by La Jill Hunt
“I don’t know. Some guy that Dell deals with.” I shrugged, taking the blunt from him and taking a pull.
“Dell sent y’all to this dude?”
“Nah, Dell don’t even know we going to see him.” My phone vibrated and displayed a text from Patrick saying he was waiting outside. “Well, I’m out. Thanks for the info.”
“No doubt. Hey, if shit don’t work out, hit me up. I got a guy that can make it happen for you,” he told me.
“I’ll let you know,” I said, taking one last toke and passing the blunt back to him.
* * *
“So, who is this we’re about to go see?” I asked Patrick when I got into his car.
“This cat named Malik. He’s a solid dude, and I know Dell does business with him quite often,” Patrick said.
“I can’t believe Nikki let your ass out this late. You know how she keeps your ass on a short leash.” I laughed.
“Don’t play with me. I ain’t got no kind of leash. I make sure I take care of home, and I don’t have no issues when I ain’t there, unlike Darnell’s ass. See, had he made sure his woman was happy, he wouldn’t’ve got caught,” Patrick said.
“Yeah, right. So, where does she think you’re at now?”
“At a business meeting. I ain’t lie.”
“And she knows you’re with me?” I smirked.
“I ain’t tell her all that.”
“Why not?”
“Because she don’t need to know all the details. The less she knows, the better,” he said.
“Yeah, I bet.” I laughed.
Fifteen minutes later, we were pulling up to a large, two-story house in the back of an older neighborhood. The house reminded me of the one on The Brady Bunch, but there was a fence around it. Patrick parked the car out front, and we got out. He was about to reach to open the fence when suddenly, we heard the cock of a gun and a man’s voice.
“Stop right there. I don’t know where you think you’re going, but it ain’t in here.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. It’s all good, young gun. We ain’t armed or dangerous. We just came to see if we could speak to Malik for a few minutes, that’s all,” Patrick said with his arms raised.
“And who the fuck are you?” the guy asked, his gun still pointed at us.
“Dell sent us over here,” Patrick told him.
They guy looked at me, and I said, “I’m with him.”
“Well, Malik ain’t here, so y’all can turn your asses right around and leave.”
“Bullshit. I know he’s here. Just tell him we need to holler at him for fifteen minutes, that’s all,” Patrick said.
“Man, you got fifteen seconds to get the fuck off this property before I bust a cap in your ass.” The dude took a step toward us.
I grabbed Patrick by the arm and said, “Man, come on. We don’t have to stand out here begging nobody to see us. Junie already said if Malik don’t want our business, he got somebody who does. Fuck this clown and his midget-ass fake security.”
“Bitch, you take your thot ass on somewhere before I shoot you instead of him,” the guy said.
Patrick and I walked back to the car and drove off.
“Well, it was a longshot,” he said. “I can’t believe that dude tried to handle us like that.”
“Fuck that dude. Like I said, I already got a backup plan in motion. I shoulda been the one handling this shit in the first place. You just make sure you have that cash ready tomorrow so I can make shit happen,” I told him as I took out my phone and called Ronda.
“Hey, where’s Junie? He still there?” I asked.
“Yeah, in the same spot where you left him.” She laughed.
“Put him on the phone,” I told her. I held on while she went into the room.
“Yo,” he said.
“Hey, you know what we were talking about earlier and the connect you have?”
“Yeah.”
“Hook it up,” I told him.
“You sure? This man ain’t about to play no games.”
“I ain’t playing none either.”
“Bet. Oh, and another thing,” Junie said.
“What?”
“I want my finder’s fee.”
“Fine.” I sighed, thinking about how I had no intention of giving him anything.
“Cash, up front. Be ready when I call tomorrow—by yourself.”
I glanced over at Patrick, knowing there was no way he was going to let me do this without him. “Okay, no doubt.”
“So, what’s the deal?” Patrick asked when I ended the call.
“He’s setting it up for tomorrow. I told him I would bring the cash, so make sure you go make a withdrawal and bring it to me,” I said.
“You’re not doing this by yourself. You don’t even know this dude. How do we even know we can trust him like that? This ain’t no chump change. This is ten thousand fucking dollars,” he snapped at me.
“I know how much it is, and I do know him. I’ve known him since he was a kid. It’s my best friend’s cousin, and we’re from the same neighborhood. I trusted you when you nearly got us shot going to see some fucking dude who didn’t even wanna talk to us. What’s the difference?” I demanded.
“The difference is I knew who we were meeting. You don’t even know who this dude Junie is taking you to see. He could be setting you up to rob your ass. I don’t think this is a good idea at all.” Patrick shook his head.
“Fine. You don’t wanna partner on this deal, that’s fine. I’ll do it by my damn self. Just make sure you bring me my half of the fucking money first thing tomorrow,” I told him.
“Di, listen to me,” he said as he pulled into the front of Ronda’s building. It was after midnight, but folks were still hanging out like it was six in the evening.
“No, you listen to me. Bring me my cash by noon tomorrow,” I said and got out of the car. “Don’t make me come and find you.”
Bilal
I had been up all night, worrying as I paced the floor, hoping that Kendra would come home or at least call, but she didn’t. I couldn’t believe Diane told her that we slept together. If it had been anybody other than Kendra, I would’ve been pissed that they believed the story without even talking to me first. But given Diane’s history and the behavior I’d witnessed over the past few weeks, I understood why Kendra took what she said and ran. If only I could talk to her and explain, but it was like she had vanished into thin air. I tried everything to find her, using every technical and computer skill I had, from tracking her phone to hacking into her mobile banking information to see where she’d last spent money, but I couldn’t find anything. I was starting to fear that she was somewhere hurt, or worse, dead.
I decided to go back out and drive around, hoping to find her somewhere. I grabbed a jacket and was heading out the door when I got a call from Malik. It was only seven o’clock in the morning, so I knew something had to be wrong.
“What’s up, Malik?”
“Yo, B, I know it’s mad early, but I need you to come through. I got something to show you right quick.”
“Man, right now? I was just about to go out and take care of something,” I told him, not in the mood to go see whatever sexual act between Kareema and Tey that Malik happened to catch on video and was so eager to show me.
“I’m sure whatever it is you need to take care of can wait. I’ll see you in fifteen. Dell is already over here. We waiting,” he said and hung up.
Now I knew that whatever it was, it was more serious than homemade porn. Dell never went anywhere to do anything before ten in the morning. I got into my truck and made the twenty-five-minute drive to his house within fifteen minutes as he’d instructed. I expected Skeet to be posted up outside, but he wasn’t, so I went straight to the front door and rang the bell. It was Dell who opened it and let me in.
“You ain’t gonna believe this,” Dell said.
“Man, what the hell is going on?” I asked as I followed him up the steps and into Malik’s office. There
was Malik, sitting at the desk, staring at the security camera footage. Sitting in a chair nearby was Skeet. They were so engrossed in what they were looking at that they didn’t even see me walk in.
I looked at the screen, and the first image I saw was a naked Kareema, lying in bed. I cleared my throat to signal that I was there.
“Oh, damn. ’Sup, B?” Malik said, turning around and holding out his fist for me to pound.
“What’s going on? What you got to show me?” I said, anxious to see what he had.
“So, check it. Last night, this man and this chick roll up to the crib, saying they need to holler at me about some business. Now, you know that shit ain’t happen, because first of all, they was unannounced, and I don’t play that,” Malik told me.
“I’m sure Skeet ain’t let that happen.” I looked over at Skeet.
“You know it. They ain’t have a chance,” Skeet said with pride.
“So, they ain’t get in,” I said.
“Nope, but I wasn’t even home anyway when they rolled up. But when I got in this morning, Skeet told me what happened. Said the dude told him Dell sent him. So, you know me. I call D and ask why the fuck he sending clowns to my crib without giving me the heads up first.”
“Yeah, he woke me up with this bullshit, knowing damn well I wouldn’t do that.” Dell looked as irritated as I was. “So, now I’m pissed, and so is Lena, who starts bitching at me because my phone was going off at six in the morning and she’s thinking it’s some random. And I’m telling her that it’s Malik—”
Malik interrupted him. “So, he comes over and we pull the fucking tape.”
“Who was it?” I asked, turning my attention to the screen.
“Check this bullshit out.” Dell folded his arms, and we all watched.
I leaned down to get a closer look, making sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. “What the hell? Is that—”
“Hell yeah, that’s them.” Dell nodded. “But it gets crazier.”
My mind became filled with thoughts of what they were about to say, and I prayed it didn’t involve them doing something to Kendra. If it did, I was prepared to kill both of them.
“Tell them what they said, Skeet.” Malik sat back in his chair.
“After I told them to get the fuck on, the chick starts talking about how they were gonna take their business to Junie’s guy,” Skeet told me.
“Junie?” I asked.
“Hell yeah, Junie’s lightweight ass.”
“Dell said they told him they got ten grand. Junie ain’t got no guy around here that’s got that kinda weight. Shit, the only real cat Junie deal wit’ is D-Lo, and he was getting his shit from me until I got ro—”
It was as if we all thought the same thing at the same time.
“Oh, shit,” Dell said.
“Aw, damn.” Skeet sat up.
“I’m gonna fuck somebody up.” Malik stood up.
“Man, I told Uncle Pat—” I started.
“Wait, this clown is really your uncle?” Malik said.
“Yeah, he is, but I can tell you right now, he don’t deal with Junie, and he’s out of his element with all of this. He probably don’t even know who Junie is, for real. This ain’t him.” I stared at my uncle’s face on the screen, then looked at the woman beside him. “This is that bitch right there. I gotta go, but I’ll call you in an hour.”
“B, wait,” Dell called after me, but I ignored him and headed out the door.
* * *
I left Malik’s crib and drove to Diane’s house. She wasn’t there, and neither was her car. I went to Nikki’s and didn’t even bother ringing the doorbell. I banged on the door until finally, I heard Uncle Pat’s voice.
“Who is it?” he yelled.
“Open the door!” I yelled back.
“Bilal, what the hell? What’s wrong with you coming over here this early, knocking on the door like you’re the police? You ain’t even call first,” he grumbled sleepily as he opened the door, dressed in a burgundy robe and slippers.
“Like you ain’t call when you showed your ass up at Malik’s crib last night?” I replied.
He quickly looked over his shoulder before slipping through the door and stepping outside. “Lower your voice, nephew. You’re gonna wake Nikki. What are you talking about?”
“I know all about you and Diane popping up at Malik’s last night. You’re playing with fire, Unc. You better be glad Skeet ain’t shoot your ass on sight, because he has been known to do that. What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked.
“Calm down. We just went to talk to the man, that’s all. He wasn’t available, so we left.” He acted like he hadn’t had a gun pointed in his face a few hours ago. “How the hell did you find out, anyway?”
“It don’t matter. Now, where the fuck is Diane? Because by the time I get my hands on her, she’s gonna wish Skeet had bust a cap in her ass. I swear, I’m gonna fuck her up.”
“Can you please lower your voice? I don’t know where she is. What is wrong with you, Bilal?”
My uncle never called me by my first name. I paused and stared at him before saying, “Uncle Pat, you’ve got to leave this chick alone. She’s crazy, and she’s gonna get you killed.”
“Listen, I know she’s got issues, but I ain’t new to this, and I know what I’m doing.”
“It ain’t like it used to be back in the day out here, Uncle Pat. She’s about to have you involved in some shit that I ain’t gonna be able to get you out of. Listen to me,” I warned him.
“I appreciate you trying to look out for me, but I got this. Your uncle been around a long time. I know how to handle women like Diane. Trust me.” He winked, and from the look on his face, I knew my uncle was not only scheming with Diane, but he was sexing her too.
“Man, please don’t tell me you’re smashing her. You’re smarter than this, Uncle Pat.” I threw my hands up in frustration.
“Hey, she offered, and I accepted. What was I supposed to do?” He shrugged.
“Tell her skank ass no, maybe? You know what? I don’t even care. But I’m telling you right now, you need to cut your losses and stay away from her, because it’s about to get real. Junie ain’t no good, and unlike you, he ain’t got nothing to lose,” I told him.
My phone rang, and it was Celia. I prayed she had some information about Kendra.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Bilal, any word?” she asked.
“Nah, nothing. I was hoping you were calling me with some good news,” I told her.
“Not yet, but Detective Donaldson is on his way now to help us expedite a missing person’s report. Can you come over?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m on my way,” I told her, then turned to my uncle and said, “I gotta go. Whatever you and her got planned, cancel it. I’m telling you it ain’t gonna end well.”
“I hear ya, nephew,” he said and went back inside the house.
* * *
“So, you mean to tell me they’re planning on using the money they’ve collected to buy drugs? What the fuck is wrong with them? I don’t believe this. Wait. Yes, I can. Nothing my sister does shocks me anymore. But I thought Patrick had more sense than to do something as stupid and dangerous as this,” Celia said as we sat on the sofa in her living room. While we were waiting on the detectives to arrive, I filled her in on everything I’d learned.
“Hopefully, my uncle will take heed and listen to what I told him. He’s a smart guy,” I said.
She gave me a sarcastic look and said, “Really?”
“Okay, maybe smart isn’t the right word. He’s a reasonable guy. My point is, he knows better than this. I told him this cat Junie is reckless,” I said.
“Yeah, well, so is Diane, so I don’t know how this is gonna play out.”
“Hey, I’m gone to work.”
I looked up and saw Celia’s husband, Darnell, who we didn’t realize had been standing in the doorway.
“What’s up, Darnell,” I spoke.
“Hey,
Bilal. Any word on Kendra?” he asked.
“Not yet,” I told him.
“I can hang around if you need me to, Cele,” he offered.
“No, go ahead. We’ve got things covered,” she said coldly.
The doorbell rang, and she jumped up to answer it. “That must be Sean.”
“Who the hell is Sean?” he asked me.
“I don’t know,” I told him.
Celia returned to the living room, followed by the same detective I’d seen several times at the hospital. From the grimace on Darnell’s face, he wasn’t too pleased to see him.
“Good morning. How is everyone?” the detective asked as he walked in.
“I’m good,” I answered. Darnell remained silent.
“Thanks so much for coming,” Celia said with a half-smile. Then she looked over at Darnell and said, “I thought you were leaving.”
I watched as Darnell stared at the detective a few moments longer, then walked out. I heard the sound of the front door opening and closing a few seconds later.
The detective began asking Celia and me questions about Kendra and where she could have gone. We both told him as much as we could, including what had happened with Diane.
“So, she told her you slept together, but you didn’t?” he asked me.
“No, sir, I’ve never touched that woman. She lied,” I told him.
“She said it to hurt my niece,” Celia explained.
“Do you think she would do anything to physically harm her?” he asked.
I looked at Celia and waited for her to answer. Personally, I wouldn’t have put anything past Diane’s crazy ass.
“No, I don’t think she would have,” Celia said. “But I don’t know. She’s got so much bullshit going on right now.”
“Such as?” the detective asked.
Celia looked over at me, and I gave a slight flinch, hoping she’d get the hint and wouldn’t mention anything about Diane and Patrick’s plans for the money. I didn’t mind the police helping with the search for Kendra, but there were some things I just wasn’t gonna talk about. I would let the streets handle those things.
“Aunt Celia?”
I was surprised when Ashley walked in.
“Yes, baby?” Celia said.
“Oh, hey, y’all,” she said. “Did you all find Kendra?”