Book of Secrets

Book of Secrets My True Identity

How is this possible that the dead man is my husband; just met him today, and now I am riding in the back seat of a police cruiser! The reverberation of my heart palpitating could be heard seeping through my body. It has caused the officer in the passenger seat to turn and ask if I was fine. Under my breath I mumbled, “Of course I am not fine. You just told me that I am married to a dead man and I’ve never been married before.”

The officer turns his attention to his partner and nods his head. The ride to the precinct is filled with a cryptic silence that makes Simone’s skin crawl. As she sits in the back of the car filled with fear, she starts to reminisce about her encounter with the police leading up to this moment.

I had just made it home; ran me some warm bathwater with bubbles, turned on soft music, and lit candles. Just as I began relaxing, my dog Lou’s incessant barking breaks my tranquility. I instantly grab my robe, cover my nakedness, and dash downstairs. I try to console my panicked dog and slowly realize that someone is banging at the door.

“Who is it?” Simone asks.

“The police.”

“The Police!” she yells. “How can I help you?”

“We have some important news for you!”

“Give me a minute, please” she shouts.

Simone makes it upstairs and quickly dresses. She returns to greet the officers at the door, “Come on in. Please have a seat.”

One of the officers begins to speak, “My name is Officer Paul Reed, and this is my partner Sylvester Nash. We are here to let you know that your husband is dead. He was killed today at the Vieux Carre Hotel.”

“I’m sorry, wrong person. Nope! Not married,” she expresses, staring at Nash.

Officer Reed asks, “Ma’am, is your name Simone O’Connor?”

With frustration, Simone says, “Yes, sir, but…”

“But what? According to the legal documents Mr. Devereaux had in his room, you are his legal wife.” Officer Reed shows the documents to Simone. “Now would you please come with us to identify the body?”

Viewing the documents, Simone’s legs become too weak to stand. Just before she hits the floor, Officer Nash catches her. He helps her to the sofa and asks, “Ms. Devereaux, are you okay?”

“Don’t call me that,” she screams. “No! I have no idea what is going on. Again, I would love to help, but I am not married, nor have I ever been married,” Simone cries. Simone notices that Officer Nash keeps his head down with limited emotion, unlike his partner.

While Simone is speaking, Officer Nash whispers something to his partner. Simone tries to hear but could only make out “black book”. She is startled! Officer Reed reprimands Nash with a sinister look as he continues to speak to Simone. Simone is extremely nervous hearing those words. She remembers being at her restaurant where she met London. After he abruptly exited, a black book was left where he had been standing at the end of the bar. She had placed the black book into her purse and forgotten about it. Her thoughts are immediately interrupted.

“Ma’am!” Both officers were calling Simone. She glanced up!

“Well, your husband, London Devereaux needs…Simone interjects, “Did you say, London?”

Officer Reed quickly answers, “Yes, London Devereaux.”

She responds, “Again, he is not my husband! I met London today in my restaurant at the bar. He never offered his last name. I did not offer my name either. He gave me a nickname based on my looks if this is the same man. We didn’t have much of a conversation because he had to leave immediately.”

“Mr. Devereaux gave you the nickname, Sparkle. Am I correct?” Officer Reed asks.

She looks at Officer Reed and yells, “Yes, you are right! I am freaking out!”

“Still, we need you to come identify London Devereaux’s body, take his belongings, and answer a few questions at the precinct. Please bring your identification as well,” explains Nash.

She nods her head and runs upstairs to retrieve her purse. As they leave, she has some reservations thinking about Officer Nash’s behavior.

Simone starts thinking about the encounter she and London had before his untimely death. She remembers London coming out of nowhere with his baritone voice, murmuring in her ear, “Hi beautiful! Could I take you out tonight? My name is London. Don’t tell me, let me guess yours.”

“Today is your lucky day! If you guess correctly or if I like the name, I will have dinner with you,” Simone smiles.

“Seriously,” London asked. Pointing his finger, he playfully continued, “You do look like trouble.”

Ignoring his comment, Simone says, “You said you wanted to guess my name for a date. I am waiting on my name, sir.”

“Ok, ok! Since you have such an inviting smile, luminous skin, and charming eyes, I think ‘Sparkle’ is fitting.”

Simone shakes her head, “Sparkle! That sounds lame! We’ll have to negotiate for a name change tonight!”

“Yes! I will see you tonight,” London replied excitedly. Suddenly, his phone rings. “Pardon me, I need to take this call,” and he walks off. London returns quickly. “Sparkle, I am so sorry for the interruption, but I have some urgent business. If you still want to see me tonight, meet me at my hotel. Let’s say around 8ish. It has a nice restaurant.” He hands her his hotel information. “Hope to see you soon!”

Simone takes the card while nodding her head. London disappears out the door. As far as she could remember, no man has ever taken a serious interest in her such as London had. Then again, she cannot recall any interaction with men other than what people have told her of her past. She was told that she was a known madam of New Orleans who came from a family of harlots and voodoo queens. She also was told that Marie Laveau was a distant cousin. They made sure that she would stay in her place by constantly reminding her of her past. From time to time, she had these visions of a different life. Some visions seemed realistic while others faded away in hope. This is one of the reasons she worked so hard with her restaurant and did not date. She was trying to erase the past.

As Simone was about to walk away from the bar, she noticed a black book where London had been standing. She picked it up and placed it inside her purse and walked out the door.

Oh, my goodness, I had forgotten about the black book until Officer Nash mentioned it! I wonder how he knows about it! I better not tell them I have the book, just in case they try to pin this murder on me. I am the “wife” Simone chuckles to herself. I better stop watching so much ID Channel.

Once home, Simone exams everything the officers had given her. She was in disbelief to know she had a husband whom she never knew existed and is now dead. She had more questions than answers. She looks at the marriage license with her signature, wedding photos, pictures with two little children, other pictures, and $20,000. She starts hyperventilating! She removes the black book from her purse in hopes that she will find some answers about London. Shockingly, the black book is about her.

The book revealed her identity. Simone gasps as her eyes move across the page. “If you are reading this book, most of it will come as a shock to you. You were never a madam. You are married to London Devereaux with two children, twins—named Byron and Brielle after your parents. You come from an affluent family. Your parents had an unbreakable love. From that union, their only love child was born making you the oldest grandchild as well. Your parents were killed in a suspicious car accident that was never investigated. Eventually, you were raised by your paternal grandmother along with your uncle Nash O’Conner, who is only a few years older than you.” Simone covers her mouth when she reads the name Nash. Her mind is racing. She runs to the closet to retrieve some pictures and place them next to the pictures from the police. She falls to the floor crying.

“BABY, I got you!” Before Simone could scream, a man scoops her up in his arms and puts his hand over her mouth. “Sparkle, please don’t scream. It’s me, London! I will never hurt you. I had to fake my death to get close to you, and to see who was still keeping tabs on you.”

“Wait, what,” Simone cries.

“Please let me finish explaining everything and hopefully your questions will be answered,” London speaks softly. “Yes baby, I am your husband, London Devereaux. We have been in love since childhood. Nash, your uncle, is my best friend. He and his friend Officer Reed helped me to fake my death. At first, I was afraid to trust Nash, because of his connection to his brothers. You were kidnapped by your uncle’s acquaintances. Let’s just say, they got involved with the wrong people.”

“After your dad had taken your grandfather’s business global, grandfather signed the business over to your dad. This created some jealousy among your dad’s siblings. When they realized the payout was lucrative, they immediately came around. Not long after your parents’ death, your grandfather died from grief. Soon afterward, the family discovered that everything was willed to you. This angered most of your uncles.”

“To keep you from your inheritance once you turned 30 years old, they conjured up this plan. Their associates wanted to kill you, but they settled on brainwashing you. They used drugs and planted people in your life to constantly feed you negative information about your past that never existed. They took you away from the house while the children were in school. When I filed the missing person report, of course it raised some eyebrows. They had threatened to kill you and our entire family if I looked for you. This was one of the reasons I couldn’t trust Nash. I felt he allowed this to happen. I searched everywhere for you for two years under their radar.”

With her hand across her mouth in total shock, Simone speaks softly, “I have to believe you. I’ve had visions of the stuff you mentioned. I did not realize it was a connection to my life. I thought I was crazy! This is too much. It makes sense when Officer Nash whispered something about the black book. He wanted me to hear it. OMG. I really thought I was losing my mind.”

“I understand baby! Please let me continue,” London says. He gently smiles at Simone. “For the last two years, I looked everywhere for you. I couldn’t find you. Until one day, Byron and I were riding down St. Charles Ave. Byron yelled, “That lady resembles mom.” My foot hit the brakes, causing the car to come to an abrupt stop. I looked over, and there you were, working on the two-story Queen Anne style house. You had been under my nose all this time. From that day on, I kept tabs on you. I organized a team including your uncle Nash to help me. I had to do some things that I am not proud to speak about. So, please don’t ask me about it. Just know you are safe, and you are free to live your life. The twenty thousand dollars was all that I could save of your inheritance.”

Simone stands to her feet, grabs the black book, documents, photos, and the $20,000 and walks to her room and closes the door.