by Shontaiye
Although rookies, the detectives had done quite a bit of research. They knew Noah had been recently injured in a shooting and knew that his long-time girlfriend would be right by his bedside in a very vulnerable state. They weren’t sure if she knew about his alleged love affair, but they did know that she could be an incredible asset if she did.
Shaleea took a silent deep breath and waited before responding. Her stomach felt as if it was in knots and her mind struggled to quickly absorb what she had been presented with.
“You want to question my fiancée about a murder?” she asked, almost mockingly when she finally decided to speak. She did her best to control her facial expression. She was truly shocked. Her lip twitched in anger. She was not angry at the detectives as they were only doing their job. She was angry at Noah because the drama never ended. She knew the bitch claimed to be pregnant, but she wasn’t prepared to think that Noah would take it this far and kill her.
“Yes,” Detective Benson immediately replied, still searching her face for any indication of knowledge or guilt.
Shaleea took another deep breath; this one loud and exaggerated.
“Well as you can see,” she pointed to the bed. “He is recuperating, and I’m tired so I would appreciate it if you stepped out. Noah is in no state to answer any questions at this time, and when he is,” she paused, “he will be accompanied by the best lawyer in the city.”
She looked away from the detectives, pushed the cheap, flower patterned recliner back and pretended to attempt to go to sleep. She was signaling the conversation was over and that there was nothing more to discuss. She was pissed, but she was no fool and she would rather lie in a ditch before she foolishly said anything that would incriminate Noah.
“Well you tell him, he’s damn sure gonna need it,” replied Detective Bohn, finally speaking again since he had formally introduced himself.
Shaleea rolled her eyes, but in her heart knew that he definitely wasn’t lying. She wondered what kind of mess Noah had gotten himself into this time.
TWO
Noah
Noah slowly peeled open his eyelids to see. His body hurt like hell and his eyes were extremely tired and dry. It hurt to absorb the light that was seeping through into them. He turned his head to the direction of a humming sound. It was coming from medical machines and monitors that he saw he was hooked up to. He quickly realized he was in a hospital; which one, he was unsure of. He peered to his right side and saw Shaleea nestled in a recliner fast asleep.
Noah sighed and closed his eyes back. He remembered everything. Mann had shot him. He knew he was lucky to be alive. He remembered the hot bullets ripping through his flesh. He also remembered watching blood flow from his wounds and his energy wane as he slipped out of consciousness. Yes, he remembered it all.
Noah reopened his eyes and parted his lips to speak. His dry throat made his message come out inaudible. It was almost as if he was whispering.
“Shaleea baby,” he struggled to mouth. She didn’t hear him. He let out a weak cough and repeated himself.
“Shaleea,” he started. Noah’s cough, as well as the sounds of him struggling to speak, caused light sleeper Shaleea, to jolt awake. She struggled to adjust to being awakened abruptly. When she did, she attempted to process the image in front of her. She wiped her eyes clear to ensure the image in front of her was real. Noah was finally awake. He had been in a medically induced coma for a week.
Scrambling out of the recliner with excitement, Shaleea quickly pulled down on the assistance button behind Noah’s bed. Words couldn’t describe the happiness she felt to see her man with his eyes open, alive and breathing. Emotion, as well as the feeling of relief rushed her, causing her to cry out.
She had so much to talk to him about. She forced a dry swallow. She wasn’t sure how to tell him she had lost the baby. She also thought about how she would tell him he would never walk the same again. She shook the thoughts out of her mind. It would wait until later. Noah’s life as he knew it would officially change forever.
<><><>
“You’re extremely lucky Mr. Thomas. The bullet that penetrated your abdomen narrowly missed important organs, while the bullet that we retrieved from your back only damaged a small portion of your spinal cord. The quick actions of the doctors that were on that night saved your life my friend. Additionally, you escaped paralysis as well as the need for a colostomy bag.”
The doctor that was examining Noah wasted no time informing him of how lucky he was to be alive. In fact, he believed that Noah was doing quite well after being shot twice, undergoing emergency surgery, and being in a coma for over a week. His recovery was phenomenal and he was scheduled to be discharged in several days. His walk would never be the same, but the way the doctor looked at it, it was a miracle he would be able to walk period, especially with no need for intensive physical therapy.
“Thank you Doctor. We appreciate all the care that you and your team have given to Noah. We are curious as to when he will be able to go home though?” Shaleea asked.
Picking up his clipboard and straightening out his white lab coat, the doctor responded. “I’d say a few days. We want to keep an eye on his wounds and monitor him a bit more. Then he’s all yours,” he smiled.
“Thank you,” Shaleea said, returning the smile, before the doctor walked out. She pushed back her hair and sighed. She was beat, she was relieved, but more than anything, she was happy. The week had been a rollercoaster to hell and she would be glad when it was finally over. Sitting up in her chair she quietly took Noah’s hand before looking in his eyes.
Noah was still resting on the bed and knew something was up.
“What’s wrong,” he asked hoarsely, growing concerned by her changing demeanor. Her peaceful look had been replaced with worry. He sensed grief. He painfully lifted his body up to sit up and face her.
“Nothing bae…” She paused. She wondered if she should wait. She decided against that option. She had to know.
“Noah…What happened that night you were shot? Who did this to you?” she finally asked, while peering intensely in his eyes. Light tears formed in her eyes and threatened to spill out while she waited for a response. Anytime she thought back to that night, emotions overwhelmed her.
Noah stared at her for a minute without responding. He didn’t like to keep things from her but he figured he had to tell her. The whole situation was a result of her infidelity with Mann. He didn’t blame her for being shot, but he wanted her to be aware of what was going on, and that she could be at risk. Noah took a deep breath and told her.
“Bae…When I found out that you and Mann had…” He paused, took a breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. He hated to think about it.
“I tried to reach out to the nigga but he wasn’t responding. I left him a message and things escalated from there.”
Shaleea didn’t bother to ask what kind of message he meant because she was fully aware of Noah and his temper. In reality she wasn’t surprised.
“The next thing I knew, I was out near the park bussin it up with some little nigga and he came through gunning,” he continued.
He left out the reason for him being at the park. He didn’t want her to know that he had been looking for Mann, and that he just so happened to see Noah before Noah saw him.
As Shaleea listened to Noah she involuntarily chewed at her bottom lip. She couldn’t help but feel partly responsible.
“Noah baby, I’m sorry,” she started, but Noah wouldn’t allow her to finish.
“Leea, on some real shit, I just want to put that shit behind us and move forward. I know why shit happened the way it did. I blame myself for that, because for every action there’s a reaction.”
“Noah, I have something else to tell you,” she started with tears in her eyes. For her, it was now or never. Noah looked at her nervously, unsure of what news she would deliver next.
“I lost the baby,” she continued. She waited for a response.
“What? How?
” Noah asked. He immediately felt like all the air in his body had been sucked away. They had been ecstatic about the news of her pregnancy. He knew she was devastated over the loss. It hurt him too, but he knew as a mother, her pain was different. He reached for Shaleea’s hand and took it into his. With tears forming in her eyes, she replied.
“The night you were shot, my blood pressure went up really high and I went into labor right in the emergency room. With my blood pressure soaring so high, so quickly, it put the baby in distress…He was stillborn,” she replied solemnly. Tears spilled from her eyes and down her chocolate face.
Noah went to speak but was disrupted by a knock at the door.
<><><>
Detective Bohn and Detective Mason tapped lightly on the door and then proceeded to enter Noah’s room without waiting for an invitation. They had gotten the call from the cooperative staff at the hospital that Noah was awake and doing well enough to answer any questions the detectives had.
As soon as they entered the room Shaleea immediately glared at the detectives while Noah looked confused. She hadn’t even gotten to mention the two coming by, or the fact that they wanted to question him about a homicide.
“How you feeling Mr. Thomas?” Detective Benson asked with an unauthentic smile. He didn’t really care one way or another. “I’m Detective Benson and this is my partner Detective Bohn. We’re from Philadelphia Police’s homicide department and we’ve come to ask you a few questions.”
Noah immediately thought back to the night he was shot. Slay had been shot in the face and he figured that’s why they were there. He adjusted his body and turned towards the door.
“Well I’m gon stop you right there officer. I don’t know who the gunman was. It was nighttime and I didn’t see his face…Besides, you niggas can do ya own fucking job,” he added, before turning back to face Shaleea.
Noah was not in a good mood. He had just been given bad news and was still trying to digest it. His girl had lost their child and he apparently had even missed the burial. Now just wasn’t the time.
Detective Benson peered at Noah, uninterested in what he had just said. When it was all said and done he was going to enjoy arresting Noah. From what he knew, Noah was a hoodlum who most likely used his criminal revenue to turn himself into a semi legitimate business man. He couldn’t tell since Noah still reeked of slums to him. He hated arrogant ghetto ass holes and felt no sympathy for him as he lay in his hospital bed injured from gunshot wounds. Whatever reason he had been shot, he probably deserved it.
“Actually Mr. Thomas, we’re here investigating the murder of Eve Prevot. She was strangled in a motel a week ago. A motel that you used to frequent regularly.”
If Noah was Caucasian, one would have been able to see the color drain from his face. He did his best to maintain his composure and tone, because deep inside, he was shitting bricks.
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about and I won’t be answering any questions until my lawyer is available and present,” he stated with finality. He wasn’t even going to pretend like he cared the bitch was dead, because in reality he didn’t.
Detective Benson paused and finally responded. “You will definitely want to do that since by the end of the day we’ll have a subpoena for a blood test for the baby she was carrying. Although Ms. Prevot is deceased, quick actions from paramedics saved her unborn child’s life.”
Noah glared at them silently. He was glad they couldn’t read his mind because it was a going a mile a minute with alarming thoughts. If he were in a dark alley, he wouldn’t hesitate to snatch the breath from both of them.
“We’ll see you tomorrow buddy, with that court order,” Detective Benson joked, before the two walked out of the room.
Although they were disappointed that Noah refused to answer questions, they weren’t surprised. That was typically the way things went during homicide investigations. Every now and then they would get the idiot that would tell on himself. It made their job a whole lot easier,
As the two detectives walked away from Noah’s room and down the hallway, Detective Benson couldn’t help but remember the cold look in Noah’s eyes when he revealed the baby was alive. He was a heartless son of a bitch and he would enjoy taking him down off his high horse.
“They came here a few days ago,” Shaleea said finally speaking. Her tone was angry and she was beginning to suspect that Noah had a lot more going on than he cared to admit. “What the fuck is going on Noah?” she demanded to know. She no longer cared about him being in a hospital. She wanted answers.
“Man I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he insisted, maintaining his innocence. Despite appearing confused his mind was doing somersaults. He was sure he had put Eve out of her misery when he left. He assumed the baby would die with her ass. He thought his problem was over that night. Never in a million years did he think his problems were just beginning.
Noah knew he was a piece of shit. To say he was selfish would be an understatement. However, he didn’t care. He just wanted his life back. Meeting Eve was one of the worst things that had ever happened to him. His life had spiraled downward ever since he had met her.
Shaleea glared at him. Her eyes cut through him like daggers. “Noah, I don’t know what the fuck is going on but somehow someway that bitch wound up dead. Now I’m not gon front like I give a fuck because I don’t but I pray you didn’t have shit to do with it.” Shaleea no longer knew what to expect from anyone anymore.
“Shaleea…I don’t know what they are talking about,” he stated with finality.
He would never incriminate himself to anyone, not even her. While he knew Shaleea loved him, he would never put his freedom in the hands of anyone. He trusted her on many levels, but murder, he knew there was no way she was rocking with that. He also knew she was in a highly vulnerable state due to the loss of her baby. Shaleea was good at putting on a tough face, but deep down inside, he knew she was hurting. Topping her pain off with this bullshit was liable to send her off the deep end.
“Was that your baby she was carrying?” she asked, her eyes burning a hole through him. She had never spoken to Noah about the day Eve called her when she was at the doctor’s office. In her heart, she knew that the accusations Eve made held some type of truth to them. Those truths she wasn’t quite ready to face at the time, so she walked away to focus on the health of her baby as well as her sanity.
Deep down she prayed that it wasn’t Noah’s baby, however, something inside of her told her something different. Shaleea knew eventually the truth would surface, and she had no idea how she planned to deal with it when it did.
“Hell no,” Noah stated quickly. He could see the pain and detect her doubt through her glossy eyes. The topic of a possible love child was one that he didn’t want to get on, nor quarrel about.
THREE
Detectives
Detective Benson and Bohn quietly sat in a state supplied police van and listened to the live recording of Noah and Shaleea talking in Noah’s hospital room. They had gotten a court order to place a wire in the room while Noah was admitted.
The conversation the two had was nothing that would deem helpful to their budding case. They spoke mostly to doctors and Shaleea seemed to stay on the phone handling what sounded like business matters.
The two detectives didn’t have much evidence to work with to identify Eve’s killer, however, Noah was still their lead suspect. Eve’s friend had proven to be instrumental in their premature case against Noah. Through Bianca, they had learned that he and Eve quarreled about the baby and that Noah had no interest in accepting responsibility for the child. They also learned that he had been giving Eve $5000 per month in hush money.
Unfortunately, Bianca had not seen Noah enter or exit Eve’s room the night of her murder, and she also confirmed it had been a while since she had even seen the two make physical contact. Noah had done a good job of limiting his contact with her. The information she had given was enough to provide them wi
th a motive, but not enough to charge Noah with murder. They hoped that Noah would incriminate himself in some way while speaking to his fiancée, however, Noah was remaining silent about the topic.
Pursuing Noah was becoming increasingly frustrating for the two detectives and they hoped to get a lead soon when they presented to him a freshly signed subpoena for a blood test. They had previously obtained the baby’s D.N.A the day after the murder with the permission of her newly appointed guardian. Their request for Noah’s D.N.A had been approved a few hours before and the two couldn’t wait to present it to Noah in the morning.
FOUR
Mann
Mann pushed Naomi’s head away from his crotch after releasing a stream of hot semen in her mouth.
“Swallow it,” he demanded, after seeing her cringe.
Producing a smile on her face, she forced the cum down her throat and struggled to stop the gag that was begging to escape. Unable to contain it any longer, part of the liquid violently forced its way back up. She caught it in her hands and jumped up and ran to the bathroom.
Mann laughed as Naomi ran off naked, her spiral curls bouncing. He had been fucking with her since the night he shot Noah. Initially he was unaware that she and Shaleea had just bickered about him. Of course Naomi would fill him in.
Being the opportunist he was, Mann decided that he would use her to stay one step ahead. He knew that with her vulnerability and low self-esteem, Naomi would be easy to conquer sexually and control. He had saw the signs when Shaleea first tried to hook them up. He knew with a little work she would easily be his key to staying abreast to what was happening. Despite the fact he had no initial desire to be intimate with her, he called her up. After forcing himself to listen to her tirade of insults over sleeping with Shaleea, he managed to convince her to come see him. The rest was history.
