TOTAL ECLIPSE: The Evolution (Sin City Heat Series Book 7) (37 page)

CHAPTER 44

Eyes closed tightly, Jerra kept her hand clamped over her mouth to try and keep the whimpering cries in. Darrell placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

“I’m afraid so. We don’t know much more than that at this time. If at all possible, we’d like you to come down to the morgue and make a positive identification.”

Darrell stared at him for several long moments, still trying to digest what he’d just heard. Giving his head a little shake to bring himself out of the trancelike state he was in, he nodded. “I’ll, uh, follow you over there to identify her body now if you’re ready.”

“I’m going with you,” Jerra told him.

Darrell immediately shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

“J., why don’t you stay here with Aleesha?” Marcus said softly, stepping forward. “I’ll go with Darrell, make sure he’s okay.”

“No!” Jerra protested vehemently. Grabbing Darrell’s hand, she stared up at him with a determination that told him she wasn’t changing her mind. “I’m going with you.”

If it had been anything else, Darrell would have put his foot down and made her stay home in order to shield her from the ugliness of what was being asked of him, but…God help him, he needed her right now. With a look of relief, he gave her a grateful nod.

“Okay,” he answered, squeezing her hand. Turning to Marcus, he said, “Do me a favor and let Dom and Keisha know what’s happened, and check on my son for me.” Dominick and Keisha didn’t know Bryan personally, so they had volunteered to keep the kids. “I’ll call you as soon as we get back home.”

“Make sure you do, bruh.” The two of them exchanged a brief hug as Aleesha came over to Jerra. “I’m so sorry, D. You know I got you if you need anything,” Marcus added in a solemn voice.

Darrell nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“What about Gabby?” Aleesha asked gently.

Darrell briefly closed his eyes as he thought about what this was going to do to his sister. Gabby and Tina were extraordinarily close. Darrell always said Tina might be many things, but she loved her daughter more than anything in the world.

“I…I guess I need to identify the body first.” Uttering those words sounded surreal. He took a deep breath. One thing at a time. “Once I verify it’s Tina, I’ll call and break the news to her.”

“And Lorenzo,” Jerra added, still unable to believe any of it was real.

“And Lorenzo,” Darrell repeated.

“Mr. Monroe,” Detective Thomas inserted, his forehead wrinkled in a frown. “From what we’ve managed to gather, we know that Ms. Gibson has two children, a daughter in addition to yourself. Who is Lorenzo if you don’t mind me asking.”

“He’s her son. My…older brother.”

Detective Thomas made a quick note in the small black pad he had. “Lorenzo Monroe?”

Darrell hesitated. “No. His last name isn’t Monroe.” When the detective looked up at him and waited expectantly, Darrell added, “It’s Pattel.”

“Excuse me?” Detective Lowe said with lightning quick swiftness. Keeping his eyes on Darrell, he took a couple of steps forward. “Did you say Pattel? As in the New York Pattels?”

Darrell frowned, not liking the calculating gleam in the other man’s eyes. “He lives in New York, yes.”

“Is his father Isaac Pattel?”

Darrell’s jaw jumped as he gritted his teeth. “Yes.”

Detective Thomas had been watching Darrell closely. “Mr. Monroe, do you and Lorenzo Pattel have the same mother and father?”

By this time, Jerra had also taken note of both detectives’ tones and the avid interest they suddenly displayed. Her protective instincts immediately pushed their way to the forefront of her grief. “I’m sorry, but what does that have to do with my husband going down to identify his mother’s body?”

“We’re just trying to get as much information as possible, Mrs. Monroe. That includes anyone associated with the deceased. Just doing our job, ma’am.”

Jerra’s voice cooled when she heard his condescending tone. “I think your questions can wait. You just told my husband his mother is dead. Please have a little respect.”

She saw the flare of anger that manifested in their eyes, but she refused to look away until the detective nodded to indicate he would back down.

“Good.” Exhaling softly she picked up her purse and slipped her hand in Darrell’s again before looking pointedly at the other two men. “Now, if you’re ready…?”

“That’s her. That’s my mother.”

Darrell stared at the photo on the screen of the monitor for several long moments after he confirmed the body of the woman lying on the table in the cold, barren room was indeed Tina. Dropping his eyes, he turned and walked out, leaving the detectives to follow.

Retracing his steps until he made it out into the hallway, his gaze met Jerra’s. She’d wanted to come in with him, but that had been out of the question. He didn’t want to subject her to something so terrible. Seeing the question in her eyes, he gave her a small nod to let her know it was Tina.

Jerra’s lips trembled, but she fought against breaking down again. She needed to be as strong for Darrell as he was being for her. The two of them reached for each other’s hands at the same time and held on tight.

Squaring her shoulders, she turned to the detectives. “If that’s all…”

“Actually, Mr. Monroe, we’d appreciate it if you could come down to the station and answer a few questions. Just as a formality, of course.” Detective Thomas made an effort to inflect empathy in his voice this time. “I understand this isn’t easy, but it’s imperative we act quickly to find the person or persons responsible for your mother’s death.”

Darrell ran a hand down his face. “Uh, yeah. Okay. I’ll need to call my sister and my brother first, though.”

“Of course.” Detective Lowe turned to Jerra. “Mrs. Monroe, I’m not sure how long we’ll be. If you’d like to go home, we’ll give Mr. Monroe a ride as soon as we’re finished.”

“I don’t think so, Detective. I’m coming in with him when you question him.”

The detectives exchanged a glance with each other, but kept their demeanor respectful. “I’m sorry, that won’t be possible, ma’am. You see–”

Jerra sighed, impatience evident in the stiff set of her facial features. “Detectives, just so you know I’m an attorney for Sullivan, Baker & Lewis. I can assure you, I understand the procedure regarding a murder investigation very well.”

At the mention of the prestigious law firm, the detectives’ expressions turned wary as they regarded Jerra in a new light.

“Now what I need
you
to understand is this: I
will
be accompanying my husband to the police station, and I
will
be present when you ask him questions regarding his mother’s death. Are we clear?”

“Of course, Mrs. Monroe, but your husband doesn’t need an attorney, we just want to–”

“I know exactly what you want to do,” Jerra cut in brusquely. “Which is why I will be sitting in as my husband’s attorney for now. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t prolong things by standing here arguing with me. I’m sure you understand that we’d like to get this over with as soon as possible. ”

Detective Lowe’s face was riddled with irritation. “Of course.”

Jerra glanced down at her watch. “We’ll meet you at the police station within an hour or so. As my husband stated, he has to call his sister and brother to inform them of their mother’s death.”

The two men didn’t like it, but they had no other choice but to go along with Jerra’s proclamation. Nodding stiffly, they left without another word.

As soon as they were out of sight, Jerra released a long breath. Turning back to Darrell, she searched his face closely. “Are you okay?”

Eyes slightly dazed, Darrell looked uncertain as to how to answer that question. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I just know I’m not thinkin’ too clearly right now, so thanks for having my back.”

“Of course. Always.”

Darrell pulled out his phone but hesitated. “I wish I didn’t have to tell Gabrielle this news over the phone.”

“Maybe you should call Lorenzo first. They both live in Manhattan. If he’s near her townhouse, he can go over and be with her when you tell her.”

Darrell stared at Jerra for a moment as he considered her suggestion. Once Gabrielle had gotten back into town, she and Lorenzo finally got a chance to meet. Since then, they’d met up several times and talked fairly often on the phone. As Darrell had known she would do, Gabby embraced Lorenzo as if she’d known him all her life. Then again, that was just Gabby. Family was everything to her. She was trying to get the three of them together as soon as everyone’s schedules permitted. Darrell regretted the fact that their mother’s death would be the catalyst that finally made that happen.

Quickly making a decision, he dialed Lorenzo’s number and brought the phone up to his ear. Lorenzo answered on the second ring.

“What’s up, D.?”

“Hey. I…I need to talk to you.”

A slight pause fell between them. Lorenzo immediately sensed something was wrong. “Everything alright? Did something happen between Jerra and Roni at the wedding?”

For a moment, Darrell was at a loss as to what Lorenzo was talking about. He’d forgotten about everything else when the detective gave him the news.

“No. It’s nothin’ like that. I…somethin’s happened, Lo. It’s Tina.”

“What about her? Did you and she get into it again?”

“No. She…Lorenzo, Tina’s dead.”

“She’s what?”

Darrell heard the same inflection of disbelief in his brother’s voice that he’d felt when the detectives told him the news.

“I’m still at the coroner’s office. I…I just identified her body.”

“No, D.,” Lorenzo whispered. “How…how did it happen? When? You say you just identified the body. Are you in Philly?” Lorenzo shot out the questions one after another.

Darrell told him the little he knew so far, including the detective’s contention that Tina had been murdered.

Lorenzo was obviously shaken, but like Darrell, he made an effort to focus on what had to be done. “What do you need? Have you told Gabby yet?”

“No. Jerra suggested that if you were close by her place, you could be with her when I broke the news. She shouldn’t be alone when she hears this.”

“I’m on it. I’ll call her cell and find out where she is. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you right back.”

“Alright. I’m going to the police station to give them what information I can, but I’ll wait until I hear from you first.”

After they hung up, Darrell looked around the cold, sterile space where they were standing. “Come on, baby. Lorenzo’s gonna call me back, but I need to get the hell out of this place.”

They walked to the car in silence. Starting the ignition, Darrell slowly pulled off and merged into the Saturday night traffic. They continued to ride without speaking, as Darrell drove around aimlessly with no direction in mind until Lorenzo called about fifteen minutes later.

“Did you get her?” Darrell asked as soon as he connected the call.

“Yeah. She’s at home. Luckily, I was at a business dinner close by so I’m actually not very far from her place, but as always, traffic’s a bitch. It’s probably going to take me about twenty minutes or so to reach her. Are you on your way to the police station?”

“No, I wanted to tell Gabby first.”

“Good. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”

After Darrell told Jerra what Lorenzo said, the silence inched back into the car again, both of them lost in their thoughts. A thousand questions assaulted Darrell all at once. Why had Tina been in Vegas? Who would want to hurt her? And why?

By the time his phone rang again, almost thirty minutes had passed. When Darrell answered it, Lorenzo told him that he was in front of Gabby’s brownstone. Darrell took the next exit and pulled over on the shoulder. He heard Gabby greeting Lorenzo before he could ring the doorbell. Knowing his sister, her curiosity had gotten the best of her and she’d been waiting at the door for him to arrive.

“D., I’m gonna put you on speaker, okay?”

“Alright.”

Darrell turned the ignition off and lowered the phone for a moment. This was going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever done because it was going to destroy his sister. Darrell glanced at Jerra in the dimly lit interior of the car. Swallowing hard, he got out of the car and walked a short distance away.

He knew there was no easy way to tell her, but he delivered the news to her as gently as he could. At first Gabby was in denial. Then she became fiercely angry and accused Darrell of playing some sick, cruel trick because of the latest estrangement between himself and Tina. Darrell knew it was just a coping mechanism because she couldn’t let herself believe it was true. He reassured Gabby that he would never do that to her, and told her how very, very sorry he was. When his words finally sunk in, Gabby lost it. She was inconsolable. Her anguish ripped through the phone line and gutted Darrell to his core.

Crouching down on his heels, he once more pulled the phone away from his ear. He couldn’t bear to hear Gabby’s mournful screams calling out for her mother. Darrell bit down on his lip so hard he tasted blood.

Jaw twitching in quick, short movements, he cleared his throat and brought the phone back to his ear. “Gabby…sweetie, I know, I know. Gabby…Gabby…”

Darrell bowed his head and blinked rapidly. He searched his mind for the right words, prayed that he could find something to say to get through to her, but…he came up with nothing. “Gabby…”

“Darrell, it’s me.” Lorenzo had taken the phone off speaker, but Darrell still clearly heard his sister’s gut wrenching sobs in the background.

“Gabby…she’s…” Darrell paused as his voice cracked.

“Why don’t you go on to the police station? Call me when you finish. I don’t care what time it is.”

“Lorenzo…”

“I got her, D. I’m not gonna leave her. I’ll take care of her until you’re able to.”

“I know. It’s just…thank you. I’ll call you soon.”