“You need to quit being stupid. I’m here trying to get my girls settled. They are going through a hard time.”
“Man, where the fuck you at? I need to see you.”
“I’m at the other house, and the girls are here, so I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Listen, ma, I want to see you, so run that address and stop bullshitting for real.”
This bitch played too much. She was acting suspicious. I wonder if she had one of them niggas she was fucking over there. I wanted to see her so I could feel her out. I was a street nigga; I knew how to pick up on people’s behavior, a skill I learned from being around grimy niggas my entire life.
“Javon, are you drinking? You’re acting crazy; this is so not you.”
“Malaya, I ain’t tryin’a hear all this shit. Save all the drama for the courtroom.”
“A’ight, I’ll text you the address. You can’t come inside and only for a few minutes,” she said with an attitude.
I drank the last bit of liquor that was in a bottle I had stashed in here and checked my phone. I pulled up the address. I then programmed it in my GPS.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Malaya
What have I gotten myself into? I thought I told this nigga to chill out, but his hardheaded ass wasn’t trying to do that. He shocked the hell out of me when he called my phone. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was fucking with him. Shit, I kind of regretted telling Dana about him. She was my girl, though. I didn’t think she would say anything to anyone. Well, that’s what I hoped for anyway.
I heard the phone ringing. I swear if this nigga doesn’t leave me the fuck alone . . . What the fuck does he want now? I thought as I grabbed my phone up. I quickly realized that it wasn’t him. My heart sank. I hated talking to this bitch.
“Hello,” I said dryly.
“So, what did the police say happened?” this rude bitch said.
“Say about what?” I answered with annoyance.
“Malaya, how did someone break up in there and kill my son, and you and your children were not hurt? I don’t have any proof right now, but I know you got my son killed. It’s mighty funny how you’ve been treating him lately, and now he dead.”
“Listen, lady, I don’t want to disrespect you, but before you start accusing me of doing anything to your son, please get your facts straight. I had nothing to do with your son getting killed.” I was ready to hang up on this old bitch. She was the reason why her grown-ass son acted the way he did; because she was always supporting that bullshit.
“You are a sneaky bitch! You fool everybody, hiding behind them damn suits and pretending like you’re all high and mighty. You never had me fooled; I see you for the trash you really are. I just wish my son had seen it earlier; he would still be here with us today. I will not rest ’til you pay for this. I don’t know how you did it as of yet, but I will not rest until I find out.”
“Go to hell, you old bitch. Better yet, go join your motherfucking dead son.”
I didn’t wait for a response. I hung up in that bitch’s face. How dare she accuse me of some shit that she knew nothing about? Shit, I didn’t kill that nigga. I just helped put that nigga out of his misery.
“Who was that on the phone? Was that my nana?” Myesha asked while she gave me a dirty look.
“Yes, that was your nana,” I said as I walked off on her. I wasn’t inconsiderate. I knew my daughter’s pain was genuine, and now wasn’t the time to dig into her ass. So, I did the grown woman shit and walked away.
I decided to take a quick shower because Javon was on his way, and anything was liable to happen. I knew I couldn’t take him in the house because that child of mine was patrolling like she was the gotdamn sergeant. I wished she were more like Nyesha: laidback.
I got out of the shower and put on tights and a wife beater along with a pair of flip-flops. My hair needed to be done, but it fit the situation right now. After all, I just lost my husband, the love of my life. I put a little lip gloss on my lips. I didn’t want to totally look rough around this nigga.
I heard my phone ringing. I grabbed it. “Hello.”
“I’m pulling up.”
I pressed End and walked out of my room. I was happy that Myesha’s happy ass was in her room by now. I opened the door and stepped outside. I saw him pull in. I looked far behind him to see if anyone followed him. I didn’t see anyone, so hopefully no one did.
He got out of the car and walked toward me. “Yo, ma. What’s good wit’ you?”
“You know you’re trippin’, right? This is how people get torn off on cases.”
“Man, you’re my lawyer. We’re discussing my case.”
I could smell alcohol on his breath. “Javon, were you drinking? What is going on with you lately? You’re so different from when we met; you carried yourself differently. I swear I don’t like the new you.”
“Man, whatever, B. I’m that same nigga you met, but you’ve got to understand that I’m under a lot of pressure. I’m the head nigga, so everything falls on me. You feel me?”
“No, I don’t feel you! It’s not clicking in your head that you are in a lot of shit. I told you to try to plead out, but you chose not to. I mean, I have my investigators on the case, but I’ve seen the evidence. It doesn’t look good, and they’ve got a CI who’s gonna testify if y’all go to trial.”
“Well, that nigga ain’t going to testify against anyone. That nigga is dead.”
“What do you mean? You knew who the informant was?”
“Yes, it was my nigga D. Drizzle. That nigga ain’t never coming back.”
I stood there, looking at him. I was shocked at what he was telling me. “Do you know what the hell you’re saying? You’re already in some deep shit, and you went and did some more dumb shit.”
“Damn, if all they have is a nigga telling and there’s no nigga, then they have no case.”
“They have more than that. They have your voice; they have pictures of you doing all kinds of shit. They have solid evidence. I’m telling you, I’m not God. I can only do my best, but you’re not helping yourself if you’re out here still selling drugs and killing people. Who the fuck do you think they’re gonna look at now that this boy is dead? You.” I poked him in his chest.
“Yo, this is the streets, but I don’t expect you to understand. You’re from up in the ’burbs; you ’ont know what it is to be hungry day in and day out. You were born wit’ money, you never had to struggle, so how the fuck you gonna talk to me about how a nigga’s living?”
“You’re right. I’ve never been through none of that shit, but even though I have money, I still get up every day and go to work, working a nine to five, trying my best to get niggas like you off. Stop making excuses. You have plenty money; you could’ve left the streets. You need to man up and take responsibility for your actions.”
“Look what we have here. How are you different? You just begged me to kill your husband because your ass was too greedy and didn’t want him to get a dollar if you divorced him. You ain’t no better than me. The only thing is that you’re a coward; you couldn’t do it. You had to get someone else to handle your dirty work. So, before you come at me, let that sink in.”
“You know what? I’m too close to you and this case. There’s no way I can continue being your lawyer.”
“You ain’t got a choice. You’ve got to defend me. Be careful; you might not like how this shit turns out. I fucks wit’ you and all, but my freedom means much more to me than a piece of pussy.”
“You know what? Fuck you, Javon. How dare you threaten me? Trust me; you better be careful,” I said and walked off into the house. I locked the door behind me and leaned on the door.
“So, Mother, who was that? Oh, let me answer that. That is the same dude from the mall. Right?”
“Little girl, what the fuck is your problem? Why are you breathing down my neck?” I said in a higher tone than I intended.
“I’m just saying, I saw how he looked at you that d
ay at the mall and now my daddy just got killed, and he’s paying house visits. Something isn’t adding up.”
“If you don’t get your little fast ass out of my face your teeth ain’t gonna be adding up soon. Get your ass somewhere and sit down. I get it; you’re hurting from your daddy getting killed, but we’re all hurting. You’re not the only one.”
She must have seen the seriousness on my face because she walked off with an attitude.
I lay in the bed. It was early, but I needed some peace and quiet. My phone had been ringing nonstop since Trent was killed. I just wanted to ignore them all, but I had to play the loving wife who was mourning her wonderful husband’s death. I would be happy when all this shit was over.
* * *
After taking a week off, I decided to go back to work. I had some cases to go over, plus I needed to get out of the house. Even though that was our second home, everything inside reminded me of Trent. Even the sheets smelled like him. To make matters worse, I kept seeing his dead image in my head.
I also missed Javon fucking me. I was horny as fuck and wanted to feel his dick inside of me. I knew he was mad about the argument we had that day he came to the house. I’m going to be honest; the nigga was a hothead. I thought he would calm down a little, but the more I dealt with him, the more I realized that the nigga was going to go down hard. I wasn’t no hood chick or no ride or die bitch, so I definitely wasn’t ready to start riding for a nigga who was heading for derailment if he didn’t change the way he carried himself.
The phone started ringing, and I picked up. “Hello.”
“Mrs. Ipswich, there are two detectives here to see you,” Dana said, almost killing me.
Detectives? Breathe. You’ve got this, I coached myself. It caught me off guard, but I wasn’t surprised. I put my game face on and braced myself for what was about to go down.
“All right. Send them in, Dana.”
I closed my computer and turned my phone on to record. I was an attorney, so I was ready for any- and everything. I straightened my blouse and braced myself for what was to come.
“Come in, Detectives.” I stood up.
“Hello, again, Mrs. Ipswich. How are you doing today?” Detective Rosales asked.
“I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances.”
“Well, the coroner’s report is back and, as we already know, your husband was shot three times. The first bullet killed him upon impact. We’re trying to follow up to see if you remember anything that you didn’t mention to us,” Rosales said.
“No, I told you all everything. We just finished having sex. I went to the bathroom to wash up. A person entered the room, told my husband not to move, and then he shot him. My husband was an officer; did you look into his old cases? You know, he locked plenty of thugs away.”
“Yes, we are not leaving any stones unturned. Somebody, somewhere, knows something. I couldn’t help but notice that the house has an alarm on it. Did the alarm go off? I don’t remember seeing that in the report,” Detective Pelluso said with a suspicious look plastered across his face.
“No, the alarm was not on. My husband was usually the last one to check all the doors and windows, and he also set the alarm before coming to bed. Like I just told you, I left my husband in the bed and went to take a shower. My husband is usually the one that locked the house up at night, so I assumed he locked up. I had no reason to think he didn’t.”
“I’ve got you.” He wrote something down in his notepad.
“Mrs. Ipswich, I spoke to the victim’s mother, and she kind of hinted to us that you and the victim were having marital issues. Can you elaborate on that for me?” Detective Rosales asked.
“Detective, the first time we spoke, I was very blunt about the issues my husband I were having. And as far as that old bitch, she never liked me. Months ago, my husband cheated on me, but I forgave him, we went to counseling, and were back to being in love again.”
“Oh, I understand, ma’am. Do you have the name of the counselor?”
“I do, but am I a suspect in my husband’s death?” I stood up.
“No, ma’am, but we have to check out everything and eliminate people from the equation.”
“Detectives, I loved my husband. I had no reason to kill him. We are well off, but you can check it out; it’s my money. If I wanted to be done, I would’ve gotten a divorce.”
“Mrs. Ipswich, something doesn’t smell right. I can’t put my fingers on it as of yet, but I will. I suggest that if you know anything, please tell us now.”
“With all due respect, Detective, I don’t give a damn what you think is going on. Please do your job and find that bum who took my husband away from us. I’m a lawyer, so I know how y’all operate when it’s one of you who is killed. But I promise you’re barking up the wrong tree. And, since I know how y’all operate, from now on y’all can contact my lawyer.”
“Mrs. Ipswich, you’re not behaving like a grieving wife. More like a suspect. What do you have to hide? Why are you lawyering up?”
“If you have no other questions for me, I would love for you all to leave. Please see my lawyer with any further questions.” I handed him a card.
“Have a great day, ma’am. I promise you will see us again.”
“Don’t count on it, Detective. Fucking with me will get your badge taken.” I winked at him.
As soon as they walked out of the door, I locked the door behind me. I let out a long sigh. My day was going good, but that shit just went to the left. I sat down on my seat, my mind in overdrive. I didn’t like that they took that long-ass drive from Chesterfield County to come all the way out here in the city. I didn’t like this at all. I sat at my desk, rubbing my temples. I needed a fucking drink, right now.
“Dana, come in here, please.”
“Yes. You all right? What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“I need you to call and cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. I just need to get out of here.”
“Okay. Is there anything else that you need me to do for you? You know I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, hon, but I’m good. I just need to get home.”
“Okay, I’ve got you covered.”
I logged out of the Internet and grabbed my briefcase and my purse. I hurriedly walked out of the office. I needed to talk to Isiah. He was a great friend and a great lawyer.
I got into my car and threw my briefcase on the back seat. I sat in the parking lot for a good five minutes, just thinking. Either these motherfuckers know something or they were fishing. Either way, I needed them to leave me the fuck alone. I dialed Javon’s number but quickly hung up. I was feeling paranoid. I wasn’t sure if his phone was bugged, and the last thing I needed was for them to have me on tape discussing some damn murder.
Obeying a speed limit was not on my agenda today. I couldn’t care less about a speeding ticket. I needed to get to my lawyer’s office.
* * *
Javon
“You think I’m stupid! I know you’re fucking with that bitch. The other day when you stormed out of here, your ass didn’t know that I followed you all the way to that bitch’s house.”
“What? You followed me? Why the fuck would you do some crazy shit like that?”
“Boy, you’re worried about why I followed you? If you weren’t lying and cheating, I wouldn’t have to follow your ass. Ever since that bitch started working on your case, you’ve been acting funny as hell. Many days you claimed you were at the trap, but I knew better than that. I swear to God, you keep fucking around with that bitch, I’m going to report her ass to the bar association.”
I grabbed her by the neck and threw her up against the wall. “What the fuck is your problem, B? You think I want this bitch, huh? Wrong. I don’t want this bitch; I keep her ass close so I can get her to do whatever the fuck I want. Nothing more, nothing less.” I shoved her hard until she fell to the ground.
“So, you have to fuck her? What type of the deal is that? You’ve got
to pay this bitch and give her dick? Boy, quit lying.”
“I ain’t goin’ to keep arguing with you, but you better stay the fuck away from her. I swear.”
“If I don’t, what the fuck are you gonna do? You’re gonna beat my ass over this bitch? What is it? Is it because this bitch has a few dollars more than me? Huh? What is it?” She grabbed my shirt.
“Tania, I swear, ma, I love you, but if you continue like this, I can’t be with you. I don’t know how my case is gonna end up and, instead of supporting a nigga, all you wanna do is fight. I need you, ma; I need my seeds. Stand by your nigga for once.”
“I love you too, but I can’t sit back and watch you carry me over no bitch who doesn’t give a fuck about you. I’m the bitch who was there when you ain’t had shit. So, how the fuck do you think it feels when a bitch comes from nowhere and wants to snatch you up?” she cried.
There was something about her tears that melted my heart. Even though I was a hood nigga, I still loved shawty; but Malaya was beneficial to me right now. The truth was that both of them had some good pussy. If I could, I would love to have both of them. I knew it wasn’t possible, so I’d have to continue slinging this dick to both of them.
I ended up eating that pussy up really good and laying the dick down. By the time I left the house, shorty was fast asleep. Yeah, I rocked that ass to sleep.
I decided to hang out with my nigga, Mann-Mann. It’d been a minute since we kicked back and rapped. I thought he was taking these charges extra hard because he just had a baby ’bout three months ago. If anybody knew him, they knew how bad he wanted a son. As fucked up as everything seemed, we all knew the risks we faced out here in the streets.
I pulled up to Club Infuzion. I saw his Magnum parked, so I parked beside him. I walked in and quickly spotted that nigga. How could I miss him? This nigga was always dressed in New York Knicks apparel from head to toe. Win or lose, he was a diehard Knicks fans.
“My nigga, what’s good?” We exchanged daps.
“I’m breathing, my nigga.”
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