The Black Market

by Kiki Swinson

  “Cool,” Jillian said.

  “Thanks,” I said while I watched him hold the front door open for April so she could exit. Right after they closed the door, I walked over there and locked it. And then I walked over to the living room window and peered through the blinds to see any other movement outside other than Tedo and April. More importantly, I need to see if there was movement coming from any of my neighbors’ curtains or miniblinds, and when it seemed like everything was quiet, I took another look toward the parking lot while Tedo was driving away and noticed that Terrell’s car was parked three cars over. Once again panic stricken, it felt like I was about to have a panic attack and Jillian noticed it too.

  “What’s wrong? Who’s out there?” she asked me. I could heard the alarm in her voice.

  “I forgot that Terrell’s car is parked outside.”

  “Oh shit! What are we going to do?” Jillian asked me.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where are his keys?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe Tedo and April got em. Just call them.”

  “All right. Hold on,” she said and started dialing his number.

  “He’s gotta have em.” I continued to talk while I waited for her to get him on the phone.

  “Hey, Tedo, did you by any chance find homeboy’s car keys?” Jillian asked him and then she fell silent.

  “Oh, okay. Thanks, man. I’ll talk to you later,” she said and then she ended the call.

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he put ’em on bathroom sink.”

  I let out a long sigh. “Thank you!” I said and then I headed to the bathroom.

  Right after I grabbed the keys to Terrell’s car I got Jillian to follow me in her car so I could find a perfect spot to ditch his vehicle.

  After driving for thirty minutes, I finally decided to drive Terrell’s car into the swamp on the back roads of Chesapeake. This property belonged to the city of Virginia Beach, so no one was allowed on it. The water was green and muddy with tons of trash and debris. I figured if his car was ever found, it wouldn’t be recognizable and they would never recover any of my DNA in the vehicle because of the water.

  “Take me home,” I told Jillian as soon as I got back into her car. She smiled at me and drove off.

  I’m normally a silent thinker when I’m in a car going from point A to point B. If she wouldn’t have sparked up a conversation with me during our drive back to my place, the entire drive would’ve been silent.

  “Can you believe it’s almost three o’clock in the morning?” she started off.

  “No, I can’t. It has been one long day,” I commented. “And as soon as I get home, I’m gonna jump in my bed. Don’t know if I’m going to get any sleep after all the shit that happened tonight, but I will try,” I continued.

  “Well, I’m tired so I’m crashing on your sofa as soon as I walk through your front door.”

  “Lucky you,” I said, and then I turned my attention to the houses and cars we passed. “Did Tedo tell you exactly how much he wanted for cleaning my apartment?” I asked her while my focus was still on the cars and houses we passed.

  “He just wants an extra 30K of pills so he can look out for April.”

  “What do you think they’re gonna do with his body?” I wanted to know.

  “He gotta uncle that works at a funeral home that does cremations. That’s where Tedo takes everybody’s body. Whether he killed them or not.”

  “Are you kidding me? He does that shit on a regular?”

  “Yeah, and everybody knows it too. Tedo gets calls like this all the time. If he ain’t selling drugs, killings niggas, chopping up their bodies and cleaning spots up. He’s like an all-purpose kind of dude.”

  “Don’t you think that’s kind of sick? I mean, you’re listing his credentials like he’s a scholar or something.”

  Jillian chuckled. “No, I’m not. I’m just telling you all the shit he does. That’s all.”

  “Do you seriously think that he won’t rat me out later on down the line? I see on the ID channel all the time where people would ride for you and won’t snitch you out. But ten years down the line, their prison time is getting to them and that’s when they start singing like a bird.”

  “Nah, that ain’t what Tedo is about. You’re good, so stop worrying.”

  “What about you?”

  “What do you mean? What about me?”

  “Look, I know you love your man and all, but you know you can’t tell Edmund, right?”

  “Yes, I know that.”

  “Jillian, you promise? Because I know how you get when you and him laid up in the bed having pillow talk and then it slips out. Do you know what that would do to me if that happened?”

  “Nothing is going to happen, so stop being paranoid. You know I got you.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yes, I promise.”

  * * *

  When Jillian and I finally got back to my apartment, she did just like she said that she would do. She crashed down on my sofa not even three minutes after walking into my apartment. I ventured off into my bedroom, got into my bed, and was only able to get two hours of sleep. I woke back up at five thirty in the morning.

  I got out of bed and went into the living room and noticed that Jillian was still asleep, so I went into the kitchen, made me a cup of hot tea, and then I took it back into the bedroom with me. I watched the news over and over for the next two-and-a-half hours until Jillian woke up and joined me in my bedroom. “How long have you been up?” she asked me after she crawled onto my bed.

  “Two, three hours now, I think,” I replied immediately after I swallowed the tea that was in my mouth.

  “How are you feeling? Feeling any remorse or regrets right now?”

  “Of course I am. All morning I’ve been replaying everything that happened last night and have been beating myself up because I really could’ve prevented what I did from happening.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but you can’t do that to yourself. It will drive you crazy.”

  Feeling the regrets that Jillian had just mentioned gave me an overwhelming burst of emotional pain and I broke down in tears. “Why didn’t he just leave me alone? Why didn’t he just stay at home and not bother me? We’ve been broken up for the past couple of months and he couldn’t get it through his head that we weren’t getting back together.” I sobbed uncontrollably. Jillian moved her body closer to mine and embraced me.

  “I know it doesn’t seem like you’re gonna get past this, but you will,” she said as she massaged my back with one of her hands.

  “What’s gonna happen if the cops find out about it?”

  “They won’t, so stop saying it.”

  “Whatever happens, please don’t turn your back on me.”

  “Misty, you’re talking crazy. I would never to do that to you. You’re family. You’re blood.”

  “You can’t tell nobody. Not even Grandma or Edmund.”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  Jillian stayed with me for another hour in my bedroom, trying to console me. It seemed like it worked, but as soon as she left my apartment, I released another floodgate of tears from my eyes. I wanted to crawl underneath my blanket and shut myself off from the rest of the world and hope that they forgot all about me. But I knew this scenario was a bit far-fetched, so I lay there in my bed until I got a phone call from Agent Sims. My heart started pumping erratically. Was he calling me to say that he knew about Terrell’s murder? And that he was about to take me into custody? Whatever it was, I wasn’t ready for it.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Hope you had a good night’s sleep because we’ve got to make something happen today,” he replied.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked him, needing him to tell me what he was referring to.

  “I’m talking about the dinner date with Ahmad. You gotta make that happen today,” he insisted.

  “And you need this done today?” I a
sked him, even though I knew the answer. I just needed him to talk more so I could get a gauge on his mood.

  “We’ve already discussed this.”

  “All right, don’t pressure me. I’ll make it happen,” I assured him, but at the same time feeling sick to my stomach for the emotional and physical turmoil I experienced last night, trying to prevent Terrell from killing me.

  “What time does your shift start today?”

  “In a couple of hours.”

  “You’re still going to wear the body camera we furnished you with, right?”

  “Yes,”

  “Okay. Well, look vibrant. Chop! Chop!” he said.

  Instead of commenting I disconnected our call. I wasn’t in the mood to hear all that unnecessary excitement. There was nothing to be excited about. People were dying around us and he wasn’t to be happy about it. Well, I say fuck him! And as soon as I was done with this whole thing, I was getting out of here. Move far away from all of this bullshit! I wanted a normal life and this wasn’t it.

  * * *

  Amir was inside the pharmacy when I walked through the front door. As usual I spoke first, like I always do, and then I went on to do my same routine. “Have you spoken to Sanjay?” I asked him, just to get a reaction from him. I also needed to get his reaction on camera so Agent Sims and the rest of those idiots could see that I was doing what I was instructed to do.

  He turned around and snapped at me. “Why do you want to know that?” This guy even pointed his finger at me too. Had I hit a nerve?

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I stood my ground.

  “Stop asking me questions about my brother. What I do and he does is none of your business. So don’t ask me about him anymore,” he spat. I could see the veins bulging in his temples.

  “No problem. But will you at least tell him I said hello?” I continued, hoping what I had just said would send him over the edge.

  “I’m not telling him anything. Now leave me alone about him and get back to work,” he instructed me and then he turned back around to his computer monitor and started typing away.

  I shook my head in disgust because this idiot thought that he was intimidating me by getting loud and pointing fingers at me. If he knew that I had just killed my ex-boyfriend because that bastard put his hands on me, he’d think twice before he talked to me like that ever again.

  Instead of feeding into his bullshit tactics, I logged into the system and once again started processing our online prescription orders. I couldn’t believe that we didn’t have a lot of them because it was the first of the month, and our elderly clientele spends the bulk of their social security checks refilling their meds. But for some reason, that wasn’t happening today. So I turned around toward Amir and asked him if he knew why we didn’t have an influx of online orders today.

  He turned toward me and said, “Don’t ask me anymore questions. Just process the orders that are there. Now, if you give me anymore problems I will fire you today.”

  I swear, I was seething on the inside because of the way this asshole was talking to me. He didn’t have to speak to me like that. I only asked him a simple question pertaining to this fucking store. Well, if he didn’t give a fuck about the sales, then I didn’t give a fuck either.

  While I carried on with what I was doing, the front door of the pharmacy opened. I looked up and saw one of our faithful customers named Mr. Childress entering. But when I saw Ahmad walking into the pharmacy behind him, my heart skipped a beat. He gave me a huge smile as he walked toward me. He seemed happy to see me, but when I looked back at Amir through my peripheral vision, he had a very different expression. I could tell that he wasn’t at all happy to see Ahmad walking toward us.

  “Hi, Mr. Childress, how can I help you today?” I asked the elderly guy.

  He handed me his prescription document. “It’s a beautiful day outside. You should be out there rather than in here,” he commented.

  “That’s why I’m here to take her out to lunch,” Ahmad walked up behind him and said as he stepped behind the counter where Amir and I were.

  Amir’s facial expression went from frustration to rage. “Ahmad, we have a lot of work to do today.”

  “Well, hire someone else to do it, because she’s going out to lunch with me.”

  I kept my back slightly turned toward Amir, pretending to process Mr. Childress’s meds, but I watched Amir’s demeanor through my peripheral vision and he was not a happy camper. He was slow to speak after Ahmad told him to hire someone new. I can’t believe that I started feeling sorry for the moron, so much so that I jumped to his defense. “He’s right, we do have a lot of work to do,” I chimed in. I knew this wasn’t a move the DEA agents wanted me to make, but it had started getting really awkward in his store.

  “I’m with the fella here. Take her out and show her a good time,” Mr. Childress interjected.

  “See, this gentleman knows what he’s talking about.” Ahmad smiled as he pointed to Mr. Childress.

  “She goes to lunch in an hour. Can you wait until then?” Amir asked Ahmad passively.

  “No, I can’t wait for another hour. I’m here now.” Ahmad pressed the issue. And as badly as I wanted Amir to stand up to Ahmad like he does to me, I was enjoying the way he was being pushed around. He was a fucking coward and Ahmad made that known.

  “All right. All right. She can go,” Amir finally agreed. But he knew he really didn’t have a choice any way you looked at it. Amir feared Ahmad, and if you wanna know the truth, I feared him too. The thought of going somewhere with him alone was frightening in itself. But I knew that I had to do it, so I started preparing myself mentally for this venture.

  Ahmad stood there next to me, literally looking over my shoulders while I worked on the customer’s order. I felt so uneasy. It felt like he could see the wire I was wearing and that at any moment he was going to brush against me to confirm his suspicion. I swear, I wanted to just fall out on the floor right then and die. This guy was giving me so much anxiety and at one point it felt like I couldn’t breathe because my life was being sucked out of me. But I knew that I had to play it cool. I had to maintain control of my actions, do what I was told and this too shall pass.

  It only took me ten minutes to fill Mr. Childress’s order and after I handed it to him, he smiled at me and then he looked at Ahmad and said, “She’s a beauty, so take care of her.”

  Ahmad smiled back at Mr. Childress and said, “Don’t worry. I will.”

  32

  WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?

  “Are you ready?” Ahmad asked me immediately after I handed Mr. Childress his medicine. I wanted to tell him to haul ass, but I couldn’t speak. Per Agent Sims’s instructions, I had to spend some alone time with this evil and murdering motherfucker, long enough so that I could set up a bugging device in his vehicle. Sounded like a suicide mission to me.

  “I need to use the ladies’ room first and then I’ll be ready,” I told him and then I walked off. I grabbed my purse from my cubby and took it with me to the restroom. Right after I closed the door I locked it to make sure that no one came in behind me. I couldn’t risk Amir or Ahmad catching me while I removed the body cam and wire from my body. I knew I wouldn’t leave this pharmacy alive if that happened. I had to be on point with every step I took with these dudes. They’re mafia cats and I can’t measure up to that. They have game passed down from one generation to the next. I only know that nigga Tedo and I haven’t been knowing him long. So, what do I have as far as street credibility? Nothing or no one.

  The body camera and wire slid off with ease, so I stuck them into a small pocket in my purse and then I zipped it up. I wanted to make sure that the bugs that Agent Sims gave me to put in Ahmad’s car were still tucked away in my purse and that they were accessible when I needed to pull them out. When I saw that they were still in the place I put them, I closed my purse back up. Right when I was about to walk back out of the bathroom, I remembered that I needed to call Agent Sims and let him kn
ow that there’d been a change of plans. Thank God, he answered on the first ring. “We just saw Ahmad go into the pharmacy, so how’s everything going? Are you okay?” Agent Sims asked me.

  “He came to take me to lunch instead of dinner,” I whispered.

  “You’re going, right?”

  “Yes, that’s why I’m calling you.”

  “Don’t forget that this is your chance to stick the bugs into his car. One in the front seat and one in the back,” he instructed me.

  “I know. I know,” I whispered once more.

  “Well, be careful. But don’t worry, because me and the other agents will be with you every step of the way.” Agent Sims tried to reassure me, but I knew this was straight bullshit. All he cared about was this stupid-ass case. I bet if he knew that I killed Terrell last night, he’d tell me to plant the bugs and then meet him at the station so he could lock my ass up. It’s all about them and nothing else. Bastards!

  * * *

  Ahmad was waiting for me behind the counter when I exited the ladies’ room. Amir was standing there next to him with a mean grin on his face. I know he wanted to call me every bad name in the book, but he knew Ahmad wasn’t going to have it.

  Ahmad beamed. “You ready?”

  “Yes, I am,” I replied. But inside I wasn’t. This guy scared me to death. I felt like at any minute he’d pull out his gun and shoot me. That’s not how I wanna leave this earth.

  Ahmad walked me outside and escorted me in the direction of his car. When he hit the car alarm, I saw the headlight flicker on a Maserati SUV. Its exterior was black with black tinted windows, and when he opened the passenger-side door, I noticed that the interior was all black as well; the only other color I saw was the brown wooden finishes on the dashboard and around the steering wheel. The car was immaculate.

  “Do you eat Indian cuisine?” he asked me after he started the ignition.

  “No,” I said. I was extremely nervous sitting in this car with this man. I swear, it felt like he was going to take me somewhere, kill me, and dump my body underneath the Berkley Bridge.

  “Great, because I’m going to take you to my family’s restaurant on Military Highway, called Indian Delight. Have you eaten there before?”