Beneath The Surface

by Glenn, Roy

  Once they were in the car, Rain turned to Nick. “Let’s go find this mutha fucka and put some bullets in his brain.”

  Nick took out his phone and dialed a number. “This is Detective Harmon.”

  “Jack. It’s me, Nick. I need the last known address and known associates of a Willie Dyson.”

  “I’ll give you a call in the morning,” Jack said and hung up.

  Nick ended the call. “It’s good havin’ a cop in your pocket.” He started up the car and drove off.

  “Where’re we goin’ now?” Rain asked.

  “I know you a bad bitch and all that, but you did just get shot and you should still be in the hospital. I’m takin’ you to somebody that can change that dressing for you. And then I’m takin’ you home so you can get some rest.”

  “Okay,” Rain said and smiled. She didn’t give him an argument. Rain just sat back and watched her man drive.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The following morning, Rain opened her eyes and looked at Nick lying on his back next to her. Nick was still asleep, and she decided to let him rest. She sat up in bed and took a deep breath. Her chest still hurt a little, but she would be ready to go whenever Nick was ready.

  She lay back down and thought about Millie. How could she think that I would kill her? Am I that bad? She asked herself. She looked at Nick. Bad enough for your man to want to kill you. She told Nick that she understood why he felt that way, and she really did. But it hurt. Here I am in love wit’ this nigga and he was comin’ to put a bullet in my chest, she thought. Then it occurred to her what she had just said to herself. Was she really in love with Nick?

  Her answer was yes.

  It took everything she had not to fuck him as soon as he closed the limo door. Truth was, Rain wanted to fuck him every time she saw him, that shit was so good to her. She hadn’t had any dick in four days, and Rain wanted to feel Nick inside of her. Rain ran her hands down her body and slid her panties to one side. She spread her legs as wide as she could without disturbing Nick, and ran one hand over her pussy.

  Then Rain took her right hand and eased three of her fingers in her mouth, before sliding them across her clit. She moistened her fingers again, and slowly moved them up and down her lips. Then she patted them a few times and chills rolled over her body.

  Her bra hooked in the front. Rain unhooked it and uncovered her breasts. She ran her hands across her skin and squeezed her nipples. Rain closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she imagined that it was Nick squeezing them. She could see Nick lower his head and take her nipple into his mouth. She loved the way Nick trapped her nipple between his teeth and glided his tongue across it. Rain squeezed harder.

  Slowly her hands made their way back between her thighs, and she eased out of her panties. While one hand returned to her nipple, Rain ran the other up and down her lips slowly, and then in circles around her clit. She moistened her fingers once again and made circles around her swollen nipples. First one and then the other, wishing it was Nick’s tongue. She stuck her fingers in her mouth again, and sucked them like they were his dick. Her clit began to throb.

  Rain slid two fingers inside of herself. She wanted to feel Nick in her so badly. As she slid her fingers in and out of her warmth, Rain reached over and ran her hand over Nick’s crotch. As it began to respond to her touch, Rain eased her hand inside his briefs. This nigga will sleep through anything.

  Now that it was hard, Rain released it and ran her hand up and down his shaft. As her fingers slid in and out a little faster, Rain knew that she had to feel that dick inside of her. At the same time, she understood that she didn’t need to jar her wound too much, for fear of busting the stitches or something. She would have to find a way to balance to the two.

  Rain got up on her knees as Nick began to move. He opened his eyes just in time to watch Rain slowly lowering herself down on his erection. “What are you doin’?” Nick asked.

  “What the fuck it look like I’m doin’?” Rain asked quietly, and Nick grabbed her ass. He spread her cheeks and eased her down on it.

  “You sure you can take it?”

  Rain stopped moving. “No. So you just lay there. Let me do this.”

  “You stop if it starts to hurt.”

  “Yeah,” Rain mumbled and squeezed his dick with her inner muscles and exhaled. He felt so good inside her that her juices began to flow. Rain moved her hips from side to side.

  Rain leaned forward and put her weight on Nick’s chest. She was a rider and wanted nothing more than to ride that dick until she came all over it. Instead, she settled into a slow up-and-down, side-to-side motion.

  “You can push back, but not hard, okay,” Rain requested, and Nick gladly complied. “Shit, yeah, baby; just like that,” she mumbled, and ground her hips into him. As she looked down at Nick, Rain felt an overwhelming urge to say “I love you”; and was about to when Nick’s cell phone began to ring.

  He reached over and looked at the display. “It’s Jack. I need to take this,” Nick said.

  Rain continued unfazed. “I ain’t stoppin’ you.”

  “What you got for me, Jack?”

  “Got what you asked for. You ready?” Detective Harmon asked.

  “Not right now, Jack.” Nick said, and watched as Rain squeezed one of her nipples and began moving it toward his lips. Nick ran his tongue over her nipple. “I’m not in a position to write anything down.”

  “What you want me to do?”

  Nick pushed himself a little harder and could feel Rain tightening around him. “Do you know a place called Fast Cash on Bronxwood?”

  “Yeah, I know it.”

  “Take what you got up there and give it to a woman named Tasheka. I need mug shots too,” Nick said, and Rain’s eyes narrowed.

  “You got it,” Harmon said and ended the call, as Rain came on his dick.

  Once they were dressed, Nick and Rain drove to Fast Cash to pick up the information Detective Harmon had for them. He parked the car and turned to Rain. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay,” Rain said and rolled her eyes. Wait here my ass.

  She waited until Nick had gone inside, before she got out of the car and went to look in the window. Rain watched as a woman with light, almost blonde, braided hair and light eyes, handed Nick an envelope. The woman said something else to him and then Nick hugged her. Rain’s eyes narrowed again and she headed for the door.

  Nick saw her coming, said good-bye to Tasheka, and turned to cut Rain off. “Who the fuck is this bitch?” Rain yelled as Nick grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of there.

  Once they were outside, Rain jerked her hand away from Nick. “Who the fuck is that light-eyed bitch, Nick?”

  Nick laughed and opened Rain’s door. “What, were you gonna shoot her too?” Rain got in the car and Nick shut the door.

  By the time he got in the car, Rain had taken a breath and calmed herself. “No, I wasn’t gonna shoot her. I just wanna know why y’all was in there huggin’?”

  Nick started the car and drove off. “First,” he said and stuck his finger in her face, “you don’t ever walk into one of our places of business and act like a fuckin’ fool in front of me. You got that?”

  Rain folded her arms across her chest. “I got it.” She pouted.

  “Now, her name is Tasheka. She used to work at Paradise Fish and Chicken. Your brother used to eat there all the time. She wasn’t happy there, so I recommended her for this job. She just got a promotion to assistant manager, and that’s why she was huggin’ me. To thank me for hookin’ her up. No big deal.”

  “Okay,” Rain said, but she wasn’t through. “Did you fuck her?”

  “No.” Nick lied.

  “You ain’t give her none of that dick?”

  “No.” Nick lied again.

  “Okay,” Rain said and pulled out a cigarette. Nick handed her the envelope that he had gotten from Tasheka. She opened it up and looked over its contents. “Got a rap sheet on William Samuel Dyson
aka Dice; last known address, and a mug shot. And I do mean mug, ’cause this is one ugly nigga.”

  “What about known associates; you got that too?”

  Rain flipped through the papers. “Got that too. I guess it is good to have a cop in your pocket. Let’s go get these niggas.”

  “No.”

  “No? What the fuck you mean no?”

  “I told you we’re gonna do this my way,” Nick said as he drove.

  “So what’s that mean?”

  “Right now that means you’re goin’ back to bed to let that wound heal and to get your strength up.”

  “You can’t leave me outta this, Nick.” Rain Insisted.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be right there with me when I get them. But the last thing I need is for us to get in a fire fight, and you start bleedin’ on me and can’t do what you do.”

  “Okay,” Rain said reluctantly. “So what you gonna do?”

  “I’m gonna ride by the club and have another look at the security disc, and show these mug shots to Rose. See if she recognizes any of them.”

  Chapter Twenty

  In light of her new situation, Meka had rented a small office and setup shop. She had no receptionist or secretary, even though she had desks for them. Meka sat alone in her office and looked at her watch. She had only one appointment scheduled for the day, and that was Leon Copeland, and he was to arrive at ten.

  Since he always liked to arrive early for appointments, Leon got there at nine-thirty. Seeing as though there was no receptionist to announce him, Leon made himself comfortable.

  Leon picked up a magazine in the waiting room of Meka’s office and began flipping pages. On the seat next to him sat a briefcase that contained the half million dollars that he took from his safe, on the night that Diamond and Pearl got shot. Now that he had a deal with Angelo Collette, he needed to flip that money and put it to work. Black said that Meka was smart and good at what she did, and Leon hoped that it wouldn’t be too difficult to feel her out, to see if she had the mind-set to do what he needed her to do.

  It was a little before ten when Meka came out of her office, and saw Leon sitting there. “Good morning, Mr. Copeland. Have you been waiting long?”

  “No. Not really.” He stood up and stepped to Meka. “And it’s Leon. My daddy is Mr. Copeland.”

  “Why don’t you come in and have a seat,” Meka said graciously, and showed Leon into the office.

  “Thank you,” Leon said and took a seat. “So you’re from Florida.”

  “I am,” Meka said as she went behind her desk and sat down.

  “What part?”

  “Miami.”

  Leon smiled and snapped his finger. “Magnificent Meka, making money in Miami.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s how I remember names,” Leon said, now confident that he was in the right place. “Magnificent because you are; Making money in Miami because you were. I thought when Wanda introduced us that I’d seen you before.”

  Meka took a deep breath. “Where do you know me from?”

  “You know a guy named Skip Sikes?”

  “Yes,” Meka said, knowing that Leon had her.

  “I met you, or I should say you were pointed out to me, in Miami, at a party for Skip that was given by Connie Joseph. You know Connie, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I know Connie.” Triflin’ bitch. “I remember the party, but I don’t remember you.”

  “Not surprising. You were pretty fucked up that night. At the time, you were doin’ some work for Cerrone Merkerson.”

  Meka sat back in her chair and her mind flashed back to those days. Leon had her all right, because in those days, Meka was making money. Cerrone Merkerson controlled a sizable chunk of the Miami drug market, and Meka was his cleaner. At first it was all about the money for Meka, then she got caught up in the lifestyle. Before too long, she was drinking more than she knew she should, and doing a few lines at the many wild parties Cerrone used to throw. But it was when Meka started smoking that things got out of control.

  She began skimming to support her habit. When she had stolen so much money from Cerrone that she could no longer cover it, Meka began to realize that she had to get away and get some help for herself. But she also knew that she would need some money to go with. When she left, Meka took two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

  “That was a long time ago, Mr. Copeland,” Meka said and shuffled the papers on her desk.

  “Leon, Meka. Call me Leon.”

  “So tell me, Leon, what I can do for you today?”

  “I was interested in some of the same services that you provided for Mr. Merkerson.”

  “I don’t think so. I don’t do that kind of work anymore.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. I left that life and those skills in Miami a long time ago.”

  Leon stood up and reached for the briefcase he had with him. He placed it on Meka’s desk and opened it in front of her.

  “How much money is that?” Meka asked, and remembered the fact that she was broke. She quickly rationalized that she could make this money quick, get out of the hole she was in, and get out.

  “Half a million. Ten percent of it is yours.”

  Meka looked Leon in the eyes. “Fifteen,” she said and closed the case.

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Carmen arrived at the Jacob Javits Center to moderate The Violence Against Women Conference. Some of the topics included: The Hidden Scares of Domestic Violence; Partnerships To Reduce Domestic Violence Homicides; Sexual Assault Forensic; Woman-to-Woman Violence; and The Impact of Violence On Women of Color, which focused on exploring the intensity, trends, and influences of violence against women of color like: How service providers and the criminal justice system are responding; and is enough being done? And if not, what things need to be considered or eventually changed in order to make a difference?

  However, the murder of Tangela House made the session on How To Improve Your Investigation and Prosecution of Strangulation, which was presented by Dr. Elaine Weaver, Medical Director for the Sexual Assault Center at St. Matthew’s Hospital, got a great deal of attention and eventually, turned somewhat volatile.

  Her presentation focused on providing background information and specific techniques, that are needed to effectively investigate and prosecute strangulation cases. The discussion covered the prevalence and lethality of strangulation, including the implications for both the medical and police response.

  When the various types of strangulation were defined, some of the participants began raising questions about the responsibilities of the press, and the public’s right to know, which were directed at Carmen and the police officials, that were in attendance. They demanded information about the case and cases like it, and what was being done to catch the murderer.

  Dan, Carmen’s producer, saw the interest in the story and immediately called Louis Carr, the station’s managing news editor, to pitch a series of segments on the subject. Louis thought it was a great idea and suggested that the segment should be hosted by Carmen. “You’re kidding,” Carmen said to Dan when he told her.

  “Dead serious, Carmen. Maybe ratings have been up since you started reporting this story. I don’t know. But whatever the reason, we got the ball, so let’s run with it.”

  “I’m glad that you see it that way,” Carmen said. “’Cause I was thinking about checking out the studio I was telling you about. Two women may be missing, and that was the last place anyone knew of them going.”

  “I don’t know, Carmen. For one: neither one of them is the victim in this case; and two: it may not be safe for you,” Dan said.

  “But they may be victims just the same.”

  “I’ll be honest with, Carmen. Neither us, nor any other news outlet, have disclosed the fact that the victim was a known prostitute with drug arrests on her record. If they did, I wonder how interested or how much outrage, the viewing public would have if they knew.”


  Carmen looked disappointedly at Dan. She always thought of Dan as an enlightened man. “The question is, or at least should be, does it matter who she was and what she did for money, or just that she was violently murdered?”

  “You’re right. But I still don’t want you going alone,” Dan said.

  That’s when Carmen saw Mike Black coming toward her, carrying a dozen roses. “Don’t worry, Dan. I think I’ll be safe,” she said as Dan walked away. “Well, hello, Mr. Black. This is a surprise. I thought you would have left for Nassau by now,” Carmen said.

  Black handed the roses to Carmen. “First of all, Carmen, you were excellent today. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Carmen inhaled deeply to smell the roses. “They’re beautiful,” she said and looped her arm in his as they walked. “So tell me, what made you stay?”

  “Do you really have to ask me that?”

  “No. But tell me anyway, just in case I’m wrong.”

  “I didn’t want to go. So I didn’t.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” Carmen said and she kissed him on the cheek as they walked toward the exit. “I would have missed you and been on a plane to Nassau.”

  “Anytime you want to come, I have a suite at Atlantis for you.”

  “I’m sure your woman would just love that,” Carmen said, and Black began to evaluate his relationship with CeCe. Just when he was starting to think that it was a settled matter that CeCe was the one. It seemed only natural; especially since she and Michelle got along so well. His feelings for Carmen had definitely complicated matters for him.

  “Yeah, I’m sure she would.”

  “So, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” Carmen asked.

  “I wanna do whatever you’re doin’.”

  “Then you won’t mind coming with me to pay a visit to Finch Studios?”

  “Lead the way, and I will follow you anywhere, pretty lady.”