Free Hanging on a String by Janette M. Louard

clean and stayed clean. Still, a certain sadness remained, and the earth mother in me was always drawn to protect him.
    Even now, I wanted to help chase away some of that pain, which I still saw in his eyes. “You need a good woman in your life,” I told him, but I knew that there was no woman alive that could compete with the ghosts that inhabited his heart.
    â€œFolks talk about Red Hook and how bad things are there.” Lamarr’s voice cut through my thoughts. “But when your number’s up, don’t matter where you live. Look at Chester, living in that fancy town house over on Park Avenue.”
    I nodded my head.
    Lamarr looked at me. “Enough talk about Chester. How are you doing? I know that even though you guys fell out, you once cared for him.”
    â€œI don’t know,” I replied. “I guess I’m still trying to understand how this could have happened.”
    â€œNothing to understand. He lived by the sword.”
    â€œLamarr!” I was surprised at the hardness in his voice. I knew that Lamarr didn’t like Chester. Chester had talked down to him on several occasions. People like Lamarr, people that didn’t have anything that Chester wanted, didn’t exist in his orbit.
    â€œI’m sorry he’s dead, Jasmine,” Lamarr said quietly. “But he was retribution waiting to happen.”
    I couldn’t blame Lamarr for how he was feeling. I knew there were several other people in New York singing the same song.
    â€œWell, he’s in the hands of the ancestors now,” said Lamarr. “It’s the ones who are left behind. Those are the ones I pity. I’m sure there are folks who cared about him, and those are the folks I feel for.”
    I digested this in silence.
    â€œWhile we’re on the subject,” said Lamarr, “watch out for Nina Smyth. Don’t trust her.”
    â€œWhat does Nina have to do with Chester?” I asked.
    Lamarr raised a censoring eyebrow.
    â€œThey were kicking it?” I asked, using Lamarr’s phrase.
    â€œYou got it.”
    I never thought I’d ever feel sorry for Chester’s wife, Sherrie. She was a hard, calculating woman who viewed Chester’s breakup with me as a personal triumph. Still, it was hard not to pity her given the current circumstances.
    â€œThat explains Nina’s reaction to the news yesterday.”
    â€œWatch your back, Jasmine,” Lamarr repeated.
    I hated when Lamarr was deliberately cryptic. “Lamarr, what are you saying?”
    â€œRaymond isn’t going to like it when all Chester’s dirt starts coming out. You know how protective he is about the firm. You need to be aware of the undercurrents running around here, my sister. Believe me, they are strong.”
    I repeated my question. “Lamarr, what are you saying?”
    â€œI’m saying be careful. Watch your back. Chester was into a whole lot of stuff, and all of it’s gonna come out. Just keep your eyes open.”
    â€œLamarr, you have to give me more information than that,” I said.
    â€œKeep your eyes open,” he repeated. “That’s as specific as I’m going to be right now. Trust me, you’ll be safer that way.”
    â€œSafer?”
    Lamarr stood. “Jasmine, sometimes it’s better and safer not to know too much. Trust me.”

6
    After going through about half of the files on my desk, and finding nothing that looked even remotely “unusual,” I decided it was time to take a break. Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw it was already three o’clock in the afternoon. It was time for a break. I was suddenly famished. Quickly deciding on Thai food, I rummaged through my desk, looking for the Thai Orchid’s take-out menu.
    The telephone interrupted my search, and I answered on the first ring. Our firm has a telephone code, with which by now I was very familiar. One ring was a call from someone in the