Dirtiest Revenge (26 page)

“
Ken baby, the house is just the way we left it. Are you sure you slept here at all? I know women snoop,” Wiz teased, looking around the house.

“
What do I need to be nosey for? I knew where my man was at every day. Besides, I slept on the couch every night, so why should I be snooping?” she asked.

Wiz smiled and kissed her on the forehead. Then, Kendra helped Wiz bathe. After his bath, she propped him on the bed, handed him the remote to the TV, and laid down beside him.

*****

Trent wondered if Nicole had made it or not, or if the shots were lethal enough to put Wiz out of his misery. His mind wandered from Nicole to Wiz. Trent wanted to go see Nicole, but his better judgment said it was best to stay clear of the hospital.

“
Hey, Mom,” Trent said, kissing his mother on the cheek and helping her out of her coat. Trent was a thug in the streets, but he knew how to separate the two when dealing with his parents.

“
I went to see Nicole in the hospital. She’s showing some progress. Anyone that would beat on a poor, defenseless woman like that doesn’t deserve a second chance in this world. By the way, they weren’t able to save the baby,” Mrs. Moore said, looking to see her son’s reaction.

“
Mom, why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

“
Boy, you know damn well that girl had some strong feelings for you. I don’t need to confirm with you if the baby was yours or not, but what I do know is how you keep hurting the women who love you. I’m glad Kendra’s moved on. I know like hell, if it was me, I probably would’ve killed your dumb ass by now.”

Trent was stunned that his mom was speaking to him in that way. He could never pull the wool over her eyes. She continued lecturing him, saying, “I swear you weren’t cut from the same cloth as your dad. He wasn’t all about that player mentality. He had a girlfriend when we met, but he said things were rocky, so I told him, before he could pursue anything with me, he had to handle his business at home first. I never had to worry about your dad cheating or creeping.” Just then, the door bell rang. When Trent answered the door, he was greeted by the Los Angeles Detectives and a UPS delivery guy. Trent decided to deal with the delivery guy first.

“
Yeah. Delivery for Trenton Moore,” the UPS guy stated. Trent took the package and signed off on the clipboard. “Thank you.”

“
Now, gentleman, I’m guessing you’re here with some kind of news about my sister, or, at least, I hope you are,” Trent said as he invited the detectives into the house. They took off their hats and greeted Mrs. Moore. She offered them a seat.

“
And to what do we owe this visit?” she asked, smiling at the detectives.

Trent took a seat adjacent to his mother and placed the package on the ground beside his feet.

She asked, “What’s that you have, son?”

Trent shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the box. It had his name and his parents’ address on the box but no return address. The package was extra big and kind of heavy. Everyone turned their head to Trent as he grabbed a box cutter off the table.

What was in the box was never be to be expected. After he saw what was inside, Trent yelled out, “Nah! Not my sister!”

The contents of the box confirmed that his sister was dead. Tears poured from Trent’s eyes. Mrs. Moore tried to grab the box, but the detectives intervened, stopping her from viewing the contents. She fought them and desperately grabbed at the box. The box flipped on its side and out rolled a female head wrapped in plastic.

Mrs. Moore vomited all over the place and screamed, “Oh, God! No! Not my baby!”

The detectives called the station and changed the Treniyah Moore abduction case to a homicide investigation. They also put a track on all UPS trucks that had made deliveries within the hour.

Within minutes of the detectives calling the station, all kinds of news people from Channel 11 to Channel 13 were camped out on the Moore’s front yard. Channel 34 KMEX, the Latino Channel, had even claimed a space outside, but the detectives tried to shun them away.

Trent’s father had seen the news from his job and rushed home to be by his family’s side. The streets were blocked off within a four block radius. No one could enter or leave. The officers stopped Mr. Moore’s car when he tried to turn down his street.

“
I’m sorry, sir, but no one’s allowed to enter this street.”

Mr. Moore got out his car as if to challenge the officer.

“
That’s my fucking family down there. I have to be by my family’s side,” Mr. Moore demanded.

The officer radioed a detective. They spoke briefly and then, he lifted up the yellow tape. “I’m sorry, Mr. Moore. Have a good one.”

Mr. Moore sucked his teeth at the officer and made his way to his house. All the news reporters turned in his direction, hoping he would give a statement.

One reporter yelled out, “Is it true that your daughter was a prostitute?”

Aggravated, Mr. Moore yelled at the reporters, “Go to hell!”

Everyone was appalled. Mr. Moore made his way inside the house to comfort his wife and son as the detectives asked Mrs. Moore and Trenton tons of questions: “Did Treniyah have a boyfriend? Did she use any type of drugs? Were there any problems at home?”

Mr. Moore looked at the crowd growing in front of his house. His eyes were bloodshot red as he whispered to one of the detectives, “Please. The family would just like to be left alone at this time. This is a private matter. Thank you.”

The detective complied. He tipped his hat and had everyone to exit the Moore’s house.

*****

Kendra watched the news with Wiz as the words BREAKING NEWS flashed across the screen. Wiz was talking, trying to divert Kendra’s attention away from the TV.

“
Shhh, babe,” Kendra said, gesturing for Wiz to be quiet. She grabbed the remote to turn up the volume. Kendra covered her mouth when she heard the news anchor say, “A missing twenty-year-old woman has been confirmed dead in the city of Long Beach today when the UPS delivery truck came to the Moore home and delivered a package that contained the head of Treniyah Renée Moore.”

The news anchor continued with her report, saying that the streets had been blocked off and that it was going to be a long investigation to solve this crime. Kendra’s jaw dropped. She raced to her cell phone. Simultaneously, her phone rang.

“
Ken, oh my gosh! Did you see what happened?” Nia cried which made Kendra cry, also. She collapsed on the floor and cried in the fetal position. All of this was too much for her.

“
I have to get over there and talk to Trent. I have to be there for him,” she cried.

Wiz looked on in amazement. He wondered if the police had any leads.

Kendra ended the call with her sister. Next, she tried calling Trent to check up on him, to see if there was anything that she could do. Wiz, upset, lashed out and said, “I know you not calling that nigga in my house.”

Kendra froze momentarily. She was speechless. She couldn’t gather her thoughts. She just sat there with an empty expression on her face.

“
You know what? I’m just going to ignore what you just said. Do you even have a heart?”

When he saw how upset she was, he tried a better approach.

“
Babe, I have a heart. It’s just that I can’t imagine you being close to that nig…I mean with your ex again.”

Kendra saw where this was leading. To her, it was kind of cute that Wiz played the jealous role. Even though she was starting a new life with him, it was only right to pay her respects to the family. It was the least she could do.

“
Gabe, I need for to trust me with this. Please, baby.”

Wiz nodded his head in agreement. There was no need for him to get upset because Trent was treading on his last days.

“
Okay. I trust you, mama. Just don’t forget daddy needs you, too,” he replied.

“
Stop being a baby,” she giggled as she stepped out the bedroom so she could call Trent and be his comforter. To her dismay, Trent sent her call to voicemail. Sadness darkened her face. All she wanted to do was show support like he had done for her when her mother passed on. Kendra gave it another shot, but, again, she was sent to voicemail. She thought about leaving a message. Instead, she pressed the END button out of fear that she wouldn’t know what to say. Walking back into the master suite, Kendra laid back on the bed and found her spot right under Wiz where she fit perfectly. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly on her cheek. Kendra cried herself to sleep. Later that night, Kendra woke up, screaming from a bad dream. She grabbed her chest. Her heart was beating like someone was playing African drums inside of her. Kendra reached over, thinking she might have woken up Wiz, but his spot was empty. She called out for him, but she didn’t get an answer. Kendra got out of bed and searched for him in the house.
Hmmm…that’s odd
, Kendra thought. Her phone rang. She grabbed it, thinking it was Wiz.

“
Babe, where are you?” Kendra asked, concerned.

The whimpering in the phone indicated that she wasn’t talking to Wiz. She removed the phone from her ear and saw Trent’s name displayed on the screen.

“
Trent, I am so sorry for your loss. Words can’t express how deeply sorry I am,” Kendra whispered.

“
Shawty, I need you. I need to talk, and, right now, you’re the only one that I can open up to about this shit.”

Trent pounded his chest with his fist as his sniffles grew louder. In the six years that she and Trent had been together, she had never witnessed him shed a single tear. She held her hand close to her heart and said, “Trent, I don’t know if it’s a good idea. It’s late. Can we meet up later?”

“
Listen, ma. I just need an hour of your time. I promise it won’t take that long. I promise. Just please don’t let me down,” Trent begged in between sobs. Kendra couldn’t resist. She felt that she owed it to him to be by his side.

“
Okay, Trent. One hour. No longer.”

Kendra threw on some sweats with a hoodie. She called out for Wiz once more, but she still didn’t get an answer. She grabbed her purse and keys off the coffee table and headed out the door.

*****

Kendra arrived at the Moore’s home in twenty minutes. The yellow tape that was left on the poles indicated that the house was a crime scene. Kendra parked her vehicle and took a deep breath before exiting. Trent met Kendra outside. He led her to the guest house where he could talk without whispering.

“
There’s some shit that I haven’t been honest with you about, and I feel that I owe it to you.”

Kendra tried to protest, but Trent kept right on talking.

“
I think I’m the cause of my sister’s death!”

“
Huh? What are you trying to say?” Kendra asked, confused.

“
Six years ago, when we met, I was into it with another drug king here in L.A. To make a long story short, I ended up killing his cousin in a drug deal gone bad. After the deadly mayhem in DT, he fled, but now he’s back to even the score,” Trent confessed.

Kendra’s mind wandered back to six years ago. She remembered the massacre that had taken place in downtown Los Angles. She covered her mouth and shook her head in disbelief.

“
I caused my sister’s death. How can I explain it to my parents?”

Kendra placed her hand on Trent’s knee, caressing it.

“
I’m quite sure this had nothing to do with what took place so long ago. I can’t see it happening,” Kendra said, trying to rationalize with him, but Trent’s mind was made up.

“
I also wanna apologize to you. I know you made up your mind about us. It was very selfish of me to try to have my cake and eat it, too, but I’m deeply sorry. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? You know my mom constantly tells me that I’ve fucked up a good woman.”

“
Well, you know your mom knows best. Look, Trent. It’s already late. I have to get back home before…” Kendra stopped herself before she continued.

“
C’mon, ma. Ten more minutes. I swear I’ll let you go after that,” Trent pleaded.

Kendra looked down at her phone. She decided to stay ten more minutes, and Trent thanked her. They talked about everything from how they had fallen in love to what had gone wrong in their relationship. Before they knew it, the sun was coming up. Trent kissed Kendra on the lips and covered her with a blanket. Trent went back into the main house to be with his mother and father.

When Kendra awoke, she was confused. She didn’t know where she was. It took her a minute to remember that she was at Trent’s house.
Damn! Wiz would kill me if he knew I was here
, she thought. Kendra folded the blanket and sat it on the arm of the chair she had slept on. She didn’t want to bother the family, so she decided to leave from the backyard. As soon as she made it to the front to retrieve her car, Mrs. Moore stuck her head out the door and, with her hands on her hips, said, “I know you’re not about to leave without coming in to say hi or bye.”

Kendra forced a smile and said, “I just didn’t want to be a bother. You guys are going through a lot, and you may just want to be around family.”