The Devil Is a Lie (20 page)

T
odd took a deep breath. He’d been trying to summon up his courage all day. He knew he shouldn’t be standing on Nina’s doorstep, but she wouldn’t answer his phone calls and he didn’t have any other choice.

Nina had already been weighing heavily on his mind prior to Shari’s bombshell. Even his appearance at church the day Roscoe attacked her had been carefully planned. Shari had mentioned that Nina attended the eleven
A.M.
service, so he went hoping to see her. And when he saw her go talk to the pastor, he hung around, though he couldn’t have known that he would end up coming to her aid.

After the ruling in which he was awarded half the money, he’d tried to push her out of his mind. But he couldn’t es
cape thinking about her. It didn’t help that he was lonely. He could’ve easily just picked up another woman, but now he had to worry that a woman might try to be with him because of his money. Besides, he didn’t want just
any
woman. He wanted the one he knew he couldn’t have—Nina. So he had to try.

Todd gave himself a once-over, making sure the chocolate linen outfit he wore was immaculate. He decided it was, rubbed his fade, then rang the doorbell.

When Nina answered the door, the smile immediately faded from his face. Her eyes were puffy and red. Todd felt his heart sink. He wasn’t trying to use her misfortune to his advantage. He just wanted to be there for her, comfort her, and if she gave him a second chance in the process, that would be all the better.

“Todd, what are you doing here?” Nina said.

“I came to see how you were doing,” he replied nervously.

“I’m fine,” she said, even though she wasn’t. “I’ll ask you again, why are you here? What if Rick were here?”

Nina never was good at lying. She could never look him in the eye when she wasn’t being truthful, and right now she was looking over his shoulder, out into the yard.

“Well, I didn’t see his car,” Todd said, motioning toward the driveway.

“How do you even know what his car looks like? Are you spying on me? Maybe it was parked in the garage.”

“I peeked in your garage window,” he lied.

“So you
are
spying?”

“No, I just wanted to take my chances.” He wondered why
she was giving him such a hard time, but then, he knew Nina. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing Rick was gone.

“I was just wondering if you felt like going to get something to eat.”

“Why would I want to do that?” she snapped.

Todd quickly decided to try another approach. “Look, I’ll be honest,” he said. “I told you I felt bad about the money, and it looks like Grams’s surgery was a success, so I wanted to talk to you about splitting the money you gave me.”

He stared at her, half expecting her to start going off, but she looked exhausted.

“Come on in,” she said finally.

Todd tried not to smile as he followed her inside.

“How is Grams?” she said conversationally. “Let me know when she’s up for visitors, because I really want to go see her.”

“She’s recovering well. She’d love a visit from you. You know she’s asking about you.”

“I’ll go see her tomorrow,” Nina said, motioning for him to take a seat across from her.

Todd felt a smile tugging at his mouth. There was such a big difference between her and Pam. What in the world had he been thinking?

“And how’s your mother?” Nina asked politely.

“She’s doing good. She’s happy the surgery was a success, and she’s praying for you.” He’d told his mother about Rick taking the money and she’d instantly wanted to call Nina. Todd had made her promise that she wouldn’t. And she’d made him
promise that he would come here today. Todd was all too happy to oblige.

Nina raised an eyebrow. “Why would she be praying for me?”

Todd caught himself and smoothly recovered. “You know she’s always praying for everybody. But she seems to think this money is just going to bring us both trouble.”

“You ain’t never lied about that,” Nina mumbled.

Todd sat fidgeting for a moment. He was trying not to notice how sexy she looked in a tight baby-doll tank top and brown lounging pants. She had her hair pinned up, and if not for the pain etched on her face, she’d look like she was spending a relaxing day at home. Todd’s eyes roamed around the room. “Ooooh,
Cooley High
, that’s my favorite movie,” he said when he noticed what she was watching on TV.

“That was
our
favorite movie,” Nina said, then looked like she wished she could take the words back.

Todd ignored her embarrassment. “Do you mind if I watch a little bit of it?”

She hesitated, then said, “Whatever.”

He longed to reach out and touch her, hold her, beg that she give him another chance.

He sat down and they watched the movie in silence for a few minutes. Then he cracked a joke and was thrilled when Nina laughed. All during the rest of the movie, Todd was surprised at the comfortable groove they fell into once the tension was broken. At the end, he was sorry to see the credits start rolling.

“You heard any more from your mother?” he asked as she reached for the remote.

She muted the TV. “No, surprisingly, I haven’t. But something tells me that I will. That is, until she learns that I don’t—”

She abruptly stopped talking, and Todd knew she didn’t want him to know about Rick, so he didn’t press the issue.

“Well, like I said, I can’t sleep since I took your money.” He cleared his throat. “And I was just hoping, well, that you would allow me to return some of it.”

Nina eyed him skeptically. “You know, don’t you?”

Todd bit down on his lip. He didn’t want to lie to her, so he slowly nodded.

Nina got up and walked over to the window. “I don’t need charity,” she said, gazing outside.

“I know you don’t.”

“Then don’t insult me by offering to give me money.”

Todd wanted to argue that she was just being prideful, but he knew Nina, and he’d have more luck trying another approach. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not with you,” she said, turning around.

He was not to be deterred. “Okay. But you still have to eat. Can I at least buy you dinner?”

She hesitated, and as if on cue, her stomach growled. They both broke out in chuckles.

“I guess you have your answer,” Nina said. “Gimme a minute. Let me change.”

Todd fought back the urge to turn a backflip as he watched his wife walk upstairs to change her clothes.

W
hat a difference a month makes. That’s how long Todd had been popping up over at Nina’s house. He always had some excuse. Some gift his mother wanted to give, some question that he just had to ask in person, even some leads on Rick’s whereabouts.

Nina was funky with Todd the first few times, and she all but went off on him a couple of times. But despite her attitude at the door, she always let him come in. She’d come to the point where she welcomed talking with him. She welcomed anything that would help her get her mind off Rick. She had yet to hear a single word from him. Every lead turned up empty. She’d even disguised herself and hung out at the gym, but that had led nowhere. She finally came to terms with the fact that Rick and her money were long gone.

“What are you thinking about?” Todd said, interrupting her thoughts. They were at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, having dinner with his mother, who had excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Todd and Nina alone. Nina couldn’t believe she was sitting with them like they were some big happy family, but his mother had called her personally and asked her to join them for dinner.

“Everything. Nothing,” Nina said. “Just trying to figure out what I’m doing.” She really had no idea. How in the world had she fallen back into a natural groove with Todd? Was she vulnerable because of what happened with Rick? She had the money her grandmother had returned to her, so she wasn’t broke and didn’t need Todd for the money. So why was she here?

“Look, I know you wrestled with whether you should come. I just want you to know it means a lot to my mother,” Todd said.

Nina looked at his earnest face and wondered where the hatred that she’d felt so strongly a few months ago had gone. Her pastor’s words rang in her ears.
Hate is a wasted energy
.

“What did you tell her about us?” Nina asked.

“I told her the truth. That I was hoping we could return to our friendship. The fact that we were even speaking was enough for her to invite you.”

“What are you two over here whispering about?” Todd’s mother said as she returned to the table. She looked lovely in a black silk blouse and flowing black pants. She proudly wore the elegant set of pearls that Nina and Todd had given her for her fiftieth birthday.

“Nothing,” Todd said. “We were just talking.”

“Good. That’s where you two went wrong years ago,” she said, taking her seat. “You stopped talking.”

Nina shifted uncomfortably. “Not exactly, Mrs. Lawson.”

“I told you to stop calling me Mrs. Lawson. I will always be Mama to you,” she said lovingly. “And if you’re talking about my son cheating on you with that floozy, your problems started long before then.”

Both Todd’s and Nina’s eyes grew wide.

“What? Y’all think I’m dumb?” She shook her head at Todd. “I stayed out of your business, but your problems started long before Pam.”

The mention of Pam caused a sharp pang in Nina’s heart.

Todd’s mother seemed not to notice as she continued. “Number one, you two were too young to be so serious. You never experienced life outside of each other.” She motioned toward her plate and the small piece of thick meat left on it. “You know why I love this filet mignon? Because I’ve had chuck steak.” She turned to Todd. “You only knew Nina, your prime rib, your filet mignon. So when some chuck steak came along, disguised as a filet, you were willing to toss out one dish for the other.”

Nina chuckled. So her grandmother wasn’t the only one who passed out homespun wisdom.

“So that was problem number one,” Todd’s mother continued. “Number two was you stopped being friends. And number three, which really should’ve been number one, is you didn’t take your problems to God.”

“Mama, please,” Todd said, eyeing Nina like he was scared that she was going to get up and walk away.

“Okay, fine. I’ll hush,” she said. “But mark my words, your story together isn’t over. In fact, a whole new chapter is beginning.” She looked around for the waiter. “Now, where’s that cute waiter? I want some cheesecake.”

Nina glanced sideways at Todd and saw him in a different light. Who would’ve ever thought that a never-finalized divorce would lead them here? Maybe her grandmother was right. God had a master plan after all.

“I
know you didn’t think this was over.”

Todd stepped back at the sight of Pam blocking his front door. His hand instinctively went to Nina’s. For some reason, Nina knew this day would come. She took in Pam’s appearance. The girl looked the worst she’d ever seen. Her weave looked like it was long overdue for a wash. She wore some gray sweats and a white tank top. And she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

“Pam, what are you doing here? And how did you get in the building, let alone inside my place?” Todd’s new condo was in a gated community. How did Pam make it past the security guard and inside his condo?

Pam slowly fingered a brass door decoration that sat on his coffee table. It read, “Welcome to our home.” The previous
owner had left it. Todd had just got around to removing the ugly sign off the door yesterday.

“Hmph, ‘welcome to our home,’” she said, reading the words on the brass plaque. “Isn’t that sweet? You’re welcoming me to your home.”

“Pam, what do you want?” he asked, looking around nervously. Nina knew he was thinking the same thing she was. The crazed look in Pam’s eyes was unnerving. Nina silently cursed. Why had she even come over here? She was meeting her grandmother at Todd’s place because Odessa wanted to go with her to visit Todd’s grandmother. Since Yvonne was coming into the city, she offered to drop Odessa off at Todd’s place.

“I wanted this,” Pam answered, motioning around the three-thousand-square-foot high-rise. “This is the life you promised me. This is the life I deserved.” She stepped toward him. “This is the life you wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for me.”

“And I appreciate that. Now, if you will excuse me…” He reached out to push her toward the door.

Pam jumped in front of him again. “Oh, no, we’re just getting started.”

Todd inhaled slowly. “Pam, if you don’t get out of my house…”

“You’ll what?” she taunted. “You don’t have the ba—” She stopped as she noticed his watch. “Is that a Rolex?”

He sighed as he moved his hand behind his back. Besides the new condo, the gold Rolex had been the only luxury item he’d allowed himself, and right about now he was wishing he hadn’t.

The watch set Pam off. “No, you didn’t buy a Rolex,” she snapped. “Your cheap ass didn’t want to give me a thousand freaking dollars and you bought a Rolex?”

“Pam, you need to go.” Todd was about to say something else when a big, burly man walked out of the kitchen.

“Yo, Pam, you were right. This place is off the chain. I…” His voice trailed off as he took in Todd, every inch of him. “Is this the con artist?”

“That’s him,” Pam snarled. “Todd, meet my friend Big Rob.”

Big Rob was every bit his name. Undaunted, Todd asked, “Why is Big Rob in my kitchen?” He looked down at the beer in Big Rob’s hand. “Drinking my beer?”

Pam’s lips tightened. She had been so focused on Todd, she was just now realizing Nina was with him.

“Pam, you need to leave,” Todd said again.

Pam sat down in the chair in the living room, her long legs crossed, a look of pure hatred distorting her face. “I’m not going anywhere.” She looked at Nina with disdain. “I guess you think you won?”

The menacing look made Nina nervous. But more than that, she feared Big Rob standing behind them, pistol in clear view in his waistband.

“I don’t like being played. And you played me,” Pam said to Todd.

Todd eyed the pistol as well. “So what you gon’ do, Pam, shoot me?”

“And get my nails dirty? I don’t think so. Big Rob, on the other hand, there’s no telling what he might do.”

“Pam…”

“Shhhh, I’m gonna get to you in a minute. You feeling victorious?” she asked Nina. When Nina didn’t answer, she added, “If you think I’m gonna let you have your money
and
our money, you have lost your mind.”

“There is no ‘our,’” Nina said. “Remember, Todd’s my husband.”

That wiped the smile off Pam’s face.

“And I guess I should thank you for that,” Nina said, “especially because we’re working things out.”

Todd’s eyes grew wide. Nina knew she shouldn’t have gone there, especially since they hadn’t talked about working things out. But she wanted to wipe the smug look off Pam’s face, and her words had done just that.

Pam stood up, enraged. “What do you mean, y’all working things out?”

Todd looked to Nina for an explanation. Nina ignored him, enjoying the pleasure she was taking plunging the knife deeper into Pam’s heart.

“Just what I said,” Nina replied. “Thanks to you, we’re not divorced, and I think that’s a sign that you should’ve never split us up in the first place.”

She knew she shouldn’t be saying that, but Nina had waited a long time to pay Pam back, and she absolutely loved the look on Pam’s face right then. Pam’s bottom lip started trembling in anger.

“It’s like you said,” Nina continued lightly. “Any pretty woman can seduce a man, but it takes a special woman to steal his heart, and, sweetie, I’ve always had his heart.” Nina knew
she was shocking Todd with everything she was saying, but at the same time, a big smile was spreading across his face. “I was in his heart all the time. When he had sex with you, it’s my face he saw. He was thinking about me—his wife.”

“Is that true?” Pam said, jerking around toward Todd.

“I, ahhh, I, uh,” Todd stuttered.

“Oh, hell to the no.” Pam stomped over toward Big Rob. “These fools don’t know who they messing with.” Before Rob could blink, she had pulled his gun from his waistband. She pointed it straight at Nina’s head.

“You ain’t so confident now, are you?” Pam said.

Pam was right. All of Nina’s confidence had fled out the window. She no longer wanted to play this game.

“Pam, what are you doing?” Todd exclaimed.

Even Big Rob looked shocked.

Pam waved the gun. “Y’all got me messed up. You gon’ try to cheat me out of money that you wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for me. And you, you want to act all big and bad. Who’s big and bad now?” she said, shaking the gun at Nina.

Tears built up in Nina’s eyes as her whole body trembled. “Pam, I didn’t mean…”

“You didn’t what? Speak up! You was talking all loud a minute ago,” she said, nudging Nina’s head with the gun barrel. “Talk loud now.”

Nina’s cell phone rang, momentarily stopping Pam’s rant. “I…I…” Nina’s eyes glanced down at the phone clipped to her purse. “I need to get that. It’s probably my sister. She’s downstairs with my grandmother.”

“And?”

“And…if…if I don’t answer, she’s just gonna come on up.”

Pam huffed in frustration.

Rob walked over to her and touched her arm. “Pam, look here, you know I’m on probation. You said we was just coming here to scare them. I can’t get caught up in no drama.”

“Shut up, Rob,” Pam snapped. “You’re the sorriest criminal I’ve ever seen.”

“Whatever, I don’t want to go back to jail, so I’m not down with this.”

“Waste of a big ol’ man,” she grumbled.

“Whatever.” He sat down at the bar. “You on your own.” He pointed to Nina and Todd. “Y’all my witnesses. I ain’t have nothing to do with this.”

The phone rang again.

“Answer the stupid phone!” Pam screeched. “And get rid of her.”

“Okay,” Nina said quietly. Her hands were shaking as she opened the phone and pushed the Talk button.

“Hey, baby,” her grandmother said. “We’re downstairs. I couldn’t remember which unit you said is Todd’s.”

“Oh, okay,” Nina said carefully. “So you haven’t made it here yet?”

“What you talking about, we haven’t made it? I told you we’re downstairs.”

“No, well, don’t come then,” Nina continued. “Todd and I will just meet you.”

“Why are you talking crazy, gal? I told you we’re already here. I’m tired and my feet hurt, and I’m just ready to go see ’bout Hattie.”

Nina grimaced as Pam pushed her head again with the gun and mouthed, “Hurry up.”

“Grandma,” Nina said, taking a deep breath. If ever there was a time she needed her grandmother to just be quiet and listen, this was it. “We’ll just meet you later, okay? That way you don’t have to come all the way over here. You can just stay at home and feed the pigs.”

Her grandmother fell silent. “Oh, my God. What’s going on, Nina?” she said in a panic.

“Yeah, okay, I have to go,” Nina said, trying her best to stay calm.

“Jesus, is somebody there?”

“Yes, but we’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, baby. I’m about to get help. There’s a security guard right here. You hang tight.”

“Okay, I love you, too.” Nina hung up the phone.

“Are you through with the whole ‘family matters’ crap? And what kind of country-bumpkin relatives you got? Feeding pigs? Whatever, it don’t even matter.” She scowled as she started waving the gun back and forth between the two of them. “Now, where were we?”

“Pam, this is between me and you,” Todd said.

“Shut up. Shut up right now,” she replied. “I’m sick and tired of always being left out. I try to do right, but men like you just won’t let me. ‘Don’t go after someone for their money,
Pam,’” she said mockingly. “‘You should love a person for who they are, not what they have, Pam.’ I loved your broke behind, and what did it get me? When you did get some money, you try to cut me out.”

“Pam, I’m sorry, okay? It’s not even that serious. I can write you a check right now.” He reached in his back pocket for his checkbook.

She cackled. “You must think I’m a fool. So you can stop payment on it?”

“I don’t have any cash on me.” He sighed in frustration. “Are you gon’ rob me? Shoot me? What you gon’ do, Pam?”

“I don’t know what I’m gon’ do!” she yelled. “Just let me think. Shut up all this noise.”

“Yo, Pam, I told you I ain’t with this,” Rob said as he bit into an apple.

“Shut up, Rob!” Pam was becoming totally unhinged. “Sit down!” she demanded. Todd and Nina both quickly complied. Pam began pacing back and forth across the living room floor, using the handle of the gun to scratch her head. She was like a crazed woman. “Okay, all right, cool,” she said, more to herself than anyone else. “Here’s what we’re gonna do.” She stopped in front of Todd and Nina. “Rob is going to go with you to the bank. I’m gonna sit here with your precious little wife. If you’re not back here in thirty minutes, you might as well get your black suit ready.” She once again pointed the gun at Nina’s head.

Nina closed her eyes, unable to hold back the tears.
Lord, please don’t let me die
, she thought. She remembered Pastor Ellis’s words about going to God when times were good, not
just when they were bad.
I’m sorry, God. Just get me through this and I’ll do better, I promise
.

“Pam, you are not a killer,” Todd said slowly.

“You don’t know nothing about me!” Pam screamed, causing Nina to pop her eyes open. “You don’t know what I’m capable of, or you wouldn’t have thrown me out on the street like a piece of garbage. You wanna know what I am? I’m tired. And I deserve some satisfaction!”

“Okay, fine,” Todd replied. “But this is between you and I. Let Nina go and we’ll work this out.”

She pointed the gun at Nina’s head. “Thirty minutes, Todd. The bank is right down the street. Go! The clock is ticking!”

“Pam—”

“Don’t try me, because I’m pissed off, and you know I’m not pretty when I’m pissed.”

“Okay.” Todd stood. “I’m going.”

“Go on with him, Rob,” Pam said. Rob looked up from the
Jet
magazine he was reading.

“What?” he asked.

“Rob, just go.”

Rob stood up, grumbling, “I told you, I ain’t tryin’ to get caught up in no drama.” He stomped toward the door. “And you got my piece anyway.” He pointed toward the gun. “So how you think I’m gonna keep him under control?”

Pam groaned. “You’re three hundred and fifty-two pounds. If you can’t keep him under control, something is wrong.”

“Whatever. All I know is I didn’t count on all of this. I’m just here for appearances.”

“I will reward you for your time.” She hissed. “Okay?”

The prospect of payment reordered his priorities. He grabbed Todd’s arm and pushed him to the door. “Don’t try no funny stuff, man. I don’t want to have to snap your neck.”

Todd stumbled as he looked at Nina. “Pam, don’t hurt her.”

“Hurry back and your precious Nina will be fine.”

As Nina watched Todd head toward the door, a feeling in her gut told her this would be her last time seeing him. Yet when Rob swung the door open, Nina wanted to shout for joy at the sight of the security guards standing with their guns drawn.

“Drop your weapon!” they shouted.

“Whoa,” Rob said, holding his hands up and stepping out of the way.

Pam’s eyes darted in horror between the guards and Nina.

“Ma’am, drop the gun. It’s not worth it!” one of the guards said.

The reality of what she was doing set in at last. Pam let out a sob, dropped the gun, and sank to the floor as the uniformed guards rushed in.