Sinful Too (37 page)
“Your sister?” Nadeen asked, looking the man over carefully. “Lord have mercy.”
“Dior, she told me she had a twin,” Richard sighed.
Dooney walked closer to the sofa, where the others huddled. With calculated steps, he started a death march leading to Richard’s feet. He cocked the gun, then held it against the pastor’s forehead. “It’s about time you got to telling.”
“Okay, okay — wait,” Richard uttered, his hands raised in the air. “I went to see Dior, but I didn’t kill her. She — she got mad when I told her it was over. I tried to leave but she pulled a gun on me.” His eyes blinked rapidly, unsure which blink would be his last. “And — and I reached for the gun. I grabbed the barrel and the thing went off, twice. We both went tumbling down the stairs. I thought she’d shot me. I thought I was dead. Honest, I didn’t do nothing to hurt her.”
“The coroner said Dior was still alive after the fall severed her spinal cord. Why’d you leave her there!” Dooney questioned heatedly. “She died like a dog because of you.” He steadied his trigger finger to fire.
“Because I was scared!” Richard whined, staring wildly into his attacker’s eyes. “I was scared.”
“Uh-huh, bet you real scared now?”
“Please don’t shoot him, young man,” cried Nadeen. “Please don’t kill my husband.”
Dooney clenched his teeth. “Give me a good reason not to after what he did?”
“Because he’s not worth it,” she answered emphatically. Richard’s eyes grew wider still. “If you murder him, your life would be ruined too . . . and this man is not worth that. He’s not worth another damaged soul.”
Richard gasped when thunderous knocks sounded at the front door. He shrugged when Dooney asked who that could be. Nadeen knew most assuredly. “Don’t you know? That’s who the Lord sent to save you from making a grave mistake.” She didn’t ask permission to answer the door. Instead, she reached out her hand toward Dooney. His eyes danced erratically back and forth. “Let this be the best thing you ever did for your mother. Put that gun away and sit down.”
Richard was shocked when Dooney lowered his weapon. He leaned against the sofa cushion and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank you, God. Thank you.”
“Oh, you think it’s over?” said Dooney. “What until your company leaves; I’ll be right back on that . . .”
“Yes sir, officer,” Nadeen said, loud enough to be overheard in the den. “My husband is home.” Dooney slid the gun beneath the sofa, figuring that’s where the police had the hardest time finding Dior’s. He watched Richard as Nadeen returned to the room with two plainclothes detectives. Her demeanor was unbelievably casual considering what she’d moments before experienced. “And this is Mr. Wicker, a friend of the family.”
The female officer placed her hand on her weapon. “Wicker? That’s the same name as the deceased.”
“He’s her brother,” said Richard. “He’s only here to make sure I do the right thing.” Richard gave a full statement, detailing his affair with Dior and everything he could remember about the night in question. Surprisingly, he managed to recall Dior’s voice begging him not to leave her helpless on the floor. Dooney and Nadeen sat side by side, listening to each word, tortured by one after the next. Before the police took Richard into custody, Dooney understood how a man in his position could have succumbed to fears of the unknown. Dior was right about him; Richard wasn’t made to behave in the ways he did when with her. He wasn’t the man she needed or the one he thought he wanted to be. Nadeen sat alone, dazed and confused. Richard was the husband she never knew.
1. Should Nadeen have divorced Richard when she confirmed suspicions about another woman?
2. Did Richard have immediate intentions of sleeping with Dior after meeting her at the clothing salon?
3. Why do you think Richard risked his marriage and career to become intimate with Dior?
4. Was Nadeen’s threat to pay off Dior a rational decision?
5. Did Tangie do enough to discourage Dior’s simultaneous affair with two married men?
6. Was Phillip out of place for fighting Richard in the conference room?
7. Was Rose negligent as a friend to Nadeen for keeping quiet about the revelation Phillip shared in strict confidence?
8. Did Mahalia’s voodoo charm have anything to do with Dior’s tragic fall?
9. Richard had several opportunities to break up with Dior. Why wasn’t he able to do it?
10. During Dior’s last days, what did she say that affected you the most?
11. Do you think Nadeen would have taken Richard back if Dooney hadn’t shown up?
12. Do you think Dior got what she deserved in the end? Why or why not?
Essence
bestselling author V
ICTOR
M
C
G
LOTHIN
is a former bank vice president who nearly forfeited an athletic scholarship due to poor reading skills. Ultimately, he overcame that obstacle and later completed a master’s degree in human relations and business. Victor is also an online columnist of
Victor Said?
, a real brotha-to-sistah look at relationships.
Living in Dallas with his wife and two sons, Victor is hard at work on his next novel and movie projects.