by Kiki Swinson
“No, I won’t. They’ll try to trick me into saying something they want me to say and I can’t let that happen. And especially without a lawyer present.”
“I will be there with you, if they decide that they want to talk to you,” he assured me. But I wasn’t giving in to that lame-ass alternative. What did he think—I was stupid or born yesterday? It may not look like I have a bit of sense, but trust me, I do.
“No, if I don’t have a lawyer, then there’s nothing else to talk about,” I said, making it plain and clear.
“As you wish,” he replied, and changed the subject. “How was your visit with your mother? The agent outside your room told me that she visited you.”
“What do you want me to say? She came in, she said hello, and then she asked me, how was I doing?”
“What did you tell her?”
“There wasn’t much for me to say. Seeing me lying in this bed speaks for itself.”
“Were you able to talk her into going into witness protection?”
“We didn’t talk about it. She was more concerned about why I tried to kill myself than anything else.”
“Is she still planning to go to her boyfriend’s family’s house?”
“Yes, she assured me that she would.”
“I hope she does. If she doesn’t, then she could be signing her own death certificate.”
“Is that all you can think about? I’m so sick of hearing about people dying,” I stressed to him.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the world we live in.”
“Look, can we talk about something else, please?”
“Well, what do you want to talk about?”
“Anything but that.”
“Okay, well, let me be the one to tell you that immediately after you arrived here at the hospital, we had the doctor discharge him so we could transfer him to the federal holding facility.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel good? Or am I supposed to say thank you?” I replied sarcastically.
“Listen, I’m only trying to keep you informed as we proceed with this investigation.”
“Why don’t you do me a favor and bring my grandmother back!? Bring my cousin Jillian back too, while you’re at it.”
“Oh, don’t try to put that blood on my hands. You’re responsible for the death of your cousin. Remember, she and two other guys came to your place of employment to rob it. Now she’d still be alive if things hadn’t gone down the way it did.”
“I told you I had nothing to do with it!” I roared. The fact that he was trying to get me to confess that I had something to do with the botched robbery made my blood boil. I’m sure he knew I had something to do with the robbery. Any blind man could see it. But as long as I could hold on to my freedom, the more time I’d have to take care of what I needed to take care of.
4
PLEAD THE FIFTH
Agent Sims could not have left any sooner than he had. The sight of him was making me become nauseated. While I lay in the bed, I tried to watch TV, but I couldn’t focus. Instead, I continued to sift through all the channels. I finally settled on watching a TV movie about a woman recently diagnosed with HIV and hospitalized while she was pregnant and in her last trimester. The night-shift nurse and the woman became very close. Knowing that the nurse couldn’t have babies, the woman started the adoption process so she could gift her baby to the nurse. The movie was great and it invoked a lot of feeling inside of me. I cried at the end after the woman with HIV died. The nurse was brokenhearted when the woman died, but she was totally grateful that the woman had gifted her that beautiful little girl.
All and all, the movie was great. It was also an eye opener for me: the fact that that woman died, but still had love and compassion in her heart. People like her come a dime a dozen. My takeaway from that movie was not to take things for granted.
After the movie had gone off, I found myself a little restless, so I turned the volume of the television down a little and closed my eyes. While I was lying there with my eyes closed, I heard two voices outside of my room door. One of those voices I knew belonged to Agent Taylor. The other voice came from a woman. Before I could decipher what they were saying, the door to my room opened and in came two plainclothes detectives wearing their badges strapped to their belts. I was not happy to see them. “I already told Agent Sims that I didn’t want to talk to y’all. So please tell me why you are here?” I asked sarcastically.
“Ms. Heiress, my name is Detective Belle, and this is my partner, Detective Caesar,” she said, extending her hand as she approached my bed, while her male partner smiled.
“I don’t shake hands,” I told her while I gritted my teeth at her and him.
They were both cops that looked like they weren’t a day over thirty years old. “Will you give us just a couple of minutes to ask you a few questions?” he spoke up, pleading.
“I don’t have anything to say,” I replied.
“Can we at least tell you why we’re here?” Detective Belle pressed the issue.
“Look, I saw you on the news standing next to Mrs. Mason.”
“Yes, we were there. And that’s why we’re here. Hoping you could shed some light on where Mr. Mason could be,” the female detective said.
“I told Agent Sims that I haven’t seen Terrell since the other day.”
“And what day would that have been?”
“Ask Agent Sims.”
“Where is this Agent Sims?”
“Ask the agent sitting outside my room, he’ll tell you.”
“Could you think of anywhere Mr. Mason could be? His family would greatly appreciate it if you could help us find him.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. His mother was talking shit about me on live TV. She basically said that I knew where he was, because the last time she spoke to him, he said that he was on his way to my house.”
“So you didn’t see him the night that he disappeared?” she asked me.
“I don’t know what night that was.”
“We’re guessing it was the night of the last time his cell phone pinged at the cell phone tower near your apartment building,” she explained.
“Once again, I don’t know what night that was. I told Agent Sims the thing I’m telling you now. The last time I saw him was the day the agents came by my apartment to talk to me. Now, I don’t know exactly what day that was, but that was the last day I saw him,” I lied. As much as I tried to prevent myself from giving these detectives any information about the last time I saw Terrell, they managed to get it out of me anyway.
“Does he have any enemies?” the female cop asked me.
“Who doesn’t have enemies?” I said nonchalantly.
“I don’t have any,” she said.
“Neither do I,” Detective Caesar interjected.
“Oh yes, you do, you just don’t know it.” I made them painfully aware of that.
“Has Terrell ever been abusive to you?” Detective Belle asked.
“What do you mean, when you say ‘abusive’?” I wondered out loud.
“Has he ever beaten or attacked you?” she clarified.
“No, he never put his hands on me,” I told her. I saw where she was going with this question. If I told her that Terrell and I had fought before, then she would suspect that if something happened to him, I could be behind it.
“That’s not what his mother said,” Detective Caesar said.
“Look, I don’t care what Mrs. Mason said. He and I have argued over a dozen times, but we never had a physical fight!” I roared, because by this time, they had pushed me to the limit.
“Misty, I’m sorry. Detective Caesar and I didn’t come all the way here to upset you. We came here today so you could clear up some things for us. That’s it. So, if there’s anything else you could think of, we’d really appreciate it,” she said, changing her tone to a meek and calm woman. She knew that she had to change the tone of her voice so that she could continue to get me to answer her questions. She had
no idea that I saw right through her bullshit-ass antics.
“I told you all I can tell you,” I told them. I figured if I kept talking to them, they’d get more information out of me that I didn’t want them to have. And who knows? I could possibly put my foot in my mouth and incriminate myself. They’d put handcuffs on me faster than I could blink my eyes.
“Can you tell us why you and Terrell broke up?”
“It was because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”
“How many times had he cheated on you?”
“Let’s just say that it was a lot.”
“Do you know any of the girls that he cheated on you with?” Detective Caesar wanted to know.
“What do you think, I walked around with a pen and clipboard?”
“Most women I know would know these things,” Detective Belle said.
“I stopped counting after he cheated on me for a third time, causing me to have a miscarriage.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me. Not having a baby with him was the best thing that could’ve happened to me,” I told them. Finally acknowledging verbally that I had a major loss sank deep into the pit of my stomach. No one knew this but Jillian and me. Terrell hadn’t even known this. If he had, I knew he’d have tried to kill me sooner than he tried the night I took his life.
“How did he take it when he found out that you had a miscarriage?”
Becoming frustrated, I said, “Look, I’ve answered enough of your questions. I’m done. So, will you please leave?”
“Sure, we can do that. But would you take a polygraph test for us?” Detective Caesar asked me.
“Hell nah, I’m not taking a polygraph test. Are you motherfuckers crazy?” I roared. Now they had really crossed the line. “Agent Taylor, would you please remove these cops from my room?!” I yelled loud as I could.
“Well, tell us what you’re involved in that would have US Marshals babysitting you?” Detective Caesar asked. He was acting really petty.
“What I’m doing for them doesn’t have shit to do wit you,” I spat.
“It would give us an idea of what kind of person we’re dealing with,” Detective Belle chimed in. By this time, Agent Taylor had opened the door to my room. “What’s going on?” he asked as he stood in the entryway of the door.
“Get these rookie-ass cops out of my room. We’ve talked enough.”
“Don’t mind us, Agent Taylor, my partner and I are leaving now,” Detective Belle said as they both began to walk toward the door of my room.
“You should’ve left when I told you the first time!” I yelled.
Before Detective Belle walked completely out of the room, she looked at Agent Taylor and handed him her card. “If she decides that she wants to talk to us further, please call me.”
“Agent Taylor, you might as well throw that card away, because I don’t have anything else to say to them. I don’t know where Terrell is, so leave me alone.”
Agent Taylor took the card and shoved it down into his pocket.
After both detectives left my room, Agent Taylor stood at the doorway and said, “What happened?”
“If you were in here, then you’d know,” I replied sarcastically, and then I turned my attention right back toward the television. Instead of commenting, Agent Taylor closed the door.
5
AN UNEXPECTED GIFT
After those detectives left my room, everything from there calmed down, just like I wanted it. I was surprised that Agent Sims hadn’t come back to the hospital to check on me. But what he did do was swap Agent Taylor out for another agent. He walked into my room and introduced himself as Agent Fuller. He was an older black agent, and in my eyes, he was an Uncle Tom. A kiss-ass, if you will. Immediately after he made the introduction, he asked me if I needed something and I told him no, and that’s when he exited my room.
The following morning I woke up very early. It was six o’clock, to be exact, and I felt rejuvenated from the day before. The nurse that was assigned to me, along with the medical tech, came and went at least five times. Thank God for His angels, because He sent one in here with my breakfast in tow. When it’s time to eat my food, the ladies always gave me my space.
I powered on the television while I ate my food. First I watched The Price is Right and then I tuned into the reality show Shahs of Sunset. I swear that is one of my favorite reality shows on Bravo. As soon as that show ended, I flipped the channel again to watch The Wendy Williams Show. That show is another one of my favorite reality shows. While I was caught up in the drama that those women also found themselves in, the local news station interrupted the show for an emergency broadcast.
“Just over an hour ago, the remains of a decapitated male were found inside of a heavy-duty satchel in the crematory area of Webbers’ Funeral Home during a routine inspection by the Virginia Beach Fire Marshal Department. From what the marshal told us, the remains were badly decomposed, which means that the body had to have been there for more than a few days. When we spoke to the owner of this family-owned business, he said that he’d been out of town for a week on business and that he left a trusted staff member to run things while he was away. He also expressed that nothing like this has ever happened before and that he would cooperate fully to help Virginia Beach Police solve this gruesome mystery. No one knows the identity of the male, but Virginia Beach Police said that they will work tirelessly to find out. My name is Tonya Spaulden and you’re watching Ten on Your Side.”
Anxiety paralyzed me instantly. It felt like I couldn’t breathe and that all the walls around me were collapsing. “Oh my God! That’s where Tedo and that girl took Terrell’s body to.” I whispered so that only I could hear me speak. Lying in the bed made me feel helpless. If only they would’ve done what they were supposed to do. Now I’m fucked!
“Come on, Misty, you got to think of a master plan and pray that that body doesn’t belong to Terrell,” I spoke in a whisper-like manner.
After mulling over every word that the news reporter had uttered, I completely lost my appetite. I mean, who would want to eat after seeing their life flash right in front of them? There was no way in the world that I was going to get out of this situation. With Tedo dead, all I had to worry about was homegirl April. Because if the cops found out that she had something to do with Terrell’s body being there, then I knew that she was going to throw my ass underneath the bus.
The lady that had brought my breakfast came back to pick up the tray. “You hardly touched your food,” she commented.
“I know. I just lost my appetite.”
“Would you like for me to get you a cup of ice?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks,” I told her, and then I watched her as she walked out of my room. “Misty, what the hell are you going to do?” I started whispering to myself again while I searched my mind for a flawless plan so I wouldn’t get sucked into that murder case. I just hoped that even if April got caught, she wouldn’t remember who I was and would take the fall herself. I knew that was wishful thinking, but anything other than getting charged with murder sounded good to me.
I finally got my anxiety under control and was ready to think clearly, until Agent Sims showed his face. As soon as he knocked on the door and I gave him the green light to open the door to walk in, I zoomed in on his facial expression and body language and immediately knew why he was here.
“Are you coming in here to tell me that I’m leaving this place?” I asked him, knowing that wasn’t what he had come here for.
“Did you see the news?” He got straight to the point.
“No, I haven’t. What has happened now?” I replied, disinterested.
“Local authorities found a decapitated male body inside of a funeral home.”
“Where are you going with this?” I asked him, trying to play it cool. Didn’t want to come across as afraid or nervous. Sims was a great judge of character, so if I showed him anything other than me being unfazed by what he ha
d to say to me, he’d know on the spot that I had something to hide from him.
“I just want to know how you’d feel if that body is, in fact, Mr. Mason.”
“I really wouldn’t have any feelings about it either way you put it.”
“So you wouldn’t be upset about it?”
“Of course, I’ll be hurt by it, but with everything I’ve got going on, I can’t think about him. And speaking of which, why did you allow those Virginia Beach detectives to come here to talk to me, after I told you that I didn’t want to talk to them?”
“Sorry about that. I never got a chance to inform the agent on duty yesterday that that interview shouldn’t have happened.”
“Yeah, tell me anything,” I commented.
“So, how did it go?” he questioned me.
“Well, it was two detectives. One of ’em was a lady, and the other one was a man. The woman did the most talking.”
“So, what did she say?”
“She basically wanted to know when was the last time I saw or spoke to Terrell. So I told her the last time I saw him was when you and Montclair stopped by my house.”
“But that’s not accurate. Remember, we’ve got footage of him stopping by the pharmacy right after we saw him at your apartment,” he corrected me.
“Okay, well, my bad. I forgot.”
“Well, you know that I’m gonna have to give them the correct information, huh?”
I became frustrated. “But what difference does it make? I was only a day off.”
“I understand that, but I’m an officer of the courts, so I can’t withhold that information from them, especially since there’s an open investigation going on.”
“See, I knew I shouldn’t have talked to them. You were supposed to keep them from confronting me. I’m in your care. Not the other way around!” I snapped. I was pissed off.
“Let’s not get emotional.”
“There’s no other way to be but to get emotional. You left me amongst a pack of wolves.”
“Look, did they put you in handcuffs and read you your rights?”
