by Chunichi
Finding Jewel had been much easier than I had anticipated. The first thing I did was to go to all of her known addresses. She obviously was at none of them.
Next, I checked the prison and court records to see if I could find anything out. I saw that her case had been dismissed, and there was no record of her being in prison. So I knew she was still on the outside.
The last thing I did was put a trace on her cell phone. Being an undercover cop, I had associated with many underground types, and the one I needed at the moment was a master computer hacker. He went by the nickname CyberRat because he said he could root around and find any information you needed. It was not even a day before CyberRat came back to me with a general location for Jewel, and more information than I had asked for. He had hacked into her e-mails and found some information pertaining to her looking for employment. I knew this information was going to come in handy. I packed up a suitcase and was headed for DC an hour after I received the information.
Being a cop on a stakeout was one thing, but being a stalker was on a whole other level. I’d made arrangements for Jewel to come into the bookstore, Barnes and Noble, to meet a person named Joel. Because I had access to her e-mails I had replied to her, acting as a potential employer. She answered, and we agreed to meet for an interview. Little did she know, I’d been pretending to be this Joel guy the entire time.
I knew Jewel was about her dollars, and from the sound of her e-mails, her money was getting scarce, so I played on that. I sent her an e-mail guaranteeing her fast money with little risk. I knew it would sound too good for her to pass up.
As soon as I walked in the store, I spotted Jewel sitting at a table in the café. I had come a little early, so I could pick the perfect spot and relax a bit before approaching her, but that plan was out the door. Jewel must have been real hungry for cash to show up this early. Normally, with her attitude and ego, she would show up late, to prove she was in charge.
Seeing her there already threw me off my game. I almost turned around and walked right back out, but
I convinced myself to stay. The opportunity had finally come for me to confess my love. It was what kept me going when I was at my lowest point. I took a deep breath in and walked over to Jewel. I was nervous, and my stomach was turning upside down as I approached her.
“Jewel,” I carefully greeted her. She was taking a peek at the latest Cosmo magazine.
“Misty?” she responded, taking off her sunglasses. “What the fuck is this?”
“May I please sit down?” I asked, expecting her to decline and possibly even smack me in my face. If she declined, I was already prepared to beg her to listen.
“What the fuck? I thought you was dead?”
“I’m not. It’s really me. The force just made that up to try and get rid of me. I’ve been thinking of you for so long.” My eyes watered. I was so happy to speak with her. She hadn’t ran off or slapped me. I was hopeful that she felt the same way about me as I felt about her.
“Are you fuckin’ serious? Fuck that! Get the hell away from me! You come into my life to get me set up with the feds, and I’m just supposed to fuckin’ welcome you back? When I saw your face flash on the news with the words, ‘Officer killed in the line of duty,’ I was happy that shit happened to you. All the shit I told you, all the times I spilled my guts to my caring nurse, when the whole time you was a fuckin’ cop! I trusted you, bitch! You were my best fuckin’ friend!” Jewel shouted then stormed off.
I took a deep breath and prayed that the words coming out of my mouth would make her listen to me. “Give me five minutes. That’s it. I won’t bother you again. Please, Jewel, I’m begging you.” I followed behind her.
Jewel turned around, and I braced myself for a smack to the face, but to my surprise, she said, “You got three fuckin’ minutes. Don’t waste my time. You’ve stolen enough of my life already!”
“Well, um–” I began to stutter, but Jewel cut me off.
“Oh, and let me guess–You’re Joel. Me trying to make some money was a smokescreen for you. What a fuckin’ asshole! Wow, look at the time. I’ve talked for one of your three minutes. You better hurry up. You may proceed now,” she said, looking at her watch.
I took another deep breath. “You need to know that I have loved you since the first time I saw you. You were lying there in the hospital, and you looked so beautiful even in such a fragile state. It may sound cliché as hell, but it’s the truth. I got kicked off the case for you. My colleagues had a hunch I was tampering with evidence to protect you, and they were right. I’ll do anything for you. I was offered a desk job, but I turned it down after getting hurt. The bottom line, I’ve been suspended until further notice.”
Jewel shook her head. “This isn’t making sense to me.”
“Jewel, I was tampering with evidence so the heat could come off you.” “What?”
“I couldn’t have you doing prison time. I was never going to testify against you or bring evidence that would lead to a conviction because I couldn’t bear the fact that it would split us apart. I was falling in love with you. I am in love with you. I risked everything for you. The force is all I had. It was my daily motivation, and I lived to work undercover. Since it’s been gone, I’ve had a chance to realize there is a life outside of that. You’re the only thing I’ve ever loved, other than being an agent. And that’s why I’m here today. I need you in my life.”
“So are the police still watching us?” “Yes,” I answered honestly. “That’s why they faked my death. Touch and you had to believe I was dead so that they could continue their case. The force felt that you guys would get relaxed and feel like your case was open and shut, and soon let your guards down.”
“Wow!” She looked off into space.
“Although I’m not on the force anymore, I still have a few friends that keep me in the loop. I refuse to let you get wrapped up in Touch’s shit. The best thing you could have done was move out. You need to stay away from him. They want Touch so bad.”
“You’ve lied before, former best friend,” Jewel said. “So how do I know you’re not lying to me right now? Why should I trust you?”
“Jewel, I love you,” I simply stated.
“This is a lot to take in. You’ve deceived me once. I don’t know if I could ever forgive you. I didn’t even know you were gay.”
“All the signs were there. You just didn’t want to notice. After getting hurt, I was placed in physical therapy, and to get through the pain, all I did was think about you giving me another chance. No more lies and deceit, Jewel, I promise. I’m standing here asking for forgiveness.”
“I gotta go,” Jewel said.
It was obvious she couldn’t take anymore. It was just too much for her.
“Can I at least give you my number, and maybe you can call me some time?” I asked with my best puppy-dog face.
“I guess,” she responded, pulling out her cell phone.
This was definitely a good start, better than I’d ever expected. I walked out of the store a happy camper. As soon as I got in my car, my cell phone rang. I pressed talk without even looking at the number, excited that Jewel had decided to call right away. I was hoping she had decided to grab a bite to eat and talk about things.
“Hello,” I said right away, expecting to hear Jewel’s voice on the other end.
“Hey, baby,” a voice said.
I took the phone away from my ear and looked at the caller ID. That definitely wasn’t Jewel’s voice. The caller ID said Jamie.
“Hello?” Jamie said in response to my moment of silence.
“Hey, Jamie. How are you?” I said, a little disappointed that it was him instead of Jewel.
“I’m good. Missing you.”
“Awww! How sweet! I’m in the middle of something right now . Can I call you back in a few?” I said, rushing to get Jamie off the phone.
“Sure. No problem,” he said before hanging up.
I really wasn’t feeling Jamie, or any man for that ma
tter. Since my time in rehab, I had come to terms with the fact that I was a lesbian. I knew, deep down inside, the other night with Jamie was a big mistake. It was a moment of weakness, a test to see if I was really gay. The only good thing that came out of it was, it confirmed my love for Jewel, and that I definitely liked women. I should have never fooled around with him.
He’d just caught me at a vulnerable moment. Somehow I had to get Jamie out my life and Jewel in it. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but it had to happen.
I pondered this dilemma all the way back to Virginia. I’d driven all the way from Virginia Beach just to meet with Jewel. As I drove, I thought long and hard about my feelings for Jamie and my feelings for Jewel. No matter from which angle I looked at things, it always pointed back at Jewel. For some reason, I just couldn’t let her slip through my fingers again.
By the time I’d hit Seven Cities, my mind was made up. I had to get rid of Jamie. I saw no upside to keeping him in my life.
Chapter 16
“Does Someone Have Voodoo on Me?”
Touch
In all my years of being in the drug game, I ain’t never had no fucking body come where I lay my head at and put their hands on me. This is some bullshit, I thought to myself as I looked over my numerous scars and my missing tooth in the bathroom mirror.
I couldn’t believe that shit had really happened to me. The fucked-up thing about it, I couldn’t remember a gotdamn thing about the previous night. I was seriously going to have to consider not getting so fucked up on booze and weed. What I did know was, it had to be a nigga to do that shit. Sure, I thought about that psycho Lisa, but there was no way that bitch would have the strength to tie me up.
I wracked my brain trying to figure out who the fuck it could have been. I ain’t had no beef on the streets, so it wasn’t from a business associate. Maybe it was Lisa and some nigga that did this to me, I thought as I prepared to hit the road. If so, that bitch was reaching new levels of crazy, and I would need to end her life for that shit.
I was headed straight to the dentist. There was no way in hell I was walking around town looking like a fucking crackhead with missing teeth. As I got dressed, I continued to think through all the people it might be that fucked me up. That’s when that nigga Rico popped in my head. All of a sudden, he’d moved to the top of my list of suspects. If it wasn’t for Jewel’s dumb ass inviting him into my house, the other night probably would have never happened. If the bitch was so eager to fuck, why couldn’t she fuck him at his house?
Fuming from the thoughts of this nigga fucking me up like he did, I called Jewel up. I wanted her to know that she was going to be responsible for this nigga’s death. I got her voice mail. I called back to back three more times and got her voice mail every time. The last time, I decided to leave a message.
“Jewel, you know who the hell this is. Answer the phone when I call you. Your boyfriend paid me a visit.
You should have said your final good-byes the last time you saw him because he’s dead for sure now!” I screamed in the phone.
I was hoping that message would get her attention. I went to take a leak, and before I could finish the phone was ringing. I knew it was Jewel. I answered right away ready to light her ass up.
“Yo, bitch, you got it coming to you when I see you,” I yelled into the phone as soon as I picked up.
“Yo, nigga, this Deuce. What’s up with you? Long night last night?” Deuce laughed.
What the fuck he mean by that? Is he referring to me getting a beat-down? Is he involved?
Many thoughts went streaming through my mind. Now I had another suspect to consider. The last thing I wanted to do was to off this nigga. It could cause some major problems with Jimmy and me. Which would seriously affect my money. I didn’t even bother explaining my situation with that nigga. We had a brief business talk, and I got off the phone.
Despite the bullshit I was going through, I had to get on with my day. I hopped in my truck and started out the neighborhood. I didn’t even get to the end of the block before it shut off on me.
“Damn!” I banged the steering wheel then got out.
I had to wonder if this day could get any worse.
Thinking maybe it was the battery, I popped the hood.
When I got out of the truck, I noticed my gas tank was open with a little note tied to it. The note read, “Sweeter than sugar, baby.”
“Damn it!” I yelled to no one in particular. Just when I thought it was over, Lisa struck again.
This bitch is relentless, I thought. I looked down at my ringing cell phone. It was Jimmy.
“Hey, Jimmy. What’s up?” I greeted him, trying to maintain my composure on the phone.
“There is a slight problem with our pictures,” he said, letting me know there was a problem with the business.
“From my end, there isn’t a problem. The pictures seem clear to me. Everything is accounted for,” I said, assuring Jimmy that all the figures added up.
“I will be home soon to straighten it out.”
“All right. So everything good otherwise?” I asked.
“See you soon,” Jimmy responded, cutting me off, and hung up the phone.
I could tell by that conversation that things weren’t good. I wasn’t too worried because I knew I made sure everything was accounted for at all times. I wasn’t no rookie to the game, so I knew to not even be a dollar short when working on consignment. Having Jimmy back on the street was going to be nice. I couldn’t wait for his release.
I called up ma dukes to take me to the dentist. I had to get my grill right, but after that, it was pure relaxation. I looked forward to locking myself in the house and drinking a few Heinekens, smoking a blunt, while watching my DVD collection of Martin. I had to do something to keep from catching a murder charge. I didn’t know if it would be that bitch Lisa or that punk Rico, but somebody was gonna die soon.
Chapter 17
“Making a Change”
Jewel
I finally mustered up the energy to listen to the numerous voice mails Touch had left. I already had an idea what to look forward to. Bitch was my middle name to him if he was angry.
Touch barked on the phone, “Bitch, I know you were behind this. Don’t worry. We’ll get another battle together. This time, I will be the only one standing. I thought you learned your lesson last time I beat your ass. Sending that nigga to my fuckin’ house. Is you crazy?”
The next few messages after that started off the same way, “Bitch this, bitch that.” Here we go again, I thought. Others messages followed, but they were kind and sweet, with Touch damn near begging me to come back to him. Blah, blah, blah, it was all the same shit with Touch–Yell at me, hit me then proclaim how sorry you are and how much you love me. I deleted the messages. I was really starting to tire of his stupid-ass. I thought about calling him and chewing his ass out, but I dialed another number instead. Without giving it a second thought, I pressed send.
“Hello,” I heard on the other end of the phone.
Although I wanted to speak, no words came out. I didn’t really have a reason to call. I was just feeling lonely and wanted someone to talk to. It didn’t hurt that I had been intrigued by Misty’s offer ever since we’d met at the bookstore café.
“Hello?” the voice said again.
“Hi.” I managed to force out one word.
“Jewel?” Misty sounded excited.
“Yes. I had no one else to call.”
“Hey, baby. I’m so happy you called. I never thought I would see this day. I’m here for you. What’s on your mind?”
“Just going through the highs and lows of Touch. I just checked my voice messages, and it was the same old thing I have been dealing with. It seemed like every other word was bitch. Men don’t understand how much that word really hurts. I guess they were going-away presents.”
“That’s crazy. Jewel, I told you, you deserve better. No man should ever disrespect you like that,” Misty said, a bit of a
nger in her tone.
“Plus, he fucked some girl name Lisa and end up beating her or something. They went to court, and he won the case, and now she’s out for revenge. This chick came to my house and everything. It was a mess.”
“He cheats on you, and now Lisa won’t go away. Jewel, this is crazy. I can’t believe you are even keeping contact with him. Why don’t you get a new phone? I’ll pay for it.” She sounded so soothing.
“You know how hard it was to hold my composure when Touch told me he had to go to court behind her?”
“I can tell you’re still hurting behind all of this. Sounds like you’re getting angry all over again just talking about it.”
“You’re probably right. I feel like a hole has been ripped through my heart. I don’t know what to do. I thought he was my best friend, but friends don’t treat each other like this, do they?”
“No, Jewel, they don’t. My best advice to you is to separate yourself from him. It’s the only way you will get strong, independent, and feel more secure about yourself. What can I do to help you? I am here for you, no matter what.”
“You’re right. It’s time to make a change. Thanks for talking to me, Misty. I really need an ear to listen. You always were a good listener, even if it was to try and get information for the feds.”
“I am so sorry about all of that, Jewel. Even though I was trying to put Touch away, I would never have hurt you. It seemed like I was interested in what you had to say, because I was. I still am. You are an amazing and beautiful woman.”
Misty’s sincerity made me cry. No one had been this kind to me in a long while. All the stress of my life with Touch was coming out through those tears.
“Thanks, Misty. You are too kind. I have to be going now. You’ve given me a lot to think about,” I said, wiping my tears.
I was glad I’d called Misty. It felt like the best decision I had made in a while. I found comfort in talking with her. It felt familiar. Before I knew she was a cop, when we would have our conversations, I’d always appreciated her advice. She was so confident and knew the answer to everything. She always seemed to know what to say, and at the right time. Once again I found myself putting my trust in Misty. I prayed to God I wasn’t making a horrible mistake like I’d done in the past.
