by K Elliott
“Okay. Show me where he lives.”
“It’s in a gated community.”
“I didn’t ask you that. Take me there.”
Ramel asked, “Who’s going to drive?”
J-Black hadn’t thought about that. He knew that one of them had to drive. He needed to be in the backseat. He got out of the car, still aiming his weapon and careful not to take his eyes off of either one of the men as he walked around the front of the car to the passenger side. “Okay, I want you to drive, playboy,” J-Black, said cutting his eyes at Mario.
He unlatched the child locks and Mario got out of the car. “Hurry up, motherfucker,” J-Black yelled. He knew Mario could run. But he didn’t. He got behind the wheel of the vehicle like a good little boy scout.
J-Black walked around the front of the car to the back passenger door, opened it, and pushed the body over on the seat. Ramel scooted over as far as he could go.
When Mario cranked up the car, Ramel said, “The apartments are off Park Road.”
“Okay,” Mario said.
“No funny shit, nigga, or else.”
The men rode in silence. J-Black thought about the money he would receive after all of this was over. He wondered where he would take the dead bodies, but he really wanted to know where Q was. He knew he could find him; then he would really get paid. He thought back to how he used to rob Tommy. If he didn’t get Q, he’d find out where Tommy’s stash was. Either way, it was going to be a profitable day for him.
When they got to the apartment complex, Ramel said, “Drive to the back. He lives all the way at the back; the last building on the left.”
“How do you know his man stays here?” J-Black asked.
“My sister used to talk to him.”
“You mean fuck him.” J-Black laughed.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, right there behind that black Suburban,” Ramel said.
“Is that his truck?” J-Black asked.
“Yeah, and the silver Benz R350.”
“Two trucks, huh?” J-Black made a mental note. These niggas were making money and he wanted in—not to be partners. He wanted his cut, just because he knew he had the heart to take it.
“Where is the apartment?” he asked.
“The bottom one on the left.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying,” Ramel said.
“I don’t like liars,” J-Black said, looking down at the dead body. J-Black dug into a small tunnel that traveled through the center of Puff’s head. Blood stained the chrome handgun. J-Black put the gun up to Ramel’s nose. “Smell it.”
“I’ve been smelling it for the past hour.”
“Don’t you love the way it smells?”
“No.”
J-Black then attempted to put the gun to Ramel’s lips. “You like the way it taste?” He laughed.
Mario glanced over his shoulder to look at the psycho in the backseat. What kind of man would play with a corpse? An insane man obviously. A man that nobody was safe around.
J-Black ordered Mario to drive.
“Where we going?”
“Westinghouse Boulevard.”
Chapter 24
F
ifteen minutes later they pulled off the exit. J-Black ordered Mario to drive to the International Tire company. “Turn into that parking lot.”
“What are we doing here?” Ramel asked.
Puff’s upper body fell forward. J-Black grabbed his arm and
sat him up. “We’re going to get rid of our friend.”
“What?”
The motherfucker was crazy, and nothing he said or did was
logical. Ramel wished he hadn’t been the lucky one walking in the rain that night. The day had started great for him—he had gotten a new job with a moving company and he had signed up for some classes at a community college…never did he think it would end like this.
We’re going to put him in the dumpster behind the building. Mario slowed the car down. “Are you crazy, man?” “Motherfucker, I’m calling the shots and I say drive to the back
of the building!”
“Somebody is going to find the body.”
“We’re putting his ass in a trash compactor.”
“What the hell?” Mario said, and turned the windshield wipers
up higher. “I feel like I’m in a motherfuckin’ movie.”
“And I feel like I’m on a high,” J-Black said. “A high and I don’t
ever want to come down.”
Ramel drove to the back of the building. J-Black knew the
area well. He had worked at International Tire for about three
weeks. He had gotten the job through a temp service and he
was fired for being tardy too many times.
When they were along the back of the building; they parked.
J-Black got out of the car first and then ordered the two men to
get the body.
“Come on. Couldn’t we just dump him in the river?” Mario
said, as he grabbed Puff’s arm. “I mean, it’s raining too hard out
here for this shit.”
“Nigga, I don’t give a fuck about no rain. Do what I say before
I blast you in the back of your head.”
The two men tried their best not to fall as they carried the
body. Their feet slid underneath them on the wet street. When they reached the compactor, J-Black ordered Ramel
to move the boxes that were on top. He threw them to the street.
They would cover Puff.
Puff’s body went in the compactor head first, and when he’d
been covered by the boxes, J-Black turned the compactor on.
The metal sheets went back and forth, pulverizing Puff’s body. When they were done, and as the three men were headed to
the car, J-Black said, “I want to know where Q lives.” Mario said, “I don’t know where he lives.”
“Somebody knows.”
“We don’t know. Really,” Mario said.
J-Black put the gun to the side of Mario’s neck. “I wanna know
where he lives, damn it,” J-Black said, then slapped Mario in the
face with the gun. “As a matter of fact, lay down.” He then turned
to Ramel. “You lay down, too.”
“Please don’t hurt us, man,” Ramel said.
“Shut up and lay down.”
Both men lay face down.
“Hands behind your head.”
“Please. Please, don’t hurt us,” Ramel said, placing his hands
behind his head. He knew that if he obliged, there was at least a
chance that he would be spared. At least that is what he thought. Mario turned to look at J-Black’s face. He then refused to turn
over.
J-Black fired the gun at point blank range right between Mario’s
eyes.
When Ramel heard Mario scream, he prayed to God, but it was a wasted effort. J-Black fired two shots in the side of Ramel’s temple. He checked the mens’ pockets then left.
***** Minutes later, J-Black was in the driveway of Puff’s mother’s house. When she turned on the porch light and tried to identify him, he said, “Hey. I’m Puff’s friend. I gotta flat tire. I need help.”
When she opened the door, he cocked his gun. Her eyes grew.
He stepped in and closed the door. “Where is the goddamn money?”
“What money?”
“Your son’s money.”
She held her hands up.
“His room is in the back,” she said, pointing.
“Who else is here?”
“Nobody.”
He grabbed her and put the gun to her temple. His hand was around her waist. She was very soft and felt very good to him. She looked to be about fifty, but damn, she was in damn good shape.
“Walk me to his room.”
Inside the room were piles of clothes—mostly urban stuff. And there w
ere a couple of pairs of Nikes and Timberlands. The safe was in the corner. It was a small safe with the key still in it. Bingo— the stash.
J-Black opened the safe: A nine millimeter, a ski mask, and seven stacks of cash. He assumed they were thousand dollar stacks. “What the fuck? This ain’t shit,” he said angrily. “Where the fuck is the rest of the money?”
“What money?”
“Your son’s fuckin’ money, bitch.”
“Hey. I don’t know anything about no money. I didn’t even know this was in here.”
J-Black assessed the situation. Puff was a small time stick-up kid or else the ski mask would not have been there. He looked over at Puff’s tiny twin bed, which was made up. He popped the rubber bands off the stacks and spread the money out on the bed.
“Have you ever fucked on a bed full of money?”
The woman was afraid. “Please don’t do anything to hurt me.”
He grabbed her ass. Damn, it was soft. This old bitch’s ass was nicer than most girl’s half her age.
“Please, Mister, don’t hurt me.”
He covered her mouth with his hand and shoved her to the bed. “Nobody is going to get hurt.”
He had seen someone fuck before on a bed full of money; he couldn’t remember who. But $6,000 wasn’t any money at all; it was the fantasy that got him off. The money was power and his erection stiffened because the woman was helpless.
“Come on. I’m old enough to be your mama.”
“But, bitch, you ain’t my mama.” He unbuttoned her blouse.
“Please, don’t hurt me. What else do you want?”
He shoved her to the bed and unhooked her bra. “I’ma get me some of this pussy.”
“God don’t like ugly.”
“I don’t believe in God.”
“Listen. No matter what you’ve done in the past, God will forgive you. He loves you.”
Nobody loved him. No family, friends…nobody. It had been a long time since anybody had even mentioned love to him.
“Do you want to be saved?”
He didn’t bother to take his pants down. All of that God talk had turned him off. He gathered the money and banded it up. “I’m about to get the fuck out of here.”
She smiled. “Thank you, sir. Remember, God loves you.”
J-Black scurried to the front door. Puff’s mother was behind him. Just as he was about to step out of the house, he said to her, “Oh yeah…I forgot to tell you. Your son won’t be coming home tonight.”
*****
Dear Summer, I know you haven’t heard from me in a few days; been kind of busy lately, you know, trying to make that money, but I want to see you.
Have you seen that new Denzel Washington movie yet, “American Gangster?”
I heard it was pretty good. Hit me up if that’s something you want to do. Let’s make it a date. Let’s go to Outback then the movie. Holla Back.
Q
Chapter 25
T
he movie was over at midnight. Inside Q’s BMW they talked about the film. Q purposely held his right arm on the steering wheel, hoping she noticed his iced out bracelet that he had bought for thirty grand.
She stared at it, not because she liked it, but because she wanted him to feel important. “Thank you for the date, Q. I really liked the movie.”
Q, still looking at the road ahead, cut his eyes at her and said, “I really like you.”
She smiled. She knew he liked her, but she really wanted to know how much he liked her. She thought for sure that after they had sex he would disappear, but he was still coming around.
“I like you a lot,” he said, putting his hand on her thigh.
“Nice bracelet, Q.”
“Oh, this old thing? Yeah, I had it for a while.”
“Yeah? It’s very nice.”
“Are you into jewelry?”
“I really don’t know how to answer that one, Q. I mean, I like it, but I don’t own a whole lot. I have other priorities to take care of first.”
He smiled. “You know…tell me what you like. I’ll get you a bracelet. Is that what you want?”
“That’s okay.”
“Oh, you don’t have to pay me back,” he said, his hand now rubbing her pussy. He unbuttoned the top button of her blouse.
She turned to him and pointed. “Q, keep your eyes on the road.”
He pulled over and drove behind a Value City furniture store.
He unzipped his pants then leaned into her and began to kiss her. His cell phone rang.
The caller ID read Country. He would call him back. He unhooked her bra.
Country called again. Q knew it was important. He answered.
“Nigga, it’s bad now.”
“What you talking about?” Q knew that whenever Country called, it usually meant one of his lieutenants was in trouble.
“Puff and Mario dead.”
“What the fuck you mean they dead?”
“Mario and Ramel were shot in the head execution style and Puff’s blood was found near the trash compactor.”
“What?”
“Yeah.”
“So what’s up? Do they know who done it?”
“Puff’s mom said some guy broke into her house and held her at gunpoint. She thinks that he was the same man that killed Puff.”
“Why did she say that?”
“Because after the man robbed her he told her that her son wouldn’t be coming home tonight.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Was Corey with them?”
“No. He’s the one that told me about it. Says it’s been on the news all day.”
Q’s mind raced. “What the fuck? Who the fuck done this to them?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Tommy had something to do with this.”
“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking,” Q said, wondering how Tommy knew who fired shots at him.
“Baby what’s wrong?” Summer asked.
He turned to her and at the same time he zipped his pants. “My friends…two of my friends are dead.”
She grabbed his hand and held it. “I’m sorry, Q.”
“It’s okay,” Q said as he looked into her eyes. But it was not okay. He had to find the men who killed his friends.
“We gotta get whoever done this,” Country said.
“Yeah I know,” Q said.
“Can I see you?”
“Maybe later. I’m kind of busy right now.”
“It’s about Ramel.”
“What about Ramel? And why was he with them in the first place?”
“You know I used to fuck with his sister, and she is taking it hard.”
“What you saying?”
“We have to find out who done this.”
“I already know this.”
“Can we talk now? I have some information.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you in twenty minutes at the Waffle House on Billy Graham.”
Q terminated the call and then looked at Summer. “I have to take you home.”
“Yeah. I heard. But when you finish your meeting I’d like to see you.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. She held him. She didn’t want to let him go.
***** The Waffle House on Billy Graham Parkway was almost empty . A trucker and two hookers were the only customers. Country and Q sat in the back of the restaurant.
“So you think Tommy had something to do with it?” Q asked. “Hell yeah. I mean, two of the niggas that fired shots at him are dead.”
Q took a deep breath. He really didn’t think Tommy had the balls to have something like this done, but it really was too big of a coincidence. “But what did you need to talk about?”
“I think I know who actually did the killing.”
“Who?”
“This nigga named J-Black, from North Charlotte.”
“I’ve heard that name before,” Q said, trying to figure out where he’d heard it.
“Yeah. He’s a stick-up
kid.”
“Yeah. That nigga robbed me before.”
“Oh yeah? You never told me that.”
“Because he only got $97 from me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yeah, he robbed the gambling house and he may have gotten about $15,000, but I only had $97. I had lost about five grand that night already. Ramel’s sister had called and said that some girl said that J-Black bragged about doing it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Can you believe this nigga?”
“Yeah, this man is a real killa. We have to figure out how to deal with him. I know…I think we can get the girl to help us.”
Q placed his hand underneath his chin. “Who is the chick, and are you sure that she will help us?” he asked.
“Her name is Tangie.”
“Where does she live?”
“I think she lives in Hidden Valley.”
“A hood chick?”
“Yeah, but she seems to be cool.”
“What you mean?”
“I talked to her on the phone and she seems like she is really upset about what happened,” Country said.
Athin white waitress appeared, poured them both some water, then left.
Q took a quick sip then asked, “What the hell is she upset about?”
“She said that the nigga had been asking her questions about Mario and she said that she was the one that told him where he lived.”
“So she was in on it?”
With his straw, Country stirred the ice in his cup. “No she wasn’t. Says she didn’t know what he was going to do.”
Q looked Country directly in his eyes. “So do you believe the bitch?”
“Yeah.”
“So my question is, What do we need to do?”
“I say we ask her to help us catch up with Mr. J-Black. Money talks and bullshit walks.”
“What you talking about?”
“Give the bitch a few dollars. Pay her bills or something. I guarantee we can get our man,” Country said.
The waitress dropped off two plates of pecan waffles then left.
Putting the syrup on his waffles, Q said, “I’m gonna get that nigga Tommy if it’s the last thing that I do.”
“Yeah. We gotta deal with him now.”
***** Summer opened the door wearing nothing but a T-shirt with no panties. When she turned to walk away, Q grabbed her ass. When he took his hand off her ass, she said, “Damn. What did you stop for?”
“You horny, huh?”
