t know that she was also your wife until I talked to her on the phone the other day.”
“Damn,” Carl said, dropping to the couch.
“I’m sorry, Carl. I wish I could make this all better for you.”
“What’s going to happen to the boys?”
“They will eventually be put in foster care unless a family member comes forward.”
“Do you think I could get custody of them?”
“Do you want to do that?”
“Yeah, I mean, I care about those kids. I always wanted a son, two would be even better.”
I just looked at Carl. There was nothing I could say behind that. I hugged him and wished him luck. Cole Slaw shook his hand before we left Carl with his thoughts.
“Girl, this is some crazy stuff. I’ve had my share of unusual cases, but never anything like this,” Cole said as she pulled away from the curb.
“It is something else, isn’t it? I guess I better call Shannon and give her the good news.”
Shannon answered on the first ring, “What happened? Did you find her? Is she in jail?”
“Hello, Shannon, how are you?”
“Oh, hello. I’m sorry, Sassy; I’m just a little excited. So what happened?”
“Well, she is in jail. I guess we’ll find out soon enough whether Mrs. Muhammad really killed her husband.”
“My daughter’s father,” Shannon whispered.
“Yes, I’m sorry. How is she anyway?”
“Nedra’s fine. She misses her dad but she’s doing okay.”
“That’s good. I guess you’ve got some more interesting things to add to your blog huh?”
Shannon perked up instantly, “Oh yes, I’m going to write a book too once this is all over with.”
“Okay, well, we’re almost there. I’ll see you when I get back,” I said, ending the call.
Cole Slaw and I rode in silence for a few moments. I was starving and the growl from Cole’s stomach said that she agreed with me. I had a taste for Applebee’s and the only one I knew of was on Roosevelt Ave, so we turned the car around and headed in that direction.
The traffic was just as terrible as expected.
Cole Slaw cursed more in that 15-minute ride than she had in all the time I had known her. I didn’t say, “I told you,” although I thought it in between saying verses from the Lord’s Prayer over and over again.
We finally made it to Applebee’s without suffering a head-on collision or whiplash. The hostess seated us in a booth near the front of the restaurant. We ordered sweet teas and chicken fajitas.
“Girl, I’m never coming to Philadelphia again. But if I do, I ain’t driving.”
I laughed at Cole Slaw, “See, I told you,” I said in a sing-songy voice. I just couldn’t resist.
The food was good but those fajitas were nothing like my aunt’s. Hers was the bomb.
“So, are you still looking for a partner?”
“What?” I asked, whipping my mouth.
“A partner. You still want me to be your partner?”
“Hell yeah. You have the instincts and the smarts. You’re probably the only person that can put up with me.”
“Good. What’s my pay?”
“Twice your current salary.”
“That’s…wow. If I had known I would be rolling in dough like that, I would have come to work with you months ago.”
“You know being a PI is a little different than being a bond enforcer, right?”
“Yeah, I can handle it. I’m the shiznit.”
“Shiznit?” I laughed. “I like that.”
My new partner made it back to the hotel and we packed our bags for the next morning’s flight.
Aunt Essie was waiting for us when we got back to Memphis. She said that Jerry had called her because something had come up at work. Aunt Essie looked very happy, and I guessed that she was glad that her last day, at the library, was nearing.
“Hello, darling,” Aunt Essie said, hugging me and then Cole Slaw. “You girls must tell me all about your adventure.”
We told Auntie about everything and she seemed very excited about it. It was strange hearing her take an interest in my work. She used to always say that I was wasting my talents on such a dangerous job. I’m not sure what she thought I wanted to do when I told her I wanted to major in criminal justice when I went to college. Maybe she had hopes of me being a lawyer or judge but that wasn’t my thing. Based on how she was looking as Cole and I relayed the events, Prissy Aunt Essie seemed to be enjoying the danger of my job.
“Aunt Essie, you never took an interest in my work before, what’s going on?”
“Remember when we discussed my writing a book? Well since my life has been extremely boring I figured I could learn from other people’s experiences and write my own interpretations.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Cole Slaw said.
I wondered if writing a book was the new trend. First Shannon, now Aunt Essie, who would be next, my mother? I had no interest in writing unless I had to. Why would anyone want to do that for a living? I would be bored out of my mind.
Aunt Essie waited until I had gotten up the stairs and into my apartment before she and Cole Slaw drove off. I was exhausted so I went straight to the bedroom and got in bed. I didn’t even bother taking my clothes off.
Jerry would be there to help me undress later.
I was buck-naked with nothing but my cast on when I woke up. Jerry was lying next to me sleeping just as soundly as I had been. I lifted the covers and contemplated taking a ride on the pony but I decided to give my sweetheart a few more hours of shut-eye before I climbed on. Even with a cast on, this girl had skills.
If you missed the other chapters, click this link.