Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1)

  He was listening intently. I could tell. I felt as if I had him right where I wanted him, because if I didn’t have his ass in a crunch, knowing Duke like I did, he would have hung up on me a long time ago. Diamond was moving in front of me excitedly trying to ask me what he was saying. I put my hand up halting her while I finished.

  “What do you want?” Duke said calmly.

  “Now be patient! I was going to tell you,” I said with my voice shaking. “Here is what the fuck I want! I want five hundred thousand dollars in cash. I want you to come to the Magic City and bring the shit in a duffel bag. You need to come at a time when the club is packed. I want you to leave the fucking bag on the left side of the bar. You won’t see me, but I will see you.”

  There was silence on the phone. That shit was making me uncomfortable. I mean, here I was extorting his ass and Duke was still cool, calm and collected.

  I was kind of shocked at his reaction given the fact he and I both knew my evidence against him was rock solid. “Do you hear me you asshole!” I screamed.

  Duke was getting a rise out of me by being so calm. I wanted to get under his skin like he had done to me for so long.

  “Ok, Lynise, I will meet your demands,” he finally replied. “I will come tomorrow at ten o’clock. Is that good enough for you?”

  I felt a flash of heat come over me. It was a combination of excitement and fear. I couldn’t believe it was that easy to get him to bring me that kind of money. Something about that didn’t sit right with me, but I wasn’t going to back down at this point. What if Duke was really willing to pay to have those pictures back? I mean, I had watched him waste large amounts of money before so I already knew money was no object for him.

  “You need to follow my instructions and don’t try no bullshit. If shit doesn’t go down right, I have instructed someone to drop the pictures and stuff off to the cops and the media. I’m sure you don’t want your little preacher’s daughter wife to be embarrassed publicly when she finds out her so-called Christian husband is a murderer and baby snatcher.”

  “That is fine. I just need to know who else has been able to review these documents?” Duke asked, sounding all official and strictly business and shit. He was speaking to me like I was some business partner. I guess he didn’t want his wife to be suspicious.

  “Don’t worry about who else knows. You don’t know the person. But trust me, if one hair on my head is harmed, the person will turn your ass in so fast you won’t know your own name before it hits the general public and every media outlet you can think of,” I bluffed. By now Diamond couldn’t take not knowing what was going on, so she pressed her ear close to mine and the phone.

  “I will be there tomorrow . . . but you need to hand over the documents and pictures when I leave the bag,” Duke demanded. I knew he would ask for the stuff, but I was not planning on letting him see me. I was too scared he might try some shit.

  “I will leave them in a place that is secure,” I replied. “There will be a note in the spot where you will leave the money. When I have seen the money for sure, you will get the information.”

  There was no fucking way I was going to let him see me. I was going to have Diamond dress in a disguise and pick up the bag when he leaves it.

  “Ok, Lynise, I look forward to doing business with you again,” Duke said calmly, still sounding all official.

  His demeanor unnerved me. It was strange for someone being blackmailed to be this calm. Diamond moved her head away from the phone and looked at me. After I hung up the phone, I was completely spooked. My hands were trembling and sweat was pouring down my back.

  “What happened at the end of the conversation?” Diamond asked. Damn, she seemed nervous too. Shit, I didn’t know if we could survive this. Hope was becoming my best friend.

  “He said he was going to do it tomorrow at ten,” I told her. “But he was too fucking calm, girl. It was real weird he was that damn calm.”

  Diamond was quiet and so was I. Both of our minds were racing. I could tell. I was biting on my nails to try and combat the huge butterflies flitting around in my stomach.

  “Girl, that shit just didn’t seem right. It was just way too easy. I’m scared as hell now,” I admitted. I paced up and down the little cramped dressing room.

  “Your ass wanna get spooked after the threat!” Diamond chastised.

  “Girl, this is all gonna be behind us tomorrow,” I tried to convince her. I was really trying to convince myself.

  “You really think a man like Duke is just gonna hand over that kind of money after being strong armed by you?” Diamond asked. She was playing with her hair. I knew that meant she was nervous as hell too.

  “Yup! Because he knows I’m telling the fucking truth about his misdeeds. He also knows now that I have his client list and if the cops investigate and go check up on those babies, a whole lot of shit gonna hit the fan.”

  “Well, what you gonna do in the meantime?”

  “I don’t’ think I should go to the apartment that’s for sure,” I answered. “I can’t be sure that he won’t come there and try some shit. I don’t have any cash, but if you loan me a hundred dollars I’ll get a place to stay for the night.”

  Diamond sighed loudly. “Where you gonna stay at for a hundred dollars?” she asked.

  “Any of the hotels down Virginia Beach. I just wanna lay low until it goes down and I’m free and clear. Just think, after tomorrow I won’t need to borrow a hundred damn dollars and you won’t need to shake your ass for dirty niggas like that one tonight.” I smiled after my statement. We both needed to chill. This day was the worst and the calm and coolness of Mr. Duke Carrington had us both shaking in our boots.

  ”Very fucking true girl!” Diamond shouted happily.

  With that, Diamond dug in her purse and handed me a wad of dollars and fives. I counted out a hundred and handed her back the extra.

  “Bitch, when you get this money from Duke, you better give me ten times a hundred!” Diamond joked.

  “Oh, hell yeah, you know I will hook you up,” I said, feeling slightly better. “Girl, you can get like a hundred thousand, shit. My only condition is that you keep your damn mouth shut about where the money came from and don’t spend it for a while. I mean, you can’t even tell Brian about this shit.”

  Diamond sucked her teeth as if I had insulted her. Hell, she knew I was serious. And I hoped I hadn’t fucked up by telling Diamond. Once reliable, now she suffered from diarrhea of the mouth.

  “C’mon now, you know damn well I don’t run my mouth like that!” she snapped.

  Yeah, the old drug-free you didn’t normally run your mouth, but the new always high Diamond suffered from the disease called loose lips, I thought to myself. Thoughts I kept to myself.

  “You want me to drop you off at a hotel?” she asked.

  “Yeah, and after that I want you to go in the house and stay inside until you come to the club tomorrow. Duke never knew what apartment we were in, so if you’re inside, you will be safe.”

  “True. Then tomorrow I will get Brian to walk me out . . . you know, just in case the crazy nigga shows up,” Diamond assured me.

  “I hate Brian but that’s a damn good idea,” I concluded.

  Diamond and I left the club together through the alleyway back door with thoughts of big money on our minds. As we left, I thought how perfect that little back door was for my escape when I got the money from Duke. Instead of going out the front door and risking him doing some foul shit, I would make a run for the back door, which I’m sure he probably knew nothing about. As Diamond rambled on, I even thought about where I was going to park her car for the getaway too. I would park way down in the alley that the back door led to. Before Duke realized I wasn’t coming out the front and started searching for me, I’d be long gone.

  After we left the club, Diamond dropped me off at the Doubletree Hotel at the Military Circle Mall. Before I got out of her car, we hugged each other and agreed to see each other tomorrow. I had
asked Diamond several times if she thought she should stay with me at the hotel and not return to our apartment. She was adamant that she needed to meet up with Brian.

  I was uneasy, but I went along with her wishes. I hoped all went according to plan and she’d be safe. “Bye,” Diamond said to me as I exited her car.

  “Bye is permanent, girl. Let’s just say see you later,” I corrected her.

  At that moment, a rush came over me. I didn’t know why or what it was all about. Something about the word bye spoke of finality. I was so hoping it was just a funny feeling. After all, it was the end of a long day.

  Diamond laughed. “Ok, see you later Nini. Is that better?”

  I smiled. I so loved her laugh. “Yes, because saying bye means I won’t ever see you again,” I told her.

  I just didn’t know how prophetic my words would be.

  Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

  Chapter 27—On A Mission

  I rushed into the Doubletree and paid for one night.

  The clerk tried to give me a hard time because I was paying with cash. And the Doubletree similar to most hotels required a credit card. I came up with a quick but viable lie about my bag being stolen. I flashed him a smile or two and finally, he folded and gave me a room for cash. I even got his ass to use his employee discount to book my room at a cheaper rate.

  Inside the room, I used the little notepad to sketch out the inside of the Magic City. I wanted a visual of where Duke would leave the money, how I would get Diamond to pick it up and more importantly, how we were going to get the fuck out of there and get away. I reviewed my sketch and went over my plan at a hundred times.

  I finally felt drowsy. Lying down, I thought sleep was calling my name. I was wrong. I had a hard time sleeping in the hotel room. Every little noise, creak or voice outside of my door woke me up. I must’ve got up more than ten times during the night. I watched TV for a few minutes, paced the length of the room, looked out the window, laid back down and then repeated the process of trying to sleep all over again. A few times I drifted into a fitful sleep, but never a deep enough sleep to feel rested.

  When the sun finally streamed through the windows of the hotel room, I decided to get up and call Diamond. I had been worried about her all night. Another reason for my restlessness. I should have insisted on her staying with me last night. I hadn’t wanted her to go back to the apartment for fear of any retaliation Duke might be planning. But Diamond had insisted she’d be all right. I picked up my cell and called Diamond’s phone. It just rang. I knew it was early, but at a time such as this, her ass supposed to answer. I had told her to make sure anytime I called her that she picked up her damn phone.

  I took a deep breath and called her again. Still no answer. “C’mon Diamond, this ain’t no time to be playing disappearing acts and shit,” I cursed out loud as I dialed her number three more times in succession.

  No answer.

  I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach now. I told myself to calm down. I convinced myself that Diamond was just sleeping after a hard night’s work at the club. I threw my phone on the bed and stood still for a minute. I was starting to doubt myself with this plan.

  “Maybe I should’ve just tried to get what I could with the bank information I had kept.” I was doing it again—talking to myself, thinking out loud. Nervousness kicking my ass. I had contemplated trying to get what I could a few times, but I had also called and fucked up all of Duke’s bank accounts. I was sure he had straightened out by now . . . which also meant that there was probably a serious fraud watch on.

  “Fuck!” I cursed out of frustration. I needed to calm down.

  I walked into the bathroom and decided I needed a hot shower. Then I would order some room service to kill time until I heard back from Diamond. I was going to let more time pass before I tried to call her again. I got into the steamy shower and let the water cascade down my body. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift to good thoughts. I fantasized about what I was going to do with the money that I was about to get from shaking Duke’s ass down. I knew one of the first things I was going to do was get the hell out of Virginia.

  There were too many memories in Virginia Beach for me.

  I wanted bigger and better for myself. I had always wanted to live on the west coast. Maybe California . . . the land of the beautiful people. I found myself smiling as I envisioned myself in L.A., bartending at some of the most upscale celebrity clubs where I would get tips so big, I could shop every day.

  I would probably live right down in Beverly Hills someplace. My apartment would be small, but swanky and upscale. I was smiling in the shower and I realized it when some of the water got into my mouth. I wiped my face and with that I wiped the fantasy from my mind.

  “Get the money first,” I whispered to myself.

  When I did get my hands on the money, my intention was to start from scratch. I wanted a fresh start, a new beginning. I was going to put all of my hurt and broken heartedness behind me. I was feeling good about my decision to blackmail and extort Duke now.

  When I got out of the shower, I slipped into the same clothes I had worn the night before. I hadn’t had time to go back to the apartment or anywhere else to get any accessories. I picked up the phone and dialed Diamond again.

  Still no answer.

  “This chick is playing herself!” I mumbled in a harsh whisper. “Why wouldn’t you answer your damn phone knowing I was going to be fucking worried about you, Diamond!” I yelled out as if she was on the phone.

  I was starting to get scared as hell now and I had no way to leave the fucking hotel. I told that trifling bitch she would have to come and get me. We were planning to lay low until ten o’clock when Duke was to drop off the fucking money. Now what? She was nowhere to be found. I mean if she was with Brian the least she could’ve done was call me and tell me she was alive. I knew that nigga, Brian, kept her under lock and key when he was around, but damn, she knew how important staying in constant communication with me was. We had talked about this the entire ride to the hotel the night before.

  I unfolded the few dollars I had left of the money Diamond had loaned me for the hotel room. It was a good thing the clerk had given me a discount or else I wouldn’t have had anything leftover. Even with that act of generosity, I was pissed I only had twenty dollars. That wasn’t enough for another night and it was barely enough to take a cab from the hotel to the club.

  I walked in circles trying to decide what I was going to do. I couldn’t believe Diamond had let me down like this. With all of this money on the line, she was doing one of her dumb ass disappearing acts. I sat on the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands, still praying that I would hear from her at any minute.

  I noticed the hotel had slid my check-out receipt under the door. That meant I had to get the hell out of the hotel within the next hour. I didn’t have a choice. I was going to have to catch a cab back to my apartment. That was the only place I could afford to go with the amount of money I had leftover. I could only pray Duke wasn’t sitting on the complex, lying in wait to mug my ass.

  Five more calls to Diamond rendered the same results. With no other choice, I checked out of the hotel. I had the front desk clerk call me a cab and with a knot the size of a watermelon growing in my stomach, I went back to my apartment looking for Diamond. When the taxi pulled up to my complex, I scanned the area suspiciously, looking for any strange cars. I didn’t notice anything unusual. I had also noticed that Diamond’s car wasn’t parked outside the apartment.

  “This bitch done left without calling me or anything,” I mumbled as I handed the cab driver my last few dollars. I rushed out of the cab and ran up the stairs to my apartment. I quickly went inside and once in, I felt safe. “Diamond!” I called out just to make sure. There was no answer. I was fuming mad now. Anything could’ve happened. I called her cell phone again. This time I got an answer.

  “Hello?” I said, crinkling my eyebrows, ready to lay in on Diamond for being mis
sing in action. But the line quickly went dead. I swear I could’ve fainted. That’s how nervous I got all of a sudden. I looked at the phone strangely. Immediately, my instincts told me something wasn’t right. I went through the apartment pulling all the shades down and making sure the door was double locked. Suddenly, my phone rang back in my hand. That shit caused me to almost jump out of my skin. I looked down at the screen and Diamond’s name and number was flashing.

  “Ok, she’s calling back. Maybe I’m just being crazy,” I said to myself in a lumber voice. Damn, I was relieved. After I curse her ass out, I was going to have a good laugh at how nervous and scared I was.

  I answered the phone to tell her ass off. “Diamond?” I huffed into the receiver with much attitude.

  “If you ever want to see Diamond again, you will do everything you’re told to do,” a voice said into the phone. It sounded like the person was using a computerized voice. A hot feeling flashed in my chest and my heart started running wild. I felt vomit creeping up my throat.

  “Who is this!” I screamed, my voice cracking.

  The next thing I heard gave me a sharp stabbing pain in my chest.

  “Lynise! Please do what they say! Help me! Don’t let me die!” I heard Diamond boom through the phone in a bloodcurdling scream.

  I cupped my hand over my mouth. She sounded as if she was in a lot of pain.

  “Was that enough of a warning for you? If not, we can continue to send you those types of calls,” the mechanical voice told me.

  My legs got weak and I fell to my knees in the middle of the living room floor. I cried and couldn’t even speak. I had put Diamond in harm’s way. This was definitely all my fault. Duke was going to kill her now.

  How could I have been so stupid and so selfish?

  “What do you want from me,” I managed to say through my tears. At this point, I felt like I’d truly do anything to get my friend back. No amount of money was worth her life.

  “You will be contacted again with instructions. If you fail to do everything we say, or if you try to go to the police, your friend will die and you will be next,” the computer-generated voice threatened.