Chapter Twenty-four
Angel had said something to Wes that he couldn’t recall ever hearing from a woman. Pray for me. All the anxiety he felt about her going to see her father and what could happen faded away as he prayed for Angel. He prayed for her safety and for her visit to be the first step toward her having a relationship with one of her parents. He was reminded of that one brief moment during the wedding when they looked at each other.
Was it just him, or did Angel feel something too? He was not a believer in love at first sight. Then again, ever since she showed up at the house to see Pops, Wes felt compelled to help Angel find closure about her mother.
Wes drove by himself today, instead of bringing Rick. He had something he wanted to do, and he didn’t want to be obvious by driving the news station vehicle or bringing a cameraman. So he parked his personal car in a parking space about five houses down from the Stowes’ home. With Melanie being gone for about two weeks now, the media attention around the house had subsided. He had gathered interviews with members of the search team, noting that some of them had also wondered why more of Melanie’s family wasn’t represented. Wes had decided to talk to Melanie’s stepmother, which he hadn’t done since Serena passed the assignment to him.
He rang the doorbell and waited. Finally, the door was opened. Wes looked down to see a young child looking back at him. He bent down and said hello to the little girl. She was a miniature, but chubbier version of Melanie. The girl was holding a purple Popsicle in her hand, and the juice had run down her arm, staining the front of her dingy white T-shirt.
“Get away from the door. I told you not to answer that door,” a woman shrieked from the back. Snatching the child out of the doorway, the woman, whose hair was braided, looked at Wes. Her tiny braids were pulled back from her face to show weary, red-brimmed eyes. “What do you want? I don’t want any more reporters here. Stay away from me and my children.” The woman started to close the door.
Wes held his hand out and shouted, “Wait! I just want to know how you are doing.”
She held the door open a crack and said, “What do you care?”
Wes kept talking. “It must be hard to feel like a prisoner in your own house. Do you need anything? Are the kids okay?”
“We’re fine.”
“I know the search team is exhausted. You have a lot of good people working to find Melanie. Do you want to share anything about your stepdaughter?”
The woman pulled the door open wider. Finally, she sighed deeply. “Come in. You have five minutes.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She shoved her finger at him. “I’m just letting you in because I’ve seen you on TV. You seem okay.”
Wes smiled, thankful for being a familiar face. As he stepped inside, Wes was sure his eyes grew wide. There were toys everywhere. He gingerly stepped around Legos, toy cars, and dolls. Two children were asleep on one couch, while the child who had answered the door had plopped down cross-legged in front of the television.
The woman kept walking as Wes weaved his way behind her to a dining area off the living room. The dining room table seated six but didn’t seem to be a place for eating, as a sewing machine, thread, yarn, and piles of children’s clothes covered the top. Gladys sat down in a chair that had already been pulled away from the table. Wes pulled out the chair adjacent to where Gladys sat. He realized she probably had been sitting at the table when he arrived. She picked up a child’s pair of pants and absently folded them, placing them on a neat stack of clothes in front of her.
A question crossed Wes’s mind. Why would Melanie move back here? He hadn’t seen any other parts of the house, but how would the twenty-one-year-old fit in this house physically and mentally? He couldn’t tell Mrs. Stowe’s age but was sure she was younger than she appeared.
“Mrs. Stowe, is it all right if I call you Gladys?” Wes interpreted the slight movement of her head as a nod. “Gladys, I know this must be a rough time for you, so I won’t hold you long.”
“Would you like some water?” she asked him.
“No, I’m fine.” Wes looked over at the shelves. There were family photos. “Did Melanie stay here before she disappeared?”
“She stayed here for a while. She had found another apartment, but she still hadn’t moved all her stuff out yet.”
“Do you know what happened to the other apartment?”
The woman shook her head. “I have no idea. Look, I loved the girl like she was my own. After her father went to prison, I made sure she was cared for and she graduated. This was her home.”
“That was admirable of you. Where is Mr. Stowe these days? I heard he had been released.”
Gladys rolled her eyes. “Who knows? I certainly don’t, and most days I don’t care. He wasn’t much help, other than making babies.”
Wes decided to change the subject. “How did you feel about Melanie being on American Voices?”
“I was proud of her. She should have won. First time I met her, she was singing. She was a singing little girl.” Gladys fiddled with the clothes on the table. “She’d been through a lot. Losing her mother when she was young. I tried to make it work, but her father was a different story.”
“Have you seen him?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why? He in some kind of trouble?”
Wes tried to keep the emotions from his face. Why would she ask that question? “Not that I know of. I just was wondering why he wasn’t on the news. If I was a father, I would be talking to reporters and staying in the public’s eye.”
Gladys looked away. “I knew when I married Larry that he was something special. It wasn’t until he managed to get caught with the drugs that I knew he was special in the head. All these kids and he cared more about himself. I wouldn’t let him move back in here when he got out. The kids don’t know him. I couldn’t tell you if he is even aware Melanie is missing, especially if he’s been drinking.”
“Where would he go if he is still in town?” Wes hated to ask so many questions, but he wanted the opportunity to locate Larry Stowe.
Gladys said, “He was living in a run-down place, working odd jobs, but he didn’t keep the place that long. I know a few places you can look. Good luck finding him. I sure could use the child support.”
An hour later, Wes opened the door to Charlie’s Place. He personally was not a drinker, but as soon as Gladys mentioned the place, he knew where it was located. It was perfect because it would give him a chance to meet with Albert Langley, better known as Big Al. Big Al was destined to be a linebacker in the NFL, but an injury and falling on hard times had left him hanging out on the streets, and most of the time he could be found at Charlie’s Place.
The bartender was wiping down the bar counter. Wes waved. “Hey, have you seen Big Al today?”
The bartender nodded. “He’s in the back, playing pool, or trying to.”
“Thanks, man.” Wes headed toward the back. It wasn’t quite happy hour yet, so the pool area was not terribly smoky, although the remnants of cigarette and cigar ash clung to the walls. It didn’t take Wes long to spot Big Al since it was only him and three others in the room. Big Al lived up to his name. He appeared almost as broad as he was tall now, thanks to pounds of flesh versus the muscle that once was there.
Wes walked up behind him and said, “What’s up, Big Al?”
The man turned around, his face menacing. The first time Wes met him, his first instinct was to run, but the more Wes talked to him, the more he realized the man was just a big teddy bear. Bouncer material he was not.
A big toothless grin broke across Big Al’s face. “Wes Cade. How you doing, man?” He placed the pool stick on the table and picked up a mug. He gulped down the liquid before turning back to Wes. “I haven’t seen you in some time, Mr. Reporter. What you need?”
“It’s good to see you too. You doing well?”
“I survive. Tony up there lets me clean up the place for him. Not bad work, I would say.”
Wes laughed. “Yeah, I guess, if you get to play pool. You know, I can still look into some other offers for you.”
“Naw, I’m good. What can I do for you today?”
“Well, I was hoping you would be on the lookout for someone.”
“That don’t sound too hard.”
Wes grinned. “Good.” He pulled a photo out of his shirt pocket. “I’m looking for the guy in the photo.” He didn’t know if it was his charm or if Gladys really wanted her husband found, but she’d given him a photo of Larry. At first glance it had seemed dated, like it had been taken in the eighties. However, when Wes examined the date on the back, he realized it wasn’t from quite that far back.
Big Al took the photo and squinted. “Mmm, seems like I’ve seen him before.” Then Big Al laughed so hard, his belly shook. “Man, this cat look like he could be a member of Run DMC. I used to have a Kangol hat like this.”
That was exactly what Wes thought. “Yeah, I agree. Do you think you have seen him lately?”
Big Al scrunched up his face. “It seems so. Maybe not in the last few days. But he has been in here.”
“This is good to know. I heard he might hang out here. If you do see him, here is my card again.” Wes handed Big Al one of his business cards. “My cell number is on there, so call me anytime.”
“You got it, man!”
Wes drove back to the station. As he walked in, Lillian, one of the writers, came up to him. “Hey, Wes, you have someone waiting for you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“It’s a woman.” Lillian winked. “That bachelor article might make you a married man one day.”
“Wow, lucky me.” He grinned at Lillian, who grinned back at him.
He rounded the corner to find Angel sitting in the lobby. “Hey, Angel. Have you been waiting long?” As Wes drew closer, he couldn’t read her eyes. “How did things go with your dad? I hope I’m not in trouble.”
She stared at him and then laughed. “Is there some place we can talk?”
Laughing was a good sign, he hoped. Curious, he responded, “Sure. We can talk inside the conference room.”
When they entered the conference room, Angel jumped right in by asking a question. “Do you know something that I should know?”
“No. I—I . . .” Wes stuttered.
“Did you go to see my father?”
“I have never met the man. Look, why don’t we sit down and you tell me what happened?”
Angel placed her bag on the table and sat. “I’m sorry. The visit went better than I expected. I’m still soaking it all in. But as I was driving back, I remembered that when I knocked on the door, my . . . my dad’s wife thought I was a reporter. I don’t even know why that detail stuck with me, because I got hit with a whole lot yesterday.”
Wes shook his head. “I promise you, it wasn’t me. I’ve been aware of Pops’s friendship with your granddad over the years. I thought if I helped you, maybe I could help Pops too. He really was passionate about finding your mother. Not that he didn’t have other cases, but this one hit home for him.”
Angel said, “Our granddads were close friends at one time. I think my mom’s disappearance drove them apart.”
Wes sat down beside her. “So visiting your father was a good thing. I think it’s pretty awesome that you just did it.”
She rewarded him with a smile. “Yeah, to be honest, I was ready to turn around when I called you.” She giggled. “I guess that sounds crazy.”
“No, not at all. You had me worried for a minute there. I prayed that everything worked out for you. What did you think of him?”
“Thank you for your prayers. He wasn’t bad.” Angel grew quiet. Then she added, “I found out I have a half sister.”
“Wow. Did you get to meet her?”
“Not yet. It was enough to meet him. He was nice, and his wife knew who I was when I arrived. You know, the crazy thing was I ran into my dad’s wife last week at Lenora’s bridal shop. I had no idea. I remember wondering why she was staring at me.’”
“Really?”
“Apparently, my dad has been trying to contact me all these years, and I never knew. I have never seen his letters and cards.”
“Your family was probably trying to protect you.”
“I know, I know.” Angel rose up from the chair. “It all just seems unfair. I mean, after I turned eighteen, it seems like they would have given me the chance as an adult to figure out what I wanted to do.”
Wes stood too. “Well, I think God is trying to work it out for you now. To give you some peace and maybe closure.”
She faced him, her eyes looking lost. “I hope you are right. Something is going on, and I can feel myself wanting to let go of the past. There is just one big piece of the puzzle. Maybe you can help me.”
“Sure.”
“I did talk to my dad about my mother. He said that night he came over to try to convince her not to take this record deal. He said he told the police over and over again that instead of concentrating on him, they should look at the guys who ran the record company.”
Wes thought, Record company. This has come up before. “Do you remember the name of it?”
“Royal Records.”
“Okay, I will see what I can find for you.”
“Thanks, Wes.” She looked at him and then smiled. “I need to go see my grams. She should be finished with her rehab for the day.”
He shook his head, still looking at her. “Okay, well, I will be in touch.”
After they walked out of the conference room, he watched Angel as she headed down the hallway. She turned and waved at him. He waved back.
“Don’t tell me you went and got a girlfriend while I was gone.”
Wes groaned and then turned around. “Serena, I see you are back.”
“Just in time, I see.” Serena peered around him. “So, who’s my competition, and why does she look so familiar?”
Wes looked at Serena. “You think you’ve seen her before?”
“Yes. Who is she?”
Then it dawned on Wes. “Why don’t you start by answering some questions?”
Serena crossed her arms. “Kiddo, I asked you a question first.”
“Well, Serena, we have some serious talking to do.”