Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 (The Saga Continues) Read online

  head back up north,” he said.

  I looked back at him. “I take it you just got rubbed the wrong way.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” he replied and then he switched gears and asked me if I’d found

  something I’d want to wear? I showed him a couple of shirts along with a couple of pants that

  complimented the shirts. He gave me the nod of approval so we headed over towards the store

  clerk. The total came up to one hundred and twenty-two dol ars. He acted as if he expected to pay

  more. I patted him on his shoulder and thanked him.

  When we left Legends we stopped in Kohl’s to get me a couple pairs of bra and panties sets.

  Bishop picked himself up a pair of dress socks and then we left the mal completely. On our way

  back to the hotel Bishop got yet another cal . This time I could tel that it wasn’t Katrina. He slowed his

  pace down so I could walk ahead of him. The tone of his voice changed too. It was no secret that he

  was talking to a woman. What she meant to him was a different question altogether. “I just left the

  mal ,” I heard him say. And then he laughed. “Trust me, you wouldn’t want anything out of that mal . I

  only stopped in there to get a pair of dress socks for the funeral,” he explained.

  Tel ing the woman on the other end of the phone that she wouldn’t want anything from Pembroke

  Mal only meant that she was a high maintenance chick. Judging from his conversation, I figured she

  only shopped at places like Barneys’ or Saks’. And the fact that he reminded her about the choice of

  places she shopped meant that he remembered going on shopping sprees with her.

  Meanwhile, during his intimate chat with a woman that was obviously his main squeeze, I noticed

  we were being fol owed by a black guy. He looked like an average cat, so it was hard to tel whether

  or not he was some random stalker or a hit man for Duke. I felt uneasy and right when I was about to

  get Bishop’s attention, he suddenly disappeared. One minute he was in plain sight and the next

  minute he was gone. I started to back track my steps to see if he was lingering around one of the

  corners, but I changed my mind and continued to do what I came here to do in the first place.

  Bishop was in his own world. His conversation with this woman lasted until we got in the lobby

  area of the hotel. When he realized his window for privacy was about to end, I heard him tel her he

  loved her too and then he ended the cal . We got on the elevator and took it to our floor. As we exited

  the elevator I smiled at him and said, “It’s good to know that some people are stil in love.”

  He gave me this cute little look and said, “If you told me you loved me, I’d tel you the same.”

  “So, you’re tel ing me that you tel people you love them even when you don’t mean it?”

  He stuck the key card into the door and opened it to let me inside the room. “What is that, a trick

  question?” he smiled.

  I laid my things on the bed and took a seat next to them. “You know it’s not a trick question. So,

  just answer it. Al you’ve got to say is yes or no.”

  Bishop stood there in front of me and gave me the cutest smile ever. I was about to fucking melt.

  He was beginning to turn me on and the crazy part about al of this was that I knew he had someone

  in his life but I could real y care less.

  “Give me some time to think about it and then I’l get back with you,” he said as he walked

  towards the bathroom. “Excuse me for a second. Gotta go to the men’s room.”

  “Take your time,” I replied.

  After he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door I turned my focus to my things and began

  to sort them out. Meanwhile, I heard Bishop’s cel phone ring from the bathroom. “Hel o,” I heard him

  say, and then he fel silent. A few seconds later he said, “I’m in room 512.” And when he told the cal er

  what room we were in, I knew right off the bat that it was Katrina he was talking to. Immediately after,

  he ended the cal , he walked out of the bathroom and confirmed what I thought was true. “Katrina is

  on her way up to the room.”

  “Oh, real y,” I replied nonchalantly as I continued doing what I was doing.

  By the time she knocked on the door, I was already in the bathroom trying to get out of my clothes

  so I could take a quick shower. I had no idea if they had plans for us to leave the room. But I figured if

  they did, I’d be ready.

  “What are you doing here so early?” Bishop asked.

  “We need to talk.”

  “What’s up?” I heard Bishop ask. I waited for Katrina to speak. I stood by the bathroom door

  quietly. I even found myself holding my breath. Unfortunately for me, al of what I did was done in vain

  because when I heard the hotel room door closed, I knew that they had taken their conversation into

  the hal way. I sucked my teeth and proceeded to take a shower.

  While I bathed myself, I couldn’t help but wonder what was so secretive that Katrina didn’t want

  me to hear what she had to say to Bishop. Since I wasn’t that close to Bishop, I knew it would be like

  pul ing teeth to get him to fil me in on what she had to say. People are so shiesty these days that it

  wouldn’t surprise me if that bitch was trying to plot on me. She’d better come correct because I’m not

  in the fucking mood. Especial y with al the shit I’d been through with Duke’s scandalous ass! I’ve

  vowed to stay two steps ahead of ever motherfucker I came in contact with. And that’s my word.

  I wasn’t the bitch to fuck with anymore.

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

  Scandalous Bitches-Chapter Four

  It only took me about ten minutes to shower.

  By the time I exited the bathroom Katrina and Bishop were back in the room. I looked at Katrina

  and said hel o. She looked at me with a funny expression and acted as if she didn't want to speak

  back. I rol ed my eyes. The shit didn’t matter to me. But I did make it my business to put her stupid

  ass on Front Street. “You okay?” I asked.

  “I'm fine,” Katrina replied.

  I immediately looked at Bishop. He shook his head while Katrina had her back turned. And then he

  said, “I am going to need you to stay here while Katrina and I head out to the club.”

  “How long are you going to be?” I asked.

  “Not too long,” he replied as he stuck the hotel key into his front pocket. Ten seconds later, he and

  Katrina were gone.

  When the door closed I took a seat on the bed. There I was sitting in the room al by myself. I had

  no idea what I was going to do while they were gone. And that’s when I realized I had no friends or

  family to cal . I wasn't a bad person so why was I alone? At that very moment I thought back on my

  life and tried to remember how many people I had done wrong? I knew there were at least two men I

  had used for my own personal gain. But I didn’t believe I caused this much karma. I mean, al I'd ever

  done was use those cats for their money. That was it.

  So for me to go to jail for something I did not do was real y fucked up. I can count the fingers on

  one hand for the times I did someone wrong. But I would need to use my hands and my feet to count

  the many times I had been done wrong. It seemed as if I couldn’t get any sympathy from anyone

  around me. But when the shoe was on the other foot people were quick to point fingers. I couldn’t

  express it enough about how it was going to
be about me from this day forward. I was stepping on

  any and everybody’s fucking feet to get where I got needed to go. No more Miss Nice Girl. I was

  going to be the biggest bitch ever. Fuck that! Nice Girl died in jail, now only the Bitch with Attitude was

  left.

  Instead of being in the room I grabbed the key card and headed down to the lobby of the hotel. I

  figured getting some fresh air would take my mind off the bul shit I had running through my mind. I had

  no idea where I was going but I knew I needed to take a walk. I headed out to Virginia Beach

  Boulevard and headed toward Barnes and Noble bookstore. I didn't have a penny in my pocket to

  buy anything but I knew that I couldn’t cause any harm by browsing through the books and magazines

  when I got there. Thank God the weather was nice, so my walk went fairly quick. I was greeted by one

  of the store clerks and was told that if I needed anything, don't hesitate to ask.

  “Can you tel me where the African American section is?” I asked.

  The young lady pointed me in the right direction of the African American section was, I thanked her

  and went on my merry way.

  When I was in jail I was turned on to a book cal ed Keep the Faith by Faith Evans. My cel mate at

  the time was reading it and told me I had to read it. So I took it after she was done and when I read

  the first page I was hooked. So I figured since I'm not doing anything why not see if I can find another

  book by her. I mean who knows, I could probably read damn near an entire book while Bishop and

  Katrina were out.

  While I glanced through the books in the urban section I noticed two men walking up behind me.

  They startled the hel out of me. I turned around and faced them both. One of them was a Caucasian

  male and the other one was Black. Both men were dressed in plainclothes but it wasn't hard to tel

  that they were detectives. I stood there with a puzzled expression because it had just dawned on me

  that this black guy was the exact same man who was fol owing me earlier while Bishop and I was in

  the mal . I chuckled underneath my breath because now it came to me why he was fol owing me. “You

  know I almost blew your cover earlier when I noticed you fol owing in the mal ,” I stated.

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” he replied as he extended his hand to introduce himself. “My name is

  Detective Whitfield and this is my partner, Detective Rosenberg. We’re the investigators assigned to

  the murders and the il egal baby adoptions done by the hands of Duke Carrington.”

  I shook his hand and immediately let it go. I nodded my head instead of saying a word. They were

  in my space, so I knew they had more to say than I did.

  “Mind if we go somewhere more private?” Detective Whitfield asked me as he looked around at

  our surroundings.

  “Sure, I don’t mind. But where?”

  “Let’s go over there to that isolated corner,” he suggested. I said okay and proceeded to walk in

  that direction.

  I wondered if Whitfield was the one talking because both of us were Black or if he took the lead

  on al of their investigations. I hoped the latter. My radar was up, my trust level down. A gold badge

  and the same skin color as me weren’t guaranteeing trust on my part.

  Detective Whitfield and Rosenberg led me to the back of the bookstore. It was completely empty.

  There was no one in sight. There were only two chairs available so I sat in one of them while

  Detective Whitfield sat in the other, solidifying that he was the lead detective.

  Detective Rosenberg stood next to his fel ow detective as Whitfield prepared to make his spiel.

  Before he ran down certain details of their operation, he made it his fucking business to want to know

  who I was with at the mal ? Before I gave up Bishop’s name, I hesitated for a moment to gather my

  thoughts. Honestly, I hadn’t known Bishop that long, so I real y didn’t have much to say about him. Not

  only that, that question alone made me feel awkward. I mean, I real y wasn’t comfortable talking

  about him . . . much less giving them his name.

  So, while I contemplated what to say, Detective Whitfield interrupted my thoughts by saying,

  “Before you say anything, just know we’l be able to find out whether or not you’re lying to us. And if

  we find out that you told us a lie then it’s not going to look good for you.”

  I jumped on the defense. “What makes you think I’m gonna lie to you?” I blurted out.

  “Listen Lynise, I just want everything to be laid out on the table so we can al be on the same

  page. That’s it,” he replied, trying to play it cool. He knew he had said the wrong thing to me, that’s

  why he tried to soften the blow. I wasn’t stupid and by the time this conversation of ours was over,

  he’d recognize it for sure.

  Before I gave these clowns any information I rol ed my eyes and chuckled underneath my breath.

  This whole scene with them surrounding me as if I was a fucking informant was pathetic if you asked

  me. I mean, you would think with al the technology and forensic investigators roaming these idiots

  would have al the information they need.

  But no, they would rather be lazy and have non-compensated snitches do their work for them.

  Shit, if I was going to do their jobs for them, then they're gonna have to do more than give me

  immunity and a get out of jail free card. A bitch like me needed a roof over my head and a few

  dol ars in my pocket. If they couldn’t fit those amenities in their budget then I wouldn’t be spil ing my

  guts. They would get the bare minimal, if they got anything at al . And that was my word.

  After Detective Whitfield changed his tone a bit, I final y told him what Bishop's first name was. He

  tried to get his last name out of me, but I swore to him that I didn't know it, which was the God's

  honest truth. I did however, tel them both that he was Neeko's older brother and that he was only

  here to bury him.

  “Are you positive that he doesn't want to seek any revenge for his bother's death?” Whitfield

  wanted to know.

  “If he does, he hasn't mentioned it to me,” I lied. Again, these sorry ass detectives weren't trying to

  give up anything of value for the real scoop on Bishop, so I fed them enough to get them off my back.

  “Did he mention when Neeko’s funeral would be?” his questions continued.

  “Not yet. But he and Neeko's girlfriend, Katrina, are making those arrangements as we speak.”

  “Wel , you just make sure you keep your eyes and ears open. We want to know about every step

  they make. And if you hear anything about trying to seek revenge, please don't hesitate to contact us.

  ”

  “I won't,” I replied, even though I planned to do the exact opposite.

  After Detective Whitfield gril ed me for information about Bishop, he shifted his conversation to the

  plan they had to take Duke off the streets. I sat there and watched his body language as he gave me

  certain details about their operation. I also watched the other detective through my peripheral vision

  while he was watching me. These guys seemed to like they had it al figured out. But I wasn't sold on

  their elaborate plan to arrest Duke. It was bogus if you asked me. During those few months I had

  spent with Duke, I found out how vicious this guy real y was. He didn't play games with anyone. He

  was notorious for eliminating anyone who'd gotten in his way. And if he didn't do it himself, he had

>   people who'd jump at the opportunity.

  Since the judge let me go, I had every intention on helping these detectives bring that bastard

  down. But I wasn't going to let them put my life in danger to accomplish their mission.

  During the entire briefing, I believed I only had a handful of words to say. Detective Whitfield pretty

  much ran the floor. When our talk was final y over, he looked at me and asked me if I had any

  questions. I started to get up and walk away from his sil y looking ass. But I stayed calm and said, “Do

  you real y expect me to cal him and ask him if he’d want to have dinner with me after al the shit I’d

  been through with him? I mean, that doesn’t sound crazy to you? He’s a very bright man and he’s

  going to know that something isn’t right.”

  “Detective Rosenberg already thought about that,” Detective Whitfield retorted. “And al you have

  to do is play on the fact that even though he screwed you around and had you locked up for

  something you hadn’t done, you stil can’t take your mind off of him.”

  I gave this guy the look of death. “Are you fucking kidding me? Is that al you have?” I spat. “Me

  tel ing that no good son of a bitch that I can’t get my mind off him sounds suspect. He’s not going to

  believe any of that bul shit. You’re talking about a man who has pregnant women kil ed if they won’t

  give their babies to him so he can sel them to his rich clients. He is heartless. There is no beating

  around the bush with this man. He wil see right through that shit as soon as I open my mouth. If you

  can’t come up with a better plan than that, then you’re gonna have to find another chick to do your

  dirty work because I’m not about to get my fucking head chopped off because y’al ain’t got y’al shit

  together.”

  Both detectives looked at me like I was crazy. “You need to calm down,” Detective Whitfield said

  as he surveyed the bookstore to see if I had attracted any attention. “I know there’s a better way that

  we can handle this.”

  “Not with that shit you're talking about!” I interjected. “I am not about to let y'al get me caught up in

  that mess and get my head blown off. Shit! I'm trying to live and maybe get married one day and