CHAPTER EIGHT
“Wait a minute, you guys thought the wife was scared?” asked Tailor. Rafe and Baptiste nodded. “Antoine and I suspect there was something happening with the husband as well. He thought we were someone else at first. His assistant came in and said he had to take a call. That the man on the phone was angry he didn’t answer his cell phone. When we first got there, he said, ‘What do you want? I told them I would get it done,’ but wouldn’t tell us what that was about.”
“Jesus, we’ve got a whole ball of crazy wrapped up in one family,” frowned Gaspar. “Penn called before you guys got here. They spoke to Lottie, her real name is Charlotta. Anyway, she said she had nothing to do with it and would even volunteer to help put the floats back together.”
“Deanna got the whole court involved,” said Nine. “It was smart of her. They can really make headway on this if they work together and nothing breeds teamwork better than kids having buy-in to what they’re doing.”
“The security company they use is just a generic company for the warehouse district. They walk the perimeter and make sure no one is disturbing the warehouses. The guard that night said he never saw anything or heard anything. He even said it was a quiet night. The manager of the company said in all the years they’ve been building floats there, no one has ever broken in. They always want to look in the windows but don’t do anything other than look,” said Ian.
“Well, someone destroyed those floats. Some of the wives are going down to lend a hand, along with a few of our kids. We thought it would be good for them. We’ll take shifts on watching the warehouse at night,” said Nine.
“What do you think is going on with the Carvers?” asked Trak. “Do you think it has something to do with Deanna?”
“I’m not sure, but since he seemed to expect someone at his office, I have to think it’s something to do with his work,” said Antoine.
“He’s partner in a CPA firm, like Deanna,” frowned Trak. The men all nodded, looking at one another. It was a coincidence they didn’t like. Deanna’s father had also been a CPA.
“Maybe we need to ask a few more questions of Deanna as well,” said Jean.
“You don’t think…” started Ghost.
“No,” said Jean, raising his hands, “no, I don’t think she’s hiding anything or doing anything illegal, but she could have been caught in the middle of something and may not even know it. I’ll get with Ella and Charlotte to see if they can review the documents of her folks’ business as well as her own.”
“You think this could have something to do with that?” frowned Alec.
“I don’t know, brother. I don’t know what to think right now. I’m just reaching for anything that will help us figure this shit out.” There was a light tap at the door, and Irene walked into the room.
“Hey, Mama,” smiled Gaspar.
“Mornin’, son,” she grinned. “Y’all have a special guest this mornin’. Come on, child.” Lottie Carver walked into the room, her head down. They waited to see if her mother or father came in, but they didn’t.
“Good morning, Lottie,” said Razor.
“Hi. I mean, hello, sir.”
“You don’t have to call me sir but I appreciate the effort,” he smiled. “What can we do for you?”
“I-I’ve thought a lot about what you said. I didn’t destroy those floats. I swear to God I didn’t. But it’s awful that someone did. I heard that some of the other kids are helping to repair them. I’d like to help if that’s okay. I promise I won’t be any trouble.”
“Do your folks know you’re here?” asked Gaspar. He saw the look on his mother’s face, one of disappointment and concern. Not for him, but for the girl.
“No, sir. Honestly, they just want me out of the house right now. There’s a lot going on for my dad’s business. Can I help? I mean, can I help with the floats?”
“I think Ms. Deanna would appreciate that,” said Gaspar. She nodded, then looked right at Clay.
“I know you think it’s why I’m here, the sorority. But it’s not. You said ugly was on the inside. No one has ever called me ugly before,” she said with a sad face. “I’m not a bad person. It’s hard being an only child sometimes. I got used to my parents giving me whatever I asked for. When you get used to that, you start asking for more and expecting it.”
“I think we can understand that,” said Clay. “Sounds like you want to make some changes.”
“Yes, sir,” she smirked. “I’ll start with helping with the floats. Then, I’ll focus on making myself pretty. Inside out.”
“Sounds like a great plan,” nodded Razor. She turned to see Irene standing in the doorway.
“I owe you an apology, Miss Irene. I didn’t mean to be rude to you that day. I was nervous and scared and just wanted it so badly. I shouldn’t have said those things about you. I’m sorry.”
“I know, child.” She touched her cheek, smiling. “I raised six girls of my own, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, and a whole bunch of girls that became mine. We all get outta sorts sometimes.”
She waved at the men in the room, leaving them staring after her.
“What was that all about, Mama? Do you think it was sincere?” asked Gaspar.
“I think it was. She called me this morning, crack of dawn, and asked if she could have breakfast with me at the café. Said her folks didn’t know she was coming. When she saw me walk into the café, she started crying. Apologized right away for her behavior and asked if she could see y’all.”
“What do you think changed?” asked Baptiste.
“I don’t know, son. Let’s hear what Deanna has to say after today.”
“I’m really sorry, Miss Deanna. I acted like a child, and I didn’t mean to. No. That’s a lie. I did mean to, but I shouldn’t have done it.”
“I think you showed great maturity here, Lottie. I appreciate your apology, and we’d love your help with the floats.” Lottie turned to see the other girls and some kids she didn’t know laughing as they worked, dancing to background music on the float. They were having fun. They weren’t complaining. They weren’t doing anything except enjoying themselves. Lottie nodded.
“I have one more thing to do.” Deanna watched the young girl approach Louisa Pollock. She asked her to step aside with her as the other girls watched with curiosity.
“Hi, Lottie,” smiled the girl. She had a pretty smile, thought Lottie. She wondered why she hadn’t noticed that before.
“Hi, Louisa. If you have a minute, I need to speak with you about something.” The other girl stopped what she was doing, setting down the glue gun. “I-I owe you an apology.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I said some terrible things about you and how you shouldn’t be queen of the carnival. I was upset that I didn’t win and that it was you. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean any of it. Can you forgive me?”
“Lottie, I had no idea you said anything,” she smiled. “I would have never known if you hadn’t told me. Truth is, I thought you were gonna win. I was as shocked as you were.” Lottie laughed, shaking her head.
“Can I help?” she asked.
“Of course! We need a lot of help on this one. They had a whole crawfish theme going on. We thought we’d give it a bit more pizazz.”
“Let’s do it,” said Lottie.
Deanna watched as the girls worked together all afternoon, laughing, talking about school and boys, college and their fears. It was wonderful to see. She was ashamed of herself when, for a moment, she worried that Lottie was planning something devious. It seemed she’d developed some self-awareness and was using that to her advantage. Deanna only hoped that it would actually stick with her.
“Time to lock up, everyone,” said Deanna.
“Can we come back tomorrow, Miss Deanna?” asked Lottie.
“It’s Sunday. Don’t you guys want to enjoy your weekend? Maybe your families have things planned for you.”
“This was fun,” said one of the other girls. “It was great doing something that will help the parade.” Deanna laughed, nodding at the girls.
“Alright. Tomorrow then.”