by T. Styles
The moment she opened the door, Nadia Gibson and another officer greeted her. “Farah Cotton, just the person I wanted to see. I hope you’re not about to go anywhere special, because if you are, it’s gonna have to wait.”
Farah swallowed. “What do you want with me, Nadia? I got shit to do.” She moved to walk around them, but they blocked her path.
“I won’t be ignored, Farah,” Nadia said. “And I know you know I’m not here for my health.”
“Well, what the fuck do you want with me then?”
“We need to talk to you at the station.” The grin on Nadia’s face was beyond irritating. Every tooth in her mouth was present as she anticipated taking her archenemy down. She observed Farah’s outfit. “Judging by your current choice of clothing, you weren’t going anywhere special anyway.”
“Am I under arrest?” Farah questioned.
She grinned. “That remains to be seen. But what do you have to worry about? You’re innocent, right?”
Farah sat in the police station, shivering. She wasn’t sure, but she had a feeling Nadia kept turning the air conditioner down so that it would be cooler in the room. Although she was uncomfortable, she was trying her best to save face. She knew this moment would either make or break her, so she had to play it smart.
“So, Farah, as you may know, sixteen people went missing after visiting or while living in Platinum Lofts.”
“Why would I know that?”
Nadia grinned. “You’re good.” She pointed at her. “Really good.”
Farah knew immediately she was an amateur. After all, she hadn’t done anything yet. “And you’re telling me this because?”
“I’m telling you this because several witnesses say that either you or somebody in your apartment was last seen with the missing victims. Considering the amount of people who have come to us, some of whom are very close to you, we find it hard to believe that you don’t know anything.”
“Some of them like who?” she asked as if she had no idea. “There is no use in beating around the bush, Nadia. I’m here now, so you might as well shoot it to me straight.”
“Well, for starters, Amico Glasser, whose family hasn’t seen him since he left the movie theater, is missing.” She scanned through the documents in her folder as if she didn’t know the information already. “The last his mother was told, he was with Lesa. Of course, we verified it with her and know she never met him before.”
“Is that all?” She sighed.
“Not even close.” She laughed. “Then we have Kirk Griffin, who police officers arrested after an attempted rape on you in your apartment. It was during some party or something.”
“He did try to rape me,” she shouted. “In the closet in my bedroom. If my sister Mia hadn’t come in, he would’ve gotten away with it.”
“So you say.” She paused. “Anyway, then there’s Vivian Baker’s son. His name is Antonio. He also went missing. Last but not least, a really close friend of yours, Rhonda Marshall, was found with her throat slit.” She placed the folder down. “I don’t know, Farah, but if you ask me, it seems like you are either bad luck or responsible. Which one is it?”
Farah tried to remain calm. She considered the fact that if they had anything concrete, she’d be in jail already. So, she took two deep breaths, folded her hands on the table in front of her, and said, “I don’t know anything about any of the people you just listed, and it’s not my responsibility. I am my own person, Nadia. I’m not a killer, and I’m not a suspect. Now, you have bothered my grandmother, my ex-roommates, and even my doctor with all of this shit, and I want it to stop. If it doesn’t, you will pay for it. Trust me.”
Nadia grinned, although she was horrified. “What you gonna do, get rid of me too? Or have your friends threaten me again at a gas station?”
“You know, the funny thing about my friends, if you were in the right that night, why did you pull off?” Farah asked. “You seem very guilty.”
“I’m going to bring you down,” Nadia promised.
“I’m warning you, Nadia. Leave me alone.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to do that.” She paused. “Furthermore, if you don’t have any information about these or the other cases, why was this handed off to us as evidence that you do?” She slapped a piece of paper on the table.
Farah’s skin crawled. Farah observed the pink stationery with green flowers embedded on the sheet. It belonged to Lesa. “This stationery belongs to my ex-roommate, who would have plenty of reasons to lie on me.”
“I know how you feel about your roommate. Remember? I was there. In fact, after you showed up at her house, she moved out of the state.”
Farah tried not to smile. “What can I say? For some reason, people get angry with me when I kick them out of my life. You know about that feeling all too well, Officer. Don’t you?” She slid the sheet back over to Nadia.
She placed the paper back in her folder. “You think this a game, don’t you?”
“No, but I think you’re ridiculous, and I’m not going to allow you to take up much more of my time.” She stood up. “Now, is there anything else? Because if not, I’m going home.”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you? You think you’ve got everybody fooled. Well, you don’t. I know what kind of person you are, Farah Cotton, and when it comes out that all of this is your fault, there won’t be anything anybody can do to save your ass from going to jail. I don’t care what I have to do. You will go down as being responsible for this crime.”
Farah had a moment of clarity. There was no way Nadia would ever leave her alone. “I don’t know about saving my ass from jail, but I would like to save my ass from this tired-ass interrogation for the time being.”
“Always the jokester. You’re going to go down for these crimes, Farah Cotton. Believe that.”
“You have one problem, Officer.”
“And what’s that?”
Farah leaned in so that only she could hear her voice. “First you have to prove it.”
Chapter 27
Slade
“What you just say to me, nigga?”
Slade was on the way out of his apartment to go to the bar with his brothers and cousins. At first he didn’t want to be bothered, because the guilt of not finding Knox always stayed in his mind. But he figured he needed a break, and it might as well be with family.
They were all headed for the door when Slade tapped his pockets. “I forgot my wallet.” He looked at them by the door. “I’ll meet y’all outside.”
“Hurry up too,” Killa joked. “You take longer than a bitch to get ready.”
“Fuck you, nigga.” He laughed.
When they left, he dipped back into his room to grab his wallet. When he opened the door, he saw Farah talking to some dude in long dreads. She was crying and looked frazzled. The last time he saw her like that, she had gotten into a fight at a baby shower. His temperature was so high that if it was taken, it would be over one hundred degrees.
“You sure you okay, Farah?” Bones asked, pulling her toward his body as they walked down the hall. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No . . . I just wanna go home.” She sobbed lightly, holding on to him.
“Farah!” Slade roared, stopping their movements.
She turned around slowly, knowing immediately whom the voice belonged to. “What do you want?”
He took two steps closer. “Are you okay?” He observed the nigga in all black with the red watch.
“Even if she wasn’t, I got her,” Bones said, standing in front of her. “You go ’head about your business.”
Slade ran up to him quicker than a star athlete on his way to a touchdown. He was so close to his face that if Bones would’ve moved forward, he could’ve kissed him. “What you just say to me, nigga?”
Bones stepped back, but Slade saw something different in his eyes. The move he made wasn’t out of fear. It was something darker. Slade knew a killer when he saw one, and he
would bet money that Bones felt the same way.
“Bones, just go in my house,” Farah said softly, handing him her house keys. When he seemed to be more interested in Slade than her, she raised her voice a little louder. “Bones, please.”
“You sure you okay?”
“Nigga, you heard her?” Slade added. “Kick rocks.”
Bones smirked at Slade as he walked backward all the way to Farah’s apartment. Slade didn’t take his eyes off of him until he disappeared inside. He would have problems with him in the future. He was sure of it.
“What do you want, Slade?” Farah asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She’d just left the precinct and was worried about her freedom. The last thing she needed was to be fussing with a nigga who dumped her. “I’m busy right now.”
He gritted his teeth and focused on her eyes. He loved her more than he was willing to let on, but he had no right to come at her sideways when she didn’t belong to him anymore. If only he could get his heart to listen.
“Slade, what do you want with me? I got company.”
Still thinking about the chemistry he saw between her and Bones, he said, “I don’t have shit else to say to you. Go fuck that nigga you was just with. I’m glad I dumped your ass.”
Chapter 28
Randy
“I’m ready for whatever.”
Markee sat on a chair across from Randy and his men, with a hand towel draped over his shoulder. He was sweating so much it looked like he showered with his clothes on. He hated having to meet with him for anything, especially matters pertaining to his cousins.
“I see you lost a lot of weight,” Randy said, looking him over. “Where were you? At some fat camp?” Randy asked in an accusatory voice.
“I just needed to get away. A lot of shit been on my mind.”
“Is there any particular reason you haven’t arranged a meeting with Slade like I asked? Despite the fact that this nigga robbed my stash houses and killed another one of my men? Where . . . is . . . Slade?”
“He’s been trying to find my cousin Knox and—”
“That nigga is dead!” Randy yelled. Markee shifted in his seat, and The Vet moved closer to him, in case Randy gave the word to put him out of his misery. “Even if he was alive, it don’t stop the fact that my business has been stopped behind this shit. Are you refusing to set the meeting up?”
He swallowed and rubbed his face with his hand towel. “I can’t do it, man.” Markee sobbed. “I can’t do what you’re asking. Slade is my cousin, and he was the only nigga who looked after me when I was a kid. I can’t betray him or my family like that. I hope you can respect that.”
“I can’t respect shit about you. You’re a weak-ass nigga, Markee. Always have been and always will be. Have you forgotten how you landed here from Mississippi with nothing but a pair of overalls and thick-ass accent? It was me who put you on, not your cousins. And this is how you repay me? By being disloyal? Why would I respect a nigga like that?”
“I appreciate everything you did for me, man. I really do. Maybe I can set up a meeting with both of you in an open place or something like that. I haven’t spoken to Slade about it yet, so I don’t know if he’ll be with it, but I can’t blindside him.” He wiped his face again. “If something happened to him it would devastate my Aunt Della and the rest of the family. We lost too many already.”
There was a place in the pit of Randy’s stomach that brewed with jealousy. He didn’t have an honest member in his family or his life. His father had chosen sides with the Baker family, and he was officially alone. What was it about the Baker men that people couldn’t betray? He was such an evil-minded person that he didn’t understand their undying loyalty.
“Let me work off whatever you think they stole from you, man,” Markee suggested. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t kill me.”
Randy strutted up to him and rubbed his head. “Look at you all nervous and shit. You need to relax, man. I’m not going to hurt you.” He grinned. “Breathe, my nigga.”
Markee took his advice and breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh my God! You don’t know how bad you had my heart kicking.” He laughed. “I’m gonna make this up to you. I promise! I’ll see to it whatever you lost will be paid back in full.”
“It’s not a problem. Rest easy, man. You’re safe with me.”
Randy sat on the sofa in Mrs. Hammond’s house, drinking a glass of Rémy, while looking at a black TV screen. When she died, he wasted no time setting up inside her home officially. He drank so much lately that his thoughts were all over the place. Something told him that he would not live too much longer if he didn’t get a hold of his affairs, but he didn’t even know where to start. Getting a hold of one of the Baker Boys seemed next to impossible.
“I took care of it,” The Vet said. “We dumped his body in front of Platinum Lofts like you asked. You need anything else?”
“Wasn’t nobody out there?” he asked, sipping his tipsy juice again. “I mean, you weren’t followed, were you?”
“Nobody followed me after I dumped him. Me and Musty wore pizza uniforms.” He walked closer to him and looked at the condition his leader was in. “But you know we just turned up the dial on this war, right? Them niggas are gonna flip when they see the condition we left him in.”
“You plucked out his eyes and heart?”
“Yes.” The Vet nodded.
“Well, you did what I wanted, and I don’t give a fuck what they think,” Randy replied. “They took out two of my men!” he yelled, raising two fingers. “Lollipop and Tornado.” He shook his head. “Not only that, I’m sick of these mothafuckas thinking we had something to do with this Knox nigga going missing. Now they got something to be mad about.”
When there was a knock at the door, Randy sat up straight. “Is Musty still with you?”
“No. I dropped him off at his crib before I came.” He put his hand on the weapon under his jacket.
“Well, go see who that is.” Randy nodded toward the door.
The Vet moved toward the door slowly. When he was close enough, he looked through the peephole. “It’s your father.” He removed the gun from the holster. “I don’t trust this shit, Randy. I don’t think we should let him in.”
“How the fuck did he find out where I lived?” Randy stood up. “You sure you weren’t followed?”
“On my daughter’s heart I made sure nobody was following me. What you want me to do? I ain’t got no problem laying him down, if that’s what you want. It’s your call.” The Vet was eager to get revenge for Willie fucking his wife and impregnating her.
Randy saw it a different way. He and his father had beef, but he wasn’t sure about killing him. Not yet anyway. What he really wanted was to repair the bond. He wished he could talk to him to find out where his mind was. After all this time, Randy still feared his father’s presence, but he wasn’t some little boy looking for love anymore. He was a man who lost everything at his father’s hands.
Randy brushed his shoulders off. “Naw, don’t send him away. Open the door. I want to see what the fuck this nigga got to say for himself.”
The Vet opened the door, and Willie strolled in with a brown suit with fine blue pinstripes. He glided up to Randy and extended his hand. Randy hesitantly accepted, and when their hands embraced, Willie wouldn’t let it go. “Did you have something to do with the Baker boy being thrown in front of the apartment building tonight for his entire family to see?”
Randy snatched his hand away from his father and wiped it on his jeans. “You come over my house to insult me?”
“Your house?” He laughed, looking around. “You mean the one you stole from that old bitch in that home? I don’t know if you realize it or not, but the FBI is seconds away from bringing you down. You done dropped drugs and got into fraud?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Randy lied.
“Sure you do, son.”
“Why do you hate me so much?”
“It’s
not like you haven’t given me plenty reason,” Willie said calmly. When he felt the extra heat in the room, he looked over to The Vet. “Leave me alone with my boy. We have to talk in private.” The Vet didn’t move, and he focused back on Randy. “After all this time, you still working with a nigga who used to be my friend and betrayed me?” Willie asked Randy. “This is one of the reasons we will never have the relationship you want. You’re not loyal.”
“You’re the one who slept with my wife,” The Vet reminded him. “And you’re talking to us about loyalty?”
“Always a smug mothafucka!” Willie shook his head.
“You can leave,” Randy told The Vet, who walked out slowly.
“Did you have something to do with that Baker boy being murdered tonight?” Willie asked again.
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t see them shaking. “If I did, what makes you think I would tell you?”
Willie shook his head. “What about Knox Baker? I guess you had something to do with him going missing too, huh?”
“Pops, I haven’t seen you in months, and when I do, you ask me about two niggas I couldn’t give a fuck about. This is not how Ma would’ve wanted us to carry shit. But you don’t care, do you?”
“Is this beef you have with the Baker Boys over Farah? Or Knox? If it is, you need to get over it. Nothing is worth what’s getting ready to happen if you keep this up. Especially not some bloodsucking bitch.”
“Even if our beef had anything to do with Farah, which it doesn’t, I don’t know shit about no Knox.” Randy sat down. “She’s Slade’s problem now.”
“From what I understand, they aren’t together anymore, and it’s because of Knox.” Willie paused. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. What does is that you stay as far away from them as possible.” He looked around the house. “I’m not sure how you looking on money, but I’ll give you whatever I can to keep you away.”
