Marcus hung up the phone quickly and headed out the door. He got in his car and drove out the driveway. He had just reached the corner and was about to turn, when he saw Randa's Benz barreling down the street.
SHARE YOUR PAIN
After receiving the folder from Janise, Carmen immediately returned to her hotel room and started reading. As she read, Carmen tried not to think about the description of the crime scene, but her mind painted vivid images.
“Who could have done this to her?”
She had accepted the fact that Roland had killed her sister and would be punished for the crime. But all that's changed. Carmen read every piece of paper in the folder and made notes of her questions. There weren't many. Overall she thought the investigation was pretty thorough, as far as Roland was concerned. But there didn't seem to be much investigation of Desireé.
Carmen had been reading for hours before she remembered that she had promised her parents that she would come by. And as much as she knew that they needed to talk.
“Not now,” Carmen said out loud.
Revisiting all those old emotions would only distract her from what she was trying to accomplish. When Carmen finished reading Detective Benjamin's statement she closed the folder. She looked over at the clock on the nightstand. Carmen laid across the bed and began to think about her sister. Then it hit her, “Marcus!” she said jumping up from the bed. He would be there to pick her up in twenty minutes and she was nowhere near ready to go. Dressed in her old comfortable robe and slippers, she definitely didn't want Marcus to catch her like this. She grabbed some clothes out of her bag and headed for the shower. After a quick shower, she began to get dressed. When the phone rang, Carmen answered.
“Ms. Taylor, there’s a Marcus Douglas in the lobby to see you. Shall I send him up?”
“No. Please tell Mr. Douglas I'll be down shortly,” Carmen replied, zipping up her jeans and stepping into her heels. She put on a dab of Escape and checked her hair in the mirror on her way out the door.
When she reached the lobby, Carmen looked around until she saw Marcus and started for him. When Marcus saw her coming he rose to his feet to greet her. He couldn't help but be taken as Carmen walked toward him.
“Steady boy, she's way out of your league,” Marcus said as he watched Carmen make her way, turning men's heads as she passed.
“Hello, Mr. Douglas, I'm sorry I kept you waiting,” Carmen said, extending her hand to Marcus.
Marcus accepted her hand thinking, Seeing you was worth the wait, but he said, “Don't worry about it, Ms. Taylor. It wasn't that long. So where are we going?”
“Suzanne lives in Hampton,” Carmen said as they left the hotel. “You know the way or do you want me to drive?”
“I don't mind driving, Ms. Taylor. My car is right over there.” He unlocked the passenger door and held it open for Carmen. “Thank you, Mr. Douglas.” Once they were in the car and away, Marcus said, “Did you read anything else that you had questions about, Ms. Taylor?”
“Yes I did. But would you mind calling me Carmen.”
“If you call me Marcus, I'll call you Carmen.”
“Deal, Marcus it is. When you say Ms. Taylor it sounds too much like my old economics professor, Mr. Weuhausen. Ms. Taylor, can you summarize Paul Samuelson's theory of equilibrium,” Carmen laughed as she imitated her old professor.
“Well since you put it that way,” Marcus said laughing at her impersonation. “I wouldn't wanna do that. Carmen it is. By the way, what is Paul Samuelson's theory of equilibrium?”
“It a situation in which the forces that determine the behavior of some variable are in balance and thus exert no pressure on that variable to change. It is a situation in which the actions of all economic agents are mutually consistent. It is a concept meaningfully applied to any variable whose level is determined by the outcome of the operation of at least one mechanism or process acting on countervailing forces. For example, equilibrium price is affected by a process which drives suppliers to increase prices when demand is in excess and to undercut each other when supply is in excess. The mechanism thus regulates the forces of supply and demand.”
“Oh.”
“I'm glad that's settled,” Carmen said with a smile. “And to answer your first question, yes. But it's more a comment then a question.”
“What's that's, Carmen?” Marcus asked, now he felt funny saying it.
“That the investigation seemed more about proving Roland did it then it was about who killed Dez.”
“That was a major point in my defense of Ferguson. That and the time line, of course. But their investigation focused squarely on him from day one,” Marcus said and glanced at Carmen. She was looking at him, so he looked away quickly. “How often did you and your sister talk?”
“We talked every day.”
“Did she tell you about her and Rasheed?”
“She did. Her new play toy,” Carmen giggled.