Chapter Forty-one
Angel did the only thing she could do. She hugged Denise. Angel looked at the burnt shell of one of her favorite places. The restaurant had been part of their childhood from the time Eddie opened it fifteen years ago.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Where’s your dad?”
Denise sniffled. “I don’t know, Angel. I’ve been calling him. I’ve called him at the house and on his cell. No answer.”
“Doesn’t he usually open the restaurant?”
Denise nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Yes. Every day he’s the first person to arrive and the last person to go home at night.” Denise rubbed her shoulders as if she was cold. “What if he was in there?”
Angel stood close to her. “It will be all right.” As she tried to comfort Denise, an odd feeling crept up her back. She examined the crowd and found Wes standing next to his coworker Serena. Both reporters were talking to Detective Jackson. Angel frowned and thought, Why would a homicide detective be here? Now she was afraid for Denise.
Wes turned around and seemed to be looking for her. She waved. He saw her and approached. Angel stepped away from Denise, who continued to cry quietly and stare at the building. Angel was wondering if her friend was going into some type of shock, because she seemed to have become unresponsive.
“Hey, can we talk?” Wes stared at Denise and then focused on Angel.
Angel eyed Denise as she responded, “Sure. Denise, I will be right over here.”
Denise didn’t even look at her. Angel followed Wes away from the crowd, keeping her eye on where Denise stood. She told Wes, “I’m worried. Denise hasn’t been able to get in touch with her father. Why is Darnell here?”
Wes sighed. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Nothing is confirmed yet, but we can only assume they found a body in there. The fire marshal will have to investigate if this was arson. If it was and they have found a body, well . . .”
Angel stared at him. “Southern Soul Café is like a home.”
“What do you know about Eddie?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is he a likable person?” Wes asked.
Angel couldn’t believe Wes would ask that type of question. A man she had known all her life could have died. She sucked in a breath, feeling a sob form in her throat. Angel backed away from him and folded her arms. “Seriously? Don’t you think this is a little inappropriate? You don’t even know if a body is in there, nor do you know if foul play happened here, but you are ready to jump on a story.”
Wes blinked and then reached out to touch her arm. “I’m sorry, Angel. I just wanted to know if anyone would want to hurt Eddie and the restaurant. You never know how the people you meet can turn on you later. Suppose he let go of a disgruntled employee. Wouldn’t you want to know that so they could investigate and possibly bring the person to justice?”
She shrank away from Wes’s touch. “Of course I would, but you are jumping a little too fast to get a story. My best friend . . .” Angel stopped at those words as she looked at Denise. This was the girl she’d grown up with, the girl she’d spent countless hours with at sleepovers, doing homework, giggling in church. Angel turned to Wes. “Denise is going to fall apart. I don’t want you talking to me any more about this. I can’t be there for her with these types of questions in my head. I’m going to stay with her. We will work out a way to pick up my car later.”
“Angel.” Wes looked at her, his eyes pleading with her, but Angel walked away to stand by Denise.
She liked Wes, but she didn’t care for his insensitivity right now. Besides, Eddie was like an uncle to her. If something happened to him, it would be one more piece of her world torn away from her. She hoped that nobody was in the restaurant and, above all else, that Eddie was alive.