The Family Business 4

by Carl Weber

  “Open the damn door,” I yelled, banging on it again.

  The door slowly opened, and Sasha stared at me, looking stupid as hell. I pushed past her and entered the room. There were two beds in the room. London was sitting in the center of one, and the other, which I assumed was Sasha’s, sat empty.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” London asked.

  “The question is what the hell are you two doing here? Do you know how worried everyone is? Pop had everyone tearing apart the fucking hospital and the entire east side of New York City looking for you,” I snapped. “What the fuck is wrong with y’all?”

  “Calm down, O. I can explain,” Sasha told me.

  “No, I’m not gonna calm down, because our psycho uncle tried to kill my mother yesterday, and my sister, who was supposed to know better, along with my super responsible cousin, vanished into thin air without saying shit to anyone. There is no way I’m calming down,” I lectured them.

  “Wait, what?” London jumped out of bed with a sudden look of concern. “What did you just say about Mom?”

  “Uncle Larry tried to kill Aunt Chippy? Oh my God. When? Where?” Sasha stood beside London. “Is she all right?”

  “So now y’all interested. If you’d picked up the phone or answered a text you would know what happened to Ma,” I shouted.

  “Orlando, is Mommy all right?” London asked frantically.

  “She’s home safe now. Of all people, Kenny helped her escape, but Larry is still out there looking for God knows who to do God knows what to them. Which is why when we found out that you two weren’t where you were supposed to be, all hell broke loose.” I shook my head at their carelessness.

  “I’m sorry, O. It’s all my fault.” Sasha’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  “It’s nobody’s fault. Look, we have a reason for being here. We’re not just here for a getaway,” London said with a sigh.

  “I’m listening.” I folded my arms and waited for her explanation.

  “We know how to find Vinnie Dash,” Sasha said after a few moments.

  “Is he here in Florida?”

  “He’s supposed to be in Jacksonville today,” Sasha said.

  “So, if Vinnie Dash is here, why didn’t you tell the rest of us?” I didn’t know if I was more curious about their reasoning or angry at them for trying to go it alone. When it came to issues that affected the whole family, we never condoned this kind of lone-wolf shit. It was too risky.

  “Because we don’t know exactly where,” Sasha explained. “Just that he’s going to be at a marina in Jacksonville.”

  “Dammit, Sasha. Do you know how many marinas there are in Jacksonville?” I sat on the side of the bed, overwhelmed by everything, and began to rub my temples. “I need to call Vegas so he and Daryl can handle this.”

  “The hell you are! We were on this mission way before you got here. We were the ones who got the info from Jamaica John,” London snapped at me.

  “Well, technically we got it from his phone.” Sasha shrugged. “And I’m sorry, but if you think for one second you’re about to stop me from finding that bastard, you’re crazy. He killed my mother—or did you forget about that?”

  “And he tried to kill my mother and my husband,” London added.

  Now I understood why they had gone off half-cocked on this mission. They saw themselves as vigilantes for justice. People they loved had been hurt, and they wanted to be the ones to get revenge. The problem was that this was not a game or a movie; this was real life, with dangerous people, and they should have waited for help from the family.

  “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t y’all tell it to Mom and Pop?” I pulled out my cell phone, pushed a button to dial, then set it on speaker so they could both hear it ring. Sasha didn’t move, but London jumped, grabbing the phone and hanging it up.

  We all looked at one another, at a silent impasse for a minute. Finally, Sasha said, “Orlando, sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. We knew what we were doing. We also knew that nobody would let us do it if we asked.” She put two fingers together. “We are this close to finding Vinnie and, quite possibly, your son. We waste time trying to convince Uncle LC and Aunt Chippy, and Vinnie will be in the wind. Now, you got a whole team with you. Let’s not waste time arguing. Let’s go find that son of a bitch.”

  As crazy as it sounded, Sasha made a lot of sense. And if she was right that Vinnie was nearby, then that could mean my son was too. I didn’t want to waste another second.

  Ruby

  66

  I sat on the balcony of our new yacht, enjoying the view. The water was calming, the sky was magnificent, and the air was just as perfect as the boat we were on. Surprisingly, it had been a peaceful past couple of days. Despite being spontaneously uprooted from his home once again, my son was fascinated by the floating mini mansion that was our temporary home. The 63-foot Benetti yacht had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a crew cabin, as well as plenty of open space for him to play. It had taken Blake bribing him with a trip to Gator World to get him off the boat.

  Seeing my son’s enjoyment also helped me be a little more accepting of our living situation. My initial frustration with Vinnie putting us into this predicament once again was starting to slowly subside. There was also his promise that once he made this final transaction and sold the remaining dope, guaranteed to bring him another million dollars, he would be out of the drug game for good. The anticipation of our being able to live a somewhat normal life gave me a little hope. I was starting to relax and had even made love to my husband, something we hadn’t done in over a week. After, as we lay in bed, we talked about our future and where we would live. Vinnie suggested Europe, far from the Duncans, the Asians, and anyone else who might have brought harm to our family. His excitement was infectious, and I allowed myself to feel some of the happiness that I could see he felt. I quelled the suspicions I had about Vinnie’s involvement with my brother’s death and told myself that I had to stop looking for answers that maybe I didn’t need to know. I fell asleep in his arms, and for the first time in almost a year, I didn’t dream of Orlando.

  My cell phone rang, and Blake’s name appeared. I quickly answered it, knowing he was probably calling because Vincent wanted to speak with me.

  “Hello.”

  “Ruby . . . can . . . with . . . go.” Blake was incoherent.

  “Blake? What ya sayin’? I can’t understand.”

  “Ruby . . .”

  I looked at my phone and saw that my signal was weak. “Blake, I can’t hear ya. Wait.”

  The call ended. I walked along the deck with my phone in the air, trying to get a stronger signal. As I made my way to the stern, the small bars in the corner of the screen slowly increased until they indicated a strong signal. I dialed Blake’s number, and as it began to ring, I looked at the dock and spotted Vinnie heading toward the boat, carrying a large satchel. He waved at me, and I waved back.

  “Ruby.” Blake finally answered.

  “Blake, can ya hear me?” I asked.

  “Yes, I can. Me need fo’ ya to listen to me.” His voice was very serious, and I knew something was wrong.

  “Blake, what’s wrong? Is Vincent okay?” My thoughts went to my son.

  “He’s fine, Ruby, but I talked wit’ de man I told ya ’bout. Ya got to git off dat boat. It’s not safe. I got a car for us. We got to leave now while he’s gone,” Blake told me.

  “Blake . . .” My eyes closed, and I struggled to catch my breath. I knew before he said it, and my heart sank. “Did he?”

  “Yes, Ruby, he killed ya brudda. He paid de man to blow de house up! Ya got to leave. I’m on de way. Meet me at de marina parking lot in five minutes. I’ll be in a green car.”

  The call ended, and I turned to leave. I had barely made it three feet when suddenly, I heard Vinnie’s voice behind me.

  “Well, my love, the deal is done, and we are one million dollars richer.”

  A chill went down my
spine as I felt his arm on my shoulder. I turned and faced him; he stood smiling, holding the satchel like a newborn baby.

  “Dat’s good, Vinnie,” I said nervously.

  “Is that all you’re gonna say? That’s good, Vinnie? Ruby, this is what we’ve been working for. We finally got enough money to travel the world and be happy.” He pulled me close and kissed me, but I couldn’t bring myself to kiss him back. He placed his hand on my stomach and whispered, “We can have a baby. My baby. I can be a dad.”

  He wanted me to have his baby. The man who killed my brother wanted me to make him a father. My husband. The man I married. My brother’s murderer. I needed to get away. I looked over Vinnie’s shoulder in search of Blake and Vincent, who were going to be waiting for me.

  “Ruby, what’s wrong?”

  I ignored him as I continued staring toward the parking lot, searching for the car Blake said he would be driving, but I didn’t see them. I knew I had to leave now.

  Vinnie turned to see what I was looking at.

  “Fuck!” he said through clenched teeth. I took a step back from him, trying to figure out how I was going to get away. Vinnie grabbed my arm and said, “What the fuck are they doing here?”

  “What? Who?” I was confused by what he was asking.

  “Don’t play stupid, Ruby! Shit! Fucking Larry must’ve told them where we were.”

  “Who ya talkin’ ’bout?” I shook my head. My mind was a whirlwind. Vinnie was acting erratic, and I hadn’t even tried to leave. I looked in the direction where he was pointing. There, in plain view, I saw a woman and two men in the distance.

  Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. It was my son’s father.

  “The fucking Duncans, that’s who! We gotta get outta here.” Vinnie grabbed me and pulled me across the deck toward the stairs leading to the staterooms.

  “Vinnie!” I yelled both from panic and the pain of his grip on my arm.

  “Come on. I don’t think they saw us,” he said then yelled to the captain, “Start this motherfucker up. We’re leaving now!”

  Kenny

  67

  The bus ride home to Georgia was the longest ride of my life. I was paranoid at every stop we made, expecting my father or brother to be waiting for me. When we finally made it to Waycross, I was the last person to get off the bus. I stepped onto the platform and looked around, making sure it was safe. I didn’t have any bags with me. All my belongings were still in New York, because there was no way I was going back inside the safe house to get them. I was never going back to that house again.

  I caught a cab to the farm, and when I arrived, my mother was sitting in the living room, watching television.

  “Hey, Ma,” I said.

  “Kenny! You startled me, boy.” She jumped off the sofa and rushed over to hug me, then, glancing over my shoulder, she asked, “Where is your brother?”

  “He’s still with him, Momma.”

  My mother put her hands on my shoulders. “What happened?”

  We went over to the couch, and I sat beside her. I didn’t waste any time getting to the heart of my story. “He’s always been crazy, but now he’s dangerous. He’s a maniac, Momma. He’s killing people for no reason. He killed Aunt Donna, he caused Harris’s accident, and then he tried to kill Aunt Chippy.”

  My mother gasped. “My God! Is she okay?”

  “She’s alive,” I told her. “Momma, we had a fight, and he was about to kill me. Curtis had to stop him.”

  “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” She pulled me in for another hug.

  “I hate him. I swear to God, I hate him. I should’ve known when he first got home and started talking all this stuff about Uncle LC that something was wrong. And don’t get me started about his constant conversations with Grandma Bettie.” I stood up and looked out the window into the backyard. “I should’ve killed him myself.”

  My mother came and stood beside me. “Kenny, don’t say that. You don’t mean it.”

  “I do mean it. He’s out of control, and now he’s got Curtis with him out there somewhere.”

  “Come on, let’s go.” She took me by the arm.

  “Momma, where are we going? I’m tired, and I need to take a shower. I’ve been on a bus for two days. I can’t go anywhere like this.” I motioned at the dingy clothes I was wearing.

  “You’re fine. Where we’re going, it doesn’t matter what you got on.” She pulled me out the front door.

  * * *

  “Why are we here?” I asked five minutes later when we walked up to the small family plot.

  “Because we need to talk, and I need to explain some things to you,” she said, stepping carefully through the graves.

  “We could have talked at the house, Momma,” I said, but she kept moving. I followed her until we arrived at a gated area. She opened the rusted fence that enclosed a large mausoleum with the name Duncan on the outside. I paused before entering. In all the years I’d lived on the farm, we almost never visited my grandmother’s grave. It was just too painful for my parents, even after Dad was sent away.

  “Come on.” She motioned, and I entered with her.

  “Let me explain something about your father, Kenny.”

  “There’s no explanation for him other than he’s crazy. Isn’t that what they’ve always called him, Crazy Larry?”

  She shot me a sideways glance. As bad as he was, my mother had never wavered in her love for him. Then, she launched into a story that blew my mind.

  “Listen, your father was an intriguing man who served his country in Vietnam, but when he came back, he was very damaged, like a lot of men. He’s always been smart, like his father was before him and like his brothers. All Duncan men are, including you.” Her hand covered mine. “But he’s always had a fascination with guns. Over the years, his fascination grew. He was always buying and collecting them. They became his hobby, his passion, I guess.

  “The only person who loved guns as much as he did was Grandma Bettie. They would sit around and talk about and compare guns all the time. That was their bond. Well, one day, the two of them were in the living room, and he was cleaning one of his guns. Curtis was in there with them. Then, the unthinkable happened. The gun went off, hitting Grandma Bettie in the chest and killing her instantly.”

  “What?” I turned and stared at her in disbelief. “Pops killed Grandma Bettie?”

  “No, Kenny.” She released a big sigh. “Curtis shot and killed Bettie. It was horrible. I was pregnant with you at the time. Your father took the blame for it because he didn’t want anything to happen to your brother. It was natural for everyone to assume that he did it. After all, just like you said, he is Crazy Larry.

  “But after that happened, his life took a very tragic turn. All of our lives did, actually. Your father became very paranoid and thought that everyone was out to get him, especially his brothers. I guess it was guilt, but Bettie’s death triggered something. Then, hiding the fact that his son shot and killed his mother, along with the demons he carried from Vietnam, caused him to suffer a psychotic break. He became very violent: assaulting people, destroying property, and then he would say that Miss Bettie told him that people were plotting on him and that’s why he had to do it. He got worse and killed a dozen innocent men.

  “In order to keep him from going to jail, LC, Lou, and I decided it was better to have him locked up somewhere he could get treatment.” Her eyes misted over with tears. “It was one of the hardest decisions we had to make. He was the love of my life, and he took care of his brothers after their father died and Miss Bettie went to prison. We all loved Larry, but we were forced to make a decision—prison or the mental hospital—and we chose what we thought was the lesser of two evils.”

  I sat and listened to my mother reveal things about my father and brother that I would have never thought possible. The bond between the two of them had always been strong for as far back as I could remember, and I never understood, because for most of our lives, my dad w
as locked away. Now it made sense. I felt some sympathy for both of them. I couldn’t imagine the guilt of killing my grandmother, even if it was an accident. Then, all the horrible things that I’d been a part of over the past few weeks came rushing back, and I was angry all over again.

  “You all made the wrong choice,” I snapped, “because now he’s out and back to his old ways. So, it’s your fault that all of this is happening.”

  Tears fell from her eyes, and although I knew my statement was hurtful, I didn’t care because it was the truth.

  “What are we going to do?” she cried.

  “The only thing we can do, Momma. We kill him.”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out as she nodded in agreement.

  Orlando

  68

  We walked along the marina of the Julington Creek pier, where numerous yachts were docked. This was the sixth marina we’d been to this morning, and we had no idea what we were looking for. I was sure Vinnie Dash would be just as flashy with whatever boat he was in as that damn yellow Lamborghini he drove, but there were so many luxury yachts around here, there was no telling if one of them was his.

  It was a gorgeous day, so there was a crowd of people on the pier, enjoying the weather. I scanned faces in the crowd, but none looked familiar.

  “We don’t even know if we’re looking for a tug boat or a tanker. It’s a lot of boats out here,” Sasha said.

  “Trust me, it’s Vinnie Dash. He’s gonna be in a nice boat,” I told her.

  “Hell, it’s a lot of nice boats out here. It’s Florida.” She sighed. We continued walking a little farther, and then, she stopped. “Where the hell is London?”

  I turned around and spotted London not too far behind us, looking back toward the street. We walked over to her.

  “What’s going on? You see Vinnie?” I asked.

  “No, not Vinnie, but look over there.” She motioned her head in the direction she was looking.

  “Who?” Sasha stood on the other side of her.