35
Curtis Payne was going through his nightly tirade, yelling at C.J. and his kids, threatening to put them out of his house. Aunt Ella, as usual, saved the day, admonishing Curtis to be nice to his nephew before God strikes him dead. And Curtis doesn’t hesitate to remind Ella that C.J.’s crackhead wife had burned down their house, and if C.J. had paid a little more attention to what was going on in his home, he and his eating him-out-of house-and-home kids wouldn’t be in his house at all.
Trevor picked up the remote and switched channels and stopped abruptly at a news bulletin.
“There was a shooting today on the campus of North Carolina Central University,” the newscaster said.
Trevor sat up. “This is it!” he shouted.
“A young woman, one of the North Carolina Central Eagles cheerleaders, was hit by a stray bullet that was fired as the crowd began to leave the stadium at the end of the game. The young woman, identified as Afrika Nicole Bailey, was taken to Duke University Medical Center. We have yet to get a full report from the doctors on the severity of Ms. Bailey’s injuries; however, we were able to find out that she was whisked away to surgery upon the arrival of Ms. Bailey’s mother, Mrs. Setrina Bailey.
“Police have yet to apprehend anyone at this time for this senseless shooting. Officers interviewed a number of persons who were in the area at the time of the shooting after blocking entrances off and onto the campus. However, no leads have been obtained. There is some question as to the response time of the police officers; especially since the shooter is believed to have been among the fans that attended the football game. At this time, the subject is still at large.
“I’m Charlotte Wilson, reporting to you live for WTVD News. We will bring you up-to-date news on this breaking news story as soon as it becomes available.”
“Dang,” Trevor said to no one. “What animal would do such a thing?”
Victor flinched. “Whoever did it should have both arms cut off.”
“I say the perpetrator should have to stand in front of a firing squad so they can feel the agony of being gunned down just before the executioners fire their weapons. What did Afrika do to deserve this?”
Victor felt a chill run through his body. He wanted to get as far away from Trevor as possible. Hearing Trevor talk that way made him extremely uncomfortable. The deed had been done, and now he felt like crap. He didn’t want to kill Afrika; he simply wanted Mimi to go away. He pulled out of his trance as Trevor continued to drone on about the punishment he should receive.
“For real, I hope they catch the son-of-a-gun real soon and put him away for life…in solitary confinement without food and water.”
“You have strong feelings about this.”
“Yeah, it happens every day, but I’ve never known anyone it has happened to. I really like Afrika. So…what are you doing with a gun, Dad?” Trevor said, changing the subject.
Trevor managed to invade his comfort zone again. “Trevor, what if I told you that I got it for protection…for us…the family?”
“If that’s the case, why were you trying to hide it? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me since no one has tried to break into our house.”
“Well, this is in the event that someone gets the urge to. Have you picked up a newspaper lately, Trevor? Crime is all around us. We’ve got to protect ourselves from the elements.”
“Whatever.”
“You need to grow up, boy. Your mother has been so over-protective of you and your sister all of your lives. Out in the real world, beyond the high school you attend, are people from all walks of life, with their own agendas, many looking to get ahead in life, some aspiring to do great things, and some with criminal intent and malice in their hearts. With the economy in the shape it’s in, even those in high places with the seven and eight figure salaries are committing high-collar crimes to save themselves and their families. We can’t be too careful.”
“What does all of that have to do with you having a gun?”
“Look, Trevor. You are too trusting.”
“You’ve never talked about having a gun in the house before. Can’t blame me for asking.”
“Where’s your mother?”
“I told you, she wasn’t here when I got home. Maybe she went to the hospital to see about Afrika; especially since Asia and her other cheerleading buddies went there.”
Victor mulled over what Trevor had said. Trevor was his alibi. There was no way to connect him to the shooting…or even to the gun. Thank God for this moment with Trevor. He was safe for now.
THE WAITING ROOM WAS FULL—CHEERLEADERS, MIMI, BRENDA and John. Mimi paced back and forth, the soles of her shoes making black marks on the tile. Brenda and John watched Mimi…watched her anguish as the seconds, minutes, and the hours flew by.
“You want some coffee?” John asked.
Mimi shook her head and began another trek back and forth across the room. There hadn’t been any word from anyone about how the surgery was going. Mimi stopped as her BlackBerry rang. She looked at the caller ID.
“Hey, baby,” she said, moving over to a corner of the room for privacy.
“How is the surgery going?” Raphael asked.
“No word yet. My nerves are on edge and I have the onset of a headache.”
“Believe, baby. You are the one who tells me all the time about prayer. I’ve been praying to the rafters, and I know God heard my big mouth.”
“You are so strong, baby. I’m not going to be able to get through this without you.”
“Well, I’ll be there before you know it. I’m catching an early morning hop to New Jersey. The closest I can get to Durham is Fort Bragg. Don’t worry about picking me up; I’ll catch a taxi if I have to.”
“That’s good news. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Look, hold on and be strong for Afrika. She’s going to be all right. I can feel it. Gotta run.”
“Okay, Raf. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“I’ll come directly to the hospital.”
“Okay, baby. See you tomorrow.”
Mimi ended the call and relaxed a brief moment. She saw Brenda walk her way. Seeing her brought the reality of what had occurred back to the forefront of her mind. Mimi couldn’t shake the thought that Victor may have had something to do with Afrika being shot. She pushed it from her immediate thoughts as Brenda approached and patted her on the back.
“You okay?” Brenda asked.
“Yeah. That was Raphael. He’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Mimi, I need to talk to you.”
“Can it wait, Brenda? I’m so distraught over Afrika getting shot, I can’t think straight.”
“All right, but you asked me a question earlier…whether I thought that Victor might be capable of doing this heinous crime.”
“I was grasping at straws, Brenda. I wanted someone to blame… As you said, Victor may be a lot of things, but he wouldn’t stoop this low. I can’t believe he would lift a finger to shoot my baby.”
“Mimi, Victor has a gun.”
“He what, Brenda?” Mimi said loud enough for the whole room to hear. Her eyes began to bulge from their sockets.
“I saw it today with my own eyes,” Brenda continued. “I didn’t even know Victor owned one. I was upset about what you’d told me that he’d done to you when we were in college. I’d gone earlier to the game with Trevor but I couldn’t stay because every time I looked at Afrika, I thought of you and Victor together.”
“Brenda, I’m sorry…”
“Mimi, listen. I left the game early and confronted Victor. Then I told him that I wanted a divorce. A heated argument ensued and when he picked up his coat to leave, a gun fell out of his pocket. And it went off. What if he was trying to kill me?”
“Look, Brenda. We’ve got to tell this to the police. Do you know where Victor is?”
“He took off. I don’t know where he went, but I pray that he didn’t do this thing…that he didn’t shoot Afrika.”
Mimi began to hyperventilate. “Oh my, God. This is too much. If you don’t tell the police, I’m going to tell them.”
Brenda grabbed Mimi’s hands. “Mimi, let’s wait until Afrika gets out of surgery. Victor is my husband and I want to believe he didn’t do this.”
“Brenda, you don’t have a daughter lying in the operating room teetering between life and death. If Victor is the one who did this, he needs to be picked up off the street so that he can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Ladies,” John said, as he looked from Mimi to Brenda. No one saw him approach. “What’s going on?”
Brenda’s eyes pleaded with Mimi but Mimi looked away.
“John, please find the police,” Mimi said. “I have some information that may help them apprehend the person who shot Afrika.”
“What information?” Then John looked from Mimi to Brenda. “I’ll get the police.”
“Why couldn’t you wait, Mimi? I don’t know if Victor did it. I’m only speculating that it’s a possibility because he has a gun. Asia is over there with her fellow cheerleaders. I don’t want her to become upset.”
“I’m sorry, Brenda. But my daughter is laying in there…my only child. You’ve got to understand that.”
Tears rolled down Brenda’s cheeks. She left Mimi and found a corner of her own.
Mimi went to Brenda and rubbed her back. “Thank you for parting with that piece of information. If nothing else, it will help us get to the bottom of this and rule Victor out if he hasn’t done anything.”
Brenda said nothing.
Brisk footsteps made everyone look up. John led the way followed by two plainclothes detectives. John stopped in front of Mimi.
“Ma’am, Mrs. Bailey, I’m Officer Rathmusen. I understand you’re in receipt of some information that may help us apprehend the person or persons who may have shot your daughter.”
“It’s a long shot, sir…” Mimi looked over at Brenda and turned away. “I believe it may be someone I know. I don’t have any concrete evidence that this person was even at the game, but I’ve been threatened and stalked by this person in the last week, and it may have led to this. It’s a starting point; and if he didn’t do it, this will be a sure way to find out.”
“Maybe you should start from the beginning,” Officer Rathmusen said.
Mimi shared her bizarre story with the police, even the event nineteen years ago. She took several glances in Brenda’s direction as John stood over her, trying to calm her spirit. Officer Rathmusen stopped writing and looked at Mimi.
“Why didn’t you report this?”
“What would anyone have done?” Mimi asked. “I hoped that this would all go away, and I could go on with my life.”
“What is this person’s name?” Officer Rathmusen asked. “You have yet to say.”
Mimi looked over at Brenda once again. “It’s Victor Christianson. His wife is sitting over there.” Mimi pointed. Officer Rathmusen had a puzzled look on his face.
“We’re best friends.”