Deadly Satisfaction (11 page)

“Honestly . . . my father, and me too.”

“What's your relationship like with your father?”

“We don't have one.”

Donetta swirled her olive around in her glass. “Why not?”

“He's hurt everyone he supposedly loved. He knew he was doing wrong, but he chose to continue doing it anyway.”

“Wow, I'm sorry to hear that.” She paused and looked at him closely. “So what about you?”

Phillip took a deep breath. “How did we get on such serious topics? We're supposed to be having a lighthearted discussion over fantastic drinks in a relaxing atmosphere. We're getting kind of heavy, don't you think?”

“Phillip, my life weighed a ton from the moment I was born.” Donetta paused again. “But over the last couple of years I adjusted my lifestyle and lost a lot of that weight. I'm finally getting healthy, the way I was meant to be, but in order for me to maintain it, I've got to constantly work at it. I refuse to be overweight ever again, so dealing with heavy stuff is how I make sure I stay in shape.”

Now it was his turn to raise his brow. “You're not talking about your physical weight, are you?”

“I'm talking about life, boo.”

Phillip couldn't help but smile when she called him boo. It was a pop culture term that he'd always thought was silly, but coming from her, it was endearing. There were so many things about Donetta that he found fascinating, and he could feel his emotions starting to take control in a way they never had before. With each new discovery, he became more and more drawn to her. Here they were on their first date, in a beautiful, romantic setting, sipping expensive drinks, eating pricey appetizers, and talking about the ugly, shitty side of relationships and life.

Before he knew it, Phillip found himself telling her about his childhood and the dysfunction between his parents that he'd witnessed since he was a teenager. He even told her about the time he'd stumbled upon one of his father's many affairs, and how his father had sworn him to secrecy, and then used Phillip as an alibi to do even more dirt. He'd never confessed that to anyone, and now that he'd told Donetta, he felt as if a burden had been lifted from him.

Phillip felt safe with her in a way he'd never experienced. Her eyes held enormous beauty, as well as miles of pain, and it allowed her to understand him instead of judge him. He was about to ask Donetta more details about her life and her upbringing, but two things suddenly happened that interrupted him. Their server came to their table to let them know that the bar was closing, and his cell phone chirped with a new text message. He didn't have to look at the screen to know who it was, because he'd assigned Rachel a specific ringtone.

Rachel Belmont had been the only woman he'd dated who'd been able to make Phillip remotely think about the possibility of a commitment. They'd gone to law school together at Howard University, and they had always been friendly, but at the time she'd already been in a serious relationship and he'd been a serious player. Several years had passed before Phillip spotted her two years ago at an alumni mixer during homecoming weekend. One thing led to another and before he knew it, she was spending the night and waking up the next morning in his bed. That by itself said a lot, because rarely did Phillip invite women over to his place, let alone let them spend the night.

Rachel was self-assured, and a bit of a control freak. She was a defense attorney, and he represented plaintiffs, so by their very nature they were opposing sides. That was one of the reasons Phillip had never felt fully connected with her. She was great on paper, but there was something lacking where it counted. He felt an internal struggle when they were together. Lately she'd been pressing him for a commitment, and she had even asked if she could travel home with him for Thanksgiving. It had been hard, but he'd told her he thought it was time for them to move on because they wanted two different things. However, Rachel had other plans, and much like Sabrina, Phillip knew she was the kind of person who didn't stop until she got what she wanted. But he couldn't think about that now. He needed to concentrate on Donetta and deal with both Sabrina and Rachel at another time.

Phillip closed out their ticket, left a generous tip, and then escorted Donetta toward the lobby. It was the wee hours of the morning, everything was closed, but he didn't want his time with her to end. “Are you tired?” he asked.

“I should be, but no, I'm not.”

Phillip nodded. “Neither am I.” He led the way over to a love seat against a large window on the far side of the lobby. They sat close to each other and continued their conversation.

“So, who rang your phone for a booty call?” Donetta asked.

This was the first time that Phillip didn't want to be honest, but he knew he had to be. “A woman I've been involved with.”

“Is it serious?”

“I told you earlier, I haven't been in a serious relationship in years.”

Phillip noticed that Donetta's entire body language changed. She looked out the window into the darkness. “Donetta, are you okay?”

She let out a heavy sigh. “I want a serious relationship, Phillip.” She said this without blinking, and it made Phillip's heart beat fast as she continued. “I want to get married. I want to raise children. I want to have a family. Talking to you tonight made me realize that I need to stop being afraid. If I want something, I need to make it happen.” She gathered her small clutch, as if she was preparing to leave. “Phillip, you're a wonderful person, and I know that once you're ready to settle down you're gonna make some lucky woman a great husband. But I also know that's not going to happen anytime soon. You're in town for the holidays, and you're looking for a good time, which I think we've had tonight. But I know that's all it can be, because we want two different things, so let's not waste each other's time and just end this night on a high note.”

Phillip felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. Donetta had just said the exact same words to him that he'd told Rachel. A part of him felt horrible, because for the first time, he fully understood how much he'd hurt some of the women he'd been involved with, whether it was intentional or not. Donetta's rejection was honest and straightforward, but it still stung, and he wasn't ready to accept it. “Wait, how do you know that we want two different things?”

“Because you said so. You said you don't want a commitment or a serious relationship, but I do. From where I stand, that's two different things.”

Phillip rubbed his chin and thought about what she'd just said, and in that instant, he discovered something new about himself. “When you asked me what I want and don't want in a relationship, I first told you it depends upon the woman I'm seeing.”

She nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

“Donetta, you're unlike any woman I've ever met, so anything I may have thought or felt before is irrelevant.” He looked deep into her eyes so he could make sure she understood what he was about to say. “I know this might sound crazy, but I believe you and I have something special going on between us. The thoughts that have been popping up in my head all night, ever since the moment I first saw you, are like nothing I've ever imagined, and the fact that we just met doesn't negate that it's real.”

A long pause crawled by between them, filling the air. He could see that Donetta was processing what he'd just said, and he wanted to give her all the time she needed, but as much as he tried, he couldn't. He leaned in, wrapped his long arms around her slender waist, and brought her so close to him that their foreheads touched. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest and the tremble of her body against his. He looked into her eyes again, and without saying another word, he brought his lips to hers.

G
ENEVA

G
eneva rose from bed while Samuel and her in-laws were all still asleep. The only other person stirring in the early-morning hour was precious little Gabrielle. When Geneva went into her daughter's room, Gabrielle was already sitting up in her crib, and when she saw Geneva walk into the room she burst into a smile that was brighter than the sun. Geneva knew some things in life could get old, but watching the smile on her daughter's face wasn't one of them. “How's my beautiful girl this morning?” Geneva said in a cooing voice.

Geneva lifted Gabrielle from her crib and kissed her cheeks until her daughter squealed with delight. She couldn't believe how much her baby girl was growing every day. She'd been long and skinny when she was born, and now she was long and plump, like an adorable Gerber baby. Geneva walked over to the changing table and sang to Gabrielle as she wiped, powdered, and fastened a fresh diaper around her bottom.

Geneva felt blessed that Gabrielle was such a good and low-maintenance baby. She'd inherited that quality from both Geneva and Samuel. While Geneva had been pregnant, many of her customers had talked about the challenges and rigors of pregnancy, birth, and then the task of raising an infant. She'd expected sleepless nights, exhaustion, frustration, and at times, resentment for having to make such a drastic life change. But to Geneva's amazement, it was nothing like she'd thought it would be.

Her pregnancy had been smooth, and she'd worked at the salon up until a few hours before Gabrielle had been born. The first three weeks after Gabrielle had come home were a huge adjustment. Geneva had been tired and worried every second, wondering whether she was doing the right thing. But when the fourth week rolled around, it was as if a new chapter had been written. Gabrielle started sleeping through the night, she only cried when she needed to be fed or changed, and Geneva began to feel more confident each day that she knew how to be a parent. “My goddaughter has a better sleep pattern than I do,” Donetta had joked. Not only did Gabrielle sleep through the night, she was a calm, happy baby, and it made Geneva and Samuel's life so much easier.

Geneva opened the mini-fridge in the corner of the nursery and pulled out a bottle. “Is Mommy's little princess ready to eat?” Geneva laughed when Gabrielle gave her a huge grin that erupted into happy giggles. Gabrielle knew the routine, and she was so ready to eat that she actually clapped her hands. This was Geneva's favorite part of her day. As she sat in the comfortable reclining chair and cradled Gabrielle while she fed her, she almost forgot about why she'd been so tired when she first got up; then she remembered, and it sent a chill through her.

After Geneva burped Gabrielle, she grabbed a handful of bibs and a few cloth diapers and headed downstairs. “I'm gonna sit you in here while Mommy makes breakfast,” she said to Gabrielle. Once her daughter was secure in the portable playpen, Geneva knew that in another twenty minutes, Gabrielle would be fast asleep for another hour and a half. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out bacon, eggs, milk, cheese, and butter and set them on the counter.

As Geneva began to prepare food for the family, she tried not to think about the dream she'd had last night, but no matter how hard she willed herself not to, she couldn't get the image out of her mind of Johnny's dead body, and a woman cloaked in shadow standing over him. It had all seemed so real. Geneva had always heard that dreams were the thoughts and sensations that occurred in a person's mind during sleep. “Is it possible to actually see something from someone else's life?” she said out loud. She looked at the digital clock on the stove and saw that it was eight o'clock. She'd told Donetta that if she didn't hear from her by eight this morning she was going to call her, and as if like clockwork, Geneva's phone rang. It was Donetta.

“I was about to call you, but you beat me to it. I'm so glad you made it back alive.”

“Of course I did,” Donetta said in a groggy voice.

“Nowadays you can never be too sure when you meet someone new. I watch
Forensic Files
, and you'd be surprised at what people will do. There's a lot of nuts out there.”

“I hear you, but there's no need to worry. The old me would've been caught up in some foolishness, but the new and improved Donetta don't mess around.”

Geneva opened the pack of bacon and lined a large skillet, slice by slice. “So, how did it go?”

“Guuurrrlllll,” Donetta said. “You just don't know.”

“Wow, things went that well?”

“They're still going.”

Geneva shook her head as she cracked eggs into a bowl. “Wait a minute, please tell me that you didn't sleep with him—and he's still there?”

“No, I didn't sleep with him, I had sex with him, and yes, he's in my bed right now and I'm in my kitchen about to make breakfast. Girl, I'm up early, cooking for a man. Hell has officially frozen over.”

“Girl, stop! I can't believe this . . . I mean . . . damn, I don't know what to say.”

“I know!” Donetta squealed with delight as she whispered into the phone.

Geneva turned off the skillet of sizzling bacon and moved the bowl of eggs to the side. She took a seat on a bar stool at the end of the island because she needed to fully concentrate on everything Donetta was going to say. “Give me all the details, and don't leave anything out.”

“You know I love to kiss and tell.”

“Well, tell me while I still have a few minutes of peace before everyone wakes up.”

Donetta giggled. “Okay, so we had a great conversation in the bar, which is actually more like a sophisticated lounge. He's got daddy issues like most folks I know, but he's handling it. Anyway, we had such a good time that we closed down the place and had to end up going to the lobby to finish talking. We talked about relationships and what we wanted.”

“Wow, y'all got down to the nitty-gritty right away.”

“At this age, and after all I've gone through, I'm not interested in wasting my time.”

“I hear you.”

“Anyway, we talked enough for me to know that he's smart, funny, honest, successful, and an all-around good guy, but . . .”

“There's always a but.”

“You got that right. He's had a lot of women, and he's never made a serious commitment, as in an exclusive relationship.”

“Ever?”

“Not that I could tell, and that's why I promptly told him that even though I haven't been in a serious relationship in a long time, or even dated for that matter, I still want to. I told him that I want to get married and I want to raise a family of my own, then I picked up my purse and got ready to leave.”

“Good for you. But obviously that didn't happen, so tell me how he ended up in your bed.”

“He told me that he hadn't wanted a commitment in the past, but every situation is different, which I agree with. Then he leaned in and kissed me, and before I knew it we were back at my house taking off each other's clothes.”

Geneva knew that Donetta had only had sex once since having her reassignment surgery, and that had been six months ago. Donetta had told her that it had been a huge disaster. She'd been so disappointed that Geneva believed it was the reason Donetta hadn't had any interest in going on a date since that night. As Geneva's mind briefly flashed back to that time, she now realized the true significance of what last night must have meant for Donetta, and also, that the man she was with was truly someone special. “He obviously knew what he was doing,” Geneva said.

“Not only did he know what to do, he knew when to do it.” Donetta's whisper carried a softness in tone that Geneva had never heard before. “He was so gentle. He took his time, he talked to me, he kissed me, he told me I was beautiful. Girl . . .” Donetta paused and her voice trembled. “It was magical.”

“I'm so, so very happy for you, Donetta. You've waited a long time to feel this way, and I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than you.”

“Thanks, honey. I don't know where this is going to lead, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can. I've learned that I can't worry about what might happen tomorrow, because the next day isn't promised. If someone had told me when I woke up yesterday morning that today I'd be waking up beside a handsome, caring man who rocked my world, I wouldn't have believed them. But it happened.”

“You're right.”

“So I'm just gonna live in the moment, and let this moment take me to the next one.”

Geneva thought about what Donetta was saying, and she knew that she needed to do the same thing with her life and the worries she'd been having since yesterday, especially after her bad dream last night. “Donetta, I agree with you, and again, I'm so happy for you, girl.”

“Enough about me, how're you feeling this morning?”

“I'm good.”

“Geneva, it's me you're talking to. I know you're happy for me, but I can hear something in your voice that's not quite right. It's the same thing I heard last night, so don't tell me you're good, because I know you're not.”

“It's nothing, really.” Geneva didn't want to bring Donetta off her high by telling her about a crazy dream she'd had, but at the same time, she couldn't shake the feeling that her dream meant something. “I don't want to worry you.”

“I'm already worried, and I'm gonna be upset in a minute if you don't tell me what's going on.”

Geneva took a deep breath. “This is going to sound crazy, so just keep an open mind about what I'm getting ready to tell you.”

“Okay, my mind and ears are open.”

Geneva told Donetta from beginning to end about her dream, not leaving out a single detail. “I was literally there, watching Johnny in the moments before his murder. I just wish that I'd been able to move my legs so I could've gotten a good view of whoever it was that killed him.”

Donetta was silent.

“I know you think I'm crazy. Say something.”

Donetta let out a deep breath. “No, I don't think you're crazy, I'm just processing everything. You obviously had that dream because you saw Vivana on TV yesterday, and that brought the trauma of what happened two years ago back to the surface.”

“Yes, that's true, and at first I thought the same thing. But Donetta, it was more than just a dream. I'm telling you, it was real. Vivana didn't kill Johnny.”

“You know, it's funny,” Donetta said with a sigh. “I'm one of the very few people in this entire town who never thought that bitch was guilty. Is she nuts? Absolutely! Is she capable of murder? You bet. But did she kill Johnny? I don't think so.”

“Up until last night I really believed she did, and you couldn't have convinced me otherwise. But after my dream, I know in my heart that she didn't.”

“Tell me again, what was the last thing you remember seeing the killer do in the dream before she walked out the door?”

“Well, like I said, the person was definitely a woman. The shadow around her filled the entire space like a shade tree. She stood over him, and even though I couldn't see her face, I know she was smiling. She said something to him that I couldn't understand, and then right after that she waited for a minute or two, like she was waiting to make sure he was dead, then when he took his last breath she turned around, kicked him in his side, and walked away.”

“Damn! She was one cold killer.”

“It sent chills down my spine.”

“I bet.”

Geneva tried to remember as many other details as she could, and then something else came to her. “I think the killer took the blue box that I told you about. As a matter of fact, I know she did. When Johnny left the living room he had it in his hand, then once he was in the kitchen I could hear him fixing another drink, so he had to have set it on the counter in order to do that. But when I went in there after he was murdered, the blue box was nowhere to be found.”

“That makes a lot of sense. Remember, during the trial when the detectives said that Johnny had been blackmailing all those women with videos and pictures he'd taken, but they couldn't find any physical proof, not even cell phone records because he'd used a burner phone. All that physical proof, along with the burner phone, was in that blue box, and after the killer murdered him, she took the evidence with her.”

“Exactly!” Geneva hopped off her bar stool and started pacing the floor. She glanced over at Gabrielle, who was fast asleep, and then walked over to the other side of the kitchen. “In my dream, I distinctly saw Johnny pull out some pictures, DVDs, and a burner phone. I guarantee you all the women he blackmailed were in that box.”

During the murder investigation, the only way the detectives had discovered that Johnny was blackmailing women was that he'd gotten sloppy, and had forgotten to erase a few e-mails he'd sent from the hard drive of his computer. Two of his victims had also sent him threatening texts on his regular cell phone. But because the authorities had figured out that Johnny must have primarily used a burner phone for his dirty deeds, they'd suspected that there had probably been more victims out there than they'd ever really know. Now Geneva believed it without a doubt, and one of those faceless victims had gotten away with murder.

“So what are you gonna do?” Donetta asked.

“I'm not sure. On the one hand, I don't want to go to the police because they'll never believe me. And besides, if Vivana is really innocent, that means she'll be released from prison. She vowed to kill me once, and if she gets out she might try to finish what she started.”