On Monday morning, Diane and Charles left the house at the same time. While Charles assumed she was on her way to the high school, she took it for granted that he was going to his office. They were both wrong.
Anthia was asleep in an armchair in the intensive care waiting room of the hospital when Charles arrived. Dexter was standing at the window, staring down at the street several floors below.
“How is he?” Charles asked softly.
Dexter shook his head sadly. “Not much change. He regained consciousness for a few minutes early this morning.” Charles nodded, his anguish undetectable except for his balled fists.
“Do they know yet if he’ll be able to walk?”
“Too soon to tell.”
“It was nice of you to wait with Anthia.”
“She’s good people,” Dexter said quietly. “She certainly didn’t need this kind of pain.”
“Is that what you think? That Jeff brought this on himself?” Anthia asked sleepily, pushing away Dexter’s overcoat, which she’d been using as a blanket. “You think he robbed that man, don’t you?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “If you have so little faith in my son, then why are you here?”
Dexter scowled, running his hand over his close-cut natural. “I never said that.”
“But that’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”
“Hell, I don’t know what to think. Do you?”
Anthia was tired. Her eyes were the loveliest and saddest Dexter had ever seen. Her voice was stiff with formality. “Perhaps you should take yourself right back to that center of yours and leave us the hell alone.”
Charles glanced at his silent friend. He could see the turbulent emotions playing across his strong brown features. He was shocked by what he saw. Dexter was a quiet man, a thoughtful man who shared little of himself with others. He was also devoted to the center and to its aims. He had given up a high-paying job to work for next to nothing to keep the community center operating. He had no family that Charles knew of. But he was a man Charles would’ve trusted with his life. It was evident, at least to Charles, that Dexter had a personal interest in Anthia Jenkins.
“I’m sure Dex didn’t mean what you think,” Charles interjected.
“I don’t want him here!”
Dexter didn’t say a word. He exchanged a look with Charles before he walked out.
“You’re wrong, Anthia. Dex cares about Jeff.”
Anthia sank down onto the chair like a deflating balloon, her eyes brimming with tears. “Do you think my boy is capable of armed robbery?”
“No.”
“Thank you.”
“Come on. Let me buy you some breakfast.”
“I can’t. I want to speak to the doctor. Did you hear that he regained consciousness? It was only for a few minutes, but it’s a start.”
“Yes, I heard. Come on. We’ll ask the nurse to page us in the cafeteria if the doctor comes while we’re gone, okay?”
“Okay.”
Both were troubled by the uniformed officer stationed at Jeff’s door.
It was only after she’d eaten that Charles asked, “What happened, Anthia? Why was Jeff at that store?”
“I don’t know... I just don’t know.”
“When did you see him last?”
“Around three-thirty. I was cleaning up when Jeff left for the center. Until then, he was at home with me all day. We did the grocery shopping and the laundry. The only time we weren’t together was when I stopped in to see our neighbor, Mrs. Turner.”
“Did you two have an argument?”
“No! The only time we argue is when he hangs around with Eddie Walker, a boy from the old neighborhood. But that hasn’t happened lately, not since Jeff has been going to the center. He’s really been working hard in school. He doesn’t give me any trouble at home. He never really did,” Anthia sniffed.
“So everything was cool when he left?”
“Yes. He asked for his allowance a day early. I kinda fussed about that, but it was nothin’ serious. I gave it to him. Why would he rob that store? He has money. He’s received money from Social Security ever since his father was killed. We’ve been putting every penny of that money into the bank for college. What did he need to steal for?”
“I don’t know, but he knows if he needs anything he can come to me.”
Anthia nodded. “I’m grateful, but Jeff doesn’t want your money. What he appreciates is your friendship.”
Charles smiled sadly. “How much money did he have on him?”
“Five dollars.”
“What was his mood?”
“He was excited about the swim meet... sure the community center would win.”
Charles sighed thoughtfully.
“Charles, I know my child. He didn’t hold up anyone!”
“How did he get the gun?”
“How do I know? This has to be some kind of terrible mistake. I’m sure of it.”
Patting her hand, he said reassuringly, “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this mess.”
“You don’t think he...”
“No, I don’t think he robbed that store. I intend to find out the truth.”
Anthia smiled for the first time.
“Are you finished?” he asked, gesturing toward her plate.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I can’t eat anymore.”
“Why don’t we check in with the nurse? After you’ve spoken to the doctor, I’ll run you home.” When she started to protest, he reminded her quietly, “You won’t be any help to Jeff or anyone else if you’re too exhausted to function.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I can’t leave until he’s out of danger.”
“Okay. Anthia, Dexter’s a great guy. He cares about Jeff. And he only wants to help. Why not let him?”
“He thinks Jeff is guilty.”
“Did he say that?”
Anthia hesitated, then admitted, “Not exactly.”
“Give him a chance.”
Anthia nodded, suddenly too tired to argue.
***
“Girl, if you get any bigger, you’re going to burst!” Diane teased, struggling for a calm she was far from feeling.
Heather laughed, caressing her protruding abdomen. “If you weren’t my best friend, I’d smack you for that! Di, I’m so tired of not being able to see my own feet and not being able to stand up by myself. The absolute worst is, I can’t even make love to my own husband,” she complained. “And speaking of husbands, mine is driving me nuts. If these babies don’t come soon, I’m going to murder their father. He calls me every hour on the hour. Honestly! It’s his fault I’m like this anyway!”
Diane giggled. “Oh, really? I was told it takes two.”
“Well... maybe I had a little something to do with it.” Heather blushed.
Both women giggled like the freshmen they’d been back in Hunter Hall on Central State’s campus, where they’d been roommates.
“Excuse me.” Miss Mattie, an elderly friend of the family the Montgomerys had welcomed into their home, knocked softly on the door before entering. “Honey lamb, what can I get for ya? Pillow for your back?”
“Nothing, Miss Mattie, but thanks.”
Diane and Heather shared a smile. The two were seated in the Montgomerys’ family room.
“Honestly,” Heather exclaimed once they were alone. “I’m so sick of being fussed over. Di, I feel like running away from home. Only trouble is, I can’t make it to the front door without help.”
Diane had been trying to maintain the light-hearted mood when she was anything but joyful. She was shaken up by what she’d just learned about her mother. The situation was getting worse. She couldn’t solve this alone. There was only one person who she could tell about this... one person she dared trust with this horrible secret. The trouble was how to go about admitting to her best friend that she’d been lying to her since the day they’d met. Fidgeting, Diane crossed then re-crossed her legs, unable to find a comfortable position.
“Do you mind if I close the door? I need to speak to you privately.”
As Heather shook her head, her shoulder-length ebony braids swung freely. Her normally smooth brow was suddenly wrinkled with concern. “Uh-oh, what happened? Surely you’re not still worried about Charles’s sister? Diane, Eliz is just a bit protective when it comes to her big brother. Give her time. She truly loves him and only wants him to be happy. Eventually, she’ll realize that you two are right for each other. Anyone with an ounce of sense can see how deeply you two love each other.”
“It’s not Eliz,” Diane said, as she returned to her seat across from where Heather was stretched out with her feet propped up on an ottoman. “It’s personal... something I never told anyone. It’s about my past. And quite frankly, I’m having a rough time talking about this.”
“We’ve been friends for over ten years. We lived in the same dormitory room for four years. What could be so personal?” Heather teased, “Honey, I remember when we were both flunking physical science and you batted your pretty brown eyes at the professor while I cried all over the poor man. Somehow, he felt sorry for us and gave us a D rather than the F we deserved.”
Diane laughed in spite of her anxieties, but she quickly sobered, swallowing back the tears. “Do you swear you won’t tell Charles?”
Heather nodded.
“Thank you. I’ve hid so much of my life from Charles... from everyone. If he ever finds out I’ve lied to him, he’ll never forgive me. I might as well kiss my marriage goodbye.”
Heather’s professional training as a counselor warned her that Diane was near the breaking point. Unable to keep the worry out of her voice, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I can do this.” Diane hesitated, close to tears. Finally, she blurted out, “My whole life is a lie.” Heather blinked in surprise, but she didn’t interrupt. “Nothing I’ve told you about myself is true. I’ve been so ashamed of my past that I made up one for myself. I grew up in Chicago, but I didn’t have the normal middle-class childhood I told you about. My mother hasn’t been married four or five times. She doesn’t spend her time looking for a new husband and traveling.”
“There is nothing you can tell me that will change how I feel about you. We’re friends... forever.”
“Thank you.” Diane said nervously. “I probably wouldn’t be telling you this now if my past wasn’t threatening my relationship with Charles. I need your help, Heather. I have to do something before he finds out. I don’t want Charles to know any of this!”
“Charles loves you, Diane. That’s not going to change.”
“Don’t you see, I’m just not willing to take that risk,” she insisted. “I feel like my back is rammed against a brick wall.” She impatiently brushed the tears from her eyes. “Please don’t be angry with me for not telling you before... I couldn’t.” Diane plunged right in before she lost her nerve. She told Heather about growing up in tiny apartments, totally dependent on a mother who wasn’t there for her emotionally because of her own struggle to survive prostitution and addiction. Diane told her about her brother, who’d eventually lost his battle with cystic fibrosis. When she finished, her heart was pounding with dread.
“Diane, I’m sorry.”
Heather was horrified by the unhappiness Diane had faced at such an early age. She hadn’t had a childhood... hadn’t known the love and support that both Heather and Charles had always taken for granted.
“I’m not looking for sympathy. In a strange way, it happened so long ago that it’s almost as if it happened to someone else, not me.”
“I wish you had shared this with me, rather than keeping all of it bottled up inside,” Heather said, although she knew the reason. Diane didn’t trust anyone with her secrets. “How old were you when you left home?”
“Sixteen.”
“But why didn’t you feel as if you could go live with your aunt?” Heather was disturbed not by what she heard, but by the fact that it had happened to her best friend and she’d felt the need to hide this part of herself from those who loved her.
“Aunt Jean’s would be the first place Lillie would have looked for me. The night I left home, I swore I’d never go back.” Diane shivered from the horrible memory. She’d been so afraid but she knew she had to leave. “It has taken me years, but I’ve made a good life for myself, Heather. I’ll be damned if I’ll allow Lillie to interfere with what I have now with Charles. I won’t let her blackmail me, either.”
“Blackmail!”
“Exactly. She’s quite capable of worse, especially when she’s high. I’m sure she’s been drinking heavily again. Although I have no proof that she’s back on drugs, I have to find out. Damn it! It’s enough that she’s ruined her life and Danny’s. Must she destroy mine?” Diane wanted to lash out, but she was very controlled when she said tautly, “I found out this morning when I went by her place that she hasn’t been home for days. I don’t know where she is.”
“Hold it! You’re taking me too fast,” Heather begged. “Your mother isn’t in Chicago?”
“No. Lillie followed me here to Detroit about four years ago, after being in a rehab center. We made an agreement. I would help her with her expenses as long as she remained sober and stayed out of my personal life. She kept up her end of that bargain—that is, until recently.” Diane sank down onto the sofa. “I’ve got to find her before she finds me. She’s capable of anything. This morning I went to try and talk some sense into her.” Her voice was soft with despair when she said, “She knows where I live and where I work. She came to the house on Saturday, wanting money. I was so scared. Charles was right upstairs. He could have come down at any moment.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, no.” Heather’s own eyes filled with tears. “This must be awful for you.”
“Please... help me.”
“How?”
Diane sighed brushing impatiently at her tears. “I need to know who to contact about getting her into a treatment program. I’m willing to pay whatever it costs. I have some money saved. If necessary, I can always put up the condo for sale.”
“I know of a very good treatment center. That’s the easy part. The problem will be, can you get her to go in voluntarily? It’s a live-in facility at first, then later on, it works on an outpatient basis. The problem is do they have room now and do you think you can get her to agree to go for help?”
“She won’t be given a choice. She’ll either go, or I’ll cut her off without a cent,” Diane said firmly. “Once she’s in treatment, she’ll no longer be a threat to me. Thanks, Heather.”
“No need to thank me. We’re friends.”
Diane smiled, overwhelmed with emotion. Heather still cared about her. She hadn’t condemned her, as she’d feared. It was too much to take in all at once.
“Alcoholism isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s a disease and it can be treated.”
“I know all that. But it doesn’t change my situation. My mother is still a threat to my happiness unless I can get help for her.”
“You’re wrong. She’ll always be a threat to you unless you reverse the situation.”
Diane clearly didn’t like the sound of that declaration.
“You have to tell Charles. That’s the only way you can have any peace,” Heather insisted.
“Peace! You’re talking about destroying my marriage. Can you imagine how elated his sister would be if she learned she’d been absolutely right about me? She practically told me to my face that I’m not good enough for her brother. No! Charles won’t learn about this from me!” Diane shouted, close to tears.
“Girlfriend, the truth can’t hurt you. It’s the lies that may destroy your marriage. Think about your husband. His love isn’t of the fair-weather variety. Charles will be devastated if he gains this information from anyone but you.”
Absently twisting her engagement and wedding rings, Diane finally whispered, “I can’t...”
“If you can tell me, you can tell Charles. I haven’t stopped caring about you. Why should he? What happened in the past wasn’t your fault.”
Tears filled her eyes, but Diane refused to let them fall. Now was not the time to give in to weakness. She needed a clear head. Her voice was steady when she said, “I can’t do it. I love him too much. He’ll lose his faith and trust in me. Without those two ingredients there can be no love.” Diane went over to Heather’s chair and knelt down beside her. She took her hands. “Please... I’m begging you. Please, don’t tell him. I need you to be my friend.”
Heather hugged her. “We’ll always be friends, no matter what. That’s why it would be wrong of me not to tell you what I think.” Heather smoothed her hair. “Di, you’ve got to be the one to tell him. And soon.”
***
“Why don’t we go over these figures at another time?” Elizabeth said, after her third attempt to obtain her brother’s attention. “Chuck, what is it? You’ve been in a funk all day. You bit off Ginny’s head for no reason. Keep this up and you’ll be looking for a new secretary.”
Pushing back his chair from the conference table where they’d been working in the corner of his office, Charles began pacing back and forth in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows behind his desk.
“This is about Diane, isn’t it? The honeymoon is over so soon?” Elizabeth could have bitten her own tongue, suddenly realizing she’d spoken her thoughts aloud. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant that.”
Charles sent her a sharp, penetrating look. “Oh, you meant it. You just shouldn’t have said it. And no, my mood has nothing to do with my wife. Diane and I are fine... better than fine. It’s Jeff Jenkins, the kid I sponsor at the community center. He’s lying in Henry Ford Hospital with a bullet in his back.”
“Shot? How?”
“According to the police, by a convenience store owner during an armed robbery.”
“You mean he was trying to rob the store?”
“That’s what the police report says.” Charles had stopped at the police station before going to his office. The officers seem to view it as an open-and-shut case, even though the clerk indicated there’d been two robbers.”
“But you don’t believe it?”
“No. Jeff isn’t a criminal.”
She walked over to her brother and placed a comforting hand on his arm. “How serious is it?”
“Very. Jeff is fighting for his life. He took a bullet in the back as he was leaving the store. The cash register was empty, yet no money was found on Jeff. It’ll be his word against the store owner’s.”
“He had a gun, didn’t he?”
“He was holding one, but it hadn’t been fired.”
“Shot in the back, you say?”
“That’s right,” Charles said tightly. “The life of a black male isn’t worth a dime in this society.”
“Have you spoken to Jeff? What does he have to say?”
“Nothing. He regained consciousness only this morning, and then for just a few minutes. Sis, if he lives... he may never walk again. He’s facing felony charges.”
“We have to help him.”
“I intend to. The problem is how.”
“The most obvious is to find him a lawyer... the best.”
Charles looked at her and then suddenly he grinned. “Thanks, Sis.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey! Where you goin’?”
“Taking your advice. Ask Ginny to cancel my appointments for the rest of the afternoon. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”
Charles’s next stop was downtown Detroit. Charles didn’t have to wait while Quinn’s secretary announced him. Quinn was at his desk, shirt sleeves rolled up, a deli sandwich beside him.
“That’s a good way to get an ulcer,” Charles said, knocking on the open portal.
“Too late—I already have one.” Quinn got to his feet, extending his hand. “What’s up?”
“Trouble.” They shook hands, then Charles dropped into the leather armchair in front of the cluttered desk. He filled the other man in on what had happened. It paid to have friends. Quinn Montgomery was one of the most highly respected black criminal attorneys in the country. In spite of his success, Quinn had come up the hard way. He’d lost a brother to the streets, and he put not only his money but his time into black community-based programs.
Quinn leaned back in his chair, recalling the time when Charles and he were not so friendly. The cause was Heather. Quinn couldn’t stand Charles, viewing the man’s friendship with Heather as a threat to his very personal interest in the beautiful young counselor. Thank heaven that time was behind them. Heather was on leave until after their babies were born. And his daughter, Cynthia, was close to finishing high school with honors.
“Will you take the case?”
“Of course. Whatever the kid did, he didn’t deserve to be shot down like a dog.”
Charles slowly released the breath he’d been holding. “Where do we start?” There wasn’t a discussion of fee. There’d be none.
“With the police. I have a few friends in the department. I’ll see what I can find out. We need to know what was on the surveillance camera.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“That’s what you have me for. The problem is, who was with him?”
“Good question. How can I help?”
“As soon as you can, see what you can find out from Jeff,” Quinn said, reaching for his suit jacket.
Charles nodded, getting to his feet. He’d come to Quinn seeking legal advice. When, or rather if, Jeff was released from the hospital, he was going to need all the help he could get. Charles planned on giving Anthia and Jeff both financial and emotional support.