by Kiki Swinson
“Okay,” I said. But I really wasn’t concerned about anything he was talking about. I wanted to find Jillian and make sure she was good because I knew the DEA was a block down the street.
While Tedo headed into the pharmacy through the front door, I casually walked around the building, giving off the impression that everything was fine because I knew once again that the DEA agents were watching the front of the pharmacy. As soon as I got around the corner of the building, I raced toward where Jillian had parked her car. It took me about ten seconds to get to the back of the building, so when my eyes landed on the taillights and the trunk of her car, they lit up. I saw Jillian sitting behind the steering wheel looking like she was waiting for the back door of the pharmacy to open. Parked in front of her car was Amir’s car. It wasn’t running and no one was inside of it, but I knew Amir would be coming out that door any minute now.
As expected, the back door of the pharmacy opened and when it did it flew open like a bomb had just exploded. I stopped in my tracks and watched as Amir and another Middle Eastern–looking guy bailed out the back door. They were both carrying boxes filled with prescription drugs. Amir raced by Jillian’s car with his box in tow, but the other guy running behind Amir turned toward Jillian, aimed his gun at her and shot it twice. The flash from the bullets sparked, one after the other. Jillian sat there in the driver seat while the window shattered into pieces. My heart collapsed into the pit of my stomach.
“Nooooooooooo!” I screamed and made a dash toward her.
While I was running toward her car, Tedo and another guy ran out the back door of the pharmacy. For a brief second Tedo looked at Jillian’s car and then he looked in my direction and saw that I was crying hysterically. “They shot Jillian!” I screamed.
Without thinking about it, Tedo and his homeboy aimed their guns at Amir and the other guy and started busting shots at them. Amir looked like he got hit first because he fell down to the ground and all the contents in his box scattered on the ground. “Get those motherfuckers! They shot my cousin. They shot her!” I screamed while I cried uncontrollably.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Pop! Pop! Pop! Tedo and his homeboy returned fire on Amir and his henchman.
“Jillian, come on. Get up. I gotta get you to the hospital,” I sobbed while I tried pushing her to the passenger side of the car. Her body was too heavy to move and she wasn’t responding. I panicked even more. “Come on, Jillian, get up. We gotta get you to the hospital,” I yelled. But once again I couldn’t get her to respond. Her body just lay there, limp.
Pop! Pop! Pop! I heard more gunfire. Then the back door of Jillian’s car opened. I looked up and saw Tedo throwing a box into the back seat. “We gotta get her to the hospital, but I can’t move her. Her body is too heavy!” I screamed.
“She’s dead. We can’t help her,” he yelled at me and then he ran away from the car. A couple of seconds later he came back with another box and threw it into the car. “They got Rick. We gotta go now!” He climbed into the front seat and proceeded to push Jillian out of the car. “Help me get her out of here. We gotta go,” he yelled at me.
“No, we can’t leave her,” I yelled back at him. But my words fell on deaf ears because he shoved her one good time and she fell down on the ground over top of me. Moments later, Tedo put the car in reverse and started backing it out of the one-way road. I couldn’t believe that he was leaving us like that. But unfortunately for him, he didn’t get far. When I looked and saw the black van barreling toward Tedo, I knew he wasn’t going anywhere.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! More shots rang out, aimed at the black van Agent Sims and the other agents were in. Seconds later, the agents returned fire at Tedo. I thought Tedo would’ve put Jillian’s car in drive and tried his luck driving back in my direction to see if he could hop one of these gates behind the pharmacy, but he didn’t. He pressed down on the accelerator and tried pushing the van backwards with Jillian’s car, but it wasn’t powerful enough to handle the weight of the van. So I figured that Tedo would stop the car and give up, but he went all in and so did the DEA agents. BOOM! BOOM! POP! BOOM! POP! POP! BOOM! BOOM! POP! POP! Within a matter of twenty seconds, Jillian’s car was riddled with over thirty bullets. And when the car stopped moving, I knew Tedo was in fact dead. There was no one left alive but me.
35
THERE’S MORE AT STAKE
I had no idea where to go from here. I was lying in a pool of my cousin’s blood and everything around me had crumbled. I was feeling a ton of different emotions right now but I couldn’t describe the first one. I rocked my body back and forth while I cradled my cousin’s head in my arms.
“I am so sorry, Jillian. I know we shouldn’t of did this, because you’d still be alive.” I continued to sob as I rocked her.
Off in the distance I saw the two ambulances scurrying toward me while Agent Sims talked to a couple of other agents. He looked over at me twice, and after standing there in his huddle, he started heading my way with two paramedics in tow. As soon as he got within arm’s distance of me, he stood there and told me that I had to let Jillian go so the coroner could carry her body away. I sat there with my face saturated with my tears and protested a little because I knew that if I let her go, I’d never be able to hold her like this again.
Finally, after a few minutes, I released her to them and then Agent Sims helped me stand up on my feet. “Come on, let’s walk over to the ambulance,” he instructed me, pointing to the vehicle. “After we get you cleaned up, we’re gonna have to have a serious talk.”
I didn’t respond to him. I couldn’t think about anything but Jillian. She was my everything. She was like my sister. Our bond was unbreakable. So, to know that I would never get to see or talk to her again tore me up inside. This had to be a bad dream.
While one of the paramedics checked me for signs of trauma or injuries, Agent Sims stood there with a look of disappointment on his face. “I know you’re hurt because you just lost your cousin, but I have to ask you, what happened out here? Why are there five dead people thrown in the middle of my investigation?”
In my head I tallied the five people he was talking about so I could give him a definitive answer. I knew my cousin Jillian was one, Tedo was number two, Tedo’s homeboy was three, the Middle Eastern guy that tried to take my cell phone at the front entrance of the pharmacy was number four. Now there were two people left, one being the third Middle Eastern guy that entered the pharmacy and the last person would Amir. “Who’s still alive?” I asked him.
“Amir. He’s still alive,” Agent Sims answered.
My heart rattled at the sound of Amir’s name. I couldn’t believe it. I thought he was dead. I saw him when he fell down on the ground after he was shot. “You know he’s the one that killed my cousin,” I lied. I mean, cause how dare he still be alive and my cousin wasn’t? He didn’t value life. He was a mean motherfucker from the pits of hell.
“How do you know that?” Agent Sims’s tone was harsh.
“What do you mean, how do I know? I saw him point his gun and fire at her. The other guy that was with him shot her too.” I gritted my teeth while the female paramedic started wiping away the blood from my face and arms.
“What was your cousin doing here? Why does your cousin’s car have boxes of prescription drugs in the back seat? Are you embroiled in what looks like another prescription drug heist?”
“No! That’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it, Misty? Why are all these people dead?” He wouldn’t let up.
“I don’t know,” I spat.
“You know something, and if I find out that you orchestrated this whole thing, I am going to lock you up for a long time. You’re looking at twenty years. So, you better take the time now to figure out what you are going to do,” he yelled at me. He said to the paramedic, “When you’re done with her, escort her to one of the squad cars and put her ass in the back of it.”
“Oh, so now you’re arresting me?” I yelled back at him as he walked away from me.
I began to wrestle with how I was going to go at this thing head-on. From the looks of things, they had me as a culprit. And there was no way I could pretend that I didn’t know anything about this robbery gone bad. Amir disliked me, so it would be a no-brainer to get him to talk. But will he? was the question. And if he decided to, then what was I going to do?
After the paramedic cleaned me up as much as she could, she and another paramedic escorted me to a patrol car and placed me in the back of it. I sat there with hurt in my heart and sorrow on my shoulders because I knew that my grandmother was going to lose it once she found out what happened to Jillian. My world had turned upside down.
* * *
The police officer assigned to the car I was in took me to the DEA office in downtown Norfolk twenty minutes later. I was shocked that I wasn’t handcuffed. I was even more shocked that when I was escorted inside the building, I saw the same two cops that wrote the robbery incident report down there talking to another set of DEA agents. After realizing that this shit was about to get real, I just shook my head because I knew that I was going to spend tonight in jail.
The cop turned me over to a female DEA agent. Immediately after she searched my body, she placed me in an interrogation room. “Want anything to drink?” she asked me.
“No, I’m fine,” I told her.
“Well, just let me know if you do,” she replied and then she left me in the room and closed the door. When I heard it lock, that was more confirmation that I wasn’t going anywhere. And all I could do at that moment was come up with a plan, because it was now everyone for themselves.
36
READ ME MY RIGHTS
I couldn’t believe these motherfuckers had me in a damn room for over an hour and no one had come in to say anything. What type of games were they playing with me? They were treating me like I was a hardcore criminal. I had never in my life been arrested or hurt anyone. So, why were they doing me like this? Was this their way of making me sweat? Was this one of their tactics, where they kept me isolated for a long time, shutting me out from everyone, giving me time to assess my situation and come to the conclusion that I needed to cooperate with them? Well, it was working.
Two hours later, Agent Sims and Agent Montclair finally showed up. When they walked in the room, they took a seat in front of me and started throwing questions at me, one at a time.
Agent Sims started off. “We just left the hospital and Amir was shot twice, but they weren’t life-threatening injuries, so he will live. Before we left him, he told us everything we need to know about what happened today.”
“Then why are you here wasting your time with me?” I replied.
“Because we wanna give you a chance to tell your side of the story. Why did your cousin and those two guys she brought with her try to rob the pharmacy? And what was your role in it?” Agent Sims continued.
“My cousin wasn’t there to rob the pharmacy. She came up there to see me.” I started lying, hoping they’d buy into it.
“If she came to see you, then why was she parked in the back of the pharmacy? That’s where all deliveries are made, right?” Agent Sims pressed me.
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, so then why was she back there?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s because you told her to go back there, right?” Agent Sims snapped.
“No, I didn’t,” I replied calmly. I knew I needed to maintain my composure. I needed to win this interrogation. My freedom depended on it.
“Well, what did you tell her?”
“I didn’t tell her anything.”
“Then why was she there?”
“I said I don’t know.” I placed my face in the palms of my hands. I needed to hide my face. I didn’t want to face the reality about what happened today. I just wanted this whole thing to go away.
Agent Sims slammed his left hand on the table. “Misty, tell me what the fuck happened out there today! Why did five people end up dead in the middle of my fucking investigation?”
“I told you that I dont’t know. Why don’t you ask Amir? He and the other guys with him are the ones that shot and killed my cousin. He was the one that was taking prescription drugs from the pharmacy to pay his debt. So, talk to him. He has all the answers to your questions!” I roared, while I visualized my cousin’s lifeless body.
“We know you have answers too. So, cut the shit. And think back to the other morning when two police officers came by and took the robbery report for the other shipment of opioids that were stolen. They spoke to you and Sanjay. And considering the fact that you walked into the pharmacy before Sanjay, they believe that you had a hand in that robbery.”
“That’s bullshit! Sanjay was using those drugs as payment to Ahmad and that other guy, and you know it. You said it yourself.”
“Misty, tell us, what was your cousin doing parked in the back of the pharmacy? And why were those two street thugs with her too?”
“I need to call my lawyer,” I said.
“Oh sure, you can call your lawyer. And when you get him or her on the phone, let them know that you were working with us on an ongoing investigation prior to this incident and that you’re a suspect in two robberies.”
“Are you done?” I asked sarcastically. I wasn’t feeling any of the bullshit he was saying.
“No, I’m not done. My partner and I know that you planned to have your cousin and those two street thugs rob the pharmacy. But the robbery was botched. I also know that after I prove my theory, I am going to have the judge throw the book at you. When I’m done with you, you won’t ever see the streets again.”
“What the fuck do you want me to say?” I yelled while my tear ducts opened up like the floodgates. I broke down. “That I set Amir up to get robbed by my cousin’s friends? And that she wasn’t supposed to get shot and killed? Well guess what? That’s exactly what happened. I fucked up. And now I can’t take none of it back.” I continued to sob.
Agent Montclair handed me a box of tissues. I thanked him and then I took a couple of them to wipe my face.
“Now see, was that hard?” Agent Sims asked me.
I didn’t wanna answer his question. The only thing I wanted to do now was call my grandmother to let her know what happened to Jillian. But what was I going to tell her? Would I tell her that it was my fault? Or would I tell her that Jillian acted on her own with this? I had yet another decision to make.
“I need to use the phone to call my grandmother. She needs to know what happened to Jillian,” I told him.
“We already have a car en route to your grandmother’s house now.”
“No. Tell them to turn around. I need to be the one to tell her,” I insisted.
Agent Sims looked at Agent Montclair and instructed him to call off the home visit with my grandmother. “Would you like for us to take you there to speak with her?” Agent Sims offered.
I couldn’t believe how fast he went from an asshole to a sympathetic human being. I took him up on his offer and about ten minutes later, we were on our way to see my grandmother. During the drive Agent Sims started plotting how he was going to use me to wrap up his investigation with Amir and Ahmad. “We’re gonna need you to testify in front of a grand jury after we make our arrests,” he said.
“Testify?! You said that all I had to do was plant the bug in Ahmad’s car and that’s all I would have to do,” I argued.
“That deal is off the table. You’re knee deep in this investigation now. There’s so much at stake at this point.”
I let out a long sigh. “I knew this bullshit was going to happen.”
“If you had done what we told you to do, then none of this would have happened. Your cousin would probably still be alive right now too. How do you think your grandmothe
r is going to react after you tell her that you had a hand in your cousin’s murder?”
“Leave me the fuck alone, already. See, you think this whole thing is a game. But’s it’s not. I lost someone very important today and all you wanna do is sit there in the front seat and mock me? That’s fucked up!”
“Misty, I’m sorry, but you can’t blame no one but yourself. You could’ve prevented all of this if you had just stuck to our plan. Not yours,” Agent Sims pointed out.
“I’m done talking about it,” I replied and then I turned my focus to the birds flying in the sky. They looked so fucking free! I swear, I would do anything right now to be free. But that opportunity was gone.
37
DON’T BLAME ME
My grandmother was sitting in her normal spot in the living room when the agents and I walked into the den. I introduced them and before I could tell her why they were there with me, she already knew. “I saw the news so just tell me where they took her body?” she asked Agent Sims.
“She’s down at the coroner’s office,” Agent Sims replied.
“Did you get the men that did it to her?” My grandmother pressed the issue.
“Yes, ma’am, we did.”
“So, what happens now?” she wanted to know.
“We’re gonna seek justice for your granddaughter. But in doing so, we’re gonna need Misty to help put the guy that shot Jillian, and his crime family, in prison.”
My grandmother looked at me and said, “How do you feel about it?”
“I don’t have a choice, Nana,” I told her.
“Oh, you have a choice. We all have choices. You just got to figure out which one works for you,” she corrected me. “Have you spoken with your mother?”
“No, ma’am. You’re the first person I talked to since the incident from earlier.”
“Well, then you need to call her.”
“I will,” I assured her.
“Ma’am, will you excuse us?” Agent Sims said, and then he grabbed me by the arm and escorted me off to the front of the house. Before he could utter one word, my cell phone started ringing. When I looked down at the caller ID the text on the screen said, Unknown. I looked up from my cell phone at Agent Sims.
