Read Online Liar's Game by Eric Jerome Dickey - Free Book Online

gonna get out of this hole.”
    I moved on, went to check with a superior on setting up a payment plan for what I owed ReMax. “I closed on a property in Inglewood, so I could be down some on my arrears.”
    The supervisor pushed a button on her computer, said, “Let’s see. Your balance is right at three thousand, a little less.”
    Some stress crept into my mood. Right now there wasn’t much of a difference between three thousand and three million. “Tell me something I don’t know, like the numbers to this week’s lottery.”
    Laughter.
    Small talk for a hot minute, then she lowered her voice and asked, “Dana, why has Gerri been looking so run down?”
    “What do you mean?”
    She put her hand on mine, sounded so sincere. “That worries me. I came in one morning, and she had her head on her desk. Snoring loud. I heard that things have been rough and she’s working two jobs.”
    I chuckled, used that to stall while I thought up a way to skirt the subject. “Well, you know she’s got two kids running her crazy. Plus, you met her young buck when he came down here to take her to lunch.”
    She playfully fanned herself. “That lucky girl.”
    “A young man will keep an old woman up all night.”
    We laughed that naughty laugh.
    I went to my office, feeling more pressure because I’d been covering for Gerri for a while. I put the paperwork to the side, fired up the PC on my desk, and went into AOL.
     
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XXX SEX PICTURES OF PAMELA ANDERSON
BILL, HILLARY, AND MONICA BUTT NEEKED WITH A GOAT
     
    That was the kind of crap people were forwarding all day every day. I deleted all of that junk, saw I had nothing important out there, then clicked on the People icon. Two mouse clicks later, I’d found AOL’s search feature that Renee was bragging about this morning.
    I filled in the blanks: put in Joanne Jackson’s name. Put in San Bernardino. Clicked Find, folded my arms, and took a breath.
    Only one popped up, just like that. The same address out in the boondocks that I’d seen on Vince’s letter, plus a phone number, everything on her popped up.
    Cyberspace is amazing and scary at the same time.
    My throat dried up as I dialed, but I called.
    A sister answered. Soft voice. My age, maybe older, but not much.
    I had to swallow a swig of my bottled water and figure out how to handle this. The direct, no-bullshit route was always the best. The last thing I wanted was to get into a “do you know Vincent and what is he to you” conversation. But a woman had to do what a woman had to do.
    I said, “Yes, may I speak with Joanne Jackson?”
    “I’m sorry, but Miss Jackson is deceased. She recently passed.”
    My heart stopped. This déjà vu moment came, reminded me of when Momma died all of a sudden and people were still calling, and I had to say pretty much the exact same thing.
    So much empathy was in my voice: “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
    “May I ask who’s calling?”
    “I’m just—may I ask who I’m speaking with?”
    “One of her daughters. I came back from overseas to take care of things. Are you a personal friend or . . .”
    “No, no. I’m a realtor. I was . . . I’m sorry to disturb you.”
    “No, it’s okay. Momma wasn’t organized, and we’re trying to go through all of her stuff, find out what bills were paid, if any, and—”
    Somebody picked up an extension.
    “Mommy,” the little girl said, her voice articulate, “is that Daddy?”
    “No, Kwanzaa. Mommy’s talking on the phone.”
    “I’m hungry.”
    “Put your shoes on and we’ll go to McDonald’s.”
    I blinked out of my trance, gave her my kindhearted condolences, then hung up as quick as I could, feeling foolish. Maybe that was a sympathy card that Vince had sent to the family. That was all it was.

4
    Dana
    I asked Vince, “Where’s the bathroom?”
    He shuffled next to me. “Downstairs in the basement.”
    “I gotta go potty.”
    “You always have to go potty.”
    It was seconds after