The Reign of Rain Robinson

by Roy Glenn

  “And you thought that was a good idea?” Kirk asked, shaking his head.

  “It seemed like a good idea at the time. Barnes took RJ killing Sterling personal, so he was all in on the scheme. I was in it for the money.”

  “Considering your current situation,” Dawkins looked around the room. “Was it worth it?”

  “Hell, fuckin’, no. But hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

  “Who killed Doc?” Kirk asked, hoping that he would provide collaboration that Jocko Eisenbraun was the contractor and connect him to AD and Rona.

  “I don’t know nothing about that. When I heard that they killed Doc, I said, shiiiit.” Hawkins shook his head. “I was done. Fuckin’ around with Rain Robinson was one thing,” Hawkins laughed and shook his head. “But the shit went south quick when the terminator showed up.”

  “Who’s the terminator?” Dawkins asked.

  “Black,” Kirk said.

  “Oh,” Dawkins said.

  “Yeah, that mutha fucka.”

  “Didn’t you think that fucking with Rain was gonna get Black’s attention?” Kirk asked. “I mean, before you were all in for the money?”

  Hawkins got a very serious look on his face and pointed at Kirk. “I asked that question and I was assured that Black had retired and moved to the Bahamas and Bobby Ray found God or some shit.”

  Kirk laughed. “Both of those things were true until you decided it was a good idea to fuck with Rain.”

  “Yeah. But like I said, hindsight is twenty-twenty,” Hawkins said and dropped his head into his cuffed hands.

  After questioning Hawkins, the detectives, knowing that what he said wasn’t enough to tie anything to Rona, Kirk began the process of getting a warrant for AD and that was when they found out that AD was dead.

  “Who do you think had him killed?” Dawkins asked on the way to the lieutenant’s office.

  “Could be either one. Black for revenge or Rona tying up loose ends.”

  “Kill the only person that could connect her to this,” Dawkins said. “My money’s on Rona. She’s got more to lose.”

  “Agreed,” Kirk said as he knocked, and they went in the lieutenant’s office.

  After explaining the situation, he agreed that there wasn’t enough to arrest Rona, but they could talk to her about her connection to AD.

  “Just talk,” McGraw said, and the detectives stood up. “That means there will be no more confessions at gunpoint Dawkins.”

  “Never happened, lieutenant,” she said on her way out the door.

  Once they left the precinct and were on their way to question Rona, Dawkins had a question of her own to ask.

  “I noticed that you didn’t mention RJ killing Sterling to the lieutenant. You gonna let that slide?”

  “No. We’re gonna remember it.”

  Dawkins laughed. “What does that mean?”

  “Think about it for a minute. His story does track with the crime scene. There was evidence of a fight taking place. He said that Sterling and Barnes were there,” Kirk said.

  “Sounds like some macho shit.”

  “Yeah, a good old fashion dual over a woman. Barnes was Sterling’s second and—”

  “That means that Money Marv was RJ’s second.”

  “Exactly and that makes Money Marv the only witness. You think he’s gonna flip on RJ?”

  “Nope. So we’re going to remember it and wait until it becomes useful.”

  “But, I am going to mention it to them,” Kirk paused. “Just to put something on their minds.”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  “I need to know where the bitch is at and the best way to hit her?” Rain said the second Carla let her in. As far as she was concerned, the war was over, and now it was time for Rona to die.

  “I got you, sunshine,” Carla said, hurrying back to her console with Rain and Carter following closely behind. “But there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “You can tell me whatever you want, right after you tell me how, when, and where to kill that bitch,” Rain said, and Carla laughed but she knew that she was serious. She sat down and a few clicks later, she said, “She’s in her apartment at the Baccarat Hotel.”

  “How many people are with her?”

  “I can’t tell from this distance,” Carla said.

  “Pack up, we’re going to kill that bitch tonight,” Rain said as she turned around and headed toward the door.

  As Carla grabbed a tablet and the keys to the van, Carter walked up to her.

  “What did you want to tell her?”

  “I know why Rona King has a death wish.”

  Carter chuckled a little because he hadn’t thought of it that way. “Why?”

  “She might be dying, Carter,” Carla said and told him what she had found in Rona’s medical records. He thought about what to do for a few seconds.

  “Don’t tell her.”

  “You sure.”

  “Yeah,” he said and followed Carla out. “Let the girl have her fun. No fun killing somebody who’s already gonna die. I’ll tell her after she kills her.”

  When they got to the elevator, Rain was there waiting and holding it open for them. After chastising them for taking so long the entire way down and into the street, they got in the van and headed to Rona’s apartment. Once Carla was set up, she had a display of Rona’s unit on the screen and she told Rain that there was only one heat signature in the apartment.

  “You in control of their security?” Rain asked.

  “Did you want me to be?” Carla asked, not knowing what the plan was. She had never seen Rain like this.

  Rain nodded. “If you don’t mind?”

  Carla looked at Carter and she pointed at Rain.

  “What did you have in mind?” he asked, because he had never seen her this way either.

  He had heard, mostly from Wanda, stories of the days when Rain allowed her more violent impulses to determine her actions. He’d only seen flashes of it. But this was personal for Rain.

  “I was thinking about going in there, walking through the lobby, taking the elevator up to her floor, ringing her doorbell and putting two in her head the second she opens the door.”

  “Ballsy,” Carla said while she worked.

  “Fuckin’ right it’s ballsy,” Carter said. “What’s your plan for getting past security?”

  Rain looked annoyed at Carter. “Carla hasn’t told me what the plan is yet. When she tells me, make sure you’re listening so she doesn’t have to repeat herself.”

  “No pressure, right?” Carla said.

  “Take all the time you need, Carla, but the bitch dies tonight.”

  “Like you said, Carla, no pressure,” Carter said and made himself comfortable.

  “Nobody asked you to come and you can get the fuck on anytime you feel like.” Rain exhaled and turned to face Carla. “Well?”

  “There is a way for you to walk through the lobby, take the elevator up to her floor, ring her doorbell and put two in her head the second she opens the door, but we can’t do it tonight.”

  “Why not?”

  “I can get you past the cameras no problem, and you can wear a good disguise, I mean something stronger than your blonde wig and sunglasses, so no witnesses identify Rain Robinson at the scene. I can even unlock her door so you can walk right in, there is just no way to get you past the security guard and the ID scanner without valid ID and that will take time.”

  “Told you. I checked the place out. Even with ID, there’s a better chance that the police will be able to identify you even with a disguise.”

  “There are a number of good buildings for Monika or X to set up on with a clear shot of her unit,” Carla said. “I know her routine and there are plenty of opportunities to hit her away from the building.”

  “Find me a way to kill her tonight,” Rain demanded.

  “You’re being unreasonable,” Carter said shaking his head.

  “I’m gonna tell you this one more time. Nobody asked you t
o come and you can damn sure get the fuck on anytime you feel like.”

  “Wait a second,” Carla said.

  “What?” Rain asked and Carla tapped one of the smaller screens. An image of the lobby came up on the main screen. She pointed.

  “Kirk and Dawkins in the lobby.”

  “What are they doing here?” Carter asked.

  “Black said that Kirk was assigned Doc’s murder,” Rain said.

  “Maybe they’re here to arrest her,” Carter said.

  “If that’s the case, I’d love to know what he knows,” Rain said.

  “What do you want to do?” Carter asked, hoping that under the circumstances, she would become more reasonable than she had been.

  “Let’s go.” Rain folded her arms across her chest like a pouting child. “If Kirk is on to her, I’ll get Black to talk to him. And you get to work on that ID for me.”

  “Ain’t no way we can hear what’s going on in there?” Carter asked and Carla just looked at him like he should know better.

  “No. Not from this distance,” Carla said as she disengaged from their security. “I need to get a whole lot closer than this or we need to get somebody in there to set up surveillance.”

  “What’s it gonna take to get eyes and ears in there?” Rain asked.

  “It will be difficult, but not impossible,” Carla said as she got behind the wheel and started the van.

  Rain looked over at Carter. “You were right. I was being unreasonable.” She paused. “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

  Carter nodded. “I will get with you in the morning, Carla and you and I will go over her routine and look for opportunities to hit her away from the building. And if Kirk is on to her, it needs to look like an accident, so Rain is not the only suspect and Bautista makes it her life’s mission to prove she did it.”

  “I think that we need to involve Monika and Nick in that discussion,” Carla said.

  “Good idea.” Carter turned to Rain. “I’ll have options for you to consider by tomorrow night.”

  “Fine,” Rain said.

  She wanted to insist that whatever options Carter presented her with that she had to be the one to pull the trigger. Rain wanted to kill Rona so badly she could taste it. When she closed her eyes, Rain could see it all like it was happening in slow motion.

  Rain could see herself watching Rona leave her building and walking into the garage where her car was parked. She’d follow her in, surprised that she had no security with her, but knowing that was just how the arrogant bitch rolled. And just as Rona got to her Alfa Romeo, Rain would call out to her.

  Rona!

  Rain would step up and shove a gun in Rona’s face.

  It would be dark in the garage, so Rain would step closer to be sure that Rona knew who it was that had ended her. Rain had already decided that she wasn’t gonna monologue, she was just gonna kill her.

  Bitch!

  So once Rain had satisfied herself with the look of shock, despair and desperation on Rona’s face, she would point her gun at Rona’s forehead and pull the trigger. When her body dropped to the ground, Rain could see herself standing over Rona’s body and she’d put two more in her chest.

  She could see it clearly.

  “Rain!” Carter shouted.

  “Huh?”

  “What do you wanna do now?” he asked.

  “Take me back to J.R.’s.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Not knowing that their presence in the lobby of the Baccarat Hotel had prevented her attempted murder, Kirk and Dawkins arrived on Rona’s floor.

  “You hang back, I’ll take point,” Dawkins said as they got off the elevator. “You know, since she likes you so much.”

  “Good idea. Coming from you, the questions may come off as less confrontational.”

  “And not harassment,” Dawkins said as they proceeded down the hall toward her suite.

  “I’ll be right here,” Kirk said and stopped before he got to her door.

  “Okay,” she said and rang the bell. It took a minute or two, but Rona came to the door.

  “Who is it?”

  Dawkins held up her badge in front of the peephole. “It’s Detective Dawkins.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I am not here to arrest you. I just want to ask you a few questions about one of your father’s old associates. An Andrew Davion.”

  Knowing that AD was dead, Rona smiled and happily opened the door, looking forward to fencing with Kirk. She was disappointed when she saw that it was just Dawkins.

  “Where’s your partner?”

  “I told him that I wanted to speak with you alone,” Dawkins said.

  “Why?”

  “Because you and I don’t have any history.”

  “Smart.” Rona said and stepped aside. “Come in.”

  “Thank you,” Dawkins said and cut her eyes toward Kirk. He nodded as she went in.

  “Can I get you anything to drink, detective?” Rona offered graciously as she led her into the living room.

  “No, thank you.”

  “You don’t mind if I do?” she asked, held up a wine goblet in her hand.

  “Not at all.”

  “Please, have a seat,” she said as she refilled her goblet and Dawkins sat down to begin her game of chess with Rona. “So, what would you like to know about AD?”

  “How long have you known him?”

  “As long as I can remember. As you said, he was one of my father’s close associates.”

  “How much contact do you have with him?”

  “Not much. He has his life to live and I have mine and since those lives are worlds apart, I may have seen AD four, maybe five times since the funeral.”

  “Can you tell me when was the last time you spoke to him?”

  “I don’t know, three or four months, I imagine. He came by the restaurant and we spoke briefly.” Rona picked up the glass and took a sip. “May I ask the reason that you are asking me these questions?”

  “I don’t know if anybody has told you, if not, I’m sorry to have to tell you that Andrew Davion was murdered late last evening outside of a night club called The Booming System.”

  “Oh my God,” Rona said emotionally.

  Dawkins looked on as a teary-eyed Rona put down her wine glass and dropped her head into her hands.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. King. We can do this another time.”

  “No, no, I’m all right. It’s just the shock of it.” Rona wiped away her tears. “Living the kind of life AD led, the kind of life that my father and brother led, it’s not surprising that he would end up that way. But I guess that it doesn’t matter how prepared you are to hear something; it is still a shock to actually hear the words.”

  “I understand.”

  “What, if anything, does this have to do with what Kirk accused me of?” Rona asked as she fought back the tears.

  “We have reason to believe that—” Dawkins began as her phone rang. “Excuse me.” She looked at the display and saw that it was Kirk calling. “I need to take this,” she said and stood up.

  “If you’d like some privacy, you can take it in my office,” Rona said and pointed toward a room just off the living room.

  “Thank you, Ms. King. I won’t be long,” she said as she headed toward the office, swiping talk as she walked.

  “What’s up?”

  “Get out of there”

  “Why?”

  “Hawkins is dead.”

  “How?”

  “He was stabbed by another inmate while they were taking him to his cell.”

  “All right. I’m coming out,” she said and ended the call.

  When Dawkins went back into the living room, Rona was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the Manhattan skyline. She turned when the detective approached.

  “I’m sorry about this, Ms. King, but I have to go.”

  “I understand. Perhaps we can do this another time,” Rona said as
she walked towards Dawkins. “I want to cooperate in any way that I can. I know that my father and brother hurt a lot of people, ruined a lot of lives. I just want to do what I can to make amends for all they did,” Rona said as she walked Dawkins to the door. “I am nothing like my father, Detective Dawkins. I hope someday that you and your partner will see that.”

  “Thank you for taking the time to see me,” Dawkins said, and she was forced to wonder if she had actually misjudged Rona. Naa, Dawkins thought and stepped into the hallway where Kirk was waiting.

  “I’ll be in touch and we can talk some more. And once again, I am sorry for your loss,” she said and walked down the hall with Kirk, leaving a very satisfied Rona smiling as she closed the door.

  Chapter Thirty

  “I think we need to call for back up,” Dickerson said to Bautista as they drove.

  Detectives Bautista and Dickerson had finally gotten something to break their way and they ran with it, just as Rona knew that they would. The tip that they received from Bug turned out to be everything that they wanted, and what Bautista desperately needed.

  She was successful in getting a court order to exhume the remains of Afra Dean, but it wasn’t necessary. Once Dickerson talked to the Dean Family, he found that they wanted to know the truth about what happened to their loved one and readily gave their permission to proceed with the exhumation.

  Once the remains were unearthed, they were taken to Doctor Phil Jenkins, a forensic anthropologist for the FBI. He examined the remains to determine whether there was sufficient cause to open a murder investigation. Once the examination was complete, he called the detectives.

  “Thank you for getting on this so quickly, doctor,” Dickerson said. “What can you tell us?”

  “Fortunately, the skeletonized cadaver was very well-preserved, therefore making identification and interpretation of the cause and manner of death possible. However, I cannot tell you anything related to time of death with any accuracy.”

  “We understand,” Dickerson said.

  “Bottomline, Doctor Jenkins, was she murdered?” Bautista asked.

  “There are signs of antemortem blunt force trauma being inflicted days, possibly a week before death, but that is as close as I can get you.” The doctor put an image of the victim’s skull on the viewer and pointed to the affected area. “The trauma was inflicted to the left frontal bone of the skull with a heavy object.”