Chapter 13
As I sat at my desk, going over a case, the lieutenant of the police department came inside. He stood there until I was done with what I was doing, then said, “Hello, Judge. In light of the recent threat, we think it would be best if we relocated you.”
“Relocated me where?”
“It will be another place in the city. We will change your car, and you will have to take a leave of absence. We think it’s the best thing to do to protect you until we catch the perp.”
“Perps, Lieutenant. Perps. There are more than one.”
“Yes, Your Honor, we’re aware. The camera footage we got of someone messing with your vehicle doesn’t match the body type of the person that broke into your home.”
My eyebrows lifted. “So they had video footage of the person that broke into my home?”
“Yes, sir. No one told you that?” he asked, somewhat nervously.
“No.”
“It was two of them. Their faces were covered.”
He was stumbling all over himself now. First, he said it was a person that broke into my home; now he was saying it was two. I slowly shook my head, then asked, “Do you have a place in mind to locate me to?”
“Yes. It’s an older woman’s house in the Pear Orchard area of town.”
“When you say older, how much older?”
“Around seventy. Nearly old enough to be your grandmother.”
“Okay. Give me some time to think about it.”
“Don’t take too long, sir. This last threat has made me nervous. I feel like they are going to make good on it this time. The other times were risky but didn’t necessarily mean you would die from whatever they did. The threat to bomb your house while you sleep… that’s too serious and too dangerous to doddle about.”
“I understand. Let’s do it.”
“Okay. I’ll drive you home, and one of the officers will meet us at Grandma Jean’s house.”
My eyebrows lifted slightly. They were that friendly with her that they called her grandma? This was getting more and more complicated. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to listen to my gut and what my heart was saying. I reopened them and nodded. He did the same and left my office.
Taking a leave of absence, although paid, was the last thing I wanted to do. I wouldn’t be able to access my work computer. My new laptop didn’t have all the programs on it that I needed yet. Were they just trying to get me away from the office? That was possible. However, they didn’t know about my secret weapon: Detective Johnson.
She’d already tracked down some paperwork purposely left out of the evidence submitted. I didn’t know how she found it, but she said it could possibly lead to something more that could help us track down a name. She was diligent. We’d been at this for nearly two months now. The day of my accident was when she tracked the information down. That was good news after what I’d suffered. I thought I was going to die that day.
When I hit the telephone pole, my SUV almost flipped over. That was when my head hit the window. They tracked me going thirty-five miles per hour, which was under the speed limit. I’d just left the gym and was headed to Kroger to get a few things for my mama. I hadn’t had to use my brakes because all the traffic lights were green until I got to Gladys. When I realized my brakes were gone, the only thing I could think of was keeping the people around me safe.
Then my angel appeared minutes later. When I saw Genesis, I could tell she had been miserable. It had only been two weeks since I’d seen her, but the moment I laid eyes on her, it felt like it had been forever. Her eyes were somewhat puffy like she’d been crying a lot. Mine had been somewhat the same because I hadn’t been sleeping well.
The threats had been coming nonstop, wearing my nerves thin. If it wasn’t text messages, there were notes on my vehicle. I was at the gym early, hoping that I would tire myself out enough to sleep. If I wasn’t thinking about the threats, my mind was on Genesis. I couldn’t have her putting her life on the line to protect mine. Did I have issues with a woman protecting me? Absolutely. I had more of an issue with my woman protecting me. The only way I felt I could keep her from trying to do that was to distance myself from her.
I’d only suffered a mild concussion and just had a small laceration on my temple. I stayed home a couple of days from work, allowing my mother to see to things around the house and baby the hell out of me. After a couple of days, I went back to work to escape her nurturing. She fussed the entire time I got dressed, but I tuned her out and left. Besides the couple of visits from Tyson, I had nothing to shield me from her dramatics.
When I’d finally seen Genesis’s text message, asking about how I was doing, I couldn’t force myself to respond. Seeing her had knocked me a step backward. Just when I thought I was making progress of living without her, I had to see her beautiful face. Had I responded to her, I wouldn’t have stopped talking to her. I didn’t want her to become a target either. Surely, whoever was after me would try to get at her as well. That was why I wasn’t spending much time around my mother either.
I couldn’t have either of them caught up in the crossfire. This elderly woman I would be staying with would be putting her life on the line as well. Surely, whoever was after me would easily find where I was. All they had to do was follow me. I wasn’t sure how the police planned to hide me, but hopefully, what they did would make more sense than what it was currently making in my mind.
As the hours passed, I was able to get some documents sent to my email that I needed to go over and reallocate cases for the rest of the week. The other cases that were further out would be reassigned later. Once I cleared out all the paperwork on my desk and signed a couple of search warrants, I packed up for the day and made my way to the police station.
When I got there, Detective Johnson met me at the door. “Don’t push back. What they are about to do was my recommendation. You need to get away from here because this is where you’re being tracked from. The lieutenant pulled me back in on your case.”
She winked, and I nodded repeatedly. She had my back, and I was grateful I made a connection with her. The lieutenant approached me with a black pullover to put on. I did as he requested and put the hood over my head. They then cuffed me and led me out to one of the blacked-out SUVs that they transported criminals in. After they helped me inside, Johnson said, “You’ll be safe. We’ve got you covered.”
I nodded, then she closed the door. Once the lieutenant got in the driver’s seat, he said, “I’m going to take you straight to Grandma Jean’s house. Then I’ll escort your mother to your house to get the things you need. If you can spin around a bit, I’ll uncuff you.”
“Will my mama be able to know where I am?”
“No, sir. We can’t even risk you using that phone. I’m going to provide you with another phone that you will be able to talk to her on. You’ll leave that phone with me. Detective Johnson and I have the new number. I wouldn’t suggest giving that number to anyone else.”
He proceeded to uncuff me, and I sat back in the seat and put on my seat belt. This life was about to get really lonely. There was only so much talking to Mama I could handle. After reaching that threshold, she would start wearing on my nerves. Genesis crossed my mind, and I knew I needed to get her out of my system.
When he turned into the driveway of the quaint little house, I smiled slightly. It looked like I would imagine a grandparent’s house looking. My mom’s parents were deceased and so were my dad’s. Even before he died, I didn’t spend much time with them. After he died, they were both deceased within seven years. So I didn’t know what it was like to grow up around grandparents.
Lieutenant Gamble came around the car and opened my door then led me to her back porch. I could smell food cooking, and my stomach verbalized its excitement. Gamble chuckled as he knocked. Shortly after, a short gray-haired lady answered the door. She was gorgeous. I knew she had to be a firecracker in her day and time and was probably still a firecracker to a man her age.
Her eyes widened slightly as she said, “Come on in. I’m cooking some oxtails. I hope you like that.”
“Yes, ma’am. I like food… period.”
She chuckled. “We’ll get along just fine then.”
She and Gamble talked for a minute or so, then he said, “I’ll be back with your things.”
I nodded as he left. She closed the door and turned back to me and said, “Well, my grandkids call me grandma, and most people that aren’t related to me call me Grandma Jean. You’re welcome to call me either of those, or my government name, Genevieve Adams.”
She smiled big, and it was like I saw Genesis. I smiled and said, “I’ll stick to Grandma Jean like everyone else.”
I slowly shook my head, wondering if things would continue to linger like this. If so, I would never get over losing Genesis Farris. I missed that woman something serious… had to be if I was seeing her in Grandma Jean.
“My name is Kyrie Patrick. I’m a judge for the criminal district court.”
“I know, baby. I voted for you, and I see you on TV from time to time. That’s a shame what they are trying to do to you for simply doing your job. That mayor has been dirty for a long time. It’s about time they caught up with her ass.”
My eyebrows lifted. “How do you know that?”
“Old people intuition. I don’t have proof, but I could see it about her. It’s like I could see her soul, and it was black as hell.”
I nodded. “I understand. I can’t wait to have that intuition. I’m not looking forward to the age that will come along with it though.”
She laughed. “Well, are you ready to eat?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She stood from the table and began fixing food for me. “I have dominoes and wouldn’t mine dusting off my skills if you wanna get spanked.”
I frowned slightly. “Oh, and you talk noise too? I won’t be as lonely as I thought. Come with it, Grandma Jean. I’m gon’ bury them lil skills you got.”
She laughed. “Listen, I know you’re stressed. I’m here to provide a safe space for you, but I wanna take it a step further and offer peace in your solitude.”
“I appreciate that so much. My mama is probably pulling her hair out right now.”
“Are you her only child?”
“Yes, ma’am. Just me and her for the past twenty-three years. I’m gonna miss her while I’m here too.”
“I know you will, baby. You will get through this and come out better than you were. Do you believe that?”
“I want to believe that.”
She turned around with a plate of rice, smothered oxtails, what looked like mustard greens, and a piece of cornbread. My stomach was thanking her before I could even open my mouth. After she set the plate in front of me, I noticed the cornbread had an orangey color to it. I frowned slightly. “What type of cornbread is this?”
“It’s candied yam cornbread. Try it, baby.”
“Oh my Lord. I’m gonna wait for you, but I already know I’m gonna inhale it.”
She chuckled and sat down with her plate. “Baby, I’m old school and like sweets. I don’t have tea, but I have a whole pitcher of grape lemonade Kool-Aid in the fridge. You want some?”
“Do I want some? Just set the pitcher on the table, Grandma.”
She blushed. This woman was godsent. She had me feeling more comfortable here than I’d felt in my own house. When she returned with two glasses and the pitcher of Kool-Aid, she said, “We not gon’ be able to breathe when we eat and drink all of this.”
“Speak for yourself. My stomach is like a bottomless pit at times. This looks and smells so good. Thank you for making this transition seamless. I haven’t been here thirty minutes yet, and I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
She chuckled. “I’m so glad you’re comfortable.”
She extended her hand, so I placed my hand in hers. She began blessing the food. It sounded pretty traditional until she said, “And Lord, please restore what he’s missing.”
I frowned as I said, “Amen.”
She glanced at me as she began eating. When she swallowed her first bite of food, she said, “You really don’t remember me, huh? We met briefly a couple months ago. Well… technically, we didn’t actually meet. We made eye contact though.”
I frowned harder, trying to rack my brain on who this woman was. “I’m sorry, Grandma Jean. I don’t remember.”
“Genesis Farris is my granddaughter. Don’t worry. She doesn’t know you’re here. The police department trusts me with things of this nature. Samuel doesn’t even know half the stuff I do for them, and he works there.”
I swallowed hard and felt like I was about to panic. My gaze was everywhere but on her. I didn’t feel so comfortable anymore. Closing my eyes briefly, I asked, “How is she?”
“She’s okay. Going through a little turmoil with a coworker, but she’s okay other than that.”
“I miss her,” I said quietly.
“I know. She misses you too.”
“You aren’t going to ask why I broke up with her?”
“Nope. That’s your business. She didn’t tell me that you were the one who broke things off. She just said the two of you weren’t together anymore. I never press her for answers. She comes around in her time. I can tell she misses you though. That natural glow she used to have is gone. She’s literally thrown herself in her career. I go to her house on Wednesdays to wash clothes. She rarely comes here.”
I nodded and started eating. The cornbread claimed my attention first. When I tried to pick it up, it broke apart. Sweet Jesus. I looked up at her, and she giggled. Using my fork, I scooped up a piece, and my taste buds felt like they’d entered heaven’s gates. “Oh my God. This tastes even better than I imagined it would. Wow.”
I scooped up more, along with the greens, and wanted to stand up and dance. It was that good. Once I swallowed, I immediately had to sample the oxtails. They tasted like they’d been smothered in butter and the holy spirit. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as Grandma Jean laughed.
“I’m not going to want to leave… especially since I’ll be able to check on Genesis.” I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “This is really good.”
“Thank you, baby. I hate to see the two of you so miserable.”
“I just…” I slowly shook my head. “She doesn’t need to be involved in all this. She wants to protect me. I can’t allow that.”
“She needs to let a man be a man. I try to tell her that when she’s all in hero mode. A man that you love won’t want you putting your life in danger to protect him. He wants you to stay safe and out of the way of bullshit. I get it, baby.”
I took a deep breath as she continued. “But I’m also old school. Things have changed. There weren’t women firefighters when I was growing up, at least not around here. People are so sensitive these days. They don’t want to be called females because they say it dehumanizes them.”
She rolled her eyes. “Humans are an animal species. Male and female. It is not that serious.”
I bit my bottom lip, keeping my thoughts on the subject to myself. Going back to my plate, I cleaned up almost half of it before I decided to pour a glass of Kool-Aid. Grandma Jean smirked at me as she side-eyed me. When I took my first sip, I frowned and smiled at the same time. It was so sweet and tart… every kid’s dream drink. “Whew! That’s good right there!”
She laughed. “You don’t have to gas me up. If it’s too sweet for you, I have water in the fridge.”
“How do I even go from that to water? That would be a shock to my system now. I got this.”
“Mm hmm. You gon’ mess around and christen that bathroom in there too.”
I chuckled but continued eating like she hadn’t said a word. Once I’d finished off the oxtails, rice, and gravy, I went back to the greens. Her plate of food was a lot smaller than mine. When I looked over at it, she was already done and sipping on Kool-Aid.
“Are you going to have room for dessert?”
“Dessert? Please tell me you don’t cook like this every day.”
She giggled. “No, child. This was your welcome to the hood dinner.”
I nearly choked. “Okay, okay. So what kind of dessert did you make?”
“Lemon crumble.”
I frowned. “I love lemon, so it gotta be good. Slide it to me, Grandma.”
She slowly shook her head. When she stood to fix our dessert, I lowered my head as I thought about Genesis. I couldn’t believe fate would land me here at her grandmother’s house. I still couldn’t be with her though. Not right now. As much as I missed her, I wouldn’t change my stance on the subject. I needed to be sure she was safe.
“Here you go, baby.”
She slid it on the table, causing me to chuckle. “Thanks, Grandma.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. You know things will eventually work out with her too.”
I gave her a tight smile. From your mouth to God’s ears.