Déjà Vu (26 page)

F
ive four-by-six tables were filled with Barnes’ family members and close friends, Angelica and Edward included. More friends of the family occupied the other tables in the fellowship hall as they joined them in a meal that consisted of fried chicken, country ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, snap peas and green beans, and buttered rolls. A slideshow of the highlights of Hamilton’s life played out on a giant screen.

Jefferson and Margo sat close to Angelica and Edward at their request and melded right into the family. Even though Hamilton’s life had been heavily tarnished, he had been a friend of the family. Margo recalled the times in her memory that she had drooled over the handsome man, although privately, but in all of her dealings with Hamilton and Angelica, she never thought that his end would be so tragic.

Margo excused herself to go to the restroom. It had been a long day, and now her body sent an urgent message to care for it. Crossing the room, she saw familiar faces and acknowledged them but stopped cold in her tracks when she saw Malik standing at the end of the row.

If he had been at the service, she didn’t see him. Margo looked back at Jefferson, who was busy biting into his chicken and con
versing with Edward. She was not ready to face Malik or be reminded of the unthinkable thing she had done with him.

His smile made her wet herself as she fought the nerves that racked her body. How was she going to tell him that she made a mistake and that her heart belonged to Jefferson? She was angry for so easily giving herself to him, but she knew without a doubt who held her heart.

Malik stepped in front of her. “Hey, Margo. How are you feeling?”

“Like I really have to get to the restroom.”

“You go on; I’ll wait for you to come out.”

“I’m with my husband, Malik. This is not a good time.”

“When is a good time? Look at him. He can’t seem to get enough of Angelica. Dragged you by his side so he could…”

“Stop it, Malik. Angelica and Edward asked us to sit with them. I’ve got to go. I’ll talk with you later.” Margo left Malik standing there with a puzzled look on his face.

Margo closed her eyes and breathed in and out. Encounters with Malik had to be avoided because she was afraid he wouldn’t understand that she really didn’t want to be with him. With her shoulder, she pushed into the stall and hugged the wall until her urgency made her dance in place until she found relief. She washed her hands and exhaled, praying to God that Malik had gone to his seat.

Slowly opening the door to the restroom, she peered out. Not seeing Malik, she tried to make a mad dash back to her seat. Before she got two feet, a hand grasped her arm, making her flinch. Margo turned and looked into Malik’s quizzical face.

“Take your hands off of me, Malik.”

“Margo, what’s wrong with you? I want to talk with you. I grabbed your arm because you were moving so fast, and I didn’t
want to miss the opportunity to speak to you again before you waltzed to your seat.”

Margo looked at her arm and up at Malik. “Malik, we have to talk, but this is not the time or the place.”

“You’re making me crazy, girl. I want you so bad. The other day was so wonderful, I could make love to you right here.”

“Malik, not now. I guess you aren’t aware that Jefferson and I were almost killed the other night.”

“What are you talking about? Almost killed?”

“A drive-by. Someone riddled our house with bullets. It’s only by the grace of God that we’re alive.”

“I’m sorry, Margo. I haven’t looked at the news…oh my God…are you all right? Do the police know who did it?”

“No, they don’t know for sure, but they have some idea—in fact, a pretty good idea.”

“What can I do for you?”

“There’s nothing you can do for me or Jefferson. We’re under police protection, and that’s as good as it gets until they make an arrest. It’s been a scary ordeal.”

“You know you can stay with me. All you’re going through is probably because of all the mess Jefferson created. I’ve told you over and over, he doesn’t deserve you.”

“I’m staying with my husband, Malik. I love him, and I’m not going to leave him.”

“Does he know that you slept with me the other day?”

“Not unless you propose to tell him.”

“You’ve disappointed me, Margo. I didn’t come to you, you came to me. You gave yourself to me. You allowed me to touch your husband’s jewels.”

SLAP!! All eyes turned away from the slideshow that played
Hamilton’s life over and over. No one was sure what had transpired, and murmuring was heard throughout the crowd. Stunned, Malik cradled his jaw with his hand while looking at the stranger who had laid one on him. Margo walked away in a hurry, leaving Malik for a second time, only this time nursing his aching jaw.

Margo saw Jefferson moving toward her as she hurried to distance herself from Malik. A frown was drawn on his face, and when he reached Margo, his frown turned to anger as Malik came toward them.

“Jefferson, not now,” Margo pleaded.

“Well, tell me something,” Jefferson said, looking between Margo and Malik.

“Your wife slapped my face,” Malik said, staring Jefferson down. “Do you want to know why?”

“Because you deserved it, you imbecile? Malik, I’ve given you more warnings than you deserve about staying away from my wife, but this is the last time I’m telling you.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“It’s fortunate that you won’t find out tonight because this is neither the time nor the place. Don’t push my nerve because if I have to go to prison again, I will if you mess with my wife.”

“Maybe the two of you deserve each other. You know, she’s not a saint either.”

Margo begged Malik with her eyes to keep her secret. She hated him and wished she could make him disappear. She hated herself even more for succumbing to a lust of the flesh in a moment of weakness, no matter how many times Jefferson might have been unfaithful to her. But it was the painful moment between two former friends that left everyone’s tongues wagging; it didn’t take clues to help them figure out what Malik was trying to say.

Jefferson was silent as he followed Margo back to their seats. Margo looked at Angelica as her eyes asked what had happened. Ashamed, Margo folded her hands and placed them over her mouth, her elbows glued to the table. She dared not look at Jefferson, for fear that his accusing eyes would convict her—and rightfully so. A reprieve came her way when one of Hamilton’s cousins got up to talk about what a good friend he had been.

O
ne after another, they single filed to the front of the room, sharing good times about cousin Hamilton, Uncle Hamilton, my nephew Hamilton, and my good friend Hamilton. Laughter was the best medicine as it took some of the sting away from the final service, with each person trying to outdue the next in the stories they told. The crowd began to dwindle, and the few police officers that remained began to relax as the home-going for Hamilton was coming to a close without incident.

Angelica walked over to Lieutenant Broadnax and extended her hand. “Your words touched me, Carl. They were beautiful. I wished Hamilton could have heard them.”

“You know, Angelica, the lieutenant and I were at odds about a lot of things, but I truly loved him. Hated that things went down the way they did for us five years ago, but I took an oath to uphold the law, and I was doing my job.”

“I know.” Angelica brushed his shoulder. “You got someone in your life yet?”

“You remember Ebony?”

“Yes, she was Jefferson’s secretary.”

“Well, after her mom died, we became very close. In fact, we have a December wedding planned.”

“Congratulations, Carl. I’m so happy for you. Please give my regards to Ebony.”

“I will, and…we’d love for you to come to our wedding.”

Several seconds passed. Angelica did not respond, and Lieutenant Broadnax waved his hand in front of her face. It was not her imagination, but passing in front of her was the man in dreads. She’d recognize his face anywhere. It was etched in her memory.

“Lieutenant Broadnax, don’t move. Read my lips. I don’t know how this man got in here, but I believe there is a guy in here who works for Santiago. I don’t want to set off an alarm or make him aware that I recognize him.”

Eyes shifting, Angelica watched the man scanning the room as if he was looking for someone. He eased through the crowd without arousing suspicion. Pulled back from his face, his dreads were held together with some type of elastic band. He wore a black, double-breasted suit, a tie and a white shirt.
Santiago is clever,
Angelica thought.
Dreads looks like one of the mourners.

People continued to file out of the fellowship hall, although there were still groups clustered together, engaged in deep conversation. Angelica continued to follow him with her eyes when Lieutenant Broadnax began to speak.

“I need to call Petrowski and let him know that we have what seems to be a penetration in the building.”

“Look natural,” Angelica cautioned, tapping Broadnax’s chest with her hand. “I don’t want to give him any indication that we suspect him of anything.”

Broadnax removed her hand and made a quick call, never looking back to personally eyewitness the intruder. He hung up and looked at Angelica. “It’s not going to look normal if I keep standing here talking to you. I need to move around so that, if I need to make a move, I can get into position.”

“I’m sorry. My nerves have got the best of me. My brother, Edward, has a gun on him. I need to let him know what’s going on.”

“That wouldn’t be a good idea, Angelica. Let the police handle this.”

“Letting the police handle it has allowed the enemy to get into our camp. That man is looking for me; it’s my life on the line.”

“Please, Angelica, don’t do anything stupid. You could jeopardize everything. Just play along.”

Angelica let out a sigh and then panic gripped her as she lost sight of the man in dreads. She looked to the left and to the right, and then she felt it in the small of her back.

“Don’t move and don’t scream,” the voice said hurriedly. “I’m FBI. I’ve been working on the Santiago case, and I’ve been following you because we were sure you would lead us to him. We’ve made a lot of headway, but I’ll explain in more detail later. I’ve only got fifteen minutes to make my move. The SWAT team outside is working with the bureau.”

Angelica tried to turn around. “But why didn’t Lieutenant Broadnax know that you all were…”

“Don’t turn around, we have to move forward. The Fayetteville police are well aware of what’s going down. They were waiting for my signal. That’s why no one has pounced on me. I was able to infiltrate Santiago’s organization, and be glad I was in place when he decided to take you out. I didn’t learn about Hamilton until it was too late. That’s why I volunteered to take care of you; I knew that I could save your life.

“Santiago and a couple of his men are waiting outside a few blocks away. If I’m not successful with what they charged me to do, I’m sure they are going to try an attempt on your life. I’m going to walk you to a bulletproof vehicle, in the event something happens.”

“But my brother, Jefferson and Margo are here—what about them?”

“Look to your right, Broadnax is alerting them now. They are herding the others to the back of the room. They’ll be all right. Right now, we want to catch Santiago in the act. We have enough information on his activities, but since the shooting of your cousin, Donna Barnes Reardon, and Hamilton, things have moved so fast. Since I knew that he was going to make an attempt on your life, we are in a position to take him down. After you put on the bullet-proof vest I have in my backpack, you and I are going to walk out of the fellowship hall.”

“But what about all those things you said to me on the bus that day?”

“That was an attempt to get information from you. We let Santiago slip through our hands without a trace, but had high hopes that you would lead us to him.”

“That was pretty presumptuous of you because I wanted to be as far away from Santiago as I could possibly be.”

“Knowing how the criminal mind works, we were sure he was going to make some kind of effort to contact you—unfinished business. Now we’ve got to get moving. The plan is that I’ll have the gun drawn to your head, and the police will surround me. We hope to draw Santiago from his hiding place. Put the vest on, and let’s go.”

“And your name?” Angelica asked.

“Agent Walter Hopkins, at your service.”

Edward, Jefferson, and Margo stared at Angelica. Her fear returned as the remaining crowd watched from a distance. She and Agent Hopkins moved toward the main door of the hall, and when they reached it, he stopped.

“Act like you’re afraid but don’t go crazy. I’m not going to hurt you, and the other officers will be holding their guns on me. Drag your feet to make it look realistic—we’ll replace your shoes if we need to.”

Angelica’s face relaxed into a smile. “All I want is my life back.”

“Ready?” Agent Hopkins asked Angelica and the officers nearby. They moved through the door.

A
n ocean of orange, yellow, and a hint of magenta blazed across the sky, offering a panorama equal to that over the Polynesian honeymoon island of Bora Bora. Breathtaking was the sun as it slowly made its ascent due west.
It is too beautiful a day to die
Angelica thought, although she had buried a part of her past earlier that afternoon.

With a gun pointed at her head, she felt like death still lingered near, regardless of the amount of reassurances Agent Hopkins had given her. Out in the open, the commotion began as Agent Hopkins threatened to kill her if the police didn’t back off. She knew this was staged, but her life hung in the balance, and it made her cry out openly. There was no Edward at her side to rescue her if she needed him, and the thought of being the pawn to catch Santiago sickened her more.

Angelica and Agent Hopkins stood on the top step of the hall with police surrounding them.

“Release the woman, now,” blared the voice on the police bullhorn. Agent Hopkins had Angelica by the neck and the gun pointed right at her head. He continued to reassure her under his breath that all was under control.

The standoff was on. Agent Hopkins pointed his gun at the police officers and told them to move back because he was taking this woman hostage. The police would not back down and, for
fifteen minutes, Agent Hopkins continued to wave the gun at the officers, who were poised to shoot at any time while he held Angelica tight. Then it happened.

“Kill her. Kill her now, you fool. Kill her or I’ll kill you,” Santiago shouted from across the street. He moved closer and pointed the Glock. “What are you waiting for? You said you were going to take care of it.”

Hopkins pushed Angelica into the sea of officers, who immediately pushed her into a bulletproof patrol car that had been sitting on the side of the church. All of a sudden, gunfire rang out as Santiago pulled the trigger. Twenty members of the SWAT team and Agent Hopkins returned the fire, and Santiago stood still like a robot waiting for its next order, taking a few steps before falling face down on the sidewalk.

Members of the Fayetteville police rushed to the fallen Santiago but dropped to the ground when a round of gunfire cut them off. From the rooftops of neighboring businesses, gunfire poured down until there was no response from the enemy—a deafening silence ensued. The officers who had dropped to the ground slowly picked themselves up from the pavement and went to check on the fallen victims. Soon, the others joined them, and then an announcement was made.

“Three down,” said one of the sharpshooters. “No sign of anyone else.”

Angelica emerged from the car and walked cautiously toward the group of officers. When Agent Hopkins saw her approach, he put out his hand to stop her from coming closer. This wasn’t something she needed to see up close. Her worries were over—Santiago was dead.

The door to the fellowship hall opened, and Lieutenant Broadnax stepped outside. Edward, Jefferson, and Margo were right behind
him, all in a hurry to find out what went down. All efforts to restrain the group of people left in the fellowship hall were fruitless as they pushed past Broadnax and spilled outside. A yellow ribbon and a sea of police officers blocked their attempt to proceed beyond a certain point as the police waited for the coroner’s office to scoop the dead from the ground.

“What happened…are you all right?” Edward asked Angelica as he ran to be by her side.

“Edward, it happened so fast. One minute I had a gun pointed at my head, the next minute I was thrown to a bunch of muscle-bound cops, who tucked me away in their patrol car. Then the shooting began, and after a couple of minutes, it was all over. Agent Hopkins saved my life, and to think I believed he was one of the bad guys. He deserves a medal for his undercover work.”

“Good job, Angelica,” Margo said. Margo smiled and went to Angelica and hugged her.

“I needed that, girl. You don’t know. My life flashed before me a hundred times, but I’m glad it’s all over.”

“It’s over for all of us,” Margo responded. “We have you to thank for risking your life to save ours.”

“I’d do it all again,” Angelica laughed. “Well, I hope I don’t have to do it again. If I wasn’t forced to be the sacrificial lamb, I’m not sure I would’ve volunteered.”

Jefferson put his arms around Margo and finally spoke. “I can’t believe it’s all over.”

“From the little Agent Hopkins told me, Santiago probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Even though he won’t stand trial, there was enough evidence to convict him of several murders, including Hamilton’s.”

“Yeah, I heard about Hamilton’s cousin. Well, Santiago won’t be around to hurt anyone else,” Jefferson said.

“Look, why don’t we get away from here and go back to our hotel so we can sit down and talk?” Edward said. “We’ll get room service, if you want something to eat.”

Margo glanced at Jefferson and then looked quickly away. She puckered her lips. “Everyone has been through so much today,” Margo began, “and we’ve got to get our house taken care of.”

“This is Saturday, for heaven’s sake,” Angelica said. “You’re not going to get anything done on your house tonight. Come on, Margo. I want to bring you up to speed with what’s happened to me.”

“Well…” Margo began.

“Yeah, a few appetizers and some iced tea might do it for an hour or so,” Jefferson put in. “Help us to unwind from the day. We’re coming.”

“The Fayetteville police would have made Hamilton proud today,” Angelica added as an afterthought. “He lived and breathed that badge.” Before she could say anything else, Agent Hopkins approached.

“Hi, folks, I’m Agent Hopkins. Angelica was a brave woman tonight. I don’t know that I would have trusted me, if I were her.”

“It was a hard sell, but you left me little choice,” Angelica said. “And I’m glad it’s over.”

“Well, you did a fine job. Helping us to apprehend one of the FBI’s Most Wanted was a good thing. One of these days soon, I’ll be able to tell you the whole story leading up to this day.”

“Do you have any idea why Santiago may have killed Donna?”

“I can’t talk about the case, but it may have something to do with Donna kicking you out of her house and not telling him. But it’s apparent he found out where you were.”

“With Ari…,” Angelica mumbled. She pulled herself together.
“Thank you again, Agent Hopkins, for saving my life…for saving all of our lives. I don’t know how we can repay you.”

“Nothing to repay, Angelica. I was doing my job and I’d do it again.”

“Would you do me a favor?”

“If I can,” Agent Hopkins said.

“On the day I left the women’s prison, Sgt. Macy told me that she would see me again, and because I don’t plan to ever darken the doorway to that place, please tell Sgt. Macy for me that Angelica Barnes is never coming back. She gave me and the other girls in Dorm L a hard time. And, Agent Hopkins, she is not quite right—a lesbo who’s taking sexual liberties with women, those who want it and those who are forced against their will.”

Agent Hopkins pondered what Angelica said. “We may be taking a trip to the women’s prison sooner than you think. You may have repaid me by giving me what I need to take down corrupt workers in the system. Thanks again, Angelica.”

“Glad to be of service.”