***
“What did Sariah say?” Paige asked her brother’s girlfriend Michelle when she came back into the house.
Michelle had gone to the corner store to use the pay phone to call Paige’s nieces.
“Nothing much. She said that the detectives came to talk to your mama, but she don’t know what they talked about because they went outside,” Michelle answered.
“Shit, I feel like a sitting duck,” Shad complained as he paced back and forth in the living room.
He and Michelle had been at Paige’s house for over a month, but he was ready to bounce. They started out in Florida by one of her people, but that didn’t last too long. Money was tight, and Michelle’s family wasn’t letting them live there free of charge. Shad regretted the day that he ever pulled the trigger and ended Dalvin’s life. Being on the run was more trouble than it was actually worth. When he saw Dalvin at The Court that day, the opportunity presented itself, and he took it. He waited on the side of the building until Dalvin came back out and riddled his body with bullets. He acted on pure emotions, and it didn’t take long for the regret to creep in and settle.
“Sariah was asking if I knew where you were, but I didn’t tell her anything. She’s making me think she’s fishing for information,” Michelle frowned.
“I don’t know what’s up with your daughters lately, but they better get it together. Family is supposed to stick together, but they wouldn’t know anything about that,” Paige replied.
She was still salty with them about not helping her fight at the skating rink. When Paige said that she was done with her nieces, she meant exactly what she said. Shad left home and went into hiding after he killed Dalvin and Sariah, and Shania went to live with their grandmother. They would have lived on the streets before they went to live with Paige. She was done with them, and the feelings were mutual.
“I just don’t feel comfortable here. I know you said that nobody knows where you live, but this is only an hour away from New Orleans. I need to get my hands on some money and go somewhere farther than this,” Shad complained.
“That’s easier said than done Shad. Stop being so paranoid and just chill,” Paige ordered.
“That’s easy for you to say. It’s because of you that I’m in this bullshit,” Shad snapped.
“So I told you to pull the trigger and kill somebody?” Paige asked while pointing to herself.
“You might as well have. You’re always starting some shit and getting me involved in it. You need to learn how to keep it moving when a nigga don’t want you no more. You did the same thing with my daughters. You kept sending them at Mia until Tank sent somebody at them. You always do shit and then look for other people to fight your battles for you,” Shad argued.
“Fuck you, Shad!” Paige yelled. “Nobody is forcing you to stay here. You can get your shit and leave whenever you get ready. I’m doing your fugitive ass a favor just by letting you stay here.”
“Y’all need to chill out with all the arguing. We’re all in this together, and nobody is going nowhere,” Michelle said just as Paige’s front door came crashing down.
“Ahhh!” Paige screamed as a gang of police officers and FBI agents swarmed her house.
“Get down!” They were yelling and screaming all at the same time.
After identifying themselves, they slammed Paige, Michelle, and Shad to the ground. A few officers went to check out the rest of the house while the remaining officers slapped cuffs on their wrists. When they read Paige and her companions their rights, she knew that it was over from there. One of the officers came back into the living room with Paige’s kids, and she felt even worse. This was their second time seeing her in cuffs within the past year, but this time was different. This time, Paige knew that she wouldn’t be able to come back home to them the next day.
Chapter 33
“Man, nigga, straight snitched on Shad’s stupid ass,” Tre laughed.
Tre and Duke had gone out to a local bar to shoot pool with his cousin Tae. They had been talking about the situation with Shad all night, and it had been all over the news for the past few days. The police had run up in Paige’s house and took her, Shad, and his girlfriend to jail. Shad was charged with Second Degree Murder and Paige, and his girlfriend were charged with harboring a fugitive and accessories after the fact. All of them were looking at jail time, but Shad would be getting the most.
“That nigga was just dumb. He killed the nigga in broad daylight in the middle of The Court. He wanted to get caught,” Tae replied.
“And Paige stupid ass ain’t have no business helping him hide out. She got three kids who not gon’ see their mama for some years now,” Duke said shaking his head.
“She’s the one who started all that shit in the first place. I don’t feel sorry for her ass,” Tre replied.
“I’m hungry,” Tae yelled out of the blue.
“Your fat ass is always hungry. You need to stop smoking so much, and you wouldn’t be hungry all the time,” Tre teased.
“Nigga the only reason you stopped smoking is because you’re papers,” Tae replied.
“Take me home before you go get something to eat. I got a pregnant wife and a baby to get home to,” Tre said.
“Boy, you and Mia ain’t playing. Treasure ain’t even a year old and y’all got another one on the way.”
“Don’t worry about me and my wife. You just make sure you don’t get pregnant,” Tre laughed.
Tae and Duke fell out laughing too because that would never happen. Tae’s girlfriend had a son and a daughter that she considered her own. Their father got killed when they were younger, so she didn’t have to deal with any baby daddy drama.
“Let me stop at McDonald’s right quick to grab me a few burgers,” Tae requested.
“A few?” Duke asked while looking over at her.
“Man, c’mon Tae, look how long the damn line is,” Tre complained.
“Nigga stop whining. Mia ain’t going nowhere,” Tae yelled.
Tre ignored her and pulled out his phone to send his wife a text. Morning sickness had been kicking Mia’s ass, and none of the medicines that they prescribed her seemed to work. She was at home alone with Treasure, and he just wanted to make sure that she was alright. After Mia told him that Treasure was sleeping, and she was watching TV, Tre felt a little better.
“Sis alright?” Duke asked referring to Mia.
“Yeah, she’s good. Treasure is sleep, and she’s watching TV,” Tre replied.
They had two cars in front of them, and then Tae would be able to place her order. When the side door to the building opened a man walked out carrying two trash bags that he was taking to the dumpster. It was kind of dark, but Tre did a double take when he looked into the man’s face.
“Look at that nigga,” Tre said to Duke as he pointed to Ricky going towards the dumpsters. “I’m about to whip his ass.”
“Who?” Tae questioned, but Tre was already out of the truck and Duke was right behind him.
As soon as Ricky threw the two bags that he was holding into the trashcan he turned around and was met by a fist to his face.
“Nigga you better not ever put your muthafucking hands on my wife again,” Tre yelled as he literally beat the spit from Ricky’s mouth.
He didn’t need any help, but that didn’t stop Duke from jumping in and getting a piece of Ricky’s ass too. He was pissed that the nigga had put his hands on Brandis, and he wanted in on the action. Together they beat him to his knees and eventually down to the ground. Tae put her truck in park and ran over to grab her cousin when he started stomping Ricky in his face and body.
“Nigga let’s go! They got cameras and shit all around here. Are you trying to go back to jail?” Tae yelled.
It took a minute, but she was finally able to pull Tre away and push him over to her truck. As soon as she got in she put the car in drive and sped out of the McDonald’s parking lot.
“That nigga made me scrape fucking knuckles on his face,” Tre
fumed as he breathed heavily.
“Who the fuck was that?” Tae inquired.
“That nigga ain’t nobody important. He’s lucky I didn’t have my gun on me. I would have lit his punk ass up in that parking lot,” Tre said angrily.
Nigga did you not just hear me say that they had cameras in the parking lot? You must be trying to go out like Shad. There’s a time and place for everything,” Tae commented.
“Fuck that! I’m not satisfied, and I won’t be satisfied until that nigga is dead,” Tre yelled.
“Let me take your hot headed ass home. You don’t think straight when you’re mad, and you don’t listen,” Tae said.
After dropping Duke off home, Tae headed in the opposite direction and went to Tre’s house. When she saw Von’s car parked in the driveway, she felt a small sense of relief. If anyone could talk some sense into Tre, it would be his father. As soon as Tre opened the door to get out of the truck, Von and Lamar were coming out of the house. Tae blew her horn and spoke to her uncle and his friend before she pulled off and headed home. Tre and Duke had ruined her appetite, and she wasn’t even hungry anymore.
“We came to see our baby before we went in for the night, but she’s already sleeping,” Von said as Tre was walking up to them.
“Nigga what you all frowned up for?” Lamar asked.
“What’s wrong?” Von inquired.
He could see that Tre was upset about something, and he wanted to know what the problem was.
“I’m good,” Tre said as he tried to walk pass him.
“Nah, you gotta do better than that. You ain’t good. Something is wrong so start talking,” Von requested.
“I ran into that nigga Ricky and me and Duke beat his ass.”
“Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“I’m not satisfied with that shit. I swear if I had my gun that nigga would have been dead tonight,” Tre promised.
Von lowered his head and sighed before speaking. Tre could be stubborn and hot-headed at times but now wasn’t the time.
“Tank you have a wife and a baby with another one on the way. Shit is different now. You can’t just be out here talking about killing people and not expecting to get caught. There’s a time and place for everything. You can’t just be acting on your emotions all the time. You have to think about your family. It’s not just you no more,” Von informed him.
“I get that Von, but that nigga hit my wife and my boy’s girl. I ain’t never put my hands on Mia, and no other nigga is gon’ do it either.”
“You got that shit right,” Lamar agreed.
“I understand what you’re saying Tank, but just chill. Trust me on this one,” Von pleaded.
“Yeah, alright Von,” Tre said trying to brush him off.
“I’m serious bruh,”
“I said alright,” Tre replied.
“And don’t tell Mimi what happened. She don’t need to be stressed out while she’s pregnant,” Von ordered.
Tre nodded his head and gave Von dap before he walked inside. He went to the hall bathroom and poured peroxide on his knuckles before he went into his bedroom. He was hoping that Mia didn’t ask him what happened because didn’t want to lie to her. He hadn’t done that since they got back together, and he didn’t want to start now.
***
“The following night Mia and Tre were lying in the bed watching TV when his cell phone rung displaying an unknown number. Tre never answered unknown callers, but Mia grabbed the phone and answered it for him. He was happy that she did when she handed him the phone telling him that it was Tae calling from jail.
“What the hell did you get locked up for?” Tre asked once he accepted the call.
“Some dumb shit that happened a long time ago. I got stopped for speeding last night after I dropped you off. They ran my name, and I had an attachment out on me,” Tae replied.
“Damn, you’ve been in there since last night?” Tre asked.
“Hell yeah and I’m going crazy already.”
“Alright, so what do you need me to do? Do you have a bond?” Tre asked.
“My girl paid my bond for Orleans, but I’m being transferred to Jefferson on another attachment. My girl don’t have that much money left, so I might need your help.”
“You know I got you. Just tell her to call me and I can drop the money off to her,” Tre promised.
“Thanks, cuz, I appreciate you. You know I’m not built for this jail shit. No matter how many times I get locked up, I’ll never get used to it,” Tae laughed.
She and Tre talked for a few more minutes before the operator announced the end of the call. Tae’s girlfriend called Tre later on that night and let him know that she had already been transferred to the other jailhouse. She was just waiting for them to set her bond and then she would call and tell him how much it was. Tre sat by the phone awaiting their call, but when he saw that it was almost midnight he knew that they probably wouldn’t be calling until the following day. Tre took his shower and went to sleep, deciding to deal with Tae and her drama later.
When Tre woke up the next morning, he looked for his phone to see if Tae or her girlfriend had called, but it wasn’t where he left it. When Mia knew that he was tired, she would take his phone out of the room so that he wouldn’t be disturbed when it started ringing. After doing his morning hygiene, Tre walked into the kitchen and found Mia cooking breakfast while Treasure lounged in her swing.
“Good morning baby,” Tre said to Mia while picking his daughter up.
“Good morning,” Mia replied.
“Did Tae or her girl call?”
“No, the phone didn’t ring at all.”
“I wonder what’s taking them so long to set her bond,” he wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, maybe you should call her girlfriend,” Mia suggested.
“Nah, I’ll wait for them to get at me.”
Mia sat Tre’s breakfast in front of him and grabbed Treasure so that she could feed her. Once they were done, tre took the baby into the living room while Mia cleaned up the kitchen. Mia grabbed her iPad and joined her husband and daughter on the sofa. Mia was about to read a book, but she went online to some of her favorites websites first. When she went to look at their local newspaper online Mia’s mouth dropped in surprise.
“Tre look,” Mia yelled excitedly as she shoved the device into Tre’s hand.
“What the fuck happened to him!” Tre yelled once he saw Ricky’s picture on the screen.
He started to read the story that accompanied the picture to see what happened. Apparently Ricky had been killed the night before, and the police were asking for the public’s help to identify his killer. According to the news report, he had just pulled up to his mother’s house right before the car that he was driving was riddled with bullets. Ricky got hit over five times and died instantly.
“I’ll get it,” Mia said when Tre’s phone started ringing.
Tre was still reading the news article on Mia’s iPad when she handed him the phone telling him that Tae was on the line.
“What’s up cousin? I was waiting for your girl to call me, but she never did,” Tre said when he got the phone.
“Man, these bitches trippin’ for real. They transferred me to the other prison and put a hold on me. Some detectives came and talked to me about the murder of some nigga that I don’t even know. The shit happened last night, so they know I didn’t do it. I was locked up,” Tae replied.
“Well, why are they talking to you if they know you didn’t do it?”
“The nigga had a fight on his job the night before, and they said that my truck was on camera speeding away from the scene. I don’t know who he had a fight with, and I don’t know him. I was just stopping to get me something to eat,” Tae replied trying to let Tre know that it was the fight that he and Duke had with Ricky that she was referring to.
“I got you, cousin. You need a lawyer or something?” Tre asked.
“Nah, they’re supposed to be trying to set a bond
for me right now. I just need help with that, and I’m good. I just wanted to call and let you know what was up, you know, just in case,” Tae replied.
“Thanks, cuz, just tell your girl to let me know how much it is, and I got you,” Tre said before hanging up the phone.
He was happy that Tae called and gave him the heads up, but he wasn’t worried about anything. Although he wanted to, he wasn’t the one who ended Ricky’s life. His hands were clean, but he wondered if Von and Lamar could say the same.
Chapter 34
“What are you stressing about? It ain’t like you had shit to do with it,” Lamar told Tre as he and Von sat on the patio at Tre and Mia’s house.
Tre was telling his father and father-in-law about the conversation that he had with Tae a few days ago. Tre paid her bond, and she was released, but he was still worried about them questioning her about Ricky’s murder. Tre and Duke’s names were never mentioned, and Lamar didn’t know why he was so paranoid.
“Tae is out of jail, and they don’t have any clue as to who killed ole boy,” Von chimed in.
“And they never will,” Lamar replied with a smirk.
Tre was pissed about Ricky putting his hands on Mia, but nobody was more upset than Lamar. That was his baby, and he couldn’t remember a time that he ever chastised her. Another nigga had him fucked up if they thought they would get away with it. It took a while, but Jabari was finally able to find out where Ricky lived, and that was all that Lamar needed. He and Von put a plan in motion, and they carried it out perfectly. It was just a coincidence that Tre and Duke saw him and beat him down a few days before.
“I guess, but I don’t want them, people, to keep coming at Tae sideways. Her truck was on camera the same night that we fought him, and the nigga got killed right after that,” Tre said.
“Boy calm your nervous ass down. Tae has been in and out of the system since she was fourteen years old. She knows how to handle the police,” Von replied.
“Trust me Tank, this is about to be another unsolved murder just like most of the other ones in New Orleans. They gon’ bury that nigga and forget all about him in a few days,” Lamar promised.
Creepin' 3: A New Orleans Love Story Page 23