by T. Styles
“She did that because you were after her, so she called her nephews from Chicago.”
“They were black,” Farah responded.
“We all got a little black and white in us, don’t we?” He laughed. “If you must know, they were in-laws from a past marriage. Anyway, when you killed him, she’s been bad ever since.”
“What you talking about, babe?” Slade asked, pulling her to him. “Who the fuck shot at you, Farah?”
“Eleanor, and apparently her nephew. I didn’t tell you because we weren’t together and I didn’t think you’d care.”
“I always care about what happens to you, even if we not together.” He paced the floor. “I swear to God I wish I could kill this nigga again. Who killed her nephew?”
She was silent.
“Who was it, Farah?”
“Bones . . . the person you saw me with in the hallway the other day.”
He was a new level of demented now. He knew the moment he looked into his eyes he was a killer, and now he had proof. “Fuck that nigga,” Slade said. His jaw jumped. “I’m just glad you okay.” He gritted his teeth and tried to calm down. Although he loved her, the fact that she was keeping things from him ruined all trust.
Farah faced the stranger again. “Is that all she said? You should’ve asked her why she keeps running when all we want to do is talk to her. She’s the one who fired first that night.”
“That’s not what she’s saying,” the unwanted visitor added.
Farah wanted to snatch his dry lips off.
“She says you probably have something to do with Knox missing, and that’s why you’re trying to kill her.”
“If that’s how she feels, then why isn’t she here to defend herself?” Farah continued. “Why hide?”
“Eleanor gave him a message before he came out to meet us,” Grant responded. “She is willing to talk to us when it’s safe.”
“Yeah, she told him that she’ll call when she’s ready to meet with us,” Killa said.
“Okay, and then we can put this shit to rest,” Farah responded.
“For your sake, Farah, everything that you’re saying better be true, because if you had something to do with my brother going missing, not even Slade will be able to hold me back.”
Chapter 34
Farah
“I’m going through some serious shit over here.”
Farah sat on her bed with balls of used Kleenex all around her. Once again she was crying to her sister and brother and trying to figure out how to get herself out of the situation. “I don’t know what to do, y’all.” She sobbed, wiping her nose. “In a few weeks this bitch is going to meet up with Slade, and they gonna find out I was involved with Knox’s death.”
“Involved?” Shadow said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You killed the nigga.”
“Shadow, don’t be ignorant,” Mia responded, hitting her brother on the arm. “You see she’s fucked up.”
“She knows I’m playing with her,” he said, nudging Farah’s leg.
“Well, I don’t feel like playing right now, Shadow,” Farah yelled. “I’m going through some serious shit over here. I need this bitch Eleanor like yesterday!”
“I know it’s serious, but my thing is this, even if they catch her, it will be your word against a dopehead. If you ask me, Slade and them should give you credit for that alone. Try not to work yourself all up when it might be for nothing.”
“Well, what if it’s not for nothing?” She looked at both of them. “What can I do to get out of it then?”
Shadow stood up and walked toward the window. “I can murder Slade if that’s what you want.” He looked at Farah and then Mia. “If you ask me, that will probably solve all of our problems too.”
Farah wiped her nose with a Kleenex, stood up, and slapped him in the face. “I don’t want to ever hear you say that shit again.” She pointed at him. “Ever.”
He stomped toward the window. “Then what’s your plan?” he asked with an attitude. “Because, if you ask me, you shouldn’t have had his phone anyway. You would’ve been free and clear of all this shit had you not taken his shit.”
“Is this really necessary?” Mia asked. “I mean, what is it helping to say what she should’ve done?”
“Answer the question, Farah.”
Farah sat back down and sighed. “Before I killed Knox, he said something was in the phone that could save Slade.” He looked over at him. “It turns out he was right. Had I not taken the phone, he would’ve been dealing with some shit with a sheriff back in Mississippi. With the phone, they were able to prove their innocence.”
“Yeah, but did you ever stop to think how you were going to give him the phone? Did it ever occur to you that there was no earthly reason for you to have it, but for the fact that you killed him?” he asked with a combative tone in his voice.
“Shadow, we both know Farah do dumb shit from time to time, but it ain’t no reason to keep beating her up about it. Let’s just put our heads together and come up with a plan that will work this time.” She looked at Farah. “So did the dopehead give Slade and them an exact time when they’d meet?”
“No, but I think it will be in a couple of weeks. The dopehead said she gets her social security check then, and that’s when she normally comes around. It’s being sent to his house.”
“So we’ll be watching for her to come back. Put some people on it.”
“Even if we do intercept the meeting, what about the person who keeps dropping pictures off on me? At first I thought it was Rhonda, but more came after that.”
“How you know it isn’t Eleanor?” Shadow asked, walking over to the bed.
“I don’t know, but what if it isn’t? If she had all of the things on me the pictures show, why not go to the cops?”
“I don’t know, Farah,” Mia responded, rubbing her hand over her face. “She is a dopehead. The more you tell me, the more I’m thinking it is her. I mean, could it be anybody else?”
Her mind roamed to the Fold, but she shook the thought out of her mind. “I can’t think of anybody else.” She sighed. “And that ain’t all. Nadia Gibson’s broke ass is making it her mission to pin every murder in this building on me, including the person Slade killed with his bare hands in the hallway.”
“Is there anybody else who could’ve sent the picture?” Mia asked.
“Yes. I’m still worried about Randy.”
She sighed. “It’s settled. We’re going to come up with a plan that will take care of everything,” Mia said in an exhausted tone.
“And everybody,” Shadow added.
“Y’all telling me something I already know. My question is how?”
Mia walked away and paced the floor. When she couldn’t concentrate, she walked into the living room to be alone. An hour later, she returned to Farah’s room with a smile on her face.
Waving her finger, Mia said, “I got a plan so sweet, by the time it’s all said and done, the only person they won’t be looking at for these murders is you. And if we do this right, the mysterious picture person will disappear too.” She paused. “But you’ll have to stay out of trouble, Farah. No more drinking blood and no more hanging around them freaks in the all black and red.”
“But . . . why?” She paused. “I . . . I have to drink blood. If I don’t, I’ll look like Mama did before she died. Don’t you see? It’s not because I want to, it’s because I have to.”
“Farah, that blood shit doesn’t work!” Shadow roared. “To be honest, it was cool at first because I just came home from jail, but now it’s weird.”
“I don’t know—”
“You either do shit my way, or you do it on your own,” Mia snapped and looked at Farah.
It took Farah five minutes to say, “Okay. I won’t drink blood.” Even though she knew, like everything else, it was a lie.
“Good, because if you follow my plan to a T just like I outline, you’ll be indebted to me for the rest of your life.”
Farah was hopeful seeing how excited Mia was. “Well, what’s your plan?”
“First you have to reconnect with your biological father.” Mia started pacing the floor.
Farah was confused. She never told anybody that she knew Ashur was not her biological father. “Wait. I never told you about him,” Farah responded with wide eyes. “How did you know?”
“We been knew,” Shadow added. “Nobody gives a fuck though. You still our sister.”
“Does Daddy know too?” Farah inquired, looking at her siblings.
“We never told him.” Mia sighed. “And if it’s all the same to you, we want to keep this secret to ourselves. Ashur would be devastated.”
Farah agreed. “So why reconnect with my real father?”
“Because he’s rich and you’re going to need a lot of money for an attorney and an investigator. Don’t worry. I’m confident that he’ll help you.”
Farah was doubtful, but continued to listen.
“Then we need to go to Jean’s apartment,” Mia continued. “Because I don’t care what he’s telling police, he has that surveillance tape from the night he went missing. And if my theory is correct, it’s in his apartment. You’re going to have to seduce this nigga and go get it.”
“Mia, I don’t know about this shit. It seems like too much.”
“Farah, desperate times calls for desperate measures, and unfortunately you don’t have a choice. Getting with this dude is not an option.” Mia paused. “The last part of my plan is Randy,” she continued. “It won’t do us any good to get you out of this drama if Randy is still in the picture. You’ll have to visit him.”
“But he moved,” Farah responded. “And if I see him, he’ll probably want to kill me.”
“That nigga is in love with you,” Mia reminded her. “And from what I’m told, he’s broke. He would love to see you. Now, are you sure you don’t know where he is?”
Farah remembered the last call she had with him that was interrupted. The person in the background said, “Welcome to Serenity Meadows.” She wondered if there was a lead there. “You know what? Let me put something together. I might be able to find him.”
“Good, because he’s important,” Mia said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Now, the last part of the plan means you’ll have to go to the precinct,” Mia told her, knowing she wouldn’t like it. “To turn yourself in.”
“What? Why?” Farah yelled. “If I do that, I’ll have to go to prison.” She was so worked up she was panting.
“Just trust me, Farah.” Mia touched her leg. “I got you, and everything will be okay.”
Farah sighed.
“Trust me, Farah. I got you. Now, are you down or not?” Mia asked.
Farah thought about her options. She realized she didn’t have any. “I don’t have a choice.”
Chapter 35
Farah
“All my life I’ve been an outcast.”
Farah rehearsed over and over in her mind what Mia told her as she steered her car down the highway. She was meeting a man she hadn’t spoken to in years. It took a lot of work to locate him, considering he was a congressman for DC, but in the end it paid off. Farah had wanted to talk to him personally for a long time, but her loyalty to Ashur prevented her from making the move. With her current situation, everything had changed.
When she pulled up in front of his beautiful brick home in the suburbs of Maryland, she wondered what kind of life he had. Was he married? Single? Did she have brothers and sisters? Her mind moved nonstop considering the possibilities. When she calmed herself down, she took a few quick deep breaths and walked up the stairs leading to his door. She didn’t have to knock, because the man she knew as Coach Jaffrey was standing in front of her, waiting.
Jaffrey was an extremely attractive white man with coal-black hair and brown eyes. He looked upon her with admiration and at the same time a bit of sadness. For a second, standing in the doorway, he observed her, and when his lips finally parted, she was afraid he would shoo her away. Instead he said, “Farah, I didn’t know about you. I mean . . . when I heard Brownie was pregnant again, I knew we shared moments together, but she promised me that you were not mine. I didn’t press the issue because she was married and I didn’t want to destroy her relationship.”
She swallowed. How could he not want to destroy her marriage and still fuck a married woman? “Didn’t you think I looked like you?”
“I never once considered the fact that you could be my daughter. Not once. Now that I look at you, I wonder why I never realized it all along.” His smile was weak, but she could feel the kindness behind his eyes. “I’m so sorry that you lived your whole life without me in it. You gotta believe me when I say, had I known I would’ve been there.”
Farah felt warm inside. There was something validating about being wanted. Yes, she knew Ashur loved her, and her heart told her that her siblings adored her too, but he was her biological father, and it made his acceptance different.
She cleared her throat. “I believe you would’ve been there for me had you known.” She looked into his home. “Can I come inside?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” He laughed. “I was so caught up I lost my manners.” He opened the door and allowed her into his beautiful home. The theme was white and mahogany, and the furnishings were breathtaking. To be honest, it reminded her of her own apartment, and she smiled, considering they possibly had the same taste. The closer she looked, she was sure that there was a woman in his life.
“I hope I didn’t come at a bad time,” Farah said. “When I called and you said it was okay to come over, I should’ve told you that it would be now.”
“It’s definitely not a bad time.” He shook his head. “I am happy you came. Since you called, it was all I could think about.” He looked her over, and she wondered what he thought about her. “So tell me about your life. How are things going? Are you safe? Happy?”
There was no way she could tell him that she was a murderous freak who loved blood. Instead she did what she always did: lied. “My life is going okay, but my sister died not too long ago. And Brownie, too. I don’t know if anyone told you yet.”
He stumbled a little and took a seat at the dining room table. She sat next to him. “What? I don’t understand. H . . . how did she die?”
“My mother died some months back.” Farah was cold when she read off the details about her late mother. She couldn’t care less about Brownie’s cold bones or the life she led, but when she saw the hurt in his face, she tried to appear more compassionate. “You cared about her, didn’t you? My mother?”
He looked behind him, she guessed for his girlfriend or wife. “I never stopped loving your mother. I just wasn’t ready to be with her at the time. I was young. We both were, and we allowed people to shape how we felt.”
“What do you mean?” Farah replied.
“I wanted to be with your mother, but she didn’t trust me. Every day it was a fight. She fought with this person and that person, until it was difficult even walking outside with her. Being with your mother meant being in fear for your life constantly, and me trying to defend her always turned into a black and white issue. It was too much.”
“Wait . . . I thought you didn’t want to be with her because she had dark skin.”
His eyebrows rose. “Who told you that?”
She remained silent.
“Farah, whoever told you that lied to you. I’ve given up everything for what I like, including my family members. They’ve proven themselves to be racist over and over again, even with my current wife.” He shook his head. “No, the reason I couldn’t make it with your mother was because she loved violence. And she wasn’t comfortable in her own skin.” When he remembered he was talking to her daughter, he calmed down. “I’m sorry I have to be so cold, but it’s important that I put you on to the truth.” He touched her hand. “But enough of that. Tell me what’s going on in your life.”
“I wasn’t totally honest about myself. I’m not well at
all.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean, you’re not well?”
“I suffer from an illness. It’s a very rare illness, but it ruined most of my life.”
He backed up. “Please tell me you don’t have HIV.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing like that. I just have some blood thing that doesn’t allow me to make blood well on my own. Not only that, but I can’t be around certain smells, wear certain perfumes or cosmetics. I can’t even eat certain foods. This illness is draining.”
“I see. I remember you always being sickly in middle school, but I never knew why.” He looked her over again, and she wondered the meaning behind his stares. “So, what’s the name of the illness?”
“Porphyria.”
He frowned. “I never heard of it before.”
“Most people haven’t. That doesn’t stop it from ruining my life. I try to be strong because it seems that stress makes it worse, but I haven’t been too successful.”
“I can’t imagine. Are you on medications?”
She thought about how she refused everything Dr. Martin had ever given her and lied again. “Yes, I’m taking a few things.” She paused. “It’s hard living my life and not being like other people. All my life I’ve been an outcast. Even in school.” She started crying. “Not having you in my life and as a support system really messed me up, and I guess I never knew that before now.” She wiped her tears. “Do you know how I felt when I learned that my coach was actually my father? Do you know how much that hurt my feelings? Even now it’s hard to deal with when I look at you.”
He jumped up and held her in his arms. She smelled the cologne on his body, but it didn’t bother her as much. For some reason, his embrace made her feel safe. “Farah, I swear on everything I love, including my wife, that there won’t be a thing you can do to get me out of your life. Me and my wife haven’t been able to have kids, and it’s something I always wanted. Of course I want you.”
“So where do we go from here?” she asked honestly.
