I’m sure the last person Monique expected when she opened her front door was me. It took me some time, but I remembered the affluent neighborhood where Monique grew up. It had been almost six years ago since I’d been here. Ralph was still alive then, and Monique had invited us over for dinner with her father.
Despite Ralph’s friendship with Kendall, I knew Monique’s dinner invitation was trouble for Cedric. Whether it was Monique’s influence or her father’s desires, they both seemed to put the pressure on Cedric that evening. That dinner was what led me to believe Monique was simply not marriage material for Cedric.
I almost had misgivings about my mission today at the Sanders’ home. I could see Monique’s red-rimmed eyes through the lenses of her eyeglasses.
“Mrs. Patterson, what are you doing here?”
“I was hoping we could talk.”
Monique frowned. “This isn’t a good time.”
Before the woman could shut the door in my face, I stretched my arm towards it. “I have some questions about Darius Randall. I believe you knew him.”
Monique opened the door wider, her sad eyes flashed. “Why would you be asking about him? I’ve had enough of people bothering me about Darius.”
“Don’t you want to know who did this?”
She looked at me, narrowing her eyes. “The detective was just here. She said she had a suspect.”
For a few moments, I wondered if I had made a mistake.
Carmen was supposed to be a person of interest, not a suspect. Did something change?
“Who’s at the door, Monie?” A voice asked from behind Monique.
I took a breath and looked at Monique. I knew the voice belonged to her father. It had been a long time since I’d seen Kendall.
She opened the door wider and stepped back.
I wasn’t sure if I should enter the house or not, but my gaze fell on the man in a wheelchair. He appeared even more frail than the picture I’d seen on Darius’s Facebook page.
“Kendall,” I tentatively placed a foot inside the door. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m—”
“Ralph Patterson’s wife. I remember you, Eugeena. I also remember your son, Cedric. He and my Monie were together for some time. Thought that boy would marry her.”
My other foot remained outside the door just in case I needed to leave. Maybe Cedric was right. I could make sure Barnaby and his investigators did the questioning.
The man waved me inside. “Come on in. We could use the company. It’s been a sad state of affairs around here.”
The Sanders’ foyer was immaculate, and the first thing I noticed was the elegant staircase. It was kind of unexpected, but breathtaking. I looked around the immense home. The Sanders family was very well-off financially, always had been. Kendall’s years at the bank had served him well. I remembered Ralph commenting years ago that Monique spent most of her years in private schools.
I followed Monique into the living room which appeared to be straight out of a Southern Living magazine. The couches were white and gray with colorful pillows placed carefully in various areas. I wasn’t sure if I should sit down until I saw Monique hold out her hand towards the smaller couch. I slowly sat on the edge.
I smiled. “I really appreciate you seeing me out of the blue. I’m sorry for your loss, especially… It being so sudden.”
She nodded but remained quiet. Monique wouldn’t look at me, but I felt anger emanating from her body. I wasn’t sure if it was grief or the fact that she really didn’t want me in her father’s house.
Kendall rolled up next to the couch. He glanced at his daughter then smiled at me.
Though his face was more gaunt, he was still a handsome man.
“I wish Ralph was around still. I miss him and our golf battles. You may or may not know, but I have stage four colon cancer. It’s been a rough few weeks,” Kendall said.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that.” I glanced at Monique, who stared at the fireplace on the opposite side of the room. No fire was lit, though several photos lined the mantle above it. “I recently found out you’d been in the hospital.”
Kendall nodded. “I’m hanging in there. Monique has been a big help. I hate to see her hurting now, especially over Darius.”
Monique spoke, her eyes glazed. “We were going to get married.” She moved her head towards me. “This spring. I knew he would propose soon.”
My heart went out to the woman. I mean really, she had her sights set on yet another man proposing to her. Maybe they’d discussed marriage and Darius told her spring would be the best time. Or maybe the woman was a bit delusional.
Either way, I felt guilty for sitting on the couch with questions lodged in my throat. But when I searched her eyes, I saw a grieving woman with a bitter face, as if someone had played a cruel joke on her.
Monique continued. “The last time we talked was Monday night. We had a fight. I had no idea Monday would be the last night I’d ever see him.”
My mind was whirling. “How long had you known him?”
Kendall surprised me by answering for his daughter. “They met through me. Darius was my intern years ago. I invited him to the house for Thanksgiving during the semester he interned. He didn’t have family to go home to. I wasn’t sure why, but he was one of my best interns.”
Kendall shifted in his wheelchair. “We’ve kept in touch over the years. He helped Monique get a job and settle in Atlanta a few years ago.” He cleared his throat and glanced at his daughter; his eyes were troubled. “I hadn’t realized you two had grown that close.”
There was a hint of something in Kendall’s voice. I looked from him to Monique. His daughter would not look him in the eye, but Kendall stared at her.
Her father continued. “He’d been married three times, Monique.”
Anger spread across Monique’s face. “What are you trying to say?”
I was stunned, and for a minute I felt frozen. Three? The man was married three times!
Kendall paused for a moment before replying. “Darius was disturbed. He was good at what he did in the finance world, but he had his own demons. I hate that he lost his life, but I’m not sad that you’re not walking down the aisle with him.”
Monique jumped up from the couch. “You are cruel. You’re sick, and I don’t mean because of that chair. I can’t believe you would say that to me.” The woman stormed out of the room.
It took me a second to realize my mouth was open. I closed it and tried to refocus on the reason for my visit. Of course, with Monique gone, I couldn’t talk to her anymore.
I narrowed my eyes at Kendall. “I’m assuming you knew about his past marriage to Carmen Alpine, my son’s fiancée?”
Kendall’s eyes focused on the glass coffee table as if looking at it for the first time. “Now you’ve confirmed why you’re here, Eugeena. If you’re asking me if I knew about Carmen, yes, I knew she was his second wife. From what I remember, she was married to Darius the shortest amount of time. She got pregnant or something. Lost the baby.”
“Yes.”
Kendall frowned. “This woman is a suspect now.”
I’m not sure how he knew this. “A person of interest. She found him.”
Kendall’s eyes pierced me. “What were you hoping to learn by coming here?”
“I wanted to know who else Darius was involved with? Monique said the last time she saw him was Monday. What happened? Why was he still in town after the keynote? Most speakers leave.”
Kendall sighed. “He came to see me on Tuesday. As far as I knew, he was planning to leave Wednesday. He mentioned he would fly back to Atlanta on Wednesday evening.”
I didn’t think about Darius’s plans to leave. I was curious about the timing of his visit. “What time did he come to see you on Tuesday?”
Kendall observed me before responding. “Why are you asking?”
“Because the first time I laid eyes on the man was Tuesday morning. He showed up at the bakery where Carmen and I were sampling wedding cake. Neither one of us can figure out how he even knew where to find her. Or where he got her number. Later, I want to say he followed us to the restaurant where we ate. Kendall, the man was following Carmen.”
He frowned. “Well, he arrived at the hospital in the afternoon. He was upset about something, but I assumed it was because him and Monique had argued.”
“Argued?”
“Apparently they argued about something Monday night. She was barely talking to me when she arrived to see me Tuesday morning. When Darius showed up at the door that afternoon, Monique left. Neither one said a word. It was like ice in my room. But you said you saw him.”
So Monique did see Darius on Tuesday at the hospital. “Yes, well first you should know he ran into Carmen at the hospital, I guess when he was visiting you Thursday. I don’t know why, but it seemed like he was going out of his way to try to see Carmen before he left town on Wednesday.”
Kendall bit his lip. “Well, like I said, Darius had been married three times. He was an efficient worker, but troubled. I kept in touch with him. From time to time, he reached out to me. I didn’t know about his marriage to Carmen until later. Really, not until after it was over; it was so brief. The man wasn’t built for marriage, but he tried.”
“Three times that you know of?”
“He married right out of college. I recall seeing a photo of him standing next to a blonde-haired woman. Can’t remember her name, but she was a beauty. If I’m not mistaken, she was from Charleston.”
“Any ideas about the third wife?”
Sanders nodded. “I met her briefly about six years ago. I think she passed away from some kind of disease… could have been leukemia. When Monique was looking to move from Charleston, I reached out to Darius and that’s when he told me about his third wife.”
“Looks like he was trying to find love.” I added, “Even with your daughter.”
Kendall’s face grew grim. “I wouldn’t have allowed it. Darius had some issues I wouldn’t want my daughter to experience. His lifestyle wasn’t what Monique needed. I just didn’t realize they had grown that close. Naive of me not to see it coming, but Monique didn’t need the kind of instability Darius brought with him.”
Instability indeed. “Carmen lost her baby. I hate to say Darius was the cause, but he did push her down.”
Kendall appeared shocked. “I had no idea. I knew the girl’s parents were ready to go after him. In fact, I believe the father did. She was very young, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was seventeen and still in high school when Darius approached her. Eighteen when they married.” I paused. “Did Darius have children with either of the other two wives?”
“I don’t think so.”
I thought I heard something behind me. Was Monique returning to the living room or was she listening to the conversation?
It was time for me to go. I stood. “Thanks for seeing me, Kendall. I’m sorry you and your daughter lost Darius. Sounds like he made a great contribution to the world, despite his personal issues.”
“I knew he was ambitious, but I would have never imagined him as some financial rockstar.” He wheeled towards the front door and I followed. I peeked back towards the staircase almost expecting to see Monique sitting on the stairs. I wondered if she had been there. If so, she knew all about Darius and his past with Carmen now.
I really wanted to speak to Monique more, but I was doubtful we would talk again. The young woman appeared to have shut out her own father after his words. I’d witnessed her bitterness over the breakup with Cedric. Here she was close to marrying someone she loved. Someone she apparently had known for many years since Darius interned for her father.
It would have been nice to know more of the history Monique had with Darius.
I grasped Kendall’s hands before walking out the door. “I will keep you in my prayers, my friend. You were a good friend to Ralph.”
“I appreciate your prayers, Eugeena. I hope everything works out.”
Another thought occurred to me. “Kendall, how did you find out about Carmen being questioned by the police?”
“Well I have a friend on the force. One thing about playing golf, the circle of friends can expand to all kinds of fields.”
That’s right, Detective Wilkes did mention her father knew Kendall. It occurred to me that the detective did follow-up from my office visit yesterday.
“So you told the detective about Darius visiting you on Tuesday?”
He nodded. “I did. It was the last time I saw him, unfortunately.”
“He didn’t mention his plans for the evening?”
Kendall eyed me. “No, he didn’t. But I know his plans didn’t include Monique if that’s what you’re really here for, Eugeena. They were still upset with each other. Monique was beside herself. She’d called and left messages Tuesday evening. I knew she wanted to go find him, but I was discharged from the hospital Wednesday morning. She stayed here to get me settled back at home.”
I smiled, realizing Kendall had provided me with his daughter’s alibi. Did he feel my suspicions about his daughter?
I said goodbye again. It occurred to me as I headed to the car that I was moving back to square one. I had no ideas about Darius’s life or who else he would’ve let into his room. But, I was more aware about his past.
Carmen wasn’t his only wife. In fact, she was wife number two. There had been two other wives, one deceased. Did Monique not know this? Did she know she was desperately trying to become wife number four?
After I climbed in my car, I looked up at the Sanders’ house. A curtain in one of the windows moved. Was that Monique?
Suddenly feeling like I had just dropped myself into a Lifetime movie, I picked up my phone and dialed Amos’s number. He answered on the second ring.
“Eugeena, where are you?”
“I just left an old friend’s house. Someone who knew Darius. You know those contacts of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Marriage licenses are public, right?”
Amos cleared his throat. “Why, you need to look up one?”
“Or three. Our victim was married three times. One of those, of course, was Carmen which we know.”
Amos let out a whistle on the other end. “This man was something else, wasn’t he?”
“Oh yeah, sounds like he was working on wife number four. Now somewhere in there, I’m thinking a woman has to be involved in Darius’s death, just not Carmen.”
“I’m on it. Are you sure you’re safely out of trouble, Eugeena?”
I peered up at the window again. The curtain seemed to be closed. What I saw a few minutes before could have been my imagination.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m heading home right now. See you soon.”
I ended the call and started the engine. As I drove away, I prayed for Kendall’s health and his daughter. In the back of my mind, something felt off about Monique Sanders.
I didn’t think she was mentally fit. Which meant she could be really dangerous.