Free No Turning Back (The Traveler) by Omar Tyree

would roll over in her grave.
    I bet Melissa would love it there,
he assumed.
She didn’t even get a chance to meet my mother.
    As he continued to mull over his pressing issues concerning his estate, attorney Christopher Burnett called him on his iPhone.
    Gary read the number and exhaled. “Okay, what does he want now? He just won’t let all of this paperwork go.”
    He decided to ignore the call until the attorney rang him a second and third time.
    “What the hell?” Gary snapped before he finally answered his cell. Irritated, he barked, “What is it, man? I’m still
mourning
over here, for crying out loud. What do you want from me? I haven’t read the paperwork yet, all right?”
    The attorney paused and remained calm. He said, “It’s not about the paperwork, Gary. It’s actually about your father.”
    Gary went silent with a paused.
    “What about him?” he asked. “Well, a woman walked into my office before the funeral this week. And she had an awful lot of information on you and your mother—information that only an insider would have.”
    “Okay, so what are you saying? You think she has something to do with my father?”
    “I believe so. She’s obviously representing a very discreet client, and she said that they’ll be watching us,” the attorney answered him. “She was sent to me on very specific terms regarding your future.”
    “My future?”
    “I’ll let her explain it to you,” Burnett commented. “She wants to meet you tomorrow morning at my office at eleven.”
    Gary thought about it. “And what if I decided not to meet her?”
    Burnett paused over the line. “I don’t think she’s going to leave me alone until she speaks to you. In depth,” he added. “She even showed up at the funeral today. You remember seeing a tall black woman alone in her thirties? She looks like a very attractive soldier or an
athlete
or something, just very well built and physical. She just fills out the room when she’s in it. And not just physically, but
mentally
. She’s very sharp, very confident.””
    The woman had obviously sunk her teeth into him, and he respected her threat.
    Gary thought before he answered him. Could it be? He imagined the same woman who had bought an album from his record store, who he remembered from the Louisville weight room. She fit the description—a tall, attractive, and athletic black woman of physical presence and power.
    Nah, he’s not talking about her,
he decided.
I didn’t see her at the funeral anyway. But I wasn’t looking for her.
    “No,” he finally answered the attorney. Gary had not paid attention to a lot of people at his mother’s funeral that morning, and he had met tons of strangers, including his own family members. He had no time to notice one person. He had taken in entire groups of people that morning.
    “Well, she wants to see you,” Burnett commented. “And she seems all business. So I would advise us both to make the necessary arrangements to get this out of the way. After all, you do want to find out more about your father, right?”
    It was an obvious question. How many children would deny information about a parent who had been missing in action for twenty-six years?
    Gary stalled again with his answer. “How do we even know that this woman’s for real? I mean, what is she, a private investigator or something?”
    “I don’t know, but she seems important,” Burnett remarked. “Who knows who she’s working for? But she carries herself very professionally, and she knows her facts about you.”
    Gary was at least curious about it. “So, what’s her name?”
    “Jonah Brown. But she told me to call her J.B., like the black football announcer from Fox. I’m willing to bet that’s not her real name though.”
    Gary deliberated for another minute. There was no way he would turn down an opportunity to learn more about his father. He also wanted to appear hard-boiled and ready for anything.
    “Okay, you tell Jonah Brown that I’ll