Free A Meeting In The Ladies' Room by Anita Doreen Diggs Page B

would be more accurate.”
    He chuckled. “I have a few lawyers and a couple of paralegals in addition to my research team. Can we get back to your problem, now?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIf Annabelle Murray swore you to secrecy, why does Paul Dodson know about the project?”
    â€œPaul and I are close personal friends. I knew he wouldn’t say anything.”
    â€œYou were wrong.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œHe told me, right?”
    â€œAnnabelle did not want anyone in book publishing to know what her husband was up to. I doubt that she would object to Paul telling a famous criminal lawyer anything he thought would help me stay out of some serious trouble.”
    He nodded. “Fine. I’m going with you to see this detective, and when we get there, you must follow my lead. Talk when I say it is okay. Stop talking when I say stop. I’ll get a copy of the videotape and release it to the media myself.”
    â€œWhy?”
    He smiled enigmatically. “Trust me, Jackie.”
    â€œI’d rather not have the videotape released at all,” I said, close to tears. “Isn’t there something you can do to stop it?”
    â€œNo, and it is definitely not a good idea for me to try.”
    â€œThis is going to make me look so bad.”
    â€œBad?” He whirled around in his chair. “It doesn’t have to. It all depends on the spin you put on it.”
    I wasn’t in the mood for riddles. “How much are your services going to cost me?”
    He shrugged. “Paul Dodson is a good friend of mine. I’m not going to charge you anything. Unless there is something you haven’t told me, I predict that the cops will leave you alone after you give them a statement tonight.”
    I felt a whole better.

13
    PAUL STILL WAITING
    I didn’t get home until ten that night so I missed yet another Black Pack meeting. Paul was still up, waiting for my phone call.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œKeith went with me. You should have seen Detective Gilchrist’s face when I walked in with him. The man practically genuflected.”
    Paul chuckled.
    â€œHe walked me through the morning Annabelle was killed. Then I wrote it all down and left.”
    â€œSo what happens now?”
    â€œKeith is releasing the videotape to some reporter friend of his tomorrow.”
    â€œBest offense is a good defense, huh?”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    â€œI know you are upset right now, Jackie, but there is something I want to ask you when things settle down.”
    Oh no! I knew what the something was. He had been waiting to ask it for a long time.
    â€œToday has been rough, Paul. I can feel my brain shutting down.”
    â€œI’m glad everything turned out okay, Jackie. I was worried.”
    I yawned. “I’ve got to call Mama and then get some sleep.”
    â€œOkay. Will you be home tomorrow?”
    â€œNo, I’m going to spend the day with Mama. She is still pretty frazzled about this whole thing. I need to reassure her that its almost over.”
    â€œAlyssa came to the Black Pack meeting tonight. She told us that you signed her up for a few projects.”
    â€œThat’s right.”
    â€œMaybe you should have waited to see what the fallout will be for her.”
    In other words, wait until Alyssa got back on the white folks’ good side before hugging her to our collective bosom again. It was some sad, gutless plantation-type thinking and I didn’t want to talk about it.
    I changed the subject and tried to sound casual. “Who else showed up tonight?”
    â€œYes, Victor was there,” Paul said brusquely.
    â€œI didn’t ask.”
    â€œWhatever,” he snapped.
    â€œGood night, Paul,” I said softly, “and thanks for Keith.”
    â€œDon’t mention it.” He hung up.
    I hadn’t told Paul about the insulting e-mail that Victor had sent me. Maybe it was because I was ashamed