Episode 3: Dirty Money Dirty Deeds, #3
Page 3
"Who told you that? Kendra?”
“We don’t talk about you, man. Your name doesn’t exactly come up when I’m making love to her. Or any other time.” Jay smiled when he saw the look on Isaac’s face. “How did you let a woman like her get away? If you had done what you were supposed to, she’d be in your bed, not mine.”
Isaac leapt to his feet. “You can’t talk about my wife like that!”
“I can, and I will.” Jay crossed his legs. “She’s smart, she’s loyal, and on top of that, she’s fine as hell. I swear, you are a stupid motherfucker.” Jay looked up at Isaac and raised a finger. “I’m not scared of you. You raise a hand to me and you’ll regret the day your mama met your daddy.”
“Just what I’d expect from a thug.”
“I’m not a thug, but I do know how to be one. You wanna try me? Sit your ass down, so we can talk like men.”
Isaac clenched his fists, but he sat.
“Maybe I should’ve come here to thank you. If you hadn’t fucked up, she wouldn’t be with me now.”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve—”
“Yeah, I do. That’s how I got to where I am. Kendra and me, we didn’t grow up like you did. We had to fight for everything we got. I knew when we were kids she was going places. She was the girl I wanted. She’s the woman I want now. The only thing standing in the way is you. You need to sign the papers and move on. She has.”
Isaac snorted. “Why isn’t she here? Why did she send you?”
“She didn’t have to send me, man. I try to give her what she wants without her asking. That’s the difference between you and me.”
“The difference between you and me is more than that, my brother. I’m not a hood rat.”
Jay pointed at Isaac. “And there it is. You look down your nose at people like us. We worked hard to get what we got. You think you’re better because your daddy had money. You probably said it enough for her to notice. How do you think that made her feel?”
“You have no right to question me.”
“You don’t have the right to make her life harder. Sign the papers. It’s what’s best for both of you.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s reality, man. Karma is a bitch.”
Isaac tried to hold Jay’s gaze, but he dropped his eyes. “If anything happens to me, there will be hell to pay.”
“Why do you think anything will happen to you? I don’t have to threaten you. Shit happens. You’ve probably pissed off enough people that the police will have to bring in suspects in shifts. I know how you do business. I know what you’re involved in.”
”You don’t know anything.”
“2100 Beekman Place. We’ll start there.”
Isaac wiped the sweat from his brow.
“You can choose. Sign the papers, or let a shit storm rain down on you. You don’t look like the kind of brother that’s cut out for prison.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“Then why do you look like you just ran the Free Press marathon? Breathin’ hard and damp? I can drop that dime on you, or you can sign the papers.”
Isaac stared at Jaylen.
“I’m waiting,” Jay said.
Kendra was startled when she heard the front door open.
“Kendra?”
“In the study,” she replied. She smiled when Jay came in. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I got a little surprise for you.” He leaned over and kissed her. He handed her a large envelope. “Go ahead, open it.”
She slid the papers out and read them. She looked up at Jay. “What the hell? How did you get my divorce settlement?”
“Isaac gave it to me. He decided to sign.”
Her nostrils flared. “Why would he do that?”
“I paid him a little visit. I made him see that he needed to move on with his life.”
“I told you to leave it alone. I told you I would take care of it!”
“He was still dragging his feet. What did you take care of, baby?”
“That’s not the point. I specifically asked you to let me handle it, and you didn’t.”
“You know I respect you, right? Hell, I’m buying whatever you tell me. You’ve showed me what you’re capable of. The thing is, your husband doesn’t respect women. How many times have you told him you’re not going back? He still didn’t sign. What does that tell you?”
“He didn’t believe me.”
“No. He thinks he knows better than you. He thinks you love him so much you couldn’t go. Probably thinks you were just trying to get his attention.”
Kendra lined up the pens on her desk. “You didn’t do what I asked. You didn’t respect me. First you send Bobby to Florida. Then you go to Isaac behind my back.”
“I got you what you wanted.”
“What I wanted? Or was it what you want? All my life men have tried to push me around. How are you any different?”
Jay took a deep breath. “You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t. You say in one breath you respect me, then you say I couldn’t handle Isaac, so you had to do it. What does that tell you?” She held up her hand. “Never mind. I don’t even want to hear it. Get out.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Get out.”
Vasquez stood in front of the whiteboard and studied the pictures pinned to it.
Bobby Mason.
Kendra Mason.
Jay Sinclair.
Big Sam Bishop.
He rubbed his goatee and drew pictures lines between players. Rogers walked up to him and folded his arms.
"Do you have anything?"
Vasquez shook his head. "I can't make sense of it. How did they kill Bobby? Why did they kill him?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Did you even know anything?"
"He got close to something. Why else would they murder him?"
"But who murdered him?"
Vasquez pressed his lips together. "Sinclair killed him. Kendra knew about it."
"You really think Kendra would put a hit out on her own brother? She didn't impress me as the cold hearted mobster type."
"And I didn't think my wife would leave me for another man. Sometimes you don't know women as well as you think you do."
Captain Avery walked up to them. "Do I need to ask if there's been any progress?"
"No," Vasquez said. "No solid leads yet."
Avery tilted his head to one side. "No leads? That's disappointing.”
Vasquez folded his arms. It wasn't like Avery to be so calm when they couldn't show progress in the case. Vasquez wondered if Avery knew more than he was telling. Vasquez tried to shake it off. He was being paranoid.
“We’re closing the Bobby Mason case. We don’t even have proof that he was murdered.”
“You know he was, Cap.”
“What was the cause of death?”
“Inconclusive.”
“Murder weapon?”
“Inconclusive.”
Avery whistled. “And we don’t have any evidence. Kendra Mason and Jay Sinclair are both alibied. Who did it? The tooth fairy?”
“I know Sinclair did it. I feel it in my gut.”
"I just had an interesting conversation, Vasquez,” Avery said. "One of your CI’s came in. He said he had some information for me. He’s in Interview One.”
"A CI? I haven't been working anybody."
"I think you did. You just didn't tell me. You didn't file any paperwork, and you think I'm stupid."
Vasquez laughed. "You're anything but stupid, Cap. You know criminals. They're liars."
“I think this one is telling the truth.”
Vasquez smirked. “What did he tell you?”
“You had him plant drugs to frame a suspect.”
Vasquez laughed. “That’s crazy!”
“Funny thing, I looked at the evidence locker cameras, and you went into one of the cold case files. I checked the boxes for dust, and one of the boxes had recently been op
ened. Guess what? A bag of Black Magic mollies was missing. About the same amount that was found at Kendra Mason’s house. There were a few missing. I guess whoever planted them thought they wouldn’t be missed.” Avery squinted at Vasquez. “I told you I would fire you if you fucked up again. You fucked up in a big way.”
Vasquez pushed his chest out. “There’s no way.”
“You never asked me who the CI is.”
“Okay, Cap, I’ll play. Who is it?”
“I’ll let you see for yourself.” Avery punched a few keys on the computer. The monitor flickered, then showed the video feed from the interview room.
Bobby Mason sat in the chair, looking around the room.
Vasquez’s mouth dropped open. “No! He’s dead!”
“It would be more convenient for you if he was.”
“That’s impossible!”
“And still, he’s in Interview One. He says he traded his ID with another worker on an avocado farm. He went down there to try to get lost. They must have found his buddy in the swamp. Too bad for you, Vasquez.” Avery held out his hand. “I’ll take your badge and your gun now.”
* * *
GET THE NEXT EPISODE…