Day of Atonement (7 page)

She looked sad. Troy wasn't sure what she expected him to say. He had enough issues with his own father to try and give someone else advice. Plus, this was neither the time nor the place. “Well, have a safe trip. I need to make my rounds. You take care.”

“You, too. It was nice seeing you.” She surprised him with a hug. “Merry Christmas.”

“Same to you.”

Despite the many people there of all races, there was one guy that stood out. He was an older white man with a mixture of gray and brown hair and a stocky build who walked around the room like he belonged there. Yet, to Troy, he seemed out of place. It wasn't necessarily the black jeans and polo shirt that made Troy notice this guy. There were people in various attire. But Troy observed him talking and watching others. No one else showed any visible signs that they thought his presence was odd. Maybe he was a former teacher of Elana's? Or, perhaps he was a funeral home employee? Naw, that didn't fit. He was dressed too casually. Could he be the
killer?
Murderers have been known to do twisted things like show up at family events of their victims. Troy looked
for Elvin to see if he had any idea about the identity of the mystery guest. He spotted El talking to one of his cousins. Troy was headed toward him when he got stopped by one of Lilly's brothers.

“Troy!”

“Hey, Bill, how's it going?”

“I thought that was you. I ain't seen you in for-for-for-eh-ver.” Bill, overly dressed for the occasion in a tuxedo, shook his hand. “You living back he-he-here, now?”

“No, I'm still in Ohio.”

“You sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-sound a little citified,” he joked.

Troy chuckled to himself, thinking of how people in Ohio would swear he sounded like a Southerner. While Troy would admit to having a slight accent, it was nothing compared to any born and bred Texan he'd encountered since his plane landed. To him, they sounded country. Maybe there's some truth to Bill's statement. “I've been up north for over half my life now; those city folk may have rubbed off on me to some extent, but Houston will always be my home.”

“Gawd, bless your heart. Thank you for b-b-b-being here, son.” His hand seemed to have found a permanent resting place on Troy's shoulder. “This whole thi-thi-thing about Elana is crazy. It may take a while before we have answers for sure, but I know that the Luh-luh-Lord is going to bring everything to fru-fru-ta-ta-tation.”

Older now, Troy would not dare make fun of anyone with a speech impediment. He did, however, expect that Bill would have gotten his vocabulary together by this time. Apparently not so much. “Yes, the Lord will bring everything to
fruition.
” Troy tried correcting him as subtly as possible.

“Are you speaking at the sa-sa-sa-service Monday?”

Troy surely hoped not. What would he say? That he hated
himself sometimes for partly being responsible for the pain Lilly has suffered the last thirty years? “I don't plan on it.”

“I will be speaking. Me and one of my bruh-bruh-bruh-others.” Troy didn't ask which one. Lilly had a clan of siblings. Some had the same set of parents, others had the same mom and different dads, or the same dads and different moms. It would take a map and a GPS to navigate Elvin's family tree. “You know I can talk, but my sister doesn't want the sa-sa-sa-service to last too long and I-I-I will respect that. I'm going to try not to be too gra-gralari-ri-ous.”

Troy did not feel like correcting Bill about the word garrulous. “Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Bill. I want to find Elvin.” What Troy really wanted to do was ask Elvin what in the world he and his mom were thinking when they agreed to let Bill speak. Did they want the service to last
for-for-for-eh-ver!

By the time Troy did catch up to Elvin, he was consoling Lilly who had started crying and the mystery man was nowhere in sight. Maybe he was a curious passerby. The local news had run Elana's story several times. It still wasn't getting the attention he felt it deserved, but at least it is more than what was aired when she first went missing.

During the remainder of the time, Troy met several people whom he did not know. One was Elvin's biological father. Edgar Campbell had walked out on Miss Lilly and the family when Elvin was only three and Elana was still a baby. According to the stories Troy had been told, Edgar re-emerged occasionally, but was never too dependable. To Troy's knowledge, he never did come see Elvin for his birthday and he wasn't around during those critical early moments when Elana could not be found. Even as a child, Troy knew that was strange.

For a man who had abandoned his responsibilities, he seemed broken up about Elana. Troy found it hard to have sympathy for him. Were these tears of mourning or perhaps guilt for being a deadbeat? Where had he been all this time? How did he hear about Elana? Troy did not recall Elvin saying that he had spoken with Edgar these last several weeks. Then again, neither of their fathers often came up during their conversations. Still, something about Edgar did not sit well with Troy.

“You all right, man?” Troy said to Jeff, Lilly's second husband, who was leaning against a wall with his head down.

Jeff looked up with a glaring stare. “It pisses me off to know that someone here may have done this to Elana. Seeing Lilly cry like that is tearing me apart. She does not deserve this.” He looked pretty much the same as Troy remembered—tall, bald, and bulky with a Steve Harvey-like mustache. Troy identified with Jeff's anger. He had the same sentiments. All these family members were in Lilly's face and one of them could be Elana's killer.

“You're right. Let's go outside and get some fresh air.” Troy did not want to risk Jeff possibly saying anything that could tip off someone within earshot that Troy was working on the case.

“I'm okay. I need to get back to Lilly.” With those words, Jeff took a deep breath and walked away.

Troy caught himself smiling as he watched Elvin move aside so Jeff could take over consoling Lilly. Whatever issues the two of them had had in the past, it was clear that those days were over. Lilly clung to him as if her well-being was dependent on his presence. When Elana's murderer was finally brought to justice, perhaps Jeff would be the silver lining that Lilly needed to live the rest of her life happily ever after.

As Troy scanned the room, he noticed that Herbert Greenfield,
Lilly's third and final ex-husband, was notably missing. He was the man whom she was married to when Elana disappeared. One would assume that he would at least show up and give his respects. Troy was sure that Lilly and Herbert's relationship was nowhere as near as cordial as her and Jeff's. She'd gone from the frying pan to the fire when she married Herbert. Still, if Herbert had any shred of decency, he would have made an appearance. Troy could only think of two reasons why Herbert would not be here: death or guilt for being the one responsible for the circumstances.

N
atalie sat alongside her mother-in-law watching AJ and Alyssa take Nate around the ice rink. Reed was still at home when they left. Natalie got the impression that he was bummed about not being able to spend time with Troy. She felt that Troy really needed to give his father a chance. She, of all people, believed that Jesus could indeed change a person. She was proof. He had changed her.

“Nate is doin' good for this to be his first time,” noted Diane.

“I know. I've never been ice skating. Aneetra and her daughters go sometimes.”

“Aneetra's Nate's godmother, right?”

“Yep.”

“How is she?”

“Fine.” Natalie did not feel the necessity to tell Diane about her friend's marital issues.

“Tell her I said hi the next time you speak with her and that she's goin' to have to take my grandbaby ice skatin' with her.”

“I'm sure she won't have any problems with that. I figured Nate was too young, but I guess not.” Natalie wished she could be out on the rink with him. While she was willing to risk having animal babies by going to the zoo, she wasn't about to attempt a balancing act, though some would probably claim that's what she did
anyhow by wearing heels today. “Who would have thought his first time would be in Texas. I didn't even know there was ice skating in the South, let alone outside.” The weather in Houston was in the mid-fifties. A slight chill, but nothing like the freezing snow storm she'd left behind in Ohio and certainly not weather she'd imagined suitable for an outdoor ice skating rink. Diane tried to explain to her how the rink was kept frozen, but her mother-in-law didn't quite understand herself, so the explanation was more confusing than it was enlightening. “I guess people with deep pockets can buy the right kind of equipment to make anything possible.”

“You got that right. I'm glad that all of my grandbabies are out there havin' fun.”

“You can skate with them if you want. Don't feel obligated to sit on the sidelines with me. I'm all right.”

“Girl, I'm not gettin' my big a—,” she caught herself, “my big
butt
out there on that ice. It would be my luck to fall and split the rink wide open.”

Visualizing such an exaggerated scene made Natalie laugh. “I seriously doubt that would happen.”

“What? The fall or me breakin' the ice? I can't even walk in heels without bein' afraid of twistin' an ankle.” She looked down at Natalie's feet. “You think I'm goin' to be foolish enough to put on ice skates?”

“You are silly.” She quickly turned her attention to her son. “Nate, hold Alyssa's hand or you will come sit with me!” He seemed determined to show his independence. “The boy has never been to a skating rink in his entire life and already he's trying to act like a pro.”

“He has his daddy's DNA. Troy used to be like that when he
was younger. I remember once he had taken a couple of karate classes, maybe three at the most, and that fool thought he was ready to start choppin' things. He actually got bricks from around my flower bed and tried to break through them.”

“Did he get hurt?”

Diane, true to form, could not simply say “yeah” without adding the word “hell” in front of it. “I thought he had broken his hand 'cuz it was all red and swollen.”

“He's never shared that story with me before. How old was he?”

“I don't know. I think he was about nine. No, that can't be right because Tracy would have been two and this happened before she was born, so he had to be younger because I think I was pregnant with her at the time, but not as far along as you. And I definitely wasn't as cute bein' pregnant as you. They didn't make maternity clothes back then like they do now. I look at some of the outfits I see in magazines of pregnant movie stars. Some of them look slutty, but there are some cute things, like what you're wearin'. Only you would come dressed to impress to a skatin' rink, but it's cute, though, girl. You are workin' it.”

“Thanks.” Natalie did not think she had on anything special. Other than the heels, which were only two inches compared to the higher ones she normally wore, she had on maternity jeans and a long-sleeved pattern top. She hadn't felt cute throughout this entire pregnancy. She'd felt uncomfortable, like she'd swallowed a giant exercise ball. Maybe that's why she still tried to spice up her appearance with her attire. It had to be the model in her for sure because the mother in her wanted nothing more than to match Diane's apparel and put on sweats and tennis shoes.

“My son really loves you, you know?”

“And I really love him.”

“It's easy to see how much he cares about you and Nate. I can tell by the way he looks at y'all. It's amazin' to see how devoted he is as a husband and father considerin' Reed wasn't the best role model.”

Natalie remained quiet, figuring to agree with Diane, despite the accuracy of her statement, would be rude.

“Troy is protective of all the people he loves and he is not one to open his heart easily. Once in, you're in, but once out, the door seems to be closed forever.” She turned to face Natalie. “I know you probably think I am a fool for stayin' with Reed all of these years.”

“Not necessarily.” Natalie hoped she'd sounded sincere. She wouldn't call her mother-in-law a fool, but she did wonder what compelled her to put up with all the crap she had taken from Reed. Diane, a woman who did not bite her tongue, didn't seem like she would tolerate physical abuse.

“I don't even know why I stayed with him. I think it was because of stubbornness more than love. I don't think anyone in my family expected us to make it. We got married because I was knocked up. We stayed married because dysfunction became our norm. I worry about AJ and Alyssa because Al and Tracy's marriage reminds me of how mine used to be. Seein' how much Reed has changed does at least give me hope for the two of them.”

“Um-hmm.”

“I think Troy blames his father for all of our marital problems, but between you and me, I wasn't perfect either. Reed had more whores than I can count. I know for a fact that he had a woman livin' with him for a while after his father died because Tracy told me about it when she was a teenager. She was mad at me and planned to move in with him. She showed up over there with her bags and he sent her right back home.”

“How'd she know another woman was living there?”

“Reed told her he was helpin' a friend and there wasn't enough space for all of them. Plus, Tracy saw the lady when she first got there. I can't remember how it all happened because it's been so long ago, but I think the door was unlocked and Tracy walked in on the two of them in the livin' room watchin' a movie or somethin' like that. She said the woman didn't look much older than her, which didn't surprise me. He had whores of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The young ones liked his money and I supposed the old ones did, too. Anyhow, I called and cussed him out that night. If I had gone over there, I would have left dead or in handcuffs. It wasn't so much that he didn't let her stay that pissed me off, it was that he told her the reason was because of this other woman like that tramp havin' a home was more important than his daughter havin' one.”