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Mel stood up and turned around to face the woman, who was indeed holding a pistol, her finger on the trigger.
Mel flung open the front door and hauled ass down the stairs. Back on the street, he realized what a lucky break he’d just had. Unfortunately, he had lost the coke during the fight, so he headed for the liquor store and bought another fifth of rum.
Debra opened the door, and her eyes widened in horror. “What happened to you?”
Mel pushed her aside. “Guy tried to mug me,” he lied. He handed Debra the liquor bottle and headed for the bathroom to take a look at his eye, which was beginning to swell, and at his lip where his front teeth had cut it.
CHAPTER EIG HT
As the front door closed behind Mel, Adrienne leaned her tired body against it and breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t let him help with the unpacking, because two of the boxes held brand-new baby outfits that she didn’t want him to see until she got pregnant.
Before the fire, Adrienne had hated shopping. The crowds, too few dressing rooms, rude salespeople—it all had discouraged her. But after losing all her belongings, she had started buying clothes to replace those she had lost. And it escalated. The items had to be better than those she had lost, and then the game went up another notch. Then she started charging clothes and other items that she didn’t have the cash for. Now, her credit card payments were overdue.
Adrienne looked at her watch. Mel would probably walk to Thirty-fourth Street and take a cab back. Adrienne had unstacked a couple of cartons and rolled up her sleeves when the phone rang. Damn! She had an hour and a half at most.
“Hey, girl.” It was Charlene.
Adrienne was elated. The two women had not spoken in a week, since moving day. If Charlene was taking the time to call, that meant she wasn’t mad anymore. “What’s up?”
“Not a whole lot. Dan is doing a wedding today, so I have the house to myself.”
“So do I. Mel went to buy a TV set.”
“How are things between you two?” Charlene asked cautiously.
Adrienne sighed. “We got off to a bad start, but it will get better. We have some furniture now, so it’s a lot more comfortable, but sometimes it still feels like we’re strangers.”
“Don’t worry,” Charlene said gently. “Just take things nice and slow.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Adrienne said. “Can you do my hair next Saturday?”
“Sure. Is everything okay at work?”
Adrienne suddenly remembered the strange scene with Lloyd Cooper. Charlene listened quietly until Adrienne finished the tale.
“Now, that is some weird stuff,” Charlene laughed. “And you really
don’t remember him at all?”
“No, but he did mention my new last name, so that means it has been at least four years since he saw me.”
“True.” Charlene was silent for a moment. “I love a puzzle. Let’s think about this. He said that your calling him ‘sir’ was a switch. That means he wasn’t a high roller before.”
“Well, he couldn’t have been a scrub, either,” Adrienne answered dryly. “Nobody can climb the corporate ladder that fast.”
“Hmmm. What if you knew him, like, ten years ago?”
Adrienne thought about that. “I was working a lot of temp jobs in between gigs. It’s possible that he worked at one of those companies.”
Charlene laughed. “See? He was probably working in the mailroom.”
Adrienne started laughing with relief. “The mystery is solved.”
“Wait a minute. Didn’t you say he was from Chicago?”
Adrienne’s heart sank. “Shit. You’re right. I’ve never been to Chicago. What I really can’t understand is how I could forget meeting any man who looks like that. The brother is fine with a capital F.” Adrienne could still remember the look he gave her after his presentation. She tried not to think about it as Charlene continued.
“We need more clues,” Charlene said, sounding excited. “I hope he calls you soon.”
