Royce (39 page)

She went into the family room where Royce was watching TV with Justin laying across him.  She sat down next to him, and leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Lanie’s at Big John’s for a few days,” and she had to reach over and close his mouth.  And that was the start of their relationship with Big John.

In March Joy gave birth to a beautiful baby boy they named Christopher Thomas Harrington, he had Justin’s dark and curly hair, his father’s smile, and his mother’s dark eyes, and Royce couldn’t have been happier. 

Royce was in a meeting when Ms. Severs interrupted him, “Mr. Harrington you have an urgent call.”  He looked at her, his heart lurched and worry set in, “Who’s it from?”  He asked as they walked to his office. “The police,” she said. “The police!”  He was scared now.  Something must have happened to Joy, an accident, he sat down, bracing himself for bad news.  He’d already gone pale Ms. Severs could see that, “Yes, this is Mr. Harrington.” 

“Mr. Harrington, this is Detective Jackson we need you to come down to the station right away there’s been an incident involving your wife.” “Tell me, tell me she’s alright, tell me she and my boys are alright.” Royce didn’t want to drive there and hear it.  “We need you down at the station Mr. Harrington, how soon can you get here?”  “Oh god, please tell me, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said when they wouldn’t tell him anything.  He was shaking, but he went out and drove to the station. 

They led him back to an interrogation room, “My wife, where is my wife?”  He asked over and over.  In the small interrogation room Royce was sitting in a grey chair behind a grey table and the detective was wearing a grey suit.  Everything around him was grey, the detective, the room, the desk and his world, if something happened to Joy grey would be the color of his life.  “Your wife is fine Mr. Harrington.”

“Oh thank god, oh thank god, what happened, what happened?”

“I’m Detective Jackson, and we need to ask you a few questions Mr. Harrington.” “Yeah sure,” “What is the nature of your relationship with your wife? …Is it strained are you on good terms?”  And Royce didn’t understand why the detective was asking these questions.  “I love my wife, love her very much.  What has happened here?  Where is she?  Let me see her!”  He pleaded, “Not yet Mr. Harrington, but she is fine…” 

“My boys, where are my boys?”  “They are fine too Mr. Harrington.” “Is there any reason anyone would want to harm your wife?”  He looked at him stunned, “Harm my wife, harm my wife…No I can’t think of anyone…Harm her how?”  He asked, what was he getting at?  “Well someone tried to harm your wife today Mr. Harrington and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it, so tell us what’s going on here, tell us who would want her harmed?”  And Detective Jackson gave him a look like
you know what I’m talking about
, and Royce got it.  They thought he wanted to hurt Joy. 

“Are you insane?”  He jumped up and paced, “Someone tried to hurt her, someone tried to hurt her!  Oh god, if anyone wanted to hurt her it’s not me, I love her, I love her!”  He was past the point of being upset. “You need to look into her ex-husband, he’s the one who might want to hurt her!”  But even he couldn’t fathom Michael hurting Joy.  “What happened, what did they do?”  He wanted to know, “You tell us Mr. Harrington, you tell us who you hired to commit this crime?”  He was stunned.  “How are your finances Mr. Harrington, are there money problems you can’t handle?”  He was seething. “Did you put a hit out on your wife?” Detective Jackson was so nonchalant as he implied the unthinkable. 

“What?  A hit?  Like a mob hit?  I don’t understand?”  He didn’t know what a real hit was.  He only knew by what he’d seen on TV, from movies, did someone put a mob hit on Joy, why?  He didn’t understand. “You think I…I would never… I could never…,” he was so upset he couldn’t even say the word.  “Where is my wife?  Where is my wife?  I want to see my wife!  Is she okay, is she okay!”  He didn’t know what to think, maybe Joy wasn’t alright, a mob hit.  Maybe that’s why they weren’t letting him see her.  She wasn’t okay.  “Where is my wife? I want to see my wife!”  He was crying now, “I want to see my wife!  Where is my wife?  Where is my wife!”  “Calm down Mr. Harrington…” “I demand to see to my wife now!… I will not answer any further questions until I see my wife!”  He wasn’t going to play cat and mouse games with them, someone tried to hurt Joy, someone put a hit out on Joy.

“Alright Mr. Harrington,” Detective Jackson said. 

Royce was crying and upset and he wanted to see Joy.  He heard the door open and she walked in.  Joy held Christopher in her arms and Justin was holding her hand and he went to her.  He took the baby and held them.  He kissed her and hugged her to him, “Oh baby what’s going on?  Oh baby, baby, I’m so glad you’re alright,” he held on tight to her and his boys, “I don’t understand Joy the police tell me that someone tried to hurt you, but I don’t know what’s going on?  Who tried to hurt you?  What happened?”

Joy wiped his eyes, “Someone broke into the house today that’s all I know.” 

“What?  In our neighborhood!  What did they do?  Why do the police think it was a hit, what did they do?” 

“A hit?  I don’t know, the police think it’s a hit?  I don’t know why they would think that.  Some guy broke in and I took the boys and ran out the front door while he was breaking in the office,” she kept wiping his tears, trying to be calm for both of them.  This was getting crazy, the police were asking her strange questions.  Royce was clearly upset and crying, what was going on here? “I don’t know anything about a hit.” 

“Oh thank god you’re safe.  You’re all safe, I just don’t understand what’s going on here Joy,” he said still visibly shaken.  “I know baby, and I want to go home, I need to pick up the kids in a bit, but they keep asking me questions about us and I don’t know what to think baby,” he held her.  “I don’t know either but get this I think they think I’m involved,” and he let out a sob. “Joy I can’t even breathe hearing them say something like that…that I would hurt you,” he was so visibly shaken and upset.  It was heart wrenching to see him like this.  “I can’t even think the thought without it hurting so bad.” 

She went to him and they held each other, “I don’t understand Royce why would they think it’s you?”  “I don’t know, instead of trying to find out who did this they’re looking at me!  It’s unbelievable, that’s what this is!”  He was worked up again. “I know baby, I know, they don’t know us do they,” she kissed his brow, his lips, wiping his tears. “Well I tell you what, if they can’t help us I know someone who can.  I’ll get to the bottom of this!”

As he spoke to Joy the detectives watched through the two way mirror.  “Well if he’s involved he’s a helluva actor.  He really acts like he doesn’t have a clue and if I wasn’t thinking he was involved I’d believe him,” Detective Morell said, “Yeah, he’s believable, but in these cases it’s always the husband, nine times out of ten it’s for money.” “Well what about the ex-husband he mentioned,” Detective Marx asked.  There was something about the way the husband held her, like his life depended on it and the way he was so baffled, utterly baffled that didn’t sit right with him in his gut, his gut told him the guy was innocent.  “Yeah we’ll check it out, we’ll split this, two on the husband and two on the ex,” Detective Morell said.  She was the lead on this case Detective Marx knew that and she was set on this guy.  “Alright let him go,” she said, “But get your paper work in we’ve got an investigation people!  Move we need to crack this case!”

They let them go. Royce was beyond upset, he called Jameson before he even calmed down he was frantic, “Jameson, I need your help!  It’s my wife, someone put a hit out on her.  I need you to find the son of a bitch!” He said hurriedly. “Okay, I’ll be glad to help you sir, but who is this?”  “Oh sorry man,” Royce hadn’t spoken to Jameson since he had him investigate Michael and that had been over a year ago now, “It’s Royce Harrington, I need your help man.  This is something crazy I can’t even fathom.” “Okay Mr. Harrington, meet me at The Meridian and we’ll talk.” 

Jameson had taken the case, but this turn of events had him shook up.  Joy Abrams the woman who started his association with Mr. Harrington was now his wife, and it didn’t surprise him she divorced Michael he was screwing everything in sight, but married to Mr. Harrington, he knew that shouldn’t surprise him but it did.  From the minute he saw her standing there holding that blue eyed baby he knew there’d been something between them and from the intimate detailed way he described her he knew Mr. Harrington was in love with her, but married now and someone put a hit out on her?  
Okay first things first, check out the perp, see who and what they’ve got.

Jameson called in his female operative, Valerie Timmons, “I need you to get in a few places for me.   They have cleaning crews I’m sure,  I need bugs in two downtown locations Abrams, Holmes & Holsted and Harrington-Rhodes,” he gave her the addresses, "And two residences, 1805 Burberry in Oak Cliff and 23 Chaucer Street in Dallas,"
sorry Mr. Harrington I can’t count you out just yet, got to cross my t’s and dot my i’s,
"I need you on it tonight if you can swing it, if not as soon as possible, hit Abrams first though if you can.”  She left, she was good, she was short, blonde and determined, ex-military with the tenacity of a bulldog, kind of like him he was told.

He dressed like a lawyer, a suit, tie, then he put on a fake mustache, pulled his hair back in a ponytail and combed it sleek, tucked it down under his collar so it looked short from the front, put a notepad in a briefcase, called the county jail to see what public defender had been assigned to the perp and was told he hadn’t been assigned yet,
that’s good
, “Well it’s me and I’m on my way,” and gave his fake lawyer name and fake company name but a name that was close to public defender’s office to sound familiar and headed out, “John Gaines to see Charlie DeWitt,” he said. 

Charlie came in in handcuffs, “You my lawyer?”  He asked gruffly. “No I’m his assistant, I’m here to get everything started, I take your statement,” he waited for Charlie to sit and for the guard to chain him to his chair.  Jameson looked at him a long moment before he said, “Now Mr. DeWitt, I take your statement, your lawyer will take your statement, the police will take your statement. I might even come back to take your statement again.  I’m saying all this to say tell the truth, the statement you give me should be the same statement you give the five times you tell it, and the only way to make sure of that is to tell the truth.  I’m telling you the minute your statements don’t add up you’ve got a problem, not me, but you, are we clear?”  He saw his face, Charlie nodded and Jameson knew he was going to tell the truth.  The perp usually did after he told them that, they knew the time for bullshitting was over. 

He took his tape recorder from his briefcase and his notepad, “Begin,” he pushed the record button, “I’m not the person who made the contact, I just got the job you see.” “Okay, who gave you the job?”  “Aw man you know I can’t tell you that…” “Okay for now, what was the job?”  “Off the lady and her two kids, the half-breeds,” Jameson looked at him, “The lady and her two kids.” “Yeah, someone with big money wanted them gone.”  “How much?”  “One hundred thousand,” Charlie DeWitt said. Jameson looked at him again, “One hundred thousand for the lady and her two kids?”  “Yeah, that’s a lot of money, I got bills,” and Jameson looked at him again, “Why this lady and are you sure it was this lady?” “Yeah…” “Go on tell me how you knew she was the one?”  “I had her name, address…and a picture.” “You had a picture? Where is the picture?”  “I burned it once I made her as instructed.” “Okay, what was the plan how were you going to off her?”

“I was going to make it look like a burglary gone bad, you know typical, but I was to make sure the lady and the kids were done for, no survivors,” and Jameson wanted to punch him in the face talking so callously about killing a woman and two kids,
two kids? Two kids, what two kids?
  “You said two kids.” “Yeah she has two mixed and two black kids in the house.  I wasn’t to touch the black kids just the mixed ones,” and Jameson nodded,
Mr. Harrington might be right, it sounds like Mr. Abrams after all,
Jameson turned the recorder off. 

“Off the record, so it’s between you, me and these four walls, who’s your contact?”  “Aw man, I can’t snitch like that, you want me to get offed in here.” “Lawyer client confidentiality, what you tell me is between us I need a name before it’s too late,” and Charlie gave him the name, “Oscar, that’s who you need to see.”

Jameson was on the case, he had Valerie working her magic planting bugs.  It took another week and patience before he made contact and disguised himself as a down and out criminal looking for fast money.  He greased up his hair and left it hanging loose oily and stringy, he wore brown contact lenses, a fake stud earring and clothes of the young, huge pants and shirts way to big and after being thoroughly and roughly frisked, even under his balls Oscar drove him to another location. 

The car pulled into a nice upscale shopping center and parked in the far corner, a car pulled up a few seconds later.  Jameson hopped out and sat in the passenger side of a nice expensive SUV, a petite woman wearing dark sunglasses and her hair pulled up in a baseball cap was sitting in the driver’s seat, “Are you the new guy?”

“Yes I’m the new guy.”

“I hope you’re better than the last one, I want this done and I don’t like fuck ups,” she said slightly angry.  “Okay lady I can do any job anywhere, just give me the target and I’m there okay,” he had no idea who she was or if she was a go between or what.  She smiled, “Now that’s what I like to hear, I like you already,” she looked at him like she was studying him, “What’s your name anyway?”  “Jason, Jason Weaver,”  “Okay Jason, here’s what I need, let me say upfront I’m good for the money. I got the money and then some, but here’s what I need you to do, I need you to take someone out, make them disappear from the face of the earth, can you do that?”