Payton spun around, searching for where the voice was coming from.
“Niecy,” she heard again.
Her eyes traveled along the back fencing, and she did a double take when a crouching figure came into focus.
“Uncle Sheldon!”
“Shhhhh,” he said, turning a full 360 degrees, his arms flapping wildly in the air.
She shook her head and closed the distance between them, now aggravated by his foolishness. His hands trembled profusely as he lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and blew out a constant stream of smoke, the crumbling ashes fluttering to the ground. “Since when did you start smoking?”
“Why you all up in my business?”
“Uncle Sheldon, I don’t have time for your shenanigans right now. Are you high?”
He squatted down quickly. “Don’t say my name,” he hissed. “She could be listening.”
Payton glanced over her shoulder, then focused her attention back on her uncle. His behavior at the moment warranted a mental health professional, not rehab. Maybe then she would get a glimpse of the man who had spoiled her rotten in her teen years. Right now, the roles were definitely reversed, and she was exhausted from caring for a grown-ass man with these sporadic episodes that caused him to behave like a child. The problem was that her drug-addicted uncle had been smoking crack for well over ten years, and all she could do was pray that the crack had not permanently fried his brain.
“Uncle Sheldon, settle down and tell me what this is about again,” she said softly.
Avoiding eye contact, he blew out another long stream of smoke before he responded.
“Girl, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were as dumb as a box of rocks, but I helped pay for your education, so I know that’s a lie. I already told you what this was about over the phone. Now, can we go?”
“I know you did, but I just want to make sure I fully understand all the details.”
Payton reached for his arm, the distinct smell of burnt rubber jolting her back to her childhood with Lois. She snickered at the irony. Why her? Out of all the things she had to deal with, why was this man her cross to bear?
“So, you think this is a joke?” he said, crushing out his cigarette.
“Look, why don’t we go back to your room? You can shower, grab a few things, and—”
“I ain’t going back to that death trap. They got the room blocked off with yellow tape, and the cop said he’s dead.” Sheldon reached into his pocket and fumbled with the cigarette pack.
“What the fuck!” Payton muttered. “So, why is the prostitute after you, again?”
“Prostitute? She ain’t no damn prostitute. That heffa is a dope-pushing killa!”
Payton took a deep breath, willed herself to stay calm. She’d been in denial for months, but that all stopped right now. This was much worse than she thought, and she had an obligation to help. Her uncle loved his freedom and would fight tooth and nail before he gave that up, but today was the day that Sheldon Jones was going to detox, and she didn’t care if he wanted to go or not. Then, once he was clean and sober for a few days, they could have a discussion about some serious life changes he needed to make.
“Don’t light that. C’mon.”
“Where we going?” he whispered.
“Just c’mon.”
CHAPTER 35
As Payton waited at the stoplight to turn onto Highway 4, she noticed a lot of chaos in front of the motel. Police cars, fire trucks, and hordes of people crowded the sidewalk. What was going on down there? She glanced over at her uncle, who seemed to be holding his breath. There were stains all over his jacket, and he looked tired and worn out, but maybe he wasn’t as crazy as she believed, after all. When the light turned green, instead of merging onto the highway, Payton jerked the car into the flow of traffic.
“What the hell are you doing?”
After realizing there was no immediate escape, Sheldon quickly unbuckled his seat belt and crouched lower in the passenger seat, trying to hide himself from view.
“Get up from there,” Payton said, shaking her head at her uncle. She glanced into the courtyard and spotted a man who looked familiar. He wore a black baseball cap and aviator sunglasses to hide his identity, but when she spotted his car parked across the street, her suspicions were confirmed. Why was Donathan here? She pulled into the lot and parked parallel to his vehicle, giving Sheldon a clear vantage point of the action taking place across the street. She turned off the engine and hesitated before removing the car key.
“Stay put. I’m locking you inside, and if you open the door, the alarm will sound.”
Before Sheldon could respond, Payton was out of the car, the door slamming behind her. With the windows sealed tight, the beads of sweat appeared instantly.
A screaming alarm would bring unwanted attention, and he didn’t want to go to jail. He waited a few minutes before he raised his head to get a better view. There were more cops now, and a white van with Coroner written on the side was parked in the middle of the lot. His eyes widened when he saw Payton talking to the tall black man he’d made eye contact with when he was making his getaway. The man looked in his direction, and Sheldon quickly ducked out of sight.
“Got dammit,” he cursed. That heifer was colluding with the enemy.
He should have never called her in the first place. If she would just give him his share of the money, he could disappear and live his life the way he wanted to. Now she was trying to get him locked up. Frantically, Sheldon yanked at the door handle, alternating between pushing and pulling, but it didn’t budge. Before he could locate the Unlock button, Payton and the man were standing outside the car. He heard a soft thud, followed by the opening of the rear passenger door as the man slid inside.
“Let me outta this car!” Sheldon yelled. “I ain’t talking to no damn police.” He fidgeted with door buttons, this time finding the power lock. He released the lock, but Payton locked the door again. She coughed.
“Damn, you need a bath!”
Sheldon narrowed his gaze on her as she jammed the key into the ignition, opened the sunroof, and turned the air-conditioning on full blast.
“Girl, I’m not playing with you. Let me out of this damn car!”
“Calm the hell down,” she said in disbelief. “He’s—”
“I don’t give a damn who he is, you conniving bitch! You just want me to go to jail so you can take my money.”
“‘Bitch’? You think I put up with all the shit you do for some goddamn money? Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Sheldon felt the man’s hand touch his shoulder, and he shrugged it away. “Get yo hands off of me! I ain’t no snitch, and I ain’t talking to no damn police.”
“I’m not a cop, Sheldon. I’m a doctor.”
Sheldon stopped moving and angled his body to face him.
“Payton, what the hell is going on?” he screamed. “How much are you paying him to say I’m crazy so you can take my money?”
“Will you stop it already about that damn money? I hate to burst your bubble, but there is not enough money in the world to pay me for your bullshit. This is fucking serious. I believe the woman who murdered the man across the street is Austyn Greene. And I believe she’s my half sister.”
“You ain’t got no sisters! You are my brother’s only child, and Lois ain’t said nothing about having another daughter.”
Even as he said the words, it suddenly became clear. Lois was a good-for-nothing, lying bitch who was always angling for herself, and he should have known she was up to something. But what?
Sheldon was silent a moment, digesting his realization. This explained why that crazy girl was so fixated on Payton and Lois.
“Did you ever go inside her room for anything?” Donathan asked.
“No,” he said in a trancelike state. “But last night, I saw her go into Ray’s room. Then this morning, I saw them bringing that young girl out.”
“Look, Sheldon. You have to help us stop her. Austyn
is dangerous. If we don’t find her soon, I’m afraid she’s going to hurt somebody else.”
“I don’t see what I can do,” he said matter-of-factly. “I told you everything I know. I mean, the last time she came to my room, she wanted me to tell her where Lois was. Said if I did, she’d give me something, but—”
“Do you know where Lois is?” Donathan questioned.
Sheldon hesitated, reluctant to say a single word. He couldn’t believe Lois had been playing him for a fool when he’d been nothing but good to her, even talked his brother into allowing her to stay in the basement of the house. He didn’t know Lois’s exact whereabouts, but he knew enough to help them find her. And when they did locate her, he couldn’t wait to find out what her scheming ass was really up to. She probably double-crossed that other girl, which is why she was so desperate to find her.
“The girl put her number in my phone,” he said, reaching into his jacket pocket to retrieve the palm-sized device. He pressed a few buttons, then scrolled through his contacts, settling on Dr. Feel Good, the one name that stood out from the five numbers he’d saved to the cell phone himself.
“This is her number right here.”
As Payton stared at the name, her face flooded with disbelief.
“We could set up a fake meeting,” Donathan said. “Use Lois as bait. The private investigator I hired said Lois was staying at a rehabilitation house not too far from here, and he took pictures of Austyn snooping around the place last night. Let me go get the address.”
Payton and Sheldon watched in silence as Donathan jogged across the street and disappeared into the sea of reporters.
“Does he even need to go get the address?”
Sheldon shrugged his shoulders.
“You know exactly where she is, don’t you?”
“Um... well, not exactly. I mean, the last time I saw Sonya, I mean Lois, was that day at the courthouse when the judge sentenced her to rehab for passing bad checks,” he stuttered.
“Sonya? Checks? Wait one damn minute. Are you telling me that Sonya Mitchell and Lois Greene are one and the same?”
Silence.
“Answer me, dammit! I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me all this time. No matter what time of day or night you call me, I come running, and this is how you repay me?”
Sheldon kept his eyes downward, too embarrassed to look her in the eye. He’d gone along with Lois’s plan to use the alias Sonya Mitchell for reasons of his own. The longer she squatted in the basement, the longer it would take for Payton to sell his childhood home. All along, he’d been dropping hints that Lois was back in town, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that Lois’s presence would put his niece in danger.
Payton handed him back his cell phone. “I think it’s time we give Dr. Feel Good a call to arrange a little meeting.”
Sheldon gave her a quizzical look. “You wasting your time, that girl ain’t gonna talk to you. She too damn sneaky and way too smart for that.”
“I totally agree, but that’s perfectly fine, since I’m not the one who is going to make the call. You are.”
“What?” Sheldon said, thinking about how manipulative and evil Austyn was. She had killed many men, including Ray, so his best bet was to keep his damn mouth shut. He had already blabbed his mouth enough. He shook his head profusely.
“I ain’t calling no damn body.”
“Make the call, and I’ll give you your share of the money with no strings attached.”
CHAPTER 36
Sitting upright in the back seat of the Nissan, Austyn shielded her eyes from the harshness of the sun. It was the weekend, and she’d parked the car in the deserted warehouse district, hoping the cops or anybody else wouldn’t find her. In the few hours since she’d left the motel, she was conflicted. Half of her wanted to run back to Los Angeles and put this all behind her. The other half knew she couldn’t leave without finishing what she came here to do. Kill Lois.
Fueled by pure adrenaline, she studied her fingernails, and for the first time noticed traces of blood dried around her cuticles. She grabbed the bottle of water from the passenger seat, opened the door, and doused it all over her hands. She rubbed them together vigorously, the enormity of what she’d done washing over her.
“Nobody is ever gonna hurt me again, nobody is ever gonna hurt me again, nobody is ever gonna hurt me again.”
Austyn closed her eyes tightly, tried to pretend she was in a safe place back in Los Angeles, but all she could think of was Lois. Once she made her pay for what she’d done to her, then she could go home.
A high-pitched shrill coming from her pay-as-you-go cell phone startled her. She quickly picked it up, her eyes trying to focus on the screen. She stared at the blocked number as the phone rang and rang. Nobody had this number, so the call was probably for the previous owner of the recycled number. The ringing finally stopped, and just as she was about to return the phone to the cup holder, it started to ring again. This time she answered.
“Hello.”
“I need a little something.”
“You have the wrong number—”
“Wait, don’t hang up!”
“Who is this?” she said, her pulse quickening.
“Sheldon.”
“How did you get this number?”
“These fucking cops ova here beating on doors. Got my damn nerves on edge. I need a little something—”
“Who gave you my fucking number?” she questioned, trying to get her bearings. The police already found the body? She’d hoped that wouldn’t happen for a few more days. Now it was only a matter of time before they were hot on her trail.
“C’mon, don’t make me beg,” he said, sounding desperate. “You got that good shit, and all I need is one baggie—”
“What the fuck does that have to do with me?” she snapped.
“You said if I set you up with Lois, you’d hook me up. Does that ring any damn bells?”
“Lose this number—”
“Austyn, wait!”
“What did you just call me?”
“I-I-I know where Lois is.”
Austyn’s breathing was slow and measured. Nobody in that shithole knew who the fuck she was, and she definitely hadn’t told anyone her name, especially not his crackhead ass. He was probably over there singing like a bird.
“Who the hell told you my name?”
“I-I-I—”
“Never mind. I don’t need you to tell me shit. You should have just kept your mouth wrapped around that pipe and out of my damn business,” she said, her temper exploding. “Now, after I take care of Lois, I’m coming back for your big-mouth ass!”
She jumped out of the car and slammed the cheap cell phone into the pavement, breaking the device into a thousand tiny pieces.
“Fuck!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, then slid into the driver’s seat, cranked the engine, and headed toward Glover House to finish what she had come here to do. She crawled along at the speed limit, keeping a sharp watch for the police or anyone who looked suspicious.
A few minutes later, Austyn parked the car next to the curb on the quiet suburban street. Just as she’d done a few nights ago. She checked her watch. It was almost noon, the time of day when most of the women were volunteering at the soup kitchen. If Lois was in the house, now was the perfect time to make her move.
She reached her sweaty palm under the front seat, wrapped her hand around the cold piece of steel, and lifted the heavy revolver she’d taken from Ray’s room to her lap. She fondled the pistol, feeling powerful and in control.
“Ready or not, Lois, here I come.”
CHAPTER 37
The two-story house looked ordinary in the light of day. A typical suburban home nestled in the court with others like it. Austyn rang the doorbell, then thrust both hands deep into the front pocket of her hoodie.
An older woman opened the front door.
“Good afternoon, may I help you?” she said in a slight British accent.
>
“I’m here to see Lois Greene.”
The woman’s eyes widened with concern, but she held Austyn’s gaze. “I’m sorry, but we don’t—”
“You don’t what?” Austyn pulled the gun from her front pocket and aimed it at the woman. “Say one word, and I’ll kill you dead. Do you understand me?”
Austyn stepped into the foyer and closed the door behind her. “Are you the only one here?”
The woman nodded.
“Where is she?”
The woman jutted her chin toward the stairs.
“Is she alone?”
The woman nodded.
* * *
After securing the woman to an office chair using packing tape, Austyn wrapped several more revolutions of the clear adhesive around the woman’s mouth.
After climbing the stairs, Austyn opened the closed bedroom doors one by one. Finally, she found a woman in her late fifties sprawled facedown on the bed.
“Get up, you bitch!” Austyn spat, waving the gun at Lois. “I bet you never thought you’d see me again.”
Lois Greene rolled over and gingerly pushed herself upright on the twin bed. The whites of her eyes and skin were jaundiced, and the woman’s face sagged with confusion.
“Do I know you? ’Cause I ain’t got no beef with you.”
“So now you want to act like you have amnesia? Bitch, I wasn’t born yesterday,” Austyn said, brandishing the gun.
“Look, I-I think you have me confused with someone else. I haven’t lived here in years.”
“I know exactly who you are. Lois. Anne. Greene. Born to a two-dollar whore who fucked so many men she had no clue who yo daddy is. The bitch who no one wanted so she sold the innocence of her eight-year-old daughter to feed her crack addiction.”
Lois stared at Austyn like she’d seen a ghost.
“You are the goddamn monster who watched, even cheered on, the many men who climbed on top of that helpless little girl without remorse. The heartless bitch who ruined my fucking life. Does that ring any bells?”
Fear and recognition of the woman brandishing the gun in front of her washed over Lois Greene’s face. She shifted on the bed as if the mere sound of her own breathing would set off a volatile chain of events. Austyn moved in closer, placed the barrel of the gun against Lois’s forehead.
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