“She’s with Trudy.”
“What do you mean, she’s with Trudy? Why?”
“Wait until we are outside. I’ll tell you then.”
On the sidewalk outside the Plantation Cafe, Honoree snatched back her arm and marched across the street, heading for the Dreamland Cafe.
“Where are you going?”
“Bessie wouldn’t have left without telling me.”
“Trudy drove her home.”
“What?”
“Trudy called me. I was at Miss Hattie’s. She told me you were here up to your eyebrows in shit. I told her to take Bessie home.”
Honoree grabbed his coat sleeve. “What do you mean Trudy called you?”
“You jealous? No need to be. Never a need to be, but Trudy isn’t as bad a girl as you think.”
“I guess you know her better than me.”
“Yes, I know she had a beef with Gallo, long before he killed Houdini.”
Honoree shivered; snowflakes melted on her bare shoulders and covered her throat and most of her chest. “I think I left my coat inside.”
“Bessie has it.”
“So everything has been handled. I should thank you,” she said, her tone loaded with sarcasm.
“I don’t care about you being angry. This wasn’t smart, Honoree.”
“Gallo had his thumb on you and me, and I hate these men with the power to tell me what I do, when I do it, and where.”
Ezekiel draped his suit jacket over her shoulders and led her to the corner. “I’ll hail a cab.”
“You knew, didn’t you? You knew Gallo killed Houdini. You knew he knew about me being there. Is that why you came to my door that night—and lied?”
Ezekiel raised his head, glancing up at the stars. “I honestly didn’t know. I just wanted time to figure a way out from under this.” He stepped into the street, waving at a slow-moving Checker cab. “Hold up, chief!” he yelled.
The cab pulled over to the curb. Ezekiel opened the door and helped her inside. When she was seated, he gave her address to the driver.
“We’ve got to do something, Ezekiel. I can’t live with that man hovering over me like I’m dead meat. I’m not dead meat, Ezekiel.”
CHAPTER 39
SAWYER
Thursday, July 2, 2015
“Sawyer, you awake?” Lula appears from the back of the apartment wearing a short silk robe, furry slippers, and horn-rimmed glasses.
When did we get so casual with each other?
“You look like somebody stole your puppy.” She moves around the bed, hugging the wall. Is she scared of me? What did I do?
I make my eyesight work better and notice the apartment is a one-room studio. There’s a window and a door, which I assume leads to the bathroom.
