by Kiki Swinson
“He’s asleep now, so I’m just gonna go home and tell him.”
“He probably already knows,” Alexia interjected.
“He was asleep when I left for work this morning, so I know he doesn’t know,” I replied, looking directly at Alexia. I needed to let her know that she really doesn’t know everything that goes on in my life.
Finding out what just happened to Ed gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. And then I became nauseated, so I pushed the bowl of fruit aside and stood up from my seat at the table. “Leaving already?” my mother asked.
“Yes, Mommy, I gotta go home and let Reese know what’s going on.”
“Why don’t you take the bowl of fruit with you?”
“I just lost my appetite. Put it back in the refrigerator. I’ll come and eat it later,” I told her, even though I had no idea if I was coming back or not. My main focus was to get home so I could sit down and have a long conversation with my husband. The fact that Ed’s body was found with gunshot wounds to his chest made me wonder if Reese was involved in his death. I swear, if I found out that Reese killed Edward, I was going to leave him on the spot. I can’t be married to a murderer. Yes, I love him, but I would never sit around and act like that shit is cool. I figured if he could murder someone over money, then he could also murder me and God knows who else. I just pray that this isn’t true.
35
REESE
“Reese, you need to get up,” I heard Dawn say, faintly. I thought I was dreaming until she started shaking my body. That’s when I realized that she wanted me to wake up. “What’s wrong?” I asked her in a groggy manner, while I tried to focus my eyes at the lights that blinded me.
“We need to talk.”
“About what?” I wanted to know. I was irritated by the fact that she woke me up after I’d had only a couple hours of sleep. I turned on my stomach and covered my head with my pillow.
“Edward is dead,” she said.
When I heard her say the word dead, I instantly thought I was still asleep. So I lifted my head up from the pillow and looked at Dawn where she sat on the edge of our bed. “Did you just say that Edward is dead?”
She nodded her head.
I turned completely around and sat up in the bed with my back against the pillows. “Who told you that?” I asked.
“It’s in the newspaper and on the news,” she explained.
I didn’t say another word as I reached for the remote control for the TV. I powered it on and started sifting through all the news stations.
“It’s probably not going to be on TV now. Wait, hold on,” she continued as she pulled her cell phone from her purse. I saw her logging onto the Google site. She typed in a few things and within in a matter of seconds she had pulled up the news feed with the headline, HUSBAND, LONGSHOREMAN OF 25-YEARS FOUND DEAD IN PICKUP TRUCK.
I grabbed the phone from her hand. “What the fuck is going on?” I said, my words barely audible.
“I wanted to know the same thing,” she commented and gave me a weird look.
“Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?”
“Did you do that?”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I barked. I wasn’t feeling her at all with that question. How the fuck could she sit in my face and ask me a question like that? Was she on drugs or something?
“No, I’m not out of my mind. It’s a simple yes or no answer,” she pressed.
“Fuck no! I didn’t do that,” I told her while I held the phone with one hand and pointed to it with the other one. “I mean, come on, I was pissed off with that nigga for standing me up and not paying me my money, but I wouldn’t kill him behind it. We’ve been knowing each other for too long,” I tried to explain to her.
“Well, who do you think would do this?”
“I don’t know. I mean, how did they say he died?” I asked Dawn while I searched the news story for the cause of death.
“My father told me that he got shot.”
“Hold on, wait, your dad knows about this?”
“Yeah, I just left their house. He was the one that told me first.”
“I bet he thinks I had something to do with this too, huh?”
“No, he doesn’t. After he told me about Ed’s body being found in his truck near the walking trail at Mount Trashmore, he asked me if you had already heard about it. And I told him that you hadn’t.”
“I can’t believe that,” I said nonchalantly as I handed the phone back to her. For the first time, Dawn’s parents weren’t pointing fingers at me. But I knew that would be short-lived. They hated me and nothing was going to change that. “I wonder if the guys know about this,” I said, and reached for my cell phone near the lamp on the nightstand. While I dialed Todd’s number, Dawn didn’t move one inch. She sat there and watched me while I waited for Todd to answer his phone.
Like clockwork he answered on the first ring. “I know what you’re calling me for,” Todd said.
I put our call on speakerphone before I uttered one word. I wanted Dawn to hear the entire phone call, since she was a little leery about my involvement in Edward’s murder. “So, you heard too, huh?” I finally said.
“Yeah, my buddy Stan that works on the morning shift called me about thirty minutes ago and told me.”
“So, when you worked last night, Edward never showed up?”
“No, he didn’t. The only person showed up was Brian. And as soon as he clocked in, a couple of guys said that port police escorted him to their office. I can’t tell you how long they were in there, but I can say that when I clocked out this morning, I was told that Brian had already gone.”
“Think Brian did it?” I threw the question out there. I had no idea how Todd was going to answer it.
“I don’t know,” Todd replied, not taking the bait.
“What about Gene? Remember you said that he didn’t show up last night.”
“That’s a hard one too. You just can’t tell what a man will do in desperate times. I mean, I was mad at the nigga because he still owed me money, but I wouldn’t kill him for it.”
“Yeah, I feel you. I said the same thing. But the real fucked up thing about it is that the nigga died before we got the rest of our money,” I stated, and then Dawn gave me a disappointed look. I ignored her.
Todd chuckled. “That’s funny because I thought the same thing.”
“Think we ought to pay his wife a visit and ask for the rest of our cash?” I suggested.
This time I didn’t look at Dawn. But I felt a sharp and evil stare coming upon me. When she realized that I was purposely dodging eye contact, she gave me a light punch in my arm. “Stop it,” she hissed.
“Ouch! That hurt,” I replied under my breath and grabbed my arm with my other hand.
Todd chuckled again. “Nah, I don’t think that would be a good idea. We might have to take one for the team on this one,” he said.
“Yeah, all right. But check it out, what if he got robbed for the money? If that’s the case, then who knew that he had the money, other than us?”
“Gene and Brian.”
“Exactly. It has to be one of them.” I needed Todd to side with me on this.
“Well, whoever it is, the cops will find them.”
“We’ll see. So, let me ask you—d’you think it would be inappropriate if I decide not to go to his funeral? I mean, the nigga did talk shit to me and told me that I was on my own after some of the people were found dead.”
“He basically told me the same thing. But in good conscience, I can’t not go. That would be fucked up on my part. And what kind of message would that send the cops?”
“You know me, I couldn’t care less about the message I’m sending. If you wanna know the truth, I think he got what was coming to him,” I said, and right after I said it, Dawn punched me in my arm again. “Ouch, stop doing that,” I whined.
“You all right?” Todd asked. I figured he heard me flinch at the pain my wife was inflicting on me.
&nbs
p; “Yeah, I’m good. My wife punches me in the arm every time I say something she doesn’t like.”
“Maybe you ought to take heed.”
“Yeah, a’ight. Well, I’ma get off this line. But if you hear or see Brian or Gene, let me know.”
“Will do,” Todd said.
From the moment I ended the call, Dawn was all over me like a cheap suit. She started cursing me out. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re acting like you’re happy that he’s dead. You can’t walk around here with all the bitterness in your heart because he owes you money. Shit! You heard Todd: Ed owed all of you guys money. But guess what? You got another chance to go out there and work for some. He doesn’t, because he’s lying on a hard metal table, being cut open as we speak so the county morgue can do their autopsy. So, you need to get it together and stop with all that negative shit you got going on inside of you. It’s not healthy.”
“Dawn, I’m not trying to hear that,” I told her and scooted off the bed. I went to the bathroom to take a leak. But that didn’t stop Dawn from hanging around at the bathroom door after I closed it.
“You really need to do some soul searching, because if you don’t you’re gonna die a miserable old man,” she yelled through the door, and then she punched it. I heard her mumble something while she walked away. But I didn’t feed into her. I let her carry her ass down the hallway.
36
DAWN
Who the fuck did I marry? I was beginning to see Reese for who he really was. Come on, have some respect for the dead. I shook my head with disgust as I walked toward the kitchen. I had lost my appetite earlier at my parents’ house. But after dealing with Reese’s bullshit, I somehow became hungry again. I went into the kitchen and grabbed milk and a bowl of cereal. After I grabbed a spoon from the utensil drawer I took a seat on one of the bar stools. Reese joined me a few minutes later. Surprisingly he didn’t try to apologize, but he was curious as to why I wasn’t at work. “I left to keep from cursing my supervisor out,” I replied, gritting my teeth.
“Why were you gonna curse her out?” he asked me while he pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Because I found out that she was talking about you to everyone in the office after I left early yesterday,” I replied between chews.
“That fat bitch! I knew I didn’t like her for a reason,” he said, and then he took a couple of gulps from his bottle of water.
Before I could utter another word, our doorbell rang. We weren’t expecting any visitors, especially this time of the morning. I put the spoon down in the bowl and sat still on the bar stool while Reese tiptoed out of the kitchen and into the living room. I sat there quietly, trying to think who could be at the door. Reese was at the door and peering through the peephole. I watched him as he looked back at me. What he said, I wasn’t ready for. “It’s the cops,” he whispered.
At that moment, my entire body froze. I was completely paralyzed, wondering why they would be here. It could be for no other reason but to arrest Reese for being involved with the human trafficking scheme. And all I could think about was that those cops were going to take Reese from the house and lock him away with no bail. Just the thought of him leaving me in this way gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. How was I going to help him get through this? I guess now would be the best time to call a lawyer.
“Don’t answer it,” I whispered to him.
Reese walked a couple of feet away from the door while the cops rang the doorbell a few more times. “If I don’t answer it, they’ll probably wait in their car for me to leave the house,” he whispered back.
“Just don’t leave the house,” I whispered again.
“No, I’m gonna answer the door. Maybe this is the sign I need to talk to them and give them my version of what happened with those containers. And maybe they can give me a deal,” he said, trying to rationalize the situation.
But I still wasn’t convinced. I slid off the bar stool and tiptoed toward him. When we were face-to-face I said, “No, no, no. You will do no such thing. You need a lawyer with you before you open your mouth and say anything,” I insisted.
“Yeah, all right,” he said. He turned back toward the front door and yelled, “Who is it?”
“Virginia Beach homicide detectives,” we heard one guy reply.
I was livid. I almost wanted to scream. Reese never listens to shit I have to say. Now he was about to be hauled off to jail because he thought that if he told the investigators what they wanted to hear, he would get a get-out-of-jail-free card. In my eyes, cops don’t care about any of us. Their main objective is to solve their cases, no matter the cost.
I stood there and watched Reese as he opened the door and faced two homicide detectives. For the life of me, I couldn’t believe that he did it. “How can I help you gentlemen?” he said.
Both detectives were Caucasian men. One of them was stocky and overweight; the other one was a medium-size fellow. They were both dressed in slacks and suit jackets and dark sunglasses.
“Can we come in?” the stocky guy asked.
“Sure,” Reese replied, acting nice and accommodating. I wanted to slap him in the back of his fucking head and tell him to wake up.
“Can I ask why you guys are here?” I blurted since Reese was busy kissing their asses.
“And you are?” the stocky detective asked me.
“My name is Dawn and I own this house that you’re standing in,” I replied. I mean, what gave him the fucking right to ask me who I was? I’m sure he knew my name already, but wanted to be an asshole about it.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said, and extended his right hand. I shook it even though I didn’t want to. The other detective extended his hand so I could shake it too. “My name is Detective Wise,” the stocky guy said.
“And my name is Detective Rose,” the other cop said after Reese closed the front door and locked it. Immediately after Reese walked away from the front door, both detectives turned toward him and shook his hand too.
“So, what’s this about?” Reese asked them.
“We’re here because we’re investigating the murder of Edward Cuffy,” Detective Wise explained.
“Yeah, my wife told me about that this morning. So, what’s happening now? Do you have any suspects?” Reese asked him.
“Right now we don’t, but that’s why my partner and I are doing a full-scale investigation so we can get some justice for Edward Cuffy,” Detective Wise said.
“Can we have a seat?” Detective Rose asked.
“Sure.” Reese scrambled to rearrange the pillows on the sofa. It was obvious that he wanted to make these guys feel as comfortable as possible. But I couldn’t care less.
After the detectives took a seat next to each other, I sat on the love seat while Reese stood alongside me.
“So, what do you need from us?” I asked.
“Well, Detective Rose and I want to know where you were late last night,” Wise said, looking straight at Reese.
“I was at a friend’s house.”
“What’s this friend’s name and where does he live?” Detective Wise continued.
Reese looked like he was about answer the detective’s question, but then he hesitated. I can’t tell you why he did it, but I do know that it didn’t sit well with the cops or me.
“Well, his name is Pork Chop and he lives in Norfolk,” he finally replied.
“What time did you go there?” Detective Rose interjected.
“About nine o’clock last night.”
Rose pressed the issue. “What time did you leave?”
“Probably around five thirty this morning,” he replied.
And while he was talking I felt the blood boiling in my veins. The second he uttered Pork Chop’s name, I knew that he was gambling. Pork Chop has been in business for a long time and local dummies like my husband are always drawn to that place so they can give up their fucking money. So now, I asked myself, where the hell did he get the money to gamble? He hadn’t
gotten paid yet this week. Had he gotten an advance from Pork Chop himself? I knew one thing, I would find out after these fucking cops left.
“Did you go anywhere else?” Wise asked Reese.
“Nope. I left my house and went straight there. And after I left there I came straight back here,” Reese assured them.
“Have you and Edward ever had any conflict? Disagreement or altercation?” Rose interjected.
“No, we haven’t. He was my friend. Like a father to me,” Reese told them. But he was lying his ass off. I guess he didn’t want them to know that Edward owed him $10,000 from that botched human trafficking job. Shit, tell them. I mean, it’s not like they won’t find out about it later.
“Can you tell us how long you’ve been knowing him?” Rose asked.
“Since I started working at NIT.”
“Can you think of anyone that would want him dead?” Rose asked.
“No. I can’t.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” Wise chimed in.
“The night we all clocked out at the terminal, which was two days ago.”
“When was the last time you spoke with him?” Rose asked.
“Yesterday morning. We were supposed to meet up at this diner but he never showed up.”
Rose’s questions continued. “Why was he going to meet you there?”
“To talk and get a bite to eat.”
Wise jumped back in. “You’re saying that you two agreed to meet at a diner so you guys could sit down, talk, and eat, but he never showed up?”
“Yep, that’s what I am saying,” Reese assured them.
“What’s the name of this diner?” Wise asked.
“Pop’s Diner.”
“Where is this diner?” Rose asked.
“Off Liberty Street.”
“What time was this?” Rose continued.