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“I never—”
“Stop right there.” I rose and held up my hand. “Now I’m asking you not to insult my intelligence, okay?”
“I only—”
“I said stop and I mean it.” I hissed the words through clenched teeth and leaned in toward Jinx. She clammed up.
“Now, listen,” I said. “I can’t stop you, if you really want to do this. I have no control over your actions. But, please keep in mind you’re hurting people needlessly. I don’t know if that means anything to you, since you’re so capable of hurting people to satisfy your own interests. Even so, I hope you’ll consider what I’ve said.
“No matter what, understand this.” I stopped and shook a finger in her face. “I will not be blackmailed. You can threaten all you want, but I will not knuckle under to your demands. And I will have no part of your scheme.”
I turned and, over my shoulder, said, “Thanks for the coffee. This has been fun,” as I walked away.
Jinx, who’d been mute throughout my mini-rant, finally said, “Wait. I have another proposition.”
I stopped and shook my head. “Are you crazy? What could you possibly offer me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
This I
had to hear.
I strolled back and leaned upon my vacated chair. “Fine. What is it?”
“An exchange.” Jinx’s eyes narrowed. “Your good friend, Jamila’s arrest has already made the news. Wouldn’t it be nice to get the charges dismissed before things went any further? What if I could help you with that? Would you help me then?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
I stared at Jinx, wanting to say, “Yes, I’ll do anything to help her.” However, part of me wondered if it really included blackmailing and/or publicly humiliating someone. Including myself.
After taking a moment to consider my words, I said, “Assuming, I’m interested—and that’s a big assumption—what kind of help could you offer? And, more to the point, how can I trust you to deliver?”
“My family has old ties around here. I can probably help pull some strings.”
I sighed. “That’s nice, but we’ve already got a local lawyer who doesn’t need any help pulling strings. So unless your family is even more influential than our own politically connected lawyer, I doubt there’s much you could do for me.”
We shared a moment of silence as this sank in.
“Look, Jinx, this has been really interesting, but I have to go,” I said. “Before I do, could you explain why you’re so anxious to get me on board? You’ve got the pictures. Why do you need me?”
Jinx blinked up at me. “People like you, respect you. I thought if I acted alone, people would dismiss me. Maybe even claim I’d doctored the photos, you know? These days it’s so easy to do that. I could end up sounding like … Paula Jones or Monica Lewinsky. I wanted this to come from both of us. It would give the allegations more credibility.”
I wondered if I was hearing things. Had Jinx just paid me a compliment?
“Please,” she said. “Just promise me you’ll think it over.”
Great. I could expose Ray’s womanizing to help keep my best friend’s career from getting flushed down the toilet, while turning myself into another Paula Jones. And in league with the Devil herself, no less.
I thought I’d gag swallowing my pride, but said, “I’ll think it over. But that’s all. And I’ll need more than verbal assurance of your good faith.”
I left before Jinx could see the anguish written all over my face.
*****
I needed to clear my head, so I took a brisk stroll down the boardwalk. The fresh tang of ocean breeze cleansed the coffee shop’s rotten fish smell from my body. That and my increased inhalation rate. What started as a stroll turned into a march. I stomped while fuming over Jinx’s threat—or was it a proposal?—and the fact that she had photos of me and Ray. The thickening crowd parted like the Red Sea before Moses. I think my speed and facial expression sent a signal to make way. Or else. Before I knew it, I’d reached Thrasher’s French Fries stand, which meant I was nearing the end of the boardwalk. The tantalizing smell of potatoes cooked in peanut oil tickled my nostrils. I stopped and stood, a rock awash in a sea of people.
What are you doing? I was wasting time and the thought made me even angrier.
