“Yes?” I went back to the bed and took her hand in mine. “Go back to sleep baby.” Please go to sleep so I know you’re not feeling anything. It seems all she needed was to have me near so she could drift off again.
The longer I sat there the angrier I became. I needed answers but the phone wasn’t ringing. I was trapped, I needed to be out there handling this myself, but I couldn’t leave her. I’d never felt so helpless before in my life. Had she cried out for me when this was happening to her?
No, she said she blacked out after the first blow. Still! Rage fought with love, and love won. I will get to the bottom of it in due time. For now my place was with her.
She slept around the clock, waking only long enough to take her medicine and dribble down a few teaspoons of broth before falling asleep again. She was feverish and fretful and the fact that I could do nothing more for her brought me low.
All my money, all my resources, and there was nothing I could do to take her pain away. I groaned in my soul as I sat there looking at the destruction of her beautiful face.
“Sleep is the best thing for her son. She’ll heal nicely you’ll see. I called that doctor who saw her and he said her face should go back to normal in a couple weeks. The swelling is the worst of it. In other words, it looks worse than it really is.”
Mom must’ve sensed my distress and was trying to reassure me, but nothing could. Nothing was going to make me feel better until I shed the blood of that evil bitch.
“I’d like to see him take a punch to the face and tell me it looks worst than it really is. Look at her, look at what some dead fuck did to her.”
“What do you mean dead? You know who’s responsible?”
“I mean that when I get my hands on the one responsible they will not see the light of day again.”
“Solomon, don’t talk crazy. Let the police handle this.”
“Police? They’re not involved.”
“Why ever not?”
“Because it’s not what I want.” She shook her head and tried reasoning with me, but her words fell on deaf ears.
My phone beeped with a text and I breathed a little easier when I read it. “I’ll be downstairs in my office call me if she wakes up.” I looked at her as she moved to the bed to fuss with the covers. “Okay son I will.”
“I mean it mom, as soon as her eyes open call me. I promised her.” She nodded in understanding and I kissed my baby’s hair, which was the only safe place, before leaving the room
Downstairs they were all waiting for me. “You’d better have results; if you don’t you can all turn around and get the hell outta here.”
“We got what you needed boss.”
“Tell me.” I sat behind my desk and clasped my hands under my chin.
Ralph dropped the ring on my desk. I picked it up and twirled it around on my fingertip. Is this what had driven that fool over the edge? What had signed her death sentence? A fucking piece of coal?
“Where did you find it?” He showed me the slip from the pawn shop. “And that’s not all. They had surveillance. The footage is good, and so is the disguise, but you won’t have any trouble knowing…”
“Did you get a copy?”
“Yes.”
“And the other? The IPO, who does it belong to?” I tapped my finger on the desk. I already knew but I wanted all the evidence. I’m going to bury her with it.
“The same.” I nodded my head once.
“The doctor, did you find him?”
“It wasn’t easy getting the truth out of him at first but he talked.”
“Good.” I left and went back to her, slipping the ring on her finger where it belonged. “Mom why don’t you get some rest. I might need you later.”
“I’ll be in one of the guestrooms taking a nap. Your dad isn’t going to be home until tomorrow anyway so I can stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you.” She brushed my shoulder as she passed.
I must’ve drifted off with her hand in mine because when I opened my eyes she was looking at me. Whatever was in that cream mom had been plastering on her face every two hours must have a magic potion, because the swelling was already going down and her skin had lost that yellowish tint.
“You ready for another pill? Do you hurt?” She shook her head as much as she could. “I don’t want to go back to sleep yet.” Her voice wasn’t as hoarse as before, and she talked with more ease. “Hungry?”
I picked up the phone to call down for more broth. “Solomon.” She held her arms out like a child and I got up and slid down on the bed next to her. I was careful, as could be when I led her head to my shoulder. “Is that good?” I felt her slight nod against my shoulder.
Taking her hand in mine, I brought it to my lips so she could see her ring on her finger. She started to cry and I turned to wrap her in my arms. I let her cry it out until her body grew weak and limp.
“Stop. No more tears over that monster. Besides, this was my doing. Had I protected you better none of this would’ve happened. I promised you that no one would ever harm you; I failed. Just know that the one who hurt you will never hurt you or anyone else ever again.”
“What do you mean?” Just like mom. She knew exactly what I meant I was sure, and her next words proved it. “Solomon, you can’t do anything. She’s having a baby, and besides, you shouldn’t…do what you’re suggesting. It’s wrong.”
“So you know who did this to you.”
“I guessed. But Solomon promise me you won’t do anything to her. Just let the police take care of it. I’m sure there’s a penalty for all this.” I let her talk and convince herself. I wasn’t going to make a promise I had no intentions on keeping.
I fed her the broth when it came and made her take another pill. It was growing late in the evening and I wanted this shit done before the end of this day. She had her fingers closed tightly into her palm protecting her ring. I knew for her it was what the ring stood for that meant more to her than the value of the thing.
My first stop was the doctor. After a lengthy talk with my lawyers, I already knew his demise. I will show no mercy to anyone involved. Mom had pleaded with me before I left. Her last words still rang in my head. ‘You can’t start a life with Alexandra with blood on your hands.’ Shit annoys me.
It looked like things were dwindling down at the doctor’s office. There was only one person in the waiting room. I went to the desk where a nurse in her fifties sat going through files.
“Is anyone back there with him?” She looked up at me over the rim of her glasses. “Who are you?”
“Not the question I asked.”
“He’s in between patients, this young lady is waiting to see him next.”
“She can wait.” I walked towards the back with her calling after me.
He was sitting at his own desk staring into space. He jumped when I walked in and got to his feet. “Can I help you sir?” I guess my men’s questions had really spooked him because he was looking a little green.
“Yes. Some friends of mine paid you a visit earlier.” I took the chair across from him as he dropped back in his chair with his head in his hands. “It’s like I told them…”
“Now you can tell me. All of it.” He looked scared as hell and kept looking towards the door as if he expected someone to come to his rescue.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Try the beginning. How did she get you to agree to this?”
“I met her at a bar one night. We kinda hit it off you know. Look, I’ve been married for sixteen years, I was just looking for a bit of fun.” Like I gave a fuck about his marital problems. “Are you fuck stupid? Did I ask you about your fucking wife?”
“No-no, I was just trying to show you how it all begun. As I said-I met…Jessica, at a bar one night. She was with that friend of hers, Melissa. We talked for a while; she seemed interesting. I gave her my card and the next day she showed up here. We…” His face turned red and his eyes moved around like a ferret’s.
“Go on.”
“Well anyway, we uh, you know. It went on for a few days and then nothing.”
“When was this?”
“A few weeks ago, maybe a little over a month.” Just about the time I took Alexandra out to dinner that first time.
“That doesn’t tell me how she got you to write up a fake pregnancy.”
“She came back a few days later and told me I had to or she’d go to my wife. She had pictures, audio. I didn’t want my wife to know. It was just one time. I never cheated before.” I’m his fucking therapist now?
“I hope you have a backup plan because I’m about to have your license revoked. You’re about to lose a whole lot more than your wife. I will take everything you own.”
My lawyers were working on that shit as we speak.
“But why? You know the truth now no harm done.” I’d like to slit his fucking throat where he sit.
“Someone I love very much was hurt by your lie. Be thankful I’m letting you live.” I got up and left, shutting my conscience off. His pleas for the welfare of his kids didn’t mean shit to me. He was the one responsible for them, he should’ve thought of them before he made an alliance with evil. My only concern was for the one I was responsible for. Everyone else in this equation was fucked.