Capital City, Capital City Mysteries, Eboni Stone
Capital City Mysteries: The Case of the Missing King pt. 3
It was obvious that this young lady had been waiting to tell their side of the story. With the news implying his guilt, things hadn’t been easy for his family.
“Mike is a good man, Miss Stone. Sure he may have gotten into a little trouble when he was younger. But that was all in the past,” Cherry shared.
“Trouble?” Eboni interrupted, “What kind of trouble did he get into?”
The room fell silent for a few moments. Cherry Ann looked as though she’d said something she shouldn’t have. It seemed like the ladies were holding back, worried about whether Eboni would take their case or not.
“Listen Ms. Stone,” the elder Mrs. King chimed in, “I’m not a wealthy woman. However, I have a little something stashed away. I’m willing pay whatever you might charge to find my son and exonerate him from these charges.”
Eboni took a deep breath before responding. She wanted to choose her words delicately. These women were obviously concerned about the well being of their beloved Michael. She didn’t want to rub them the wrong way, or add any more stress to their lives.
“I want to help you Mrs. King. And I appreciate what you said about my fees. However, I can’t give you a guarantee about clearing his name – at least not until I know for certain that he is innocent. But trust and believe me, I will do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. And that includes finding Mike and proving his innocence. But you must be absolutely honest with me. I need to know all of the facts, ok? Don’t leave anything out. Even if it’s embarrassing, just give it to me straight.”
The air in the room stood still. There was tension in the air as Eboni’s potential new clients solemnly thought about their options.
Mrs. King sighed deeply and decided to break the silence. “When Mikey was a teenager, he started hanging around with the wrong crowd. I tried to get him to understand how his choices would affect the rest of his life. When he was sixteen, he got caught stealing cars with a gang of kids. He was arrested and had serve a few months in the young folks rehabilitation program. But he never got into any real trouble after that… not really.”
Eboni sat quietly pondering over the information. Sounds from the street flowed up through the windows. The sound of her stomach rumbling became louder and louder. Hopefully, her lunch order would arrive soon.
She began to speak, interrupting the awkward silence.
It seemed like this Michael King case held more than meets the eye. Eboni hoped and prayed that he was innocent. She really wanted to help these ladies.
To be continued . . .