Wifey 4 Life (4 page)

I put my head down and walked away. She was on a rampage, and
I wasn’t about to let her make a spectacle of me, especially with all the cops
hanging around. And now that I thought about it, it wouldn’t surprise me if she
was trying to set me up with all the fucking questions she was asking me. I was
hip to her games. I wasn’t that green. I had plenty of sense, whether or not she
believed it.

I immediately exhaled when I exited the police precinct. With
my carry-on bag and purse in hand, I walked straight down the boulevard, waiting
for the next taxi to drive by so I could hop in. The sun was beaming down on me.
It had to be every bit of one hundred degrees out here, and the humidity was even
worse. At times, it felt like I couldn’t breathe, but I kept walking.

In the distance, I heard my name called. I looked behind me and
saw that it was my uncle running toward me. I stopped in my tracks and waited for
him to approach me. Out of breath, he panted a little as he stopped before me. He
immediately pressed his left hand against his chest.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. I just need to take a breather.”

I grabbed him by his arm. “Take your time.”

He took three deep breaths and then exhaled. “Look, I can’t stay
long. I just ran down here to apologize to you for the way my wife spoke to you.”

“No, Uncle Lanier, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Listen, I know a lot of shit has happened, but I am not about
to let that come between you and me. We are blood, and don’t you ever forget that.”

“I won’t,” I said, getting choked up.

He embraced me, so I hugged him back and wrapped my arms around
him as tightly as I could. I realized at that point that he was the only living
relative I had left. And to hear him tell me that he wouldn’t let anyone come between
us really made me feel some kind of way. I knew he had a genuine love for me, so
that was all that mattered.

Right before he let me go, he looked into my eyes as if searching
for something. It felt like he could see right through me. I felt very uneasy, so
I put my head down.

He immediately grabbed me by the tip of my chin and lifted my
head back up. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with
me, even if you think it will hurt me.”

I developed a huge knot in my throat. From the look on my uncle’s
face, I could tell he was as serious as a fucking heart attack, and that he wanted
me to ask me something to do with Nikki.

I took a deep breath. “OK.” But on the inside, I was a nervous
wreck. It felt like I was about to be interrogated all over again, but by a loved
one this time. I gave him the most sincere expression I could muster, and then I
gave him my undivided attention.

He took a deep breath. “Can you tell me anything about Nikki’s
murder? I mean, the police don’t have any leads. And the motherfucker who did this
to my baby has to pay for it. So if you know anything or anyone she was messing
around with, please tell me.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Lanier, but I don’t know anything. When Nikki
and I got here, she and I didn’t live together long. She and I got into a big argument,
and shortly thereafter she moved out. She stopped working in my shop too, so we
pretty much stopped all communication with each other.”

“When was the last time you spoke to her?”

“About a month before I decided to leave the country.”

“So she
hadn’t tried to contact you at all?”

“Nope.”

“What about a man? Did you meet any of her male friends that
might be linked to her murder?”

“She pretty much kept her personal life to herself. I used to
try to get her to go out on double dates with me, but she would always refuse to
go. I guess she was still bent out of shape behind that guy named Syncere she used
to mess with back in Virginia.”

Uncle Lanier shook his head in a frustrating manner. I could
tell he wasn’t pleased with what I had just said. He wanted something more solid,
but I couldn’t give it to him. I could see tears forming in his eyes, and my heart
went out to him, but at the same time my hands were tied. I couldn’t implicate myself
just to make him feel better. Hell nah! I would be a damn fool. He was just gonna
have to let the homicide detectives do their job, because I couldn’t help him.

I rubbed him on his back and told him that everything was going
to be all right, even though I knew it wouldn’t. Bintu’ and his family were notorious
gangsters, and they were pros at organized crime, so there was no way the detectives
or my uncle and his silly-ass wife would ever find out what went on in that abandoned
warehouse. I made a vow to take what happened to my grave, and that was what I intended
to do.

Uncle Lanier took another deep breath and then sighed heavily.
“We are having Nikki’s body shipped back to Virginia today because her funeral is
this Friday at noon, which is three days from now. So please promise me that you’ll
come.”

I hesitated before I answered, because the thought of going back
to that place gave me the creeps. I had no life there. Everyone who was left living
and breathing hated my fucking guts, so why even bother?

My uncle grabbed my hand. “Look, I know you have a lot of bad
memories there. But could you at least block all of that out for this one day?”

My mind was telling me to tell my uncle, “Hell nah!” But my heart
was forcing me to say the opposite. I went against my better judgment and told him,
“I’m only doing this for you and Nikki.”

He smiled. “That’s all that matters.” He kissed me on my forehead,
said good-bye, and turned to leave.

I watched him as he made his way back toward the police precinct,
his head held down the entire walk. It was evident that he was thinking about the
loss of his only child. Nikki was his pride and joy. I knew her parents had many
plans for her life. And now everything that they could have imagined would happen
for her had gone up in smoke.

Although my uncle wouldn’t admit it, I knew deep down inside
that he blamed me for the day she dropped out of school, to the day she got arrested
for transporting Ricky’s drugs, to the very day she got mixed up with that whack-ass
nigga Syncere. No matter what I could have said, they would not have believed me
if I told them that I had nothing to do with her getting with that guy. She’d met
him on her own. But, hey, what could I say? You win some, and you lose some.

After my uncle disappeared behind the double doors of the police
station, I turned around and started walking once again. My stroll only lasted ten
seconds because a taxi rolled up quicker than I could blink.

I got into the air-conditioned cab with absolutely no idea where
I wanted to go. I really didn’t have a reason to be in Houston, other than to pay
my real estate agent a fucking visit. How fucking grimy could she be, setting up
my ass to be picked up?

I thought about calling her trashy ass and telling her I was
taking my fucking house off the market and that I no longer need her damn assistance.
But, nah, I was just gonna play her dumb ass at her own game and kill the bitch
with kindness, see how she acted when she found out I wasn’t behind bars.

I retrieved my BlackBerry from my handbag and dialed her office
number. Her receptionist answered the line and connected me to her. “Hello, this
is Kendra,” she said.

“Hi, Kendra, this is Kira,” I said, and then I fell silent.

“Oh, hey, girl. How-ow-ow you doing?” she stuttered. “I’m doing
fine. And you?”

“I’m g-g-g-good. How was your flight?”

“My flight was good. But are you sure you are all right?”

“Ahhh,
yeah, I’m fine.”

“So what time is the closing?” I asked, even though I knew there
wasn’t one.

“My assistant didn’t call you?” Kendra asked, her voice barely
audible. “I didn’t hear you, Kendra. Can you speak up?”

“My assistant was supposed to call you and tell you that the
couple couldn’t make the closing, so we’re going to have to reschedule it for another
day.”

“When was I supposed to get this call?”

“She said she made the call yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t get that call, Kendra. And, anyway,
I spoke to you yesterday morning to confirm the closing for today, and you told
me everything was still a go.”

“Yes, I did, and that was because everything was set in motion
at that time. But right before I left the office yesterday I got the call from the
couple’s realtor saying that the couple hadn’t come up with all the money they needed
for their closing costs. So we had no choice but to reschedule.”

“What’s the couple’s name?”

“I’m, well . . . I . . . um, don’t have that information in front
of me at the moment, but if you give me a second, I can have my assistant pull their
folder,” she replied, her voice fading in and out.

“That won’t be necessary, Kendra. Just call me when you guys
reschedule a closing date.” It was pointless to continue probing her when all I
was going to get was lies.

“Will do. But what are you going to do in the meantime?”

“I’m gonna go back to Anguilla.”

“Well, you have a safe flight back.”

“I will,” I assured her, and then I hung up.

I called her so many bitches after I disconnected my line. She
was a fucking fraud, and I wanted so badly to expose her ass. But I knew I had to
wait for my day and time to do that. Right then, I needed the bitch to sell my house,
and since she had an excellent track record of getting rid of properties, I decided
to let her hold the ball.

Since my plans had changed and I was headed back out to Virginia,
I knew I couldn’t get back on a flight to go back to Anguilla. I instructed the
driver to take me downtown to the Renaissance Hotel, which was one block over from
where Fatu’ had his penthouse.

After I checked into my room, I walked onto the balcony of my
twentieth floor suite and gazed into the night. The streetlights were bright as
hell, and the streets were busy as usual. I could see Fatu’s old residence clear
as day.

I stood there and thought back to the many nights I used to spend
inside that building, and the mornings I used to wake up with breakfast served
to me while still in bed. Not to mention the many times I sat up in his bed and
wondered where he was.

I had to admit, life with him was an adventure. I just couldn’t
believe how Nikki could go against me and sleep with him behind my back. Now, how
scandalous was that? Did she hate me that much? Was I in any way toxic toward
her? I mean, I couldn’t imagine being so terrible to her that she would want to
stab me in my back.

Then the way Fatu’ carried me really had me taken aback. Who
would have known? I was nothing but good to that son of a bitch, and look how he
repaid me. He fucked my cousin and had her mind twisted the fuck up. I sure wished
I could have gotten more out of him than I had, but it was too late now. He was
gone, and so was she. So all that was left for me to do was move on and forget that
they ever existed, which was what I planned to do.

I got undressed, took a quick shower, and ordered room service.
I had no intention of leaving the hotel for fear that I’d run into someone I didn’t
want to see. I had a juicy filet mignon with a baked potato and a side of steamed
broccoli. After that hearty meal, I settled down and watched an old western movie
with Clint Eastwood. Shortly thereafter I dozed off.

***

The next morning I got up and got dressed. I had no plans to
stick around in Houston, so I got a taxi driver to take me back to the airport.
The quicker I got out of Houston, the better. When I got to the airport, I went
to the reservation desk and bought myself a round-trip ticket to Virginia.

The next flight leaving was in two hours, so I had a little bit
of time to mess around. Since I hadn’t had any time to get a bite to eat while I
was at the hotel, I sat down at one of the cafés in the airport and ordered a breakfast
platter with three strips of bacon, two scrambled eggs, hash browns, and two pieces
of toast. The eggs looked really wet and uncooked, so I devoured the bacon and the
toast and finished off my meal with a tall cup of apple juice.

Later as I waited for my flight, I got a call from Kendra. I
answered after the second ring. “Hello,” I said.

“Hi, Kira. This is Kendra.”

“How can I help you, Kendra?”

She sighed heavily. “Kira, I have a confession to make. I tossed
and turned all last night thinking about you.”

“What about?” I asked, even though I knew what she was hinting
at.

“I haven’t been totally honest with you about why I needed you
to come back to Houston. See, I got a call from a Houston homicide detective
wanting to know your whereabouts. He said he was investigating a murder and you
could probably help him. So I asked him what he needed from me, and that was when
he told me to call you with some bogus story about me having a seller for your house
so you would come back to the States. Now, believe me, I was reluctant to help
him at first, but when I sat back and thought about it, I remembered back when my
sister was murdered while some crazy guys were doing a drive-by, and no one ever
came forward to give information so those guys could pay for what they did. So,
you see, I felt compelled to help him. I couldn’t see doing it any other way.”

“Look, Kendra, you don’t have to go through that whole spiel.
I understand.”

“No, you don’t, Kira. This was something I had to do for my sister,
so it had nothing to do with you as a person.”

“If it’s any consolation, Kendra, I’m OK with what you did. I
mean, it would’ve happened sooner or later.”

“So you forgive me?”

“You are a’ight. Everything is cool.”

“So when are you leaving to go back to Anguilla?”

“In a few days. I’ve got to head back to my hometown to tie up
a few loose ends.”