Brick (Double Dippin') (33 page)

“Payback. Felice fucked her ex-man, Dane…back in the day.”

Hearing Dane’s name put a sour taste in Brick’s mouth. “Yeah, that nigga dead, but he deserved a fate worse than death,” Brick said bitterly.

As though spooked by Brick’s irreverent words, Cash Money looked around fearfully. “Yo, let that man rest in peace. Why you talking bad about the dead?”

“Fuck Dane,” Brick said with his face contorted. Not only did Dane steal Misty from Brick, he stole Misty’s SUV, her money, and he destroyed her business.

Brick shook his head, clearing his mind of Dane. “Getting back to the stripper, Juicy. I need to holler at that broad. Where’s she dancing at now?”

“Juicy came up! She’s not stripping anymore.”

“Whatchu mean?”

“She works for Smash Hitz. That right there lets you know Juicy is the last bitch I’m tryna bump into.”

Brick scowled excessively. “What kind of work is she doing for Smash Hitz?”

“Provides him with strippers.”

“I’m confused. Why does he want strippers? Isn’t he on the DL?”

“He goes both ways.”

Brick nodded in understanding. “How did Juicy get in cahoots with Smash Hitz?”

“Through Spydah’s crew. They told him about her unusual pussy. Misty never knew Juicy had a little side business going on with Smash. He put Misty on with all his friends and connections on a national level. But he only used Juicy’s services when he was in the Philly area.”

“How do you know about his business with Juicy?” Brick asked skeptically.

“She came to the crib he was renting when he was in Philly. I was there with him.”

“Smash Hitz sucked your dick?”

Cash Money nodded. “He’s a freak, man. He’s into all kinds of perverted sex acts. He was supposed to be getting into a threesome with me and one of Juicy’s chicks; that’s why Juicy brought the stripper to the crib.”

“Why’d he change his mind?”

“I don’t know. He let them come upstairs. He met with them in this outer room that was attached to the bedroom. The bedroom door was closed but I could hear the conversation. He told Juicy that he didn’t need her services. He said he’d catch her the next time that he was in town. Juicy kept tryna convince him to at least try out the new girl. Smash told her he wasn’t interested. I don’t think that Juicy knew Smash prefers men because she told the girl to take off her clothes and give Smash a sample.”

“A sample?”

“I don’t know what sampling involved, but while his attention
was diverted from me, I kind of borrowed his chain.” Cash Money gave a soft groan. “That’s how all this shit got started—that damn Juicy!”

“Nigga, shut up. Ain’t nobody tell you to steal that man’s chain.”

“I bet Juicy has Smash’s chain. All this time, I thought Smash had one of his people get the chain out of Misty’s car. But now I think it was Juicy.”

“Okay, I’m starting to feel this. But I don’t want to focus on Juicy only. Think hard, man…what other chicks did Misty have beef with?”

“Besides Juicy…uh…only Baad B and the tranny.”

Brick’s thoughts drifted. He looked at Cash Money. “How would Juicy know Misty was going to see Smash in the wee hours of the morning?”

“I’m only guessing. She persuaded Smash to try out the stripper chick. I know that for a fact because when he came back in the bedroom, he told me that he’d get back with me again some other time. After I left Smash’s room, the stripper went in.”

“What was her name?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t introduce us.”

“What did she look like?”

“I can’t remember.”

“No? Well, I got tools in the trunk that might help to jog your memory,” Brick said threateningly.

“She was a light-skinned chick,” Cash Money blurted. “Oh, wait a minute. I remember her name because Smash laughed a little when Juicy introduced them.”

“What’s her name?”

“Redbone.”

“Redbone?”

“Yeah. Smash only agreed to get with her because he liked her name so much.”

“Where can I find this Redbone chick?”

“I don’t know. You gotta get in touch with Juicy.”

“How?”

“It all goes back to Smash Hitz.”

“Before I go after Juicy, did any of Misty’s male workers know Smash on a personal level?”

“Yeah.”

“Who?”

“Too many to name. But one in particular was Horatio. He went to Miami with Misty, pretending to be her bodyguard. But after they got there, Smash preferred Horatio over Misty. That’s when she first found out Smash was into dudes. And she milked his obsession, giving him a smorgasbord of young, muscular dudes.”

“And what happened to Horatio?”

Cash Money shrugged. “I’m not sure. I remember that Misty and Horatio had a big argument over Smash Hitz. Horatio thought he deserved some extra bread for helping Misty find out the man was on the low. Misty wouldn’t give it to him. I think he quit, but then again, Misty may have fired him. I don’t remember, man. Like I said, Misty had beef with damn near everybody that worked for her.

“But Horatio wasn’t no killer. That dude was big as a line-backer, but he was sweet. None of Misty’s workers were killers. If you find Juicy…you’ll get to the truth. Juicy hated Misty and I know that for a fact.”

“How do you know that?”

“Dane told me. He said that Juicy wanted everything that Misty had.”

T
he expression “poor little rich girl” finally made sense. Anya left the lawyer’s office several million dollars richer. The money was supposed to make her life easier. But this blood money, the result of a civil suit against the security company that had been contracted to keep her mother’s workplace safe, didn’t make her happy.

Tears sprang to Anya’s eyes as she imagined Kaymar and the other merciless savage accosting her mother inside the parking garage and forcing her off the property. The terror and hopelessness her mother must have felt brought tears to Anya’s eyes.

There’d been cameras around the grounds of the health care facility where her mother worked, but the security company neglected their duties. They weren’t looking at the monitors nor were any of the team members outside, patrolling the parking lot during shift change, and acting as a visual deterrent. Instead the security team was inside the facility, drinking coffee, laughing, kicking it with each other while her mom was being kidnapped.

Had they bothered to glance at the monitors, they would have been able to stop the assailants. Because of their negligence, her mother was no longer alive.

Anya’s aunt and other extended family in Indiana talked bad about her father; called him a drug addict, a bum, a deadbeat dad. Said he blew a million dollars on fast living and drugs.

It was true; he went through the money fast. He abandoned Anya, but no one took into consideration that he was in severe emotional pain.

Now Anya knew the truth. The lawyer told her today that her father was awarded several million, and it was his idea to put the bulk of the money in a trust fund for Anya.

She learned from the attorney that her mother’s heinous and brutal murder had left her father a distraught man. He was guilt-ridden for not driving her to work as he usually did. The NBA playoffs were in overtime, and he told her to take the car. Her father’s drug habit became an escape from the constant emotional pain.

This was another piece of the puzzle that Anya hadn’t known about.

The sweet revenge of ending Kaymar Crawford’s miserable life had given her great satisfaction for a while. Now the emptiness was back.

I want to get far, far away. Start a new life. Maybe in Trinidad; I can reconnect with my mother’s relatives. Find my roots. Finally get a sense of kinship. But I can’t pick up and go until I find my father. I have to make sure that he’s straight.

And I don’t want to leave without Brick, either. I need him in my life.

Anya was peering at the screen of her iPad when Brick returned to the motel. “Hey!”

He kissed her on the cheek. “I talked to your boy, Cash Money, tonight,” he said. “Caught him creeping out the back door of his mother’s crib.”

“Oh, yeah? Did you get any new information out of him?”

“Sure did.”

“What did he say?”

“He’s terrified of Smash Hitz, but he’s tired of hiding out and looking over his shoulder. He wants that man off his ass. I told Cash Money that I can help him out if he cooperates with me. I asked him to think real hard about all the females Misty had beef with.”

Focusing all her attention on Brick, Anya closed the iPad cover.

“He kept saying he only knew about the tranny. His memory was jogged after I made a few harsh threats. He told me that he remembered seeing a female stripper at the mansion that Smash was renting on the same night that Misty got attacked.”

“Do you really think that a woman attacked Misty?” Anya asked, looking incredulous.

Brick nodded. “I found it hard to believe, too. When she told me that a lone female rolled up in a sports car, got out and beat her with a tire iron, and you know…ran over her.” Brick winced at the mental imagery. “I thought Misty was hallucinating, you know…delirious or something. I’d always figured the perp was a man. I never imagined a female would be out in the middle of the night with the intention to kill. After talking with Cash Money, I found out at least two women had grudges against Misty. But only one was in the Philly area that night.”

Anya shook her head. “Misty’s on the brink of dying, and if by some miracle she survives, her life will be hell on earth. Whoever did that to her needs to suffer.”

Guiltily, Brick looked down; laced his fingers together. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said. “The reason my wife wants to divorce me… The reason she’s tryna get me locked up…” He looked up, his eyes locked on Anya’s. “I’m the person responsible for Misty’s condition.”

“What do you mean?”

“Misty begged me to help her end her suffering. Even though it was over between us, we still shared a bond. I couldn’t watch her suffer.”

Anya scowled. “What did you do to her?”

“It wasn’t my idea. It was Misty’s. She pleaded with me to help put her out of her misery. She was tired of living inside a body that didn’t function anymore.”

Anya expression softened. She nodded in understanding.

“Misty was paralyzed but she had the partial use of one of her hands. And she had a strong will. Somehow, she managed to store a mixture of pills. Her stash was scattered under the bed.”

“Wow. That took a lot of effort.”

“She was serious about checking out. She asked me to gather up the pills and put ’em in her mouth.” He took a deep breath. “So, I did what she wanted. But instead of slipping into the peaceful death that she wanted, Misty ended up in a coma.”

Anya rubbed Brick’s hand. “You tried, babe. You did what she asked you to do.”

“But her mom… She’s looking at it from a mother’s perspective. And I get that. Believe me, I didn’t want to lose Misty, either, but she claimed she’d seen the other side. She said a better life was waiting for her.”

“Do you believe in life after death?”

“I don’t know, man. Misty believed it, so it doesn’t matter what I think about it.”

“I hope my mother’s in a better place,” Anya mused. “And I hope Kaymar Crawford is rotting in hell,” Anya said with her mouth twisted in hatred. “His partner in crime—Theodore Belgrade—better pray he stays locked up for the rest of his miserable life. If he ever gets paroled…” She shook her head. “He’s gonna end up as rat bait, too.”

Thinking about his situation, Brick zoned out for a moment. “Yo, it’s time for me to make some moves. But I don’t want to leave you in this motel. Maybe you should consider reconnecting with your people in Indiana. That way, I’ll know you’re safe.”

“I wouldn’t feel safe.”

“Why not?”

“I only feel safe when I’m with you.”

“You can’t get involved in this. Dealing with Kaymar was easy; wasn’t nothing to it. But Smash Hitz has a squad he pays to protect him. Touching that man is gonna be complicated. And dangerous.”

“I thought you narrowed the suspects down to a particular female.”