This Is My America(67)

“I heard the fire truck last night, then saw the flames. I almost came home until I saw the patrol car.”

“It was Beverly,” I say. “She was watching out for us last night. Why’d you come this morning?”

“Thought you were long gone to school, left with Mama. I had to see for myself what happened. Charge my phone so I could reach you.” He lifts up his burner.

“I’ve been blowing up your phone,” I say.

“Battery drained. After your texts about the photos and the march, I started searching for motives. How it connects to Angela going to the Pike.”

“Thought you were hurt or ignoring me. You could’ve come home. I wouldn’t’ve ratted.”

“I couldn’t risk it. And Mama’s been staying up lately. I can see her light on every night.”

I nod. I’ve heard her pacing.

“How’s Ma? Corinne? I saw a lot of people outside, but not Corinne.”

“I took Corinne to her room so she wouldn’t have to see it.” I go over with Jamal what happened last night.

“Pops will be upset when he hears about this. You seen him lately? He ain’t mad, is he?”

Jamal’s eyes well. Leaving Mama, us, was a big deal for Jamal, and he would’ve never wanted to disappoint Daddy.



“Mama’s going to visit him before a community meeting I’m holding at the center.” I touch Jamal’s hand. “He’s not mad, Jamal. None of us are. We’re scared.”

Jamal looks away, wiping under his eyes.

“We got a lawyer. Innocence X, they answered my letters.”

“You serious?” Jamal grabs on to my arms. His face is pure joy. “I thought you were playing so I’d answer your texts and turn myself in.”

I feel that excitement inside me like I did in the beginning, before the cross burning.

“They’re filing paperwork for appeals. There’s so much to tell you.” I bite my lip, not sure where to begin.

“How close are they?” Jamal nervously rubs his fist.

“Closer than we’ve ever been.”

“That’s good, T. That’s real good. Daddy can be out, take care of Mama now.” He puts his arm around my shoulders. He’s drifting off away from us. Like he can let go now. It makes me angry.

“They could help you, too,” I whisper, because I don’t know how Steve can help without knowing the truth yet.

“Nah. They can’t help me. Not right now anyway. Pops’s time’s running out.”

A virtual image of a clock above both of us. The one that’s been looming since the day Daddy was sentenced. Jamal isn’t thinking about himself, just Daddy.

I don’t know what else to say, so I ask what I’ve been waiting to hear. “What happened with Angela?”



Jamal runs his hands over his face. “We’d been seeing each other since after homecoming. Wasn’t serious…until it was. She was going to break up with Chris, but then she suspected something strange when his uncle started spending more time with him. She’d gone a few times to the Pike to see what Chris was doing there.”

“Richard Brighton. He’s been watching Daddy’s lawyer. Ran into him just yesterday, found flyers in his car about a white hate group he’s recruiting.”

“Damn. You doing too much.” Jamal runs his hands over his scruffy half beard that’s grown in.

“We have to find out who killed Angela.”

“Still. I don’t like it.”

“This goes with my theory, though. Explains why she was there that night,” I say. “The SD card is in Beverly’s hands now.”

Jamal gives me a hard look.

“I downloaded everything onto my phone first.” I put my hands up in defense to explain I didn’t just give everything away.

I tell him more about my suspicions around Chris and Scott not wanting people to know they were at the rally where the girl was shot in the crowd.

“Chris didn’t like that Angela supported your stories in ‘Tracy’s Corner,’?” Jamal says. “He thought your articles were anti-police. When I got my Susan Touric interview, he wanted Angela to stop it because he thought I’d play the sympathy card about Dad and blame the police for a botched investigation.”



“That the real reason you both were upset after the show?” The pieces I’d been trying to put together are starting to line up.

Jamal doesn’t meet my eyes. My throat constricts. My lie about having suspects was tangled up with Jamal and Angela’s strategy to find the truth about what might be an underground hate group. I don’t know if I can forgive myself. Jamal turns away until his emotions settle and he can speak again. He clenches his fist in front of his mouth.

“Angela was supposed to meet me after work. She never showed. She was like that. I thought she was mad you walked in on us together, so I didn’t worry at first. I waited at Quincy’s.”

My heart races. Finally I’m hearing more about what happened that night.

“Angela called me to meet her out by the Pike. When I got there, Chris was down by the dock. That’s when I saw Angela on the ground.”

Jamal’s voice is shaky. I can see how much that night messed him up to see Angela, and maybe nothing he could do about it.