Lost Boy, page 8
“Muthafuckas got killed.”
The detectives came out with Pasheeva and walked behind him up the steps heading towards Dondi’s room. “You might want to cover your tracks.”
“Damn, what the hell did you do?” Sunshine said as she continued staring at the TV and it finally showed up.
A brief breaking news flash about a shooting in Liberty Hill. Two men dead and an unidentified woman missing. She fumbled around with the cigarettes, pulled one out and nervously lit it, running her fingers through her long, thick locks and let out a loud sigh.
“You fucked up...you really fucked up! You was just supposed to pick up some money and you fucked it up. How difficult could that be? You killed two people and kidnapped someone?”
“Kidnapped?” Hulie gawked at the phone. “I didn’t kidnap no one!”
“Oh wow, but murdering two people is alright? According to the news someone’s missing. Now, what’s up with that, Hulie?”
He thought for a minute then it hit him. T-Black’s mother got the fuck out. That was not what he needed...a fuckin’ witness. “Dude’s mom, she got away.”
“Got away...from what? Oh, hell no, look from this point on, I’ll call you. Don’t call this number again. I’ll be in touch and you know what, when I do you better have some fuckin’ answers. You hear?”
Hulie watched the two officers knock on Dondi’s door and go in, then come back out moments later with her. She was probably going downtown. They were probably really looking for Jabari. Hulie knew he’d have to find him first.
“Yeah...yeah, look there’s a chick going downtown for questioning. I think a crackhead chick, her name is Dondi. Go see what she knows,” Hulie instructed.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sunshine snapped.
“Like I said, go see what she knows. Charleston police just picked her up. Then, yeah, call me later on tonight. I’ll know more, a’ight.”
“Who the hell you think you talkin’ too? I give the fuckin’ orders...”
Hulie hung up the phone and ducked down in the car as the unmarked vehicle pulled out. He caught a glimpse of Dondi as they went past. She didn’t seem the least bit worried. It seemed strange, he wondered what she knew. He had to find out and then find Jabari. He was the one who could easily pin him to the bodies and then to Sunshine.
“Damn!” he said as she cranked the car up and sped outgoing towards Spruill Avenue.
Sunshine fell back and sighed again. “Damn, all he was supposed to do was pick up some fuckin’ money. Get his cut and that was it...simple. Now, I got two god-damned bodies. Maybe one kidnapping, if not another body. Damn, he fucked up big time!”
She had to find out what was going on then try to clean it up. She threw the phone on the bed, marched into the bathroom, climbed into the hot water and thought about the cat whose money and dope it was. He was supposed to be speaking to a lawyer sometime today regarding something she didn’t know about. Hopefully, he’d keep his mouth shut and not renege on the deal. If not, she’d have to shut it for him...for good.
****
The small three-bedroom house was decorated with lawn furniture and cement birds’ baths in the front yard. The freshly cut grass was trimmed to a tee. It was fenced in from both sides, giving the impression of a quiet, ideal place to raise a small family, but it wasn’t. Going inside the front door the living room was adorned with four, seventy-five-gallon fish tanks with exotic fish and eels. Over to the side sat a big sixty-two-inch flat screen, plasma TV. Three beautiful, scantily clad women sat over on a couch not far sipping on small glasses of brown-liquid, a bottle of Cognac sat in front of them half empty or half full. Tricks and hookers for some comfort for others depending on how you looked at it and who you talked to. Sitting off to the side with a laptop going through figures on the screen and yelling numbers into a phone was the bookie.
Back behind them was an archway that led into a kitchen. You could hear the sounds of loud voices coming from beyond it. The kitchen was blazing with the smell of fish and chicken being fried on the stove. A robust, older woman stood in front of it talking shit to two men that sat at a small, round table. As the bottle of scotch sat in front of them, they talked shit about politics and why Obama had his foot on their neck type of shit. Going past the kitchen was a spacious parlor with tables and a makeshift bar. The tables were set-up with bid whisk and spade games, rummy players sat to the side and some serious skinning was going on.
A couple of people sat at the bar drinking while two bartenders ran drinks. The back porch was closed in and decorated with blinking Christmas tree lights and a jukebox pumped out music as old men grinded with young girls to Clarence Carter’s Strokin’. This was indeed a bonafide grade A, down south liquor house.
The gentleman that ran it always sat in the back of the parlor with a girl, that was pretty and sexy sitting on his lap and rubbing on his dick. That’s why he smiled all the time while keeping an eye on the money that moved. A short bugged eyed dude stood next to him rubbing his gut and crying, complaining that he should get his drinks free, but off to the side of him was a twelve-gauge, pump shotgun and on his waist was a .44 Magnum. He was security, the guy that sat in the chair told him he’d think about it, then smacked his hand away as he tried to feel on the girl. He called his name, Wood, short for Hollywood.
The owner had a reddish-brown skin color, with the straightest white teeth you’d ever seen on a man. He sported a low, cropped well-kept haircut and wore a Kangol hat tipped to the side. He maintained his weight at a strapping one-hundred and ninety-five pounds and stood at just five-ten or so. He treated his customers special, but when he was crossed which wasn’t often, ass whippings were given out on the spot and he was at the front of the line. He never ducked away, he loved that shit.
He knew every damn thing that went on in Liberty Hill. He had his hands in all sorts of properties and other hustles except dope. He let others run that end of things. All he did was rent out trap houses. He was calm and muthafucking collected. They called him Blaze sometimes, even Country, but the name that stuck was Dirty-Red from Che-raw.
Nikki came through the back way of the festive parlor through the back yard. The porch was dark and dimly lit, and she crept easily by the man at the gate ogling over the girls who danced in the moon’s glow. She walked through the curtain amid the action and saw the man she was looking for, Dirty-Red. Now all she had to do was get closer to him. Even though, she stood out with an oversized ball cap worn down over her eyes. Wood had spotted her already, he was on point.
He didn’t recognize her, so he tipped closer and asked, “Hey, uh...I know you? His eyes fixed on the tight-fitting jeans she wore exposing her fine shapely body.
“You know me?” she asked as she turned.
“Nikki!” Wood grinned and started digging in his pockets looking around trying to be discreet. “Look...I got some money.” He peeled off a fifty. “I know how you go, and you know, I, uh always wanted to...” he looked her up and down, “...get with you!”
It humored her, he was right. Wood had tried for years and so far, had been unsuccessful. “Another place...another time,” she said then pushed the money back towards him. “I need to speak to Dirty-Red.”
Wood looked over his shoulder behind him. “I mean, you can see...he’s busy, but I’m not.” He pushed the money back at her and pulled out his knot. “If it’s not enough, I mean...I heard you had that blazin’ hot...” he rubbed her arm and she pulled away.
“Aahh...” she shrieked with a grimace.
“Damn, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“No...no, it’s not you. Wood, sweetie please, I need to speak to Dirty-Red about something important.”
“I hear you, but you know he don’t like to be disturbed while he’s fuckin’ with them ole young ass girls.”
She pulled off her hat and Wood turned his face slightly away.
“Damn, girl! What the fuck happened?” He turned, stepped over to Dirty-Red and whispered something in his ear.
Dirty-Red looked up and waved her over. “I’ve been hearing some wild shit about you. What the fuck is going on?”
She got closer up in his face whispering, “I need to talk to you, it’s real important.” She pulled the hat up.
Dirty-Red looked at her and shook his head. “C’mon...follow me. Hey, Wood, make sure we not disturbed a’ight!”
“What about the girl?” Wood asked.
“Yo’ baby, take care of my man. But make sure he pays for the kitty.”
Wood smiled, as she grabbed at the fifty in his hand quickly and led him off to the bathroom. “Thanks, Red...fuckin’ thanks.”
Dirty-Red entered a large bedroom that was decorated with a king-sized bed, covered in satin sheets, black curtains adorning the windows and plush carpeting. The musk fragrance coming from the incense lit the room up like a candle. He escorted her to a desk.
“I heard you was kidnapped. What up, gurl?” Dirty-Red said.
Nikki unzipped her jacket, took it off and tossed it over onto the bed. Dirty-Red gasped when he saw the burns and bruises.
“Damn, I saw the house. You made it out of there!” Dirty-Red was shocked.
“God been with me!” Nikki commented.
“What the fuck happened with your son?”
She plopped down on the side of the bed and held her head in her hands. “I don’t know, he left the house, said he was going to talk to someone.”
“Who?”
“He didn’t say.”
Dirty-Red sat next to her rubbing her back. She cringed a little from the touch. She was still sore. “Did you go to the hospital?”
“I went to the doctor by the cemetery.”
“Geechie Sam! A bootleg doctor, gurl? You need to go to a real hospital.”
“I will...later. The police are looking for me and I have to get rid of some things before they find me,” Nikki explained.
“Things?”
“Two men came in that night and robbed the house. Then burnt it down!”
“Aahhh shit...I didn’t know that.”
“They busted in through the back porch and said they was looking for my son. Said he owed them some money and shit. Hell, I didn’t know what they was talkin’ about. They didn’t care, one looked around the house and the other...” Nikki paused reliving the gruesome attack.
“The other...what...” Dirty-Red asked hesitantly.
“Raped me!” Nikki cried. “Then beat the shit outta me. He wanted to kill me, but other one didn’t let him.”
“You knew who they were...did you recognize em?”
“No...I didn’t, but I remember their faces though.”
“You need to tell the police.” Dirty-Red got up and reached for his cell phone. “You need to call...”
Nikki stopped him and pulled him back down on the bed. “I want revenge, fuck justice! They killed my only son left.” She started sniffling and holding back a flood of tears that threatened to let loose at any moment.
Dirty-Red passed her a handkerchief. “I feel you.”
“But...I got his money, all of it and it’s a lot.”
“How much?”
She wiped her eyes. “Ninety-six thousand dollars.”
Dirty-Red pulled back. “Ooohhh shit, that’s a lot of fuckin’ money!”
“Also...twelve keys of pure white.”
“Horse!”
“Un-cut!”
“God damn gurl!” Dirty-Red shook his head. “So, what you thinkin’ ‘bout doing?”
“I need some guns and shit...I’ma find them muthafuckas and kill em.”
“Whoa...whoa hold up. What about your son’s body?”
She looked over at him, she’d completely forgotten. “Oh, my Lord, I need to get him.” She broke down in his arms.
“I got you, Nikki! Where you at, are you safe?”
“I’m cool for now.”
“A’ight then, I’ll go get your son’s body myself and get it to the funeral home. Then we can go from there. Okay?” He lifted her head and wiped tears from her still soft, smooth, but worried face. “You always been straight up wit’ me. You and your son T-Black, I got you!”
“I’ll give you something.”
“Be cool, don’t worry about that right now. You want to stay here tonight?”
“No...no, I’ll come by tomorrow with the money and dope.”
“A’ight, but just be careful. You want me to send Wood to come get you?”
“If I need him, I’ll call.” She got up and put on her jacket, tucked her long hair in her cap, then walked over to the door. “Dirty-Red...thank you!” She hugged him and kissed his cheek.
He walked her out the back door and watched as she disappeared into the darkness of the streets. He closed the door and walked swiftly to his room. He stood over by his desk still mulling over what Nikki had said.
‘Ninety-six stacks and twelve keys, that’s a lot of cheese,’ he thought.
He could easily get a good twenty percent out of her, but first, he needed to find a man to flip the keys for him and someone to help Nikki plot out her revenge. He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through some numbers. He believed he knew just the man for the job. He stopped at a name popping up on the screen. It read: Diplite. “Yeah, he’ll do it!”
****
“Naw, man...listen...” Moonie G glanced at the line in back of him at least five deep in unit 1-B. He’d been on the phone now for thirty-two minutes and this was his third call. “No...the money got stolen...” He was trying to explain to his people why they was out a quarter of a million dollars in cash and dope. “It had to be the police, I tell ya. They were the only ones that knew...”
Moonie was a transfer from California only coming to South Carolina after hanging out with some bangers during a G-Unit concert tour. He fell out with the show's promoters and eventually was kicked off the bus. His boys told him he’d have to scramble up some cash quickly to make it back home. They fronted him some money and a dope connect they knew, and he went to work. After becoming the new face in the game, he soon became known as a hot boy, an off-brand. He was plugged into the loop making sure the money he made, made it back to his folks in Cali. He sat on thousands of dollars a week at times. He was doing it big, so he decided to stay in Charleston.
Involving himself in the local pussy business became a problem along with the money he tricked on them. He became complacent and started skimming from the stash. At first, it was just a couple dollars here and there, then it escalated to hundreds easily. He was confronted a few times by Jack boys and shots were fired, in clubs, on the block, even in supermarkets. Women started staying away from him after he was considered to be a very dangerous man to be around. They didn’t want to become victims of one of his bad days or catch any stray bullets that were meant for him. He was left fucking around with the tricks that frequented the traps. That was easy pussy and his new thing.
He grew to be a trick daddy of sorts, staying in hotels and traps where his dope was moved until he got crazy paranoid and started smoking too. He had enough sense a couple of times to pay off some people that watched his back and kept him safe at least from the stickups, but not the game. He quickly became a mark and Sunshine had him in her snare because of it.
Now he was trying to get his lie straight. “Of course, I didn’t say nothing to them.”
He was given a deal verbally for three charges, all supposedly misdemeanors. The charges were simple possession, with less than a gram of crack, and less than a gram of cocaine. They would eventually be dropped once Sunshine and her people got ahold of the money and he would go free on a Disorderly Conduct, perhaps even Loitering or something. But the reality of it all was that he still had to explain the money being missing and the dope. he was scared shitless, he knew he’d fucked up. He needed time to make the money back. He had his own cash but not that much. He could do it in a couple of months maybe if they gave him the chance. That was the big problem, they had to give him the chance.
So, now, he literally begged for his life. “I could make it up, you know that. You know, I’m good for it.”
The voice on the other end of the line wasn’t too convinced. Already it was known even way out there that he was fucking up. The only thing that kept him plugged in was the connects he generated for them over the years, but now the new jacks coming up in the game could replace him easily without a problem. They were hungry and wanted to eat too.
“Okay...okay...I’ll call later...”
People online in back of him were getting impatient. Charleston County had only one phone on the pods and the others were broke not looking at being repaired anytime soon. A tall, wavy-haired, dark-skinned brother they called ‘Tree’ pushed his way up front.
He’d lost whatever cool he had. “Yo’ man...need to use the fuckin’ phone, too!”
Moonie looked back at him. “I got you, just another minute...” Moonie was no slouch, he was big and brawly. He stood about five-eleven and weighed about two-hundred and forty pounds. He could hold his own.
“Man...fuck that!” Old boy snatched the phone out of his hand and hung it up, then pushed him off to the side.
Moonie fell up against the wall and charged back at him. He wrestled him to the ground and the guards came in and tackled them. One of the guards pulled out his spray and started aiming but they both stood down. No one was feeling their shit today. No windows opened from the inside and it would be pure hell dealing with pepper spray on this humid ass day.
Moonie got up off the ground with his hands in the air and walked off. “Sorry, ‘bout that boss!”
He didn’t need the headaches anyway and he knew he was dead wrong. He’d call later, his people had already told him to come back to Cali, but he just didn’t want too. He was too scared for his life. They had already told him a hundred times already to stop fucking with tricks and get his mind focused on the business. He went to his cell and sat on his bunk. There was nothing else to do but wait. He’d be out soon, he hoped anyway according to what Sunshine had said. He knew the address he gave them was legit and they should have gotten the money by now. A couple of days had already gone by, it had to be anytime now.
