Chapter 5

The worst week of my life started as normally as any other. I was still happily filling in for Mother’s PA and learning just how amazingly her company meshed with the rest of Spellman Group. Rainbow Talent hustled finding clients work, Spellman Financial made them money on their investments, Spellman Legal negotiated them outstanding contracts and YES Media furthered their careers.

All was normal until about ten on Tuesday morning. I was standing by my mother’s desk with a folder of contracts that needed her signature when her private line rang, the caller ID displaying my father’s name. After a pleasant greeting my mother listened in silence for a half a minute or so, her face ashen, her lips quivering.

“I’ll meet you there,” she said in a quavering voice.

She dropped the phone into its cradle, and turned towards me struggling to compose her self.

“Robert was killed last night. Your father has sent a car to take me to Yolanda’s house. Clear my calendar; Call Prendergast and tell him a family emergency has come up and for him handle things until I return. Head over there as soon as you have things set here,” she said mechanically.

I was stunned as I scribbled furiously on my notepad. I just saw Robert in church two days ago! I couldn’t grasp him being dead. This had to be some mistake.

Mother gave me a quick hug as she hurried out the door. I perfunctorily carried out her instructions then headed outside. I slid behind the wheel of my Beemer and had started to turn the key when the enormity of Robert’s death hit me. I sobbed uncontrollably, frozen in my seat. I was in no condition to drive. There were at least a dozen people I could call and have a ride in fewer than five minutes. Only one came to mind though.

I pulled out my iPhone. “Text Handyman,” I said.

“What is your message for Handyman?” Siri’s computer generated voice asked.

“Joey call me, I need you, it’s an emergency,” I replied.

I read the message as it appeared on my screen making sure the voice recognition understood my husky and halting voice. Then I pressed send.

Joey called me back within the minute.

“What’s wrong Andrea?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

“Robert has been killed,” I sobbed, “and I need to get to his house.”

“I’ll come get you. Are you at work?”

“Yes,” I sobbed.

Joey’s small white pickup zipped into the parking lot fifteen minutes later. He held my hand and talked with me all the way to the Carter’s house. Just his presence calmed me down. I tried to get him to come in with me when we arrived but he refused.

“Go be with your family,” he said softly, “but call me later if you want.”

I mentioned before how we Spellman’s are a close knit family and that was doubly true when there was a family emergency. By the time I arrived at Aunt Yolanda’s both her brothers and their wives were there. So were my brothers George and Derek along with George’s wife Valeria.

The family was gathered in the formal living room. Cousin Benita and my mother were sitting on a floral print loveseat, both red-eyed from crying. Uncle Roy, Robert’s father, was sitting on the matching couch with the pastor from our and church and our family doctor. My father, Uncle Bernard and my brother George were talking quietly with a very uncomfortable looking police captain.

When I walked in Valeria took my arm and led me towards the kitchen.

“Let’s go help Rosa serve some tea and coffee. Yolanda is upstairs sedated, your Aunt Mattie is with her,” she said as she led me towards the kitchen.

Mattie was my Uncle Bernard’s wife.

Valeria was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She was from Savannah and had a beautifully cultured southern accent. She was also a very sharp attorney at Spellman Legal, specializing in corporate law and acquisitions.

Rosa Torres, the Carter’s housekeeper, was scurrying around the kitchen preparing snacks while her husband Jorge was loading an industrial sized coffee urn onto a serving cart. Jorge also worked for the Carter’s as a general handyman and chauffer. Rosa and Jorge were Dominican and had been with Yolanda’s family as long as I could remember. Rosa was sweet and motherly and had absolutely doted on Robert and me. Jorge was a small, quiet, dignified man with glossy black hair and tidy mustache.

Rosa looked up when we walked in and burst into tears. She ran over to me and enveloped me in a comforting hug. Rosa was short and stout; her head barely coming to my shoulder; but her hug made me feel as if I was a little girl again. I started crying, too.

“Who would do such a thing to Roberto?” she blubbered, “he was such a good boy.”

That question was on the front of my mind also so after Rosa let me go I turned to my sister-in-law.

“What happened Val?” I asked after I got the tears under control.

She shrugged.

“All I know is that a maintenance worker found his body in Tyler Park this morning. He had apparently been robbed and beaten some time last night. Captain Sullivan is briefing George on what the investigators have found so far.”

I blanched at the mention of Tyler Park because that’s where I saw Robert and the other man two summers ago.

It was a long and trying day and evening. Yolanda stayed in her room even after she woke up and we women took turns sitting with her. Even heavily sedated she was inconsolable. Her grief was heart wrenching. A steady stream of well wishers showed up at the door. People from the company, neighbors and Roberts friends sadly offered their condolences. When I wasn’t sitting with Yolanda, I was scurrying around finding chairs and serving drinks and snacks.

I caught a ride home with George and Val when they left around nine. They had two little one’s at home and they needed to relieve their nanny. George told us what the investigators had discovered so far.

“The medical examiner put his time of death at around midnight. The crime scene technicians concluded that he died where he was found instead of his body being dumped there. We haven’t found his car yet so it was probably stolen also. The police are trying to track his movements last night to find out who he was seen with last but the detectives think he might have been carjacked, taken to the park and killed there,” he summarized.

I agonized about it but in the end I told George about the time I saw Robert in the park with another man. He visibly flinched at what I told him then he nodded, his face grim in the wan dashboard lights.

“The park does have that reputation but this is the first incident there. A police unit cruises by there every hour or so but they don’t patrol it on foot. I’ll report what you saw to Captain Sullivan and see what he says.”

“I didn’t know Robert was gay, he always had a pretty girl hanging on his arm,” Valeria said and she sounded shocked.

“He was probably bi, Val, that’s not uncommon these days. In fact there is a subculture of men who identify themselves as straight but who have secret homosexual liaisons. They call it being on the down low,” George explained.

I was no sooner back in my room that my phone rang. The caller ID indicated that it was Michael, the same Michael who had been absent all day. I answered with a terse “hello”.

“Hi, Andrea. Sorry I wasn’t there today, but someone had to run the office with Derek gone,” he said self-importantly.

“I understand Michael,” I said even though I didn’t.

“Good, I figured you would, we are the same that way,” he said.

And until recently he would have been right. But now I was beginning to see that there were some things more important than work and ambition.

Before I could say anything he continued, “I will probably be busy the next few days too. We have a lot riding on this South African deal and the company is counting on me.”

Jesus, could his ego be any bigger? There were at least a dozen people in his division and probably half of them were more experienced than him. I mumbled some complimentary platitude, told him I was tired and terminated the call. Then I speed dialed Joey.

My conversation with Joey was completely different than Michael’s because Joey’s only concern was for me. I told him how difficult the day had been and he praised me for being there for my family. He gave me a pep talk to prepare me for tomorrow then we talked about more mundane things. Before I knew it we had been on the phone for over an hour and it was after eleven.

After we hung up I grabbed a shower, put on a t-shirt I conned Joey out of last year and crawled into bed. I was physically and emotionally exhausted so I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

My mother came in and rousted me out of my dreams the next morning. It was the first time she’d done that in years.

She shook my shoulder and said, “Wake up Andrea; you have things to do today.”

Then she walked over to the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the pool and yanked open the drapes. The summer sun was supernaturally bright that morning. I groaned and rolled over covering my head with a pillow.

“Just a few more minutes,” I mumbled and it was just like I was back in junior high.

Also like back in junior high, Mother was having none of it. She snatched the sheet and spread off me and pulled the pillow off my head.

“I’m serious, young lady. Roy Junior can’t get home until tomorrow, so Benita has to make some of the arrangements today and you need to go help her.”

I sat up, stretched and yawned, suddenly awake and aware of all that was happening.

“Sorry, Mother,” I said. “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

Mother nodded then noticed what I was wearing and frowned. My mother thought the only appropriate sleeping clothes were long, silky, and French.