by Falicia Love
Monday morning Jeryca woke up, grabbed her phone to check what time it was, and noticed that she had a voicemail. Jeryca sat up and listened to a man telling her that they had her sister and that they were going to kill her if she didn’t do as she was told. She gasped for breath as she listened to it repeatedly. Her hands began to shake, her breathing sped up, and she started hyperventilating.
Orlando sat up and jumped out of the bed, rushing to Jeryca’s side. “Baby, calm down. Do I need to call 911? Baby, say something.”
Orlando ran to the kitchen, grabbed a paper bag, and took it back to Jeryca. He placed it around her mouth and prompted her to calm down. He talked to her until her breathing was stable and she could talk.
“Someone . . . someone just . . .” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Someone just left me a voicemail and said they had my sister, and that they would kill her if I didn’t do what they said. Oh, my God, someone took Pam!”
* * *
Brooklyn, New York
Sheila Mebane was up cooking breakfast when her phone started ringing. “Hello,” she answered hurriedly.
“Mom, what is going on up there?” Jeryca asked.
“Nothing is going on up here. Why the hell you ask that?” Sheila asked.
“Where is Pam?” Jeryca asked, trying to calm her voice.
“I don’t know. The little slut stayed out all night. It looks like she is following in her big sister’s footsteps,” she stated hatefully.
“Mom, why the hell haven’t you been keeping a damn eye on Pam? You been so fucking busy chasing that boyfriend of yours that you forgot about Pam. If anything happens to her, it’s your freaking fault! I bet you know where that lowlife is at!” Jeryca yelled into the receiver.
Sheila started laughing. “Nothing is going to happen to her hot ass. She may end up pregnant somewhere, but other than that Pam is okay. I really don’t care what you or anyone else thinks about how I been acting, Jeryca. You are off somewhere living the good life while we are here struggling. So don’t come at me about how I’m wrong.”
“Is that right, Mother? Well, tell me why the fuck I just got a message telling me that my sister was kidnapped and they want money for her safe return! Tell me that!” Jeryca screamed into her cell phone.
Sheila sat on her bed speechless. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe. Strangely enough, her concern wasn’t for Pam. She was praying that Todd hadn’t fucked up and kidnapped Pam, expecting Jeryca to pay out, because he was in for a rude awakening and would possibly end up in jail.
“Mother! Did you hear what I fucking said?”
“Yeah, I heard you,” she answered, and hung up.
Jeryca sat wide-eyed on the couch, wondering who could’ve taken her sister. She was furious and wanted to kill somebody. She looked over at Orlando, who hadn’t left her side since she received the phone call informing her that Pam had been snatched. Her mother had been so busy taking care of Todd’s needs that she forgot about Pam. Jeryca knew what her mother was about for years, and she felt that she wasn’t any better. She was so caught up in her own world that she wasn’t there for her sister when she needed her to be. Jeryca dropped her head and began to cry.
Orlando hugged Jeryca and whispered, “Everything is going to be okay. We will get her back.”
Jeryca shook her head, refusing to listen to Orlando, fearing the worst had already happened to her sister. She had done so many people wrong that it could be any number of people who wanted revenge.
Chapter Eighteen
Brittany was getting worried about Dana. It was going on two days since she had seen or heard from her. Brittany knew that Dana wasn’t real close to her family and they were now residing in Connecticut. She called Dana’s phone repeatedly and got no answer. From Brittany’s understanding, Dana was supposed to have left for the rehabilitation center Monday in a taxi, and since that day, Dana hadn’t been seen or heard from. Brittany also learned that Dana never made it to the center, so where was she? Brittany paced back and forth for hours, constantly looking out the door and window.
“Stephanie, have you heard from Dana?” she asked, once Stephanie walked into the house.
“No, I haven’t. I’m not her keeper!” she answered.
Brittany stared at her as Stephanie walked past her, went into the bathroom, and closed the door. She was astonished at how Stephanie appeared to have not a care in the world about Dana’s whereabouts, and she was starting to question if Stephanie had something to do with Dana’s disappearance. Where else could Dana be? She was fighting to keep it together, because in her gut she felt that something wasn’t right. The altercation that transpired between Stephanie and Dana a week back couldn’t have been that serious to where Dana would just leave and not tell her where she was. She had called everywhere she could think of, looking for Dana.
When Stephanie walked out of the bathroom, Brittany turned and looked at her. “Listen, I know you got your own problems going on, but Dana has been missing for a few days, and I’m worried.”
“First off, I don’t have any problems. Everything is going just as I need it to. And second, Dana is a big girl and can handle her own. She doesn’t need us following her as if we are her parents. Maybe that’s why she left. Have you ever looked at it that way?” Stephanie asked.
“Listen, if Dana could walk, I’d agree with you, but she is in a freaking wheelchair, Stephanie!” Brittany yelled.
Stephanie sighed. “Well, have you called the police?”
“Not yet. I was waiting to see if you’d heard from her,” Brittany said.
“Well, damn, you couldn’t have been that worried!” Stephanie yelled, reaching for her cell phone. She dialed the one person she knew would care about Dana’s disappearance. “Hey, Detective Rone, this is Stephanie. Have you by any chance heard from Dana?”
Brittany sat down on the couch as Stephanie talked with Detective Rone. She had been consumed with so much worry that she didn’t think to call Detective Rone.
After Stephanie got off the phone, she looked at Stephanie. “He said the last time he saw her was when he dropped her off at the rehabilitation center last week. He said he’ll send a few guys out to see if they can locate her, and he’ll get back with us by tomorrow morning,” Stephanie informed Brittany.
“Thanks.” Brittany sat on the couch and started imagining all the worst scenarios possible that Dana could be faced with. Stephanie saw the worry in her face, and even though she was supposed to go back to Chris’s house, she stayed with Brittany. She couldn’t leave her there in the fragile state of mind she was in. The two women sat there and comforted each other until they fell asleep.
The following morning, Stephanie woke up and saw Brittany sitting on the couch with the phone in her hand. From the first time she laid eyes on Brittany, she assumed that something was up with her, but seeing how concerned she was about Dana, she knew that Dana had a true friend in her.
“Look, Brittany, I’m sure Dana is okay. Detective Rone is going to call any minute to tell us that he found her. Don’t fret. You know our Dana is a fighter and won’t let anybody hurt her,” Stephanie said as she sat next to Brittany and hugged her.
The hug seemed to be Brittany’s breaking point as tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Stephanie, all my life I’ve been a loner, and when I met Dana, she didn’t hesitate to accept me for who I was. See, I’ve always been like a mother hen to the few people I did interact with, but they didn’t like that part of me, so they eventually pulled away. Not Dana. She and I clicked from the very start, and I started to look upon her as my little sister. I would give her advice on lifestyle changes, and she accepted my positive criticism for what it was. She was so smart, and the way she grasped the law, I just knew she was the one to mentor. I could have talked her out of stealing from Thad from the beginning, but the money sounded good, and it was easy enough, so I fed into her plan and look where it has gotten her. I feel responsible for her being in this situation so, you see, that’
s why I do all the things I do for her. She is basically all I got.”
Stephanie couldn’t say a word. Brittany had never confided in her before, and to hear her say that Dana was all she had really sat in her spirit. She had known Dana for years and couldn’t say that they had developed anything close to that kind of bond.
Finally finding her voice, Stephanie replied, “Dana will surface, I promise. I know you are worried, but everything is going to work out just fine. Come on, let’s go eat some cereal. We got to have strength to beat Dana’s ass when we see her for making us worry like this. Look at us over here.”
Brittany laughed. “We can’t beat Dana, Stephanie.”
Well, we can at least pop her one.” Stephanie laughed.
The two ladies ate their cereal and talked about what they were going to do when Dana got back. Stephanie even promised that she would try harder to get along with Dana.
After breakfast, both ladies posted up near the phone, anxiously awaiting Detective Rone’s phone call. After two hours passed with no phone call from Detective Rone, the two ladies decided that they would go out and search on their own, but that brought no results either. Brittany was beginning to feel helpless all over again.
Chapter Nineteen
The day after Jeryca found out that Pam was kidnapped, she received a phone call telling her that she needed to head to Brooklyn, and if she wanted to see Pam alive again that she would have to do everything she was told. If they felt that she slipped in any way, Pam would die.
She put the phone on speaker so that Orlando could hear everything that was being said. After the call ended, Jeryca was lost in thought.
She didn’t know what to think or say. She had been so thoughtless of Pam’s needs, and now her sister was in a bad situation because of her. Pam had told her that she was being followed and she didn’t listen. She should’ve sent for her as she promised her she would. However, she wasn’t thinking about anyone other than herself. If she had all the money in the world, it couldn’t fix her heart at that moment.
* * *
Pam had overheard what the guy had just said to Jeryca, and now her nerves were on edge. Since the day that she was taken, the men had been very kind to her. They fed her good food and even played cards with her to make her feel at ease. She was given plenty of water, and they even allowed her to wash up in the room where she was being kept. They didn’t seem like the kind of people who would harm her.
She hadn’t felt afraid until that very moment. She dropped her head and looked down at her hands. Tears began to fall, and she couldn’t stop them. She lay down facing the wall and began to pray that she wouldn’t be murdered.
Ten minutes passed, and Pam was beginning to get antsy. She wasn’t going to just lie there as if she didn’t know that she could die. She sat up on the edge of the bed and waited for the shorter of the two guys who had taken her to walk into the room. He set a sandwich down along with some chips and a Sprite next to her bed. He saw the frightened look on her face and reached out to rub her hair, trying to reassure her that everything was okay.
Pam took that moment to push at her captor, and she ran down the hall. She didn’t know which way to go; all she knew was that she needed to run and get away.
Her captor was quick on her heels, and before she could get too far down the hall, he grabbed her up and swung her around. Pam started screaming, which alerted the second man that something was wrong. He quickly entered the hallway and helped the other man drag her back into the room she was being held in.
The tall guy tossed her on the bed, but Pam bounced back up and attempted yet again to flee.
“Chill out or we are going to have to duct tape your mouth and tie you up! Is that what you want?” the shorter of the two asked.
“Please let me go! I promise I won’t tell anyone anything. I don’t deserve to be here!” she screamed.
“Listen, we don’t call the shots, baby girl. We are just doing what we were told to do!” the shorter guy explained.
“Man, shut the fuck up! You ain’t got to tell her shit. If we tell her to chill the fuck out, that’s what she need to do or else I will strap her ass up! Now how about that!” the taller one said, facing Pam.
Pam was both angry and frightened, but she sat back on the bed with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. She wasn’t sure what else she could say. She told her captors that she wasn’t going to be eating and that they could take the food away. Once she was closed up in the room alone, she started rocking back and forth, trying to come up with a new plan to escape. She wasn’t going to allow them to hurt her without a good fight. She prayed that God would watch over her and guide her captors to have a change of heart.
As nighttime fell, Pam overheard her captors saying it was getting close to the time to move her. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she was preparing for the worst. She had to continue to be strong and pray that, somehow, she would come out of the situation all right.
* * *
Jeryca was filled with so many emotions trying to figure out who could’ve been responsible for kidnapping Pam as they rode up the highway, heading to Brooklyn. She never thought she’d ever see the sight of that city again, especially not for the reason she was going for. She had left a trail of unresolved issues back there, and she didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with them, so she was going to keep a very low profile until the kidnappers told her where to drop the money off and where she could find her sister. She prayed that she found Pam alive.
Orlando couldn’t believe his luck. Of all the women to fall in love with, he had to fall in love with Jeryca, a greedy, conniving, and selfish woman. She would do anything to keep from returning Ramon and Sergio’s money to them. He just hoped that this wasn’t a ploy to stash more money. If it was, he would kill her himself.
They were traveling in the dead of night and were going to arrive early in the morning. They were instructed to check in at the West End Hotel, and once there, to contact them from that hotel’s phone.
Jeryca and Orlando checked into the designated hotel, and after getting into the room reserved for them, Jeryca immediately called the number her sister’s captors had given them. “This is Jeryca. We are here. What do you want us to do next?”
“We will call to your room with further instructions in a few hours. Do you have the money?”
“Can I please speak to Pam?” Jeryca asked, ignoring the kidnapper’s question.
“In time you will be with Pam, but right now, I need to know if you got the fucking money!”
“I want to know if my sister is okay! I’m not giving up a dime until I speak to my sister!” Jeryca yelled as she gripped the phone tightly. Her hands were shaking, and tears filled her eyes. Orlando knew in that moment that Jeryca couldn’t have set the kidnapping up. If she had, she was one hell of an actress.
“Jeryca, give me the phone. I’ll handle this,” Orlando ordered.
“No! I want to speak to my sister now! Fucking cowards couldn’t deal with me, so they pick on a young teenage girl to get to me. Fuck them! Let me speak to Pam now!” she screamed.
Orlando rushed forward and grabbed the phone from Jeryca. She started yelling and hitting him, angry that he wouldn’t let her talk to the kidnappers. Orlando ducked and dodged Jeryca’s fists the best he could as he concluded the phone call, assuring the kidnappers that they had the money. Once Orlando was off the phone, he turned and looked at Jeryca long and hard, while she looked at him as if he were a stranger.
“Why did you do that? You told them we had the money before they let us speak to Pam! How do we know she is alive?” Jeryca sobbed.
“They said Pam would be there when we get there, and that they would let her go before we give them the cash.”
“They could be lying!” she cried.
“You’re right, but we have no other options. We could’ve had Sergio and Ramon help us, but after that stunt you pulled with Valerie, we will be lucky if the
y don’t come after us. That is if we survive this,” Orlando murmured.
Jeryca dropped her head and sighed. “I really fucked things up with my life and may have even caused the death of my sister. I will die a thousand times over if they don’t let Pam go.” Jeryca began to cry as she rested in Orlando’s arms until she fell asleep.
* * *
Jeryca woke up and found that Orlando was gone. She decided that she wasn’t going to chance anything happening to her sister. She was going to make the ultimate sacrifice: her freedom for her sister’s life. She also had to make sure that Pam would be in a better place when and if she was found. There was no way that she was going to give up her life only to have Pam in the same situation with Sheila. She called the only person she knew would help Pam.
“Hey, Shirley, how are you? This is Jeryca.”
“Oh, my God! Jeryca, baby, it’s been a long time. How are you doing?” Shirley asked.
“Not too good, ma. I will explain everything to you in a little while, but I want to know if Pam can stay with you until she is capable of doing for herself. I have a few dollars stashed away, and a nice house located in Miami that I will sign over to you today, if you can help,” Pam told her sadly.
“Jeryca, what’s wrong?” Shirley asked.
“I can’t go into detail yet. I just need to know if you can help her out,” Jeryca inquired again.
“Of course I will help her. You know I will,” Shirley answered.
“Thanks, ma, you are the best. Look, I got to make a few more calls and run a few errands, but I will contact you later on, okay?” Jeryca said, before hanging up.
Jeryca called the police station and asked to speak to Detective Rone. He didn’t answer, so she left him a brief message. “Detective Rone, guess who this is. It’s Jeryca Mebane. I know you been looking for me for torching Dana Crisp, and I am willing to turn myself in, plus give you all the information you need to build a case against Dana Crisp and Brittany Howell. However, I need you to help me with a big problem that I find myself faced with. Please call me as soon as possible.” She left her phone number and hung up.