“What they want from me?” she questioned looking over at Swoopes who was frowning.
“Dave, come on man,” Swoopes hollered. “We gotta be at the shop by 7:00! Ain’t nobody got time for that bitch!”
“Fuck you!” Yvonna yelled.
“Nigga hold up,” he said turning around irritated at his outburst. “Look,” he turned back to Yvonna. “Call me here.” He handed her a card which read, “Dave Walters, Each One Teach One. Children’s advocate.”
“Whatever,” she responded taking the card from him and tossing it in one of her bags. “I’ll call you when I can. And what happened to his eye?”
“It’s a long story.” With that he dipped off. Her eyes met Swoope’s once more before they sped off. He hated her and she felt it.
Later on that day Swoopes met up with Shonda in a rundown arcade center in Southeast DC.
“Shonda, what you gonna do? You wastin’ time when I need this bitch dead.”
“I gotta be honest, I’m not feelin’ the murder thing. I’m a cop Swoopes.”
“Well you betta start feelin’ it, cop!” he says getting in her face.
“Why do you hate her so much?”
“I got my reasons.”
His mind was made up and she knew it. “What if I set her up instead?”
“Set her up how?”
“I’ll frame her for a murder or somethin’.”
“How the fuck you gonna do that?”
“I don’t know. But I do know this girl from southwest who’s a sharp shooter. And, on a camera she’ll look just like Yvonna just as long as she doesn’t show her entire face. We’ll tail Yvonna and when it’s the right time, we’ll make a move. I’ll press the issue to everybody in my department that Yvonna’s involved somehow and before you know it, she’ll be a suspected murderer.”
“She’s one now.”
“And that’s why it’ll work.” Silence.
“This shit betta work!”
“It will. But look…when it’s done, how much longer will you blackmail me?”
“Come on, Shonda! We go way back. You one of my favorite customers. I’ll stop when I get what I want.” He laughed. “You can trust me.”
“What about the tape of me smokin’ and buying from you? You gonna get rid of that too?”
“Not before I see this bitch locked up for whatever scheme you got hatched.”
Swoopes walked off and left her alone. The next day she and hit woman Katrina Carber followed Yvonna all day. And when they saw her in the Friday’s restaurant, they found the perfect person and the perfect situation to carry out Shonda’s plan.
At Friday’s Restaurant
She placed both plates on Yvonna’s side of the table. “Bitch I had enough of your shit!” Gabriella responded. “One of them plates belong to me.”
The waitress rolled her eyes at Yvonna and walked off.
“She must’ve heard you cuss her out earlier,” Yvonna replied. “Don’t even trip!”
“I got somethin’ for that bitch later,” she responded as the waitress walked off.
“You heard that?” Shonda asked Katrina. They were seated at a nearby table and saw the interaction between Yvonna and the waitress.
“Yeah.”
“But why is she talking to herself?” Shonda said out loud. “That bitch is crazy.”
“I know. But fuck all that, I need you to pull this off. Now I paid you twenty five hundred and you’ll get five thousand when you finished.”
“Where did you get that kind of money from?”
“Don’t worry about it.” She was not about to tell her that she stole the money from evidence at the precinct. And if she did she feared she’d want more. “Meet the waitress when she get’s off of work. Just don’t forget to dress like her as much as possible. You already wear a similar hairstyle but don’t let the camera see your face. Side profiles are okay because we need those shots. You got it?!”
“How do I know you won’t frame me for it?”
“Katrina I got enough evidence on you to put you away for the rest of your life. I still have the weapon you used when you accidently shot that pastor when he came out of the church cause you was trying to get somebody else. Trust me. If I wanted you behind bars I could have you.”
“Not if I kill you instead.” She said raising her head and looking her square in the eyes. Silence.
“You could kill me. But I gave your name to my people, and if you don’t carry this shit through, they’ll kill you instead. We’re in this together now. You may know who I am, but you haven’t the slightest idea who they are.”
Katrina released the air from her chest and said, “Why you doin’ this anyway? Ain’t you a cop?”
“I don’t know what I am anymore. But if you fuck this up, you won’t be alive long enough to find out.”
The Night Of The Verdict Shonda stood outside on the court steps. The day was beautiful yet everything going on around her world felt grey. Katrina had done as she was paid to and Jasmine McDonald had been murdered. Still, unless Yvonna was found guilty and sentenced to jail, Swoopes wouldn’t find her work satisfactory. She pressed the button to accept the call from the prison. Her hand shook as she held the cell phone to her ear.
“Swoopes?”
“Who else bitch?!”
“Everything looks good. We don’t think she’ll get away with
this.”
“Well I hope for your sake it sticks! ‘Cause if it don’t, your boys
in blue gonna get that tape. My own brother set me up and I shouldn’t
even be in here. Choosin’ females before family. I want that nigga’s
world ROCKED.”
“I’ve done all I can. Please don’t ruin my career.” She knew it
didn’t look promising that Yvonna would get locked up even though
she told him otherwise. Her doctors had managed to provide the jury
with enough evidence to deem her crazy.
“It betta stick,” he said before hanging up.
“Who was that?” Lily asked walking up behind her. Shonda turned around and faced her. “Oh…uh, it was no one.”
She placed the phone in her pocket.
“But what could be taken from you, Shonda? Are you gonna
talk to me? I’m your partner.”
“I said nothing! Now leave me alone!!”
Lily and Shonda ran up the steps leading to the court building.
Once inside, they both took their seats in the jammed packed courtroom. Had it not been for other officers saving them seats, they would
have not had one. They got there right before the jury gave their verdict.
“Jury have you reached a verdict?” Judge Tyland asked. Yvonna looked worried and innocent as she awaited their decision.
“Yes, we the people find Yvonna Harris not guilty by reason of
insanity.” An older black woman said. The courtroom erupted in noise. Yvonna hugged her attorney and smiled at Dave who had been
supporting her the entire time.
“Order in the court!” Judge Tyland yelled.
The jury was so taken aback by what they saw on the hypnotism tapes, that they felt she didn’t deserve jail and needed help. The
way she spoke of the rape when she was a child, and how her mother
didn’t believe her, tugged at their hearts.
Shonda dropped her head in defeat. She knew everything she
ever loved and everybody she ever cared about was about to be taken
away. To make matters worse, now killing Yvonna was no longer an
option because she was in custody. She sobbed heavily, and from that
point on she considered her life over.
Back at Lily’s Apartment
Officer Jensen and Samuels are in a trance. They can’t believe their ears. “Let me get this straight, Yvonna Harris did not commit the Friday’s Restaurant murder?” Officer Samuels asks. Lily with a drink in her hand shakes her
head no.
“But, she never fought the murder in court. I think she took the blame for it.”
Lily laughs at both of them. “You two are so damn special! This is why this bitch won’t rest until she ruins us. You’re too busy thinking in terms of her being sane! Of course she believed she did it! She believes she sees people and talks to them in public. She doesn’t know who the fuck she murdered! Wake up!”
“Where are you goin’ with this?” Jensen asks insulted by her comment.
“Think! It’s called autosuggestion. She thought she did it because she’d killed so many people, she could no longer tell the difference. Hell,” she gets up and pours herself another drink. “How many times have we used it to get suspects to confess? In the end, she really thought she murdered Jasmine Mcdonald.”
The men look at each other and say, “Hey, can you pour us two drinks please?”
She laughs and rinses off two dirty cups. “Sorry, I don’t have any clean glasses.”
“The dirtier the better,” Jensen rubs his forehead to reduce his headache.
“So what happened to Shonda? What made her kill herself?”
She hands them their drinks and sits down. “I was hoping you’d forget to ask me about that.”
The Day Shonda Took Her life Lily walked into Shonda’s apartment after receiving a desperate phone call. She told her she was sorry for everything and hung up. But Lily couldn’t rest until she found out what was happening. But when she opened the door to her apartment using the key Shonda had given her, she saw Shonda was not alone. Shonda was seated on a stool crying while two men circled her. They had YBM jackets on and it was apparent that they were there for business.
“I thought you said you lived alone?” one of them asked Shonda.
“I do. She’s my partner.”
“You really shouldn’tve came here,” one of them told Lily. “It
was the worse decision in your life. Lock the door, Rook,” he told the other man. Lily was angry with herself now for leaving her weapon at home. “W…What’s going on?”
“Your partner here didn’t come through on a deal. We were gonna show the tape of her smokin’ dope to the cops, but a few members of the YBM were also in the tape.” He smacked her in the back of her head. “So Swoopes came up with a better idea.
“Please don’t do that again.” Lily requested although she’s disgusted by her partner’s actions.
“Just what the fuck you goin’ do?” Lily was at a disadvantage. “Just what I thought. Well look, I’d like to draw this out but we have something to do.”
The other man grabbed Lily and was about to shoot her. She said, “Don’t kill me.”
“That’s not possible.” The leader said.
“Please. Don’t kill me. If you don’t, I’ll kill her myself.”
Shonda raised her head and looked at her partner. “What did you say?”
“You heard me!” Heavy laughter filled the room.
“Hold fast, did you just say you’d kill her yourself?”
Lily looked at Shonda and said, “Yes. If you let me go. You’ll know if I didn’t go through with it and I’m sure you also know where to find me. This way you’ll avoid a murder rap for killing a cop. I know you don’t want that on your hands.”
She was right, killing a cop was serious and if they were caught by other cops, they might not live to make it to trial.
“How do I know you won’t snitch?” the leader walked over to Lily and looked down on her. Lily’s eyes remained on Shonda’s. The betrayal Shonda felt was unbearable.
“Because I know they can’t protect me,” she responded looking up at him. “They never could.” She focused back on Shonda.
“You smarter than I gave you credit for. Because you right, no one can protect you now.” He walked away. “Rook, let’s let the officers get down to business.”
“You serious? What if Swoopes asks us what happened?”
The leader looked at the man and said, “We’ll tell him it’s all been taken care of.”
They moved toward the door. Right before he left he looked back at Lily.
“I don’t have to tell you to keep this between us. Because I know you know betta than to cross us.” With that they walked out and Lily and Shonda stared at each other.
“So you gonna kill me?” Shonda asked dropping her head again.
“No. You gonna kill yourself. You dead anyway. You made a decision without consulting me. And worse of all, I know what you did. It’s the least you can do for me. It’s the least you can do to make this right and not make me kill you by my own hands.”
“You know about what I did?”
“I knew all along you had the waitress Jasmine killed. I overheard you talking on the phone to Katrina at Feeny’s retirement party. What I didn’t know was why. At first I thought it was because you believed that Yvonna deserved to be off the street so bad, that you were willing to do whatever you could to make it happen. But I caught up with Now I’m finding out that you’re nothing more than a washed up ass dopehead.”
“I’m not using anymore. When I was they found out I was a cop and taped me buying drugs from them. I don’t even know how they found out. That shit was over five years ago and one day I come home to a letter telling me to meet him somewhere. He showed me the tape and blackmailed me. I guess they were waiting for the right time to use their card, and they did. But I’ve been clean for five years, Lily. I swear.”
Lily was frustrated and wanted to get down to business. “Where’s your gun?”
“On the couch.” Lily walked toward the couch grabbed the gun and handed it to her.
“Now do it.”
Shonda cried heavily. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
After five more minutes of crying, and a prayer, Shonda placed the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Prior to killing herself, Lily felt for dishonoring her badge Shonda deserved to die but it didn’t make her feel any better.
She had to live with feeling like Yvonna really should be punished. She had to live with members of the YBM knowing their agreement and the possibility of them using it against her in the future. And she had to live with not being strong enough to fight against the YBM to save her partner’s life. And then she realized that a system that would let a certified person go free could do nothing to protect her.
Back At Lily’s The officers were on their fourth glass. “Wow. I can’t believe it,” Samuels says.
“It’s all true.”
“Well, we certainly have to tell someone,” Jensen decides.
Lily looks at him and laughs. “You won’t do that.”
“Why wouldn’t we? I want no parts of this bullshit.”
“Because if you do, she’ll get away with everything else you’re trying to book her for. They’ll comb through this case so much you won’t have one.”
“We can’t just let this information sit!” Jensen says yelling.
“We can and we will. It’s the only way,” Lily laughs hysterically.
“What’s so damn funny?” Jensen asks.
“Because I’ve just invited you boys into my private hell. How does it feel?”
They look at each other. “So what’s the plan?”
“If we’re gonna do this, we have to do it smart.”
“We?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to help you. I got this shit off my chest.” “So now what?”
“We have to be smarter than her and believe me, she’s smart. You haven’t been in the presence of evil until you’ve been around her.” They look at each other and silently agree, having met her before. “And we’ll need more people to help us.
“Who would get involved in this bullshit?” Samuels asks.
“You’d be surprised.”
“Since you know so much, we’re told that she kills people she seeks revenge on.” Jensen starts. “So who do you think she’s after next?”
“Since Bernice Santana and Treyana are dead, I’d say Jhane
because Swoopes is in jail. And to tell you the truth for his part in this shit, I wouldn’t mind if she killed his ass.” She’s angry. “And you might want to offer Jhane protection until this blows over.”
“We offered Jhane protection and she refused.”
“That’s mighty dumb.” She pauses. “But I feel like I’m missing somebody else.”
“Well you said you testified against her. How you know she isn’t after you?” Samuels asks.
“I don’t know. And I don’t know that she isn’t after you either.”
Both men swallow hard. “Well who else?” Lily paces her filthy floor in circles.
“Who am I missing?” she taps her chin. “Who is it?!” She stops in her place. “Oh…oh…Cream Justice! Where is Cream Justice?!”
Catch A Dead Man By His Toes
It had been a warm night when Gabriella crept inside of Jhane’s home a few days back in Washington, DC. She let herself in through the garage door she left opened. Once inside, she carefully removed ten tampons from the opened box, and pierced a tiny whole through the plastic using a syringe, dampening the cotton with the liquid Drano. She hoped she’d be around to see her ass scream when it was time to use them.
Now Gabriella sits impatiently outside of Jhane’s house in a rental car. It was Thursday and Jhane always ate at Olive Garden, her favorite restaurant. But where was she now? She needed to follow her to carry out another part of her nasty plan.
“How’s the trip?” Jhane asks Jesse as she plops down into her favorite green recliner. The chair rocks back and forth making a squeaky sound. “Is Mexico beautiful?”
“Oh, auntie Jhane! I can’t explain how pretty it is here. I wish you were here with me.” Her voice echoes from the speakerphone.
“I’m just happy you’re there.”
“Thank you for sending me. I really didn’t think we’d be able to afford it. I mean, I know you’ve been struggling with me going to Duke and all the lessons.”
“You deserve the best. Owwwww,” she says softly rubbing her chest.
“Is everything okay auntie, Jhane?”
“Oh…yeah. Everything’s fine.” She falls back into the softness of the recliner and tries to place the pain she’s feeling in her body out of her mind. It’s so unbearable that she doesn’t think she’ll be able to do conceal it from Jesse. “Well, let me go grab a bite. Anyway you should be enjoying Mexico, not wasting time talking to me.”
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