by Carl Weber
“Sasha, how do you—”
“Larry’s undercutting Uncle LC’s distribution business. He’s giving away fucking dope like he’s Oprah and it’s one of her favorite things. You get a brick! You get a brick!” I pointed my finger at invisible people in an imaginary audience, and London laughed. “When it runs out, he’s gotta go back for more. We find his supplier, then I guarantee we will find his ass.
“Sasha, you know what you’re saying, right?” London folded her arms and waited for my answer.
“I’m gonna find Vinnie Dash. You know finding him will eventually lead us to Larry.” I raised an eyebrow at her and watched her reaction as she processed everything I’d said.
She was quiet for a while and finally said, “Sounds like you’re just trying to build a new mouse trap, but what do you need from me?”
“I need you to tell me everything you found out in Jamaica. I wanna know everything you know about Vinnie Dash.” I could feel my excitement rising, but I contained it because she hadn’t said yes, and I really didn’t know if she would. London was older and way more reserved than Paris. Had I gone to Paris with my plans, there would have been no hesitation. She stayed on ready. London was the total opposite.
“But I don’t want Uncle LC to know. I don’t want him, or Vegas, or Junior, or anyone else’s help but yours.”
“I can help, but on one condition,” she answered.
I frowned, wondering what she could possibly want in return. “What is it?”
“I go with you to find him.”
My mouth fell open. I truly hadn’t expected that to be her response, and I couldn’t understand why.
“I don’t know London,” I said skeptically.
“That bastard put Harris in here, and he has put me in a fucked-up situation, not to mention that he tried to kill my daddy. I want his ass just as much as you do. I’m down,” she responded in a truly un-London-like way.
“Okay, London. You can go. Let’s go get these motherfuckers.” Then a moment later, after reality settled in, I added, “I know I said I didn’t want anyone else involved, but do you think we should get Paris?”
London shook her head vigorously. “Have you lost your mind? That’s the last person in the world we need. That bitch is a loose cannon, and her only way of getting shit done is riding dick and killing dudes. I know Daddy and Vegas find those skills of hers useful, but we don’t need them in this situation.”
“I get what you’re saying, but I will ride as many dicks and slit as many throats as I need to if it’s gonna help me find those bastards. So, you best be prepared to do whatever it takes or keep your ass home, because I don’t need you or anyone else getting in my way.”
Larry
58
“Are you sure about this?” Curtis asked.
“Not many things I’m sure of in this life, son, but black women and their hair? That, my boy, is something you can count on. She’ll be here,” I told him.
Sure enough, at precisely 4:55, a sleek black Town Car pulled up to the front door of Diana’s Salon and Spa in the strip mall across the street from us, followed by a black Escalade. Two men got out of the SUV and stood watch, while the Town Car driver got out and opened the back door to help my sister-in-law, Chippy, out of the back.
I watched her walk into the salon, surrounded by her security team. It had been almost fifteen years since I’d seen her. From what I could see, she was maybe a few pounds heavier, but she still looked pretty much the same. Chippy had always been a good-looking woman, and considering she’d kept this standing appointment at the same salon for all these years, she’d worked hard to maintain her looks. Someone else might consider LC a lucky man to have a wife like Chippy, but I knew the truth about her. She was a conniving back-stabber just like him.
Once she was safely inside, the driver got back into the Town Car and drove off, while the two men positioned themselves at the front door. The SUV turned into the parking lot of the salon and drove around back.
We waited another twenty minutes before I finally told Curtis, “Okay, drive around back. Slowly.” He did as I instructed, and when he turned into the parking lot, I could see two men posted at the back door. We were still several yards away, so I told him, “Park here and wait for my signal.”
I took out my 9 mm and twisted the silencer on the barrel before I stepped out of the van. Casually, I walked along the back side of the building, making sure there were no security cameras in the vicinity. The two guys were so busy talking to one another that they didn’t even see me approaching, and the bullets struck them before they realized what was happening. I reached into their pockets and disarmed them, then waved for Curtis, who had parked at the edge of the building. He drove down to where I was, and I tossed the guns I had taken from the now dead men into the van.
“Keep an eye on the parking lot, and move those bodies over to the side,” I told my boys.
I trusted them to follow orders, so I didn’t wait around to watch them work. I turned the knob on the back door of the salon and slipped inside.
I heard the familiar beauty-salon sound of women gossiping. “I can’t believe her husband had the nerve to tell her that chick was his cousin. He knew he was lying, and so did everyone else, with his trifling ass!” one woman was saying.
I stepped into what looked like the storage area of the salon. There were shelves holding all types of shampoos and hair dyes, along with towels and boxes.
“You know she’s gonna stay married to him anyway,” I heard another woman respond.
I walked past the shelves and arrived in the back of the salon, where a row of hooded dryers lined the wall. I searched for Chippy, but I didn’t see her.
“Can I help you?” a startled woman asked, looking me up and down.
“Uh, I’m looking for Mrs. Duncan. I’m a member of her security team,” I said when I saw her eying the gun that was sticking from the waistband of my pants.
“Oh, she’s in the shampoo room.” She pointed. “Can you let her know Katrina will be right there?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded and went into the room she had directed me to. Sure enough, there was Chippy, all alone, a towel wrapped around her neck and her eyes closed as she laid her head back in one of the porcelain sinks. I eased over beside her and turned on the water, and she jumped a little, but her eyes remained closed.
“Katrina, that water’s a little cold. Make it a little warmer for me, sweetie.”
I turned the knob on the other side, and the water instantly warmed up. I picked up the rubber spray hose and held it over her head, running my fingers through her soft hair as the water flowed over it.
“Mmmmmm, that feels so nice. With everything going on in my life, I needed this,” Chippy said with a smile.
I looked up at the shelf above the sink and spotted a bottle of shampoo. I poured some into my hand and rubbed it into her hair, then began massaging her scalp.
“You’re being a little rough today, huh?” She opened her eyes, and the look on her face went from surprise to horror as she realized whose hands were on her head.
“My, my, my, you’ve come a long way since the good ol’ days when you worked at Big Sam’s,” I taunted.
I could see her back stiffen, and she slowly sat up. Water dripped from her hair onto her ears and to her towel-covered shoulders.
“Larry?” she questioned nervously.
“You don’t look happy to see me, Chippy,” I said. “Why is it nobody seems happy to see me these days?”
“I—How? Where did you come from?”
“Oh, I been around, Chippy.” From the corner of my eye, I noticed her hand easing into the large purse on her lap, then she moved to stand up. I touched her arm and motioned toward the gun in my waistband. “Now, Chippy, you don’t wanna be responsible for me killing all of the lovely ladies in this salon, do you? That’s a lot of blood on your hands.”
“Miss Chippy, is everything okay?” The shampoo girl walked in and gave C
hippy a worried look.
“Yes, Katrina. This is my brother-in-law. It’s fine,” she answered, her voice sounding tight. “Can you give us a minute?”
“We’re just catching up on old times, which ain’t got shit to do with you.” I gave her a threatening look, and she quickly walked away.
“What do you want, Larry?” Chippy asked.
“Well, I figured talking to you would be easier than talking to my brother. The last time I tried that, it didn’t end well for him, as I’m sure you already know,” I said. “So, we’re gonna go and have a little talk. Come on. I’ve got a car waiting out back.”
“We can talk right here,” she said as if she had a choice.
“Get your ass up and let’s go, Charlotte. Or would you rather I put a bullet in your head right now?” I said through clenched teeth.
Chippy stood up, and I grabbed her by the arm and guided her out the back door.
Sasha
59
One hour earlier
London and I watched as Jamaica John and two guys pulled into a Chinese buffet restaurant that was close enough to his vape shop that they could have walked across the parking lot. We timed getting out of the car perfectly so that we were about twenty feet in front of them as they headed into the restaurant. I never realized it before, maybe because she was always wearing that conservative shit, but London had what the guys call a badunkadunk: her ass was so phat in those jeans I was starting to understand why Paris was jealous. It didn’t take long before they were mumbling to themselves behind us.
Once inside the restaurant, we didn’t stop at the hostess station. We went straight to the restroom.
“I think we got their attention. What do you think?” London asked, touching up her makeup.
“I think the big guy took one look at that ass of yours and fell in love.”
“Let me ask you a question. How the hell did you know he was coming here tonight?”
“The boy genius told me.”
“Nevada?” She looked confused, but she shouldn’t have been. Nevada had a genius IQ of over 170 and was being trained in something by everyone in the family.
“Yeah, think about it. He has access to Vegas, Uncle LC, and Orlando’s files. He even hacked into Harris’s computer when Vegas and Uncle LC couldn’t get into it last night,” I explained. “All I had to do was play some Tour of Duty with him and bring up Jamaica John, and he started telling me the guy’s life story. He eats here every Tuesday and Thursday when they serve crab legs.”
She started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing big. This just reminds me of Jun Cheng and his people in Jamaica. Nevada’s like a piece of furniture. He can go anywhere he wants in the Duncan household and gather information because he’s invisible.”
“True, but listen. We better get back out there. You deal with him, and I’ll distract his friends.” I closed my lipstick, placed it in my purse, and reached for the door. “Oh, by the way. I wanna know where you got all that ass and why it skipped my side of the family.”
We were laughing as we exited the restroom. Jamaica John and his posse were already at the buffet station, piling food on their plates. London made her way toward them as I headed to the hostess station so we could be seated.
“Oops, I’m so sorry,” I heard her say. I eased a bit closer and saw that she was standing in front of Jamaica John, smiling up at him.
“Nuh problem, pretty lady.” John grinned back at her.
“Oooooh, those look so good. I love crabs.” She peered at one of the plates he held, piled high with steamed crab legs.
“Me too,” John said.
“There’s just something about cracking that hardness, then sucking all that juicy meat in your mouth.” She bit her bottom lip and raised an eyebrow at him, and John damn near dropped his plate.
“Da–dat’s mi favorite part,” he stuttered. “Dis place has de best ones, I promise.”
“Well, I hope they taste as good as they look. I’ll have to try them and see.” London winked at him then turned around to look for me. John barely moved, staring at London like a lovesick high schooler, until one of his men snapped him out of it, and he headed for his table.
I couldn’t help but laugh and relax a little as I watched from my table near John’s. I knew it was his because the jacket hanging on the back of the chair was so big it could only belong to the super-sized Jamaican. The hostess had tried to lead me to the opposite side of the restaurant, but I steered her this way. London slipped into the chair across from me. I made sure she would be seated where John could look directly at her.
The hostess brought two glasses of water to the table and then told us we could serve ourselves, so we went up to the buffet. I really didn’t care for Chinese, especially at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. To be honest, I really wasn’t even hungry, but I put a dab of rice and vegetables, along with an egg roll, on my plate. London made sure to put crab legs on hers, and she made eye contact with John as we returned to our seats.
London picked up one of the legs and cracked it open, seductively placing it in her mouth and sucking it gently. Her eyes were on John the entire time.
“Damn, bitch, your ass is turning me on with that shit,” I teased.
“Let’s hope this shit works.” She laughed as she licked her fingers.
I looked over my shoulder and saw that not only was John enjoying the way London was devouring her crab legs, but so were his boys. They were staring just as hard, mumbling and nudging him.
“Oh, it’s working,” I told her.
A few moments later, John wobbled over to our table and asked, “Ya like dem?”
“Mmmmm, yeah,” London said. “I could suck on these things all night.”
“Me told ya.” He smiled.
“You were right. Thank you,” she said.
“My name is John.”
“Nice to meet you, John. I’m Devin,” London told him.
“Devin. Nice to meet ya. I wan’ take ya out tonight. Dey havin’ reggae night at my man’s club. I can get ya in VIP,” he said. “We headed over dere after we eat.”
“I don’t know. My girl and I have plans.” London gestured toward me. John looked like he was only now noticing that I was sitting at the table with her.
“Oh, bring ya girl. She can come wit’ us.” He asked me, “You wan’ come wit’ us? It’s fine. We can have some drinks, smoke some weed, dance on de dance floor.”
“Sounds like fun.” I nodded, realizing that our night was going to be longer than we had anticipated. No worries, though, because it would all be worth it in the end. We agreed to meet John at his friend’s reggae spot, and he walked away.
London looked down at her phone and cursed. “Shit. I hope the damn hospital hasn’t called, or anyone else for that matter. I turned my ringer off. By now I’m sure the guys at the hospital have realized I gave them the slip.”
“Any missed calls?” I asked as she checked the screen.
“Nope. Just a text from Momma checking on Harris. I better call her,” London said.
“That would probably be a good idea. I’ll keep an eye on these three.”
“Hey, Mom. . . . Yeah, I’m okay.... Nothing’s changed since you left this morning. They say he’s stable, but they don’t know how long before he regains consciousness.... Yes, I’m going to spend the night here. . . .” She glanced over at me with a smirk as she lied her way through a conversation with Aunt Chippy. “No, that’s okay, Mom. If you can just keep an eye on the girls once you get your hair done, that would be great. You don’t need to come to the hospital. I’ll call you in the morning.... Yes, I’m sure.... I love you too. Bye.”
London ended the call and put away her phone.
“Damn, you’re good. I haven’t been giving you enough credit, cousin,” I said with a laugh.
One thing that London and I had agreed on was that we had to be strategic, which basically meant we couldn’t let anyone know wh
at we were doing. Ironically, Harris being in a coma worked to our advantage. The family never questioned London’s whereabouts; they always assumed she was at the hospital with him, and they had no idea that most of the time, she was with me, working on our quest to find Vinnie Dash. Steering clear of the family had also been easy for me, especially since I hadn’t really been saying much since my mother’s death. They assumed I was still in mourning. No one suspected what we were doing. The most difficult thing to deal with was ducking the numerous members of security that Uncle LC and Vegas had on us 24/7. We had already been gone for a few hours unnoticed, and I hoped that it would continue. One thing was for certain: there was no turning back now.
Chippy
60
I’d been in more than my fair share of life-threatening situations over the years, but the sense of fear I felt as Larry led me out the back of the hair salon was nothing that I’d ever felt. All I could think about was the number of lives he’d already taken, including Donna’s, and the fact that he’d also tried to kill LC and Harris, who was still fighting for his life. My fear grew stronger as he pulled me past the dead bodies of my two security men and opened the back door to an old van that was waiting for us.
“Get in,” Larry commanded.
I hesitated, trying to reason with him. “Larry, don’t do this.”
“Get in the fucking car, Chippy,” he said even louder.
“Aunt Chippy, it’s okay. Please just get in the van.”
I looked up and saw my nephew sitting in the back seat. Kenny was such a handsome boy, and I’d always had a soft spot in my heart for him, even despite everything that was going on. I glanced at the driver and saw that it was his brother Curtis. I loved him too, because he was family, but Curtis definitely had more of an edge to him than his younger brother.
Larry pushed me hard, and I almost stumbled. Kenny reached his hand out to help me, and I grabbed it to steady myself as I climbed into the back seat beside him.