Wrongful Accusations - Chapter 3 part 1
A talk with the boyfriend
I beat my alarm the next morning. It was time for me to get started on figuring out who killed Joshua Bendele and why. When I made it to my office, I placed a call to Pearce Clayton. I was prepared to leave a voicemail, so I was surprised when Pearce answered on the third ring.
“Hello, Ms. Sassy, how are you this morning?”
“I’m fine. When would be a good time for us to get together so I can get your thoughts on what happened to the victim?”
“Any time today is fine. I won’t hit the road until tomorrow night.”
“Are you going on vacation?”
“I wish, no I’m a truck driver and I have to drop off a load in North Carolina. So what time would you like for me to come?”
“In the next hour it will be fine.”
“See you then.”
It looked like Pearce talked a lot more when Shannon wasn't around. I wondered if that was by choice or if she forced him to just listen to her chatter all the time.
Fifteen minutes later, I heard a knock at the door. Pearce’s former football player physique populated the security camera. I buzzed him in then he shook my hand before he took a seat.
“Hello, again, Pearce. The sooner we get started the sooner we both can go find something better to do. Where were you the night Mr. Bendele’s body was found?”
“I was in San Antonio, TX. I got a call from Mallory, Shannon’s friend, telling me that my sweetie had gotten arrested. I was hoping she hadn’t slapped someone at work the way she’s always threatening to do.”
Interesting. Shannon was not only dingy, but she had anger management issues as well. “Did Mallory tell you right away why Shannon was arrested?”
“Yes, and as soon as she told me she began to cry. I thanked her for calling me and told her to try to be strong for Shannon until I got there. I wasn’t able to get back to Memphis until two days after the call.”
“How long have you known Shannon?”
“Our families lived across the street from each other when we were growing up. I always had a crush on Shannon, but she never took me seriously until we graduated from high school. Even then we were only friends. Shannon didn’t take a romantic interest in me until her daughter, Nedra, had turned two. She and Joshua had broken up by then. I guess you could say I was her rebound,” Pearce said smiling sheepishly.
Unbelievable. I had heard about guys like that before, but I had never seen one in real life. “How well did you know Mr. Bendele?” I watched Pearce closely to gauge his response.
“I just knew him in passing. We never really had a conversation. I said hello when he came over and goodbye when he left. I never felt comfortable around the guy?”
“Why was that? Did he seem resentful of you being with his baby’s momma?”
“No, I don’t think he paid much attention to me, I just didn’t like how he talked to Shannon. It took everything in me not to knock him on his ass... Excuse me, Sassy, that guy just does—did something to me.” I was right; I think he did love Shannon enough to do anything to protect her. I had to check with his employer to see if he really was in San Antonio when Joshua was murdered.
“I’m a woman of my word, so that’s about all I need for right now. Thanks for stopping by, Pearce,” I said, shaking his hand. “Keep in touch.”
It wasn’t even 8 am and I already wanted to go back home and hibernate. I was exhausted from the previous night’s workout. That doggone Jerry. If I wasn’t afraid of commitment I would have married that stallion years ago.
My next call was to Mallory Ayers. She and Shannon both worked for the Internal Revenue Service. I hoped that she had a little more upstairs than her friend.
“Internal Revenue Service, Mallory Ayers, how may I direct your call?”
“Ms. Ayers, this is Sassy Johnson. I’m the private investigator that your friend Shannon hired. I was just calling to make an appointment to meet with you.”
“Hello, Ms. Johnson. I was expecting your call, but unfortunately, I have several meetings today that I must attend. Would it be all right if we get together tomorrow around 4 pm?”
“That’s perfect, Ms. Ayers. I’ll see you then.”
After getting off the phone I checked my email. As I looked down the list of senders one name jumped out at me—Carl Johnson. Dang!!!
I had the misfortune of marrying right out of high school. Carl was a guy that I didn’t like when I first met him but after a while, he grew on me. Pregnancy landed us in front of the altar, but a miscarriage 4 months later had me mailing my belongings from Philadelphia back to Memphis one piece at a time. Who knew that cockeyed Carl would turn out to be an amateur boxer who liked to practice his moves on his wife’s face?
My mouse’s arrow lingered over delete but then I decided I would see what Cockeyed had to say.
Dear Sandra,
I know I’m the last person you wanted to hear from, but you were on my mind, and I figured it would be good to get in touch with you. I’ll be in town next week if you want to go somewhere and get something to eat.
Hope to see you,
Carl
I couldn’t click delete quickly enough. The old dude had to be smoking onions if he thought I wanted to see him after the way he treated me.
I continued to scan the various items in my inbox, junk mail mostly, Facebook notifications, and Twitter/X follower updates. There was a birthday party invitation from my younger twin sisters, Harmonye and Melodye, at some club called Level Two in East Memphis. I didn’t plan to go but I made a note on my calendar to send them a present. They were the youngest of my six siblings and the ones I got along with the best even though we had three other sisters and a brother. They were my favorites because they were both smart and on their way to college despite the environment that they had grown up in.
My mother wasn’t the best example with her 7 kids by 5 different daddies. I am the third of the bunch and often wondered why I was the one that she chose to get rid of but I guess I should be happy. Besides the twins, all of my sisters have three or more kids with various baby daddies that fight over who gets to spend the night when the first of the month rolls around. My brother David didn't have any. Being that he's now Darnesha, I’m not even sure if he even wants to adopt a kid.