Tears of an African violet

by Jessica Gereaux

  “How do I know that for certain?”

  “Seems you do not know much of anything. I am sure you will have Cian find out who did this, right? And this meeting is all fire and brimstone.” He casually twirled a match between his fingers.

  “Watch your tone with me. I’ve seen men killed for less,” I warned him.

  He rushed directly towards me. Cian jumped up and closed the gap between us. Rohand stared me in my eyes and paid no attention to Cian, who held him at bay with his body.

  “Did you spill the blood of men you’ve seen killed? Did you watch the life drain from his eyes? No, of course not. You sat in your pretty chair while a warrior took life at your word,” he growled at me and stormed out of the room.

  The distinct sound of his boots hitting the metal steps echoed. Everyone’s eyes were on me.

  “Cian, we will deal with him later. I know one of you in this room knows what happened to my fucking money and my jewels!” I circled the room, “Nobody steals from my family!” The vein in my neck throbbed.

  “Zuberi, none of us here would steal from you,” a man in front of me said.

  I pulled my gun, pushed Cian out of my way, and put it to the man’s head.

  “Did you steal my money, Claude? Was it someone from your branch? How do I know it wasn’t you?”

  “I have never stolen anything from the family. Your father was very good to my family and me,” he said in a steady voice.

  Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. The lump in his throat rose and fell slowly. I slapped him across the face with the butt of my gun. He went down to the ground. Slowly I pointed the gun at each man in the room.

  “Go get my fucking money! Get the fuck out of my office,” I lowered the gun.

  Each man filed out of the room quickly. Orders began to be barked on cell phones before Cian closed the door.

  “What the hell happened this morning?” Cian sat on the edge of my desk.

  “My morning is my concern. A better question is, how the hell did these imbeciles lose that much money? I need you to keep your ears to the ground.”

  “What about Rohand?”

  “What about him?”

  “Really? You got to know better than that.”

  “He is old school from my father’s days. What can I do to him, really?”

  I knew that he could cause more problems for me than I wanted to deal with. He could be a direct line to Femi.

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Rohand doesn’t respect me as the leader of this division, and that is the problem. He will learn.”

  “Zu, my brother, at this time, this is the last thing you need to worry about. I suspect Femi ripped you a new one, and now you are under pressure to find this rat and the money. Am I close?”

  I walked over to the bar in the corner and poured a shot of Remy Martin Louis XIII. Savored the taste before I swallowed the sweet cognac. Poured two more and handed Cian one.

  “Before breakfast. It must be worse than I thought,” He took the shot and handed the glass back.

  “I have to fix this quickly, or my brothers will come down harder on me than ever before. But, seriously, if only you could see Femi’s eye. Faraji wants my heart on a platter.”

  “Damn, Zu, that is bad business. We will figure this out. Now let’s go have some breakfast before you get sick,” he patted my shoulder.

  Outside we jumped in Cian’s blue Escalade. With the window down, the breeze hit my face. My thoughts ran rampant as we rode down the freeway. Some island song that I never heard before played on the radio. The Louis in my stomach warmed up and begged to be fed. Nothing could take my mind off the look in Femi’s eye, not even the beauty of Jewel City.

  “Hey, take this next exit.”

  As soon as he hit the top of the exit, I emptied my stomach. The burn was a much-needed purge.

  “Here. I told you, you can’t hold your liquor, brother,” he tossed me a towel to wipe my mouth.

  “Shut up and drive,” I leaned back in the front seat.

  “Your father trusted you to run this division, didn’t he? You can not doubt yourself,” He pulled back on the freeway.

  “Tell that to Femi. He thinks he is my father, and if it was him, I’d probably be a foot soldier. I am a king,” I pounded my chest with my fist and coughed a little.

  We pulled up to a brick building off the highway. There didn’t seem to be many people around, but I knew I hadn’t been here before. The people weren’t dressed like me. They all had on African garbs. It was a scene from a riverside village.

  “Don’t worry, I will not let anything happen to you,” Cian laughed.

  “Who said anything about being scared? What is this place anyway?” I looked around.

  “It is the place to find valuable information. And if you play your cards right, have a damn good breakfast. Now come on,” He hopped out of the truck.

  I followed him inside. He stopped and spoke to an old man who was reading the newspaper at the front door. Ci called him Pa, and he told us to go on inside. We walked down the hallway. The building was bigger than it appeared from the outside. The aroma of the spiced goat and sweet plantains being cooked danced in my nose. It sounded like a Sunday morning back home. The women hummed along to the radio. The thump of the pestles and mortar kept with the rhythm of the song. Finally, we rounded the corner, and four women were in a room that appeared to be a kitchen. They looked up as we walked into the room. The rhythm of the pestles never stopped.

  “Well, good mornin’, Ci. What brings you out this way?” A beautiful, voluptuous mother gave Ci a hug.

  “It smells mighty fine here this morning, Ma. Hey sisters,” Cian hugged her back and nodded to the other three women.

  “Good morning, brother,” they said in unison.

  “The vibes are quite sweet in here, Ci,” I smiled at one of the ladies.

  “Daughters, the wash needs to be started. Lucille, make sure the water is just right, no cold water,” Ma shooed them out of the backdoor.

  They filed out and down the steps full of giggles. That last one was a plate of plantains, good enough to eat. She was shaped like a sweet fruit from the tree of life.

  “Wash and sit,” Ma smacked the back of my head.

  Ma filled the table with bowls of food. My mouth watered at the feast before me. I could not remember the last time I had a home-cooked spread like this. We washed and sat. After she blessed the food, she spoke to me.

  “What you come round this way for?” Ma eyed me hard.

  “Ci said you have the best breakfast in town,” I loaded my bowl.

  “Your Mother’s ear might bleed from the insult to her kitchen,” She laughed loudly.

  “I mean no disrespect to my mother. Those are Ci’s words, not mine,” I chuckled.

  “So what you need down here? The river is no place to show up,” She poured us coffee.

  “Ma, something was stolen from my friend here, and we need to know if any word is out about a big score,” Cian filled his bowl with fish stew and fufu.

  “Some big score this flash can’t handle?” she chortled as she cut her eye at me.

  “Ma, we need ears to the ground. If you hear anything, can you let us know?” He pulled out a roll of money, peeled off 15 big faces, and slid them across the table.

  “It may be something, it may not be, but I heard a deal went bad, and some girl was killed. I don’t know if it has anything to do with your people or not,” Ma slid the money into her bra.

  “Who made the deal, Ma?” Ci stuffed his face with gravy.

  “When I know, I know,” she patted his cheeks.

  “Hey, you got something for me?” he smiled up at her.

  “It is always business with this one. I always have something for you, son.”

  She took off the back panel of the freezer. She pulled out two kilos, put them in a flour sack, and sat it on the table.

  “Business is always as good as the river flows. Now, you eat up, and you too
. The meal is on the house,” she made her way out the back door.

  Cian approached Pa at the front door and handed him a roll of money. The thought crossed my mind, I’ve never seen him with so much money. Do I need to keep an eye on him too? We climbed back in his truck and hit the road back to the city.

  “What was that about back there?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Is it like that now?” I eyed him.

  “Zu, my business is my business. Now, if something else comes across the wire, we have an inside line.”

  “You have business now?” I smirked.

  “Your game is not the only one in town. That is your problem; you think you know everything.”

  “Is everyone against me today? I thought I could at least count on you.”

  “Stop having a goddamn temper tantrum and be a man. You think your father would point a gun in the face of his soldier, let alone slap him with it? We have to get in the streets to find who did this.”

  “Take me back to my car, man.”

  “Whatever you say, Zu. Whatever you say,” he chuckled.

  He sped up and turned the music up. I was steaming mad, but he was right. If I was to find out who did this, we had to get in the streets. I would be the one to tell Femi ‘I told you so’ not the other way around. My mind raced as we made our way back to the office. What was this deal she spoke about? How is that in the streets, and I knew nothing about it? How far removed from the people was I?

  “So, is that really your Ma and Pa?” I broke the long silence.

  “No, but they raised my sisters and me, you saw there, after my parents were killed in Sierra Leone. They paid for us to come here so we could have a good education.” He laughed.

  “What is so funny?”

  “For all of that education, I still ended up doing this and somehow ended up working with you. I have more than paid them back for their kindness and generosity. But, shoot, man, they are as invested as I am,” He laughed at me.

  “What don’t I know about you, Ci?”

  “Everything but that is how it is supposed to be. It is impossible to know everything, Zu. Like you didn’t notice Pa was ready to shoot you, and he knows damn well who you are. You don’t even know when you are in danger. You have to do better. Your father is not here to protect you anymore,” he said.

  “AHHH, if someone says that shit again to me today, I am going to fucking lose my mind. I do not need my father’s protection. I can handle myself,” I rolled my eyes and huffed.

  “I will not argue with you, but I know this much: beating your brothers is a losing game. Learn what you can. If not, you are going to get yourself killed out here. Don’t break your mother’s heart out here dying to be stupid,” He pulled in the parking lot.

  I didn’t wait for him to stop before I hopped out, jumped in my Mercedes, and sped off. Cian was right about one thing: my mother’s heart had been broken enough when my father passed. I was not going to die out there. I headed towards nowhere. The Black Opal is the last place I wanted to be, so I drove around Jewel City. Top-down, radio up, some Lil Wayne song was playing. My phone rang, it was my mother.

  “Zuberi, my son. Where are you?” she asked before I could say hello.

  “On the road, Mother. How are you today?”

  “You have me worried. Your birth cloth was on the floor. Son, what kind of trouble are you in?”

  “You can’t believe that from a birth cloth. Can you?”

  “Don’t make fun. You are in trouble, are you not?” She scolded me.

  “You do not have to worry about me,”

  “It is a sin to lie to your mother. I know when something is wrong with my children. All of them.”

  “Do not worry yourself. Have you eaten?”

  “Zuberi, do not patronize me. I still have the strength to knock your head and don’t forget it. You came here, and you did not come to see me before you stormed out of here. The reason?”

  “I did not want to wake you. You deserve your beauty rest, queen,” I smiled at myself.

  “Don’t smile at yourself. I am not impressed. Are these the words you speak to these young girls? I will find out what is going on around here.”

  “Those young girls are nothing to me. I promise you it is all under control.”

  “God is the only one in control. Watch your blasphemous tongue before I cut it out of your mouth. See how smoothly your words go over with those young girls,” She hung up in my face.

  Came around the shoreline, and the horizon called to me. I pulled over and walked on the beach to get away from my mother’s voice in my head. Wholeheartedly I believed she would cut my tongue out and crack my skull if she was so inclined. How did this thing get so far out of hand so quickly? I perched myself on a rock by the water break when I saw a woman walking up the beach. She was beautiful; the sight of her made me want to know her.

  “Hey there, beautiful lady!”

  She kept walking like she didn’t hear me. Maybe the roar of the ocean drowned me out. I shouted again. She still didn’t turn around or act like she heard me. I hopped off my rock and jogged to catch up with her.

  “Hello, beautiful lady. You do not hear me calling for you?” Finally, I caught up to her.

  She stopped and faced me. Her piercing emerald eyes nestled against her cinnamon complexion locked my breath in my chest. She was more beautiful up close than I imagined. I was at a loss for words, and that never happened.

  “Um, hey. I’m Zu-” I extended my hand.

  “I know who you are.” Her accent was slightly different from mine.

  “Well… ha, ha. You are beautiful, and I wanted to talk to you,” I fumbled the words out of my mouth.

  “Thank you, Zuberi,” She bowed her head and walked away.

  I had to skip a couple of steps to get back in step with her. She acted as if I wasn’t there. I was confused. She said she knew who I was, but she did not seem to care much about it. We walked half a mile in silence along the water’s edge. When the tide came in, she let it wash over her.

  “What’s your name?” I finally managed to ask.

  “I thought you knew everything there was to know about Jewel City?”

  “It is my city. So how did I miss a gem like you?” I tried to regain my suave attitude.

  “I am Seraphim.”

  It was like bells in my ears.

  “A beautiful name for an even more beautiful woman. Seraphim,” I admired her form.

  “Thank you,” She stopped and picked up shells and put them in her bag.

  “So, what does a man have to do to get you to go out with him?” I asked boldly.

  She finally stopped to face me again. Her eyes, again, pierced me deeply, and I wanted to float closer to her. Her presence was such that it called me like a moth to a flame. Even if we never spoke another word, the peacefulness was worth it.

  “He must first be a man,” Seraphim walked away again.

  “What are you trying to say? I am not a man? You see me, this is all man standing here,” I hit my chest with my fist.

  Who did she think she was talking to? Does she know what I can do to her?

  “You could do a lot. That does not worry me,” she said as if she read my mind.

  “How do you know what I will not do, Seraphim? You don’t know me,” I stood in her path.

  “I know what I know. Like you know what you know. The great Tanzanite family will always rule Jewel City.”

  “What do you know about The Family? What shadows have you lived in?”

  “My mother has been at the hotel since she was younger than I am now. It is something to be said for people who grow up in the same place and have no recollection of each other.” She chuckled.

  “You live in the Black Opal? Where? Who is your mother? I would know you if you lived there.”

  She politely stepped around me and kept going. Now my mind raced to place her among the faces at the Black Opal. I would remember those eyes. My mother ha
s had several maids over the years. Who could remember each one of them? She could be about my age. Why didn’t I know her?

  “As much as you want me to be, I am not in your memory. You, however, will always be in mine. Isn’t that the police behind your car back there?” She pointed behind me.

  I spun around, sure enough, the patrol car pulled up behind my car. In no mood to deal with a ticket, I took off running towards my car. In mid-stride, I turned back; she was gone like a wisp of smoke or even a ghost. It was like she was never there. I hoped I saw her again at the Black Opal. I kept running back to my car before he could write me a ticket. The officer was an old friend and managed to talk my way out of a ticket. Five million dollars of my family’s money was out there in the streets somewhere, and I had to find out where the hell it was. I tried so hard to think of what my father would do. At that moment, I realized Father would tell me what to do, and I would do it my way anyway. Now he was not here to tell me what to do. My heart sank, and my head pounded. Maybe they were right, and I do not know what I am doing. Then just who the hell am I anyway? Without my father, I am not so sure anymore.

  Chapter 4

  The Tapes

  -Kae-

  “I understand, but you have to admit it’s the most beautiful place you’ve had to stay holed up in. You have a private beach behind you, mama,” I laughed at her.

  “It’s a beautiful place, baby. I guess I’m getting homesick. I’m worried about you and Black,” she sighed.

  “I promise you that this will be over sooner than you think. Keep a cool head and enjoy your grandbabies. They are growing up fast on you,” I hung up before she continued her protest.

  “How is she holding up?” Black chuckled.

  “She is worried as usual, but this time she is homesick. They’ll be fine. I’m glad they are gone so I can focus,” I faced my computer.

  “Dallas and Houston have been working the streets. They confirmed the bad deal. Not sure of all the players yet. They are also sure the police don’t have a clue.”