Capital City Mysteries: The Case of the Missing King pt. 2

The young Mrs. King was visibly nervous, but she pushed through.

“Well, you see, Ms. Stone, Micheal has always been a good man. Sometimes he may get a little ahead of himself with all his crazy schemes and ideas, but he’s a good man,” she finished with an awkward chuckle.

Michael King, Michael King? Eboni’s focus shifted away from what Cherry was saying. Our detective was sure that she’d heard that name before.

“Michael King,” she interrupted, “ Sorry to cut you off, but I’m sure I’ve heard that name before. Cherry looked over at her mother-in-law nervously.

Eboni continued to think aloud, “Hmmm, didn’t I hear about him on the news? That’s right. If I’m not mistaken, his name was mentioned in a story about a paper company shipping stolen goods…”

Suddenly the elder Mrs. Duke rapped her cane on the wooden floor, making a loud thud.“My son is innocent!” she said in a surprisingly loud voice. Eboni was taken aback. She could see that this woman was passionate about her son, his innocence, and his whereabouts. Eboni only hoped that there was a happy ending to this tale.

“Well ma’am, I can say this. I don’t know your son personally, but it’s clear to me that he has at least two strong fighters in his corner,” Eboni said with (what she hope was) an encouraging smile.

“Can we count on you Mrs. Stone? Will you help us find my son? I don’t care what those police, or those know-it-alls on that television set have to say about my boy! I gave birth to him! Don’t you think I would know what he is and is not capable of?!”

Mrs. King eyes were pleading, though her voice tried to have some semblance of decorum. Eboni could tell that manners and propriety were highly important to her. So the emotion that she was showing certainly pulled at the detective’s heart strings.

Eboni sat silently for a moment, wanting to be delicate about her next words. She knew she couldn’t say what she was thinking — that many criminals had mothers who couldn’t believe it was true. A sigh escaped her lips as she silently prayed that this son would be an exception. “Alright, she began, “ I can’t make any promises. But, I can disregard whatever I may have heard on the news and listen to your story. I just need you to tell me everything you know, even if you think it looks bad for Mike. I give you my word that I will do whatever I can to help. I take it, you’re confident that he is innocent?” she asked, though of course she already knew the answer.

Cherry’s eyes lit up. It was obvious that she had so much to say, but wasn’t sure where to begin. However, Mrs. Edith’s face held a shadow of embarrassment.

“Ms. Stone,” she began, “I’d like to apologize for my outburst. I’ve just been so upset by the entire situation!”

“I can certainly understand Mrs. King. No apology needed. Believe me, I want to help. Just tell me what you know and we can go from there,” Eboni replied kindly.

They both let out a sigh of relief, she could see that they believed her. It was good they did because she meant every word. Cherry opened her mouth and a floodgate came rushing out.

To be continued . . .