by Roy Glenn
He had really begun to like her and more than a little bit.
Maybe you should leave something here, he thought of saying but quickly decided not to. “Must be nothing then,” he said and got out of bed. He still wasn’t ready for that.
Bautista pecked him on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
And it wasn’t much later when she was in her car and on her way home to change that Bautista’s mind shifted from thoughts of love and moving in, to the conversation she’d listened to and what she saw the night before. If the woman had really got where she said that she was, and based on the conversation, she was, this could put her one step closer to Rain Robinson.
When Bautista arrived home, she changed into a clean outfit and headed back out to the precinct, arriving at her desk thirty minutes later. It was about fifteen minutes after that when Kirk arrived, and sat down across from his partner.
“Good morning, detective.” Kirk said to her for the second time that morning.
“Good morning.” Bautista leaned forward. “I liked your first good morning better,” she whispered.
“You usually do.” Kirk said and took a sip of his coffee.
“I do.” Bautista paused for a second or two and looked at Kirk and wondered if this was finally the time to tell him. She scanned the room before leaning forward. “I got something that I need to tell you about,” Bautista said in a voice barely above a whisper.
“What’s that?”
“I’ve been working a case on my own and off-book.”
Kirk said nothing at first, he just sipped his coffee. Then he looked around before leaning forward. “I know.”
“You know?”
“Of course I know. I know everything about you.”
“You do, huh?” Bautista said smiling.
“I know when you have a hair out of place,” Kirk said and got up. “You want another cup?”
“No, thank you,” she said slowly, wondering why the revelation that she was not only working a case without him, but she was doing it off-book, didn’t seem to garner any type of reaction.
“So, if you already know, what am I doing?” Bautista asked the second Kirk came back to his desk.
Kirk sat down and lean forward. “You’re investigating Rain Robinson and you’re running a snitch.”
“Confidential informant,” Bautista smiled.
“But you’re running her off-book too.” Kirk shook his finger at Bautista. “You already know how many things can go wrong with that, so I don’t have to tell you.”
“So you’re not mad?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m mad. Mad as hell. As a matter of fact, I’m outraged. What could you have possibly been thinking, detective,” Kirk said as he calmly sipped his coffee. “But you show me a cop, a good cop that hasn’t worked a case on their own time or ran a snitch − excuse me − confidential informant.”
“Thank you,” Bautista smiled, and she gave him a bit of her accent because she knew he liked it.
“What I am disappointed about is that you didn’t come to me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come to you. This was something that I had to do on my own. I thought that you would understand,” Bautista said and dropped her head.
“Oh, I do understand. You know that I do. But the difference is, I went after Black on my own because I had to. I didn’t have a partner that would go to the wall with me. You do, that’s all I’m saying.”
There was a part of him that wanted to include the fact that they shared a bed, but he thought it better it he kept it on a professional level.
“And we’re sleeping together,” Bautista whispered saving him the trouble. So far, they had managed to keep their personal relationship to themselves.
“There is that too.”
“I’m sorry,” Bautista said and then she thought about a question that she needed answered. “How’d you find out?”
Kirk put down his cup. “You really wanna know?”
“Yes, I would really like to know.”
“Rain told me.”
“What?”
“Rain Robinson.” Kirk laughed because the dumbfounded look on her face was priceless. “You know, the subject of the off-book investigation you’re running.”
“Where did you see her?”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe it.”
Bautista laughed. “Where did you see her?”
“She was in line behind me at the bodega.”
“What did she say?”
“She said, I hear your girlfriend is coming after me.” I said, “She’s a cop, you’re criminal, that’s her job.”
“What did she say?”
“She gave me a message for you.”
“What was that?”
“She said, tell her I ain’t hard to find and I’ll be waiting for her when she comes.”
“That little bitch.”
“Remember, Black didn’t put that ‘little bitch’ in charge of his house because she’s a stupid bitch. So, if you’re gonna get her, you have to be smarter than her.”
Bautista got up.
“Where are you going?”
She picked up her half-empty cup. “To top this off,” she said and walked away, but her thoughts weren't on the coffee; her thoughts were on that bitch, Rain Robinson. Not only was she smarter than Rain, but she would bring that bitch down.
“Excuse me,” a female voice said from behind her.
“Can I help you?” Bautista asked.
“Yes, I’m Detective Rachael Dawkins.”
“Detective Marita Bautista,” she said, and the two detectives shook hands.
“I’m looking for Lieutenant Sanchez.”
Bautista looked toward Sanchez’s office. “That’s his office over there, but it looks like he’s on the phone. Can I help you with something?”
“I’ve been assigned to this unit. This is my first day.”
“Well, welcome.”
“Thanks.”
“I guess you can have a seat while you wait. One of these desks is probably gonna end up being yours anyway.”
“Might as well have my pick then,” the detective laughed.
“Coffee’s hot, so help yourself.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything you need, just let me know,” Bautista smiled and headed back to her desk.
“So, detective, tell me what you got?” Kirk asked the moment she sat down.
“I have an informant inside Black’s house that’s starting to pay dividends.”
“Okay, what you got?” Kirk asked.
Bautista looked around the squad room and leaned forward. “She put me on to a meeting between two of Rain’s people and a group of Colombian gun runners that call themselves El Decreto de Guerra this morning.”
“I knew you weren’t out with some girlfriend.”
Bautista smiled. “Did you really?”
“I’m a detective.”
“No. Really, how did you know?”
“You didn’t smell like gin when you came to bed.”
“Oh.”
“You were saying …”
“She called me, and I listened while somebody ordered two of Rain’s men to go to that meeting at Salsa Con Tarifa.”
“But you don’t know who gave the order?”
“No. She was trying to prove to me that she was really getting closer to the top.”
“You didn’t have her wearing a wire?”
“I will, now that I know she’s for real.”
“Go on, detective.”
“I went to Salsa Con Tarifa, checked the place out, but I got kicked out just when Rain’s guys got there.”
“That’s another reason why you should have brought me into this sooner.”
“Since you knew about it, why didn’t you just push your way in like you do everything else?”
“Not this time. This time, I thought that I’d let you do what you thought you had to do. You’d bring me in when you were ready, unless you thought you had
something to prove to me, then you wouldn’t.”
“Think you know me?”
“Told you, I know everything about you.”
“Anyway, she says that her guy is about ready to flip.”
“On Robinson?”
“No,” Bautista said hesitantly. “On somebody higher up the food chain than him.”
“I see,” Kirk said and took a sip of his coffee.
“Don’t look like that.”
“Like what? The coffee is cold.”
“You know … like you’re disappointed.”
“In what? That the coffee is cold?”
“That I don’t have Rain.”
“You said you had somebody higher up, right?”
“Yeah, but−” Bautista began excitedly.
“We’ll flip him and keep working our way up until we get her. But we’ll do it together,” Kirk said calmly. Her obsession with Rain Robinson amused him, mostly because it reminded him of himself and his obsession with Mike Black.
“We’ll get her together,” Bautista said.
Lieutenant Sanchez came out of his office and walked up to Kirk and Bautista’s desk.
“Lieutenant,” Kirk said as Sanchez looked around for a minute or two until he saw Detective Dawkins seated at a desk close by and waved her over.
“Kirk, Bautista,” Sanchez began.
Kirk stood up when he saw the attractive new detective. Bautista shook her head and got up slowly.
“This is Detective Rachael Dawkins. She’s been working undercover infiltrating drug gangs for years,” Sanchez said and both Kirk and Bautista seemed to be impressed.
“I thought it was time for a change,” the detective said to her new colleagues. Rachael had heard of both of them, Kirk especially; he was a legend in the department. She had also heard about them from Jada West.
Back in the days when Jada was running what Black called a little pussy business, she used to run her ladies, all three of them, out of a club called Sensations. Once Jada appeared on Lieutenant Gineconna’s radar, he assigned his best undercover operative, Detective Rachael Dawkins to infiltrate Jada’s organization.
Using her middle name, Chanté, the experienced undercover operative had no trouble at all getting close to the new girly pimp.
But once she became Chanté, the detective found out that she liked being Chanté. She got caught up in Jada’s lifestyle and she loved being a part of it. Riding in Jada’s limousine, eating in the best restaurants, going to exclusive parties, and shopping with generous Jada was unreal. She was no longer Detective Rachael Dawkins; she was Chanté. And to Chanté, she and Jada were friends, and they have remained friends ever since.
Kirk extended his hand. “Welcome, detective,” he said and shook her hand. “Anything you need, just let me know,” he said, and Bautista didn’t like the smile on his face nor the tone of his voice.
Chanté smiled at Kirk. “I may just take you up on that, detective.”
“Follow me, Dawkins,” Sanchez said. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Chanté said and followed Sanchez to his office.
Once the door closed, Bautista punched Kirk in the shoulder. “What was that for?”
“Anything you need just let me know,” she said mimicking his smooth tone. She took a step closer. “Don’t even think about it,” Bautista said and walked away. “And I am smarter than her!”
Chapter Seven
It was after four in the afternoon when Jada was awakened from her nap by a call from the front desk, asking permission to give Simone her room number. She told the desk clerk to not only give her the room number, but to give Simone a card key to let herself in.
Simone was with Jada at the start and was her top earner. But when Jada first left for Nassau, Simone decided to stay in the city. It was a bad choice, and one she regretted. When Simone got out of jail, she called Jada. She thought Jada would just call her back, but to Simone’s surprise, Jada came to New York to talk to her.
“A member of my family said that she needed to see me, so here I am.”
After their reunion, Simone returned to Nassau with Jada, and it wasn’t long before she reclaimed her place as top earner. When Jada returned to New York, she brought Simone with her. Before Jada returned to Nassau and took over Black’s operation in the islands, Jada had opened several houses and left Simone to run them.
With Simone on the way up, Jada got out of bed, put on the La Perla tie-front robe that matched the gown and prepared to receive her guest. She went in the study and looked out the window at the New York skyline.
When Simone let herself in, she called out to Jada.
“I’m in the study,” Jada said.
When the hotel was her home, she used the study in the suite to have meetings and conduct her business. Jada stood up when Simone strutted into the study.
“Hi, Jada,” Simone said and hugged her.
“It is so good to see you.”
“You too, Jada,” Simone said.
“Let me look at you.” Jada took a step back.
Simone was wearing a Naeem Khan short sleeve striped dress and Givenchy studded leather point toe pumps, and a Givenchy Antigona Python envelope clutch.
“You look great,” Jada said. “I know I must look a wreck.”
“You know that I’ve seen you look worse.”
“I know you have.” Jada hugged Simone again. “Come on, have a seat.”
“How are you, Jada?” Simone asked when she sat down.
Jada sat in the chair next to Simone. “I’ve had better days,” she said and without giving her any detail or mentioning that she was the one who actually pulled the trigger, Jada told her about Carmen.
“But enough about that,” Jada smiled. “What’s going on up here?”
“Business has been good.”
When the house phone rang, Simone excused herself and got up to answer it. “Jada West’s room,” Jada heard Simone say as she got up and looked out the window. Even though Carmen wasn’t under arrest, that could change. If it came to that, she knew what she had to do.
“Victor is on his way up,” Simone said to shake Jada out of her thoughts.
“Perhaps I should change into something more appropriate to receive the gentleman,” Jada said. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“I was surprised when you said you were here,” Simone said as Jada headed toward the bedroom. “Especially after the last time you and your buddy were here.”
“Believe me, nobody was more surprised than me when Caprice said that they were anxious to have me back,” Jada said and closed the door.
When she reemerged in the living room, Jada was dressed in a Carolina Herrera leaf-embroidered flocked velvet dress and Jimmy Choo pumps. Victor, who had been waiting on a sofa, stood up to greet her.
“How are you Jada?” Victor asked and gave Jada a polite hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Victor used to be Black’s bodyguard, but after the night that Jada and Shy almost got themselves killed, Black assigned Victor to protect Jada and his bodyguard, Napoleon became Shy’s bodyguard. When Jada returned to Nassau, Victor took over her gambling operations.
“I’m fine. Have a seat,” Jada said. “Can I get either of you a cocktail?” When Victor and Simone both raised their glasses, Jada went to the bar. “So, what’s going on, Victor?”
“I’m sure that Simone told you about Flip.”
“What about Flip?” Jada asked.
“I was getting to that,” Simone said softly.
“What were you just getting to, Simone?”
“Flip called me one night and said that he was shorthanded and needed to borrow some ladies for a private party. Since it was a slow night, I allowed six of the ladies to go and now he says he’s keeping them.”
“Is he really?” Jada asked as she came to sit down.
“When Simone called and said that you were here, I was on my way to have a talk with Flip and explain the illogic i
n that decision,” Victor said.
“No, Victor,” Jada said. “This seems to be more a matter that I need to discuss with Jackie personally. Ask Mr. Nesmith if he could be here at ten to accompany me, please.”
“Consider it done,” Simone promised.
Later that evening, dressed in an intricately embroidered Antonio Berardi dress and Jimmy Choo Lang 100 strappy patent leather sandals, Jada and Mr. Nesmith were about to leave for Conversations to meet with Jackie about Flip, when Fantasy came out of the other bedroom.
Fantasy used to be a dancer at Shooters, a gentlemen’s club that Treach took over after Cynt was murdered and Black separated the gambling from the dancers. But Fantasy always believed that she was destined for something greater than shaking her ass. When Rain was cleaning house, Fantasy played a big part in taking down Keith Gerald, as well as Luke Franken and his crew.
After that, Black thought that he could use her in other ways. He sent her to Mercedes, who totally transformed her from a ghetto shake dancer, to a lady that was ready for the second phase of her training, which was with Jada. When Jada thought that she was ready, she’ll move on to the final phase of her training, but she wasn’t there yet.
Not even close, Jada thought.
Since Jada had planned on being in Paris with Carmen, Jada told Fantasy that in her absence, she would like for her to move around freely throughout the family. “I want you to be seen and recognized.”
When Fantasy asked if she had an objective, Jada told Fantasy that it was to observe. And that was exactly what she was doing. Fantasy had been making her rounds and checking out all the spots that The Family ran. Making her considerable presence known throughout The Family as Jada requested. Now, every place she went, Fantasy quickly became what everybody was talking about. And when she left, she left them anxious for her to come back.
“Good evening, Jada,” Fantasy said as she drifted into the kitchen to get something to drink.
“I didn’t even know that you were here,” Jada said.
“You were asleep when I came in this morning.”
“I see.”
“I need to make you aware that something happened at J.R.’s last night,” Fantasy said.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know. Nobody would tell me anything, but something definitely happened.”
