Shadow of Death (29 page)

When the call ended, Troy continued to lie on the couch where he drifted in and out while awaiting until noon, the appointed time to call Shay.

•  •  •

“I'm so sorry!” Natalie said with extreme embarrassment to Ms. Fritz, Nate's pre-school administrator, who'd called her Wednesday morning to pick Nate up early after he'd lost his mind!

“Like I said, I know this isn't typical behavior for him. I'm sure you're all under a lot of stress with what's been going on.” She paused like she was waiting for Natalie to comment. When Natalie didn't take the bait, Ms. Fritz continued, “There won't be any type of official reprimand on his school record, but I think it'll be best if you don't bring him back on Friday to give the situation a chance to die down. The other mom is pretty perturbed as I'm sure you can imagine.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you for working with me.”

“Not a problem.” Ms. Fritz bent over to look Nate in the eyes. “You be a good boy for your mommy and I'll see you next week, okay?”

“ 'Kay,” Nate responded softly and Natalie wanted to snatch him up for looking so pitiful.

It was hard for her to tell if his remorse was genuine or rather a result of wondering what his punishment would be. The tears he forced out when they got inside the car infuriated her and she ordered him to
“be quiet and not make another sound if you know what's
good for you!”
Apparently, he did know because Nate didn't utter a peep. Natalie checked her rearview mirror and sure enough, that same unmarked cop car was following her like she was going to be silly enough to lead them to her husband if she knew where Troy was! She purposely avoided the highway and took the streets back to Lisa's simply to be ornery, listening to gospel music on the way to calm her nerves.

By the time she made it back to the Hampton household, Natalie had a stream of tears rolling down her face. Songs like “He Saw the Best in Me” and “Never Would Have Made It” by Marvin Sapp had caused her to reflect on the many trials in her life and how God had brought her through them. She was certain that she never would have made it through her childhood had it not been for Him. And, as an adult, when she had become someone others thought was detestable, God still saw the best in her. He saved her. Right now, He was also saving Nate from being on the verge of getting child abused as she couldn't, with good conscience, lay a hand on her son after such a spirit-filled ride.

When they walked into Lisa's, Chandler was playfully roaring like a lion at Ebony and Ean who squealed with laughter. They had that eerie twin thing going on between them again. They'd both cried when she'd left and now neither seemed fazed by her entrance. Chandler asked Nate if he wanted to play with them and Nate mumbled something about not wanting to be bothered with monkey babies. Now, he was being mean! Natalie warned him that he'd better not refer to Ean and Ebony like that again and sent him upstairs to wait for her. “Go in the room I'm in, not Chandler's room!” she added, thinking her five-year-old might try to be witty by going in his friend's room to play.

“Is everything okay?” Lisa asked.

Natalie, who had been too embarrassed and shocked to fill Lisa in on why the school had called, now told her the full story.

“Oh, my gosh! Are you serious?” Lisa covered her mouth with her hands.

“I wish I wasn't. He's not allowed to go back on Friday. I hope I don't see that little boy's mom when I take him next week. I mean, what do I say? ‘Ma'am, I'm sorry my son peed on yours?' ”

Lisa burst out laughing. “I'm sorry, it's not funny. I can only imagine how you feel.”

The story Natalie had been given was that Nate and another little boy were in the bathroom that contained one urinal and two stalls. Both kids wanted to use the urinal, but the other boy got there first and Nate was mad because he said the boy “dished” him. Instead of going into a stall or waiting until the urinal was free, Nate chose an extremely unsanitary approach by peeing on the boy. The other child immediately ran out to tell a teacher and when confronted, Nate claimed it was an accident.

“It's really not funny.” Lisa continued trying to contain her laugh as she heard the details. “What are you going to do?”

“Girl, I don't know.” This would have been one of those things that Natalie deferred to Troy to handle. “At first I was planning to beat his butt, but I can't bring myself to do it under the circumstances. I'm too emotional. I need to go upstairs before I talk myself into trying that German chocolate cake you made for dinner yesterday since everyone said it was delicious.”

“There's plenty of it left if you want some. You want me to cut you a piece?”

“Maybe later when I have a level head. I don't want to get into any emotional eating habits. These hips won't be able to handle it. That's why I didn't have any last night. My skinny jeans are already starting to fit like leggings.”

Lisa laughed. “You are so silly. If you want to go upstairs, please feel free to do so without worrying about your babies; I got them. I'm going to fix lunch in a little bit.”

“Thanks so much. I really appreciate you and RJ opening your home to us. I wish you would accept money for the extra groceries RJ bought.”

Lisa playfully dismissed Natalie's comment by flipping her wrist. “Girl, please. This is nothing. We will forever be grateful for all Troy has done for us.” No additional words were needed. Natalie understood. Troy had met the Hamptons when they were in times of trouble due to former friends of Lisa's turned enemies who sought to ruin both her and RJ's life. The Hamptons felt they owed Troy something, but Natalie knew her husband. He hadn't called RJ to come get them because of some IOU. Troy had called RJ because he saw a man he could trust to look after his family when he couldn't. Natalie smiled as she was going up the stairs to speak with Nate, confident that their current predicament was simply another one of those times when she'd look back and say that they “Never Would Have Made It.”

•  •  •

Nate was knocked out when Natalie got to the room. She took the opportunity to lie down with him and stared at the ceiling. This was the room that she and the twins had stayed the past two nights. Nate had slept in Chandler's room with him. Though Natalie had tried not to worry about Troy, her mind couldn't help but wonder where he was. She hadn't seen any reports about him being dead or arrested so that, in and of itself, gave her peace that he was okay. She missed him, and if her heart ached the way it did, she could only imagine what their five-year-old was feeling.

Natalie ignored her mother-in-law's call when her cell phone rang. She wasn't in the mood to respond to questions that had already been asked or to repeat “I don't know” a dozen times to new ones. Staying with Lisa and RJ saved her from playing hostess to Di who was ready to hop on a red-eye from Texas Monday night the moment she learned about Troy going on the run.

“I need to be there to help you with those babies,” Diane had declared.

“I appreciate the offer, but I'm staying with a friend and there's not enough room for all of us.” Natalie skipped the part about Troy sending RJ after them. Despite Natalie's assertion that she was fine, Diane continued to call multiple times a day to check on her. Though not on purpose, Diane was actually starting to worry her. Her mother-in-law had talked a good game that night she fussed at Natalie about trusting in God when Natalie had been convinced of Troy's infidelity, but now Diane had failed to follow her own advice. When they spoke, Natalie found herself expending energy trying to calm his mother and Natalie didn't have the strength to do so at this moment.

The only other people Natalie had spoken with since Monday evening had been Corrine, Aneetra, and Richard. Corrine was a nervous Nellie like Di, but Natalie had more patience with her daughter than her mother-in-law. Realizing that the last time Corrine was at their house, she'd been left with the impression that Troy had committed adultery, Natalie made sure to clarify things without going into detail about Cheryl's fake diary. With Troy on the run, Natalie was concerned that the cops might have her phone tapped and she didn't want to say anything that could inadvertently incriminate her husband. Natalie's main objective with talking to Corrine was to reassure her daughter that all was well and that she fully believed in and supported Troy.

Bless her heart, Corrine volunteered to take off of work to help with the kids, but Natalie told her it wasn't necessary. She said the same to Aneetra who had made a similar offer. In addition, Aneetra had invited Natalie and crew to come stay at her house and, truthfully, Natalie would have likely been more comfortable there because of the relationship she and Aneetra had. However, she didn't want to offend Lisa or RJ by leaving. Besides, despite his mishap at school earlier, being at the Hamptons' was best for Nate. Chandler was there to play with him and that kept him from asking so many questions about Troy.

Natalie's phone call with Richard was sort of stressful. Somewhat like a father figure to her, Richard had done the protective thing initially. He apologized for missing her call and said that he had been in a meeting at the time. After making sure that she and the kids were okay, he began lecturing her about Troy's actions and encouraging her to tell him to turn himself in.

“I don't know where he is,” Natalie had insisted though she doubted Richard was convinced.

“I know he's scared, but this is not the way to handle things.”

When Richard suggested that she appear on television with his attorney and plead with him to surrender, Natalie quickly objected, stating that she wasn't going to put her face on camera when the real killer was still on the loose. That was partly true. The other reason was that she wasn't going to be used to get her husband behind bars. Troy knew the risks he was taking by handling things this way and, though she might not have agreed, she trusted him.

Natalie had started dozing off when she heard Lisa's home phone ring. Soon there were footsteps coming up the stairs and a knock on the bedroom door. “I'm sorry to disturb you. Someone named Ann is on the line.”

“My neighbor?”
Natalie asked with uncertainty. Lisa shrugged and handed her the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Ann, the lady who lives across the street from you. I was told to call this number in case your cell phone was tapped. I have a message for you from Troy.”

“Were you able to get Ann's number?” Troy asked Shay.

“I didn't find a number for her, but I have one for 'da old-timer.” She recited it to him.

“Thu-
ank
you! I owe you one.”

“Yeah, yeah… I know, you gon' have your wife cook me dinner. Ooh, I can't wait.” Her playful sarcasm made him laugh. “On 'da real though, Southie, if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me. I want 'dese crazy people off 'da streets so I can go back to livin' my life. You know Imma be in Hollywood one day, right?”

He didn't want to hurt her feelings, so with all sincerity, he said, “I wish you all the best, Shay,” and got off the phone to handle business. Seeing that he didn't have Chyanne's number, Troy couldn't get a confession from her, but he had another plan in mind. He'd attempt to turn Charlie against her and what better way to do that than to use the thing that made Charlie, Will, and Chyanne all co-conspirators in the first place…
money!

Charlie answered on the second ring and Troy began to record their call. “Detective. What do I owe the pleasure of this call?” he said after Troy announced himself.

“Are you alone?”

“Chyanne isn't with me if that's what you mean.”

“And Will?”

Charlie laughed wickedly. “He's not here either. Are you going to get to the point of why you're calling or will we play twenty questions?”

“You and your friends have done a good job at framing me. Now, I need your help to clear my name. I want you to help me expose Chyanne for her sister's murder. I know both you and Will were in this with her, but I'm willing to let one of y'all off the hook in exchange for your assistance. Are you in or should I contact Will?”

“Forgive my ignorance, but you're a wanted man and you're talking like you have the upper hand.”

“Five hundred thousand dollars says that I do. It's the money from Cheryl's life insurance policy and every penny of it is yours if you follow through. I came to you first because quite frankly, I'm more upset with Will than I am you. He and I go way back and he betrayed me, so you can say that I'm partly motivated by revenge.” Truthfully, Troy's conscience wouldn't allow Charlie to go scot-free, though Troy wanted him to think otherwise.

“I must say that's an interesting proposition, detective. If I wasn't in love with Chyanne, I might very well take you up on it. But, I have another option for you. Bring us the money; we'll leave town and never bother you or your family again. Before you hastily reject my offer,” Charlie warned, “You may want to reconsider after talking to my new friend. Hold on a sec; I think she wants to say hi.”

“Troy!” The sound of his wife's cry crushed him like an elephant would an ant.

“Natalie!?!
Oh, my gosh, baby! Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Troy could hear the tears she was holding back.

“What happened? Are the kids with you?”

“No. Ann called me at Lisa's saying she had a message from you, but it was a trick. I'm so sorry.”

“No, babe. I'm sorry I got us into this. I'm going to get you out, okay?”

Natalie was no longer able to hold back her sorrow and Troy's chest tightened with pain as his sobbing wife spoke. “In case we don't get to celebrate our anniversary this weekend, please always remember that I love you.”