The Family Business by Eric Pete, Carl Weber

are they holding her for now?”
    I stopped in my tracks and told him, “Harris, that boy she brought to our board meeting tonight is dead.”
    Shock registered on his face. “Get the fuck out of here! The councilman’s son? You’re kidding, right?”
    “I only wish I was.” If he was half asleep before, he sure as hell was awake now. “Here, you drive.”
    “Jesus Christ, did she do it?” Harris asked as he slid into the driver’s seat.
    I wasn’t surprised to hear him ask that question. I didn’t want to believe she did it, but the possibility had crossed my mind as well. I loved Paris, but we both knew that she had a lot of issues to work through and a lot of growing up to do. She had been known to make impulsive decisions that got her into trouble ever since she was Mariah’s age. Not only that, but she had a temper that only I could control—probably because she’d gotten it from me in the first place. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time she’d been held by the police and needed to be rescued. Usually, it was for fighting some woman over a man. One time it was for something as stupid as someone looking at her wrong, but not this time. This time it was because someone was dead, and we both had to wonder if Paris could have done it.
    “No, I don’t think she did it,” I replied.
    “Has she been charged?”
    “From what the desk sergeant told me, she’s being held as a material witness. She was there when the boy got shot.”
    “Well, that’s a good thing.” He placed the car in gear, and we headed down Rockaway Boulevard. “LC, this is what I’m here for. Don’t worry. We’ll get this cleared up quickly and have Paris home in no time. What did Orlando have to say?”
    “Nothing. I haven’t been able to reach him.”
    Harris tried to play it cool, but I could see it caught him off guard. “That’s unlike him. I hope he’s okay. Last thing we need is for him to show up missing.”
    “Look, Harris, I don’t need anything else to worry about right now, okay? Let’s just focus on getting Paris away from the police. Orlando is a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
    “Point taken,” he said, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about my son. Harris was right; this wasn’t like Orlando at all. If he wasn’t home when I got there, I was going to have to make a few calls.
    Silence took over the car for a while as we were both lost in our thoughts about this latest situation.
    After a while, Harris said, “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Sure.” I already knew what it was going to be about.
    “It’s about Orlando.”
    Yep, I should probably have my own psychic network the way I could read his mind.
    “What about him?”
    “You sure this whole leadership thing hasn’t gone to his head? I mean, he should be here or with Junior.... Look, I know he’s your son and the man works hard for the company, but-”
    “But what?” I leaned back in my seat and gave him a hard stare. Yes, he was my son-in-law and he did a lot for our company, but Harris was treading on thin ice talking about my son.
    “Don’t get me wrong. He’s bright, but he still has a lot to learn about the business.” He gave me a sideways glance, and the confidence left his tone. “I mean, not that what I have to say matters. You’ve already made your decision. I just hope it’s the right one for the family. Personally, me and a few members of the family aren’t so sure.”
    “Is that so? Which family members?” I was putting him on the spot because I knew there could be only one family member he’d spoken to, and that was his wife. I studied his face for a reaction. It looked like he was struggling to keep a poker face, but all his tension was evident in the way he was gripping the steering wheel.
    “Hey, you know me. I’m a lawyer. I’m not going to throw anyone else under the bus. I could have kept this all to myself, but like you’re always telling me, you pay me for my opinion, so I’m