He thought about calling Carmen and telling her to come back, but he changed his mind. As far as he was concerned it was still too early. He decided to shower and go back to bed. He would call her when he woke up. Marcus went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Once it was hot enough, he stepped in. While the water beat down on his body, he thought about Randa. The thoughts quickly faded as thoughts of Carmen entered his mind.
MAKE MONEY
Just as Marcus was about to get back in the bed, the phone rang. Hoping it was Carmen calling Marcus answered quickly. “Hello.”
“Good morning, Marcus,” Janise said. “I'm sorry to be calling you so early in the morning, but Gloria Giannelli called you this morning.”
“Bend over and grab your ankles Giannelli? Who's getting sued for sexual harassment?”
“Nobody as far as I know. She said she needed to talk to you about Mondrya Foster.”
“Mondrya Foster!”
“Who is Mondrya Foster?” Janise asked.
“She used to work for Hudson Financial. The last message she left me said that she had some information, but she got killed in a robbery at Starbucks before she could tell me. Did she leave a number?”
Marcus wrote down the number Janise gave him and then dialed the number. After being left on hold for fifteen minutes, Gloria came to the phone. “Good morning, Marcus, I'm sorry to keep you holding so long.”
“That's alright, Gloria. How have you been?”
“The doctor said I might have some dizziness for a while, but other than a headache, I'm fine.”
“What happened to you? Did you have an accident?”
“No. I thought you knew. I got shot in the head. Well the bullet just grazed my head. I was at Starbucks with Mondrya the night she was killed. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. But I'd rather not discuss it over the phone. You could come to my office today, or could we meet somewhere?”
“Are you still in downtown Decatur?”
“Yes.”
Marcus glanced at the clock. “I could be there in about an hour.”
“Good. I'll see you then,” Gloria said and hung up the phone.
Marcus quickly dialed Carmen's cell phone and she answered on the first ring. “That didn't take long. What did she say?”
“Just that she was sorry that she did what she did on a humbug,” Marcus said like it didn’t matter, but it did. “and that she was signing the divorce papers,” he continued like it was no big deal, but it really was.
“Good,” Carmen said to him, seemingly more excited about the information. “I was having a little problem with openly dating a married man.”
“Yeah, well, I'll tell you about that when I see you. But I need you to come and pick me up.”
“Where are we going?”
“Hopefully to hear from the dead.”
When Carmen returned to pick up Marcus, she was once again driving her sister’s Mercedes. They arrived at the law office of Gloria Giannelli. They sat in the reception area for the better part of an hour before Gloria stepped out of her office.
“Marcus,” she said with her hand extended. “It's good to see you again.” Marcus and Carmen rose to their feet.
“How have you been, Gloria. It's been a long time,” Marcus said as he shook her hand. “This is Carmen Taylor.”
“Gloria Giannelli.”
“Nice to meet you,” Carmen said.
“Please come in.” Gloria stepped aside and ushered them in. Once they were seated, Gloria went into her file cabinet to retrieve the priority mail envelope that Mondrya Foster had sent to her office. “Like I told you over the phone, I was with Mondrya the night she was killed. She and I were friends and she called me and wanted to get together to explore the possibility of filing a sexual harassment suit.”