Killing Them Softly

by Glenn, Roy

  It all started simple. I was in their neighborhood one night, and I decided that I would drop by to say hello. I pulled up in front of the house, but I didn’t see Devin’s car in the driveway. That didn’t matter to me one way or the other. He could be parked in the garage or not even home. Either way, I was there to see Taye anyway.

  I’ve been in love with Taye since the first time I met her. It was at the company Christmas party, and naturally, Taye came with Devin. She was dressed in a flowing white gown that highlighted her shoulders.

  "Winston, this is my wife, Taye," Devin said that night at the party.

  "Well, it is nice to finally meet you, Winston," Taye said, and took my hand in hers. "Devin talks about you all the time."

  Her hands were warm, and Taye had the most beautiful smile. And the deepest brown eyes that seemed to look inside me, and reach my soul. "I hope it was good," was all that I could manage, as Taye smiled at me and continued to hold my hand.

  "You know I had nothing but good things to say about you, buddy," Devin said to interrupt the trance Taye had me caught up in.

  "Oh yes, Devin speaks very highly of you," Taye said, and finally let go of my hand.

  "That’s good to know," I said, and let out a goofy giggle. I felt like such a fool.

  "Well, it was nice meeting you, Winston. I’m sure I’ll see you again," Taye said graciously, and went off with her husband; taking my heart with her.

  Over the years the three of us got together pretty regularly. Taye would come and have drinks with us after work. During those times, Taye and I became friends, but I never told her how I felt about her. That would have been inappropriate. I was just happy to be in her presence, and happy with the guy friend hugs and kisses on the cheek, that she gave me each and every time she saw me, and wished there was something more.

  Then she lost the baby.

  I went to see Taye in the hospital. She was asleep when I got there. I stood there staring at her, and I held her hand. I touched her face and I felt the strongest urge to kiss her.

  I leaned forward slowly and was about to kiss her when Devin, who always did have the worst timing, walked in the room.

  "Hey, Babe," he said as he burst through the door carrying a dozen roses. I let go of her hand and straightened up quickly. If Devin saw me, or had any idea what I was about to do, he never said anything about it. Taye opened her beautiful eyes and smiled at me, smiled like she knew that I loved her, and then turned to her husband. I didn’t see much of Taye after that, and hadn’t seen her at all since they she lost their second child.

  I went to the door and rang the bell. There were lights on in the house, but know one came to the door. I rang the bell and waited.

  The truth is that I knew Devin wasn’t there, and I didn’t just happen to be in the area. I knew Devin was out with whoever he was seeing. I was passing by his office and heard him making plans to meet her.

  Taye had been through enough, and shouldn’t have to deal with her husband being unfaithful to her. She deserved a man who would be patient with her, and be understanding of what she’s going through.

  A man like me.

  I would break it to her gently, and then be there to comfort her through her tears. Offer her support throughout the divorce proceedings. And when it was all over, Taye would turn to me, because by then, she’ll know that I love her.

  How did things get so far away from there?

  Why didn’t I just leave when nobody answered the door after the second ring?

  I knocked on the door and was about to leave when I glanced back, and saw Taye come down the steps.

  I should have known that something was wrong, when she walked past the door without opening it. I rang the bell again, and banged on the door; all the while, calling her name. "Taye!"

  Not only didn’t she come to the door, Taye didn’t even look back. I stood there ringing the bell, over and over until I saw her coming. But instead of coming to open the door, Taye headed back toward the steps.

  "Taye!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, and she turned toward the door.

  Finally, she came to the door and turned on the porch light. "Who is it?"

  "Taye, it’s Winston," I said, and she opened the door.

  "Devin’s not here," she said, and held the door.

  She was wearing a white silk robe, and a white gown with spaghetti straps that barely covered her. I knew something wasn’t right when she didn’t try to cover herself. We stood there staring at one another until I finally said, "Can I come in—and use your bathroom?"

  "I’m sorry. Come in," Taye said, and stepped aside to let me in.

  "Thanks," I said, and walked past her slowly. "I know where it is." Instead of thinking that something wasn’t right, and that I should leave, my mind went in a totally different direction. All I could think about was how sexy she looked, and how much I wanted her. How much I’ve always wanted her. Instead of thinking that something wasn’t right, I imagined that Taye hadn’t bothered to cover herself because she wanted me the way I wanted her. I stayed in the bathroom for a couple of minutes before I came out.

  When I went back to the door, Taye was sitting in the living room with her eyes closed. I sat down across from her and then I called her name, and Taye opened her eyes.

  I just started talking, but it wasn’t long before her eyes drifted shut. "Taye," I said, and stood up. I walked over to her and touched her gently. "Taye, are you all right?" When she didn’t answer, I touched her neck to see if she had a pulse. It was then that I remembered Devin mentioning that Taye took sleeping pills some times.

  Now that I knew she was just sleeping, I picked her up and carried her upstairs to their bedroom. I laid her down on the bed, and stood over her to admire her beauty. I should have left then.

  But I didn’t.

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and I kissed her. Kissed her lips the way I had always wanted to, for all these years. She didn’t wake up.

  I ran my hand along her cheek, down to her neck, and across her chest. I felt her breasts with one hand and then the other. She didn’t wake up.

  I pulled up her gown and stuck my fingers in my mouth. With my index finger, I massaged her clit and looked at her face. She squirmed a little when I slide my fingers inside her, but she didn’t wake up.

  I unbuckled my pants and pulled down my zipper. I started to stroke myself while I slid my fingers in and out of Taye. She was so wet. I left after I came in my hand.

  The next morning, I went into Devin’s office, just like I did every morning. I needed to know if Taye had even mentioned that I had been to their house the night before, but he never said anything about it.

  After that, I couldn’t get Taye out of my mind. I had to have her again. I went back to their house one night the following week. I knocked on the door, I rang the bell, I called her name, but she didn’t come to the door. I left disappointed, but determined to have her. No matter how wrong it was, I had to be inside Taye.

  That next day at the office, I stuck my head in Devin’s office. "Let me see your keys, buddy. My battery’s dead, and I need to run out for a minute."

  "You need help?" Devin said, and dug in his pocket for his keys.

  "I’ll jump it off when I get back; if that’s all right with you, of course?" I asked, and Devin threw me his keys.

  "Not a problem."

  "I’ll even put gas in it," I said, and went to the nearest locksmith, and got a copy of their house key.

  That first night, I felt apprehensive as I unlocked the door and hoped that the alarm wasn’t on. My heart was pounding in my chest when I stood in the bedroom door, and looked at her lying there, sleeping so beautifully, waiting for me to have her.

  * * *

  Chapter Thirty

  Qianna

  Winston began frantically pulling the clothes from his body. When he was naked and standing in front of me, I had to bite my lip to keep from laughin’, ’cause his dick was so small. "Lay down on the bed," I i
nstructed, and picked up his belt and tie.

  "What are you gonna do?" Winston asked, but he got his ass on that bed.

  "I’m gonna fuck the shit outta you," I promised, and crawled on top of him. I thought about suckin’ his little pink dick, but what would be the point in that. I used his tie and belt to tie him to the bed. Then I got up and got his shirt. I ripped it, and used the pieces to tie up his legs.

  Now that I had him spread eagle on the bed, I got my purse and took out my knife.

  "What you gonna do with that knife?" he needed to know when I came and sat on the bed.

  "It’s to make sure that you’re a good boy, and give me what I want." I ran my hand up and down his little dick a few times, and that seemed to satisfy his need to know as I got on top of him.

  "Oh, I promise to be good, baby. I’m gonna give you everything you want."

  "You promise?" I asked softly, and slid myself down on his little dick.

  "Anything," he promised, and began to move. I rode him for a while just to see how, or I should say if, I could feel him, and then I rolled off. "What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?"

  I moved the knife along his leg and close to his dick. I grabbed it by the head, and held the knife to it. "You were fuckin’ Devin’s wife, weren’t you, white boy?"

  "I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about," he protested. "Be careful with that thing."

  "Don’t lie to me. You were fuckin’ Devin’s wife, weren’t you?"

  "I think this has gone on long enough. I think you need to untie me right now."

  "I don’t think so."

  I took my knife and made a small cut on the head of his dick. "Ouch!" he screamed. "That shit hurt! Untie me right now, you fucking bitch."

  "Not ’til you tell me the truth."

  "What truth?"

  "That you were fuckin’ Devin’s wife," I said and cut him again.

  "Ouch!" Winston screamed.

  He jerked and pulled on his bonds, but he couldn’t get loose. "Listen, white boy, I’m ’bout to cut this little mutha fucka off if don’t start tellin’ me the truth."

  "If I tell you, will you untie me?"

  "As long as you tell me the truth."

  "All right then. Yes, I was fuckin’ her. I would go over there at night when Devin left, and fuck her. Now you untie me right now."

  "You were there the night she got killed, weren’t you?"

  "How do you know that?"

  "Answer me!" I yelled, and made another motion toward his dick.

  "Yes, okay, yes. I was there, but I didn’t kill her."

  "Devin said she takes sleeping pills and she would be asleep when he left the house at night. What was she doin’; fakin’ him out with the pills?"

  White boy looked away from me and didn’t say anything. "Answer me!" I screamed, and cut him again.

  "Okay!—She wasn’t faking. She didn’t even know I was there."

  ‘What are you sayin’?" I asked with a frown on my face.

  "I would fuck her after she passed out. But I didn’t kill her."

  "That shit is disgusting, white boy." All I could think about was my mama’s drunk-ass man rapin’ me. Taking advantage of her while she was defenseless, and couldn’t do shit to stop his ass.

  "Whatever; just untie me."

  "I don’t think so. Sick mutha fuckas like you don’t deserve to breathe." I cut off his dick, and then I cut his throat. I got dressed, and once again, had to wipe down the room before I left. I took the stairs down and thought, There’s a lot of sick mutha fuckas in the world.

  * * *

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Avonte

  After three hours of waiting, Detective Jensen finally told me that for the most part, my alibi checked out, and that I was free to go. "If you can think of anything that could be help, please give me call."

  Before I left, Jensen promised that she would call me and let me know how things were proceeding with her investigation. That was three days ago, and I hadn’t heard anything from her, so I decided to give her a call.

  "This is Detective Jensen," she answered.

  "Good afternoon, Detective Jensen. This is Avonte Petrocelli."

  "Yes, Mrs. Petrocelli. What can I do for you?"

  "Well, I hadn’t heard from you, so I was just wondering if you had found my husband’s killer."

  "I’m sorry to say that we haven’t made an arrest yet. But I assure you that we are doing everything we can. Mr. Petrocelli was last seen at bar called Shooters. Are you familiar with the place?"

  "Yes, it’s not far from the house."

  "He was seen there on the night of the murder with two women. The woman he was found with, Laurie Springs, and an unidentified black woman. Witnesses describe her as being about five eight, dark complexion with long, straight black hair. Do you know if he knew anybody that matches that description?"

  My breath got short. "Not that I know of. Do you think she killed him?"

  "At this point, I’d just like to talk to her."

  "I understand."

  "I’ve gotta go, Mrs. Petrocelli, but I promise, I will let you know if anything changes."

  "Thank you, detective," I said, and she hung up the phone.

  My hands started shaking, because I knew from the description that the woman they were looking for was Qianna.

  I hadn’t spoken to her since that night she said she had something that she needed to take care of. Normally, I’d have been losing my mind about not hearing from her. But I’ve been so consumed with Tyrone’s death, making arrangements for his funeral, and with being a suspect in his murder, that I haven’t really had a chance to think about it.

  I started to call her cell, but hung up the phone quickly. Suppose the cops had my phone tapped, and were just waiting for me to lead them to Qianna? If the police tie her to me, they are gonna think that Qianna killed Tyrone for me.

  I tried to calm myself down because I knew I was trippin’, and I had to think about what to do. I didn’t know for sure if she really killed him or not, but I had to find out. I got up and got ready to leave the apartment.

  But suppose they’re outside waiting for me to lead them to her?

  "Stop it, girl, you trippin’," I told myself, and grabbed my keys.

  I never knew where Qianna lived, probably because she never told me. So I decided to look for her the only other place I knew her to be.

  Just in case somebody was following me, I left the apartment walking quickly, like I was late for something. I got on the subway and took the train to the Times Square station. I got off the train, ran up the stairs, and tried to lose myself in the crowd. When I got outside, I hopped in a cab and gave the driver Angel’s address. As we drove away, I sat in the backseat and felt foolish.

  When we got to the building, I stood outside and looked around for a while, before I went inside. I was about to ring the bell when the door opened. Angel looked startled at first, but then she smiled when she saw me standing there. "Hello, Avonte."

  "Hi, Angel."

  "Come in," she said, and stepped aside. Qianna was right about one thing, Angel was a cutie. "Why don’t you have a seat?"

  "Thank you." Angel came and sat down next to me. "I don’t mean to bother you."

  "You’re not bothering me," Angel said, and touched my hand. I looked at her eyes; those angel eyes. "I was just on my way out, so I was surprised to see you standing there; that’s all."

  "I know, and I’m sorry to just show up here like this, but I need to talk to Qianna. Have you seen her?"

  "I thought you came to see me." Angel pulled her hand back slowly and looked away. "Qianna’s in the back."

  She looked disappointed that I was there to see Qianna and not her. I thought about how Qianna would talk about Cutie, and the things she could do with her strap.

  "Angel," I said, and touched her hand.

  She turned and looked at me.

  "It’s important that I talk to Qianna right now, and you’re on your way out. Ma
ybe we could get together another time."

  Angel stood up and went in the back without saying anything. When she came back, she handed me a piece of paper and sat down next to me. "When you’ve had enough of Qianna, and her shit, call me."

  "I’ll do that," I promised, and quickly got something to write my cell number on, and handed it to her.

  She looked at the number and smiled at me with those angel eyes. Angel kissed me on the cheek. "Like I said, Qianna’s in the back. She’ll be out in a minute," she said and left.

  When I looked up, Qianna was standing in the doorway. She had cut her hair short and dyed it auburn. "It ain’t like I’m not glad to see you, but, what you doin’ here?"

  "I needed to talk to you." I stood up and went to her.

  Qianna held me by the back of my neck and kissed me. It makes me wet every time she does that.

  "Yeah, but this is Cutie’s spot. You can’t just show up like this."

  "I know that, and I apologized to Angel for just showing up like this, but I need to talk to you."

  "You need to talk or you need something else?" Qianna asked, and smiled.

  "No." I stepped away from her and sat down. I clasped my fingers together, and took a deep breath. "I really need to talk to you."

  "What wrong now?" Qianna sat down next to me.

  "Tyrone is dead."

  "I’m sorry to hear that. Now he can’t cutoff your money. Now you can have it all. You should be happy."

  Truth be told, I hadn’t really given that much thought either, but she was right. Unless he was lying to me, Weinstein didn’t know why Tyrone cutoff the money, and to my knowledge, I was still in his will. I could come out of this on my feet, if I didn’t go to jail. "The police questioned me about the murder."

  "What did you tell them?"

  "The truth. That I was home alone, on the phone talking to my parents."

  "They buy that?"

  "I told you, it was the truth."