the car in gear and headed away from the hospital. “I think I do.”
“Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Didn’t mean to scrutinize you the way I did. I’m overprotective of Mimi. She’s my life…my world; she’s been through a lot.”
John shot Raphael a look. Mimi made it seem that life with Raphael was a fairy tale dream come true—the handsome prince and the beautiful princess. Maybe Raphael was alluding to the present stress Mimi was under with Afrika being shot. He sat back and listened. “It’s cool; no hard feelings,” John said matter-of-factly.
Raphael was silent for the next few minutes and looked straight ahead. John checked him from the corner of his eye to see if he was still breathing.
“This place is very progressive,” Raphael finally said, as they rode through Raleigh and finally into the North Hills shopping area.
“Luxury condos—I’m sure they cost a cool million with the nice restaurants and luxury hotels serving as its welcome mat. The recession isn’t hurting everyone.”
“I can see that.”
“How about the Fox and Hound Pub for some cold brews?”
“I’m game.”
John led the way into the restaurant with its twenty-eight television screens serving as borders along the wall and a tournament size pool table that made John itch to rack ’em and hit ’em. Whatever was on Raphael’s mind was temporarily thwarted by the scantily-clothed barmaid whose triple D’s were tipping over her top like the foam in the beer mug she was handing to a customer, John noticed. They were shown to their seats, took off their jackets, ordered two mugs of beer and wings, and listened to the chatter that surrounded them.
“So what’s on your mind?” John asked, getting to the point.
“Frustrated, man. My daughter is lying in a hospital bed because some crazy lunatic that belongs behind bars shot her for no reason, and all I can do is stand by helpless. If I had an ounce of a clue, I’d be out on the street now looking for that coward to put him out of his misery.”
John leaned his body forward, his elbows on the table and his hands cupped together as if he was getting ready to let Raphael in on an important secret. Then he let his hands drop and rapped the table with his fingers, pausing a moment to formulate his words. “I know you’re used to being the man in control, but let the police handle their business.” John paused again, but decided to go for it. “Mimi and Afrika are going to need you.”
Raphael looked at John and stewed on the information for a minute. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I’m angry, man. I left my family behind, believing they were going to be fine on American soil. I was going overseas to fight a war, but damn, I never thought the war would be on the college campus where my daughter had chosen to go to school. And I wasn’t even there to protect her.” Raphael slapped the table.
“We can’t always protect the ones we love. I’m going to tell you something that might get me into a lot of trouble, but you need to know.”
“What is it?” Raphael asked, his eyebrows raised and giving John his full attention.
“Mimi purchased a gun.”
Raphael’s eyes penetrated John’s until John looked away. “My wife purchased a gun…and she didn’t tell me?” Raphael finally asked and then paused to think. “For what reason would she purchase a gun? Tell me, John; you seem to have all the answers.”
“Look, Raphael; it’s not like you think.”
“What’s not like I think? You’re doing all the talking and you sure as hell know a lot more than I do.”
“Let me start from the beginning. Mimi was my girlfriend in college.”
“Oh hell. You must be on the missing pages in Mimi’s scrap-book.”
“Excuse me. Two beers and wings,” the waitress interrupted.
“Thank you,” John said, lacing his hand around one of the mugs and thanking God for the small interruption. The talk with Raphael had gotten twisted—John had violated Mimi’s trust, but now he had to go for it because Raphael was staring at him with iron eyes, and John could see the muscles in Raphael’s face contract as he processed what John said. Even the muscles under Raphael’s shirt were flexed. John took a sip of his beer to calm his nerves, but the other beer sat on the table untouched.
“You’ve been stalking her?” Raphael asked, his mouth clinched and grinding his teeth.