by BlaQue
I got to Natalie’s house in under the twenty minutes I had estimated. I did the breath check and pulled down the visor to make sure I was straight.
I’m a handsome nigga.
My signature grey eyes sparkled with anticipation of beating the pussy up. That seemed like the only thing I really enjoyed since my sister died. As long as I had pussy I was aight. I pushed the visor back into place. I got out of the car, set the alarm, and knocked on Natalie’s raggedy ass door. I hated coming to her house because she lived in the ghetto and you never knew if you were gonna get car jacked, robbed or caught slipping.
I heard her shoes clicking across the floor towards the door. When she opened it, she made sure she opened it wide enough for the whole block to see her empty ass, run-down section-eight type house. She was naked as the day she was born. All she had on was a pair of satin blue Prada heels. Her long weave was the only thing covering her perky implanted breast. Her makeup was the same color of her shoes and she had on that glittery lotion shit I hated. She smelled like the knock off version of Versace Bright Cristal. I hated cheap perfume! You could never get that shit off of your skin without damn near scrubbing until you bled. All I could do was think to myself that if she spent the money she paid for those shoes and those tits wisely, she could afford to live somewhere better than here.
Maybe I should be with Pinky. As quickly as that thought came, it was gone as Natalie she turned around to let me completely in the door. I watched her chocolate ass jiggle with every step she took and I was mesmerized. I knew she was about to do a nigga proper and I so needed it after all the shit that had happened. I didn’t even give Pinky and what she was going through another thought. My thoughts were immediately lost in the rhythmic sway of Natalie’s hips. I knew coming to see her was definitely a smart move to relieve some pent-up frustration.
Chapter Fifteen
DJ Flexx
“The Water Dance”
NiQue
I had spent the majority of the night being asked the same ten questions a hundred different ways. These cops were stupid if they thought I was going to implicate myself. They just kept asking me where I had been and how was it that I didn’t know anything about Joseah. I made it a point of telling them that maybe they got close to their help if they could afford help; but I damn sure didn’t. We paid her to do her job. I didn’t need another friend, so I never made it my business to know anything other than her name. Dread handled writing the checks for her and that was fine with me.
“Ms. Watkins, how is it that your nanny lived on your property and yet you didn’t know anything about her?” the detective asked me.
“My fiancé handled the dealings with the help. He interviewed her, hired her and he paid her! I had very little contact with her because she wasn’t one of my favorite people. As a matter of fact, we had discussed letting her go earlier in the day.” I said.
The bald head Fed asked me the same things over and over until I started to become annoyed. They even went as far as asking me to submit to a polygraph. I demanded that they get my lawyer down there, and with those words they finally eased up and let me go home to my daughter who had been with Dread’s mother.
This day had been stressful enough. All I wanted to do was go home, roll a spliff, have a drink, and try to pretend this day hadn’t happen. Dread wasn’t making shit any better. He wasn’t here and now this cop was looking for him again! I was furious he hadn’t bothered to tell me that he had been at that club with that stripper bitch. That shit had me feeling a certain kind of way. I was always learning shit second hand.
I called Mrs. Evans to let her know I was on my way and she said she would keep YaSheema for a couple of days. I was more than happy to let her stay there. I had all but forgotten I couldn’t just drop her on Joseah and do me anymore. I had better get myself together and quick. I had to learn to be a good mother of a three month old who I knew nothing about in a matter of a few days; all because mommy fucked around and killed the nanny. I turned on my Ipod and the song, “Monster” came pouring through the speakers.
“How appropriate is that, my song upon entrance!” Pajay said.
“Oh no!” I said shaking my head. “I am not in the mood to deal with your ass. I don’t have the baby, no Dread, no Joseah, and I damn sure don’t feel like your company!” I said to her.
“Don’t blame me for your company or lack thereof,” she laughed.
“You know you are really twisted and I know how to fix your ass.”
I stuck my hand in my purse trying to find my magic pills, but I came up empty.
“Fuck!” I said hitting the steering wheel. I had left the pills in the house. There was no way I could have gone to the police station with a bag of Xtasy in my Michael Kors purse. I removed my hand and balled up my fist and slammed it into the steering wheel causing the horn to blow. The driver in front of me moved out of my way thinking I was trying to pass them. I sped up and around the car and the little old lady driving the big Lincoln made me chuckle to myself. I could never understand why old people drove the biggest cars they could find.
“What are you smiling for?” Pajay said interrupting my comical thought.
“Just sit back and shut up.” I said to Pajay, defeated for the moment.
“You don’t have the baby, and the in-laws said you could have some time to yourself. Why don’t we take advantage of that? Dread ain’t home. Plus who knows who the fuck he is out screwing because it damn sure ain’t you.” Pajay reminded me.
I let out a loud sigh. I was getting real tired of her. She was a thorn in my side and a real pain in the ass. She only showed face when it suited her, and then when the shit got hot she would roll out untouched; leaving me to fend for myself. The others had never left my side like she did. This game she was playing was getting old.
“So what’s the plan?” she asked again.
“I plan to go home without you sticking around to fuck some shit up for me. Then I plan on taking a long, hot bath, smoke a J and go to bed. This has been one of the longest days of my life and I have to go to the lawyer’s office in the morning. Wait…why am I explaining this shit to you?”
“You don’t have to explain shit to me because I already know you say one thing and do another. Anyway, where are you gonna get the money for the lawyer? Remember Ms. Fancy Pants you bought this house and now we’re almost broke. You know that nigga ain’t gonna represent us without cold hard cash! He doesn’t take his retainer fees in the form of washed-up pussy!” she laughed.
“Keep it up bitch and I will fuck around and over dose just to get rid of you!” I threatened.
“Yeah go ahead and let me see you try that shit. Fuck me and you fuck yourself!” She spat back. “I wanna see you make it one day without me. Just one day of weak ass NiQue and the whole world would be chewing you up and spitting you out. You wouldn’t survive without me! Besides, I am tons of fun; who wouldn’t want me around?”
The music changed and Rhianna and Eminem versed back and forth about an affair gone wrong. I felt like that was what was happening with me and Pajay! She fucked up and I had to fix it, but she was right; I couldn’t live life without her. I owed her. She saved me when I had no one else. When everyone else would rather abuse and then abandon me, she was right there to right their wrongs no matter how harsh the punishment. She was the judge and the jury and no one ever got probation. They were all sentenced to death.
“So what did that sneaky ass man of yours have to say about being at that strip club? Or did you even ask him?”
I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to have this conversation with her because it was not going to lead to anything good. Besides it was none of her business
“Yeah, I asked him.” I said keeping my eyes focused on the road. I prayed she wouldn’t try to fish around for too many details.
“So, what did he say? Let me guess, he didn’t have anything to say about it. I told you not to trust that nigga!” she said chastising me as if I were a child i
nstead of the grown woman I am.
“I would prefer it if you would stay out of my relationship with my man; thank you!” I spat back.
I needed to hurry home and get to my stash to get rid of her before she started a war with Dread. I was in no mood to deal with her attitude or her treachery. Pajay sucked her teeth and quieted down for the rest of the ride towards our upscale home in Laurel.
*****
I pulled into the driveway and parked the truck next to my Benz then strolled up the walkway. I noticed the stares coming from my neighbors who were in their yards tending to their flower beds and watching their children play. I ignored their sideways stares and kept it moving right into the house. Once I got inside I went straight to the kitchen and looked at the mess I had to clean up from the incident with Joseah. I instantly started regretting everything that had happened the day before. I stared at the broken shards of glass along the floor and felt horrible for what we had done to Joseah who didn’t do anything to deserve an early death.
“That nosy bitch deserved everything she got! She had it coming! Had she minded her own fucking business she would still be alive.” Pajay barged in.
“I thought I told you to go away!” I screamed.
“Haven’t you figured it out, I ain’t going anywhere.”
I didn’t respond to her stubborn ass. I simply stepped over the broken glass and retrieved a cup from the dish drain and headed for the fridge to get some orange juice. I poured a glass and exited the kitchen the same way I had come in. I walked up the steps feeling drained of all my energy. I went to my hiding spot in my bedroom, got my bag of medicine, and popped two pills.
“You are gonna fuck around and overdose.” Pajay said.
I ignored her; refusing to give her any conversation. Instead of listening to her nonsense, I turned on the sound system to drown out her words. Slow, yet steady, motions lead my actions as I walked into the bathroom to run a hot bath. Anxiously, I emptied the remaining bath salts into the steamy water anticipating how good the bath was going to feel. I disrobed in front of the mirror that hung on the back of the door to the bathroom and looked at the bruises on my legs from the fall I took while assaulting Joseah. The salty water of my tears began to gather in the corners of my eyes. I was so ashamed of what I had allowed to happen to that woman. As the water fell from the faucet into the tub, tears started to fall down my face and on to my naked skin in the same manner.
“There is no use in crying over spilled milk. Crying isn’t gonna get us anywhere. It damn sure ain’t gonna bring her back. You and I both know she was bound to expose our little secrets and we can’t afford to have anyone digging in our past. You are finally getting everything you ever wanted. Did you want her to tell your man that you are crazy and talking to people that aren’t there? They would lock us away and then you would lose it all! Your man, your house, the baby and your freedom would all be no more. We did what we had to do to survive. Remember that!” Pajay said.
No matter how hard I tried to find some truth in what Pajay was telling me, I could find none. I knew we were no more than cold-blooded killers. This has to end! I said to myself before going over to the vanity and retrieving both a razor blade and my cell phone. I at least wanted to call Dread and let him know what he meant to me before I committed the ultimate sin. I dialed his number and it went straight to voicemail. I pushed the end button on the call and slid my body into the hot water and sat there contemplating suicide.
“Oh, so you are just gonna try and take the coward’s way out and kill yourself?” Pajay spoke up.
I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I didn’t want my daughter to know I went out like a sucker. I wanted her to know that her mother was a soldier. I couldn’t succeed at anything, not even killing myself. My high was starting to kick in and as usual Pajay was gone; at least for the time being, or until she found some way to pull me into another fucked up situation.
I finished my bath, toweled off and crawled into my lonely circular bed after trying Dread’s cell again to no avail. This time I hung up and then powered the phone off. I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone. I finally drifted off to sleep with images of my sister YaSheema, Oscar, and my no good ass Daddy dancing through my head.
Chapter Sixteen
911 Band
“All the Brown”
Detective Gatsby
I was sitting in my office with my feet kicked up atop the piles of crap I had stored there. I was feeling good too! For the first time in a long time I felt like I was making some progress in my life. I was on the verge of breaking this Clayton-Reynolds and York case wide open.
I had that nigger Dread on the run. I had dropped a dime on him through some folks over at the local news stations. I had made a few calls letting them know he was a suspect in the murder of Khalia York. Those nosy bastards loved to have the story first. Too bad I called each and every news station in the area and told the same story to each reporter. I even had taken the liberty of telling them where he was.
It was just a matter of time before there would be no juror who wouldn’t know about the case and fry Ronald Evans. Even though I knew he had nothing to do with the young girl’s death, I was going to make sure he got the book thrown at him for slipping through my fingers for the deaths of his former girlfriend and her family. As long as he was locked up, I didn’t care what I had to do to see this thing through.
Someone was knocking on the door. I planted my feet on the floor and tried to make myself look like I was busy working.
“Come in!” I yelled.
In walked the sister of my victim. Chyan “Pinky” York, was opposite of her baby sister in many ways. One would never even know they were related to one another. Where Chyan was high yellow, Khalia was chocolate. The only resemblance they bore was their beautiful shaped bodies. Don’t get me wrong, both women were gorgeous, but the older sister was a brick house. She looked like she had been sculpted like that. Her ass was so round and juicy you could see it from the front. Her perky double D breasts sat up firm even without the assistance of a bra in the pink tank top she was wearing. Her supple breasts gave way to her washboard tummy and then widened down to her delicious hips and toned thighs.
I licked my lips watching her watch me. I was imaging her giving me a private lap dance in my office. Chyan walking into my office like that reminded me of that Beyonce video, “Dance for You.” I could see her dancing around my office just until I bent her black ass over my desk doggy style and fucked her until all of my frustrations were gone. I had to stop fantasizing about women like this. This is how I almost got caught with a body instead of being able to pin it on that fool Dread .
I finally spoke up.
“Good morning Ms. York. Please take a seat.” I said directing her to sit in the chair that sat across from me. I could tell she was uncomfortable in my messy office. I would have at least attempted to clean up a little had I known she would be paying me a visit so soon. I had just called her roughly thirty minutes ago, and here she was in front of me looking like a video vixen.
“Hello detective. I hope you called me down here to tell me that you have my sister’s killer in custody. I ain’t really interested in anything else.” she said obviously noticing how I was giving her the lustful eye.
I cleared my throat.
“Actually, I do have information on your sister’s murderer. I wanted you to be the first to know that we have a suspect.” I lied.
She sat at the edge of the seat hanging on my every word.
“His name is Ronald Evans.” I said waiting to see if she could make a connection.
After studying her face for a moment I could tell that she didn’t know Dread by his government name.
“You may also know him as Ronald ‘Dread’ Evans. He is a rapper and we believe he was performing at your place of employment the night of your sister’s untimely death.”
Her facial expression grew cold. Her face turned red and her eyes narrowed. Something about the
mention of the suspect caused her despair and I wanted to know why.
“Ms. York, are you alright? Can I get you anything?” I asked trying to pry without her knowing what I was up to.
“No…no, I am ok. Have you all tried to pick him up? Do you have him in custody yet?” she asked.
“No ma’am. Apparently he left the state the day after the murder and we are currently going through the proper channels to get him picked up as soon as we can get his exact location. The last bit of information we gathered was that he was supposed to be performing in Atlanta. That is what we were able to gather thus far. As soon as I am able to obtain any more information, you will be the first to know!”
“Good, let me know if you pick him.” she said standing to leave my office.
Something about the way she said “if” bothered me. It was as if I wasn’t going to do everything I could to see that slimy bastard behind bars. Before she could make it to the door, Clancy from the forensics’ team entered my office.
“Oh, I am sorry Detective Gatsby. I didn’t mean to disturb your meeting.” Clancy said eye balling the hell out of Chyan York. He was about to turn around and leave back out of the door, but she had him captivated. I didn’t blame him either she was a lot to take in.
“I was just leaving.” Ms York said, throwing her Gucci bag strap over her shoulder and making her way out of my tiny office. Clancy didn’t speak until we both shook off the effect Chyan had unknowingly whipped on us.
“Damn Gatsby, she is fine as hell! Wait, isn’t she the woman from the nightclub killing?” Clancy asked.
I shook my head up and down to let him know he was correct.
“Well, you may have some news for her sooner than you thought.” Clancy said smiling wide.