“How did this happen, Sid?”
Simon sat at his patio table, staring out into his backyard. Beside him, the sweetest, most caring woman in the world rubbed his back while his sister sat in the chair across from him.
How could this be happening? Now, when things were finally falling into place with his love life, he gets accused of killing the woman he fought so hard to forget. What the hell kind of irony was that?
“Mama fought so hard to keep us, me especially, out of police cars and jail cells. ‘You are going to study hard, Simon. You will not be a gangbanger. You will be somebody!’”
He shook his head remembering one of their mother’s many lectures to him.
“I did everything right, Sid.” He looked at his sister. “I studied. I went to the Air Force Academy. I worked my ass off becoming a doctor; fighting for my country. And somehow I still end up facing life behind bars? Possibly becoming just another statistic? Just another Black man in prison? For something I did not do!”
He fought to keep the emotion out of his voice, but it was impossible. In a very real sense, his life was on the line. How could he not dwell on it? How could he not be overly emotional?
Jamie’s hand slid across his back. “Simon.”
It was a whisper. A soft expression of concern. Simon took her free hand and held on for strength.
“You’re not going to end up a statistic, Simon. Isaac is out there right now working to find evidence to prove you didn’t do this.” Sidney’s tone exuded confidence. Simon hoped like hell that there was evidence for Ike to find.
“Yeah, plus what was it that Isaac said last night?” Jamie asked.
“What?” Simon glanced at her.
“Remember? He said that the attorney… what’s his name?”
“Preston Anthony.”
“Yes. He said Preston told him that that cops have nothing on you. Like, literally nothing.”
“That’s right.” Sidney pointed at Jamie. “He said the only reason they’re concentrating on you right now is because they have no one else. So even though they’re digging into you, there’s nothing to tie you to it.”
“And you have a solid alibi, baby. Don’t forget that.” Jamie smiled at him. “We were together constantly, from the moment we woke up that day straight through to when we saw the news report about her death.”
A small spark of hope ignited in Simon’s chest, filling his lungs with air and his head with a much needed infusion of clarity.
He squeezed Jamie’s hand and looked back and forth between them. “You two together are an unstoppable cheerleading team.”
Both women grinned at him, and each other.
“Okay. No more moping today.” Simon pulled together his determination and fight. “Preston is coming by at some point. I’m not sure what time, but he wanted to have a strategy session. I did get a text from him a little while ago that said so far the detectives haven’t contacted him about questioning me again. I guess that’s good.”
“Would they contact him first?” Sidney asked. “As opposed to just picking you up?”
Simon nodded. “They’re supposed to. They know Preston has directed me not to speak to them again without him being present, so it would be a waste of their time to pick me up first.”
He was about to say more when they heard the doorbell sound from inside.
Fresh dread hit his stomach like a sledgehammer.
What now?
“I’ll get it,” Sidney offered.
“No, it’s all right. I’ll get it.” He stood and headed inside to the front door while the two women stayed on the back patio.
At the door, Simon drew in a deep breath and his hand wrapped around the knob. When he swung it open, his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach, flattened like a pancake.
He stared into the eyes of his former commanding officer, General John Hinton.
Cassie’s husband.
“John.”
His voice was barely more than a tortured whisper. Then training kicked in and he snapped to a salute.
“General.”
“At ease, soldier. We’re not at work here.”
John’s tone was abrasive. His expression was stone. But Simon could easily see the pain in his friend’s eyes as he stepped into the living room.
Simon relaxed his stance. “I am so sorry for your loss, John.”
“Are you?”
What a strange response. Was he for real?
“How can you ask me that? You know that I didn’t wish either of you any ill will. I love you both.”
“Yes. There was a time when I loved you like a brother.” John’s lips turned up at the corners, but Simon couldn’t call it a smile. “But those days are long over, aren’t they?”
Simon stared at him, lost. “John, I don’t understand where all this hostility is coming from. When I left Japan, you and I were good. I thought we still were.”
“When you left Japan, I thought your affair with my wife was finally over!”
All the air left Simon’s lungs. They’d never spoken about the affair directly before.
“Surely you are not dumb enough to think that I didn’t know.”
“No, I’m not,” Simon managed, finally collecting himself. “And it was over. It still is.”
“Right.” John nodded. “Is that why she made a beeline here to Ohio after she told me she was going to New York to visit her family?” He laughed. An angry sound. “How could I have been so stupid? I knew she would end up here with you.”
Frustration boiled in Simon’s gut. The same frustration at not being listened to that he’d experienced yesterday at the police station.
“She wasn’t here with me!”
He hadn’t meant to yell, but that frustration boiled over.
“I don’t know what she told you, John, but I had not seen or spoken to Cassie since before I left Japan. We had not talked. We had not texted. We had not written letters. We had no plans to meet up. I took off work this entire week so that I could entertain my girlfriend, Jamie.”
“Jamie?”
“Yes.”
From behind him, Jamie and Sidney stepped through the patio doors into the living room.
“Did you call me, babe?”
Simon held out his hand to her. Jamie came to him and took his hand. Simon turned back to John, staring him in the eyes.
“This is my girlfriend, Jamie Rooney. The woman I have been in love with for the last four months.”
John looked stricken. “Oh.”
He stared at Jamie with the strangest expression on his face that Simon couldn’t figure out.
“I told Cassie all about Jamie when she showed up here the morning of the day she died. She wasn’t happy about it, but she accepted it and she left. That was the first and only time I had seen or spoken to her in over a year.”
John stood speechless, staring at Jamie in the most peculiar way. It was like he couldn’t believe there was a new woman in Simon’s life.
“My affair with Cassie was long over. I did not kill her. And yes, I am so very sorry for your loss.”
John quietly cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. He seemed lost somehow, unable to find himself, and Simon had no clue how to help him.
“Well, I… I don’t quite know what to believe now. How could I…”
His words trailed off and he said nothing else. He wouldn’t even look Simon in the eyes anymore.
“I’m sorry, Simon.” The words were breathy and hollow. “It seems I made the wrong assumption when Cassie came here.”
Simon shook his head. “It’s understandable.”
“I should go.”
He turned without another word and headed out the door.
“No, John, wait!”
Isaac got out of his car in front of Simon’s place and hurried up the front walk. He was eager to share what he’d discovered with the others.
His escort from the morgue, Officer Torres, got out of his cruiser and followed after him.
As they approached Simon’s front porch, an older white man in Air Force fatigues came barreling out of the front door.
A grenade went off in Isaac’s stomach at the collision.
He clenched up from the pain.
Stalking.
Tears streamed down Cassie’s face as she was strangled.
“Oh! I’m so sorry. Please, excuse me.”
The man continued on his way, hurrying down the walkway to his car.
Isaac stared after him, totally distracted, and climbed the porch steps to enter the house.
“Who the hell was that?”
“That was General John Hinton. Cassie’s husband,” Simon said, staring at the cop behind Isaac.
“Ike, I’m glad you’re back.” Sidney stepped into his arms.
Simon pointed a finger at Officer Torres. “What is this guy doing here?”
“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s my escort. Long story.” Isaac shot a dismissive glance Torres’ way. “The important thing is that man who just bumped into me as he tore out of here.”
“What about him?” Simon asked.
“He’s the killer.”
Simon looked like Isaac had reached out and slapped his face. “What?”
“Um, no, Detective Taylor. That’s not possible,” Torres said. “I heard the detectives on this case say that General Hinton just flew in from Okinawa, Japan early this morning. He wasn’t even in the country when his wife was killed.”
“Well, unless he has an identical twin, I’m telling you both that he’s the man I saw murder Cassandra Hinton when I touched her less than an hour ago. He kissed her lips as his hands tightened around her throat.”
Isaac thought back on that flash again.
“And now I realize where I’ve seen him before.”
“Seen him before?” Simon asked, sounding horrified.
“Yes. During that flash I was certain of it. And now I know why.” He looked Simon in the eyes. “It’s because I saw him in a flash once before. The first time I shook hands with you. Remember? I saw that you were having an affair with Hinton’s wife.”
“I’ll be damned.” It was a mumble from Simon that Isaac wasn’t sure anyone else was supposed to hear.
“You’re sure about this Detective Taylor?” Torres sounded skeptical.
“Completely.”
“Ok, I’m going to go back to the station and speak with the detectives on this case,” Torres offered. “Maybe I can get them to look into General Hinton’s travel itinerary.”
“If they won’t, I will.” Isaac heard the threat in his own voice. He didn’t even try to hide it.
“Just stay put, okay?” Torres held up a hand. “We don’t need you getting into any more trouble with the DPD.”
Isaac smiled, but he refused to make that promise. “Just make sure you don’t mention any alleged psychic abilities. Most cops tend to laugh in the face of anyone spouting off about that kind of thing. I’d hate to ruin your good reputation.”
Torres laughed and left the house.
“New friend of yours?” Sidney asked, sounding amused.
“Something like that.”
“Mmm. He saved you from getting into trouble?”
“Well, actually, it was Lt. Hayes and Special Agent Fox who did that. Officer Torres just happened to get caught in the crossfire.”
“Poor thing. So tell us what happened.”
“Yes, please.” Simon sounded like a lost soul. Adrift on the swiftly shifting currents of this case.
They all sat down and Isaac took them through his adventures at the crime scene and then at the morgue.
About three hours later, the four of them were still sitting around the living room when the doorbell rang once more. Isaac felt the tension ramp up several notches. The sense of dread was oppressive.
“I’ll get it.” He stood and went to the door. A much needed sense of relief sliced through the thick doom when he saw his friend. “Preston. Come on in.”
Everyone got up and gathered around when Preston Anthony stepped inside.
“Please tell me you have some good news,” Simon urged.
Preston glanced around at all of them and then looked Simon in the eyes.
“I’m here to inform you that you, Simon, you are no longer a person of interest in the murder of Cassandra Hinton. The detectives checked into the General’s flight information based on whatever you told that officer, Ike. It turns out Hinton followed his wife to New York, and then here to Ohio. According to cellphone pings and street cams, he’s been stateside for several days, stalking her.”
“I can’t believe this.” Simon sounded like he was in total shock.
“He’s in custody now. He turned himself in, and I understand he’s made a full confession.”
A palpable sense of freedom permeated the room. Joy followed, lighting up everything in its wake.
Simon took Jamie in his arms and kissed her.
Tears sprang to Sidney’s eyes.
Isaac fist bumped the air.
“Preston thank you so much!” Simon gushed.
Isaac pulled a cotton glove from his pocket and slipped it onto his right hand. Then he reached out and shook Preston’s hand.
“Preston, I owe you one, man.”
“I literally did two hours of work, Ike. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still on the hook for the favor I owe you.”
“Well then let’s just call it even. How about that?”
“That works.” Preston looked around at all of them, smiling. “You’ve got a great family, Ike.”
“Yes, I do. Thanks for helping me keep them safe.”
“You should treat them all to a nice dinner out. I’ll see you back in Cleveland, buddy.”
“Thanks again, Preston.”
When he was gone, Isaac returned the glove to his pocket and took Sidney into his arms, her back to his front, and hugged her tight. “Well, you all heard the man. How about dinner out, on me?”
“On us,” Sidney corrected, and Isaac kissed the top of her head.
Simon shook his head, his expression going from relief, to remorse. He stood with his hands on his hips, and Isaac could tell his brother-in-law was fighting a losing battle with his emotions. A tear hit his cheek, and he wiped it away before glancing at Jamie, and then at him and Sid.
“Did um…” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat and tried again. “Did I do this? Was I the cause of John killing her? Is Cassie dead because of me?”
Those questions brought the joy and release of the past several minutes crashing down like a demolished building.
“No.”
Jamie’s voice was the most forceful Isaac had ever heard it. She planted herself in front of Simon and took his face in both of her hands.
“Listen to me. You did not make that man follow his wife halfway around the world. You did not make him stalk her, and you damn sure did not make him strangle her and throw her dead body into the river.”
“But I did have a two-year affair with her.”
“Yes, you did. An affair that you ended over a year ago,” Jamie continued. “You have no idea what’s gone on between them in that year, Simon. You had no contact with either of them in that time. Your involvement was done. Over. Whatever happened after that is not on you.”
“Jamie’s right, Simon.” Isaac studied his brother-in-law. “You can’t think that way. As someone who’s also been tortured by the thought of innocent blood on his hands, I know what I’m talking about, okay?”
That got Simon’s attention and he looked Isaac in the eyes.
“We can only be responsible for what we do in this life,” Isaac continued, staring at Simon. “Our own actions. And yeah, you may have been at the center of some marital strife between the Hintons. But I’m betting you were more of a symptom than the actual cause. Otherwise she never would’ve looked your way in the first place. And nothing you did forced your friend to follow his wife like a creepy stalker and violently end her life. This is not on you. You hear me?”
Simon nodded, and he wiped another stray tear. He turned to Jamie with a manly sniff and took her into his arms, holding her tight.
In Isaac’s arms, Sidney looked up at him. “Thank you, baby,” she whispered.
Isaac kissed her lips. Then he lifted his voice. “Okay, dinner on me. Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”