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traffic between her thighs in the ten years I’d known her. Well, maybe five or six guys aren’t a lot these days. I was a virgin when I married Keyth. Call me old-fashioned, call me self-righteous, but I think sex ought to mean more than a romp and a sincere “see ya when I see ya” attitude. But Kelly is my girl, my very best female friend. And if she didn’t want to hear it, I wouldn’t say it.
    â€œYou just make sure you use protection, hear?” I said like I was her mother.
    â€œYes, Mommy,” Kelly said, mimicking Savannah.
    We laughed.
    â€œWe need to get out to Norrell Prison first thing in the morning,” I said. “Question some people. Stir things up a bit.”
    â€œSounds good to me,” Kelly said. “All those incarcerated men, harder than the cement walls that surround them. This may be just what I need.”
    We laughed.
    I said, “We start with Salaam Khan.”

CHAPTER 28
    Sirens blared! Red and blue lights bounced off the homes in my neighborhood. An EMS truck was parked across the street from my house on Continental Boulevard, right in front of Sarah Lawford’s house. There were also a couple of police cars and a few media vehicles. I shuddered when I saw the coroner’s van. I hoped that it wasn’t Sarah. She was one of Savannah’s teachers at the Academy. Kelly parked the Stingray. We got out, donned our FBI windbreakers, and flashed our credentials.
    As we approached the house, something inside of me prodded me to turn around. I did. I saw Savannah and Jill Fisher, our babysitter, standing on our lawn watching.
    â€œKelly, I’ll be back. My daughter’s watching.”
    Kelly turned around. “Okay, Phoenix. I’ll take a look around. See what happened here.”
    I walked across the street. The closer I got to my daughter, the more evident her grief became. Dry tear stains and a blank stare defined her. I didn’t know if she was in shock or what. But I did know that she had seen enough, even though she hadn’t seen anything at all. At least, that was my hope.
    â€œMs. Lawford’s dead, isn’t she, Mommy?” Savannah managed to say, fighting back the tears that welled up again.
    â€œI don’t know, honey,” I said. It breaks my heart to see my daughter hurtthis way. I hugged her and took her back inside without answering her question. Somebody was dead. That was certain. And in all probability, it was Sarah Lawford. It was her house. I didn’t see her outside. Unless she wasn’t home, I could only assume it was her that the coroner’s office was here to pick up. “Savannah, I think you oughta get some sleep, honey. I’ll let you know what happened, if anything, in the morning, okay?”
    Without a word, Savannah turned around, walked down the hallway and entered the bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard the water splashing in the bathtub.
    â€œWhat time did Keyth say he would be home?” I asked Jill.
    â€œHe said he would be late.”
    I looked at my watch. It was nearly ten p.m.
    â€œMake sure Savannah goes to bed when she gets outta the bathtub.”

CHAPTER 29
    The crowd that surrounded Sarah Lawford’s home had increased substantially since I went inside to talk to my daughter. Looks of concern were on the faces of men and women, blacks and whites alike in our integrated neighborhood.
    Initially, Henson Academy was predominantely black. When it was learned that Henson was rated the best in the District of Columbia because of the high academic standards, well-to-do whites and other minority groups began to send their children there in droves. Booster money poured in. Soon the school had state-of-the-art computers, a brandnew gymnasium; an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a fencing team.
    Our community was probably the only one in America where whites were moving in, not out. Property values were growing, not declining. More important, our