Ghetto Girls Too

by Anthony Whyte

  “What’s that?” Sophia asked.

  “Oh, to own one. To own a Porsche.”

  “Wow, well I guess my fantasy has been achieved,” Sophia beamed. “Eric Ascot, you’re gonna make me love you.”

  “So are we going for a spin, Sophia?” Deedee asked. Sophia scratched her head.

  “I was waiting on your uncle to call me back. He hasn’t yet,” Sophia said.

  “Oh, come on, Ms. Sullivan. You’ve got the keys. Do you have the guts to experience this baby go from zero to sixty in under six seconds? Then hop in. What’re you waiting for? I’m sure Mr. Ascot bought this for you to have some fun in, albeit without him right now but you’ll enjoy the experience I’m sure. Just don’t try to go too fast. This baby can burn.”

  With the doorman and Deedee encouraging her, Sophia heeded their advice and hopped into the driver’s seat. Deedee skipped around and sat in the passenger seat. When Sophia turned the key in the ignition, she felt the power of the car rush through her. It was a heady sensation and she smiled like a kid with a new favorite toy.

  “It sounds awesome and so powerful, Sophie. I can’t wait. Let’s get moving,” Deedee yelled with her hands in the air.

  “The top folds down when you press that knob right there. Go ahead and take this baby for a spin. Enjoy the fabulous pure Porsche performance,” Paul said. Sophia needed no further assistance. She took off with Deedee hooting and hollering.

  “Take care and have a safe ride,” Paul shouted and waved. Sophia stopped at the light briefly then she hit the gas and the car was quickly out of sight.

  “We’ve got to give this car a name,” Sophia yelled, triumphantly speeding down the road with the top down. Both Sophia and Deedee were enjoying the ride as the wind blew their hair out of place. “I better get used to having my hair tied up when I’m rolling in my drop top.”

  “Yes, you sure do,” Deedee yelled. She reached out and turned on the car stereo. “Uncle E sure hooked you up, Sophia,” Deedee yelled above the music. Sophia manipulated the vehicle like she was used to it. “You handle this well,” Deedee said as she looked on and saw the smile of happiness on Sophia’s face.

  “I love the way it handles, Dee. It really feels good. This is me,” Sophia said as she stared ahead at the city’s evening traffic. “Are there no empty streets?” she asked.

  “Not at this time of the day. This is rush hour traffic,” Deedee opined.

  “Well, too bad. I got a tank full of petrol and I’m ready to roll,” Sophia said with a wink to Deedee.

  “Oh, because you got a new car, you gonna try and rhyme?” Deedee asked.

  “Nah, I don’t think so, Dee. Leave that for Coco,” Sophia said.

  “Yep, you’re so right. She’s the real rapper.”

  “How’s she doing?” Sophia asked then pressed on her horn. “Be careful. Don’t try to get too close to this baby. I’m definitely going to have to get garage space. In this city, forget about it,” Sophia said and then remembering, she asked again. “So, how’s Coco?”

  “She’s cool especially now that Jo is back.”

  “Who’s Jo?”

  “Oh, you remember Josephine?”

  “Dee, I’ve been so stressed since last weekend, I can’t even remember me sometimes.”

  “You got it bad. Jo is one of the group members from Coco’s rap crew.”

  “Oh that Jo. I do remember her. Sort of nervous type.”

  “She’s lost the nervousness and now she’s crazy. But she seems to keep Coco balanced,” Deedee said staring at the traffic jam in front them.

  “You mean like sisters do?”

  “Yeah, I think...like that, yeah,” Deedee said finally.

  “I don’t like this part of driving. All this traffic...”

  “I guess this contains the video and the driver’s manual,” Deedee said picking up a brown envelope from the floor.

  “Please, anything to do with the car I’ll just go ask Mr. Porsche himself,” Sophia joked.

  “Who, the guys at the dealership?” Deedee asked.

  “No, I don’t have to go that far.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You can just go ask your doorman.”

  “Bingo,” Sophia announced as Deedee opened the brown envelope and blinked hard when she first saw the snapshots. She became distracted as she leafed through the pictures quickly and failed to notice that there was a DVD inside the envelope until it came crashing out.

  Sophia had glimpsed Deedee’s reaction through the corner of her eye but made nothing of it until the DVD fell to the floor. “Hmm, everything from your home appliances to your car comes with a DVD nowadays. Manufactures don’t trust the consumer will have time so they send you this so you can slip it into your DVD player,” Sophia said as she braked suddenly to avoid hitting a car in front of her. “Ah, I best be a little bit more careful,” she started to say then noticed the DVD player. “Cool, I’ve got a DVD player right here. Dee, pass me the DVD so I could learn something about this car.”

  Deedee was nervous when she saw the pictures and tried to ease them back into the envelope but then the DVD fell out and now Sophia wanted to view it on her DVD player. This was not going to be good, Deedee thought as she glanced over at a concerned Sophia.

  “What’s the problem, Dee?” Sophia asked growing impatient.

  “No, I don’t think this is the correct DVD. These are some...ah...this is not...ah....”

  “Dee, what’s wrong? You look as if you just saw a ghost,” Sophia said growing suspicious. “What’s in the envelope, girl?” Sophia asked.

  Deedee could hear the nervousness in her tone and was reluctant to give the answer. Sophia guided the car to side of the busy road. Her cell phone rang twice. “Dee, what is it that you don’t want me to see? I’m going to have to see it anyway. The package is in my car,” Sophia demanded as she answered her cell phone. “Hello, Eric, can you hold a second please?” Sophia turned her attention to Deedee who appeared nervous beyond a doubt. “What’s going on Dee? Am I in any kind of trouble?” Sophia asked before she attempted to wrest the envelope from Deedee’s hand. She spoke into the phone. “Eric, there was a brown envelope in the car and for some reason, Dee refuses to release it or even tell me what’s inside. Will you talk to her, please?” she said and handed the cellular to Deedee. “Here, speak to your uncle because I don’t know what’s the matter with you,” Sophia said. Deedee took the phone and began to speak.

  “Uncle Eric, the envelope has nothing to do with the car. It’s...”

  “Just give her the damn thing, Dee. It’s alright,” he said.

  “No it isn’t. The pictures are...”

  “Give ‘em to her, sweetheart. I know what I’m doing.”

  “But the pictures are of...ah, you know, they’re dirty.”

  “Huh? What’re you talking about?” Eric asked but Sophia was successful in getting the envelope from Deedee’s grip.

  “No, nothing. They’re probably just pictures of the guy who delivered the car, I guess.”

  “What kind of pictures are these?” Sophia asked and the first snapshot she saw caused her to lose her voice as her heart jumped into her throat. She quickly scrolled through the rest as Deedee tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the envelope. Again, the DVD fell to the floor. This time, Sophia placed it into the machine and the screen was filled with slurping sounds of tongues against flesh. Sophia’s eyes watered as she tried to focus. The volume on the DVD player was tuned up high and she could see Eric’s dick sliding in and out of the mouth of two women. Sophia watched speechless as her fiancé squirted all over them. She saw the look of satisfaction on Eric’s face then broke down and sobbed. Eric could hear the commotion in the background but was totally unaware of the cause. He felt Sophia’s anger.

  “You’re nothing but a lowdown good for nothing man. How dare you, Eric Ascot?” Sophia screamed into the phone. Eric was still unsure of what was going down. He asked the same thing over and over until there was just a dial tone.
>
  “What did Dee do? What’s happening? Did you hit someone? The car is insured...” When he realized he was speaking to a dial tone, Eric redialed but couldn’t get through. He was summoned to see Mr. Maruichi but couldn’t put away the phone.

  “Mr. Maruichi will see you now, Mr. Ascot,” a warm voice said. Eric’s face only registered alarm.

  “Can I come back? I’m afraid...”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Ascot, but you’ll have to come right away.”

  “Okay, let’s not keep Mr. Maruichi waiting,” Eric said and went along, completely oblivious as to what had just occurred. He knew Deedee would call back. He set his ring tone on vibrate as he entered the study.

  “Welcome Eric,” Mr. Mariuchi said from behind a huge mahogany desk. The place was well lit and there were sofas lining the walls. Mr. Maruichi joined Eric on the sofa. “What’s the matter? You seem upset?” Maruichi asked and continued without waiting for the answer. “What I’m about to say will put you in a very good mood,” he said and examined Eric’s features. “Tell me what’s wrong, Eric?”

  “I don’t know. I went out and bought my fiancé a sports car and she just called really happy at first. Then she got a package from my niece. My niece either gave her the package or did-n’t but Sophia snapped. I mean, I just bought her something nice from Harry Winston...”

  “That’s class,” Mr. Maruichi said then he asked, “What kind of sports car did you get the lady?”

  “A Porsche Boxter S.”

  “Hmm. You must really love this lady. Is that the one I met at the shindig for Busta?”

  “Yes, that’s the one.”

  “She’s a very lovely woman. A very beautiful woman. That means lots of money and lots of problems. I know, I know.”

  “Man, Mr. Maruichi, sometimes I don’t know if I’m coming or she’s going,” Eric sighed.

  “Affairs of the heart are very difficult to understand. Nothing is cut and dry.”

  “I wish I understood what she was dealing with, you know. A man has got to love you to send you a Porsche and give you diamond necklace from the best jeweler around. Come on already. What else is a dude to do?”

  “Eric, my boy, I can tell you to have patience. Women love power. Power equals money. The more money one obtains, the more power he’ll have. When she sees the type of dough you’re rolling in, she’ll want to come around. You’ll see, Eric.” Maruichi got up and poured Eric a drink from a bottle. “Chase that with some of this Cognac,” he said.

  Eric slung it back and took another shot. After repeating the process another time, Eric felt the alcohol burning his throat and loosening the knots the phone incident with Sophia had left in the pit of his stomach. He heard Mr. Maruichi laughing.

  “Ha, ha, ha, Eric we’re embarking on a journey that I hope will be long and productive. I want you to know that I thought this out carefully with my advisors and we all agreed that it should be profitable,” Mr. Maruichi said. “Best of all, it could kick off tomorrow or whenever you say. There’s a half a million dollars coming your way. All you’ve got to do is accept three million dollars into your account over the next couple months and you may see your business rise to about one hundred million. Your company gets half a million dollars on every ten mill we deposit. That will be quite a hefty sum by the end of the year, I’ll say,” Mr. Maruichi said, sounding pleased with himself as if the deal had been already done.

  Eric Ascot had lost all interest in the deal and was preoccupied with the thought of the earlier incident on the phone. What could’ve possibly gone wrong? I bought a diamond necklace worth one hundred grand, a damn car that’s worth over fifty thousand, what more does she want from me? Eric wondered as Mr. Maruichi continued with his business proposal. Eric listened to everything he said but was retaining nothing and could’ve saved time by telling that to Maruichi. Instead, he nodded his head, occasionally feigning interest. After a few more minutes of this and Mr. Maruichi, sensing Eric’s distraction, relieved him by curtailing the meeting.

  “It’s my son’s birthday and I’ve got to see a couple more folks. Everyone has their own unique problems and they come to hear my perspective on them. Mr. Ascot...Eric,” Maruichi said, rising and shaking Eric’s hand. “You take care of your fiancée. Make sure everything is alright. She seems like such a beautiful lady.”

  “She’s all that and more to me. Listen, I’ll give you a call and um, I wish you and your son the best on his birthday, Mr. Maruichi. I’m afraid I’ve got to run. You’ll hear from me, I promise.” Eric quickly shook hands with Maruichi and was almost running out the door while dialing his cell phone. He spoke to the voicemail again. “Sophia, will you please give me a call? What’s wrong? This is Eric,” he said then closed the cell. Deedee was with Sophia. She’s probably still with her, he thought as the key hit the ignition. Eric dialed his niece as he slipped into his safety belt. “Dee? Deedee...can you hear me?”

  “It’s very difficult. We’re outside. Sophia and I...” That’s all he heard and Eric noted that there was a bad connection.

  “Outside? Outside where, Dee? I’ll come get you. Is everything alright?” The phone disconnected before he had a chance to continue the conversation. Eric was unsure of where they were. However, he was happy to hear they were still alive. The fact that Sophia had not picked up on his attempts to reach her still gave him reason to be concerned. Eric drove and pondered his next move. He was completely unaware of the detectives following him.

  FIFTY-FIVE

  “Alright, it seems the brother is moving on up. Hey, did you know he was that close with Maruichi? Man, only real close friends get invited, not just any brother from the hood,” Kowalski said with a smile.

  “Do pipe down before I slap that snicker off your face.”

  “Aw c’mon, you’re just talking, old-timer. Let’s not fight. Let’s do something useful and pull this sucker over.”

  “For what possible reason?”

  “Well, I’m sure you could think of some. He’s probably listening to rap and smoking a blunt. Shit, he might just have that forty stuck between his legs. He didn’t stop long enough at the last street sign. What da fuck? Do we really need a goddamn reason? We’re the police. We represent the law and I betcha your next paycheck that that cocksucker is up to something illegal. Now can we pull him over, pretty please with sprinkles on top?”

  “No, I can’t agree with you. Yes, he’s probably up to something illegal but why rush in? I say we wait and see what other fish he’s frying besides his music thing and now his obvious involvement with a known mobster. I say we wait and give him a couple days. His fiancé should’ve received the package by now and had ample time to examine the photos,” Hall reasoned.

  “Spoken like a true college boy. Anyway, I still think we should put more pressure on the bastard. Pull him over and toss him but I actually think you’re right. You know when his fiancé sees our handiwork, she may help us out after all,” Kowalski said and winked. Hall could see the devious smile on Kowalski’s face.

  “What are you up to and what do you mean by ‘our handiwork’?” Hall’s curiosity peaked when he noticed that Kowalski was unable to contain his enthusiasm and broke into a wide grin. “Look, I’m letting you know now, if we’re going to bring the man down we’re going to be fair about it. Now tell me what exactly is ‘our handiwork’?” Hall was at his boiling point. The tailing car swerved excessively.

  “Okay, okay you might as well know.”

  “Know? Know what?” Hall yelled as he became really furious. “I just hope you’ve not done anything to fuck this investigation up. I’ll file a complaint against your white racist ass so fast your head will be in a spin.”

  “No need to get emotional. I don’t think what I did will fuck up this investigation. I suspect it will speed up the investigation,” Kowalski said in a serious tone.

  “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “I simply replaced his head with some other guy’s body who’s already fucking a girl. So, whe
n she looks at the porno shots from the strip club, she’ll be convinced that he’s fucking...”

  “Around on her with some other chick.”

  “Yeah...Wham-bam. It’s a knock-out. You like it?” Kowalski was excited.

  “No, I don’t like it. I think it stinks. What if she can identify that it’s not him? You know the woman just might know what her man’s private shit looks like. How do you account for that? That’s why it’s a dumb plan. No way its going to work.”

  “What will you tell me if I say I can guarantee that it will work?”

  “I’ll say stay off the internet and most importantly leave the photo work to the experts,” Hall said dismissing Kowalski. “Your guarantee that it will work is based on nothing.”

  “I don’t have the scientific data to back this up but I bet after she sees the actual pictures of her man at the strip club getting expensive lap-dances and free feels, she’ll already have it in for him. Now when she puts that DVD in, she’s not going to want to see the whole thing. One headshot will be enough.”

  “You’re saying she’s just going to be looking at his face and that’s it?” Hall asked sounding confused.

  “No, she’s going to see his face and then see the face of another woman making out with her man.”

  “You did what?” Hall sounded infuriated then a smile spread over his face. “You’re banking on the fact that she’ll be too pissed to notice nothing but his face and another woman’s face. Is this woman really giving it up to him? I mean on the DVD?” Hall asked.

  “That DVD is hotter than R. Kelly’s.”

  “Are you bootlegging this DVD? I got to see how this one works out,” Hall said.

  FIFTY-SIX

  After she saw the snapshots of Eric, her eyes clouded with tears. When she slid the DVD into the car’s system and saw what came on the screen, she was so shocked she immediately pressed the eject button. She put all the contents of the envelope back and cried as she stared at the paper as if she expected it to start apologizing. Deedee hugged her but it was not enough and Sophia cried harder. After a few minutes, she bit her lip and drove slowly around before she started to head back in the direction of her apartment. Deedee held her hand and saw the look of determination in Sophia’s eyes as she drove. It was a look that Deedee had never seen before and she tried to make sure that Sophia was in the right frame of mind to be driving. The car picked up speed and Deedee got nervous.