Wicked Girl (THE FIRE Book 1)

by Mcebo Michael Metfula

  “Yes.”

  “But she ain’t close to you more than me.”

  I was a bit relieved to see Karen laugh. I even sighed. “Carol, you cut communication with me, Elijah, everyone and somehow assume we would pause our lives when you were away.”

  “I didn’t assume that, but you know, you and I were very close at college.”

  “Exactly. Were.”

  “True friendship never dies my friend. We can still be as close as at college, you know.”

  “Why? Because you want something. After you get it then I will never see you.” She laughed sarcastically. “The last person to push me into a corner girl is you. Besides, Grace is my friend. I mean, I leave my kids with her sometimes. At times for days.”

  “Tell me, where are they? I mean your kids.”

  “Sleeping.”

  “So early.”

  “Nothing interesting on TV.”

  “I see.”

  “So what’s the new grand plan?”

  “Yeah, friend. I guess this one will be doable for you.”

  She frowned and shook her head. “I’ve just told you she is my friend.”

  “Karen, I know a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a guy who can help me make Elijah a single man. I mean in no time.”

  “Are you talking about some voodoo, Harry Potter stuff? How on earth do you make a married man single? Divorce?”

  “Easy friend. He makes him a widower.”

  “Oh, God! Back to square one.” She sprang to her feet. “Back to this thing of killing Grace. Have you lost your mind? Are you crazy?”

  Tears ran down my cheeks. “Karen, I’m not asking much this time from you. Please help me. This is important to me. It’s a life mission. I live for Elijah. He is mine, I’m his. We belong together forever.”

  She gave me a fired up gaze. “Why did you break up with him if you knew he was so important to you? We wouldn’t be having this conversation if you had used your head.”

  “Friend, this time I don’t need you to do much for me. I just need you to accompany me to this guy. I would meet him alone, but I’m scared.”

  “Carol. I told you. I can’t. Grace is my friend. Even if she wasn’t, how would I betray such a kind, trusting woman? Why? And what about her kid. Who will take care of her? Surely, after killing her mom, you would be nothing but an evil stepmom. Who knows, you would even kill her.”

  “I can see you have no idea how it feels to live your life knowing your man is in the arms of another woman. It’s so tormenting. Nothing torments a heart more than that. I’m now hypertensive, Karen. Just imagine. And if I don’t solve this problem, I will be diabetic soon.” I wiped the tears running down my cheeks with my blouse. “If you help me on this, friend, I will give you thirty grand.”

  Karen gazed at my eyes. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me. Thirty Gs.”

  “Geez! Why are you doing this to me? To my friend.”

  Friday, January 29, 2016

  3:21 PM

  Not only was the dilapidated house in scary woods with tall trees in New Jersey, but it also looked haunted. But the occasional squirrel that would run past us gave us hope we were still alive. However, the wind rustled through the leaves harshly and kept us squinting around restlessly.

  “You know what?” Karen turned towards me. “I’m going now. In no time, it will be four and dark here. It’s even cold. Do you know we could die if a snow storm finds us here? If he said two thirty, now, it’s almost three thirty. This man is not coming. Probably, he has been arrested. Let’s just go.”

  I almost said, “Let’s enjoy the fresh air a bit more,” but Karen was extremely tense to entertain any joke. She would just walk away.

  “I’m not arrested,” Rodger said, coming from behind the house in a designer black suit and black shoes that cost a fortune.

  We drifted backward and stared at each other.

  “Ladies.” He stood in front of us and scanned our eyes like something was written on them.

  “Why didn’t you check behind the house? All this time you’re talking about me and my business I was behind listening to you. FYI I don’t deal kindly with people who insult my business. But, at least, I’ve confirmed you aren’t cops. Just some city girls looking for love in strange places.” He giggled.

  Karen glanced at me, urging me to talk. I had just gone to a frozen state. I even suspected he was a cop for he looked professional, handsome, and clean. He was even in a black suit and a white shirt. He even had a briefcase.

  “But where is your car?” Karen asked.

  “It’s in the garage,” he said. “Ladies, I heard you talking about the fast approaching night, but I’m here now, and you’re not talking.”

  “We want some lady dead,” I said.

  “Dead?” Rodger said. “Oh, that’s a big word. Unfortunately, I don’t kill people. I take them to heaven or hell earlier than expected. That’s my job. I repeat, I don’t kill people. You came to the wrong guy I guess.”

  “Okay, sorry. We need you to lead some fool to hell,” I said.

  “Fool? Hell?” Karen said, staring at me. “Grace is going to heaven; I’m sure of that.”

  “Okay, you want to take Grace to heaven. Cool. Why do you want her gone, by the way?” Rodger asked.

  “She took my man.”

  “I see. But where were you? Where was your lingerie? Did you even respect the man as your husband?”

  “I was with him all the time, taking care of him in every way possible.” Karen stared at me, shaking her head, but I ignored her. “I mean every single day, he came back to a spiced up Jacuzzi, then a hot meal. Even in the bedroom, I was all she could ever dream for.”

  “I can see you are lying; even your friend doesn’t agree with you.” He gazed at Karen. “She’s lying, right?”

  “Of course,” Karen said.

  I scratched my forehead with three fingers, reminding Karen about the thirty thousand.

  “You moron, you came all the way to lie to me,” Rodger screamed, drawing his face close to mine.

  I swallowed some saliva and stopped breathing, expecting a smack on my face.

  Karen took a step to him. “No. I was saying of course, she is not lying.”

  Rodger stared at Karen and then at me. “Okay. Listen ladies, there are terms and conditions like in every business. First of all, I don’t take anyone to heaven or hell until you have paid the fifty percent deposit. And –”

  “What’s the total?” I asked.

  “For a person like you, a doctor, I will give you a discount. You’re not some thug who has millions lying around. And the target you are giving me has no risks – she is not a gang member or something. I will require a hundred Gs. Don’t ask for any discount; it’s already factored in.”

  Karen and I exchanged glances.

  I sighed.

  “Ladies, consider this meeting as your first consultation. In the second consultation, I will need you to bring her recent photo, her physical address, her telephone number, cell phone number and fifty percent of the deposit.” He paused. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Then you must pay the balance in two installments of twenty-five percent each. After the first twenty-five percent, I will do my job. Then you must bring the last twenty-five percent at the funeral.”

  “What funeral?” I asked.

  “Grace’s funeral. It’s a requirement. I need all my clients to attend the funerals of their enemies. You need to finish what you started. If you don’t bury someone you have killed who do you think will? You get what I mean; you must finish what you started.”

  Karen and I exchanged glances.

  He continued, “At the funeral, I require my clients to pay me the last twenty-five if they are satisfied that, indeed, the person has been buried. She is surely dead. But you may not bring it to the funeral. I will follow your car after the funeral to some place convenient. That should be all ladies.”

  Karen and I exchanged glances again.
Karen’s face was red and marked with a big “Let’s not do this” sign.

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot that. I also provide extras at a cost. If you want your enemy tortured before departure I also do that.”

  “Extras,” I said, unsure of what to say.

  “Yeah, any form of torture. Most people usually ask that female enemies be raped before departure.”

  I smiled, overjoyed about the awesome extras. “How much do you charge for rape?” I asked.

  Karen frowned at me. “Are you insane? I can’t even believe you’re a doctor, let alone my friend.”

  “Rape is ten Gs. But if the woman is beautiful and super attractive, it’s five Gs,” Rodger said, laughing.

  Eleven months ago

  GRACE

  Monday, February 22, 2016

  11:09 AM

  I glanced at my husband sitting next to me. Shocked. Confused.

  Detective Howell ran his palms over his moist eyes. “Excuse me.” He said and rushed out of his warm office.

  Elijah stretched his left arm and squeezed me against himself. I guess he thought I would be touched after seeing the detective weep over Leon’s case. But I wasn’t. The months of crying over Leon used up all my energy. He was gone. We had to accept that and move on. “Why do you think he cried? I’ve never seen an officer cry over a case.”

  “Me too. I guess it’s frustration. It’s been what – nine months, not even a single arrest has been made. And you shouldn’t forget, it’s not only us who trouble them. The entire Clinton Hill troubles them,” Elijah said.

  “Yeah, you are right. But I feel awful that it’s no more about my baby; people just want to be sure the murderers have been arrested and their neighborhood is safe again.”

  “Yeah, it’s selfish somehow. We’re the only ones who want justice for our son. The police –”

  The detective came back. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting Mr. and Mrs. Turner. I was caught off guard. Forgive me, I also lost a sister three weeks ago.”

  “We’re sorry to hear that detective,” Elijah said.

  “Sorry sir,” I added.

  “She was murdered too?”

  “No. She battled cancer and lost eventually. It’s just that our minds are a complicated innovation we will never understand. When I talk or deal with homicides, I just break down.”

  Almost simultaneously, Elijah and I nodded.

  “As for Leon’s case, I do understand your coming here physically. It’s close to a year, still nothing promising. We had everybody as suspects including yourselves, but still nothing. We pleaded with the public to help us with any information – big or small. We received thousands of calls, but none led to anything promising. One thing I will promise you though, we will not drag our feet on this case. It’s my personal slogan that ‘No homicide case grows cold because the victim’s soul never stops crying.’ It’s always effective to put yourself in the shoes of the close relatives of the victim.”

  “Thanks a lot. I guess we were fortunate our case was taken by you,” Elijah said. “The ultimate outcome of this case is very important to us because clearly there is someone out there after us. First, it was me, but I survived. Unfortunately, my son didn’t. He –”

  Detective Howell jumped to his feet again. “Excuse me again.” He ran out. We looked at each other. I almost broke down too. But Elijah was smart enough not to embrace me again; he just ignored me after realizing I was on the edge. A simple embrace and squeeze would surely make me melt and wail worse than Howell. The only difference would be that I wouldn’t be sure why I was crying. At least, Howell was clear he was vulnerable due to his sister’s passing. But I would probably be crying for nothing because Leon died about a year ago. Even Elijah’s shooting was almost forgotten – he had recovered fully too.

  “I feel bad for him,” I said.

  “Me too,” Elijah said. “His sister and he were very close I guess.”

  I nodded. “It seems that way.”

  “Probably, she was the only surviving relative he had. Losing all the people who form all your history, your heritage, your memories is very painful.”

  Monday, January 16, 2017

  2:23 PM

  The car assumed there was someone in the passenger seat next to me and beeped continuously. I had to pull over so I could put the cake in the backseat or trunk. But I kind of preferred the backseat idea since it would not kill the nice chocolate scent that had taken over the car. I swallowed some saliva feeling like home was a thousand miles away. I couldn’t wait to get a taste of the cake with a cup of coffee in the chilly weather.

  I smiled and glanced at the cake. The beeping was still on. I exited Interstate 278 through exit 37 and passed the garage. I pulled over at the White Buffalo Motel parking lot and the car stopped beeping. But then, my cell phone started beeping. It was Elijah. I knew he wanted to know if I got the cake.

  “I didn’t get it. They said I should come back tomorrow,” I said, laughing.

  “These bakeries! I’ll kill them. Do they know how much I hate making coffee?” Elijah said.

  I laughed. “You made us coffee, babe! Hooraaaaaay. I guess they know because they gave me the cake.”

  He laughed. “Oh great. So you’re the one I have to kill for lying. I almost spilled the coffee. And Kim is jumping up and down. I told her Mom is bringing us a big cake.”

  “She is?”

  “Oh yes, she’s all over the place.”

  “You guys, we have to do this often. Why should we always wait for Thanksgiving or a special day or some serious craving?”

  “True. But as for now, hurry up – forget long term plans. I want the cake now. You have no idea how tormented I am.”

  We laughed and dropped the call.

  I opened the door and walked around the car, picking less slippery spots on the snow. I opened both the front and rear doors. Just when I bent to lift the cake from the front seat a smarter idea clicked that I wasn’t supposed to move the cake but fasten the seatbelt like someone was in the seat. I laughed and buckled up the cake. “Buckle up brown girl.”

  However, when I straightened up, strong hands shoved a big tasteless cloth in my mouth, grabbed my hands from the back and tied them. They threw me into a red van and tied my legs. Then the van sped off. My jumping up and down was child’s play. A black blindfold made my world dark and hopeless again – just like when I got the news that Elijah and Leon had been shot.

  DAY 6

  ELIJAH

  Sunday, January 22, 2017

  7:04 PM

  My insides were quivering but I wouldn’t back off at that point. Rage wouldn’t help in any way. I inhaled a lot of oxygen and calmed myself down. Then I raised my hand to knock. But my hand froze when I heard there were two women inside chatting probably over supper. One of them was Carol. I recognized her voice effortlessly. They were gossiping about some Dr. Liu who should retire because he was finished. They hated doctors’ meetings because of him – he talked often and he took “forever.” Even the television was on. I raised my hand and hesitated again. But after some time, I knocked.

  Instantly, they stopped talking and dropped the volume on the television. I waited and waited, but nothing happened.

  I realized that my mission in her house had slipped out of my head, so I quickly took out my notebook and jogged my memory. “Perfect.” But there was still nothing happening, so I knocked again.

  Reluctant footsteps approached the door. “Who is it?” Carol said.

  “Elijah,” I said.

  “Elijah?” Carol said. “Elijah who?”

  “Elijah Turner,” I said.

  I heard sounds that suggested that the door was being opened hastily.

  I wore a mild smile. “Hey.”

  However, Carol couldn’t bring herself to say, “Hey.” Her friend shouted from the living room. “Anybody there?” But she couldn’t say anything to her either.

  Instead, she rushed back to the living room, grabbed a hyperventilating
bag and put it to use whilst her friend rolled on the couch, laughing. She even shivered violently. I feared she would collapse.

  I laughed faintly, making sure she didn’t notice though. After all, she wasn’t facing me. I got an opportunity to learn that she was, indeed, a big woman. Whatever happened to the tiny bird? Clearly, she had definitely doubled or tripled her college size.

  Without warning, the rage engulfed me again. Promptly, my lungs filled up, and I suddenly wanted to harm Carol for fooling herself about a possible reconciliation between us. She had to stop flattering herself and forget about me forever. I forgot about her ages ago when she advised me to. When she told me about a great man she had found online and a career so important to her. As if that wasn’t devastating enough, she even told me that her parents didn’t approve of me, because I was poor – completely not their class. I was hurt beyond measure. I was humiliated. I felt so trivial and useless. But eventually, I healed and met Grace. In no time, I discovered that my biggest tragedy was actually a blessing in disguise. Grace was indeed a priceless gem. I was overjoyed Carol left me. She op –

  Carol walked back to me, smiling awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

  She sighed heavily. “El, please hug me.”

  I smiled, climbed up and granted her wish. Her friend found us still hugging. She said, “Hey.” I waved because it was hard to talk. Carol was suffocating me, and she wouldn’t let go. Her friend laughed and went back to the living room.

  Finally, she let go of me. I took one step back, lest she grabbed me again.

  She used her hands to fan herself. “I can’t believe this. This is you at my doorstep.”

  “Yeah, this is me, Carol. I’m so glad you’re happy to see me. I’m also ecstatic. You know, I was told by Owen you’re back from London, and he even gave me your address.”