Carl Weber's Kingpins

by Brandi Johnson

  Ke’yoko removed her license and some documents from her purse and laid them on the front seat of her car before digging in the bottom of her purse and grabbing some loose change. She placed her purse under her seat, grabbed her license and the documents, and got out of the car, closing the door behind her. She filled the parking meter with coins and looked both ways before crossing the busy street. She tossed the leftover coins into a homeless man’s coffee cup before heading into the building. For some strange reason, Ke’yoko was nervous as she waited in the line.

  “License,” the CO behind the glass said, holding out his hand, never looking up.

  Ke’yoko slid the license underneath the little hole in the glass. She looked at the other CO who stood up against the wall with a stern look on his face.

  He looked at the picture on the license and quickly looked up at Ke’yoko. “So you’re the other twin?”

  “Yes,” Ke’yoko replied, wondering how he even knew she existed.

  “Y’all look so much alike,” the CO said with a smile.

  “Thanks, I guess,” Ke’yoko said.

  “Kailo always speaks highly of you. I’m Riley,” he said with a smile.

  Ke’yoko smiled back, realizing it was Kailo who’d told him about her. She was happy to hear that her brother had nothing but good things to say about her. “Nice to meet you, Riley,” Ke’yoko said, remembering Kailo mentioning his name a few times during their many conversations.

  “Nice to meet you too, Ke’yoko,” Riley said, messing up the pronunciation of her name.

  “You heard from Kailo lately?” she asked.

  “Yes, sure have. Matter fact, I just talked to him about two days ago. He told me to be expectin’ you,” Riley said, handing Ke’yoko her license back.

  “That’s good to know.” Ke’yoko took her license from his hand.

  “Window eight.” Riley smiled and winked.

  Damn, he fine, Ke’yoko thought while smiling back and heading over to window eight.

  “You know the phone in window eight is messed up and doesn’t record anything, right?” the other CO leaned over and asked Riley.

  “It’s cool,” Riley said before checking in the next visitor.

  Ke’yoko sat down on the hard, metal stool and looked around the crowded visiting room while waiting for Ka’yah. She looked up on the wall and read the sign: ALL CALLS ARE SUBJECT TO MONITORING. That made her nervous, too, because now she had to choose her words carefully.

  A few minutes later, Ka’yah came through the door talking loud. She walked down to window eight, looked at her sister’s big, round belly, and sucked her teeth before sitting down. For a split second Ka’yah began feeling bad about all the dirty things she had done to her sister. She and Ke’yoko picked up their phones at the same time.

  “What took you so long to come visit me?” Ka’yah asked, getting straight to the point.

  “Hello to you too. And, yes, Aiko is doin’ good. I’m goin’ to pick him up when I leave here. He’s goin’ to stay wit’ me and Ja’Rel until you get out,” Ke’yoko said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, yeah. Did Mother tell you what I was locked up for?” Ka’yah asked.

  “Yeah, she told me,” Ke’yoko replied, annoyed by her sister’s uncaring attitude toward the well-being of her son.

  “So are you and Ja’Rel gon’ get me an attorney or what?”

  “I’ll get you one,” Ke’yoko said.

  “How can you afford to get me an attorney? Ja’Rel is the one wit’ all the money,” Ka’yah asked, slightly annoyed. “I need a good lawyer, not one of these court-appointed niggas, either!”

  “I said I got’chu. And, furthermore, I don’t even talk to Ja’Rel no more,” Ke’yoko said.

  “Why not?” Ka’yah asked, trying to contain her happiness. “You musta finally realized that he ain’t about shit, huh?”

  “I hate to say it, but yeah. You told me he wasn’t about shit a long time ago, but I didn’t listen to you.” Ke’yoko shook her head.

  “What he do?” Ka’yah asked, pretending to be concerned, knowing she couldn’t have cared less.

  “Check this shit out.” Ke’yoko opened up one of the documents and pressed it up against the window.

  “What’s that?” Ka’yah asked as she skimmed through the DNA results.

  “DNA results.”

  “For who?” Ka’yah pried, knowing the only child Ja’Rel had was Aiko.

  “For A’Niyah,” Ke’yoko replied.

  “Nadia’s daughter?” Ka’yah asked, surprised.

  “Yep,” Ke’yoko said, shaking her head.

  “What the fuck?” Ka’yah asked, seeing red and feeling sick to her stomach at the same time.

  “Yeah, that’s what I said,” Ke’yoko said, laying the document back down.

  “Them dirty bitches!” Ka’yah said angrily.

  “It’s cool. They’ll get theirs.”

  “They sure will. If that’s the last thing I do, I’ma make both of them pay!”

  “That’s only half of it,” Ke’yoko continued.

  “There’s more?” Ka’yah asked, not knowing if she could handle any more news about the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

  “Girrrrrl, yeah! You know Kailo knows everybody. So I had him have one of his friends do a li’l snoopin’ for me, and found out Ja’Rel got a whole notha family on the other side of Cleveland.”

  “He got what?” Ka’yah asked, shocked.

  “Girl, he got another son by this broad named Kassidy and she’s pregnant again. Crazy thing is we due around the same time.” Ke’yoko chuckled.

  Ka’yah felt like she had just been shot in the chest as she sat and took all this information in. She couldn’t believe Ja’Rel was playing her like he was. He had her thinking she was the only one, but hearing the news about Nadia and Kassidy proved her wrong.

  “How can you laugh about this shit? Ain’t you hurt?” Ka’yah asked slowly. She was completely heartbroken by the news her sister was throwing at her.

  “Chile, naw, I ain’t hurt. Ja’Rel been a ho since day one.”

  Ka’yah couldn’t believe how calm her twin sister was. She wanted to break down and cry but she had to hold it together. In order for her not to start crying, Ka’yah changed the conversation up. It was hard to converse about anything else the way she was feeling but she couldn’t show any real emotion in front of her sister.

  “Anyways, I gotta get outta here! You know I ain’t kill Bo. I liked Bo,” Ka’yah said, shaking her head. “I don’t even know where they would get some shit like that from. What reason would I have to kill Bo? You was the one who didn’t like . . .” Ka’yah stopped in midsentence.

  Ke’yoko stared Ka’yah in the face. “Finish your sentence, sister,” Ke’yoko said slowly. She gazed at her sister, never looking away.

  Ka’yah stared back at Ke’yoko, unable to finish her sentence. Ke’yoko’s demeanor instantly turned cold and uncaring. Ka’yah’s mind began to race as she started putting things together as Ke’yoko continued to stare at her.

  “You set me up?” Ka’yah finally said.

  Ke’yoko smirked. “Now why would I do a thing like that, sister?”

  “You dirty bitch!” Ka’yah shot.

  “No, dirty is when you fuck your sister’s husband and have a baby by him or, better yet, when you feed your sister poisonous tea, causing her to have not one but four miscarriages.” Ke’yoko couldn’t do nothing but look at her sister and shake her head.

  Ka’yah’s eyes got big as saucers as she listened to Ke’yoko, wondering how she found all of this out.

  Ke’yoko switched over to their native language, not wanting anyone to be able to understand anything she was about to say, and continued talking. “So technically you are a killer; you just didn’t kill Bo. I did,” she said with a smile.

  Ka’yah followed suit and began speaking in Japanese as well. “Why?” was all Ka’yah could think to say.

  “Why not?�
�

  “So you really gon’ let me sit in jail for somethin’ you did?” Ka’yah asked, shocked. Ka’yah never thought anything her sister did could hurt her. Of course, other than living with the man of her dreams and constantly popping up pregnant by him. She’d always thought she had the upper hand. She had so many feelings swirling inside of her she didn’t quite know how to feel or what to really think.

  “Why wouldn’t I? All the dirty shit you have done to me, you deserve every day that they gon’ give you.” Ke’yoko frowned.

  “It’s cool. My man Ja’Rel will get me an attorney,” Ka’yah said spitefully.

  “Ha.” Ke’yoko chuckled. “Ja’Rel won’t even answer your calls, fool, and furthermore he’s gon’ need money for his own attorney.”

  “He ain’t in no trouble.”

  “Not yet, but I’ma set him up next, so maybe y’all can be pen pals.” Ke’yoko smiled.

  “Bitch, you need some serious help,” Ka’yah spat.

  “I need help? I’m appalled,” Ke’yoko said snidely. “Y’all created this monster; now deal wit’ it.”

  “It’s cool. I’ll be out of here.” Ka’yah smiled confidently.

  “What about the spit they found on Bo’s body?” Ke’yoko asked.

  “What are you talkin’ about?” Ka’yah was confused. This was the first time she’d heard anything about some spit.

  “And what about the gun I planted in the safe? I knew yo’ stupid ass would fall for that,” Ke’yoko replied.

  “I don’t know shit about no spit. And even if they did find it, it was yours, not mine, so now what, bitch? You goin’ down, dumbass ho! And as far as the gun, it wasn’t mine either!” Ka’yah said victoriously.

  “Did you forget we’re identical twins with the same DNA? So the spit will come back as yours. So who’s the dumbass ho now?” Ke’yoko asked viciously. “And they found the gun in your possession so technically it does belong to you.” She looked at her sister, hung up the phone, and winked and smiled before standing up and turning to walk away, leaving Ka’yah sitting there with her mouth wide open.

  The reality that she was really facing a life bid slowly sank in. “I’ma kill you when I get out of here, bitch!” Ka’yah started screaming as she began wilding out, yelling and pounding on the glass, causing a huge scene. Two COs ran over and grabbed her, trying their best to restrain Ka’yah. She continued going off.

  Ke’yoko never turned around. She kept her head held high and strutted toward the door. She looked over at Riley and winked before heading out to her car.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Ja’Rel was pacing back and forth waiting for Ke’yoko to come back home from seeing Ka’yah. He felt bad for not answering any of Ka’yah’s calls, but he thought he’d better wait to see what was going on with her first before he did.

  Ja’Rel was relieved when he peeked out the front window and finally saw Ke’yoko pulling up into the driveway. He was more anxious than a kid on Christmas Eve to hear what Ke’yoko had to say about her twin sister. He quickly grabbed the newspaper, sat down on the sofa, and pretended to read, not wanting his wife to sense his eagerness.

  Ke’yoko finished up her call with Nadia before getting out of the car and heading into the house. She wasn’t surprised that Ja’Rel was still at home. She knew he’d be anxious to hear what was going on with his side bitch. Ke’yoko put a fake smile on and walked in the house.

  “Wassup?” she asked, looking over at Ja’Rel, who was busy pretending to be reading yesterday’s newspaper.

  “Oh, wassup?” he replied while looking up from the newspaper.

  “Anything good in the newspaper?” Ke’yoko asked.

  “Not really,” Ja’Rel replied.

  “Shiiiit, it’s gotta be ’cause this is the second day in a row that you’ve read that same paper,” Ke’yoko said smartly and headed into the kitchen.

  Ja’Rel laid the paper down, got up from the sofa, followed his wife into the kitchen, and stared at her while she poured herself a tall glass of almond milk.

  “What?” Ke’yoko asked, noticing him gazing at her.

  “Well?”

  “Well what?” she toyed, already knowing he wanted to know what was up with Ka’yah.

  “What did they say about your sis?”

  “Oh, yeah, they holdin’ her on a million dollar cash bond for the murder of Bo,” she said nonchalantly, before taking a drink of her milk.

  “Huh?” Ja’Rel asked, confused.

  “Yeah, they tryin’a say Ka’yah killed Bo,” Ke’yoko said, shaking her head and taking another drink of her milk.

  “Why would she do that? Ka’yah liked Bo,” Ja’Rel replied while taking a seat at the kitchen table. There was no way he was going to believe that Ka’yah would hurt Bo in any kind of way, let alone kill him.

  “I don’t know why she would kill him. And as far as her likin’ him, we all know she’s one helluva actress. She sho’ll fooled the hell outta me,” Ke’yoko said, finishing off her milk and placing the empty glass in the sink.

  “I don’t believe Ka’yah would do no shit like that! Somebody tryin’a set her up,” Ja’Rel said, looking over at his wife.

  “Well, we’ll see what they got when she goes to court.”

  “We gotta get her an attorney. Quick, fast, and in a hurry. A good one at that,” Ja’Rel stated.

  “For what?” Ke’yoko said before realizing it had slipped out of her mouth.

  Ja’Rel looked at his wife like she’d lost her mind. “What the fuck you mean, for what?” He grimaced.

  Ke’yoko had to clean her words up and fast. This was the first time she’d slipped since she’d put her plan in motion.

  Ke’yoko looked over at Ja’Rel for a brief moment before speaking. “Look, I didn’t wanna tell you this because I know you love Ka’yah like your blood run through her, and what I’m about to tell you is gon’ hurt you to your heart.”

  “Tell me what?” Ja’Rel asked impatiently.

  Ke’yoko sighed before speaking. “Look, Ka’yah wants me to help set you up so she can get out of jail,” she said, looking over at Ja’Rel. “She said the detectives came and questioned her about you and your crew. She said they told her if she told them what you were into that they would cut her a deal.”

  Ja’Rel listened as his wife continued talking.

  “She told me about all the dope you was sellin’ and that you was usin’ the company as a front.” Ke’yoko waited for a response from Ja’Rel.

  Ja’Rel couldn’t believe what his wife was telling him. He knew it had to be true because there was no way Ke’yoko knew that he was selling dope and using the exterminating company as a cover-up. Ja’Rel was beyond happy that he’d avoided Ka’yah’s calls. He was glad he followed his own instincts, because he had made up his mind that the next time she called he was going to answer.

  “What? And what did you say?” he inquired nervously.

  “Yep. And I told her hell naw! You my husband so why would I do some shit like that?” She frowned.

  Ja’Rel shook his head. He couldn’t believe this shit. He knew he wasn’t hallucinating all the times he’d thought he was being followed. Ka’yah was trying her best to set him up. He was just happy that he’d stayed on minding his Ps and Qs.

  “She said she was gon’ tell the detectives everything to get her sentence reduced. She said she also told them if they would lower her bond, she would get out and wear a wire to set you up,” Ke’yoko lied with a straight face.

  Ja’Rel was confused as hell. It was hard to believe that Ka’yah would tell Ke’yoko all of this because he knew how she really felt about her twin sister. But it was too much of a coincidence for Ke’yoko not to be telling the truth. Ja’Rel was hurt by the fact that Ka’yah was trying to set him up, but he was more hurt because he thought she loved him just as much as he loved her. Ja’Rel’s head was spinning. He had to get out and get some fresh air.

  Ke’yoko looked over at Ja’Rel. She didn’t
know if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but Ja’Rel’s face looked as if he’d just turned a few shades of green. It took everything in her not to burst out laughing.

  “I’ll be back,” Ja’Rel stood up from the table and said. He needed some air bad. Too much was going on for him right now and he felt like he was suffocating with all of this news.

  “Are you okay, baby? You look a little sick,” Ke’yoko said, holding in her laugh.

  “Yeah, I’m good. I’m just glad that I never answered any of Ka’yah’s calls. I can’t believe she tryin’ to set me up! That dirty bitch.” Ja’Rel shook his head, walked over to his wife, and kissed her on her forehead. “Thank you for always bein’ loyal.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be loyal to someone who’s always been loyal to me? For better or for worse, baby; them was the vows,” Ke’yoko replied slowly. She felt a twinge of guilt repeating that line of their wedding vows

  “True,” he said, smiling slowly before turning to walk out of the kitchen and heading out the door.

  Ke’yoko had no words for the spectacular story she’d just come up with out the blue. All she could do was shake her head and smile before going upstairs to take a nap.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Ke’yoko had just gotten comfortable after getting home from a long day at her doctor’s appointment with Ross. After the stress test and drinking the nasty glucose for the second time, all Ke’yoko wanted to do was kick her swollen feet up and relax. She was getting tired of going to the doctor’s three times a month, but since she was considered high risk, she had to do what was best for her son.

  Ke’yoko was so ready for her baby boy to come she didn’t know what to do. Two months wasn’t coming quick enough for her. Ke’yoko was tired of feeling fat and drained all the time. Some days she thought she was the ugliest person walking the face of the earth, but Ross always assured her on a regular how beautiful she was.