Hanging on a String Read online

  “Call the police!” I yelled at her, still pointing the gun at the crazy Gem, who was now lying still under the restraining arms of Marcus Claremont.

  “Are you crazy?” Raymond was drugged, but he apparently still had his wits. “She’s up to her neck in all of this.”

  “Dammit, Nina, call the police, or I’ll shoot you my damn self!” I yelled.

  Nina did as she was told, thank God.

  While we waited for the police, I looked over at Marcus, fear gripping me. He’d been shot, and I wasn’t sure if he’d be okay. The front of his shirt and his left arm were covered with blood.

  “I’m okay,” he assured me, even as he held Gem in his arms. “It hit my arm. I’m okay.”

  I was going to church, I promised myself, as soon as I got out of this situation. I was going to church, and I was going to be a better person. This wasn’t just some near-death promise; I meant every word I said.

  The paramedics and the police came. The police led Nina and Gem away. The paramedics came for Raymond and Marcus. I walked with Marcus, and right before they put him in the ambulance, he told the attendants to stop for a moment.

  I could tell that he was in pain, and that right now speaking was difficult, but he motioned me to come closer.

  “Do you know what this means?” he asked.

  “What are you talking about, Marcus?” I was worried that the pain was making him delirious.

  “The investigation,” he said. “It’s over.”

  “Yeah, that’s great,” I said, still confused. “Marcus, you need to let the paramedics take you to the hospital.”

  He had the nerve to smile at me. “Lean closer,” he said.

  I did as he requested.

  “Jasmine, will you be my girlfriend?” he asked.

  “What?” This was the last thing I’d expected to hear from Marcus. I knew he liked me but going straight to girlfriend status? He should be talking to a doctor, not asking me to be a girlfriend.

  “I waited until the investigation was over. Hell, I waited four years. I first wanted you when I saw you in the courtroom. I’ve been waiting a long time for you, Jasmine.”

  “Marcus, you need to go to the doctor,” I told him, even as the very clear answer to his question formed in my head. “You’ve been shot.”

  “I know this,” he replied. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  Raymond, who was lying on the next stretcher, managed to bellow, “Answer him already, Jasmine. I need to get to a doctor. I feel like hell!”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Okay what?” Marcus asked.

  “Okay, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

  “Good.” Marcus smiled. Then he looked over at the attendant. “What’re you waiting for, man? Get me to the hospital. My arm feels like it’s on fire.”

  I smiled and blew him a kiss. “I’ll see you at the hospital, boyfriend.”

  He smiled back. “You’re no joke, Jasmine Spain. Always remember I took a bullet for you.”

  I grinned back at him. “I’m worth it.”

  He looked at me and said, “I know.”

  Epilogue

  Lamarr’s memorial service was beautiful. It was held in Central Park on a clear, sunny day. Maizie asked that we all carry yellow balloons, which we all set free after the service. Yellow had been his favorite color. Maizie told how every week Lamarr would get her yellow balloons when she was a child. She was returning the favor, she explained, as we looked out and saw a sea of yellow balloons. I spoke about my friend, and although I didn’t get through my reminiscence without breaking down a few times, I was sure that wherever Lamarr was, he didn’t mind. My parents, Thea, Dahlia, and Marcus accompanied me to the service. I drew strength from their presence. I drew strength from their love.

  Thea’s husband is still trying to woo her back. They’re separated, but they’re working on their marriage. Although Brooks did not consummate his affair, his actions brought harm to their marriage, but I have to give him credit. He is trying hard to do right by Thea and by Reese. People make mistakes. I know this. But I am learning that the important fact in all of this is Brooks’s willingness to come clean and to try to make amends. Jesse, the woman who had tried to come between Brooks and Thea, moved on quickly to yet another married man.

  Lucius Pileski pled guilty to assault and is now serving twelve to fifteen years at a state penitentiary. Daniel Brown recovered and is now a pre-law major at Moore-house College, much to the dismay of his mother, Mariah. She still refers to me as a “slave carrying a briefcase,” but she baked me a peace offering, an incredible pecan pie. Of course, I made her eat it before I took a slice. Vincent Crown reunited with his ex-girlfriend, Winter Reed, formerly known as Chester’s wife of the heart. The firm repaid him all the money that Chester had stolen from him, but he still had to do some community service for his predilection for prostitutes. He’s renewed his bid for Congress, and it looks as if he’s the front-runner.

  Most of the associates and the partners left the firm, but it’s still running, and Raymond’s still running it. I’m not sure how he was able to get around the ethics bar, but after serving a suspension, Raymond came back to the practice of law. We’re no longer the powerhouse we were, but the clients are still coming, and I’m still working at B&J. Wallace Barker now works for B&J, and he brought his barracuda secretary, Esperanza, with him. She still doesn’t like me. Dahlia is engaged to her long-suffering boyfriend, so it looks like I’m going to be a bridesmaid, as well as an auntie. She’s pregnant, but her family doesn’t know yet. I’m convinced her boyfriend did this on purpose, because he figured that this was the only way to get her to the altar.

  As for me, I’m in love. Marcus and I have been going strong for a while. My mom was a little nervous because he didn’t exactly fit her idea of an Ivy League–educated man, but Marcus won her over—pretty easily, I might add. Sharif X was upset about his competition, as he referred to Marcus, but he has moved on to greener pastures, a Jamaican teenage girl named Lily, who just moved on our block. They’re inseparable, and lately, they’ve been asking Marcus and me to double-date with them. Marcus and I are going on vacation in a few weeks, something I never did before he came into my life. Now we get away every chance we get—usually to his cabin in upstate New York. I miss my friend Lamarr every day, but I know that although that door was closed, God opened up some other pretty wonderful doors for me. Still, every Sunday I light a candle for him and give him the same wish he gave to me (with thanks to Earth, Wind & Fire) : I always wish that he is “ever wonderful.”

  About the Author

  Janette McCarthy graduated cum laude from Wellesley College and went on to obtain her law degree from Columbia Law School. A former federal prosecutor, she has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. She is now a partner in a labor and employment law firm. She lives in the Midwest with her beloved son, Jamaal, and her two dogs, Frisco and Brooklyn.

  DAFINA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  850 Third Avenue

  New York, NY 10022

  Copyright © 2006 by Janette McCarthy

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  ISBN: 978-0-7582-8161-6

  Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  First Dafina mass market printing: December 2006

 

 

 
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