Chapter 8
“Two ships just passin’ in the night now, offshore looking for a light house…”
Harold Lawson
According to Ohan, Chaya was still very much entangled with the man in the photos he had sent me.
After dropping Junior off with the babysitter, I decided it was time for me to bust my move.
I arrived on the same street as the hotel, ducking into Ohan’s black Mercedes parked across the street and a few cars down.
He took a puff from his cigarette, blowing the excess smoke out of his cracked window and glancing over at me.
“A cop? The fuck is she doing with him?”
“From what I can tell, nigga ain’t on no dirty type shit.
I can’t find much on his background though, other than he came from a single mom, and his father is Aldus Williams. He grew up a couple of counties over and only transferred into this area about six months ago.
No family, no ties, the nigga appeared out of nowhere. ”
“Nah, that don’t just happen.” I shook my head. “Sounds like he’s hiding something.”
“I thought you might say that. I did a little research, and he’s been keeping a low profile other than this woman he’s been sniffing around. Chevelle Lamarck.”
“So he’s not just fucking my wife, but there’s someone else in the picture?”
“How you want to do this?” Ohan asked while I focused on the hotel building.
“I’ve reacted too quickly in the past,” I revealed softly, bringing a hand to my chin while I thought about how I wanted to proceed. “Get as many photos as you can. I’m going about this a different way. Call me when she leaves.” I got out of the car and retreated to mine.
Hours seemed to go by. I poured at least four different drinks and let the sounds of The Temptations play in the background.
Junior was sleeping, and Harmonie never returned home from what I could tell.
I had called her phone a couple of times, but she didn’t respond.
I was worried, but another part of me was rehearsing what I wanted to say to Chaya when I saw her again.
Seated in the darkened living room, I let the lyrics carry me away while taking a sip from my glass.
It was almost ten p.m. when the headlights flickered across the living room wall.
She had arrived, and everything I wanted to say was suddenly fleeing my mind.
I sat there calmly, waiting for her to enter.
She was quiet, like a mouse, barely making a sound as she tiptoed inside.
Her shadow filled the hallway as she tried to tiptoe past up the staircase.
“Kind of late.” My voice rocked her, sending her damn near stumbling backward down the staircase.
She tried catching her breath, clutching her chest as if she was turning on pearls or something.
“Shit, Harold. What are you doing up?” she questioned.
I couldn’t confirm, but she seemed sad, like she’d been crying or upset tonight. The TV was the only illumination in the room at this time. I had it on mute while my music played, allowing the latest news to play as a distraction. Chaya hovered in the doorway.
“Waiting for you,” I concluded.
Sloping forward a bit, I tossed the envelope that carried the photos that Ohan captured for me. Chaya stared at the packet on the table, and slowly, her guilt-ridden orbs drifted into mine.
“What’s this?”
“Take a look. I found it interesting,” I conveyed, tipping the glass to my lips, emptying it.
Chaya dropped her purse into a nearby chair and reached for the envelope. She took the pictures out and didn’t get past the first image before her eyes found mine.
“What is this? You following me?” Sneering, she tossed the photos on the table.
“You’re fucking another man behind my back, and you’re getting indignant on me?” I aimed a finger at her first, then back at myself.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about?” she argued.
“Nah, you didn’t get through all the photos. They tell everything, baby.”
“What do you want me to say?” She threw her arms up, exasperated.
“I don’t need you to say anything. Your bags are already packed upstairs. Just get the fuck out.” I kept a strong, even tone with her.
Her eyes widened and mouth parted in a large O. She hadn’t expected that response.
“You can’t put me out. What about Junior?”
“My son is fine where he belongs. I’m not going to uproot him because his mother wants to be a cheating ass hoe. Get your shit and leave, or I’ll put you out myself.”
“Is this how you treated your first wife? Is that why she left you and why both of your daughters are so fucking screwed up? One can barely stand to be around you. She went and got abducted and is living a life that has nothing to do with you. Then there’s Harmonie, the one you enable so much she thinks the entire world owes her something. ”
I rose swiftly, getting in her face and snatching her up by the throat. Wrath brewed behind my stare, and her shaken irises searched mine frantically.
“You want to know what happened to my first wife? The answer to that might not be what you expect,” I told her through gritted teeth.
“You want to go out there and live your best hoe life? You go right ahead and do just that. My son won’t be a part of it.
Your visits with him will be supervised from now on.
Try me, bitch.” I snatched away from her, knocking her down to the ground during the exchange.
She hit the floor with a loud thud, and when she finally gaped back at me in silent disbelief, her chin quivered and her eyes filled to the brim with her tears.
“Where am I supposed to go? You know that I don’t have anyone,” she whimpered, scrambling away from me while staggering to her feet.
“Try that nigga you been fucking behind my back,” I clapped back, turning away from her before I smacked fire and knocked her back down.
Something on the TV caught my attention. The hotel that she’d been creeping at was on the screen. Reaching for the remote, I turned the volume back on and listened to the story. A picture flashed on top of the hotel footage, and I’d be damned in the same nigga she was fucking popped up.
“The victim was last known to be staying at this hotel. Kemper Evans is a detective with the Mount Calligan Police Department. Hotel staff say that he had a woman visitor tonight, but she left not long after he did. She is a person of interest. Security is accessing footage now so that she can be brought in for questioning. Channel 8 with more to this story coming soon.” The reporter nodded to the camera, and my head swiveled toward my wife.
She trembled as if she had been walking through a rainstorm and suddenly stepped into an air-conditioned room.
“Looks like the list of people that fuck with you just got shorter,” I countered playfully.
Satisfaction filled my face, and I wouldn’t pretend that it didn’t please me. Mothafucka got what he deserved as far as I could see.
“Harold, please—” she whined.
“Goodbye, Chaya. Considering everything, you got off easy. I’ll let you know when we can arrange a visit between you and Junior.” My back remained turned to her.
I was sincere with it. Too many times I allowed a bitch to step into my realm and wreak havoc amongst my life.
My son was young; I didn’t want to put him through the same things as his sisters.
I wasn’t going to leave room for that bitch to put salt on my name either.
I knew how bitches got when they were bitter.
He was better off with me. Harmonie would help too.
She just needed some time to get out of her feelings.
My daughter was a hothead, and she thought the world revolved around her; that was true.
However, I didn’t doubt that she loved her baby brother immensely.
Harbor was another story. I got the feeling that the rift between the two of us would never be bonded together again.
Chaya fled our home with her head between her legs.
It wasn’t long after her car pulled off that another wheeled aggressively into my driveway.
I went for my gun in a nearby drawer and approached the front door.
I couldn’t tell who it was because the jackass left the lights on as they came up to the porch.
Yanking the door open, I came face-to-face with Lock, and his gaze immediately drifted to the pistol in my hand.
“Lock, what are you doing here?” I asked, checking past him to see if he had company. He seemed to be alone.
“I’m looking for Harmonie.”
“Well, she ain’t here. I haven’t seen her since earlier today. She and Harbor got into it, and she took off, pissed at everybody. I thought she would have called you.” I waved the gun toward him casually.
“Nah, she’s tripping right now.” Lock shook his head. “But I can’t find Alba, and she’s flashing since she found out about us. She dropped my daughter off at her cousin’s place, and nobody seen her in like a week.”
“You think she’s going to come after Harmonie?” I questioned, both brows knitted together.
“I don’t know.” Lock shrugged. “And the fact that I can’t find either one of them is fucking with me.”
“Let me call in a few favors. Come in.” I welcomed him inside and called Ohan.
Lock sat with me for a few hours, but we came up dry with everything.
He searched both of their social media pages, and it gave away nothing.
The last thing I did was have Ohan run a search on Harmonie’s phone.
Lock damn near worn a hole in the floor from all of his pacing.
I could see that he was becoming more restless the longer he sat here.
After stretching, he shook his head and rose after a brief session of scrolling through his phone.
“I gotta go. I got a few more spots I can check. I got a feeling if I find Harmonie, I’ll find Alba,” he assured me.
“Call me if you do, and I’ll reach out and do the same.”