A man stepped through the door. His presence threw me off as I took in his attire. He was at least six foot three or four, ebony black skin and underneath his blue uniform, he certainly wasn’t slim. Muscular, kind of built like a football player. Really the man was huge.I felt Amos’ presence behind me and for the tenth time in a week I was glad to have him with me, although between Amos and me we still might not be able to take the man down. I mean, was he really a cop? I mustered up some confidence to ask, “Excuse me officer, why are you here? Do you have some identification on you?”The man took off his hat displaying a head bare around the sides, with only a low tuft of hair going down the middle. He must have been a Marine or a part of the military at one time. “Ma’am, I can ask you the same question since I had a report of a break-in?”
“Break-in. Oh no.” I whirled to Amos and then back. “No wait, you’re mistaken. This is my daughter’s apartment. She’s missing. You know this already. They should have alerts all over where you work.”
“Yes, they have circulated some information about a young woman.”
“Well, do you have anything new? Like who is this Chris guy?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. Amos moved up beside me.
It took a moment before the cop answered. Almost like he wanted to arrest me or hit me. But for what?
“I’m Chris. Chris Black.”
They have a cliché saying. You could have heard a pin drop. In the silence that followed Chris Black revealing himself, I didn’t know whether to drop to the floor or drop kick him.
I finally found my voice. “You are my daughter’s boyfriend.” A cop. The one meant to protect. My daughter seemed to be on the run because of him. “Where is she?” Amos reached for my arm, but I didn’t care.
As I lurched forward, Chris stepped back and held up his hands. “Ma’am, I don’t want to have to haul you in for assaulting an officer. You might want to calm down.”
“And you might want to tell me where my daughter is Officer Chris Black.” I ain’t one to go toe to toe with the law, but I’d managed to stand less than seven inches from Chris, who I might add, stood a foot taller than me.
“Mrs. Patterson, I don’t know Leesa’s whereabouts.”
“That is the wrong answer. What are you really doing here then? Nobody called in a break-in did they?”
“Mrs. Hattie reported hearing noise upstairs. I was in the vicinity when the call came in on the radio.”
I caught myself. My hands were balled in a fist. Lord, me and you going to have to have a talk. Just when I think I have my temper down, I get a curve ball thrown at me. I stepped back. “You might be right about that. I still like to know what kind of person you must be that my daughter never introduced you to me.”
“Maybe you two didn’t have the best relationship.”
Oh no he didn’t? My hands flexed into fists again. “Maybe you weren’t the man she thought Mama would like.”
“Okay, that’s enough. Eugeena, and ahem, Officer Black.” Amos placed his hand in front of me coaxing me backward. “Time is crucial and we need to try to locate Leesa. I think we are all aware there are some children involved here.”
My grandchildren. Amos was right. We needed to find Leesa.
Amos continued, “Can you tell us the last time you saw her?”
“Two months ago.”
“What?” Amos strained to hold me back. “You trying to tell me, my daughter had your child and you have not been by to see her or your son?”
Chris bit his lip. “It’s not because I didn’t want to. She wouldn’t let me.”
I looked at what appeared to be some wetness formed around Chris’ eyes. There is no way I’m going to fall for that. Eugeena Patterson knew when she was being manipulated. What Mr. Black didn’t know is Hattie already told me he’d been by harassing my daughter.
He’d better not have laid a hand on her. If he did, it would take a whole lot of Jesus in me not to lay Chris Black out. For good.