“What’s up Craig? My truck ready?”
“It’s ready Tony. They’re finishing up wiping it down now.”
Craig owned and operated a small detail shop uptown called Gleaming Rides. Tony owned a strip club downtown by the name of Club Delight. The both contributed to each other’s business in some fashion. “Craig I know you’re coming through tonight right? Hey Craig!” Tony waved a hand in front of his face.
“My bad Tony. My mind has been somewhere else.”
“Something bothering you?”
Craig was looking down at his black Tims unable to respond.
“You know, I was asking you if you were coming to the club tonight, but you seemed to be on another planet.”
“It feels that way.”
“Come on man, what you got going on?”
“I can’t say right now Tony, but it’s big.”
“Okay… so the group is about to go back in. What’s new?”
Craig looked around to make sure no one could hear them. Tony already knew about the group. Craig had confided in him two years earlier.
“Hell yeah…,” he sighed.
“What’s so big that it has Mr. Gleam speechless? I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Shit… it ain’t never been this big before.”
Tony became even more interested. “Usually, someone’s business is not mine, but you’re my man. You have to tell me what it is. I’m not going anywhere until you do.”
Craig looked around the detail shop and called to one of his workers. “Hey Deric!”
“What’s up Craig?”
“You think you can keep the line moving until I get back?”
“I can do it.”
“Alright, I appreciate it.”
Craig turned to Tony. “You said you want to know what’s up?”
“Like I said, I’m not going anywhere to you tell me.”
Craig smiled for the first time since Tony walked into the shop. “What do you think about sixteen point five million in diamonds?”
Tony looked at him unbelievingly. “Cut it out man!”
“Nah, I’m serious. Let’s go in my office and I’ll tell you about it.”
Chapter 6
“Congratulations, I heard you the po-po,” Step said.
“Girl… I ain’t no po-po. I’m just the dispatcher,” Monique replied.
“Ahhh… help meee…,” Step teased.
They both laughed. Step and Monique were friends and they would regularly get together and go shopping.
“Shit… it’s the same thing. Do you carry a gun?”
“I assume I can get a piece of I want. They already did a background check on me.”
“Oh! Ooh… bitch done gone Charlie’s angels on me.”
“Oh no you didn’t.”
“Yes I did.”
“I didn’t tell them about my man, who don’t want to change the way he lives.”
“Where that boy at anyway?”
“Somewhere looking over his shoulders.”
Step chuckled while Monique examined the white blouse in front of her. “What you think about this one,” she pointed. Monique was shopping for things that coincide with her new job.
“That’s nice… I guess for the department.”
Monique sighed and headed towards the counter. When the female cashier asked her how she would like purchase the blouse, Monique pulled out a wad of cash.
“It don’t look like you hurting to me,” Step responded to the money. “Girl you know I don’t like this shit,” Step cut her off,” But you’re going to spend it.”
“Yeah, but I want a future and a family. Neither one exists with Time.”
“He’s your daughter’s father,” Step stated.
“I know, and that’s all he’ll be.” Monique paid for her blouse and a pair of casual slacks. “How you doing at your job?” Monique asked changing the subject. “I can’t complain… the men are decent.” Step worked as a paralegal at a law firm.
They made the exit from the J.C. Penny store and continued walking through the mall. Two stores down, they stopped in front of Chik-Fil-a. “Girl, I got to get some waffle fries. Do you want some?” Monique asked. She wanted to be generous since she was the one to invite Step. “As long as, you’re paying.”
Right before entering the next store, they were interrupted. “What y’all doing here?” a voice asked. They both turned around simultaneously to see Skillz. “Hey Skillz,” Step expressed her excitement. “We’re out celebrating Nique’s new job at the police station. Whirr… Whirr…,” Step tried to imitate a police siren. Monique blushed and it wasn’t because of Step. “That’s good,” Skillz responded. “What are you doing here?” Step asked.
“I’m Celebrating.”
“Celebrating what?” Monique asked smiling hard.
“I’m on my way to be a very rich man.”
“Oh yeah? You still don’t have a friend?” Step asked. Skillz looked back and forth eyeing Monique a little longer than necessary. “Nah, not yet.”
“If that’s the case, you can come check me out. You’re too fine to be walking around here lonely.”
“Who says I’m lonely,” Skillz smiled. “Well… I guess I’ll seeing y’all around.” He looked at Monique one final time and walked away. They watched him until he disappeared inside the Foot Locker store.
“Um… ummm. Damn, that nigga fine,” Step expressed herself. “I’ll give him some anytime with his bowlegged ass. Why didn’t you hook me up Nique?”
“Girl… Skillz don’t have time for nobody.”
“Who said something about all that? I just want to give him some… maybe a lot. Don’t he be with Time?”
“Sometimes,” Monique said. Now she was feeling jealous.
“Tell Time to hook a girl up.”
“God… since you acting like that, I’ll see.” Monique then walked into the Chik-Fil-A. “What’s your problem,” Step said catching up.
*****
“I want those,” Hitman said pointing to the two cases of imitation diamonds. “Both of them. You can leave them in their casing.” The lady raised her eyebrows skeptical. “You’re not buying these for all your women, are you?”
“No, I’m not the type to do that.”
While the lady began to place the cubic zirconias on the counter, Hitman began thinking. Amanda Sanco’s collection consisted of ten diamonds in varying shapes and sizes. People would come from as far as the Middle East to bid on them. It was rumored, that Mr. Sanco the explorer traveled to Africa to gather the diamonds for his once young wife. The value of the diamonds had been twice the risk to obtain them from impossible hands. They were real blood diamonds. Hitman made his exit from the jewelry store and slid into the Range Rover with the plastic bag. “Any phone calls?” he asked Lendora. She was his assistant and lady. “Mrs. Sanco called to see if you were still available for lunch,” she told Hitman. He smiled and passed the bag to her. “How do I look?” he asked checking himself out in the mirror. “Charming like always.”
*****
“Good afternoon Mr. Whatley. Everything okay?”
“I’m good Mr. Jones,” Nano replied.
Mr. Jones was Nano’s parole officer. He still had six months remaining on his sentence per the judge order. “How’s the job?”
“It’s alright,” Nano replied.
Nano was a forklift operator for Palmer’s Wood Company. His license was something he obtained while incarcerated. He had been sentenced to 5-15 for accessory after the fact of murder from the spoiled robbery attempt.
“You know I saw your son yesterday. I had to pick up my son from school. Dontae tells me that Dice is his best friend. What a coincidence.”
“That’s good to know,” Nano replied. He was now waiting to hear the benefits this carried with his parole officer’s son and his son being close. Mr. Jones stood and walked to the door. After he closed it, he returned to his seat behind his desk. “Let me reintroduce myself Mr. What
ley, I’m Tyrone, but you can call me Ty.”
“You can call me Nano.”
“Good. Anyone my son considers to be his friend, is a friend to me.” Jones eyed Nano. “Do you smoke?” he asked suddenly. Nano looked on stupidly. He knew that was probably a trick question. “Every now and then.” Jones chuckled in his professional manner. “Shit, I smoke all the time. I can’t take a piss test, so I’m not going to give you one. I just think that’s fair.” Nano looked across the desk at Ty. He determined they were about the same age. “That’s what’s up.” Nano was now seeing the remainder of his time on paper fly by.
“So… what you bout to get into?” Ty asked him.
“Nothing really. I took a half a day to check in with you.”
“From now on, don’t worry about that. If you can’t make it just call. I got you.” Jones pulled a piece of paper from his desk and scribbled something down on it. “Here’s my number. If you see yourself in a bad situation, call me first. I’ve been there before. So… I know how it is.”
“Damn,” Nano thought, “This can’t be true.”
“I’ll tell you what, since I fucked up your pay, let me buy you lunch.” Jones opened his desk draw and removed a plastic bag. He held it up for Nano to view it.
“What’s that?” Nano asked already knowing. Jones laughed coming to his feet. “Do you know how an astronaut feels when he takes off?”
“Nah… not really.”
“This will do it. Come on, let’s both of us take the day off.”
*****
Earlier….
“Who was that man?” Tip asked Dice. Wondering who the strange man waving at her was. He had been standing with Dice and Donte when she pulled up.
“That’s Donte’s father. He a probation man.” Tip pulled the door closed. When she looked up, Jones was still waving at her in an excited way. She sighed, “You hungry baby?”
“Yes ma’am! McDonald’s hungry.”
“McDonald’s! I thought you was more like a bag of chips.” She looked over at him with his gray eyes. She loved him more than anything. “Okay, if we go to McDonalds, you’re going to get a small burger with a small fry. Your daddy is cooking for us tonight.”
“Cooking again! Ma… he makes the food too hot. It makes my head hurt.”
“I’ll tell him to cut down on the seasoning.” Tip pulled away. They rode in silence for two blocks, until Dice spoke.
“Ma… is Dad going back to jail?”
“Nooo… why you ask that?”
“I don’t know, I just don’t want him to.” Dice toyed with the iPad before he asked his next question. “If he finished serving his time, why he got to give Dontae’s daddy money?”
“That’s part of his sentence. Basically, he’s paying to be home with us.”
“If they try to lock him up, can I use the money Hitman gave me to get him out?” Tip looked over at him overwhelmed with his sincerity and concern about his father. “Baby that’s nice of you to think like that, but your father is not going back to prison.”
Tip turned on Beal Street where the McDonald’s was located. “That’s what happened in my dream,” Dice stated.
Chapter 7
“Monique, this is your four digit password. If you want to check files on people when you get bored, which you will, you can do so.” Deidra winked at her. She was her trainer at the police department. Deidra continued. “Some days it gets really boring around here. You’ll have to occupy your time or you’ll call 911 on yourself.” Monique smiled, ”I get it.”
Deidra stepped away. Monique turned back to the computer and tried to focus. She grabbed the mouse and directed the arrow to the computer files on the menu. She then clicked once. Words in blocked red letters flashed on the screen. They indicated for her to enter her password. She typed in 1820. It was the number Deidra had given her. Instantly, a list of names popped up on the screen. They began with the last names of people with the last names beginning with A. She scrolled down the list until she came to the letter S. She wanted to see if Victor Scott was in the computer. Victor Scott was Time, her boyfriend, and daughters father. Brian Scott… David Scott… bingo, there it was. Victor Scott. She clicked on it, and immediately, a face filled the screen. It was an old one from before they had become a couple. Monique smiled thinking about the happier times. She then began to read the file. It started in the mid 80”s. Armed robbery… possession of a firearm… “Damn he was rebellious,” she thought to herself. Monique looked at his mug shot. Then she continued to read off his charges stemming from his past. She scrolled down the list until it ended. Then the words appeared on the screen. “Exit or review any additional files.”
“Additional files,” she said out loud. This caused her to receive a curious look from Deidra. She quickly returned her attention back to the computer screen. She didn’t was Deidra to think she was crazy on her first day at the job. Monique grabbed the mouse, guided the arrow to additional files, and clicked once. The words flashed, please enter your password. She entered 1820 just as she’d done before. “You do not have appropriate clearance,” flashed on the screen repeatedly. This made Monique panic. She thought a siren was about to sound off in the police department. She rapidly pressed the exit box until the computer screen returned to its menu page. Once that happened, she began to calm down. “Additional files,” she said one more time to herself wondering what could be in them.
*****
“Carnell, how are you?” Ms. Sanco asked.
“I’m doing okay ma’am.”
“I thought you were going to turn an old lady’s invitation down. I spoke with a lady; I think she was your assistant. Did you get the message?”
“Yes ma’am I did. I was running kind of late. Can I apologize?”
“Oh Carnell… stop that foolishness. You still act like you father. Oh my, I do miss him dearly.”
Ms. Sanco looked around the estate, “Ever since he passed away things haven’t been the same. The place seems so…”
“Empty,” Hitman finished.
“Exactly Carnell. Your father had always been the life around here.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of him.” Hitman looked around. It was always easy to admire the Sanco estate.
“Come take a walk with me.”
They walked together reminiscing on the past when Hitman was a young boy. His father used to bring him to the estate sometimes to show him around. It was then that Hitman became knowledgeable about the diamonds. Once they walked through the large house, a golf cart was waiting for them in the rear. The golf cart then took them out to a table that was set up for them on the lawn. A butler awaited their arrival.
“Sorry I’m late,” Mrs. Sanco spoke to the man. “George, do you remember Ezel’s son Carnell?” George smiled, “Yes I do ma’am. A mighty fine young man he turned out to be.” Hitman shook the man’s hand.
“I’ve prepared a special lunch for you my lady. I hope you enjoy.”
“Thank you George. We’ll be done soon.”
George nodded and excused himself. He slid behind the wheel on the golf cart and headed back towards the house. Hitman assisted Ms. Sanco into her chair and then politely took his.
“Thank you sweetie.”
They both looked at all of the dished that George had set out for them. There were platters of shrimp, dishes of fruit, and a few small containers of different sauces. They both immediately dug in.
“I called you here for two reasons Carnell.”
Ms. Sanco looked across the small table to observe Hitman’s reaction. Hitman looked back at her. He could now see that her age was catching up to her. Around her eyes, crow’s feet were visible and the skin around her neck wasn’t as tight as it once was. Nevertheless, it was impossible to know that she was 52 years old. Money could do that.
“A lady has grown old Carnell.”
Ms. Sanco chuckled as if it was a joke. “Some people are blessed with everything and in some ways that can become a curse. I
asked you here, to tell you about your father.”
Hitman’s demeanor was now bland. He didn’t have the slightest idea where she was going with it, so he grabbed one of the jumbo shrimp and dipped it in a red sauce.
“Your father… he wasn’t just a landscaper at the estate.” Ms. Sanco leaned over the table to get closer to Hitman. “He was also my lover here,” she whispered like they were in the presence of other people. She then leaned back and watched for Hitman’s response. Hitman only remained mute. He grabbed another shrimp and dipped it in the same red sauce. “Are you shocked?”
“I’m not. My mom used to accuse him of it all the time. She said the check was more important than his…”
Mrs. Sanco flushed. She placed a hand to her chest where her heart was located. “I thought…,” she began. She then shook her head. “At one time I became pregnant with a child. When this girl was born, it was no secret that it was your father’s.”
Hitman looked up in interest. He then began to count the years. He was twenty-seven years old. His father would have turned fifty years old the month before. This was not adding up to him.
“I and the late Steven Sanco argued endlessly about me bearing that child. Of course, you should know, Steve already knew about your father and I. Steve had difficulties in the bedroom.”
Hitman looked on overwhelmed by the information. However, he wanted her to go on. “Steve was a good man, but your father was something else. Steve made the decision that I should abort. He didn’t want the criticism that came from a lady like me sleeping with the gardener. I said no! I was going to have the baby, and then I would consider an adoption agency.”
Ms. Sanco took a moment for the news to digest. When Hitman didn’t attempt to ask her a question, she carried on.
“Steve let Ezel continue to work to work here and that was all that mattered at the time. I’m sorry if I seemed inappropriate in my behavior, but you must understand, I felt like a slave here. Ezel only made me happy.” She looked out where the grass seemed to run endlessly. “I remember the first time your father came into my bedroom.” Mrs. Sanco smiled at some thought only she could see. She then looked back at Hitman.
Killer Diamonds Page 4