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“Ms. Bridges, I’m investigating a crime, and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me.”
“What kind of crime?”
“A serious one.”
“Am I under suspicion of something?”
“No ma’am, it’s a bit more complicated than that. I’m asking for your help because you may have valuable information that might help us get justice for a family that’s hurting right now.”
“I’m sorry, what did you say your name is again?”
“Vaughn Webb.”
“What county do you work in? And what’s your badge number?”
She was one of those.
Vaughn gave her the information, hoping to put her at ease, but it seemed to do the opposite.
“Manns county?” she asked, alarm in her voice.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“This is about my ex-husband, isn’t it?”
He frowned. “Who’s your ex-husband?”
“Robert Gordon.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Theholidayspassedwithoutincident. Bakari only got two gifts this year: Bose speakers for his car and a new laptop. Frankly, he was surprised to even get that much after everything that happened. He figured it was all his mother’s doing.
He saw Danielle briefly on Christmas Eve. He stopped by her house to deliver her present, the search for which had been extremely stressful. Spend too much on a girl and you run the risk of making her feel awkward or pushing her away. Spend too little, she thinks you’re cheap and that she isn’t worth much to you. With his mother’s help, he’d finally settled on a sterling silver charm bracelet. Iesha vetoed Tiffany and Pandora. “That’s too much for high school,” she’d said. Deep down, Bakari wondered if she would feel the same about a gift for Bria.
At any rate, Bakari bought a nameless silver bracelet from the mall, along with a butterfly charm to get her started. He was proud of it, and Danielle seemed thrilled when she opened it.
Candace’s big news was definitely the brightest bright spot of the holiday season, but seeing that smile on Danielle’s face was a very close second. He spotted Bria on Instagram posing next to her new car, and he was happy for her. She deserved some joy after the year she’d had.
But now the day of reckoning was upon him. The tree was down and the stockings had been repacked with care. That’s always disheartening enough, seeing your house empty after a month of festive decorations and the promise of presents and family. But now Joe was back to his usual self. On ten. And that made things even worse.
“I want the bitch prosecuted!” he yelled into his wife’s face.
“I agree with you, but we can’t pretend like Kari didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean? She was his teacher. I don’t give a damn whether he wanted to or not. She was supposed to know better.”
“I’m with you, Joe, trust me.”
He looked at his son and pointed a long, thick finger. Bakari had been trying to shrink into the living room couch, hoping he’d be forgotten. “What the hell were you thinking, boy? A teacher? And a white teacher at that? Didn’t we have this discussion? You don’t remember Emmett Till?”
“I know. I remember everything you told me. I just…I don’t know. I don’t have an excuse.”
“You need to get your head in the game, boy. This is your life. This is your future! Everything you do from now on will either contribute to your success or your downfall.” He punctuated each syllable with a karate chop to his palm. “There’s no neutral territory. Not for a young black man. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“No, I need to know if you really get what I’m saying. I’ve said it a thousand times, but here’s one more: Control your fucking self. Discipline! That’s it, Kari. I don’t know any other way to say it.”
