NOTHING STAYS THE SAME

by Suzetta Perkins

  “A Georgia peach,” Kenny said, entangling her in his web.

  “Never saw the two of you in here before.”

  “New in town,” Kenny said. He saw Peaches’ eyes perk up when he said it.

  “You here on business?” Peaches asked, stroking the side of her glass for effect.

  “Yeah,” Harold said. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Atlanta. Where is the real nightlife?”

  “Would you like me to show you?” Peaches asked excitedly. “I know exactly where we can go and have a good time.”

  “What do you think, partner?” Harold asked.

  “I’m ready,” Kenny said. “We couldn’t go wrong with a beautiful woman by our side.”

  “Well, let’s go,” Peaches said. She looked up and Earl was waving for her to come to the bar. “Talk to you later, Earl. I’ve got some important business to take care of.”

  Harold and Kenny looked in Earl’s direction and nodded their heads. He didn’t return the gesture. He watched as the door closed behind the trio and didn’t let go until he heard his name.

  “Earl, I need a beer!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Peaches chatted incessantly as she left the bar, sandwiched between two gorgeous men. Her eyes lit up the midnight sky when they slowed and stopped in front of the black Hummer. She was appraising and examining, making mental notes as she prepared cue cards for her next score.

  Before Harold was able to open the door good, Peaches had already made a home in the front passenger seat of the car. Nods of approval passed between Harold and Kenny, and the plan was underway.

  “Where to, pretty lady?” Harold asked, looking Peaches up and down.

  Peaches feigned innocence as she instructed him to go down Peachtree heading toward Buckhead. “There’s a little club called Sambuca that’s got some wonderful food and great live music. I’m not sure if there’s entertainment on Wednesdays, but I think you’ll like it anyway.” Fanning as if she was hot, Peaches unzipped her jean jacket to the crest of her breasts, liking the fact that Harold kept sneaking a peek.

  “You married?” Kenny asked.

  “No, and I’m available. I’ve got a better idea,” Peaches said abruptly, as if the thought had just occurred to her. “If you gentlemen want to play instead of going to the club, we can go to my place and hang out. I don’t have anything to drink at the house, so if you don’t mind stopping to get something, that would be great. I really don’t mind doubling my pleasure.”

  Harold looked in the rearview mirror.

  “What do you have in mind, Peaches?” Kenny asked. “I like to know what I’m getting into.”

  “Baby, you look way too smart for me to have to spell it out to you, but I will if you want me to.”

  “How about you spelling it out?” Kenny continued.

  “Have you ever experienced a threesome?” Peaches asked.

  There was no answer. Finally, Harold spoke. “I’m not into any kinky mess like that.”

  “Where are you brothers from? That’s the way we roll in the ATL. I promise you a night you won’t soon forget. I’ll take you first,” Peaches said to Kenny, twisting her body around in the seat until her face was between the two bucket seats in the front. She flashed a winning smile. “And I’ll save you for last,” she told Harold, pivoting her body around and leaning over just enough to touch his arm with her breasts.

  “What do you say, partner?” Harold asked, looking in the rearview at Kenny.

  “I say we pull into that vacant lot over there, so Peaches can give us a preview.”

  Harold did as Kenny suggested. “Why are we stopping?” Peaches wanted to know. “I’m not some whore you picked up from the street corner.”

  Kenny unbuckled his seat belt and moved in between Harold’s and Peaches’ seats. “Well, if you’re no whore, tell me who you really are, and don’t take all night.”

  “What is this? Let me out right now.” Peaches unsnapped her seatbelt and pulled at the door handle, but the door was locked. “I don’t know who you bastards are, but you better let me out of here. And you’re going to be sorry you set eyes on me after I report you to the police.”

  Kenny grabbed her arm. “Bitch, you’re not going to tell nobody nothing.”

  “Who are you two freaks?” Peaches shouted. “Let me the hell out!”

  “Does the name Marvin Thomas ring a bell with you?” Kenny taunted her.

  Peaches searched Kenny’s face. She looked away and sought an explanation from Harold. “What do you want from me?”

  “We want you to leave Marvin the hell alone. That means you are not to call him, disturb his family, and...” Harold began.

  “And you can forget about the fifty thousand dollars,” Kenny finished.

  Peaches drew her hand back as if she was going to hit somebody.

  “Now I wouldn’t do that, pretty lady,” Kenny said. “It’s two of us against one, and you’re no match for the both of us. I say you get back on your broomstick and ride the hell out of my friend’s life. Tonight, you’ve received a warning. And you better consider yourself fortunate because if either of us had our way, you would...oh, never mind.”

  “What we’re saying,” Harold said, cutting in on Kenny, “if we hear that you’ve in any way threatened Marvin or his family or that you insist on this extortion scheme of yours, we will see to it that you won’t bother them again. Your time is up, cuz; you’ve done played this game with the wrong person and for the last time. What you say, Kenny, ’bout we turn around and dump this baggage and then head for club Sambuca?”

  “Sounds like a plan, my man.” Kenny sat back in his seat and buckled his seat belt. A smile crossed his face that he couldn’t erase. Harold jerked the Hummer from its resting place, and they headed back toward town.

  Silence engulfed the car as the city raced by. Peaches fidgeted in her seat until she finally reached in her purse and pulled out her cell. Harold reached over and snatched it from her hand. “You’ll get it back at the end of your ride.” Peaches sat back in her seat with her mouth turned down.

  As Harold neared Earl’s Tavern, Peaches sat up. Harold stopped a block short of the place and unlocked the door. “You’re free to get out of the car now,” Harold said to Peaches.

  A mean frown had replaced Peaches’ pleasant features. Her eyes looked like little slits on her chocolate brown face. “My cell phone,” she said as she slid from the seat. “What you two fools don’t know is that you’ve messed with the wrong person. And I will get my fifty thousand dollars.”

  “I strongly suggest that you don’t go through with your threat.” Harold hurled the phone out of the open door and heard it hit the concrete. “Sorry about that,” Harold said, and sped off with the door still open.

  Harold stopped a few blocks ahead and gave Kenny time to jump to the front and close the car door. They gave each other high-fives.

  “Miz Peaches is going to think twice about messing with Marvin after this night,” Harold said.

  “Oh yes she will. A threesome, Harold?” Kenny laughed.

  “I wanted to see if she could work it. Just kidding.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Peaches was steaming mad as she stomped back to Earl’s. Marvin and his goons had not seen the last of her. If they wanted to play hardball, she was going to throw them a curve that they hadn’t anticipated. She wasn’t scared of them, and they weren’t going to come between her and her next payday. How could she have been so stupid? Maybe that was what Earl had been trying to tell her.

  Fuming, she walked into the bar and saw Earl staring at her. She sat at an empty table and let out a sigh. “Earl,” she shouted, waving her finger to come over, “I need to talk to you a moment.”

  Earl came from around the counter and sat at the table with Peaches. “What’s up, Peaches? You’re back early.”

  “Who were those two goons that were in here?”

  “You mean the two goons you left with? They were too much for yo
u, huh?”

  “Shut up, Earl. I don’t need that. They might have hurt me.”

  “Did they put their hands on you? All they said was that they wanted to talk to you.”

  “So why in the hell didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Because you were too anxious to get out of here to hear what I had to say. I tried to warn you, but no, Peaches was strapped to her next victims.”

  “Well, I’m the victim here.” Peaches pounded the table and puffed up her cheeks. She had been outdone, and she wasn’t going to let Kenny and Harold get away with it. Marvin was going to know who was in charge after she paid him a visit—better yet, paid his wife a visit. “Hmmmm,” Peaches said out loud.

  “What you thinking?” Earl asked. “You best be careful before some of your mess backfires on you.”

  “Don’t you worry about me, Earl. I’m going to be alright. Someone else needs to worry about what might happen to them if they...”

  “If they what? Peaches, I’m warning you. Your games are going to be the death of you. I don’t know what all you’re into, and I don’t want to know, but I can give it a strong guess. I do care about you. You’ve been a regular here for a long time, and I’d like to see you stay one.”

  “Earl, have I ever told you about the night I accidently killed my first husband?”

  Earl stared at Peaches. “No, I don’t think you’ve ever told me that story.”

  “You probably wouldn’t have stomach enough to sit through the gory details, but I tell you this, it wasn’t pretty. And if you mess with Peaches, no matter who you are, you’re liable to encounter the same fate as my ex.”

  Peaches kept talking in a trance-like state. “His name was Nate...short for Nathaniel. Mr. Nathaniel Franklin. He was a fine, deep dark chocolate brother. He lifted weights and his body was made of steel. Lawd, Earl, that man could turn me out. The sex was better than anything I’ve ever experienced in this life. It was an out-of-body experience. Earl, that man would make me have multiple orgasms—one, two, three, four in a row. I was afraid that when I woke up from what felt like a dream, my body would be in little pieces because the power of those orgasms made me convulse to death. I mean, a magnitude of six on the Richter scale. Anyway, I couldn’t get enough.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Earl wanted to know. “I’m not interested in your sexual exploits, whether it’s with your husband, ex-husband, or whomever.”

  “I’m getting to it, Earl. Don’t interrupt me.”

  Earl rolled his eyes but settled in for the story.

  “Earl, the man was mean. Couldn’t hold his liquor worth a darn. He was a hard-working man, though, and always brought Peaches his paycheck. Yes, he was a fine hunk of a man,” Peaches said, caught up in the memory.

  “Peaches, what is the point of this conversation?” Earl asked.

  “Don’t rush me. I’ve got to take my time if I’m going to tell it right.”

  “Well, I’ve got other customers to tend to, so if you—”

  “Alright, alright. We were married for three years, and it was rocky at best. Earl, I won’t ever forget the night it happened. We had had a terrible argument about some guy he thought I had been with. Some of his buddies had seen me dancing with this guy over at this place called the Lyons Den. Yeah, I was talking to him. He came to my table, wanted to dance, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to rub shoulders with a good-looking man who smelled like hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream on top. Hell, Nate hadn’t taken me anywhere exciting after we got married. All he liked to do was screw.

  “Earl, it got ugly. I was standing in the kitchen when he came home from work late one night after drinking with his buddies and began to yell at me at the top of his lungs. Called me a tramp and every other four-letter word he could think of. Then he reared back and sucker-punched me full force in the face, and I landed on my butt across the room. It didn’t take much because I was a size four back then, and if the wind hit me just right it would have done the same thing. But Nate had no business putting his hand on me. My momma didn’t raise none of her girls for some man to abuse.

  “He was still cussing and swinging—knocked over a couple of my nice crystal pieces. I realized that I wasn’t going to get any peace unless this man was quiet. I never thought I’d use it, but before I realized what I was doing, I pulled out the gun I had hidden in one of the drawers in the kitchen and brought it forward and pointed it toward his head. Surprise was written on his face, but that man just didn’t believe I would use it.

  “I hollered back just as loud as he hollered, telling him to back away and get up out of the house because I was going to blow his brains out. Do you know what the stupid fool did, Earl? He said the only thing I was good for was lying on my back and the only gun I was going to get off was his, and that I better put the gun down and get busy taking care of his needs.”

  Earl breathed deeply, not sure he wanted to hear the rest of the story, but he waited for Peaches to continue.

  “He tried to take the gun from me and I let my trigger-happy finger do the talking—six rapid shots. Whomp. His body fell to the floor like a sack of granddaddies.”

  Peaches searched Earl’s face to see if he was still with her on her walk down memory lane. Earl’s face betrayed him. He’d been listening to the banter of his customers’ sordid lives for years, but tonight was the first time that he’d heard the true confession of a killer, and for the first time he knew how a priest must feel bearing the crosses of the sinners who dared lay their dirty souls at their feet. “What did you do?”

  “I called the police.” All of a sudden Peaches became animated. She stood up and illustrated her point. “The police arrived in twelve minutes flat. I poured my soul out to the first officer on the scene, holding onto him for dear life. I explained how Nate had come home in a drunken stupor and put his hands on me, accusing me of adultery. I told them how he went to the kitchen and got the gun and pulled it on me, but he stumbled and I grabbed the gun as we fought and it went off.”

  “But you just told me that you got the gun and pulled it on Nate.”

  “Yes, Earl, I did, but I couldn’t tell the police that, now could I?”

  Earl shook his head and started to rise from his seat. Peaches reached out for his hand. “Sit, Earl. Sit with me a minute. Remember, I shot the man six times. Don’t you want to hear how I explained it?” Earl’s face was blank, and Peaches went back to her story.

  “I told the officer that Nate tried to get up after the gun went off and the bullet hit him and he fell. I was scared, and I just kept squeezing the trigger. My whole body was shaking and pouring with sweat when they arrived, and they became very protective of me considering the ordeal I had just gone through.”

  “Did you have to stand trial?”

  “I did and did a little time, but after Nate’s friends finished testifying about him drinking at the bar on the night he was killed and what he said he was going to do to me, it was an open and shut case. In the end, I was free of that bondage and vowed that I would never let a man treat me the way Nate had.”

  “Instead, you would take out your pain on other men?” Earl asked sincerely.

  Peaches looked Earl squarely in the eyes. “It’s not that I don’t like men, Earl, because I do in the worst way, but I have to deal with them on my terms. I will not be taken advantage of nor will I allow any man to use me for his gratification, sexual or otherwise, unless I authorize it. Whenever I’m with a man, I’ve got to be the one in control.”

  “So you’re not capable of love.”

  Peaches contemplated Earl’s question. “I’m not sure what love is.” Peaches looked away and then back. “Not a lot of love ran in my family when I was growing up.” She bit her lip.

  “Peaches, I don’t know what you’re up to or why those gentlemen are inquiring about their friend who was in here last week, but I’m warning you to be careful. You may have had the upper hand before, but you can’t always win and be in control. You may h
ave just met your match, and if you’re not careful, the consequences may not be so pretty. I hope you will be smart from here on out.”

  Peaches was not amused. “I’m glad I wasn’t paying for this session. So do me a favor, Earl, and do what you do best. Get me a drink.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  “Still awake?” Kenny sat down on the side of the bed where Sylvia sat reading a book.

  The frown on her face said it all. Sylvia looked up, rolled her eyes, and went back to reading her book. “It’s after midnight and you reek of smoke. Please take a shower and then I may consider having a conversation with you.”

  “Don’t be like that, babe. Harold and I had some good results tonight, but we had to play the waiting game in order to score. We were able to talk to the bartender who gave us a name, but the big prize was reeling in the big fish—the one and only Peaches.”

  “So what did the two of you do that took all night to achieve?”

  “We threatened her. And I’m more than sure that she set Marvin up. She came on to us like magnets, practically throwing herself at us.”

  “And I bet you ate it all up. I can practically see the adrenaline flowing through your body. Your temples are jumping up and down with excitement.”

  “Sylvia, you’re exaggerating. I can’t believe you’re acting this way.” Kenny stood up. “I’m trying to save the company and our asses.”

  “I realize that, Kenny. But I was worried about you. Did you ever think to give me a call to put my mind at rest? I couldn’t have screamed any louder about my concern for you being out there trying to do some undercover work. A phone call, Kenny, one lousy phone call would have put me at ease. Now I’m tied up in knots, and this book hasn’t helped any of the uneasiness I’ve been feeling.”

  Kenny sat back down and rubbed Sylvia’s arm. She dropped the book and extended her hands, palms out. “I’m glad you’re okay, but go take a shower and scrub the Peaches off you.”

  The biggest smile looped around Kenny’s face. “Can I interest you in some strawberries, Mrs. Richmond? If the answer is yes, I’ll add whipped cream, but that’s for me.”