Chapter Thirty-one
Wes stared at the screen, not really paying attention to what he was typing. He stopped and pushed his chair back from the desk. He wanted to call his mother and express his apologies for not sticking to his promise. Pops was okay, and Wes was grateful he found him, but his mother’s face and anger haunted him. She had been through so much, and he’d just added to the weight on her shoulders.
He picked up the phone to call Darnell. Hopefully, his efforts and his sacrifice would be worth it. Wes greeted his detective friend and then listened to his news. With each word, Wes felt more deflated.
“What? You couldn’t hold him?”
Darnell answered, “Sorry, man. The man was intoxicated. Once people sober up, they are going to change their story. Plus, he really seemed genuinely broken up about his daughter being missing.”
Wes fumed, “Did he explain where he was all this time? I know he is a drunk, but I find it hard to believe he doesn’t know who was responsible. Suppose she was snatched up because of him.”
“Wes, I really can’t look into it. Unless Melanie Stowe’s body shows up or there is some evidence that a homicide took place, I can’t hold the man.”
Wes sat back. “But something isn’t right. I mean, you follow your gut on cases, right?”
“Yeah, man, but—”
“Listen, he found his way out to California for the American Voices show.”
“There is no way that guy last night was allowed out of the state at that time. Wes, he was still on parole.”
Wes sighed. “I wondered about that. Man, I’m sorry I led you on a wild-goose chase.”
“Don’t worry about it. Everyone wants to find the girl. You are doing your part. Look, if it will help, I will keep my eye on him. If he knows something, maybe he will drop some clues or lead us to her.”
“Thanks, man.”
Wes hung up the phone. He pulled up his notes. Melanie’s best friend, Lisa, had said something about Melanie’s dad showing up at the show. Did either of them really see him? If Larry wasn’t there, then who was the guy at the show? Just when he thought he was close, more questions arose. He checked his watch. There was still some ground to cover on Melanie’s life. Alan wanted information on the mystery record deal, so that was where Wes had decided to focus his efforts this afternoon.
Charlotte traffic was fast and heavy, as usual. Most people were heading back to the office from lunch. Wes drove into the Kingdom Building Church parking lot. Minister J.D. had founded the growing church and served as its pastor. The first thing Wes thought was how different the church seemed from Victory Gospel Church. Whereas Victory was a big, expansive modern building, Kingdom used to be a strip mall, which was converted to the Kingdom Building Church campus.
Victory had grown in size in the past year, after Reverend Jonathan Freeman officially took over as pastor. With a younger minister and family heading up the church, even more young families and young professionals flocked to the pews on Sunday. Where Reverend Freeman was known as a smooth and down-to-earth teacher, Minister J.D. was known to be charismatic and animated in the pulpit. He had a growing congregation of young people, especially young men. Minister J.D. founded the Be a Man Conference, which had been held annually every year for the past five years.
Last year, when Wes attended the men’s conference, he walked out having committed himself to celibacy along with several hundred men. He’d largely kept to his commitment by choosing not to date. Wes had avoided walking into temptation until a few weeks ago. He now knew to keep his guard up around his coworker Serena.
As Wes entered the building, children ran by him. A young woman followed behind them, asking them to stop running in church. The woman noticed Wes and said, “Hello. How are you? You are from television. The news.”
He smiled. “Yes. I’m Wes Cade. Is Minister J.D. around?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah, he’s downstairs in the studio.” The woman looked down the hall, where most of the children had entered a classroom. “Come on. I will show you.”
The woman guided him down a hallway. As they walked farther, Wes could hear a deep, thumping hum in the building. His guide stopped and said, “At the end of this hallway, make a right. You will find Minister J.D. inside. Have fun.”
Wes expressed his thanks and followed the directions. When he turned the corner and stared at the door, what struck Wes was the sign above it, which read ROYAL RECORDS. He thought, Is this the same Royal Records I talked about with Angel?
He knocked on the door and then tried the doorknob. When he opened the door, a deep thumping sound and rhythmic music greeted him. Wes went inside and closed the door behind him. To his amazement, it really was a studio, a full-fledged music studio. Two men were at the audio controls, while others were standing in the background, rocking their head to the beat. On the other side of the studio, behind glass, a young man with a baseball hat was rapping into the microphone.
Wes listened. The young man was rapping about how Christ had saved him from the streets. Before he knew it, Wes found himself rocking his head back and forth. The young man was really talented with his rhymes.
“You like?”
Wes hadn’t noticed, but a tall, heavyset man had come to stand beside him. Minister J.D. in the flesh. He held out his hand. “How are you doing, Minister? I appreciate you seeing me.”
“Not a problem. I’m really proud of these guys. They’re using their skills to glorify the Lord. Shadrach here especially warms my heart. He’s come a long way. Why don’t we head to my office?”
“Sure.” Wes looked back at the young man, Shadrach, and then followed the minister. As they walked back to where Wes had come in, he asked the minister, “So the hip-hop hasn’t left you?”
Minister J.D. laughed. “I’m a messenger for God. He allows us to deliver his good news in many ways. I don’t believe I spent all those years in the hip-hop world for no reason.”
When they arrived at the church office, the minister’s secretary waved to Minister J.D. as he walked by and handed him a folder. He nodded and went into his office. Wes followed.
Minister J.D. said, “Have a seat, young man. What brings a WYNN news reporter to the church? Are you a man of God yourself, Mr. Cade?”
Wes said, “Oh yeah, ever since I was a kid. I strayed a bit in college but came back around probably right before I became a reporter. I would love to do a piece on the church. There are a lot of growing churches in Charlotte, and you are one of them.”
“Yes, we are. We really love this community and want to be a spiritual hospital for those in need. I would appreciate it if you would do some features. I would like the community to know about our food bank, after-school program, and all the other ministries we offer.”
“I will definitely plan to do a feature. Now, I hope this is okay, but today I wanted to talk to you a bit about the music part.”
Minister J.D. raised his eyebrow. “I’m intrigued and honored.”
“I have been reporting updates on Melanie Stowe, and I understand she was coming to see you about a recording session maybe.”
The minister bowed his head. “Yes, yes. Melanie was a special young lady. Is a special young lady. I hate that she has been taken from our sight for so long and do hope she can be returned to us. I’ve known Melanie all her life. I watched her sing as a little girl, and for her to be on American Voices, well, that was a proud moment.”
“She had some problems with really making it after the show. I imagine it was hard for her to see her dreams dry up a bit.”
“Yes. We never know what plans God has for us, but I felt that God had a plan for Melanie. My goal was to support her and give her the encouragement she really needed.”
“Are you aware of any record companies approaching her?”
“You know, today is different. Lots of independent record labels out there. I have one myself.”
“Yes, I noticed. Royal Records. You are a busy man.”
“Like I said earlier, you deliver the good news in a way the audience needs. Music is a powerful tool. Melanie had the voice. She also wrote songs. I told her to meet with me and let us sit down and work out a plan for her. Unfortunately, that meeting has never taken place.”
Wes saw an opportunity to dig a bit deeper. “You said you knew her all her life. So, you knew her dad?”
Minister J.D. laughed. “Yes, I did. Larry, better known as El back in the day, was a good friend of mine. We were young and stupid. We had skills and loved making music. All of that went south, so to speak, after we lost K-Dawg.”
Wes stared at Minister J.D. Questions were whirling in his mind so fast, he didn’t know what to ask first. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but Melanie and Elisa seemed to keep connecting in some way in his mind. He just couldn’t figure out how. “You all hung around K-Dawg?”
“We grew up together. Got signed together at the former Royal Records. We were his posse.” Minister J.D. sat back in his big leather chair. “K-Dawg has been gone twenty years. Kelvin Dentin was his name. He was my cousin. I decided to bring the label back under new management, hoping to bring something good back to Charlotte musically.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize he was family. You don’t have any ideas who may have shot K-Dawg that night?”
“I had ideas, but everyone had their alibis. I eventually got out of the whole music game. For so long we just wanted to make music, and then he was gone.” Minister J.D. sighed. “But God had another plan for me. I was to not sit in pity over my friend, but let young people know the kind of lives they need to lead.”
“What about the old Royal Records?”
“What about it?”
“Well, I heard the former company wasn’t the best place to be for artists.”
Minister J.D. let out another belly laugh. “No! It wasn’t. Back then Royal Records was run by thugs. Greedy thugs. They wanted to get the money and the fame. We should have had legal counsel look at those contracts. Did you know for many years, none of us saw a dime from ‘We Down With It’? Years ago I finally got a lawyer. I didn’t need the money, but K-Dawg’s momma, she suffered so much. The least they could do was take care of his mother after he was killed. He was at the club that night, promoting the upcoming album release.”
Wes asked, “Do you remember the woman who sang background on the song?”
Minister J.D. leaned forward. “Yes, I remember her. She had a great voice, really pretty too. I think she went to the same high school we did. She was a couple of grades ahead of us. K-Dawg was kind of sweet on her, but she wasn’t really interested. I think she had a kid.”
“Yes, her kid is a friend of mine. The woman was Elisa Roberts, and she went missing a month after K-Dawg died.”
“Really? I didn’t know that. I mean, I remember her going missing. I just didn’t realize it was around that time. I was probably still torn up over losing K-Dawg.”
“The night K-Dawg was shot, do you remember if Elisa was there?”
“K-Dawg had a lot of women around him. My memory ain’t what it used to be. I couldn’t tell you. Why the interest?”
“Just looking for connections,” Wes answered.
“You think she saw or knew what happened? That someone came back to get her? Lord, have mercy.”
“I don’t know. It just seems funny. I came to talk to you about Melanie, and I had no idea about the connection. So was Larry Stowe an artist too?”
Minister J.D. laughed. “El, Larry, was the hype man. Like the Flavor Flav of the group. He knew how to get the crowd going. He was close to K-Dawg too.”
That explained why Larry always seemed to be dressed like an old-school rapper. The man had never given up the identity. Wes looked at his watch and realized he needed to get back to meet with Alan. At least he would have something to present to the producer this time. He stood.
“Minister J.D., I need to run back to the station. This was a very interesting conversation. Thanks for your time.”
The minister stood and extended his hand to Wes. “Not a problem. You need to come out and visit us sometime. Where is your church home?”
“I attend Victory Gospel.”
“I see. One of Reverend Freeman’s members. I like him. He’s a good man. I know it’s been hard on him, taking over the church for his dad. I hear it’s growing over there.”
“Yes, but I will be looking forward to your Be a Man Conference this summer.”
“You been before?”
“First time last year. Still hanging on to my finding a wife commitment.”
“Well, all right now.” Minister J.D. grinned. “That’s what I want to hear. I imagine God is going to lead you to your future wife real soon too.”
Wes smiled. “I hope so. Seems like all my friends are getting married or thinking about getting married.”
“Well, you want to find the right one. Don’t just settle. Be sure the woman is the one God sent you.”
“Thanks.” Wes left Minister J.D.’s office, still smiling about the minister’s advice. As he headed back to his car, his mind went to Angel. He had a couple of things to share with her, but his mind was more on what the minister had said. Be sure the woman is the one God sent you. Wes wondered if God might have sent her already. He shook his head. Angel was definitely an interest and had been ever since she’d showed up that Sunday. Still, he needed to rein himself in and not jump ahead.
He glided the car from the parking space. Before Wes drove off, he caught sight of a man who looked vaguely familiar walking down the church sidewalk. Wes slowed the car down and watched as Larry Stowe entered Kingdom Building Church. So, Larry had come to visit an old friend today. Wes wondered why. If he didn’t need to get back to the station, Wes would’ve parked the car and headed right back inside the church.
He knew his gut was right. Melanie’s father knew something about why his daughter had gone missing. Now, where Elisa Roberts fit into the scenario, Wes didn’t know. But there was a connection from the past to the present. That Wes was sure of.