The Safe House

by Kiki Swinson

  I really needed this lady and to lay low here in her house. My safe house for now. But I was beginning to wonder what her deal was. All of a sudden, she wanted to talk to the cops? She didn’t want to talk to them when they questioned her on two occasions. I could really see how flaky she was getting. Before too long, she was gonna want me to leave. And to be ready for it, I was gonna have to get my exit plan together. I was gonna need a new place to lay low.

  It had been a few hours since those guys broke into my apartment, so I hadn’t had one wink of sleep. I’d walked from the window and back to the couch over one hundred times, to say the least. And in that time, I heard movement in front of the building, but when I looked out the window, I could tell that the noise came from cats and dogs running around the Dumpster near the street. I also saw a couple of cars drive by the building. Surprisingly, I hadn’t seen any cops in plain clothes ride by. And this was strange too. I figured now that I was a suspect in Terrell’s murder, why wasn’t some cop patrolling my neighborhood tonight? Or maybe they were and I just couldn’t see them . . . food for thought.

  * * *

  Sleep finally caught up with me. It didn’t stick with me long. I dozed off around five o’clock, and when Mrs. Mabel woke me up around eight, I realized that I slept for three hours. “I’m heading out,” she told me as she headed toward the front door. “Let me know if you need something before I come back.”

  “Okay, thank you,” I replied, and then I got up from the couch and headed to the bathroom. After I peed, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. When I came out of the bathroom, I walked over to the front window and peered between the blinds. A lot of my neighbors with cars were gone. Most of them were military, so I knew they were on the military base ten miles from here. I also didn’t see an unmarked car parked across the street either. Something was going on and I hated being in the dark about it.

  While I was looking out of the window, I thought about my apartment. As bad as I wanted to leave here and sneak in there, so I could see how my place looked after those guys left late last night, I realized that I couldn’t risk getting caught. So I left well enough alone. I’d have my chance to go back in there, but today was just not the day.

  12

  AMERICA’S MOST WANTED

  As I thought about all the shit that happened last night, with the guys breaking into my apartment and Mrs. Mabel doing the switcheroo on me, it showed that it was only a matter of time before she was gonna get tired of me being in her apartment. I was gonna need to figure out something before it was too late.

  I wasn’t in the mood to eat anything, but I did, however, make myself a hot cup of tea. I added a little bit of honey to it and it was perfect. I found over the years that tea and two teaspoons of honey was a match made in heaven. It relaxed me too.

  Once I had my hot cup of tea in hand, I headed back into the living room and powered on the television. I turned to the news on channel 10 to see if anything concerning Terrell’s case was being reported, since Detective Belle mentioned to her caller that I was a suspect now. I needed specifics, so I waited thirty minutes, and nothing happened. Thirty minutes turned into an hour, and nothing happened. And one hour turned into two hours, but finally a reporter started her broadcast.

  “Channel 10 has been following this story for a few days now. We first reported that during a routine fire inspection, the city’s fire chief found a dismembered body in the crematory area of Webbers’ Funeral Home. The body was identified and the deceased victim is Terrell Mason. Late last night, the Virginia Beach Police arrested a woman who, they believe, played a key role in this murder investigation. We’re told the woman’s name is April Roberts, she’s thirty-four years old, and a bartender at a local gentlemen’s club. Right now, there’s no word on what charges Ms. Roberts is facing. But we will keep you updated as this investigation continues. I’m Mitch Leman and I’m reporting live for Ten on Your Side.”

  “No fucking way. This can’t be. How the hell they find April?” I started off saying as my heart started beating uncontrollably. “She is going to throw me underneath the bus! There’s no way she’s going to take an L for the team, especially since she never got paid for it.”

  See the plan was for Tedo to pay her after we walked away with the shipment of Percocet and Vicodin. But since the heist fell apart, and Tedo is dead, she lost all the way around the board. So, once again, I knew she was not going to take this fight lying down. She was going to implicate me as soon as the cops pulled her into the interrogation room.

  When the news report ended, I sat back on the sofa and thought about how my whole world was falling apart around me. The only good thing I had left in this world was when I heard Detective Belle mention that my mother was still alive. Knowing this lit a fire underneath me. And before anything bad happened to me, I had to make things right for my mother. She was the last blood relative that I had left. So that was what I would do.

  Paranoid that there was a huge chance that Detective Belle told Agent Sims that I murdered Terrell, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. This whole time, I had played the I-don’t-know game; and for them to find out different was going to give them a huge amount of playing field, so they could use me all they wanted.

  Out of nowhere, and while I was sitting on Mrs. Mabel’s sofa, I heard loud knocking from outside her front door.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  “Open up the door, bitch! We know you’re in there!” I heard a woman say. Alarmed by it, I jumped to my feet, tiptoed to the front door, and looked through the peephole. I saw four women standing outside of my apartment. “Open this door, bitch, and come out here and face us!”

  Realizing that Terrell’s mother, two sisters, and his female cousin were standing outside my front door, and banging on it like their minds were going bad, started a whole new anxiety attack inside of me.

  Standing there with their backs facing Mrs. Mabel’s apartment didn’t allow me to look into their eyes. I knew that they were mourning the loss of Terrell, but they needed to do that shit somewhere else. I didn’t need that attention on my place. I just thanked God that Mrs. Mabel wasn’t here. If she was, then shit would’ve really hit the fan. I could see her now, telling me to go outside and confront Terrell’s family. I could also see her confronting them herself, talking about what kind of good person I was. And then that’s when Terrell’s mother and sisters would argue the fact I wasn’t a good person. This whole thing could get ugly quick.

  I stood there for at least five minutes, listening to them berating me like I was some fucking mass killer on the run. I thanked God that they didn’t try to open my front door, because if they had, they would’ve definitely had access to my apartment. Shit would go downhill from there, I was sure.

  Getting sick of hearing their mouths and the noise that they were making, I called 911 and explained to the operator about how loud and intrusive those women were and that they needed to be escorted from the property. Calling the cops today versus last night was a whole different ball game. Last night Mrs. Mabel’s reason wasn’t concrete enough for me. I figured since the guys had gotten away, why waste time calling the cops? How were they going to help the situation? They weren’t going to be able to make any arrests because the guys had already left. Now today was different. These annoying chicks were causing a scene in front of my apartment. What was the point of it all? Since they hated my guts, then why don’t they go about this differently?

  “Everybody, this bitch that lives in this apartment had something to do with my brother’s death,” I heard one of his sisters yell.

  “She sure did, and we ain’t gonna let her get away with it either!” Terrell’s mother yelled.

  “She better turn herself in to the cops, because if she doesn’t, I’m gonna beat her ass!” Terrell’s other sister yelled.

  “Could y’all take that somewhere else?” I heard a voice say. By looking through the peephole, I couldn’t see who the person was, so I raced over to the window to see if I c
ould get a better look. And sure enough, I saw my neighbor that lived on the opposite side of my apartment. He was an older white guy. I can’t tell you how old he was, but I do know that he was a UPS driver. He was also a quiet guy. Don’t know if he has a wife or kids because I barely ever saw him.

  “And if we don’t, what’s going to happen?” Terrell’s cousin challenged him.

  “Yeah, what are you going to do? Call the police,” Terrell’s mother interjected.

  “Listen, lady, you guys are disturbing the peace,” he replied.

  “The chick that lives in this apartment disturbed our peace when she murdered my brother.”

  “Yeah, what do you have to say about that?” Terrell’s mother chimed in.

  “Look, I’m sorry to hear about your brother. But the cops have been all over this apartment complex. They’ve been asking everyone if they’d seen that lady. And none of us have, so what you need to do is get behind the cops that are investigating your brother’s case and take that stuff up with them. Hanging out in front of her apartment door isn’t going to bring your brother back,” he said, trying to find a soft spot in this debate so he could defuse this situation.

  “We understand what you’re saying, but you can’t tell a person how to mourn a deceased family member,” I heard Terrell’s cousin say.

  “You’re absolutely right. But as a resident, I felt like I had to tell you guys that you’re going about all of this the wrong way. That’s all.” His tone turned sympathetic.

  “We appreciate what you’re saying,” Mrs. Mason mentioned.

  “Oh, no problem, ma’am! Now y’all have a nice day,” he said, and then he walked off. I watched him walk to his truck, get in, and drive off.

  A few minutes later, Terrell’s mother, sisters, and his cousin all walked back toward the parking area of the apartment complex. I watched them until they climbed into a black Cadillac SUV and sped off.

  I literally had to wipe the sweat trickling down from my forehead. Damn! Who would’ve thought that Terrell’s family would come to my apartment and create a scene like that? Fuck! I was so glad that Mrs. Mabel wasn’t here! If she was—oh my God—things would’ve blown right up in my face. That I’m an innocent person would’ve gone right over Mrs. Mabel’s head. I’m sure she would’ve gone to the extent of making me face Terrell’s family while they were outside of my apartment. I could see Terrell’s mother calling the cops and telling them where I was, and while the cops were en route to my apartment, I would’ve been fighting one, if not all, of them. And three-girls-on-one wouldn’t have been a fair fight, but they would not have cared. Getting revenge for Terrell was all they would’ve focused on.

  13

  PROOF OF LIFE

  I settled my nerves after Terrell’s family left. I thanked God for my neighbor. If he hadn’t checked them, those silly-ass hos would’ve still been standing outside of my apartment making threats. I also thanked God for Mrs. Mabel not being in here too. Things would’ve definitely gotten out of hand.

  As I sat in Mrs. Mabel’s apartment, I did feel somewhat safe. But then again, I didn’t. I couldn’t say it enough about how I was going to get myself out of this situation. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was beginning to feel stifled in this apartment. In addition to that, I felt like I had no say-so about anything concerning me. Everything was good in the beginning when Mrs. Mabel opened her door to me. Now I was having regrets and wanted a way out. But if I left, then where was I going? I couldn’t go to my grandmother’s house. I couldn’t go to my mother’s house either. I no longer have a job, so I couldn’t hang out there. So, what the hell was I going to do?

  Now that the cops had April in custody, it was only a matter of time before they came looking for me. There was not a doubt in my mind that they were going to plaster my face all over the TV and Internet. And once that happened, I probably wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere in public. Talk about losing your freedom.

  To get my mind off the stresses in my life, I hopped in the shower and thought that it would help me relax, but it didn’t. Instead, I found myself bawling my eyes out. Tears soaked my face, and no matter how much I tried to wipe my eyes with my bath cloth, tears kept coming.

  Thinking about my mother being in the hands of Ahmad’s mafia was causing me to have a panic attack. I knew my mother has probably shitted on herself by now. My mother wasn’t a ride-or-die chick like me. I knew how to survive a little. But she didn’t know how to do that at all. I gotta get her out of this situation, and I mean now.

  Immediately after I took my shower, I dried off and put on another change of clothes. Upon my arrival back into the living room, I looked outside to see if any new cars had parked in the area. When I didn’t see anything new, I sat down on the couch and sifted through the channels on TV. It didn’t matter what channel I turned to, I just could not get into it. I turned the channel back to the news station so I could stay current with the news. What had been bothering me was that my mother’s name hadn’t been mentioned in the news. What was the cops’ angle? Was it not important to broadcast? Someone needed to say something to the public, just in case someone saw her and knew where she was.

  So, what the fuck is going on?

  I swear, I wanted to call Agent Sims and Detective Belle so badly and curse their asses out. What kind of game were they playing? My mother’s life was on the line, so why hadn’t anyone publicized it yet? Was it because she was my mother and her life wasn’t important? Or were they waiting for me to turn myself in and make them do something in exchange for my role in Terrell’s murder? Better yet, they wanted me back to testify against Ahmad’s family, and once I did that, they’d send out a team to rescue my mother?

  Whatever was going on in Agent Sims’s and Detective Belle’s heads, it needed to stop. An innocent woman’s life was on the line and she needed to be found. Point-blank. I knew one thing, if they didn’t spring into action, then I would, and I was going to expose everyone in my path.

  After traveling back and forth to the window and back to the sofa over five times, I saw Mrs. Mabel as she pulled up underneath her carport and got out of her car. While she was taking a couple of bags from the back seat of her car, I saw the little boy that came by the day before. He was approaching her with his box of chocolate candy bars. I watched him as he talked to her about the assortment of candy he had. She smiled at him the entire time as he talked about what he had. A few seconds later, she started walking toward this apartment, and the little boy was in tow. To prevent her from unlocking the front door on her own, I stood there and opened the door myself. “I see you’re back,” I commented as Mrs. Mabel approached the front door.

  “Yes, I’m here. And I got a little salesman with me,” she said as she walked into the apartment. After she walked by me, she looked back at the little boy and said, “Come on in here, baby. And I’m gonna get you that dollar after I put these groceries down.”

  The little boy walked into the apartment and looked up at me. “Did you eat your candy bar?” he asked me. And that’s when it jogged my memory that I hadn’t eaten my chocolate bar. It also dawned on me that I had no idea what I did with it after he handed it to me. But then it hit me that as soon as he gave it to me, I took it with me into my apartment during which time I packed up a couple of outfits and stuffed them into my overnight bag. Alarmed by the fact that it was still there, and that it wouldn’t be a good idea if the cops came back to my apartment and found it, I asked the little boy to go and get it for me. “Sweetheart, if you go into my apartment and get my candy bar that I bought from you yesterday, I will buy one more from you,” I said.

  “Where is it?”

  “When you go in there, go straight to a bedroom straight down the hallway and you should see it on my dresser, near the mirror, or on my bed,” I instructed him.

  “Okay,” he said, and then he turned around and walked away from me.

  “It’s already unlocked, so just push it open,” I told him. I watched the l
ittle boy as he pushed open my front door and stepped inside my apartment. “Leave the front door open and go down that hallway.” I instructed him further while I continued to watch him.

  “Where did he go?” Mrs. Mabel asked after she walked up behind me.

  “I just sent him into my apartment to get something for me,” I told her.

  She handed me a dollar bill. “Give him this dollar when he comes back,” she said.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  In a flash, the little boy disappeared in my bedroom and came out two seconds later with my candy bar in his hand. I smiled because he didn’t know how he had saved my life by doing what he had just done. I mean, if Detective Belle or Agent Sims would’ve gone back into my apartment and noticed that a candy bar was there now, but it wasn’t there the first time they searched it, they would’ve known automatically that I had been there. Thank God for little boys like this cute thing walking back toward me.

  When he walked up to me, he handed me the candy bar I bought from him yesterday, and then he handed me two more. Another bar for me, and one for Mrs. Mabel. “Two dollars, right?” I said, and then I handed him the money.

  “Yep,” he replied as he took the two single bills in his hand.

  Immediately after he took the money, he thanked me and then he turned around to leave. I stopped him. “What is your name?” I asked him.

  He looked back at me and said, “John.”

  I smiled. “Hi, John,” I said.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Suzie,” I lied to him with the biggest smile I had. Once again, seeing this little boy getting his hustle on was so rewarding. I could see this young boy growing up to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I hoped his parents saw the entrepreneurship in him because he had the potential to go straight to the top.

  I closed and locked the front door after the little entrepreneur walked away from the apartment. I set all three candy bars on the counter as soon as I walked into the kitchen. “Have you eaten lunch?” Mrs. Mabel yelled from the back of the apartment.