by Lady J
Carmen flipped it over, spilling everything to the tiled kitchen floor. She dropped to her knees and slid her hands through the mess on the floor until she uncovered the mystery letter from earlier. She read it for the second time then put it all together in her head. The letter was found right after her and Kira had come back in from the grocery store. So whoever had put it there had to know that no one was home at that time. She quickly began to panic, thinking whoever it was had probably watched her and her daughter leave that morning. And might’ve been sitting outside their home somewhere watching them right now.
“One down? One down?” She repeated the two words to herself as she paced back and forth on the kitchen floor with the letter gripped tightly in her hands.
Carmen took off running down the hallway to their bedroom and unlocked Trent’s cedar chest. She scanned the weapons he had inside and pulled out the smallest gun she could find. She checked the rounds in the .38 revolver to make sure all six bullets were loaded into the gun. She then tucked it into the waistband of her jeans and ran back to the living room and scooped Kira up from the floor. She snatched her baby bag from the sofa and then her car keys.
Carmen peeped out the front door, and when she didn’t see anyone, she quickly jammed her key inside, locked the front door, and hauled ass to her car. She wasn’t sure what or who she was running from, but she knew she couldn’t sit around and wait on whoever it is to come back and get her.
After Kira was strapped tightly in her car seat, she climbed in the driver’s seat and took off, speeding out of the driveway and out of the residential neighborhood. She had no clue where the hell she was going, then it set in. She turned her car around and headed in the opposite direction. Carmen’s parents lived an hour and a half away from her, and that was far enough for her to hide. She took one hand off the steering wheel for just a quick second and grabbed her cell phone.
“Damnit!” She huffed when Trent’s phone went to voice mail.
Kira hadn’t seen him since they woke up in bed together earlier that morning. She only left the house to take Moe the spare key to the apartment and to go by the store for food. She couldn’t have been away for more than an hour before she returned home. Carmen then called Moenisha. She pushed the small Honda Civic through the four lanes of traffic with one hand while holding her cell phone up to her ear with the other.
“Moe, I think somebody’s watching me,” she said when Moe picked up.
“What?” Moe replied, jumping up from her spot on the sofa in front of the TV.
She snatched up her pistol from the coffee table and ran over to the window of the apartment. “Is they following you now?” she asked, thinking back on the blue Nissan that had tailed her a few weeks ago.
“I don’t think no one is following me. I said I think someone has been watching me. Or Trent, I’m not sure who they’re after.”
“What’s going on, C?” Moe asked.
“When I left you at the apartment this morning, I came home. When I opened the front door, there was a letter folded on the floor as if someone had slid it underneath the door.”
“A letter?” Moe questioned as she remembered the blood stained letter Nino had with him the night his girlfriend was murdered. “Carmen, what did the letter say?”
“All it said was one down,” Carmen replied.
“One down? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Moe wracked her brain trying to figure out the meaning of the weird letter Carmen had received. “Oh my God. Where’s Trent? Have you talked to him?” Moe asked, assuming the letter meant that he had killed one and was coming back to kill Carmen.
“No, not since he left this morning. I tried to call him but I keep getting his voicemail. Why Moe? You don’t think…” She couldn’t even bring herself to complete her statement.
“Hell no, we ain’t even gon’ claim no shit like that. We all we got left. Just us four. We ain’t losing nobody else.” Moe was in the process of hopping into her jeans as she talked to Carmen on the phone. She strapped up her tennis shoes and grabbed the keys to her car. “Where are you?” she asked. “You have to get out of that house, C.”
“We’re on our way to my parents’ house.”
“Cool, I’ll meet you over there.” Moe hung up and finished getting dressed.
Before leaving, she rambled through the bag of stuff Nino had left behind, and found the handwritten letter. She folded it up and shoved it into her purse. It was still early in the day, so Moe put on a pair of shades and headed for her door with her pistol in hand. Moe carefully looked all around her from the top of the stairs before she made her way down to her car. She hit the unlock button on her keypad and hopped inside.
Moe locked her doors, laid her gun in her lap and started up her car. She was nervous as hell as her right foot shook on the gas pedal. Knowing Carmen, if anyone was following her, she’d probably panic and wouldn’t know what to do. As far as Moenisha was concerned, not only Carmen, but Kira’s life was in danger as well. Moe flew down the expressway with nothing but ill thoughts flowing through her mind. She fumbled for her phone and nearly side swiped a car in the other lane. She scared the hell out of herself after she’d almost caused a major accident on the freeway.
“Shit!” she yelled and tossed the cell phone in the passenger seat and focused back on the road.
She wanted to call Meek to check on him and Trent, and didn’t want to wait the hour it would take her to get to Carmen’s parents’ house.
Moenisha finally arrived an hour later. She pulled her car on the side of the beautiful freshly cut lawn. The driveway was packed with Carmen’s parent’s cars, and her Honda Civic. Moe reached down and grabbed her pistol from the floor board. It had fallen from her lap when her car swerved on the freeway. She slipped it into her purse, got out, and ran up to the door. Moe knocked twice then waited impatiently until someone appeared on the other side of the clear screen door.
“Hello, Moenisha. It’s so good to see you again.” Carmen’s mother opened the screen door and hugged Moe before welcoming her inside. “Carmen is in her bedroom,” she said, referring to the room she had grown up in as a child.
Moe nodded her head then made her way through the big home. She walked down the hallway, and when she opened Carmen’s old bedroom door, the memories of their high school days came flashing back. Everything in the room was exactly the same. From the posters hanging on the walls, to the ton of cheerleader trophies and awards piled high on the shelf in the corner. Carmen was rocking Kira to sleep on the bed. Moe quietly closed the bedroom door, tip-toed over to the bed, and gently took a seat on the bed beside them.
“Y’all okay?” Moe whispered while looking into her eyes.
“Yeah, we good, Moe. At least for right now,” Carmen stated, unsure of what the near future would hold for her and her daughter. She continued to softly rub Kira’s back while rocking her in her lap. “Is her eyes closed?” She asked Moe for confirmation that her baby had fallen asleep.
“They were closed when I walked in,” Moe replied easing up from the bed to give her room to lay Kira down. They both walked out of the room and left the door cracked.
“Mom!” Carmen yelled through the house once she got into the living room. “I’m going to step outside for just a minute. Kira’s in the bedroom taking a nap.”
They exited through the back door and sat down on the huge patio. Carmen took the folded up sheet of paper out of her pocket. “Check that crazy shit out.” She passed it to Moenisha. “I been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what the hell that shit means.”
Moe opened her purse to retrieve the blood stained letter Nino had received. She then unfolded it and held both sheets of paper side by side. The paper had been ripped out of the same note pad and the messy hand writing was identical. Moe handed them both to Carmen.
“Where’d you get this from?” Carmen asked, taking both letters in her hand.
She opened the blood stained one and read what it said. She then turned an
d looked at Moe strangely.
“That’s the letter Nino found at his place the night his girlfriend was killed. The handwriting is the same,” she said.
Carmen’s mouth dropped wide open and her heart began to pound heavily inside her chest.
“Carmen, I think the letter means that he has already done something to someone and is coming back for more. Did you ever get in touch with Trent?”
“Yes, he and Meek are fine.”
“Okay, well, what could it be? We gotta find out what’s really going on.”
Fourteen
Moe, Meek, Carmen and Trent all sat around the living room of the apartment with the two letters sitting in the middle of the coffee table. Over and over, they each spat out assumptions of what they thought the letters meant. They knew exactly where they’d come from, and they also knew that something was up, but what? The phrase was used in the letter Carmen received had left them all confused. They all were accounted for, and Carmen had even called the hospital to check up on Ro. Although she had nothing to do with what was going on, you could never be too careful.
Trent stood to his feet and began to pace the floor with his hands behind his back. His head was down as he stared at the hardwood floors with his thoughts all rammed together into one. He then paused when he realized something out of the ordinary.
“You know what?” He paused and faced the three of them. “That bitch called me about four times in a row earlier this week. She just kept asking me if I was at home. I blew that bitch off by telling her I was out of town.” He threw his hand up and lightly rubbed the hair on his beard. “Come to think about it, that trifling bitch asked me who all was there and what time was I going home. She had to have set this shit up. She must be a part of this whole thing,” he concluded. “I’ma kill that bitch.”
“No, kill yo damn self. How the hell does she know where we live anyway, Trent?” Carmen blurted, jumping to her feet and running up in Trent’s face. “You so damn stupid. How the hell you gon’ have another bitch all up in there then move me in? Now this bitch got niggas coming by trying to kill a bitch and shit. You really are some kind of stupid, ain’t you?” She lifted her hand and mushed it in his face then stormed off down the hallway toward the bathroom.
“Just chill, damn, she only been there once,” he hollered behind her. “Look,” he turned back to face Meek and Moe on the sofa, “that bitch have to know them niggas or at least know something about them. It just seems crazy that she would call and ask me that. She’s never asked me shit like that before.”
“I told your ass about fucking with these off brand women. They be the first ones to set a nigga up for the kill,” Meek said, scooting over and wrapping his arm around Moe. “You gon’ learn one day, nigga,” he joked.
“For real, tho, Meek, just think about this shit for a minute. Nobody knows where my house is. Only you, me, and Carmen. I stopped by the house one time with her in the car with me. It has to be her.” Trent threw himself into the recliner chair and sipped from the pint of Hennessey he was drinking straight. He then jumped back up to his feet and said, “Come to think about, I haven’t seen that bitch or heard from her ass in two days now.” He began to pace the floor again like he was in the middle of solving a case. “Hold up, matter of fact.” He paused and pulled out his cell phone. “The number she had called me from wasn’t even hers.” He scrolled through his call log until he found the unsaved phone number she had called him from two days ago. He hit the call key then pressed the phone up to his ear.
“Put that motherfucker on speakerphone, blood,” Meek shouted.
Trent did as he said and placed his cellphone on speaker. All three of them listened as the line rang once then the operator announced that the phone number had been disconnected.
“That bitch was using a burn out,” he said, referring to the pre-paid cell phone number they’d just called.
“Hell yeah,” Trent agreed and tossed his cell phone down in the seat.
Trent was mad as hell, and wished he could get his hands on his sneaky side piece. He had it in his mind that she was linked to all the shit that had been happening to them. He thought that just maybe the baby she was carrying belonged to one of the men from the other side. Carmen returned from the bathroom and walked right past Trent. He tried to grab her wrist, but she yanked away.
“Don’t touch me, Trent.” She shot him a look that could kill. “And no, I don’t want to hear anything you have to say right now.” Carmen flipped her long hair over her shoulders and switched her way through the living room to the kitchen.
Moe hopped up from the sofa and ran after her, leaving the men to talk freely.
Meek waited until both women had disappeared before he told Trent what was really on his mind. Before he did, he stood and took a shot of the Hen Trent was sipping on. He snatched the bottle out of his hand and turned it up.
He looked at Trent, busted a smile, then said, “You damn fool. You know better. Didn’t y’all just make up? You should’ve known she was gone get mad.” He laughed.
“Man, give me my shit.” He snatched his bottle out of Meek’s hand. Trent stood up and peeped around the corner to make sure the girls were out of earshot. “Fam, I only took that bitch over there one time. She must’ve memorized the fucking address or something,” he said, baffled. “Whatever it is, we have to find out what’s going on around here. This shit starting to bug me,” he admitted, scratching the top of his head.
“Damn right. Let’s go,” Meek replied.
“Right now?” Trent asked.
“Right now, nigga.” Meek grabbed his heat and headed for the front door.
“Bae, we’ll be right back,” Trent called out as he exited the door behind Meek.
*****
“Moe, what time is it now?” Carmen asked as she laid out on the sofa.
Moe was chilling in the recliner, flipping through the channels on the TV. The guys had been gone for almost two hours and they we’re sitting around awaiting their return.
“It’s five thirty,” Moe replied. She jumped to her feet and went into the kitchen. Five minutes later, Moe returned with cake and ice cream on a small round saucer. She sat in the chair and began to dig in. “Have some?” she offered Carmen with a mouthful of ice cream and cake.
“No thanks,” Carmen declined. “I just want to know where the hell them two snuck off to?” She thought out loud.
Moe stared at the TV and shrugged while thinking the two were either at the trap or still hunting down the guy who killed Nino.
“You think they looking for ole girl?” Carmen asked and Moe did the same thing as before. She had no idea what the hell Meek and Trent were away doing, and didn’t feel like boggling her mind trying to figure out where they’d run off to. “Yeah, that’s probably what they doing.” Carmen continued to piece the puzzle together as she answered her own question. “Moe, do you think…” Carmen started to ask Moenisha one more question but was interrupted.
“C, shut up.” Moe cut her eyes at her from across the room. “If you want to know what I think, ain’t no damn telling what the hell Meek and Trent are out there doing. I don’t want to think about it. I’m trying to watch my damn show. You already made me miss the last ten minutes, and I’m sitting right here watching it,” Moe snapped at Carmen.
“Geesh, don’t get your panties in a knot.” Carmen laughed and got up off of the sofa to stuff her feet inside her shoes.
“It’s bunch. Don’t get you panties in a bunch,” Moe corrected her.
“Knot, bunch, same thing.” Carmen replied. “Look, I gotta go pick Kira up from the babysitter’s house. I’ll be back in about a cool twenty minutes or so,” she informed Moe as she picked up her car keys from the sofa. “Oh, make that forty-five minutes. I need to go by the house and grab me and Kira some clean clothes.”
“Wait, you going by Trent’s house?” Moe set the cake and ice cream on the coffee table and sat straight up in the recliner chair.
“Umm, ye
ah. That’s where all of our things are, Moe, duh.” Carmen responded, headed for the front door.
“I know that, but you shouldn’t go there alone, C.” She got up from her seat. “Let me throw something on and pull my hair up in a ponytail. I’ll roll with you.” She started to walk to the back of the apartment. Moe entered the bedroom, flipped on the light, and found something comfortable to slip on.
“Moe, I’m gone!” Carmen yelled from the living room.
“No! Wait on me, Carmen,” Moe said, trying to hurry into her clothes.
“I can’t. I have to be at the baby sitter’s house at six. It’s ten minutes ’till. I’ll be back after a while,” Carmen said.
Moe could hear the front door opening. She used the shirt she was trying to put on to cover her breasts when she ran into the living room to catch her.
“Wait!” she shouted. “Carmen, just go get Kira and come back. I’ll go with you to get y’all things.”
“That’s out of the way, when I can just swoop through there and pick up what we need, then head back here. Moe, I promise you, I’ll be careful,” Carmen said, feeling confident that she can take care of herself. “I’ll call you when I get over there.
Moe nodded her head and watched her leave. She got dressed anyway and returned to her seat in the recliner. “Shit!” She said when she came back to the melted ice cream and soggy cake on her plate.
She sat there for an hour and waited for a call from Carmen, but it never came. Moe got up and looked for her cell phone, thinking she might have missed her call. She found it on the kitchen counter where she’d fixed her cake and ice cream. When she flipped it over and saw the text message icon displaying from the top of the home screen, she cursed herself because the message had been sent fifteen minutes ago.
