Dirty DNA (G Street Chronicles Presents)

by BlaQue

  Gatsby hadn’t thought much of her travels until she had rushed out of the building about an hour or so later in a big hurry. She had a look of worry on her face. She got in her car and broke all types of laws and speed limits from one side of the city to the other. Gatsby hadn’t tried to stop her or detain her so he could see if he could find out what had her shook up. Somewhere on M Street, Gatsby had lost her and figured she was heading home.

  Unfortunately, YaSheema had come home to a grizzly scene. Her father had been brutally murdered in his home and long-time family friend, Oscar Jones had been critically wounded and was fighting for his life in a nearby hospital. Once the officers were able to get YaSheema out of the house and to the station, she wouldn’t talk.

  Gatsby knew she knew more than she was letting on, but she wouldn’t open her mouth about it. Something, or someone, had led her home. The call for distress didn’t come over the police radio until after he had followed her good into Georgetown and lost her. So far, the girl had witnessed her boyfriend murdered, and then someone tried to wipe out her entire family. Gatsby had no idea how he was going to get her to talk, but he had to try. He tried to make sense of all of the senseless violence that seemed to be following YaSheema and could not make heads or tails of any of it. No one should have that much bad luck. Gatsby had covered all of his bases before even trying to question her. His questioning of the girl’s “so called” uncle was useless. He had been Medevac’d out to Prince Georges Hospital Center. He said the same thing the police already knew. Nothing.

  He said he had been preparing to escort Mr. Clayton out on some random errands and was met in the garage by masked individuals. That was all he could provide. Gatsby popped open his bottle of antacids. He shook three out of their container and ate all of them and washed them down with a warm Pepsi. Gatsby pushed the pencil round and round his desk before pushing his roll chair away from his desk and standing up. Hating to be the one to have to question the girl again; Gatsby prepared himself for what he knew was going to be damn near impossible. Getting anything out of the daughter of the late, kingpin, Darnell S. Clayton would take a miracle. She had already proved to be a hard ass.

  Walking out of his office and into the questioning room, he turned the knob to find YaSheema sitting with a blank stare on her beautiful ebony face. She looked as though her soul was lost. The shit that happened to her was worse for her than the hit on her boyfriend. She had all the classic signs of shock starting to set in, and Gatsby wondered if he should get her some medical attention.

  As if she were reading his mind, YaYa spoke up. "No, I am not crazy yet; but if you all don't find out who did this to my family someone else may need medical attention. I am in no mood for playing games with you or anyone else. Detective Gatsby, let’s get this straight right now. I don't know what happened. I don't know who would want to hurt my Dad and Oscar. I received a text message from my brother who told me to “run.” Instead of running, I went straight home and found Oscar and Daddy like that. I cannot find my baby brother and I am afraid for his life.” YaSheema had decided to tell Gatsby about her brother just as a pre-caution.

  “YaSheema, as I promised you before, I will find out what happened to your loved ones. Do you think any of this was connected with the murder of your boyfriend?" He asked as gingerly as he could. He didn’t want to set her off again.

  I cringed and shifted in my seat at the mention of Papi. I had handled all loose ends dealing with him, unlike the stupid detective who was still looking for his killer whom he would never find because I had deaded that bitch days ago!

  "Detective to be honest with you, it could have been anyone."

  “YaSheema, do you know where your brother could have gone if he indeed made it out of the house before the violence occurred? He could be the missing piece to this puzzle."

  I cocked my head to the side as if I were in deep thought. I knew where he was, but I wasn't going to tell the Feds anything before I got a chance to talk to him. I was willing to bet my left hand to God that he had made his way to Trinidad to NiQue's. Where else was he to go?

  "No detective, I don't know where he could be. Please find him because he is all I have left in this world besides Oscar, and I am not going to sit here and wait for some more bad news." I demanded.

  I thought by adding that would convince the nosey ass detective that I didn't know anything in regards to my brother's location.

  "Ahhh…Ms. Clayton, may I ask where your mother is? I have her listed as Christa Reynolds. Maybe your brother went to her for help."

  I shook my head. "My mother left my father's home months ago and hasn't been seen since. You see my brother is my half brother. He was not my father's son. My mother came back into my life about seven months ago and then she disappeared and left Neko with us. My Dad took on the role of being Neko's provider. We have no idea where Christa is." I stated coldly.

  My cell phone began to vibrate. It stopped Gatsby from moving to his next question about where he could possibly look to find Christa. The text read, “Call me when they let you go.” It was Neko. I could feel the headache I had acquired starting to subside with just that text. I knew he was safe and that made me feel much better than I had felt all day.

  After receiving that text from Neko, I was able to breeze through the rest of the questions with ease. Once Gatsby was finished playing twenty questions with me, I gathered my things and left the station. I hadn't even noticed that I was still wearing the blood stained clothing from holding my father in my arms. I damn near ran to my car and jumped inside and began dialing NiQue's number because I dared not call Neko on his phone because that retarded cop had made it seem that Neko may have had something to do with all of the shit going down, and I sure didn't want Neko involved in my mess any further than he already was. NiQue answered on the first ring. I wasn't going to talk too much.

  "Aye NiQue, is he there?" I asked.

  "Yes, he is here. Are you ok? Do you need me to come and get you? Where are you? What happened?"

  I wasn't feeling her. She should have known better than to ask me a bunch of questions. She was starting to get on my nerves here lately. I wasn't going to answer shit and she had Neko right there with her. I am sure he could answer all of the questions she had. I pressed the end button on the phone and tossed it to the passenger seat. I drove in the direction of Northeast DC.

  I slid in a Cap Citi/Kushboys CD and needed some motivation to stay strong and to ride the shit out until the wheels fell off. "I'm A Winner" by Lucky Lamar and Mama's Moonshine came pouring through the Bose system. They were singing the truth. I was a winner but I was losing so much, so fast; it was hard to believe what had happened. I didn't even want to think about my Daddy not being around with me. As far as I was concerned, he was right there with me. I puffed on a Djarum as I sped through the busy streets of Drama City. I reached NiQue's house and Neko was sitting on her front porch. His eyes were red and all of NiQue's father's guards were posted all around. You would think they were just niggas hanging out if you didn't know any better. I ran full speed to my brother's waiting arms. I could tell he had been crying and he wasn't hiding how hurt he was with what had happened. He loved Daddy just as much as I had because he was one of the only people who loved him as much as I did.

  Neko pulled me into his embrace and cried.

  "Neko what happened?" I asked confused. "I went to make a run to Corrine's house and found her folded up in the closet. Neko, I ran from there to Dread's house and that's when I got your text." I continued. I was just spilling my guts and not even paying attention to NiQue who was taking in every word. I saw how she had grimaced when I mentioned Dread. She would have to get over that shit and understand that he and I were just friends. Although I didn’t owe her any explanations, I felt like that needed to be explained, but it just wasn’t the time. I had more important shit on my mind. I held on to Neko tight and cried. I held him so tight because I felt like if I were to let him go, something bad would happen and I cou
ldn’t afford that. I searched all over his frame to make sure he was unharmed and continued.

  “I came straight home as soon as I got your text. When I got there Oscar was hurt critically and Daddy is dead.”

  I began to tear up again and I felt faint. NiQue rushed over to my side and passed me a bottle of water. I tried to gather my composure so I could get Neko’s take on the whole thing.

  “Neko.” I said between sniffles. “How did you get out of there? What happened in there?” I asked.

  Neko was barely audible as he tried to run back the deadly events. He had tears soaking his face and was shaking so bad, he couldn’t control it.

  “I was about to leave to head over to this side of town and I went to ask Oscar to move Pop’s car so I could get out of the drive way. When I came back to the garage, I saw the garage door was opened so I figured Oscar had moved the car. When I stepped into the garage from the house I saw Oscar running back into the car bay from the driveway. There was a dark colored van in the turn around and I knew who ever it was, wasn’t invited. Something deep inside told me to go back inside the house. I ran. I ran up the stairs past my room and into Pop’s room. I hid in the hide-a-way space in his closet. That’s when I heard the shots fired. YaYa, I thought the gunshots would never stop. I sent you the text from Pop’s closet. When the gun fire ceased I left out of the closet and ran out of the front door. I never looked back.” Neko’s voice had trailed off.

  The tears were streaming from Neko’s gray eyes. I don’t know what was more heartbreaking. Losing my Daddy, or watching my brother, who was such a warrior earlier, cry like a baby. I felt woozy listening to Neko relive the whole ordeal. NiQue was crying as if she had lost one of her own. Something inside of me clicked and I stopped crying. I wiped away the tears and stood up. I still wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to stand and walk on my own, but I was going to try.

  “NiQue, I have some things I have to handle and since my home is a crime scene and Neko and I cannot just walk back in there safely, can he stay here?” I asked.

  NiQue nodded her head up and down slowly. I couldn’t quite read her emotions. She looked like she felt sorry for us. She had a look of sadness in her eyes, but there was something sinister lurking behind the sadness. She wasn’t happy about the Dread comment, and I knew we were going to have to talk about that shit at some point. I, on the other hand, was on a mission to find out who had set out to destroy me and my family. I started walking down the sidewalk towards my car that was parked haphazardly at the curb, and Neko ran up behind me.

  “YaYa, I am coming with you. You ain’t leaving me here while you out there.” He said wiping away his tears.

  I looked at my baby brother and had to remind myself he was raised to try and take care of shit no matter how bad it was. He may have looked like a grown man, but he wasn’t ready for all that was going on. There was no way I was dragging him into that shit.

  “Neko, I have to find out who did this to us and you cannot get yourself involved. It seems as though whoever is after the family doesn’t know about you, and I want to keep it that way.”

  Neko opened his mouth to argue, but I stopped him before he could even formulate the words to try and convince me that riding out with me was the smart thing to do. I didn’t want to leave him because I didn’t know if I was ever going to see him again, but I couldn’t risk him getting hurt or even worse, killed…because of me. Maybe he knew that coming with me wasn’t a good idea, because he didn’t ask or try to join me again. NiQue just nodded her head at me as if to say she knew her position and she was going to look after my baby brother. I got in the car and pulled away from the curb with my baby brother and best friend watching me drive away to my unknown future.

  Chapter 20

  Marygold’s Hall and Nightclub

  Lanham, MD

  I sat up in the bed looking out of my hotel window thinking to myself; my father was gone, and I couldn’t make contact with my brother unless I wanted to put him in harm’s way. NiQue seemed like she had a chip on her shoulder since she had heard me mention Dread’s name. Oscar was in PG Hospital and from what the doctors were willing to tell me, being that I had no blood relation to him, he was stabilized but was still in serious condition. I had taken up temporary residence in the Hilton in Crystal City because I felt like it was safe to stay there. I had requested that several of NiQue’s father’s guards post up in and around the hotel. I had been there for four days. I had barely eaten, and I wasn’t going to leave until I had a game plan.

  Unfortunately for me, the streets weren’t talking and that was a rarity. No one knew what the fuck was going on and that was driving me crazy. I was lucky that my father had employed loyal folks who would ride or die for us all. They were still putting in that work while I was free to grieve. The only person I had made contact with in regards to business was Caesar. I had to prove to him that it was still business as usual, and that the money was to keep flowing. I had to keep his greasy ass on my radar, because for all I knew, he could have been the one who had ordered the hit on my family. It was so strange that I was in charge of everything on my own. It was easy dealing with business. What was hard was dealing with burying my Daddy.

  I decided to have the funeral even though the police suggested that we shouldn’t have it in the area being that the crime was so horrific and they didn’t know if whoever got Daddy would get me next. I thought they were crazy for even suggesting that my Daddy be buried somewhere else. He loved the city. He loved it for everything the place had to offer and everything it had become. I knew the police didn’t really give a fuck what had happened to him. The only ones who cared were the ones that Daddy employed. I had already sent word through Epps, who was second in command under Oscar, that it was still as it had been before the untimely passing of my father.

  I buried my Daddy on a Wednesday afternoon. I asked anyone that was attending to please wear white because black and dark colors were too damn depressing. The limo was to pick me up from the hotel I had been living in for the past week in under an hour, and I had not even begun to motivate myself to move from the safety of the hotel room. I didn’t think I was going to be able to. The day had come too fast, and I kept telling myself that I was going to be strong. I kept hearing Daddy’s voice telling me to toughen up.

  I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. I felt the plush carpet between my toes – not wanting to leave the sanctuary of the hotel. I showered and got dressed in my peach-colored suit. I had asked everyone else to wear white and the family was to wear pastel colors. I did this for more than one reason. I needed to be able to identify everyone. Only friends knew to wear white, family knew to wear pastels. If you were wearing black or dark colors, my security team was going to keep an eye on you closely. I could not take any chances.

  After looking myself over, I pulled on a pair of shades. No sooner than I had pulled them down over my eyes, I got a knock on the suite door. I peered out of the peephole to see Epps on the other side of the door and quickly opened it to let him know I was ready. I grabbed my handbag and walked back to the door to step into the hallway where the elevator was. In the hallway there were two other armed bodyguards posted up on the ends of the hall.

  “Ms. Clayton, we have already picked up your brother and he is waiting in the limo.” Epps said dryly. I nodded my head to acknowledge that I had heard him and stepped into the elevator. Once we reached the lobby, Epps stepped out in front of me before signaling me to exit.

  Escorted by Epps, we walked out of the lobby and to the limo where Neko was dressed in a white Hugo Boss suit with a lavender shirt on under it and a white Hugo Boss tie. He looked like he was struggling with coping with the loss of Daddy too. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. First Mommy’s disappearance, and then Daddy’s untimely death. He had to be torn up at all the loss he suffered. As soon as the limo door closed we embraced.

  “YaYa, I can’t stay cooped up at NiQue’shouse for too much longer. I am starting
to go crazy just sitting in there doing nothing. I want to go home YaYa.”

  “Neko, I haven’t even been home yet. Anything I needed from the house Epps has gotten for me,” I said.

  “Well, at least let me come and stay where ever it is you have been. I cannot do this without at least having you close by.” He said trying to get me to break down. Honestly it wasn’t hard to have us both posted up in the hotel and secured by Epps and his team. It may have proved to be easier than having us separated, but now was not the time to even worry about all of that. The ride to the funeral home was in silence. Neko and I exchanged glances, but no words. When we pulled up there was a sea of people wearing white on white out of respect. I took a deep breath grabbed Neko’s hand and exited into the afternoon sunshine. I was more than thankful for the invention of sunglasses because as soon as we entered the funeral home and approached Daddy’s casket, the tears began to pour freely.

  I took steps slowly up the aisle and what I had been dreading become reality. My Daddy was laying there dead. All the money in the world could not bring him back to me, but he looked peaceful in his white, velvet-lined casket. Daddy’s casket had the Lord’s Prayers etched into the head of the casket so he could forever be in peace. The trim was laid in platinum and the assortment of carnations and roses lining the entire funeral home were beautiful. The amethyst and ruby spray with a rosary of roses that lined the inside of the casket were breath taking. It was such a shame that something so beautiful was going back to where it came, but not as gracefully as it had come. Into the earth.

  I stood over top of my father’s casket wondering how it had come to this. He had a slight smirk on his face, like he knew a secret and was not in the business of sharing it. I kissed his face and felt the coldness of his lifeless body against my lips and pulled away from the casket because I was becoming too overwhelmed with emotions. I took a few steps back and Neko held on to me for support. He took a few steps up to the casket and said his own goodbyes. You would have never known that Darnell Clayton and Neko Reynolds had no blood relation. Neko was heartbroken and crying. I slid my arm around his shoulders and we embraced for everyone to see. I cupped his chin in my hand and wiped away his tears. We finally started to make our way to the pews. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw NiQue and her brother in the front row accompanied by Dread, Crack, Queen, Shaq, Kimya and NATO who were seated a row behind them.