Twist of Fate (23 page)

"Call me Luke. Danno and I are only half brothers, but we both look like our Mama, God rest her soul." The chair squeaked under his weight as he took the fourth seat at the table and signaled the waiter for coffee. "How's it hangin', Kendra? Somehow I doubt you came just for the chicken fried steak."

"Val is my boss," Kendra explained, "and she's agreed to make a last-ditch attempt to get Daniel's sentence commuted."

Hope and doubt passed over Luke's face. "Any chance of that?"

"I honestly don't know, Luke," Val said soberly. "Daniel didn't want us to get involved, and he only agreed to cooperate for Kendra's sake. I won't lie. It will take something major to get your brother off death row. But so little investigation was done at the time that maybe we have a chance to turn up strong new evidence. Rob has been working on that almost full-time."

She glanced at Rob. Taking her cue, he said, "That's why we're here. Tonight we visited the crime scene, and we're wondering if the two male witnesses might have colluded to cast the blame on Daniel to save some friend of theirs."

"That's why I thought of you, Luke." Kendra leaned forward intently. "Darrell Long is dead and Rob hasn't been able to locate Joe Cady. You ran with that crowd. Any idea where we might look for Joe? Is he still alive?"

Luke frowned and scratched inside one elbow, where the faint scars of old needle tracks showed under his short- sleeved shirt. He was in a position to know that basically decent kids could go off the rails if they succumbed to the dangerous lure of the streets.

"Joe was an addict who never came clean, and he was in and out of jail. I haven't seen him for years, but I heard a couple of weeks ago that he's dying of AIDS. I don't know where." His gaze dropped to the needle scars. "Some of us were lucky with needles. Joe wasn't. Not a bad guy, but if Darrell told him to lie, he would."

"Assuming our theory is true, do you have any idea who they might have wanted to protect?" Rob asked quietly. "Someone who looked a little like your brother?"

"I've thought about that. I even suggested it to the cops after Danno was arrested, but they blew me off." Luke began rubbing at the scars again. "A couple of cousins ran the nearby crack house. Omar and Ike Benson. Both of 'em were tall, tough-looking guys, and they carried guns. Easy to imagine either one assaulting a woman and shooting a cop who tried to stop it. Since they controlled the neighborhood crack supply, Darrell and Joe might have figured it was worth getting on their good side."

Rob wrote down their names. "The Bensons were mentioned to me before. Time I looked them up. Any idea where they might be now?"

"Both dead. Omar was knifed in the Pen, and Ike was shot a few years later when a drug deal went bad. Another guy who worked for them, Shooter Williams, fit the same general description. Hell, if you don't insist on much resemblance to Danno, there were plenty of homeboys drifting in and out of that crack house who might have done a rape and a murder if they were high."

"We haven't time to look at them all." Rob added the new name. "I'd like to start with Joe Cady, if he's still alive." He pulled out a business card and handed it over. "If you get any more ideas, let me know."

"I'll do that. I'll ask Angel, too." Luke pocketed the card. To Val and Rob, he said, "My wife is my angel for sure. Without her, I never would have managed to stay straight, and I sure wouldn't have this business. She's the genius in the kitchen."

"Say hi to Angel and the kids for me, Luke," Kendra said. "You're a lucky man."

"Don't I know it." His gaze went to her face with some of the warmth they had once shared when they were practically in-laws. "Will you do me a favor, Kendra? Sing a couple of songs before you go."

Luke was thinking of the old days. "It's been years since I did club singing," Kendra said uncertainly. "Your customers deserve better."

"Don't sing for them. Sing for me and Angel." His voice was soft and coaxing, just like Daniel when he wanted something.

"Okay, Luke. For you and Angel." As Luke left the table and went upstairs, Kendra buried her head in her hands for a moment as she mentally shifted back twenty years to the days when she was young and carefree, full of songs and dreams.

When she recaptured that feeling, she tunneled her fingers through her hair to loosen it, then stood and gave her head a shake so that the dark mass danced wantonly around her shoulders. Though her slacks and shirt were casual, the slacks revealed her long athlete's legs and as she strolled to the dais she undid the top buttons of her shirt to show off what the good Lord gave her. She didn't have to see a mirror to know that she didn't look like an uptown paralegal anymore.

She waited until the pianist finished his piece, then conferred with him. His name was Ernie and she'd known him once in another lifetime. After they agreed on three songs, he handed her a microphone, and she turned to face the bistro full of diners.

Val was staring in round-eyed amazement while Rob had the expression that meant he'd just realized Kendra was hot, the way she had noticed him earlier. She grinned and waved at them, swaying to the beat as Ernie played the intro to her first song.

The shape of the mike was as familiar as if she had last sung in a club yesterday. Her first choice was "Body and Soul," a Billie Holiday standard song for lost love. What woman, or man, for that matter, hadn't felt the same way? In a voice plangent with yearning, Kendra sang the sorrows of her life--the losses of her mother, her lover, her husband--but she also sang as an indomitable survivor. Black women personified the blues, because they had suffered and endured and found new joys.

As Kendra sang, the chatter in the room quieted and people turned to listen. Luke and Angel, his pretty, rounded wife, appeared at the bottom of the stairs and stood swaying together, arms around each other's waists.

When the song ended, Kendra bowed her head during the applause, feeling the heady rush that came with capturing her audience. After a glance at Ernie, she broke into a lively version of "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do." The room began filling with diners from upstairs, some carrying drinks or coffee cups.

This time, the clapping threatened to loosen the bricks in the walls. She grinned and waited for the sound to die down before she signaled Ernie to begin her last selection. She had chosen to close with a raucous, high-energy rendition of "I Will Survive," a female power song written long after Billie Holiday's soulful laments.

At the end she bowed from the waist, laughing with intoxicated pleasure. Then she returned to her companions, refusing requests to sing more. "Time to go."

"I never knew you could sing!" Val exclaimed. "You're terrific."

"These days, I stick to gospel singing at church. Just as much fun, and it praises the Lord. Now let's scoot."

With Rob to cut a path, they made their way through the crowd. When they passed Luke, he took her hand. "Come back anytime, Kendra. Anytime at all."

"Thanks. Maybe I'll visit more often." Kendra gave Angel a long, warm hug. "I've missed you and the kids, sister friend."

"Then come back to us, girl," Angel said softly. "I know why you stayed away, but it's time to come home."

Blinking back tears, Kendra made her way up the steps and outside. The night seemed cool after the intimate warmth of the restaurant. Once they were outside, Val said, "Kendra, why aren't you singing professionally?"

"I'm good but not great." She shrugged, though a smile lingered. "I did a little club singing a long time ago, but it's no life if you have a child. That's why I only sing in the choir, or for myself."

"I've got the church, so I expect you to sing!"

Laughing, the three of them headed toward the car. Rob said, "Thanks for taking us there. Not only did we get some good leads, but that's a terrific place."

"Now that I've made my peace with Luke, I can go back again. I've missed Angel's cooking."

"I want to duplicate that cobbler," Val said. "Would Angel give me the recipe?"

"Not a chance!"

"I think there was a hint of cardamom." Brow furrowed, Val paused to get a pebble out of her sandal while the other two walked ahead. The real trick was having fresh, luscious peaches and using cornmeal for the cake part...

On the dimly lit street, she didn't even see the shape emerge from the alley until her shoulder bag was wrenched away. As she stumbled off balance, a hard shove between her shoulder blades knocked her to the pavement. From the comer of her eyes, she saw the flash of a blade.

She didn't even have the breath to scream.

Chapter 17

"Luke seems like a good guy," Rob said. "And useful, too. Thanks for taking us to meet him."

Kendra sighed, her long strides matching his. "Hearing about all those young black men who died--it breaks my heart. Most of them weren't born bad. Instead, they were raised badly, made bad choices, and died before they had time to grow up."

"It's tragic." Rob thought of how his own brother went wrong, and how Sha'wan Baker could have gone off the rails but hadn't. "Your son has done well, though, thanks to good parenting. There are plenty of other dedicated parents who do equally well. Kids have to be saved one at a time."

Kendra was about to reply when Val gave a strangled cry behind them. Rob spun around to see her sprawled on the pavement, a lanky form bolting away with her handbag.

Instinctively he went after the mugger. After a dozen swift strides, he managed to catch the long strap of the handbag. Unwilling to let it go, the mugger jerked to a stop, then swung around and slashed at his assailant with a wickedly gleaming blade. Rob dodged and caught his attacker's wrist, twisting it with crushing force.

Rob was forcing the thief to his knees when a moan from Val distracted him for an instant. The mugger seized the moment to abandon the handbag and escape. Rob considered pursuit, but Val was more important. He went to her, damning himself for letting his attention wander in a rough neighborhood.

Kendra helped Val sit up. To Rob she said, "You're good at that macho stuff."

"If I were better, it wouldn't have happened." Rob dropped to his knees beside the two women, heart pounding. "Are you all right, Val?"

She gave a shaky laugh as he put his arm behind her. "I think so. Took some skin off my hand when I hit the pavement, and that kid scared me out of a year's growth, but he didn't try to use his knife on me."

"Did you get a look at him?" Rob pulled out his handkerchief and dabbed at Val's abraded left hand, which had taken the brunt of her fall. Thank God she hadn't been seriously injured. He thought about the mugger's knife and felt ill.

"It all happened so fast." Val's expression changed. "You know, the lighting here is similar to where Malloy was killed. I couldn't describe anything about the mugger except an impression that he was a tall, thin, young black man. I can't say anything about his face, or his age, or his clothes except that they were sort of loose and sort of dark. No wonder Brenda Harris had trouble making an identification when she saw the police lineup. Everything happened quickly, and she was badly rattled. I wouldn't be able to identify this vicious little toad, either."

Rob had to laugh. "Your brain never quits, does it?"

"Afraid not."

With Rob's help, Val got to her feet. He kept his arm around her. Despite her calm words, she was shaking violently.

"After this, I'm absolutely convinced that the eyewitnesses who fingered Daniel were lying." Val accepted her handbag from Kendra. "Rob, I want to be there for the Joe Cady interview, assuming he's still alive. We might not get another chance."

Kendra pulled out her cell phone. "I'll call nine-one- one.

"Don't bother. There's no longer an emergency," Val said dryly. "I didn't see enough to describe the mugger, I got my handbag back, and no one was hurt. It's just an unsuccessful purse snatching. I doubt the police could or would do much."

"It should be reported," Rob said. "Muggers don't strike only once."

With a sigh, Val agreed and Kendra called the police. A patrol car was there in minutes, but as Val had predicted, there wasn't much to be done. The policemen said there had been other purse snatchings in the area, and if they caught a suspect they would like Val to come and take a look. She promised to do that, but for now she wanted to go home. She stayed within the circle of Rob's arm the whole time.

It was only half a block to Kendra's car. When they reached it, Rob climbed in on the passenger side, then pulled Val into his lap. She cuddled against him gratefully.

Kendra locked the doors and pulled away from the curb. "On the surface, nothing happened tonight except that Val got shaken up. She didn't even lose her wallet. But confidence and trust and feeling safe have taken a hit for all of us."

Rob stroked Val's springy hair. "I shouldn't have let this happen," he said softly.

"Cut that out," Val said, her voice stronger. "You are not responsible for the world. I violated all the rules of safety by falling behind, not watching my surroundings, and generally looking like an easy mark. No wonder that kid came after me."