by Kiki Swinson
And that’s some real shit!
After they bandaged up my gun shot wound and wrapped my ankle, they gave me a set of crutches and sent me out the door. On my way to the parking lot, I told Sasha that I was going to hop in the car with Quincy so she was going to need to follow us to the Hilton Hotel in Virginia Beach right across the street from Pembroke Mall.
The drive from Chesapeake General Hospital to Virginia Beach was about 20 minutes, so I had enough time to talk to Quincy about a few things.
“Man, you wouldn’t believe how that doctor and dem’ nurses was grilling my ass back in that emergency room,” I said.
“What they say?”
“They wanted to know how I got fucked up like this and who did it.”
“What did you tell ‘em?”
“I just gave ‘em some ol’ bogus ass story about a couple of niggas wearing masks sneaking up behind me while I was trying to get in my truck. Then I told them they robbed and shot me,” I replied and then I looked into the side mirror to see if Sasha was still following us.
“You think they believed you?”
“They probably didn’t but who gives a fuck?” I responded sarcastically and then I looked away from the mirror.
“So, what’s your next move?” Quincy asked.
“Yo dawg, I don’t know what I’m gon’ do. But I do know that I wanna kill someone.”
“Man, I know how you feel. Because I had a couple niggas run up on me like that a few years back. But, instead of ‘em gunning me down, they pistol whipped me and left me to bleed too death behind an abandon building. And still to this day, I can’t tell you who did it.”
“Well, I’m gon’ find out who ran up in my crib. Because believe me, somebody is gonna slip up and say something about it. And when they do, I’m gon’ be right there.”
“Look man, I know you’re upset, but right now you are not in no condition to go running up on niggas.”
“I ain’t gon’ do nothing now,” I told him. I wasn’t really trying to convince him.
“But, as soon as I get right, I’m gon’ murder everybody who sounds like dem’ niggas.”
“Come on now dawg, you know you can’t go around killing every nigga who talks like them cats. Look, this is what we gon’ do,” he explained making a right turn to get on Highway 64. “Since dem’ cats who robbed and shot you think you’re dead, then you’re gonna have to let them keeping thinking that by staying out of sight for a little while. And in the meantime, I’m gon’ poke my head out there and see what the word is.”
“How long is a little while?”
“Like a week or so. But not only that, it would also be wise for you not to show your face around the spot either. Because dem’ same niggas might wanna camp out somewhere in the vicinity or even get their car washed so they can watch everything moving in and out of there.”
“That makes sense. But damn, Q, you trying to kill me!”
“Nah, man I ain’t trying to kill you. I just want you to chill so I can be able to make the right moves and bring dem’ niggas back to you on a silver platter.”
“But what if I need to make some moves of my own?”
“What kind of moves you talking about?” Quincy questioned.
“Like personal shit!”
“Well a’ight, I’ll tell you what; if you gotta’ go out, make sure somebody is driving you and it’s at night.”
“A’ight, I can do that. But, I’m gon’ need you to do something for me.”
“What’s good?”
“I want you to keep an eye out on that nigga Lloyd and dem’ nigga’s he fuck wit’, ‘cause my gut is telling me that they had something to do with this whole shit. I mean, who else knew I had a lot of cash on me?”
“But, how did they know where to find you?”
“He must’ve had dem’ follow me.”
“A’ight. Well, I’m on it then,” Quincy assured me.
Right before he dropped me off at the hotel, I told him I needed him to go on a few errands for me since I was in dire need of some clothes, a cell phone, a rental car and some dough. He didn’t have a problem with it and made it happen. When I got situated in the room, I sat Sasha down and told her I was gon’ need her company for a few days. She gave me one of her cute little smiles and told me that she would stick around for as long as I needed her. Boy, was I happy to hear that because that meant I had a chauffeur, a maid and a whore all packed up in one chick.
Later on that evening, I sent Sasha on a dinner run, so I could have some time alone to make a phone call to Nikki. When I first got her on the phone she acted like she was preoccupied doing something else. But when I told her the same story I told that doctor and dem’ nurses, whatever it was she was doing went right out of the window.
“Where you at, Syncere?”
“I’m chilling.”
“Chilling where?” she demanded.
“A couple of my niggas got me hiding out in this spot until everything’s resolved.”
“Where at?”
“Look Nikki, I can’t tell you all that right now. But, I will say that I’m not that far from you.”
“So, when am I gonna see you?”
“In a couple of days.”
“How badly are you hurt?”
“I just got a flesh wound and a sprained ankle.”
“Well, can I call you?”
“Nah, because dem’ niggas got my cell phone.”
“How am I going to get in touch with you?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’mma call you. A’ight.”
“A’ight,” she replied and then she sighed as if she was forced to agree with me. “But, what am I going to do while you’re away?”
“Do whatchu been doing.”
“But, what if somebody asks me about you?”
“Just tell ‘em we broke up or something. Shit, I don’t know!”
“Have you talked to Q.?”
“Yeah, he just dropped me off. So, go to him if you need anything, a’ight.”
“Yeah, a’ight,” she replied.
By the end of our conversation, I had to reassure her at least five times that she would be seeing me in the next couple of days. And by then I had had enough of her whining, so I hurried up and got her ass off the phone. I know she meant well, but I wasn’t really in the mood to hear all that crying bullshit. I’ve got more important things to think about. Trying to find out who robbed and shot me were at the top of my list.
6
Shit Just Ain’t Addin’ Up
Rhonda Speaks
“Yo, where you going?” Tony asked me the moment I grabbed my purse from off the kitchen table.
“I’m gonna go and meet Nikki at Kira’s apartment so I can help her pack up Kira’s stuff.”
Not at all happy by my response, Tony sat up in the recliner facing our 36-inch HDTV. “Nah, Rhonda, that ain‘t gon‘ work!”
“Whatcha talking about?” I asked him.
“You know I don’t want you going ‘round there.”
“Yeah, I know. But I can’t let Nikki go in Kira’s place by herself.”
“And why not?“
“Because she ain’t gon’ be able to handle seeing all that dried-up blood splattered around in the bathroom.”
“But, that’s not your problem.”
“That may be true. But I’m doing this for Kira.”
“And that’s all well and good. But I don’t like you being around that chick Nikki. That hoe is poison!”
“Boy, shut up! That girl is not poison.”
“Yeah, a’ight! Then, tell me how in the hell she got out of jail after getting caught with all Ricky’s shit?”
“She had a good lawyer,” I replied, jumping to Nikki’s defense.
“Good lawyer, my ass! You know that bitch was snitching her ass off. That’s why Ricky and his whole crew got bagged up.”
“Nah, I don’t believe that.”
“I don’t know why. Everybody on the streets is
talking about it.”
“Well, if that’s the case and knowing how demented Ricky was, don’tcha think he would’ve had her ass killed?”
“It’s obvious that he didn’t know. But let’s say he did; he was probably too wrapped up in all that shit his crew gave to the Feds.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. I mean, if she did snitch on him, don’tcha think they would’ve made her testify against him.”
“Not necessarily. ‘Cause see, these days all the Feds need is two people to say the same thing about a nigga in the streets and they can indict you on conspiracy charges. So, when they finally get the mu’fucka they indicted inside of a cold-ass room and threaten to put their ass away for life if they try to fight the charges, trust and believe, a nigga is gon’ bitch up and plead out real quick. And to kill two niggas with the same slug, they gon’ sing their ass off; which is going to make them crackers’ job easier, save the taxpayers dough and the snitcher’s time from testifying. And that’s how they walk away from it.”
I shook my head in disbelief because I was still not convinced that Nikki would do that.
“Nah,” I said. “Kira wouldn’t have let it go down like that.”
“Shiiid! You and I both know Kira didn’t give a fuck about Ricky, for real! ‘Cause remember, she signed over the salon to you one day and planned to bounce out of town the next, which was the same day Ricky and his boys got locked up. Now, tell me that shit didn’t sound suspect to you?”
“Nah, Kira wasn’t that type of chick. And even though Ricky dogged her out, she was still loyal to him.”
“Well, since she was so loyal, then why was she about to haul ass on the brother?”
“Because she was tired of his shit. And not only that, she had just found out that the chick named Sunshine, who used to work at the salon with us, was fucking Ricky behind her back. So, I guess she felt like the only way to deal with that situation was to leave town and start over somewhere else.”
“Did she tell you why she changed her mind all of a sudden?”
“Not until later,” I told him, lying through my teeth. I didn’t want Tony knowing that Kira had planned to leave town with Ricky’s partner, Russ, because he would call her a scandalous hoe. And then on top of that, he would’ve called her stupid for getting robbed by a nigga she was fucking.
“And what did she say?”
“She just said that she couldn’t get up the nerve to leave her family behind, that’s all.” I continued to lie with much sincerity.
“Yeah, you’ll tell me anything,” Tony replied as he blew me off with a hand signal. Then he came out of left field and said, “But, I’ll bet you all the dough in my pocket that the Feds stopped her ass from skating off and probably told her that if she left town, they was gon’ lock her up.”
I sucked my teeth with disgust because I was not at all pleased with how Tony was questioning Kira’s motives for not leaving. Regardless of the real reason that she decided not to leave town, I knew for a fact that she was a good person. She was very forgiving and would give a person her last dime. So, all that salt he was trying to pour on her wasn’t working for me. And to make it totally clear that he obviously he didn’t know what he was talking about, I told him to shut the fuck up!
“A’ight! I’mma shut the fuck up! But, don’t call me when your stupid ass gets caught up in the crossfire.”
“What crossfire?”
“Keep hanging ‘round Nikki and you gon’ feel them same hot balls that put Kira to sleep. ‘Cause believe me, them same cats who murdered her is probably sitting around watching Nikki’s every move so they can find a chance to knock her ass off too.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I retorted and then I threw my hand in the air right before I turned my back on him to leave. I attempted to close the front door behind me when Tony yelled out, “Don’t be a dummy cause that nigga Syncere look like he can’t be trusted either.” Instead of feeding into his ridiculous comments, I shut the door and locked it. I figured, what the hell did he know, for real? He wasn’t nothing but an ol’ buster-ass nigga, waiting around for somebody to front him some dope so he could get all big headed and try to shine on me. But, the way his luck was going it wasn’t gon’ happen, which was why he was a typical hater!
As soon as I got into my car I called Nikki from my cellular phone and informed her that I was en route to meet her at Kira’s place. She sounded a little sad, a little down but she did manage to say she would meet me there. After I hung up with her, I put my car in first gear and broke out.
7
A Few Minutes Later
Nikki Speaks
I decided to wait three days after we lay Kira to rest before I went back to her apartment. With Rhonda by my side, I figured I could handle anything I came upon. The temperature of her apartment was very cold, unlike the seventy-five degree weather outside, which altered my whole mood. I felt a sense of darkness looming over me. It was like Kira’s soul was lingering throughout her apartment, crying out for help. The thought that her restless spirit could actually be here sent chills through my entire body, so I blocked it out and focused on what I had come here to do.
“So, where are we gonna start first?” I asked Rhonda, breaking the silence barrier with the packing boxes in tow, simultaneously scanning the entire apartment from where I stood for a starting point.
“Let’s start in the bedroom,” Rhonda suggested.
“All right, let’s do this,” I replied and proceeded in that direction, as Rhonda followed.
Kira’s bedroom was exactly the same way she left it. Nothing was out of place except for the items that were taken by the forensics team. However, there was a ton of fingerprint dust scattered across the place. I was almost afraid to touch anything. But I pressed forward and did what I had to do. Rhonda, on the other hand, went straight into work mode, which motivated me to do the same. We both tackled every inch of Kira’s bedroom and we did it in less time than expected.
Just when I was about to haul two huge boxes out of the bedroom, Rhonda startled me by saying, “Girl, you will not believe what I just found.”
I immediately stopped in my tracks and turned in her direction.
“What is it?” I wondered aloud, my heart skipping a beat.
Rhonda extended her left arm and resting in the palm of her hand, in plain view, was a black book.
“What is it?” I asked once again.
“It’s Kira’s diary,” she finally replied.
“How do you know it’s a diary?” I asked as I approached her.
“Because that’s what it says on the front of it,” Rhonda retorted as she held up black book, showing the big bold letters on the cover.
“Let me see it,” I said and took the small, locked book out of her hand.
“How you gonna open it?” she asked me.
“With these scissors right here.” I picked up a pair that lay on top of the dresser.
“Whatcha think is in there?”
“I don’t know. But we’re about to find out,” I commented, taking a seat on the edge of the bed as my mind began to race full speed ahead.
My mind began to feed off of this anxiety-filled knot I suddenly developed in the pit of my stomach as I craved for what was written between the pages of this diary.
Somehow, there was no doubt in my mind that Kira’s black book would shed some light on a lot of unanswered questions. Maybe then I could get to the bottom of what led to her murder.
Rhonda sat on the bed next to me and watched in awe as I flipped to the first page. It was dated Friday, January 6, 2006, 11:30 p.m. In Kira’s own words, it read:
The world has embarked on the 6th day of a new year. But, as I sit here, it seems like time is standing still. I’m laying here in my bed all alone, wondering where my husband is and what he’s doing out there in those streets this time of the night. Probably making plans to make me a stepmother for the fourth time. You can never tell with him. Any and everything is possible when it com
es to him. And since I know that I’ll never be able to change him, I’m gonna have to shift my energy to someone who’ll appreciate it, like my cousin Nikki, for instance. Right now, I know she’s in desperate need of my help. So, I’m wondering how she’s holding up while she awaits trial for making those drop-offs for Ricky; which, of course, has me sitting in limbo, trying to figure out what it is that I need to do? I’m completely torn between my family and a man who could care less about me.
This is the same man who also disrespects me on the regular. And when the damage is done, he is always coming back with extravagant gifts to pacify me. But when I follow my heart, I’m drawn back to the fact that Nikki needs me and has no one else in her corner but me. So, what am I to do? Violate the code of the streets and turn against my husband to help my cousin? Or follow suit and remain loyal to a muthafucker who is going to one-day lead me to my grave? I think not! Whether he knows it or not, shit is about to get really wicked and as far as I see it, it’s going to be every man for himself. So, I’m going to make sure Nikki and I come out on top. I put that on my life.
After reading each word aloud and processing it in my mind, I was beginning to understand what Kira was going through. But I needed closure so I turned to the next page, dated Sunday, January 7, 2006. It was unknown to me why she waited an entire day to pour her feelings out, but I had a hunch I would find out so I proceeded to read further.
It’s 7 o’clock in the morning and I’m just waking up from an overdose of dick. Being all gung-hoe for my man, I done let him talk me into fucking me in my asshole with a gram of coke sprinkled down the crack of my ass to numb it. It surprised the hell outta me when he asked me to do it. And since I didn’t want to seem like a stiff, I happily obliged. I also did it because I wanted to put some excitement back into our marriage. Shit has been really fucked up around here. So, I said what the hell! You only live once. And besides, if I didn’t do it then he would’ve probably gotten another one of his chicken heads to do it. His hoes are waiting in line to take my place. But it ain’t gonna happen. And because of my undying efforts of trying to keep him happy, I am now suffering my ass off. My butt hole is burning up! I think I’m gon’ need to put an ice pack down there in a minute, ‘cause this shit is becoming unbearable. Other than that, I talked to my cousin last night and she sounds depressed like a muthafucker. If only I could break her out of that joint and give her a one-way trip out of there. Damn, I am gonna have to do something really fast, ‘cause I don’t know how long she’s going to hold up. To make matters worse, that nigga Brian ain’t even doing his part. Every time I try to get his raggedy ass on the phone so Nikki can holler at him on three-way, he ain’t never available. But, I’ve got a trick for his flaky ass and a one-way ticket to the big house. So when the chips fall, he’s going down right along with Ricky! Believe that!