by Roy Glenn
When the waitress returned with our drinks, I ordered the Blue Water Grill chopped salad and a couple of Maki Rolls. Spicy yellowtail and shrimp roll and spicy lobster, and tuna roll with avocado and jalapenos. I love jalapenos.
For my entree I chose the grilled wild-striped bass, marinated with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, garlic and capers. Broccoli rabe and marinated farmers market vegetables. I was gonna get the lobster mashed potatoes, but I settled for the cream spinach.
We were just about done with our meal when Kevon pointed something out to me. “That woman there in the orange suit; she has been watching you for some time now.”
“How do you know she’s not watching you?”
“That was me first thought as well. So I watch her looking at you, until she see me watching her, then she look away.”
I turned to see who he was talking about. She was very pretty, kind of classy. The longer I looked the more she looked like I knew her from somewhere. She was sitting with an older white man, having drinks, and talking. When we made eye contact she smiled and raised her glass. I picked up mine and did the same.
“I told you. The woman has been watching you all evening,” Kevon said.
“Like I know her from somewhere.”
“Want me to ask her where you know her from, boss?”
“No. Enjoy your food, she’ll be all right.”
It wasn’t too much longer after that when the two of them got up. They shook hands like they had just completed a business deal. They walked off together, but she stopped at the bar while he left the restaurant.
“I’ll be back.”
“Want me to go with you, boss?” Kevon smiled and asked.
“No, I think I can mack a woman by myself.”
I got up from the table and walked over to the bar. The woman smiled when she saw me coming. “Hello, Mr. Black. How are you?”
“I’m fine,” I said and signed for the bartender. It was obvious that we had met before, but I still had no idea who this woman was or where I knew her from.
“Remy VSOP,” I said to the bartender and turned to her.
“I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure. And I kept looking and looking. Your friend must have thought I was trying to flirt with him.”
“He did.”
“When you turned around I was sure it was you.”
“You have me at a disadvantage.”
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
“I remember you, or I should say I recognize you. I just don’t know from where.”
She laughed. She had a pretty smile. “I’m not surprised. Even though the last time you saw me I was naked.”
“You were?”
“Yes-I was.”
I was really confused then. “If the last time I saw you, you were naked, I should at least remember your name.”
“But you don’t, do you?” she asked and continued to smile at me. She didn’t seem the least bit angry that I didn’t remember her name.
“No. I really don’t remember your name, naked or not.”
“That’s because I probably never told you my name; at least not my real name.”
“That makes me feel a little better.”
She extended her name. “I’m Jada West.”
“You’re Jada West. I heard a lot about you.”
“You have?” Jada smiled and laughed a little. “Well, I think I should be honored.”
Jada West was slowly making a reputation for herself in some circles. She ran an agency for high-priced call girls. Simply put, Jada West was one of the top madams in the city. But by never being a client of hers or anybody that worked for her, that still didn’t answer the question of where I knew her from.
“Like I said, I’ve heard a lot about you, so it’s me who’s honored to meet you. Or meet again.”
“Let me stop messing with you. We met a couple of years ago at this little club called Ecstasy. They were having a private party for The One and his entourage and you were there. I was one of the dancers that night.”
I looked at her a little closer. “I remember you, now,” I said even though I didn’t.
Jada gave me a look that told me that she knew I still didn’t remember her. “We didn’t talk for very long. You told me that you enjoyed watching me dance. I asked you if you were a friend of Bruce, Bruce. And you said that you owned the company that manages The One.”
“Now I remember you,” and this time I actually did. “I remember watching you dance. You were incredible.”
Jada laughed. “I could do a little something back then.”
“In fact, Bruce, Bruce invited me down there that night to see you; said you were the show.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“And I know why. I take it that this is much more profitable for you?”
“It is; and much easier on the feet.”
I looked down. “And you have such pretty feet.”
Jada giggled and I enjoyed the sound of it, and the smile that came with. We talked at the bar over drinks for awhile, mostly about the differences in our businesses. “Your clientele is primarily working class guys. Where my clientele is a bit more upscale,” Jada said confidently. “My clients are doctors and lawyers, actors, directors and producers, executives, CEOs and politicians.”
“Martin Marshall wouldn’t be one of them?” I asked, always looking for any edge I could find.
“Martin, no, but I do know him. Martin Marshall is an arrogant, pompous jerk, but no, he’s not a client,” Jada said and looked at her watch. “Look at the time. I’ve gotta run.” She reached in her purse and took out one of her cards. It only had a number on it. “It was good seeing you.”
I accepted the card and kissed her hand. “Hopefully, it won’t be the last time I see you.”
“You have the card. It’s my private number. Anything I could do for you, just ask,” Jada said and finished her drink.
“Before you go, let me ask you a question.”
“Sure.”
“Are any of your clients reporters?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Can you arrange a meeting?”
“With you?”
“No. I’m not sure who they’d be meeting with.”
“As long as there’s a story in it, I’m sure I can. His name is James Fremeno; he’s a reporter for the Post. What’s the story?”
I finished my drink and looked at Kevon. He stood up. “I’ll call you in a couple of days.”
“I’m sure that you will.”
“Why is that?”
Jada smiled. “Because it seems that now I suddenly have something you want. And you impress me as a man who always gets what he wants.”
“Not all the time.”
What I really want is Cassandra.
But that’s not gonna happen.
Chapter 34
Nick Simmons
I opened my eyes and looked around the room, halfway expecting Wanda to be sitting there watching me sleep.
It was after midnight by the time I got to Wanda’s house. She was still up waiting for me when I got there. After I left Rain at the motel I thought it would be a good idea for me to be seen at a few of our spots. Since Wanda had eyes everywhere, I figured I’d put them to work for me.
“How’d it go?” Wanda asked as soon as I got in the house.
“Somebody got there before we did. They were dead when we got there.”
“We? Who is we?”
“Me and Rain.”
“Why you take her?”
“Wanda-we’ve been through this. Rain is helping me. We followed-up on her lead, then I dropped her off at JR’s.”
“What you do after that?”
I laughed. “I really don’t like being interrogated, counselor, but if you want me to account for my whereabouts, fine. After I dropped her off, I got a picture of her brother and then I went to Monika’s. Then I hit a few stops.” Wanda doesn’t like Monika. She swears something is goi
ng on between us, so I know she won’t call her for any reason.
“What you go to Monika for?”
“She’s helping me with Zakiya’s murder, too. She was having an affair with a married man whose on-line name is Nice N. Slow. The e-mails were sent from a computer at JR’s. I think that Rain’s brother Miles sent them. That’s why I got his picture, so I could show it to the staff at Paradise tomorrow.”
That was my plan for the day.
I got out of bed, took a shower, and was at Paradise by one. The place was packed. I made eye contact with Tasheka and took a seat. When things quieted down a little, Tasheka came to the table with some lemonade for me. “How are you doin’, Nick?”
“I’m doin’ fine, Tasheka. How about you?”
“Tired; need a better job. But other than that, I’m fine.”
And she was; fine as hell.
“Have seat, Tasheka, I got something I want you to take a look at.”
Tasheka sat down and I handed her the picture that I had taken of Miles. She looked at the picture and shook her head. “That’s him. That’s the guy she used to meet here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure am,” she said. “Shameka, come here.”
“Don’t you see I’m busy?” Shameka shouted back.
“I can’t stand her ass sometimes,” Tasheka frowned. “That’s why I need a new job.”
Tasheka got up. She took the pictures behind the counter to show Shameka. She looked at the pictures and came from behind the counter.
“That’s him,” Shameka said as soon as she got to the table.
“When they were here together, how did they act?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did they seem happy with each other? Did they argue?”
“They looked like they were in love. You know, sitting on the same side in the booth, all hugged up with each other. Holding hands, stuff like that.”
She handed me back the pictures and asked if I was hungry. “Starvin’.”
“What you want? You want some chicken, you want some fish?”
“Got any shrimp?”
“Of course: some big jumbo joints.”
“Bring me some shrimp and chicken.”
“You want fries with that?”
“Hold the fries,” I said and Shameka went for the food. Tasheka brought back the food and another glass of lemonade and sat down. While I ate, she told me all the reasons why she hated working there and needed to be gone.
“You got a pen?” I asked when I was finished eating. Tasheka went a got a pen and I wrote down the number for the finance company that Wanda had been dying for me to run. I handed it to her. “Call this number on Monday, but not until Monday. You ask for April Dancer, she’ll be expecting your call,” I said and got up.
Before I knew it, Tasheka had jumped up, hugged, and kissed me. “Thank you.”
“Just don’t disappoint me,” I said, and could hear her scream for joy as I left the restaurant.
Now that I knew for sure that Miles was Nice N. Slow, the married man that Zakiya was seeing before her death, the question now was, what the fuck was I gonna do about?
I had no idea.
When I got to JR’s it was still early, too early for the club to be open. I went around back and knocked on the door. A short time later a woman came to the door.
“I’m looking for Miles Robinson. Is he here?”
The woman took a closer look at me. “You were here with Rain yesterday, weren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“No, he’s not,” she said. “He won’t be back until Monday.”
“Thanks.”
I went back around to the front of the building, thinking that now I had some time to decide what I was going to do about Miles. I was about to get in my car, when Rain pulled up in her BMW.
“Lookin’ for me?” Rain asked as she pulled up alongside of me.
“No.”
“Liar.”
“No, I was looking for your brother, Miles.”
“He ain’t here.”
“Yeah, I know. Some woman just told me that at the back door; said he won’t be back until Monday.”
“He dropped the kids off and took his wife out of town for the weekend, which ain’t a bad idea. Why don’t we go to AC for the weekend?”
“Not happenin’, not this weekend, anyway.” But it did sound good.
Rain put the car in park. “Since Miles ain’t here, why don’t you come ride with me for a minute?”
“Where you goin’?”
“Just ridin’.”
I walked around to the other side of her car and got in. We drove around goin’ nowhere fast, talkin’ about nothing in particular. “There is something I always wanted to know,” Rain said.
“What’s that?”
“Did you and Freeze really set a nigga on fire?”
“What?”
“I heard that you and Freeze burned some nigga to death.”
“We didn’t burn him to death.”
“So what happened?” Rain asked as she drove.
“The guy’s name was Floyd Green. He worked at a garage and was runnin’ a little numbers, but he made his money sellin’ heroin. He owed Andre money, Black sent me and Freeze to get it.”
“So far, that’s how the story go.”
“As soon as he sees us, Floyd tries to run out the back door.”
“But he trips on some tires. Y’all catch him, kick his ass, and set him on fire.
“That’s not exactly what happened.”
“I’m just sayin’ that’s how the story goes.”
“Okay, here’s what happened. Floyd trips on the tires and we started kickin’ him. We’re askin’ him where the money is and he swears he ain’t got it; he’ll have it in a couple of days. Freeze picks up a tire and starts hitting him in the head with it. I pulled him up and tell Freeze to put the tire around him.”
“That’s when y’all set him on fire.”
“You gonna let me tell this?”
“Go ahead. But I’m still waitin’ for this to be any different from what I heard,” Rain laughed.
“You wanna hear this or not?”
“Go on. You know you wanna tell me,” Rain said in a voice that made me want to be inside her.
“After Freeze put the tire around him, we took our time and worked him over. He still kept sayin’ that he would have the money in a couple of days. I was ready to leave it at that, but to make sure he understood that I was serious, I told Freeze to find me some gasoline. I poured it around the tire and asked Freeze for a lighter. Before I lit it, Floyd tells me the money is in the safe. He took us to the safe, told me the combination and got us our money.”
Rain laughed. “Right. That’s when y’all niggas set his ass on fire and he burned to death.”
“No, we didn’t set him on fire. After that Floyd left the city. I heard he moved to Philly, but we didn’t set him on fire,” I said as Rain pulled into the motel she’d been staying at.
Rain unlocked the door and we went inside. Apparently, she had gone by her apartment after I left her. She had clothes everywhere, some were hung up, and some were on the second bed in the room.
“Planning on being here for awhile?”
“No, I just ain’t goin’ back to my apartment. I need to be findin’ a place, but I ain’t feelin’ it right now.”
“What you feelin’ like right now.”
Rain pulled her top over head and unbuttoned her pants. I figured out the rest.
Before too long I was naked and laying across the bed. Rain straddled me and eased herself down on me. She rode me slowly while she sucked her nipple. I began to feel her legs trembling on my thighs and I pumped a little harder. Rain reached out and touched my face with her hands and kissed me.
Rain stood up and then kneeled down on the edge of the bed. I put hands on her hips and entered her slowly. No matter how hard I tried, he couldn’t get the image of Wanda out o
f my mind. What was I doing? I thought while I continued to slide in and out of her.
Her cell rang, but she didn’t choose to answer it.
Rain rolled over and I eased her on her back and entered her. Her body began to quiver as she stretched out her legs.
The cell ran again, but this time as soon as it stopped the room phone started ringing. “Shit!” Rain yelled and pushed me off of her. “This better be important,” she said and answered the phone. “This better be fuckin’ important!” Rain yelled into the phone.
“What?” She said and stood up. “When?” I sat and watched as Rain held the phone and listened. I watched her facial expression change from anger to pain. A look of panic washed over her face and she looked around the room. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Rain said and hung up the phone.
“What?”
“That was Jeff Ritchie. Pops had a heart attack.”
Chapter 35
Rain was too shook-up to do anything, so I drove her to the hospital. When we got there, Jeff Ritchie told her that JR was in his office at the club, having a steak, and he suddenly grabbed his chest and fell to his knees. “He’s in intensive care. They don’t know if he’s gonna make it. You can go in,” he told her.
“You call Miles?”
“He’s on his way back. He’ll be here in a few hours.”
Good. Now I don’t have to wait until Monday.
Rain turned to me. “I’m gonna go in and see my father. Don’t leave me, Nick, okay. Don’t leave.”
Rain grabbed the first nurse she could find and they took her to the intensive care unit. Jeff Ritchie looked at me and I looked at him with a yeah, I fucked her, look on my face. He shook his head and walked away. I went in the waiting room and sat down.
I had been sitting there people-watching, ’cause it was more entertaining than television, for over an hour before Rain came back and sat down next to me. It was obvious that she had been crying, so I put my arm around her. I held her for awhile before she spoke.
“The doctor said his main coronary artery was completely blocked and the other two was just about blocked. They did bypass surgery on him.”
“Is he gonna be all right?”
“They don’t know. Said we just have to wait and see. Look, I’m gonna go back in there. You can go if you want to.”