Welcome To The Angels
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“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.” She was still in her pajamas. “It’s not safe for you to be here when we’re trying to get this place ready,” she said with a smile and then turned around as if to go back inside the house. But he grabbed her arm before she could leave him standing there alone on his front porch.
He didn’t want anyone else to see them together like this—not even his best friend. Not yet at least…
He pulled her close against him, wrapping one of his arms tightly around her waist while holding onto her hand with another. “Please don’t make me beg…” His voice trailed off into nothingness as he looked up at her from beneath hooded eyes.
It had been so long since they’d seen each other last; it felt strange having her pressed against him again after all these years. And now that she was here…he wanted more than just an embrace or two.
He needed something deeper between them right now because he couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen once their parents were gone forever and no longer stood in the way of whatever might come next.
She smiled down at him. “You really are sweet sometimes, aren’t you?” Her fingers slowly began to trace circles over his chest through his t-shirt. Then she leaned forward until her lips brushed softly across his own. “But I think you’ve got some things mixed up.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, she knew she shouldn’t have spoken them aloud. They weren’t true by any means, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. Instead, she continued kissing him passionately, hoping that he wouldn’t notice how much she cared for him too.
When they finally broke apart, she took a step away from him only to find herself being held captive by his strong hands. “What did you say?” he asked quietly.
Her heart skipped several beats as she watched his face turn serious. “Nothing! Forget it!” she quickly replied.
His grip tightened slightly. “Don’t lie to me.”
“No, I swear—”
Before either of them could finish speaking, someone knocked loudly on the door behind them. Both of them jumped out of their skins as they spun around toward the sound. Their mother walked silently up beside them with a worried look on her pretty face.
“Oh my God, Mom…” Jessica gasped. She immediately stepped aside and allowed her mom to walk past her without saying anything. When she reached the steps leading down from the porch, she stopped abruptly. “Is everything okay? What happened?”
Jessica shook her head vigorously. “We’ll talk later,” she whispered urgently. “Just promise me you won’t tell Dad.”
Their father came running outside moments later wearing nothing but boxer shorts. He glanced nervously between his wife and daughter. “Who is it?” he demanded angrily.
The girls exchanged glances. Neither of them answered.
“Answer me dammit!” he bellowed.
They both remained silent.
“Fine,” he muttered under his breath. “Let whoever it is waiting.” He stomped back inside the house and slammed the door shut behind himself.
Jessica bit down hard on her lower lip as she stared wide-eyed at the closed door. “Are you sure your dad doesn’t need us?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes. We’re fine. Go ahead and open the door.”
Reluctantly, she nodded. Once the screen was removed, she pushed the door inward and peeked cautiously through the opening. There were three men standing in the doorway waiting patiently for her answer. One of them appeared to be older than the others, probably somewhere around fifty or sixty years old.
Another man was younger looking, maybe twenty or thirty years old. And the third one definitely belonged to the same age group as the first two. All four of them wore dark suits and ties, making them appear very professional.
As soon as Jessica opened the door fully, the oldest guy stepped forward. He spoke politely. “Hello, ma’am. My name is Mr. Smith. I’m with the FBI. Would you mind coming with me please?”
“Wait a minute,” Jessica interrupted. “Aren’t you supposed to knock before entering people’s homes?”
Mr. Smith gave her a stern glare. “That isn’t necessary. This is an official visit.”
“Well, I guess not,” she conceded reluctantly. “Come on in then.”
She led them straight upstairs where she sat down on the edge of her bed. After taking a seat beside her, Mr. Smith explained why they were there. “This morning, we received a call from our office in Washington D.C., informing us that you may have information regarding the whereabouts of the person responsible for killing your husband and sister.”
Jessica swallowed hard. “My brother-in-law?”
He nodded. “I believe so.”
“Why would anyone want to kill him?”
“It appears he had something of great value to someone else. That’s all I can say right now, Mrs. Jones.”
“Okay… Well, what do you need me to do?”
“Right now, just sit tight. Our agents will contact you if they require further assistance.”
“Do you mean like today?”
“If possible, yes.”
***
After leaving the house, Jessica went downstairs to see her parents sitting together on the couch watching television. The news was playing in the background, but neither of them seemed interested in paying attention to it.
They looked exhausted, which made sense since they’d been awake most of the night worrying about her.
“How long has this been going on?” her father asked.
“Since yesterday afternoon.”
“And nobody told us anything?”
“Not yet. But don’t worry; they said they’ll get back to us when they need more help.”
“So, you’re telling me that no one knows who killed my son and niece?”
“Apparently not.”
“Damn it! Why didn’t somebody come over here last night after finding out about this?”
“Because they thought it might be too dangerous,” Jessica explained.
“Dangerous how?”
“To let everyone know that my brother-in-law was murdered.”
Her father frowned. “You think it’s safe enough now?”
“I hope so.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked curiously. “Your brother-in-law wasn’t exactly a popular guy, especially among certain members of the community.”
“Yeah, well, apparently some people aren’t happy with the way things turned out either.”
“Like who?”
“Somebody named John Doe.”
“John Doe? You mean the guy who called earlier?”
“No, the other one.”
“But I talked to him already.”
“Me too. Apparently, he wants revenge against everybody involved in the investigation into the murders.”
“Revenge?”
“For starters, he thinks that the police should’ve done a better job investigating my brother-in-law’s death. Then, there’s also the fact that my sister died because of the cops. She was shot by one of their officers during a routine traffic stop.”
“Oh, hell no! What kind of cop shoots a woman in cold blood?”
“A bad one, obviously. Anyway, John Doe believes that the police department needs to pay for its crimes. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands.”
“Wow…” Her mother sighed heavily. “Is there any chance he could hurt anybody else?”
“Probably not,” Jessica replied. “At least not until he gets what he wants.”
“What does he want?”
“The truth behind the murder of his wife and daughter.”
“Then, why hasn’t he contacted us directly instead of sending these guys to talk to you?”
“Maybe he doesn’t trust us anymore.”
“Or maybe he’s afraid of being arrested himself,” her dad added. “We both know how much trouble he got into once before.”
“True. And I really doubt that he’s stupid enough to try something again.”
“Still, I wouldn’t put it past him to send those men to scare you or even worse, kidnap you.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Jessica assured them. “Besides, I haven’t seen Mr. Smith anywhere around here.”
“Are you sure?” her mom asked.
“Yes. As far as I know, he’s still at my place.”
“Good,” her father muttered. “Let’s hope he stays away from you.”
“Don’t worry,” Jessica reassured him. “They said they’ll keep me updated every step of the way.”
“Just make sure you stay inside your home until everything blows over,” her mother advised. “There’s nothing wrong with staying indoors while waiting for the dust to settle.”
“Thanks, Mom. Dad?”
Both of them nodded in agreement.
***
When Mr. Smith returned to the hotel room later that evening, Jessica was lying on top of the covers reading a book. He walked up beside her bed and sat down next to her.
“Hey, beautiful,” she greeted him.
“Hi, yourself.”
She smiled sweetly. “Did you have fun?”
“Very much so.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Mr. Smith leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. After pulling back, he stared deeply into her eyes.
“Jessica, I’m sorry about what happened earlier.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I understand.”
He pulled her close and held her tight. In response, Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. For several moments, they just stayed like that, enjoying each other’s company. Eventually, however, Mr. Smith broke the silence.
“Do you remember our deal?”
“Of course.”
“Well, I guess we can start working on it right away.”
“Okay…what do you want first?”
“I wanted to ask if you were ready for another round tonight.”
“Absolutely!” Jessica exclaimed excitedly. “How many times did you plan on making love to me today anyway?”
“As long as possible.”
“Great! Let’s go then.”
After getting dressed, they headed downstairs together. Once outside, Mr. Smith led Jessica towards the parking lot where his car was parked. They made their way through the rows of vehicles until reaching the red Lexus SUV.
The moment he opened the door, Jessica jumped in without saying anything further. A few minutes later, they arrived at an upscale restaurant located near the beach. It had been a while since they last went there, but neither of them seemed to mind.
Once seated at their table, they ordered dinner and started discussing various topics related to their upcoming plans. When the waiter brought the food, they dug in immediately. While eating, Jessica couldn’t help noticing how handsome Mr. Smith looked in his suit.
His dark hair complemented the color of his skin perfectly, which only enhanced his overall look. On top of all that, he smelled great too. However, Jessica didn’t say anything about this to him. Instead, she kept quiet and focused on savoring her meal.
“So, what are you going to tell them tomorrow morning?” Mr. Smith asked after finishing off his entrée.
“About the meeting? About what we discussed yesterday?”
“Yeah. You’re going to explain to them that you met with someone who claimed to be connected to the case, right?”
“Right.”
“And you believe him, correct?”
“Of course. Why would I lie?”
“You don’t need to answer that question.”
Jessica took a sip of water before continuing. “I also told them that I’d contact them when I knew more details.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, well, I think that should suffice.”
“Why do you sound so confident?”
“Because I am.”
“But what if they decide to arrest you?”
“I’ll convince them otherwise.”
“If you could get out of jail, why did you agree to meet with them in the first place?”
“To show them that I’m not involved in any criminal activity whatsoever.”
“What makes you think that will work?”
“The fact that I’ve never done anything illegal in my life.”
“Even though you’re obviously guilty of something?”
“Not necessarily. Maybe I committed some minor crimes in the past, but nothing serious.”
“Like what?”
“Nothing important. Just petty theft or vandalism. Nothing major.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?” Mr. Smith inquired bluntly.
“No.”
“Then why did you steal from those people?”
“I needed money for college.”
“College is expensive these days, isn’t it?”
“Yes, very much so.”
“And yet you still stole things instead of asking your parents for help.”
“My father doesn’t approve of me dating men.”
“Oh, really? And why’s that?”
“We aren’t married.”
“Really?” Mr. Smith chuckled. “Doesn’t he know by now that you two belong together?”
“Maybe one day…”
“Or maybe you’ll end up marrying a woman someday,” Mr. Smith teased.
Jessica laughed nervously. “Don’t joke about that.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to make light of the situation.”
“It’s fine.”
“Anyway, let’s talk about something else. How old were you when you first got arrested?”
“Sixteen years old.”
“For what?”
“Possession of marijuana.”
“Wow, you must have been pretty young back then.”
“Very.”
“Did you serve time?”
“Nope.”
“That’s good news.”
“I suppose.”
Mr. Smith leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. He stared intently into Jessica’s eyes, waiting for her to continue talking. After a couple seconds passed, she began speaking again.
“When I turned eighteen, I moved out of my parent’s house and rented an apartment nearby. As soon as I graduated high school, I enrolled in community college and worked part-time jobs to pay for tuition.”
“Sounds like you’re doing alright financially.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Two brothers and three sisters.”
“Do you see them often?”
“Sometimes.”
“Are they close to each other?”
“They used to be, but over the years, they grew apart.”
“Why?”
“Well…they both fell in love with the same man.”
“Whoa!” Mr. Smith exclaimed. “Which brother is he?”
“One of them. The older one.”
“He has a girlfriend?”
“Yes, they live together.”
“And you don’t mind?”
“As long as he treats her right.”
“She sounds amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“Tell me about your family.”
“Hmm…well, most of us are black, except for my mother, who is white.”
“Interesting.”
“My oldest sister was born when our mom had just finished high school. She went to college for a while, but eventually dropped out because she couldn’t afford it anymore.”
“Your dad didn’t support her education?”
“No. My father always wanted all four of his children to attend college, even though none of us planned on getting degrees.”
“Was there any reason behind this?”
“None at all.”
“Okay. So how did your eldest sister find herself pregnant?”
“Her boyfriend left her alone during Christmas break, which gave him plenty of free time to cheat on her. When she found out, she broke up with him immediately.”
“So what happened next?”
“After she dumped him, she started seeing another guy. They dated for a few months until he cheated on her too.”
“You mean he slept with someone else?”
“Yes.”
“Did she dump him after finding out?”
“Of course not! Instead, she decided to forgive him and move on.”
“But why would she do that?”
“She said that she loved him.”
“Love can be blind sometimes.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Mr. Smith paused for several moments before continuing. “Now tell me about your second sibling.”
“My younger brother is twenty-three years old. He works full time as a mechanic, but he also goes to night classes to earn an associate degree in business administration.”
“Is he happy where he is?”
“Mostly. But I wish he’d stop partying every weekend.”
“Has he ever gotten into trouble with the law?”
“Not yet, thankfully.”
“What about your third sibling?”
“My youngest sister is nineteen years old. She’s studying psychology at the local university.”
“Psychology?”
“Yep. It’s her dream job.”
“Have you talked to her recently?”
“Last week actually. We met up for dinner.”
“Any problems between you two?”
“Nothing major. Just some minor disagreements here and there.”
“Like what kind of disagreement?”
“We argued about whether or not we should get married.”
“Married? To whom?”
“To each other.”
“Oh wow…”
“I know, right?!” Jessica replied excitedly.
“Doesn’t sound very realistic.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t hurt to try, does it?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Jessica took a sip from her coffee cup. Her hands were trembling slightly, causing the liquid inside to slosh around. A drop of hot java landed on her shirt collar, stinging her skin. She quickly wiped it off using her napkin.
The End