Soulful Strut Read online

  SOULFUL STRUT

  LYNN EMERY

  All names, characters, stories, and incidents featured in this novel are imaginary. They are not inspired by any individual person, incidents or events known or unknown to the author. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is coincidental. SOULFUL STRUT was originally published in 2006. This is a reprint.

  Copyright 2006 Margaret Emery Hubbard

  Smashwords Edition

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Read the other three Louisiana Love Series: City Girls novels

  ~~~

  Gotta Get Next To You

  Tell Me Something Good

  Good Woman Blues

  ~~~

  More Novels by Lynn Emery

  ~

  Night Magic

  A Darker Shade of Midnight

  Between Dusk and Dawn

  After All

  A Time To Love

  One Love

  Happy New Year, Baby

  Chapter 1

  Monette gazed at the scenery as the Lexus cruised along. Hardly a bump penetrated the luxury ride. What a contrast between how she’d arrived to start her prison stay almost fifteen years earlier and how she was leaving. The whisper-quiet air conditioner pushed the scent of leather mixed with fresh cut grass from outside. Nothing like the earthy smells of the prison bus she’d ridden to the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. Not to mention what she’d endured during her stay there. Warden Yvonda Taylor’s sour expression had made Monette’s day even brighter. Warden Taylor had never believed her story or supported her applications for parole.

  “See ya later,” Warden Taylor had drawled as she’d stood watching Monette leave.

  “Hold your breath and wait” Monette had started to give her a final wave goodbye with only one finger extended, but Lucy had caught her arm.

  Though her lawyer had scowled, Monette had merely shrugged. She’d shown restraint in her view. What she’d really wanted to say had involved several colorful expletives. They had managed to elude the three reporters hovering outside the prison gate. With Jim Rand on her right and his law clerk Lucy Chen on the left, he’d made sure they’d marched lockstep to the car, giving Monette no more chances to comment. Now, miles away, he seemed to relax. At every highway marker Monette glanced back. Each mile away from LCIW was that much sweeter. Jim drove straight to the NBC affiliate television station in Baton Rouge to give an exclusive first interview. Ten minutes later, Monette was on her way to her new life in the world, the real world. “God bless America,” she murmured.

  “What was that?” Jim asked, turning his head for a second before looking ahead at traffic again.

  “She’s glad to be out,” Lucy commented from the backseat with a wide smile. The twenty-five-year-old looked crisp in her white cotton shirt and blood red skirt.

  “Amen, sistah. To think last night I was in a prison cell. This morning I’m smiling into a television camera talking to Katie Couric on national TV.” Monette laughed and gave Jim a playful swat on the shoulder. “The warden probably spit out her coffee when she saw me.”

  Jim didn’t join in their laughter. “The director of New Beginnings probably isn’t amused one darn bit. We’re over an hour late for your admission.”

  “It will be alright,” Monette said.

  “Let’s hope so. We need her on our side when we go before the Pardon Board,” Jim replied. His dark brows pulled together. He gazed at Monette hard.

  “I’m going to be on my best behavior, follow the rules and be so full of ‘Yes, ma’am,’ ‘No, ma’am’ and ‘How high you want me to jump, ma’am?’ that y’all won’t recognize me,” Monette answered with a nod.

  “You got that right,” Lucy quipped. She merely smirked when Monette darted a glare at her over one shoulder.

  “I mean it, Jim. I’m not going to mess up, so don’t worry. I’m sure Ms. Sherman will understand Just relax.” Monette gave him a reassuring smile this time. When Jim smiled back he seemed to loosen up.

  Monette did not want to betray his trust in her. After all, Jim Rand and The Justice Project were the biggest reason she’d gotten out at all. He’d put in long hours building the case for her parole, giving media interviews and taking a lot of heat cm her behalf. Monette only hoped his reputation and career hadn’t been irreparably harmed because of her.

  “Here we are.” Jim shifted into park but didn’t turn off the engine.

  Monette looked at the neighborhood. In the distance she saw the modest skyline of downtown Baton Rouge. The houses were old-fashioned wooden structures built back in the thirties, forties and fifties. Most had wide front porches. This area had obviously been more prosperous once. Although some were neatly kept, most of the homes showed their age in a bad way. A few of the houses were downright shabby, with trash strewn in the scrubby front yards.

  “You would think they could choose a better part of town for a halfway house,” Lucy said. She glanced around as though unwilling to leave the car. She put a hand on her small, fashionable handbag.

  “I know that part of L.A. you came from. What about those Asian girl gangbangers?” Monette said.

  “Which is why I don’t live there anymore, thank you very much.”

  “So now you’re all refined. Don’t act like you so scared. Anybody look at that tiny purse too hard and you’d put some of that ancient Chinese butt kickin’ on ’em,” Monette wisecracked. Lucy started to laugh, and then stopped.

  “Wouldn’t try it with them.” Lucy nodded as she looked through the car window.

  Monette followed her gaze. She eyed a group of swaggering teenagers. One of them puckered his lips and made a kissing sound at Lucy as they walked by. “You’ve got a point. Jim, maybe this isn’t such a good deal after all.”

  “I checked. The crime statistics for this area show few serious police calls,” Jim replied with a calm expression. He did not bother to glance at the boys. He turned to Monette. “New Beginnings is around the corner. I wanted us to have one last talk.”

  “No more lectures. For the tenth time—I will blend in and not get involved in any controversy. Now let’s go,” Monette said firmly, struggling to be patient with her jumpy attorney.

  “I just wanted to suggest that we make this entrance as low-key as possible,” Jim replied just as firmly.

  “Then we’d better go. Like you said, I’m already over an hour past the time I was supposed to report,” Monette shot back.

  “Right.” Jim frowned as he faced forward again and shifted into drive. They turned onto Louisiana Avenue. Three blocks down they stopped in front of a large, two-story house with a wide stone porch.

  “Oh-oh,” Lucy pointed to a van and two cars with television station logos on their sides. Reporters were already on the sidewalk in front of New Beginnings, along with camera people.

  “The welcome committee, huh? Bring it on.” Monette flipped down the visor and checked her look in the lighted mirror.

  “Damn,” Jim muttered as he hit the button to release his seat belt. He got out of the car and approached the reporters.

  “Maybe you should just smile and keep quiet,” Lucy advised. She lifted one perfectly arched black eyebrow. She let out a hiss when Monette fluffed her hair.

  “Why should I duck and hide? I was wrongly convicted by a system that persecuted me for being black and female. I—”

  “I k
now, I know. Just thought it was worth a try.” Lucy unbuckled her seat belt.

  “Hey, I signed a parole agreement to seek employment. I’m a writer and I’ve got books to sell.” Monette got out of the car and walked over to stand beside Jim with her head held high.

  “The Parole Board and the governor recognized that an injustice had been done. Ms. Victor deserves to be pardoned. However, that application is still pending,” Jim said with a grave expression.

  “Is it likely that the FBI will investigate Winn Barton as a result of this case?” a blonde female reporter asked.

  “Ms. Victor’s civil rights were violated. She was deprived of her freedom because of illegal actions. Anyone who examines the evidence will conclude that she was framed. Mr. Barron misused his position as district attorney of Pointe Coupee Parish to falsify evidence and pressure her co-defendants into committing perjury.”

  “Ms. Victor, how does it feel to be free after almost fifteen years?” a pretty African-American reporter said with a broad smile. A second woman with her carried a compact digital video camera.

  “Wonderful. I’m eager to build my life. Notice I didn’t say I’d rebuild my life. I’ve got to start from scratch. And I should, because my life before this injustice wasn’t great. I made a lot of bad choices. Now I’m moving forward with my book and more.” Monette wore a sober yet hopeful expression, her head tilted to one side.

  “Is it true you may be offered your own radio talk show?” a newspaper reporter asked, holding up a tiny recorder.

  “Anything is possible. That’s the fabulous thing about freedom.” Monette was prepared to say more, but Jim put a hand on her arm.

  “Thank you. Now please excuse us,” he said.

  The two television reporters went in opposite directions to record their individual wrap-up comments. Monette lingered so she could pick up tips as Jim gave more comments to a newspaper reporter. Her agent and publicist had done a great job. She did indeed have tentative offers to host her own talk show from one radio network and a local access channel. Nothing big, but it was a good start

  “You may recall that Winn Barron was forced to resign as attorney general of this state under a cloud. Before he was elected to that office he was the district attorney of Pointe Coupee Parish. Barron personally prosecuted Monette Victor. Ten years later his then chief investigator came forward to support her allegations against Barron. Ms. Victor had for years claimed that Barron framed her for shunning his advances.” The reporter went on to succinctly describe the scandal that had led to Monette’s release.

  “We really better go inside,” Lucy said to Monette. She gave a slight nod toward the halfway house. ‘Trudy Sherman is staring at us, and she doesn’t look happy.”

  “I’m sure she’ll understand that this is my first day of work. Well, sort of,” Monette added when Lucy gave her an incredulous look.

  Jim joined them, and all three walked up the stone steps. Before he could knock a second time, the door opened quickly. A woman wearing a curious expression looked at them briefly and then at the reporters.

  ‘Trudy is expectin’ y’all. Come on in. Her office is the third door down that hall,” she said, pointing deeper into the house.

  “Thanks,” Monette said with a smile.

  “You’re welcome, Ms. Victor. I saw you on television. I think it’s great how you kicked the system in the a—”

  ‘Thank you, Tyeisha.” A stern-looking white woman emerged from the third door. She wore her dark hair cut very short. “I’m Trudy Sherman, the director of New Beginnings. You’re Monette Victor.”

  “Guilty. Well, not as it turned out Right?” Monette laughed as she extended her hand.

  Trudy Sherman did not return the smile. She gave Monette a brief handshake. She turned to Jim and Lucy. Her expression demanded an explanation. “Good morning.” “Jim Rand, Ms. Victor’s attorney. This is Lucy Chen.” Jim and Lucy took their turn shaking hands with Trudy Sherman.

  “Come into my office. We generally don’t need an attorney to help new residents check in.” Trudy Sherman did a neat pivot and led the way. Once they were all in, she shut the door firmly.

  “We provided Ms. Victor with a ride here since her family couldn’t make it.”

  “I see.” Trudy didn’t appear to be really listening.

  Monette felt a small pain in her chest at Jim’s charitable explanation of why he and Lucy had picked her up at the prison. Her mother was probably too drunk to drive, and Monette’s two sisters kept busy with their own troubled families. Monette’s children didn’t owe her anything either. She shoved that mental door shut to block out more pain, and then shifted her focus back to Trudy Sherman.

  The director’s five-foot-four-inch frame in no way diminished her imposing presence. She wore a pale pink sweater twin set and brown tweed skirt. Her makeup was minimal, and her only jewelry was pearl stud earrings. Age lines fanned out from the corners of her eyes and around her thin lips. Monette judged her to be around fifty. At forty-three Monette figured she still had a decade more street experience. Still, she didn’t think Trudy could be easily played.

  “Have a seat, please.”

  “I’m sorry we got here so late, Ms. Sherman. What with the traffic and—Monette stopped as the director broke in.

  “Not to mention your media interviews.” The director opened a folder on her desk, and then looked at Monette.

  “I really should have insisted on an earlier taping instead of agreeing to the live interview. My fault,” Lucy said quickly.

  “Being on time and sticking to the house rules aren’t negotiable,” Trudy Sherman spoke to Monette.

  “I won’t disrupt the routine or break the rules again. I’m sorry,” Monette said without hesitation.

  “Of course your situation is unique, to say the least”

  “That’s a good way of putting it, Ms. Sherman,” Monette replied.

  “We’ll talk about that later. We need to get several admission procedures out of the way.”

  For the next forty minutes Trudy Sherman meticulously went through the admissions procedure. Monette signed several forms, one of which confirmed that she agreed to abide by the house rules. Even as she listened and wrote her signature, Monette took in the office. Two degrees with the director’s name, one a master of social work, hung on one wall. Framed prints of flowers and birds were on the other walls. A large window faced south and onto the street in front of the house.

  “Any questions?”

  “Not right now.” Monette made a neat stack of the copies she was to keep.

  “You can have this folder. Welcome to New Beginnings, Monette.” Trudy Sherman wore a restrained smile.

  “Thanks, Ms. Sherman.”

  “We’re not formal around here. Just call me Trudy. Now about your job. We’ve dealt with a few high-profile residents, but usually the interest fades over time. That won’t happen with you, right?” Trudy gazed from Monette to Jim and back again.

  “I’ll be doing book signings, giving speeches, and I might be on the radio. People are gonna talk, and that’s the idea.” Monette shrugged. “I don’t see any way around it”

  “What with the pardon application and the FBI involved, reporters will most certainly show up on your doorstep,” Jim added.

  “We don’t have a lot of space, and even if we did, I don’t want cameras in here. We have to protect the privacy of the other residents. Several ladies have already expressed concern, and others may feel the same. Interviews will be done on the porch or in the courtyard. Last resort you can use either my office or the other small office on this floor.” Trudy’s tone clearly said there would be no negotiation on the issue.

  “Fine with me.” Monette gave an inward sigh of relief. Trudy conceded more than she’d expected.

  “But no late nights outside the house, no more phone calls than anyone else, no cell phones and no other special accommodations will be made. You have to make it fit, not the other way around.” Trudy stopped, clea
rly waiting to hear Monette agree.

  “Gotcha. I’m not tryin’ to be a diva around here. I want to do my time and get along.” Monette had no illusions about her situation. She was still in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Corrections. Until she was pardoned or finished out her parole, she could get sent right back to prison.

  Trudy nodded. “Good. Being free after so many years won’t be easy.”

  “Yeah, but hard out here is a hell of a lot easier than hard behind bars.” Monette looked out the window.

  Trudy’s expression softened just a little. “Prison is a rough world, especially if you didn’t commit the crime. I can only imagine how you must have felt. I hope we can ease your transition and help you put those days behind you.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t happen, but I want to rebuild my life to make it better than it was before. Thanks for giving me this chance.” Monette stood, and so did Jim and Lucy.

  “Nice meeting you, Ms. Sherman. I’ve heard good things about New Beginnings.” Jim nodded to her.

  Trudy wore a pleased expression. ‘Thank you. I’m proud of our work here. For seven years New Beginnings has helped a lot of women. Of course, I’ve only been here for the last two years, but in that time we’ve made changes that have improved on a solid foundation.”

  “Of course. I’ll get your bags from the trunk, Monette,” Jim said.

  He touched Monette’s arm as he went out. Trudy’s eyebrows twitched at the gesture. She glanced at Monette but said nothing. Monette wore a mild expression as she returned her gaze.

  “Congratulations, girl. You’re on your way.” Lucy gave Monette a hug.

  “I hope so,” Monette murmured in her ear before they drew apart again.

  “I’ll get one of the ladies to show you around,” Trudy said as she left them alone.

  Lucy checked the hallway, and then turned to Monette again. “What do you really think?”

  Monette glanced around more closely at the office. She took in more clues about the woman from the way things were arranged and family photos. “I can handle this. Trudy Sherman is a little bit of a control freak, but we’ll get along okay.”