Booming music met my ears when Amos drove into the Nichols Brothers Auto Shop parking lot on Wednesday morning. Outside of the shop were slick sports cars of various models that I wouldn’t know. A slim young, caramel-colored man splashed a soapy cloth across one bright red car with shiny silver rims. He glanced back as Amos parked his truck in one of the spaces outside the shop. When Amos climbed out the car, I observed him give a head nod to the young man, who grinned and returned one back.
So far, so good.
The male greeting between the two put me slightly at ease. The test would be when Amos ran into Theo. After hearing the story last night of Briana’s past dealings with Theo, I was anxious about our visit today. Before heading to bed last night, I did some searching. I felt like I remembered the death of a young girl who had been shot.
Yvette Hunt.
Her face nor her name registered with me. I wasn’t the only Social Studies teacher at Northwood Middle, so I assumed I’d never taught her. Unfortunately, Charleston had a high crime rate for as many years as I could remember. It was hard to keep up with every tragedy.
There were similarities surrounding her death and Sondra’s. One being the Nichols brothers, mainly Theo. Yvette Hunt had been shot almost ten years ago in front of Theo’s house, a guy that she liked enough to get into a fight with another girl. Was it really just a random shooting the way it was filed officially?
While Theo seemed to stay clean, I’d heard about Damion’s shady dealings over the years. He’d served some time for minor drug possessions and aggravated assault. He happened to be outside during the shooting. Since it was in front of their house, were the bullets meant for one of the brothers?
Despite Amos’s protests, I was determined to join him this morning. Sitting in a waiting room wasn’t my idea of fun but I had two valid reasons. One being to keep Amos out of any trouble and two, my curiosity needed to be satisfied. I hadn’t been around these two brothers in years. Last time I really saw them up close was their graduation almost a decade ago. I used to make an effort to see former students at their graduations, especially the ones that had difficulty in school. It was a huge milestone.
Theo’s high school career was beyond successful and he had attracted all kinds of attention. I’d heard through the grapevine, Theo had the best intentions of making it big with football, but his stint ended after college. Theo bounced back with opening his own business and eventually brought in his younger brother. The brothers seemed to run a successful business.
I followed Amos into the auto shop towards the counter. To my surprise one of the brothers was at the counter. His hair was slightly different, same close cut but the blond streaks were gone. His black t-shirt was rolled up displaying muscles.
Damion looked up as we approached, “Hey folks, what can I do for you today?”
I had to look up since the man towered over the counter. His smile was bright, but there seemed to be wariness in his eyes that didn’t match his smile. Either he was tired or this young man had grown accustomed to keeping some distance. I wondered if he recognized me.
Then it occurred to me. This man was hanging out at Briana’s a few days ago. He had to know Amos was Briana’s dad.
While I observed the man, Amos stated, “I’ve been interested in getting a paint job for my Chevy Silverado out there. Wonder if I could get an estimate?”
Damion shifted behind the counter like he was onto Amos’s ploy. He looked past us out the window. “Sure, we can do that. How’s the engine running? Do you need anything else done? Tires?”
“Nope, Old Betsy runs fine out there.”
Old Betsy. I sighed. It wasn’t until after we were married that I noticed Amos had names for objects. Why he named his truck Betsy, I didn’t know. One day I thought I heard him talking to the lawn mower, calling her Lucille. That was his favorite toy of them all. Our lawn always looked good though, so no complaining on my part.
“Is Theo in?” Amos asked.
I bristled next to him. Really, he was just going to walk in here and ask for Theo?
Damion frowned, “Not yet.” He looked at the clock, “He comes in a bit later in the morning.”
Amos peered down at his watch. “You know what, there’s a dent on the right side of the truck bed that I’ve been meaning to get looked at for a while now. Someone bumped into the truck while it was parked at Walmart a few months ago. Maybe you can look at that too. About how long will it take to give me an estimate for both?”
Damion nodded, “Not too long. Why don’t you have a seat and I will let you know when Theo arrives?”
As Amos and I walked over to the waiting area I could have sworn I felt the young man’s eyes on my back. When I turned around, another customer had arrived drawing his attention away.
I sat next to Amos and whispered, “I think he knows who you are.”
“Yeah, I know. Probably doesn’t like that I’m a former cop too.”
Made sense to me. The waiting room was a pretty nice setup with comfortable seats. Across was a counter filled with bottles of water, a basket of snacks, a coffee pot and condiments. I was eyeing the snacks when a young lady came around the corner holding a broom and dustpan.
She stopped abruptly in front of me as though I’d surprised her. The young woman stared at me, her eyes were accented with thick long black lashes. The lashes were so thick, it took me a moment to really see her eyes which were red around the rims. She wore burgundy tipped locs that were held up high over her head. I assumed she must work here since she wore a black t-shirt with the white lettering, Nichols Brothers Auto Shop.
I started to become unnerved by her stare and responded, “Good morning.”
She asked, her voice unsure, “Ms. Patterson?”
“Yes, I’m Ms. Patterson. Do I know you?”
She stepped forward, beaming at me as if I’d just presented her a winning prize. “I’m Charlene Hunt. You may not remember me, but I was in your class.”
It took me a few seconds to place her, but just like that I could picture her as she was at age thirteen. “Charlene, I do remember you. In fact you were friends with…”
That’s when it hit me. Her last name was Hunt. The girl who was killed years ago was Yvette Hunt.
Charlene’s face scrunched up as if she was about to do an ugly cry. Maybe that’s why her eyes appeared red. She’d been crying. Poor thing! Having to work and obviously upset.
She ventured closer to me, her voice much lower. “You heard about Sondra?”
I glanced over at Amos, who had been looking down at his phone. He shot me a look and then peered down at the phone again.
Okay, I guess this was on me.
“Yes, I heard. I talked to her mother yesterday at church. She told me Sondra had been missing. Last time she saw her was Saturday night. She’d left the house to hang out with some friends.”
Charlene’s eyes grew wide and she gulped, “Yeah, Sondra started working at the Black Diamond. We were just together on Saturday. It’s been a long time since we hung out.”
“Oh, if I remember, you two were BFFs in middle school.”
She cringed, “We hung out, but we kind of grew apart after high school. I mean we stayed in touch, but she did her thing and I did mine.”
I wondered if their split had anything to do with Yvette Hunt. There wasn’t a smooth or easy way to broach the subject. Sondra was the reason for this woman’s angst. Focusing back on the manner at hand, I exclaimed, “I’m so sorry for your loss. I just can’t imagine who would do such a thing to Sondra.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Charlene answered weakly.
I wanted to press Charlene more about what happened on Saturday, but was interrupted. Damion opened a side door that led out to the waiting room. At some point he’d left from behind the counter. “Hey, Mr. Jones, Theo just arrived in the back. He will check your truck out in a bit and give you an estimate.”
Damion turned his attention towards Charlene. He frowned at her. “You finished in the back?”
A slight smile spread across Charlene’s somber face. “Hey, Damion, you remember Ms. Patterson from Northwood Middle?”
The young man slowly tore his eyes from Charlene to look at me like he’d just noticed the little old woman who came in with the old dude. He stepped back and placed his hand over his mouth, “Yeah, I remember you.” He pointed at me, “South Carolina history. Man, your class was cool!”
“Really?” I don’t recall anyone describing me as cool.
“Yeah, I learned a lot in your class. You taught us the book stuff, but you would also pass on interesting tidbits that weren’t in the books too. Like I remembered how you talked about Robert Smalls and the role he played in the Civil War. I thought that was cool for a Black man to be seen as a hero back then.”
I placed my hand on my chest, hoping I wouldn’t burst out crying. “Why I’m touched that you remember that. He was a very special man in South Carolina history. Not everyone enjoys history, but you have to know your past to know where you’re going.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Damion frowned and cocked his head as if something caught his attention. “Excuse me for a second.” He turned suddenly and strolled toward the front store window.
Charlene must have heard whatever had caught Damion’s attention. She leaned the broom she’d been holding against the wall and walked up beside him. She squeaked, “Oh no, what’s she doing here?”
With that, I was up out of my seat, peeking around to see what was going on. When I saw who it was, panic struck me. “Amos, you may want to see this.”
Amos looked up from his phone and peered at me.
I don’t know what had his attention on that phone, but I needed him to pay attention. I pointed and mouthed, “Look.”
He walked up behind me to observe what I insisted he see.
I whispered loudly, “That’s Sondra’s mom.”
When his eyes widened, I knew he was thinking what I was thinking. He stated, “We better get out there.”
I marched outside behind Amos, my eyes glued on Gladys Howell facing off with Theo. The woman was almost a foot shorter than the large man, but she had her finger directed in his face.
“You did this. I know you did. My daughter loved you and had your kids. You mistreated her and them all this time. I told her to stay away from you. You were going to be her downfall. Look what happened! You killed her. I know you did.”
Theo backed up, his eyes blazing. “I didn’t do anything to Sondra. Don’t you be telling people I did. I never laid a hand on her.”
Gladys shrieked. “Don’t you lie. Don’t you dare. I know. I know you hit her before.” Overcome with rage, Gladys stumbled forward.
Amos and I both rushed towards her, he grabbed one arm and I grabbed the other. Despite our effort, she still sank to the ground.
“Gladys, are you alright?” I begged. Her body shook from the fierceness of her anger, her mouth opened, but nothing spilled out. I stared at Amos, “Do we need to call an ambulance?”
“Yes, this isn’t good.” Amos yelled at Theo, “Call 9-1-1 now!”
Theo’s face was a mixture of anger and fear, but he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began dialing. By this time, the auto shop’s employees, including Damion and Charlene, were all standing around watching. No one was working, and I noticed a few of them had their phones out. Why were they filming this? I don’t know why people’s first instinct now is to pull out their phones. But I guess it would have been a good thing if Theo turned ugly. Here I was worried about Amos getting laid out by the big man.
Still the last thing Gladys needed was her obvious grief and anger over her daughter’s murder going viral. Despite Gladys’s impulsiveness, her motherly instincts may be on to something. I just wished she’d thought of her own health before confronting this man.
I regarded Theo who had begun pacing. Damion had walked over to him, appearing to try to calm his brother down. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I was pretty sure the words coming out Theo’s mouth were not pleasant ones. An occasional expletive pierced my poor ears.
So, Theo was the father of Sondra’s children. I didn’t see that spin on the current situation coming. I was reminded last night that there wasn’t a single picture of Theo on Sondra’s page, not even with the children. Was that on purpose? Was the man not a part of his children’s lives at all? Somehow that didn’t strike me as right.
The man ran a family business with his brother. Seemed like family should be important to him.
I turned my attention towards Amos, wondering how he was absorbing the revelations. My husband already didn’t like the man, now he was glaring at Theo something awful. I wasn’t sure if Amos’s anger was because of what Gladys accused Theo of doing or because of the young man being back in Briana’s life.
It certainly didn’t look good. This was all making Briana seem more and more suspicious.