by Kia
“What?”
“Divine, if I don’t get this money to Cali within three days, I’m a dead man. Not just me, but my whole family. He will even have AJ murked in the pen.” The look in his eyes told me that there wasn’t a joking bone in his body. The tension in the room spoke volumes alone.
“Did anyone follow you here?” I asked.
“Nah, they got my cell tapped, so I sent them on a dummy mission way in Plano.”
“Huh?”
He laughed. “They got wiretaps on my phone. So I made a fake call to my homie and told him to meet me in Plano to get some work. So that’s where they headed. After that, I called you on my burnout.”
“Why so many?” I asked, looking down at all of the flip phones.
“I use each phone one time. Trying to stay two steps ahead.”
“Damn. That’s a lot to be going through,” I said with a grin.
“So what’s up? You got me? I need you, Divine. You’re the only one I trust that I know the feds won’t go after. You’ll be the last person they would watch because we don’t talk at all unless we see each other.”
After taking a long pause, I thought about it. “What do you need me to do?” I asked.
He put some money on the table. “Rent a plain SUV and take this money to Cali for me. I need you to drive.”
“Drive? Why not fly?”
He put his head down and shook it. “Divine, if you get caught with this money on a plane, you will get ten years fed time for money laundering. If you get caught with this at all, you will go away, and I will die. It’s a lot on the line, sis.”
“What? Fed time? So what happens if I don’t drive it to Cali?” I asked.
“I die. AJ dies. It’s that simple.”
“And you don’t have anyone else to do it?”
“Not anybody that I trust.”
“I don’t know, Bishop.”
“Here,” he put two stacks of money in my hand, “keep this.”
“I work tomorrow and I can’t miss any more days.”
“How much is your rent?” he asked.
“Altogether, it’s one thousand a month. But Malina and I split it, and I’m working overtime to get a new car. Plus, I gotta put money on your brother’s books.”
“If I give you thirty G’s, would you do this for me?” he asked as he took off his black sweater.
“Thirty?”
“Thirty-five, Divine, goddamn.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice now. Do I?”
“Done deal. You got everything you need. Take this phone and I will call you in the morning. I need you to leave as soon as the rental place open because it’s storming bad out that way, and it takes a whole day to get there. Two days when it’s storming. Los Angeles has horrible weather.”
“Can I take Malina?” I asked.
“Yeah, just let me call Johan and tell him it’s an extra girl coming, so he won’t be all paranoid and shit,” he said as he got up from the couch and threw his ski mask back on.
“I’ll do it this one time and that’s it, Bishop,” I said as I stood up with him.
“Bet. Ay, niggas, we out!” he yelled into the kitchen. Before he walked out he looked at me and said, “Don’t fuck me over, Divine.”
“What was that all about?” Malina asked as we shut the door and walked back into the living area.
“You wanna ride to Cali with me?”
“When?”
“In the morning. We have to drive.”
“What about work? Remember, we were trying to get a new car, Divine? We can’t miss another day. Plus, we’re already behind on the rent.”
I tossed the thirty-five G’s at her. “It’s a life or death situation, and I don’t know what to expect. I don’t want to do this alone. I gotta drop this money off. You with me or what?”
“That’s all? Dropping money off and we come right back?” she asked.
“Yes. And this has to be between you and me only. That’s it. This is serious, Malina. We’re not at the movies. People could die, including us, if we fuck this up.”
“Damn, Divine. You know I’m riding with you right or wrong.”
“Well, good. Help me put this money in the closet so we can get some rest. We have a long trip ahead of us.”
The money bags were as heavy as the statue of liberty, it felt like. When we were done, I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling.
I thought this was about to be an innocent trip. Little did I know, my whole life was about to change.
Chapter Six
Neiman
It was now five in the morning and Pernel still wasn’t back with my car. I wasn’t even mad anymore. Now I was just worried. What if something happened? Still didn’t have any missed calls or anything from him. Picking up my phone, I decided to call his phone again. Still got no answer. Every time I decided to close my eyes, sleep never came.
Lord, please let his dumb ass be safe.
Knowing Pernel, he was probably somewhere high and dozed off. Calling back, I decided to leave a message this time. “Pernel, if you ain’t in great danger, you better be prepared to get your shit out of my house!”
Just as I hung up, I got a call from Parkland Hospital. “Hello?”
“Yes, is this Neiman Hill?”
“Yes, this is me. Who wants to know?”
“Your number was the last number in Pernel Jakes’ phone. We need you to get to the hospital immediately. Something terrible has happened.” My heart felt like it was about to fall out of my chest the minute she said the last sentence.
“Oh my God. Is he okay? What happened? When did this happen? How?” I was now panicking. Felt like the room was spinning. My body threatened to give out on me.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but it is a must that you come in and speak to us in person. It’s against policy to speak about these things over the phone.”
“Okay. Give me fifteen minutes,” I said before hanging up the line. Then I remembered that he had my damn car all night. Oh, Lord.
I had to think quickly, so I called Divine. Didn’t feel like arguing with Nyssa right now. Knowing she was probably sleep, I tried anyway. Today must have been my lucky and bad day because she answered almost immediately. Now that I think about it, the phone didn’t even ring.
“Well good morning, Neiman,” she said all bubbly. The hell wrong with her? And why she up this early?
“Divine, I know you’re sick of me and my favors but I need you so bad right now,” I cried. Didn’t even mean to cry. It just happened. Not knowing what to expect made me sick to my stomach.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“It’s Pernel. Parkland just called me and they say something bad happened. I need to get there fast, but he had my car so I have no way.” I was hyperventilating all over the place as I did my third lap around my small kitchen. Then I started pacing around the bathroom.
“I can’t today, Neiman. I’m sorry.”
“But I need you,” I whined.
“Nyssa can’t take you? If I was in Dallas right now, you know I would.”
“You’re not in Dallas?”
“No. Malina and I went to Houston for a few days. We just left like an hour ago.”
“Shit!”
“Do you still have the key to our apartment?” she asked.
“Yes, why?”
“We caught a cab to the rent a car, so I left the truck at home. The keys in the house.”
“How will I get there, Divine?” I asked with an attitude.
“I don’t know, but the opportunity is open for you. Hope everything is okay. Gotta go, I’m driving.”
She disconnected the phone right in my face, which pissed me off even more. I started to call back, but that was a waste of time.
With deep hesitation, I finally gave in and called Nyssa. I had to call what seemed like sixty times for her to answer.
“Do you know what time it is?” She answered with an attitude.
I almost hung up, b
ut I needed her. I could beat her ass later. “Pernel is in the hospital and I need a ride there. Please, sis, I need you. If you don’t come through for me any other time, I need you now.” I sighed.
“What? Is he okay?” She sounded worried.
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m trying to get there.”
“Okay, I’m on my way. Give me five minutes,” she said before hanging up the phone.
True to her word, she was blowing for me to come out five minutes later.
“Thanks,” I said as soon as I hopped in the passenger side of her car. Being that it was early, it was still dark outside, and a bit chilly.
“It’s all good. What they say?” she asked with a scarf wrapped around her head. Her pajamas were still on. When she said she was on her way, she must have hopped right up and grabbed the keys.
“They won’t tell me anything. Say I gotta come in and talk in person,” I said as I attempted to light a cigarette, but I was trying to stop smoking.
“It will be fine,” she said as she rubbed my back.
When we pulled up to Parkland, she dropped me off at the front so she could park. The walk from the entrance to the emergency desk felt like one hundred miles. My feet dragged the whole way. “I’m Neiman Hill, here for Pernel Jakes.” I began to fan my face as I looked around at everyone there.
She picked up a phone a dialed three numbers. “She’s here,” was all she said before hanging up.
Damn, they were waiting on me? Was it that bad? Shit.
“Have a seat and someone will be out right away.”
Before I could even look for an empty seat in the crowded waiting area, a doctor was standing at the slide door calling my name. “Here I come,” I said under my breath as I struggled to get past all of the people.
Why were so many people here this early in the morning? Finally, I stood face to face with Dr. Plaine I guess, since that was the name on her white coat.
“What happened?” I asked, preparing for the absolute worst.
“I’ve never been the type to sugar coat, so I will tell you flat out. Mr. Jakes was shot twice in the head, and it’s not known if he will make it.” Before my knees could give out on me, she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me to a seat nearby.
“Oh my God. How did this happen?” I asked with my hand over my heart. The room got so cold and the white walls were closing in on me.
“I can’t tell you that exactly, but the detectives are here to further explain. I can only tell you about his medical condition.”
“I got it from here,” a detective said as he walked up and put his hands on Dr. Plaine’s back. She nodded and walked away.
“Can somebody please tell me what’s going on?” I was now frustrated, sad, angry and everything else that wasn’t good.
“Let me have a seat next to you so we can talk.”
“Okay. I just need to know, man. I need to know something.”
“Who are you to the victim?”
“Does it matter?” I asked with an attitude.
“I understand that you’re upset, but I need to know for what I’m about to tell you,” he said as he took his glasses off, showing his baggy eyes. This job had taken a toll on him.
“Just tell me what happened!” I yelled, not meaning to. My emotions were through the roof.
“Pernel was shot while hiding in the closet.”
“What? What the hell was he doing in the closet?”
“He was hiding from the husband of his child’s mother.”
That threw me for a whole loop.
“Baby mother? Pernel doesn't have kids,” I said as I shook my head from side to side.
He took out a picture of a small baby who looked just like Pernel. All I could do was put my head down.
“Pernel hid in the closet after the husband came home early from work. Well… the husband caught him and shot him in the head twice. He’s now in custody, being charged with attempted murder, depending on how this goes with Pernel.”
“So what the fuck am I here for?” I asked as I stood up, mad as hell.
“According to his address, you and he have been living together for some time now, so you’re common law married. He doesn’t have any other family, so the choice is yours.”
“What choice?”
“To take him off life support or to keep him on. You have to choose.”
Chapter Seven
Nyssa
“So what you gonna do?” I asked after sitting in the hospital for hours. The sun was now out and I hadn’t been home since I left earlier.
“I don’t know, man,” Neiman said as she sat beside Pernel’s dog ass. She had the nerve to be crying and holding his hand. Though I never wished anything bad on anyone, he had this coming. Nigga stuck his dick in everything with a vagina attached to it. Hell, he probably was fucking with punks too at the rate he was going.
“Will he be a vegetable if he lives?” I asked as I flipped the channel to the TV.
“They saying he’ll be paralyzed from the neck down. But then again… they say he might not. It’s just the waiting game now,” she said as tears began to fall from her eyes. I rushed to her side and held her.
“Everything will be okay, sis. I got you… promise.” After I had kissed her on the forehead, my phone began to buzz. I had it on vibrate because I wasn’t even supposed to have it up there. But I had a son, so fuck them.
“Yes, baby?” I answered when I saw that it was Percy.
“Baby, where you at?!” It was a lot of commotion in the background.
“Still up here with Neiman and Pernel. Why? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Get home right now! Some shit just went down, and shit ’bout to get crazy!” He hung up the phone.
“What happened?” Neiman asked as she rose up and put her jacket back on.
“I don’t know, but I have to go. Will you be okay here? I’ll be back later,” I said, rushing to the door.
“Nah, fuck that. I’m coming with you,” she said as she kissed Pernel and walked behind me.
“It’s okay, sis. I don’t want you to miss anything. Just stay here,” I said, patting her on the hand.
As I walked into the hallway, I had to pinch myself to make sure that all of this was really happening. I couldn’t run to my car fast enough. Hell, I almost tore up the parking lot trying to get out of there. My house wasn’t far from Parkland, but it felt like I was on my way to Africa. On top of that, I kept getting caught at red lights.
“Come on!” I yelled out the window at the car in front of me.
The arrow was green for us to go left, but she wanted to take all day. One more second and I was about to ram into her car. Finally, she went, but she drove really slow so I swerved around her and felt bad when I saw that it was an older lady. I put my hand over my mouth and let my window right back up.
After what seemed like forever, I finally pulled up to my place, only to find it infested with police and DEA agents. I couldn’t even park my car in the driveway. Had to go all the way down the street and run my ass back home. Before I could step on the grass, an agent put his hands out to stop me.
“Ma’am, no one is allowed inside. It’s a crime scene.”
I pushed his hand aside and told him that I was the owner of the house. Before he could catch up to me, I had already ran into the house and saw the blood splattered all over my walls. I was trying to figure out what the hell happened. There were police everywhere. All I could think about was my son. That’s when I heard him yell my name. Pushing past everyone, I finally made it to his room where he sat with a social worker.
“Are you the owner of this house? Nyssa?” a detective asked me.
“Yes, who wants to know? Where is my man?” I asked, looking around.
“Outside in the back of the squad car. We were waiting for you to come and get your son before we went any further,” he said as he nodded for me to step into the kitchen.
“Somebody want to tell me what the fuck happened?�
�� I asked.
“An intruder broke into your house earlier this morning and tried to rob you guys, so your boyfriend killed him.”
I rolled my eyes and snapped my neck. “So why in the hell is he being detained?” I asked, pointing outside.
“Because as we were conducting our investigation, we found this,” he said, showing me a half of a brick of cocaine and two pounds of marijuana.
“What’s that?” I asked, knowing exactly what it was.
“Did you know that this was in your attic?” He asked as he pulled his hands over his gray hair that looked like a skunk.
“What the fuck were y’all doing in our mothafucking attic? Hell nah, I didn’t know it was up there!” Frustration filled my heart. He smirked like I was lying, but he had no proof. Fuck him and his overlapped ass belly. Looking like a slob.
“Before we go any further, we need to show you the victim to see if you know who he is.”
“Y’all still have him here?” I asked, following the detective to my bedroom.
Percy and the intruder must have been fighting or something because blood was all over my house, and I was mad about it.
“Yes. Is there a reason you left right before he came?” the detective asked as he stopped, turned around and looked me in my eyes.
“Are you trying to say that I set this up?”
“Well… do you have an alibi?”
“Sure do. My sister’s boyfriend was shot and I rushed her to Parkland. My name is on the list, and I’m sure I’m on all of the cameras,” I said with much attitude.
I’m positive that I saw him cringe because he wanted to haul my ass downtown too. My little yellow ass talked a lot of shit to be so small, and I could admit that.
Finally, he resumed walking and led me to the victim. I almost choked when I saw who it was. This was no robbery. “Is everything okay?” the detective asked.
“Yes. Everything is fine,” I lied. What in the hell is he doing here? How did he know where I live? This is no coincidence.
“We were hoping that you could identify him before we took him to the morgue,” he said as he took off his gloves.
