Deep Fried Trouble (Eugeena Patterson Mysteries) (6 page)

The past forty-eight hours had not been kind to my central nervous system.  I didn’t like the term black sheep, but Leesa had pressed my buttons enough for me to call her my “special” child. This wasn’t the first time Leesa had gone missing; it had just been awhile since she tried that stunt. I hoped that this missing-in-action was only about an opportunity to get away and clear her head. But of what? What set the child off?

After Mary accused her of stealing, Leesa started disappearing for hours and a few times, for days.  Ralph and I aged during Leesa’s moments of rebellion as well as her despair over losing her friend in the car accident. The day Leesa came to me in pain; little did I know the emergency room visit would produce the birth of my third grandchild.

My daughter took surprises to a whole other level. Her weight concealed any signs of life. To this day, I still don’t know if she knew she was pregnant.

I looked over on the couch where my granddaughter lie fast asleep. Kisha wanted to stay up to see some show. I caved. Did the same thing when the twins came over too.  I wouldn’t let my children stay up past nine o’clock. Benefits of being a grandchild, I guess.

I picked up Kisha and carried her to the room that belonged to her mother. Her younger brother had long been put to bed.  Tyric slept peacefully with pillows surrounding him.

As I laid Kisha next to her brother, her eyelids opened half way. “Mama. Where’s mama?”

I wish I knew, honey.
“Don’t worry. Your mama will be back soon.”

I bent down to kiss her forehead. This was such a sweet age. I wasn’t sure when Leesa lost her sweetness. It might have been in middle school. Someone snatched up my sweet girl and replaced her with some attitude-popping-girl-woman.  It didn’t help that Leesa had developed a voluptuous figure, thanks to my side of the family. She became a cute girl who craved attention from all the wrong people.

              The collisions between father and daughter were memorable to put it nicely. Ralph would demand Leesa’s obedience and she would do the exact opposite. You would’ve thought after Jennifer Fleming and her dad’s death in the car accident, it would’ve sobered the two up. It didn’t.

Leesa didn’t back down from her rebellious spirit until Ralph’s first heart attack.  Not too long after her father died, Leesa gradually drifted away. Usually some new boyfriend held her attention until they broke up and she needed money.

Little Tyric moved in his sleep, placing his thumb in his mouth. This child I didn’t even know about until two days before.

Now who is your daddy?
 

I could ask myself how and why, but those questions could wait. I needed Leesa to show up soon. No matter what she did or how she felt about me, I was her mother and she needed me.

The phone rang in the distance. I moved out the door as fast as I could and closed it slightly behind me. I raced inside the bedroom and grabbed the phone.

“Leesa?”

“Eugeena? No, it’s me, Louise. Is everything alright?”

I contained my groan. “Hey Louise, what can I do for you?”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m just nervous. Last night I didn’t sleep and it doesn’t look like I’m going to get any shut-eye tonight. Is this a bad time?”

You have no idea, woman.

Deflated, I needed to hear from my daughter, not woes from a little old lady.

Okay, I know that’s not nice, Lord.
 

Louise was dear to me. We did just have a murder down the street. If the detective hadn’t come by asking about my daughter, who happened to be a person of interest, maybe I would be feeling more like Louise now. I was in a defenseless situation myself, not that young, at least sixty pounds overweight and I had two small children in the house.

“Louise, honey, just make sure you check all your doors.  You have been using the AC, right?  Do not keep the windows open. We talked about plenty of safety precautions at the first neighborhood meeting.”

“Believe me. Everything is shut tight. But you know, Eugeena, that’s what’s bothering me. Did you know the police said there wasn’t a break-in over at Mary’s?”

“Are you sure?”

I didn’t want to get into how Louise knew, but this little tidbit worried me. If it wasn’t a break-in that meant Mary invited her “killer” inside. Being a cautious person, Mary would have only allowed a person she knew well into her home.

I needed to get off the phone and keep the line open. “Louise, I’m tired. It’s been a long day. How about me and you get together soon and brainstorm? We need to talk about the agenda for next neighborhood meeting.”

“We will have a lot to talk about. You have a good evening, Eugeena.”

              I hung up the phone. I wasn’t really interested in planning the next meeting, but I needed to give my busybody neighbor something else to do.               

Who else would Mary invite inside her home besides Leesa? I wasn’t all that convinced it was Leesa because none of my children had spoken to or been in contact with Mary in years.

I grabbed a notebook from the desk and started jotting down neighbors’ names. I really didn’t know everyone in the neighborhood like I used to, but someone reported seeing Leesa. Leesa rarely came around so it had to be a neighbor who had lived in Sugar Creek for some time.

Wayne. Leesa had a crush on him when she was a little girl. At one time, Wayne really was a good boy. All-star football player, he and my middle child Cedric were buddies. Cedric attended college, and Wayne enlisted in the army. I had prayed and twisted my hands with his mama as he served in Desert Storm. When he came back, the Wayne we once knew was replaced by a moody man, prone to consuming too much alcohol. No matter what he did or how hard his mama prayed and begged, he stayed in trouble.  One time he went too far.

I still wasn’t clear about the charges against Wayne, but he remained in jail for at least three years. Poor Agnes died while he served his time. I really should be more motherly instead of being so ornery towards the boy. I just didn’t trust him. Mainly because I expected a man to dress and act like a man. Wayne did neither. I can’t accuse him of being a killer, but he was a trained soldier.

Then, there was Carmen. Only been here less than a year.  I’m sure she didn’t know Leesa. Maybe it was mistaken identity. Carmen was much taller than Leesa, but they shared a similar complexion. Other than seeing her jog by the house, coming and going in her car, I didn’t know much about her. She drove a Toyota Camry, an earlier model than the one I drove. Carmen wouldn’t need to use a car since she could easily walk to Mary’s home. Did they even know each other?

Who else? Tamara. She wasn’t sure what the woman did for a living. Tamara seemed to live the life of a desperate housewife. Always home and not very happy.

I jotted down a few more names, but couldn’t see where anyone had a motive. I put my pen down. This list was sounding more like a gossip column. All this speculating was going nowhere.  Just reminded me of how well I had isolated myself and gotten caught up in the routine of getting up in the morning, teaching my class periods and returning home in the evenings to grade papers and stuff my face.

Since Ralph’s death, I hadn’t taken the time to meet new neighbors or reconnect with older ones other than Louise and now Amos.  It used to not be like this. Neighbors being such strangers. Years ago, when the children were younger we had block parties.  The women supplied the side dishes and the men would cook meat on their grills. Right out there in the street.

A block party! Now that’s an idea I could discuss with Louise to propose for the next meeting.

How else would we be able to keep the neighborhood safe, if we didn’t try to get to know each other? Old retired bird like me had plenty of time on her hands to set things right.

Set things right, Eugeena.

Who was I fooling? I caused chaos. I lost a friend a long time ago and my daughter barely spoke to me unless she had to.

I looked over at the closet. Leesa would come back. Why else would she leave that bundle of cash? Unless she planned to be gone a long time.  Or was that it? She left the cash for me to take care of her kids.  That didn’t ease my mind about where it came from.

              Overwhelmed with my thoughts, it was time to lay my burdens down. I kneeled by my bed.  Tears rolled down the side of my face. “Lord, I need you right now. Why do the ones we love cause us the most pain?  I guess you know more so than anybody knows about that type of pain, Lord. Please bring Leesa back to me. I trust you will keep her safe.  And my friend, my dear friend Mary. Lord, help me find justice for her. I don’t understand any of what’s happened the past few days, but I know you will make everything alright. Amen.”

             
One thing I was confident of, I would never believe my child committed murder.

The pinkish glow peeking through my bedroom window signaled my appointed time had come. God had nudged me awake to see another morning. With all that had happened I was grateful. I closed my eyes and opened my heart to hear the still small voice. I can’t say it was so much an audible voice, but more of a knowing deep in my spirit. The Lord was moving and I needed to get up.

First thing on my agenda was to gather some help. I couldn’t do anything by myself and I was determined to track down Leesa. She had her places to hide and there were people I could nudge to tell me what they knew. I headed downstairs, cautious not to wake the children, but my weight caused the stairs to creak anyway. It was crucial for me to get a few things done before the children rose.

In the kitchen, Porgy lifted his head when I entered. I know he wanted to be on my bed, but I wasn’t quite ready for that part of owning a dog. It was enough to have him in the house at all. Before I went to bed last night we came to an agreement or at least I did. His area would be in a corner of the kitchen. He followed me around with his tail wagging, so I imagined he had a decent night’s sleep. Better than me.

I dreamed about Leesa and the bag of money. She was dressed up with a mask like the girls in that Queen Latifah movie I saw years ago. 
Dreaming of your child robbing a bank. Eugeena, what kind of mother are you?
  It wasn’t like it was big bag of money. Had to be at least a thousand dollars though.

I started boiling the water for my morning green tea. With this lifestyle change sometimes I didn’t recognize my own kitchen and its contents. Speaking of lifestyle changes, one person I needed to connect with was the main person who had been nagging me all these years to get my eating habits under control. Aunt Cora. Strangely, I didn’t think of her as much of an aunt since she was two years older.  Cora was the sister I never had and a true woman of God.

I dialed the number that I should’ve dialed the moment Leesa arrived. If there was any female relative in the family Leesa was close to, Cora would be the number one candidate.

“Eugeena, girl why you calling so early this Monday morning? You supposed to be enjoying your retirement by sleeping in late.”

I cackled. “I wish. And how you know it was me?”

“Caller ID, Sistah. You know you need to get with it. All the young’uns you taught, I know you should be more up-to-date on technology than that.”

“You know I really don’t want to know more than my brain can handle.”

We laughed. “So, what’s going on?” Cora’s voice softened. “I saw the news last night when I came back in from church. Why didn’t you call me by now about Mary? You in shock I imagine.”

“Oh, Cora. I’m more than in shock. I have a pure dilemma on my hands. I can’t explain it all right now, but I need you to help me figure out some things and lift up some prayers this morning.”

“What’s going on?”

I closed my eyes. “Leesa. She came by the other night. Left her children. You know she has two now.”

“Oh.”

“Oh. That’s all you have to say. The girl just dropped the kids off and disappeared.”

“She did. Lord, help that child. Did you even know about the baby?”

“No I didn’t.” Something struck me strange the way Cora asked me that question. “Did you know?”

A long sigh on the other side of the call answered my question. “I told her she needed to tell you. I could tell the time that girl walked in the door she was carrying more than just her weight.”

My face felt as though I’d been slapped. “When was this… she always confides in you, Cora. I’m her mother.”

“Wait now! Don’t get upset. I was surprised by the first child too. Remember? Girl, if I could explain your child’s logic, I would. To be honest she seemed a bit in denial about the whole thing. I had to ask her if she was on something.”

No, no. That was the one good thing about Leesa. In all her troubles, she didn’t touch drugs. Alcohol was another thing, but she stayed clear of the hard stuff. “You still didn’t tell me the last time you saw her?”

“This was about a month ago, Eugeena. I was really surprised to see her. Have you thought to check her place out?”

“It’s on my agenda. I’m going to ask the neighbor to watch the kids while I drive up to her apartment in Columbia. I’ve been calling the home and cell phone, but both appear to be out of service. I just hope she still has the apartment.”

“Don’t worry yourself. God has been looking out for that child since you had her. Wherever she is, you’ll find her. I pray God’s protection over you and her.”

“We need all the prayers that we can get because when I get my hands on her…”

“Now, Eugeena, keep yourself under control. Find her and get her home. And please make sure you take care of yourself. You checked your sugar levels today, right? How’s that glucose meter working for you?”

“Look at you. You a retired nurse and can’t seem to stop checking up on somebody.”

“I know you. You will be so caught up in finding Leesa; you will let your health slide. Your children need you in this world a little longer. Keep me updated. Don’t wait so long to call next time.”

That’s what I needed. Some reinforcements. Now I needed to move to next on my list.

The babies would be up soon, both hungry. There was someone else who might appreciate breakfast this morning. I pulled down ingredients of the shelf to make cheese grits. Soon I had turkey bacon sizzling in my cast iron skillet.

An hour later, I had a three folks at my table. Kisha’s eyes were glued to the small TV in the corner. Tyric sucked milk greedily from his bottle. Across from me, Amos shoveled grits off his plate into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten for days.

“So you like the baked cheese grits?” I smiled.

“Oh yeah. This is good. I can’t wait to try that fried chicken you promised me.” Amos winked.

My cheeks grew warm. I know I wasn’t trying to blush, but I was right about him being a fried chicken man. I would have to keep my promise, but first... “Amos, I need your help.”

“Sure. What can I help you with?”

I wasn’t so sure how much I should tell Amos, especially with young ears at the kitchen table. I peered over at Kisha who appeared to be trying to feed Porgy again. “Uh-uh Kisha, Porgy does not eat from the table.” Goodness Mary had spoiled this dog something awful. He thought he was a little person or something.

I turned my attention back to Amos who was scraping his plate with the side of his fork. I must say I missed having a man around my table. One thing I did do right with Ralph was satisfy his appetite. He didn’t go hungry or have to worry about not having a good meal. I’m sure my cooking didn’t help him, but Ralph was a doctor and chose to eat what he liked.

It was rather nice to fix a healthy meal and see someone enjoy it. Instead of admiring the man, I needed to get his help. “Amos, you were a cop, right?”

“Spent ten years as cop and twenty years as a homicide detective.”

“You don’t say. Well, I guess you’ve seen quite a bit in your years.”

“I would say, nothing surprises me.”

“People can do the strangest things.  I’m still in shock about Mary.”

“You know, if you hadn’t went over there, no telling when someone would’ve found Mary’s body.”

“That’s right, but I don’t think that’s going to help me. In fact I have a bit of a predicament with the detective conducting the investigation.”

“Wilkes. She can be a tough cookie. Heard she was the best.”

“I’m sure she is, but I’m really wondering about this witness?”

“Witness?” Amos frowned and cocked his eyebrow. “Well, what did this witness see?”

“Someone I know. There has to be some mistake.”

“Mmm, well I can certainly inquire about the case for you.”

“Would you? That would mean so much to me.”

“I can’t guarantee that Wilkes will run her mouth. These cases are pretty confidential from the public, but maybe someone will share some insight. I have a few fishing buddies in the department.” Amos leaned forward in the chair, “Now you’re not thinking about doing your own investigation?”

“Oh no. Well, not without your help of course.” I smiled and this time I
know
I batted my eyelashes.

Amos responded, “I don’t know, E
ugeena.”

“You know people are looking for me to have information being the head of this neighborhood watch.”

“Yeah, but some things need to be left to the professionals.”

“I know. But the …” I glanced at Kisha. “The k-i-l-l-e-r had to be someone Mary knew. Could be somebody we all know. A birdie told me there was no sign of a break-in at Mary’s place.” I didn’t want to let Amos know the birdie was Louise from next door, but then again he might have already known.

Amos rubbed his chin. “That is odd. If they didn’t take anything, then they went in either with the sole purpose to hurt Mary or something went wrong, maybe an argument. Still, you know the person who entered Mary’s house could have driven into the neighborhood.”

That’s true and not what I wanted to hear, since it only pointed more towards Leesa who didn’t live here anymore. “Amos, I don’t know if you know this since you haven’t been in the neighborhood long, but Mary and I were good friends at one time. I just don’t want her ...” I had to remember Kisha was probably listening though her eyes were turned toward the TV. “I don’t want her demise to go without justice. She suffered a lot these last years. With her tragedies, she still did good for other people.”

“I understand. But just keep in mind, you need to be careful. If it is someone in the neighborhood, that leaves you vulnerable. It probably won’t hurt to get a better feel for who was where last Friday night.”

What Amos didn’t know was the first person on my mind to find out their whereabouts was my own flesh and blood. I pondered whether or not I should tell Amos about my daughter’s predicament.

“Something else bothering you, Eugeena?”

My, my.  It was almost scary the way Amos seemed to be reading my mind. “Well, I’ve been trying to decide if I should tell you. I have a feeling I might need your help. You see that witness reported seeing my daughter at Mary’s house Friday night. I know that can’t be.”

Amos let out a long whistle. “Well, surely she can explain. Have her go down to the police and give her statement.”

“I would.” I looked away from Amos. “If I could find her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember when she came with her children. I’m sure you noticed Sunday morning, she was gone. Amos, I need to find her and I need you to do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

Amos Jones would never know how grateful I was to hear those words. Sometimes people have to be careful when they agree to any favor though. I hoped after the fact, Amos wou
ld still want to be my neighbor.