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while I stretched out on the couch and instantly nodded off.
    “Hey, girl, wake up.”
    I refused to open my eyes, even though Special was bent over me, shaking me by the shoulder.
    “Leave me alone,” I moaned. “I’m exhausted.”
    “This is important. I’ve been dying to show you something.”
    When I finally opened my eyes, Special’s hand was so close to my face, it made me cross-eyed.
    “I’m finally getting married!” she said, waving her sizable diamond ring back and forth like a QVC model. “Can you believe it?”
    I bounced off the couch and gave her a big hug. “Congratulations!”
    Jefferson embraced her too, then gave Clayton a bump of the fist. “It’s about time, bruh.”
    It thrilled me to see Special so happy. After being charged in a highly publicized criminal case a year earlier, she’d lost her job and split up with Clayton. But my buddy was a survivor. With my help, the charges were dismissed. She later landed a new job in collections at Verizon and got her man back.
    “So when’s the big date?” I gave Clayton’s shoulder a brotherly squeeze before sitting back down.
    “Well,” Special said, perching herself on the arm of the chair where Clayton was sitting, “we’re keeping our engagement a secret for a little while. We’re not even telling our parents yet.”
    “A secret? Why?”
    Special looked everywhere except at me. “There’s something we need to do first.”
    “Let me tell ’em, baby.” Clayton took her hand. “We’re joining the Community of Islam. We aren’t announcing our engagement until we complete our orientation and get the blessing from our minister.”
    Perhaps I was still groggy from my short nap and hadn’t heard him correctly. “Are you saying you’re converting to Islam?”
    My question was directed at Special, but she just sat there, biting the nail of her baby finger.
    Clayton, on the other hand, beamed like a new headlight. “That’s exactly what we’re saying.”
    My mouth opened, but no words followed.
    Jefferson bravely broke the awkward silence. “That’s cool. If that works for y’all, more power to you.”
    Special smiled hopefully at me, no doubt waiting to hear me echo my husband’s blessings. I’d seen my friend do a lot of crazy things in the name of love, but abandoning her Christian faith was something I couldn’t cosign. Right now, I wanted to grill her like a hostile witness. The ringing of my iPhone put that on hold.
    When I placed the phone to my ear, a frantic voice intermittently rambled and sobbed.
    “Who is this?” I asked, trying hard to recognize the caller. “What’s the matter? Slow down. I can’t understand you.”
    All eyes in the den were on me as I listened for close to a minute without speaking. When I finally understood what the caller was telling me, I sank even deeper into the couch, then pressed the phone to my chest.
    Jefferson threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Babe, what happened? What’s the matter?”
    My voice cracked as I tried to speak. “My client is dead.”
    “Lamarr?” All three of them asked in starry-eyed unison.
    I shook my head. “No, not Lamarr. It’s Judi. Judi Irving from my Big Buy case. She’s been murdered.”

CHAPTER 9
     
    P hillip plodded back and forth across the grungy motel room, cell phone in hand.
    “Answer the damn phone!” he shouted, growing more annoyed with every ring.
    Bleary-eyed and unshaven, the underarms of Phillip’s white T-shirt were soaked with sweat. He could smell his own tart body odor.
    When he heard his agent’s recorded voice yet again, he hurled the phone to the bed.
    It was imperative that Phillip reached Harold before those two cops did. He’d already left four messages. At least he’d been smart enough to buy himself a little time. When he’d written down his agent’s number for Mankowski, Phillip had intentionally made both fives look like sloppy sixes.
    A roach crawled across his shoe and he kicked it away.