by Falicia Love
“How—?” Before he could finish his reply, the caller hung up.
Detective Rone looked at his partner and told him what was just said.
“Man, looks like we may need to contact Dana Crisp,” he said.
“Yeah, but first we need to do some research on Ms. Fuller to see if she is indeed missing. Remember what happened last time we were told that Dana Crisp was involved in a missing person’s case,” Harris replied.
“I’m going to run a background check and see if I can pull up any information on her. I want you to pull out Farrah Walker’s case. Her name was mentioned as well. Something is fishy here,” Rone said as he started typing away on his keyboard.
“Farrah Walker’s case is closed. Her murderer was killed in jail, remember? Why should we reopen that case?” Harris asked.
“Just oblige me please, sir,” Rone said without taking his eyes off the computer screen.
“Yessuh, boss.” Harris laughed, mimicking how black folks used to answer their masters back in the days of slavery. He even added a dance to go with it.
Rone looked at him and shook his head, laughing. “Get out of here, Harris.”
The two men busied themselves with their tasks. At about 4:30 p.m., Rone had found Debra’s information and was shocked to discover that she was once listed on Larry Bigelow’s visitation list. She also worked for the law firm that Dana Crisp worked for.
He decided that he was going to follow up with the missing persons tip and see what he could find. He was going to start with Dana and pay her a visit at her job. If Debra wasn’t there, he was going to investigate further. He knew Dana, and couldn’t handle having her life in his hands while he slept on the case. From the moment he met her, he was in awe of her, but he couldn’t let his infatuation get in the middle of his case. Besides, Dana didn’t even know he existed.
After Detective Rone locked up his office, he headed toward Detective Harris’s office. “I’m ’bout to call it a day, but tomorrow we are going to pay an unofficial visit to Holmes, Howell, and Fuller law firm. If anything is amiss, we will start a missing persons case file on Debra Fuller.”
“All right, I’m with you on that,” Detective Harris said as he stood up and stretched. He was ready to call it quits for the day also.
“Let’s go get a few drinks,” Detective Harris suggested.
“Deal. We can catch the highlights of that botched-up game from last night.” Rone laughed.
“That game was on point and you know it. You are such a hater, man,” Harris joked.
The two walked out of the precinct and headed off to the sports bar, where they chilled for about two hours. The following morning, they drove to the law firm where Dana worked, and when they walked through the door, Rhonda, Brittany’s receptionist, greeted them.
“May I help you, gentlemen?”
Detectives Rone and Harris displayed their badges. “We are here to see Debra Fuller, please,” Harris said, showing no emotion.
“Ms. Fuller isn’t in at the moment. May I assist you, or would you prefer one of the other attorneys?” she asked.
“No. Has Ms. Fuller been in today at all?” Harris continued his questioning.
“Sir, I don’t feel comfortable answering your questions. I’m just the receptionist. Maybe you’d like to speak with Ms. Howell,” she replied.
Just then, Dana walked out of her office, carrying a few files. When she saw Detectives Harris and Rone, she stopped dead in her footsteps.
“Don’t tell me Jeryca is missing again. You can’t find your pet rabbit? What the fuck do you want now?” she asked angrily.
“Well, actually, Ms. Crisp, we aren’t here for you. We are looking for Debra Fuller. Is she coming in today?” Detective Harris asked.
Dana looked at both men, apologized for her outburst, and attempted to walk past them.
“Ms. Crisp, do you happen to know where we can find Ms. Fuller? We need to speak to her about an urgent matter,” Detective Rone said as he stood blocking her way. He admired her beauty, but he couldn’t let that stop him from effectively pursuing his case.
“No. I don’t know where she is at the moment, but I will have her contact you as soon as she gets in,” Dana replied.
“Please make sure you do. It is important that we speak with her,” Detective Harris replied.
Brittany walked out at that moment. “Hello, I’m Brittany Howell. May I help you with anything?”
“We are looking for Debra Fuller. Do you know where we might be able to find her?” Detective Rone asked.
“Well, I think she is out with a client. Let me check our log,” Brittany answered, never once looking nervous. “Yes, you see here, she signed out for the morning. She may be back in later today. If you like, you can leave me your card and I will tell her to contact y’all.”
Detective Rone handed Brittany and Dana his card. “Whichever one of you sees her first, please have her contact us.”
“Will do, Detective,” Dana said, smiling sweetly.
After the detectives left, Brittany asked Dana to come into her office. Once Dana walked in and closed the door, Brittany looked at her.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“Hell if I know, but we need to figure something out, Brit,” Dana whispered.
“It ain’t but one thing we can do at this point in time,” Brittany replied.
“And that is?” Dana asked.
“Have Debra call them,” she answered.
Dana sighed and rubbed her head. “Brit, you think that’s a good idea?”
“Hell, it’s the only idea. I told you we didn’t need to kill her right away. These bastards just proved my point,” Brittany said as she watched the two officers outside her window.
* * *
“What do you think, Rone?” Detective Harris asked.
“I don’t know, but when we talk to Debra, and I’m sure we will, I’m going to request that we meet with her. If they don’t produce her, then I’m going to start my own investigation. Something just doesn’t sit right with me on this case,” Detective Rone replied.
“I know what you mean, but we can’t make Debra meet with us, even if she isn’t being held against her will. We got to have a valid reason and evidence that she is being held against her will before we file a missing persons report,” Detective Harris reminded Rone.
“Let me worry ’bout that when it’s time,” Detective Rone replied before getting in the car to go back to the station. He took one more look at the office and saw Brittany and Dana peeking out the window. “It’s something up with those two. I’m going to get to the bottom of it if it kills me.”
* * *
After the two detectives pulled off, Dana looked at Brittany and said, “Damn, Brit, why do think they are looking for Debra?”
“Shit, I don’t know, but do you see now? It was a good thing we didn’t kill her,” Brittany replied.
“Yeah, you right. Well, you need to get her to call them tonight. We don’t need any extra shit getting in our way,” Dana said.
“Yeah, I’m going to get on that as soon as we leave,” Brittany said as she walked back into her office.
As Dana walked into her office and shut the door, it dawned on her that Brittany could’ve set that whole scene up for her benefit. She knew that she was upset that she didn’t kill Debra, and now all of a sudden, these cops show up wanting to question her.
What the hell is Brittany up to? Dana was starting to doubt if Brittany was as loyal as she first thought. She decided that from that point on, she was going to have to keep a close eye on her.
* * *
Zack and Orlando were sitting in Orlando’s factory, playing cards. They were waiting on a package from Ramon and Sergio to arrive.
“Orlando, you and Jeryca have been spending a lot of time together. It’s getting kind of serious between you two, huh?” Zack asked as he drew a card from the deck.
“Yeah, I like her. She has been very honest with me about
a lot of things, and the more I get to know her, the more I like her. What’s going on with you and Dana?” Orlando asked.
“Man, she is a hard one. I mean, she is cool, don’t get me wrong, but she won’t let me into her personal space. I know she trusts me, and I think she is feeling me, but I’m not sure. I can’t—naw, I won’t—keep waiting for her to come around,” Zack replied.
“I feel you on that. Man, I need to find me another warehouse where I can start this clothing distribution company. You know, since the raid at my other spot, the cops padlocked my shit and have seized it. They can’t finger me as being part of the drug bust, but the shit was mine and in my name, so they assume I know something about the deal. Yesterday, the courts sent me a letter saying they have taken possession of it. I have two weeks to come forward and talk to them or they will sell it, but you know what? They can have that shit for real. Hell, I got this building here and another one across town. I’m good for now, but man, I spent close to nine hundred thousand for that fucking warehouse,” Orlando said.
Just then, Orlando’s phone began to ring. “Hello?” he answered.
“Orlando, this is Brittany. How are things going there?” she asked.
“Things are good. No problems at all from our little visitor,” he said as he looked toward the back room.
“Listen, I need you to go back there and tell her that she needs to call a Detective Rone from her cell phone and talk to him. Make sure it’s on speaker phone and you scare the hell out of her before she talks to them, so that she knows she will die if she says the wrong thing,” Brittany explained.
“Detective Rone? What the hell does he want from her?” Orlando asked.
Zack had laid his cards down on the table and was eyeing Orlando questionably.
“I don’t know what he wants, but we are about to find out. Wait about an hour and then have her call him,” Brittany replied.
Brittany gave Orlando Detective Rone’s phone number, and after they hung up, Orlando told Zack what was going on.
Zack shook his head and looked at Orlando. “I don’t know why she don’t off the bitch, cement her body, and then toss it in the ocean. It would work well for all of us.”
“Man, let them women do it their way for now. If things get any more out of hand, we will just have to back out. We got bigger plans, and nothing can interfere with that. Sergio and Ramon will fuck with us on whatever we need them to,” Orlando said as he walked to the office.
Orlando pulled out Debra’s purse from his locked desk drawer and grabbed her phone. He opened it up and saved the number that Brittany had just given him in her phone. He put the phone in his pocket and walked to the back room, where they were holding Debra. He unlocked the door after he motioned for Zack to join him. The two men walked into the room and turned on the lights. Debra squinted as her eyes focused on Orlando and Zack.
“Listen, in about an hour, I’m going to come in here and bring you your phone. There’s a detective who wants to talk to you. I’m going to warn you right now: if you say anything that I think isn’t right, I’m going to kill you. I don’t care what Brittany said. You will die today. Do you understand that?” Orlando asked.
Debra nodded her head, acknowledging that she heard what they said. They were men of their word, and she knew that. She wasn’t going to give them any reason to hurt her, although she figured they were going to kill her anyway.
“I think we should kill you anyway, so trust I don’t have a problem getting Deondre over here to do the job. Play with us if you want to,” Zack said, looking in her eyes so that she could see he was serious.
Orlando turned and walked out of the room with Zack on his heels. Zack turned the lights out, then closed and locked the door.
“I think we got our point across, don’t you?” Zack asked Orlando.
Orlando laughed and walked back into the main area of the factory. “Come on and let me finish whooping that ass in Casino.”
“Whatever. Let’s put some real money on it then.” Zack laughed.
Chapter Twenty-two
Thursday afternoon, Thad sent one of his new recruits, Michelle, to bond Chris out of jail. His bond had been dropped, and they needed him in on the hit they were planning against Orlando and a few other people. Chris had no idea that they were coming for him, so when the deputy called out his name, he was asleep on his bunk. His bunkmate, D-Red, nudged him.
“Aye, man, they’re calling your name.”
“Yeah!” Chris yelled, wondering what they wanted.
“Pack your stuff. You just made bond,” the deputy replied.
“I just made what?” he asked, making sure he had heard them correctly.
“Do you want to go home or not?” the deputy yelled back.
“Shit, I’m on my way,” Chris yelled.
Chris packed up all his belongings that he needed to take and gave D-Red his toiletries and all the food he had just bought from the jail store.
“Aye, man, hold it down out there,” D-Red said as he gave Chris a hug.
“All right, you take care of yourself in here, boy. I’ma put a few bucks on your books every Friday, man. You just stay safe,” Chris replied.
As he headed out the door, he paused. “All y’all keep yo’ head up.”
Chris walked down to be processed out, and once everything was completed, he headed out the door. He looked around, but he didn’t see anyone he recognized. He sat on the bench outside the jail, wondering who the hell had bailed him out. Seconds later, a beautiful blond woman approached him. She looked like she was in her early thirties. Her eyes were blue with brown specks; her nose was small with a cute tip and freckles around it. She was short with a slightly heavy build, but he thought she was gorgeous.
“Are you Chris?” she asked him.
“Yes, I am, and who are you?” he asked curiously.
“I’m Michelle. Thad sent me to get you. They want you to meet them at Toby’s house now. I will drop you off, and they will take you wherever you have to go afterwards,” she explained.
“All right, let’s go. Do you have a phone? Mine is dead, and I need to call Thad or Toby to let them know I’m out,” Chris said. He wanted to confirm what Michelle said before he got into the car to go anywhere with her.
She handed Chris her cell phone, and he called Thad.
“What’s up, bro?” Chris said once Thad answered the phone.
“What’s up, nigga? I see Powder got you,” Thad laughed.
“Who?” Chris said, looking at Michelle.
“Powder. That’s my newest goon. She is taking Keith’s place. But she good people, man. So, she will drop you off over here, and I will take you to your car when we finish up,” Thad replied.
“Finish what?” Chris asked.
“Man, don’t worry about all that. Just get your ass on over here. I know you ready to turn up and get you some pussy, nigga. We got to discuss business first, then party later. You wit’ that?” Thad responded.
“Hell yeah, I am. We on the way, bro,” Chris said before hanging up.
“We good to go now?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah we are, Powder,” Chris replied, putting an emphasis on her nickname.
She eyed him before unlocking her car. “I see you gonna be trouble.”
“All good trouble, though.” He laughed.
“Shit, I hear you.” She smiled.
“Damn, you are a beautiful woman,” he blurted out.
She smiled and pulled out of the parking lot, headed over to Toby’s house. Once they pulled up, Chris saw four different vehicles in the driveway. Two he knew, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out who the other two belonged to. He got out of the car, and as he walked toward the door, Michelle pulled off.
As he got closer, he could hear everybody inside talking. They were laughing and talking loud. He stood there, dreading that he had to see them. He didn’t feel the connection to them any longer, and he felt that they only got him out because they needed
him to help on the next lick they had planned. He needed to get that money, though, which was why he was going to allow them to use him.
Chris knocked on the door, and Tiffany opened it. “Look at what we got here!” She hugged him, and Thad rushed over and gave him a hug too.
“What’s up, baby boy?” Thad asked.
“Shit, just happy to see these streets again, bro,” Chris answered.
“Do you want a drink or something?” Tiffany asked.
“All I need is a blunt and information.” Chris laughed.
“Come on in the front room. Toby and Austin are there as well,” Thad said.
Once everyone welcomed Chris home, they sat down and laid out the plans for their hit against Orlando. Once everything was settled, Chris asked them if they had heard from Keith.
“We ain’t heard shit from that nigga yet. Wherever he at, he need to stay, ’cause I’m gonna blow his fucking head off. I know he was in that bullshit with Larry, and that’s probably who got our shit,” Thad replied.
“I don’t think Keith would’ve done that. He ain’t got it in him,” Chris said.
“I don’t put anything past anybody. He’s suspect until he surface and prove he didn’t do it,” Thad replied.
“What’s on the agenda for tonight?” Chris asked, changing the subject.
“I’m gonna do whatever you want to do. This is your night,” Toby said.
Tiffany stood in the doorway, looking at Toby. She loved the money that he brought into the house, but she hated the fact that she was left alone all the time. He never explained where he was going or why. They didn’t have any kids, but she hoped that one day he would want to retire from the game and start a family.
She looked at Toby and motioned for him to come into the other room. He stood up and followed her into the kitchen, while Chris walked outside with the phone to his ear.
“Toby, I was hoping we could spend some time together alone tonight. Do you have to go?” Tiffany asked.