Wrongful Accusations - Chapter 8
Almost back to business
By Wednesday, I was at home in my own bed. Even though Cole Slaw and Jerry were taking turns checking on me, I did get some alone time occasionally.
I took advantage of that time by checking my voicemails. Carl was still waiting for a response. He had gone back to Philadelphia but would fly back if I was going to help him. Shannon said that she would be back in town by 10 that evening and would like to see me on Thursday. Ms. Alma was calling to see when she would be able to start work. She said she had waited outside of my office for an hour on Monday and was kind of upset when I didn’t show up.
Aunt Essie said that she had gotten a new job at the public library. She had heard about my accident and wanted to come to see me, she said to call her when I was up to it. Wow. Life really did go on without me. I decided to call my new employee first.
“Who is this?” Oh boy. I was not in the mood for this little girl.
“This is Ms. Johnson, is Ms. Alma home?”
“Yes.”
“May I speak to her please?”
“Yes.”
“Right now.”
“Okay, okay. Granny!!” I had to pull the phone from my ear so I wouldn’t suffer permanent hearing loss.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Ms. Alma, I’m sorry about Monday. I was in an accident over the weekend.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. When will you be going back to work?”
“Probably in another week but I’m going to talk my friend into opening up the office for you this coming Monday.”
“Okay. So will she have the paperwork for me to fill out too? I’m not with that paying under-the-table stuff.”
I laughed,” Neither, am I. I’ve got enough people mad at me; I don’t need to add IRS to the list. “I will make sure that my friend takes care of everything.”
“Okay. Do you need anything? Are you hungry?”
“No ma’am, I’m fine. Talk to you soon.”
I called Cole Slaw to let her know what I needed her to do. She fussed at me for working when I should be resting but she promised to do what I asked.
“I have some information on Abdul Muhammad. His wife, Hinniyah Muhammad, lives in Hickory Hill with their two sons.”
“So they were still married at the time of his death.”
“Well, for the last few years Abdul had an apartment under his alias.”
“Okay, well I have a few more phone calls to return so I’ll talk to you when you get here.”
“Take it easy, Sassy.”
“Stop worrying, I’m fine,” I hung up before Cole could fuss at me anymore.
My next call was to Carl. I promised to start on his case once I was closer to 100%. He thanked me for agreeing to help him.
“You never told me if you forgive me or not?”
“Carl, if I didn’t forgive you, I wouldn’t be helping you find a woman that it seems like you love a lot more than you loved me.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Goodbye, Carl,” I said, ending the call. I wasn’t sure if I liked the new sentimental Carl. But hopefully, I wouldn’t have to deal with him for too long.
I wasn’t ready to see Aunt Essie and didn’t plan to call Shannon until the next morning. My butt was feeling numb so I slowly swung my legs to the side of the bed and reached for my crutches leaning against the wall. I hopped to the bathroom to pay the water bill then I went to the fridge to get a liquid refill. I saw three four-packs of Starbucks Frappuccino and I was nearly brought to tears.
I grabbed one of the four-packs and carried it to the living room in my teeth. After dropping one of my crutches on the floor and placing the Frappuccinos safely on the couch, I eased down into a sitting position. Man, I missed flopping down onto the couch.
iCarly and Sam were blowing up a watermelon when I popped on the TV. I didn’t feel like searching through all of the channels, so I decided to watch the show until it went off. When another episode came on I turned the TV off. That was enough foolishness for one day.
After downing one of my coffee drinks, I hopped over to the front door and opened it. There wasn’t anyone outside. I grabbed my keys, jacket, and one of my crutches and went over to Neil’s apartment. I knocked on his door with my crutch. He peeked out the window as if he didn’t know who it was, and then the small camera disappeared from the window. Smooth.
“Hello, Sassy, I heard about your accident. How are you doing?”
“Good. Can I come in?” I said poking him with my crutch.
“I never thought you would be forcing your way into my apartment. You think you can still take care of business with your leg…”
“Neil. Where were you when I got hit by that van?”
“Well, I was working…”
“Where’s the van now, Neil?”
“The what?”
“Neil, don’t play dumb with me. You know who I am, you knew I would find out it was you.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you that bad. I just wanted you to sit still long enough to talk to me. So you can get to know me. I wanted to get your attention, so I could show you that I was a good guy. And here you are, standing in my living room, actually talking to me.”
“The van, Neil. You won’t be getting my milkshake until you tell me where the van is.”
“What? You mean…”
“I’ve got the best in North Memphis, Neil. All you have to do is tell me where that van is. We have to get it off the streets. The police are looking for it. We need to get rid of it. You’re my neighbor, my friend; I don’t want to see you go to jail.”
“Your friend?”
“Yes, Neil, where’s the van?”
“It’s at my sister’s…”
The police burst through the door with Marcus in front. Neil wet his pants and began yelling about being set up. Too bad that claim wouldn’t stand up in court. I just offered him some of my milkshakes; I was the best chocolate milkshake maker ever. I always added a cap full of vodka, sweet yet spunky. Just like me.
Neil spit in my face as they dragged him out the door. I held back the urge to beat the brakes off of him with my crutch but I had something else on Neil the Neighbor. I wiped my face with my sleeve and picked up the camcorder lying on the chair near the window. I turned it on and pushed play. I saw myself walk to the door, and then I pushed rewind a couple of times and saw several of the female neighbors going and coming from their apartments.
Not being the only person that Neil was watching made me feel good and bad at the same time. I wondered if he had hurt any of the other women. I decided to take comfort in the fact that it would be a long time before he got the opportunity again. I handed the camcorder to one of the guys that were checking the apartment for weapons of mass destruction before heading to the door.
When I walked out of the apartment, Marcus and Cole Slaw were standing there.
“You are so hardheaded,” Cole said, hugging me. I thanked Marcus for coming so soon. I guess it didn’t hurt that I lived around the corner from the Shelby County jail. His cell phone number was programmed in my phone so I pushed the call button as soon as Neil opened the door. Marcus and I had planned the arrest when he and Cole came to see me at the hospital. Cole would have never agreed to it so I had said I was hungry, and just as I had predicted, my sweet, motherly friend went in search of someone to “straighten” about my meal tray.
“Let me know when you’re ready to join the force, you are better than most of the detectives I’ve ever worked with,” Marcus said.
“I think I’ll remain solo, you guys don’t have nearly as much fun as I do.”
“You’re probably right. Be careful,” Marcus said, putting his arm around Cole’s shoulder.
“And go back to sleep,” Cole Slaw said pointing her finger at me.
“Yes, mom,” I said. They watched me until I walked into my apartment and shut the door.
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