The Carmen Chronicles: Clara confronts Solomon Crawford

Solomon was pissed by Clara’s cool demeanor when she walked into his office. She sat across from his desk without an invitation to sit down and crossed her long legs. Before he married Kandace, he would’ve been struck by her quiet beauty, café au lait brown skin, cropped curly hair and sparkling brown eyes.

Through his married eyes, her figure, which reminded him of a figure 8, was just all right. Nowhere near as exquisite as his wife’s. But that was neither here nor there. What in the hell did she want?

“You got five minutes,” he growled.

“Mr. Crawford, Carmen De La Croix was a woman with serious mental issues,” she began. “And I know she caused you and your family a lot of pain but . . .”

He threw his hand up. “She tried to kill my wife and me – but her brain was defective so I’m supposed to give a fuck?”

“At least let me tell her story. She deserves to have some sympathy.”

“I’m not Mick Jagger. I have no sympathy for the devil or her minions. Why is this story so important to you? Hoping to win some kind of award for dredging up my family’s pain? That’s how you journalists operate isn’t it?”

She folded her arms across her ample chest. “Mr. Crawford, this story isn’t about you. It is about a brilliant, yet disturbed woman. Carmen wasn’t born this way. She was created by people who didn’t care about her or her life. She was mistreated and stomped on her whole life. Until she met you. Even as Chelsea, you showed her a bit more kindness than the people who were supposed to love her. Then when she transformed herself, she felt as if you . . .”

“Get the hell out of my office.”

“There must have been something about her that you saw value in. Otherwise, you would’ve never made her such an integral part of your life. Don’t you want to issue some kind of comment on the woman she was?”

“Again, get the hell out of my office and my life. That woman was a murderer, that woman was a serial killer and tried to kill my wife. And what was this information that you wanted to give me about her. Or was that your false pretense to get into my office?”

Clara reached into her purse and pulled out a file. “Carmen should have been in an institution. I’ve found her real family and they’re going to sue the state of New York. That’s what this series is about. I just want you to know another side of her.” She rose to her feet and smiled at Solomon. “Again, this isn’t about you. I just hope you won’t use your influence to stop me from doing my job.”

That was exactly what Solomon planned to do. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her that. But this story was going to die. 

Check out No Other Lover Will Do for more about Carmen, Kandace and Solomon.