Shadow of Death (19 page)

Unlike Larry who nodded affirmatively while Troy was talking, Lawrence was motionless, giving no indication one way or the other whether or not he believed Troy. When Troy had finished his account of yesterday's events, Lawrence had two questions for him: “Did you have an affair with Cheryl?” and “Did you have anything to do with her disappearance?” Troy emphatically answered no to both. Lawrence then revealed that Richard had stopped by that morning and paid the initial deposit for Troy to retain him as an attorney. “I know you weren't aware of this,” Lawrence responded to the look of shock that must have been apparent on Troy's face. “I wasn't sure I would take your case because I wanted a chance to speak to you first. I told Richard as much, but he was persistent and convinced of your innocence. He and I serve on opposite ends of the justice spectrum, but we do have one thing in common…we are both truth seekers. Hopefully, this thing with your ex will blow over and she'll come out of hiding. If not and the boys in blue take things a step further, then I'm here for you.”

“Wow. I don't know what to say. Thank you.”

“How about you not say anything to anyone, especially the police. Under no circumstances are you to speak with them again outside of my presence, and no matter what, stay away from her house.” Lawrence looked at his watch. “I have to run. I have a personal appointment I need to get to. Larry will see to it that we have all of your contact information and you have ours. Good luck, Mr. Evans. Hopefully, you won't be needing my services.”

I
n the days following Troy's meeting with Mr. Murphy, things had been pretty quiet. Troy stayed around the house and helped Natalie with the kids. Last night, they hooked up with Aneetra and her family, along with the Hamptons and Corrine, and all went to watch the Red, White, and Boom fireworks display.

Troy hadn't been at the gym since the incident with Cheryl last week. That's where she had gotten inside of his vehicle and there was no way she could have done that unless someone had given her access to his keys…keys that had been secured inside the gym lockers.
Will…
Will had lied about being at the gym that day. At first, Troy thought it was because of Will's illegal side job. However, after studying the shadowy figure in the photograph and being certain that the darkened image on the perpetrator's arm was a tattoo of some kind, Troy began to believe that Will was possibly involved. His suspicions were magnified when Troy tried to call Will back under the pretense of wanting to know more about the “shady stuff” at the gym, only to have his calls go straight to voicemail. After several attempts, Troy called the gym and spoke with Shay.

“I don't know where he at. He sent me a text askin' me to cover for him 'dis week 'cuz he was goin' out of town. I did it 'cuz we cool like 'dat, but I don't appreciate him leavin' me wit' all his responsibilities. He could have at least had the decency to call or came by and seent me in person instead of sendin' me a text,” she complained. “If someone from corporate comes, he's scuh-
rood!”

Troy found it interesting that Will hadn't been to the gym and yet when they'd last seen each other Saturday at the Commons, Will had indicated that he would be there this week.

“When you comin' back? Ain't been no real eye candy in here for a couple of days.”

Troy ignored her question. “Shay, let me ask you something…did Will come to the gym last Friday?”

“Why you askin'?”

“I saw his car in the parking lot when I was leaving. I also saw him over the weekend at the Commons and when I said something about it, he said he wasn't there.”

“Well, I ain't spose to say nuttin', but you and me is cool like 'dat, so Imma tell you 'da truth. He was here,” she whispered. “He didn't want no one to know 'cuz he was workin' on sumthin'. I don't know what, but he said if anybody asked, to say I drove his car to work 'dat day. I told him nobody would believe it 'cuz he ain't neva let nobody behind 'da wheel, but you can't tell him nuttin'. 'Dat was my last time talkin' wit' him 'til he sent me 'dat text. I tried to ask him 'bout 'dis trip he said he was takin', but he didn't respond.”

“Have you ever heard him mention someone named Cheryl Hunter?”

“No, who 'dat?” Her tone became angry. “Is 'dis some chick he spose to be messin' wit? I know we ain't got no commitment to each other or nuttin' like 'dat, but on 'da real, he ain't gon' have me here workin' for him like a Hebrew slave while he's off wit' somebody else. Uh-uh, huh-nee, he got me messed up. I will call corporate in a minute and tell on his a—”

“Calm down!” Troy was sure that Shay was swerving those freakishly long nails and neck at the same time that very moment. “I don't even know that they know each other. I was asking because…” He contemplated how much he should reveal. He didn't really know Shay that well, definitely not in the manner that Will knew her. The one thing he knew for sure was that she was fond of him and if there was a connection between Cheryl and Will, Shay could be of help to him. Troy decided to take a chance and give her an abridged version of what was going on. “Long story short, Cheryl Hunter doesn't like me and someone at the gym is helping her set me up.”

“You think it's Will?”

Troy contemplated on how much to reveal knowing the relationship dynamics between Shay and Will. If he told her too much, she could tell Will and blow any lead Troy had in the case. Ultimately, that disclosure might actually work in his favor. Shay had a crush on him and he was willing to exploit it to his advantage. First Charla, now Shay…there seemed to be no boundaries Troy wouldn't cross in order to protect his family. “I can't say for sure that it's Will helping her, but I know it's a man. Someone helped Cheryl drug me and set me up so it would look like I was cheating on my wife. Will is the only one who makes sense right now, especially now that I know he's missing in action. Cheryl is, too.”

“I don't know, Troy…” Shay sounded skeptical. “That don't sound like nuttin' Will would do. Yeah, he got his li'l hustle goin' on the side, but 'dis is a bit much. I can see him goin' off somewhere to be wit' somebody, but I can't imagine Will goin' to 'dis length for a woman. He likes you and speaks very highly of you. To drug you and make it look like you and 'dis Cheryl chick were havin' an affair seems too far out of Will's character.”

“I know it does. I can't say for sure that it was Will, but it definitely had to be one of the dudes around there. Will you do me a favor?”

“Anything
…,” Shay said a little too suggestively.

“Keep your eyes and ears open.” He gave her a description of Cheryl. “If you see anyone like that around there or if you hear someone mention her name, let me know. Also, let me know if you hear from Will, but
please
don't tell him anything I told you,” Troy said with a smirk. He knew Shay would not be able to refrain from questioning Will, especially about leaving her to do his job while he was possibly with Cheryl.

“Don't worry, Southie, I gotchu.”

“Please just call me Troy.”

She gave a playful sigh. “My bad. You gon' give me your number,
Troy,
so I can call or text you if sumthin' happens.”

He did so, knowing that was likely the highlight of Shay's day. After he got off the phone with her, he immediately informed Natalie of what he had done as not to keep his dealings with Shay a secret. Natalie wasn't crazy about his investigative techniques and asked him,
again,
if there was anything about his interactions with Shay that she needed to know. After being reassured that he was in no way, shape, or form attracted to Shay and hearing his thought process about why he involved her, Natalie ultimately agreed that Shay might be helpful. Like Shay, Natalie wasn't buying the whole Will and Cheryl conspiracy thing, but she understood how he'd come to that conclusion. Troy promised Natalie that he wouldn't respond to any messages from Shay that weren't directly related to his inquiry about Will and Cheryl so there could be no misunderstandings about his intentions. If the gym manager and Troy's former girlfriend were in this together, Shay could help flush them out.

Troy set up a surveillance system outside of his home, in the event that Cheryl and her accomplice came back around. If so, her actions would be caught on tape and he'd take it to Nugent, and the whole crazy ordeal would finally be over. He was getting sick and tired of hearing the news reports about her mysterious disappearance. He hadn't been called back in for questioning again, but the fact that he was still “relieved” of his duties until further notice was clear indication that a cloud of suspicion continued to hang over him. Convinced that ultimately, Cheryl's antics would be uncovered, he decided to focus most of his time and energy on rebuilding his relationship with Natalie.

Troy's mom had called nearly every day to see how things were between them. She meant well, but she was working both his and Natalie's nerves. Troy regretted reaching out to her that night he was asked to come in for questioning, and finally started to ignore her phone calls. He told Natalie she should do the same, but she didn't want to seem rude. Natalie's answer to his mom had been the same every time, “God was good” and that they “were working things out.” Troy wasn't sure if Natalie truly felt that way or if she was telling his mom what she wanted to hear. Either way, Troy would take it.

They had been getting along well that week for the most part. Natalie was still hurt as was evident by the additional questions she'd asked about him and Cheryl. “Did you kiss her?” “Did you think about kissing her?” “Did you talk about doing things to her?” were some of the repeated questions she asked, wording them various ways as if his answers would change. One day she seemed to believe him wholeheartedly and then the next day she had questions again. Truthfully, he was getting frustrated with the interrogations and thought Natalie was overreacting, but Troy understood from talking to RJ that this was part of the process. RJ agreed that surveillance cameras were a good safety precaution. So far, the only suspicious activity he saw was a black Acura that had driven by slowly several times on two different occasions. It didn't match the description of the car Charla gave and Troy couldn't get a clear look at the driver who, by all indications, was male. Since there was no female passenger accompanying him, Troy didn't worry too much about the incidents.

Troy's STI results came back clean. Unfortunately, there was nothing in his toxicology report that helped identify what Cheryl had used to sedate him. Based on Troy's account of what happened, RJ was pretty certain that Troy had been given one, possibly two, benzodiazepines. His best guest was Lorazepam and Rohypnol. Lorazepam because of it was fast-acting; Rohypnol because it was long-lasting. Troy had to face the truth that he would probably never know for sure. He was thankful that there didn't seem to be any permanent side effects and that he could finally make love to his wife.

Exactly one week after being set up by Cheryl at the motel, Troy decided he would do something special for Natalie that Friday evening to help ease her mind of whatever lingering insecurities she still had. He enlisted Natalie's younger look-a-like for help. “Hey, Corrine, I need a favor.”

“What's up?”

“Are you free tonight? I want to take Natalie out and wanted to know if you could come stay the night with the kids.”

“Yeah. What time do you need me?”

“Would six be too soon?”

“Naw. That's cool. Did the kids like the fireworks last night?”

“I know Nate did. That's all he's been talking about today. He had fun.”

“I did, too. I'll think of something to do with them tonight at the house. I take it you and Natalie are not coming home since you asked me to stay over?”

“That's the plan.”

“Y'all celebrating your anniversary already?”

“No. That's next weekend.” Realizing that Corrine didn't know anything about the situation with Cheryl or the damage that had been done to his marriage, Troy responded that he was doing this as a pre-anniversary celebration, “simply because I love her.”

“Aw, that's so cute. I'll be there at six.”

“I need you to do something else.” He explained the rest of his spur-of-the-moment idea, giving her his credit card number.

“All right. I'll hook you up.”

“Thanks, Corrine! I owe you one.” Troy hung up and called Skyler's to make reservations for a private dining room. Owned by a local wealthy businessman, Skyler's was one of the most upscale restaurants in the city. It was located in downtown Columbus and overlooked the Scioto River. Troy had never been there, but he'd heard others talk about how nice it was. The night he proposed to Natalie, his intentions had been to take her there, but he learned that she'd been banned from the establishment due to trying to skip out on the bill when a previous date had bailed on her. Instead of taking her to Skyler's to propose, Troy had come up with another plan. But, tonight he wanted to do something special for his wife and there was no place in Columbus like Skyler's. He made reservations there anyhow, despite Natalie's restrictions. Her situation had happened so long ago that he was sure no one would remember.

Unfortunately, all the private dining rooms were booked, so Troy made general reservations. When he informed Natalie of his plans, she was skeptical at first, but quickly got over it. She did fuss a little about him not giving her enough time to get dressed. In the end, she came down the stairs looking like a princess in a long, black spaghetti-strapped dress that proudly displayed her curves. He imagined the words “do me” written all over it. There were two things Troy was certain of: he would be the envy of every other man in the place; and he would happily oblige the dress's request at the end of the night.