Read Online Of Blood and Sorrow by Valerie Wilson Wesley - Free Book Online

Barnes’s check and my role in all this. The good thing was, I didn’t have to worry because Barnes was as connected to the powers that be and the legal establishment as Carmela Soprano was to the mob.
    They glanced at each other and then back at me.
    “Get the hell out of here,” Jimson said with nothing in his eyes but hatred, which puzzled me.
    “Well, I hope you two are ready for what comes next,” I said quietly.
    “It can’t be nothing worse than what I seen,” said Jimson, and the look in his eyes made me a believer. I handed Sweet Thing another card.
    “I already got one,” she said.
    “Take another.”
    Jimson snatched it from her, tore it up, and threw it on the floor. He went back into the kitchen, slamming the door behind him.
    “He don’t mean no harm,” Sweet Thing said as soon as he’d left. “Ever since he come into my life, after my sweet Lily died, all he ever wanted to do was love me and protect me and keep evil people from hurting me. Sometimes I think he loves me more than is good for him. You ever have a man love you like that?” she asked. Her eyes filled with tears, and she glanced away so I wouldn’t see them.
    “No, I can’t say that I have.” I wondered who this Lily was she was talking about, but the tears kept me from asking. Lilah’s namesake, I assumed.
    When I heard the sound of bacon sizzling, I gave her another card.
    “I don’t want to see Thelma Lee in jail any more than you do, and I want what’s best for the baby,” I whispered. “Please call me if you need to.”
    She nodded that she would, then folded the card twice and stuck it in her bosom.
     . . . . . 
    I DROVE AROUND THE BLOCK and parked close enough to keep an eye on the house but far enough away not to be noticed. I put on some CDs and, when I got sick of those, an audiobook. Thelma Lee was bound to come home sooner or later, I figured, and I wanted to see what had happened.
    I waited for nearly four hours, then started calling Treyman Barnes. The first few times, the receptionist said he’d call me back when he returned, then he began sending my calls straight to voice mail. Finally, I got mad. The least he could do was return my damn calls.
    The way I figured it, though, was that Barnes had taken care of things in his own way. He’d probably decided he didn’t want a third person involved and called Thelma Lee and arranged to meet her himself. More than likely, he’d given her some cash and taken the baby home. If they went to court, there would be one less person involved. It would be quick, clean, with no witnesses, the way Barnes probably liked it.
    What Barnes knew that Lilah and her relatives didn’t was that the parent who has the child usually gets to keep her. Lilah’s mistake was not screaming “kidnap” from the get. There wasn’t a judge in Jersey who would favor Lilah Love’s right to her baby over that of Barnes’s son, and his being a vet would make it all the easier. Lilah Love would probably never see that child again.
    But why was Thelma Lee so scared?
    I left Treyman Barnes a final message when I got back to my office: “Mr. Barnes, since I haven’t heard from you, I assume you’ve been in touch with the party we discussed last night and that the two of you have come to an agreement regarding your granddaughter. If that’s the case, then our business is concluded. Your retainer was sufficient for my brief service. I’ll mail you an invoice and a full report for your records. Thank you again, and I hope I can be of service in the future.”
    Then you working for the Devil!
Jimson Weed’s voice mocked me, but I pushed it back.
    I peeked into the Beauty Biscuit on my way home from work that night, but Wyvetta wasn’t there. I’d check in with her tomorrow. It had been a long day, and I was eager to see Jamal; we had some making up to do.
    “How about some Red Lobster tonight?” I yelled as I walked into the house, determined to start the night off right. I