Entry #15: Revenge May be Wicked, But a Bitch is Only Human....

Aaliyah Jasminda

I looked at Omar and let out a deep breath.  I didn't even realize that I had stopped breathing.  I grabbed Omar's arm and said, "No, no, no.  This can't be happening.  Omar what are we going to do?"

Omar looked at me and said calmly, "Nothing."

I stared at Omar for a moment.  I never understood how he remained so calm all of the time.  I knew that I needed to trust him and go with whatever direction he sent me in, but I hated the feeling of troubled waters.  I just wanted this to be done and over with.  I jumped out of the bed and began pacing back and forth.  I think I was getting on Omar's nerves because after about five minutes, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the bed and made me sit down.  The silence was killing me.

"Okay, you said we do nothing.  What if she says something to the police about us?"   I asked.

Omar looked at me and said, "She won't."

At this point I couldn't help it.  "Seriously, how do you know that she won't say anything?"  I learned not to ask questions when it came to certain things with Omar but I was feeling like a nervous Nelly.

"If I tell you, it will make you an accessory.  She won't say anything about us.  She can't, so don't worry about it."

I didn't like his response but I let it go.  I knew that the less I was privy to the better off I was.  Omar was so damn mysterious sometimes that it drove me nuts but at the same time it was what I found most intriguing about him. 

Omar then pulled out his cell phone and left the room.  I tried to creep as close to him as possible without him noticing me to try to hear what he was saying but did not have any success so I crawled back into my bed.  My mind started to wander back to how this all started.  I just wanted to teach Geoffrey a lesson.  I didn't want him dead.  Yes, there were times where I felt like he deserved to die but you can't control your thoughts, you can only contain them.  But then again, if it wasn't for Omar, I probably would be six feet under right now.  I am figuratively speaking of course. 

Omar walked back into the room and interrupted my train of thought. 

"I spoke to a contact of mine at the Atlanta Police Department.  It seems that Cassandra has snapped.  She keeps rocking back and forth saying that she didn't mean to do it.  She basically admitted that she did kill ol' boy but she won't say why."  It didn't matter to me, I still was worried and it showed on my face.   " AJ, you have to understand, we did not kill ol' boy.  Even if they were to connect us to the house or to ol' boy, they can't connect us to the murder because we didn't do it.   You just have to trust me on this."

I looked at Omar and then took his hand.  I didn't say anything; I just held it in silence.  From that day on, I never asked Omar anymore questions.  I couldn't help but feel guilty at the time. For a long time, I felt that I had played some part in Geoffrey's death.  I would often feel the need to confess but the problem was that there wasn't anything to confess to.  I mean, what could I have done?   Call up the cops and say hey, I know that I didn't pull the trigger, but I am guilty of telling this woman the truth?  But as the days went by, I felt less and less guilty.  Perhaps this was Geoffrey's karma.  Who was to say that he wouldn't have died that way if I did not seek the path of revenge?  The way he was going to die was going to happen with or without my involvement, right?  I have asked myself these questions time and time again and the answer was still the same.  Yes, Omar and I were the cause for Cassandra finding out about Geoffrey and his scheme in the first place, but, we did not put the gun in her hand.  Besides, she was cookoo for cocoa puffs from the get go.  Over time, I no longer felt like Geoffrey's blood was on my hands.  I didn't even bother to contact Terry after that horrible night.  I left that to Omar.  I was moving forward with my life and I slowly began to let things go.

Omar

The day that I found out that ol' boy was dead, I was just glad that I was not the one who killed him.  I have enough blood on my hands as it is.  Truth be told, he would have just disappeared without a trace if I did kill him.  His body would never have been found.  To me, he wasn't worth killing.  I went along with this because of my love for AJ.  I don't know how much better she felt in the end but she got her revenge.  More than what she bargained for actually.  She never had to worry about ol' boy coming after her ever again.

I did feel sorry for Cassandra though.  At the end of the day she was just collateral damage.  I didn't see the need to vet her as I was only trying to help her.  I had no idea that she was crazy.  She snapped in the midst of the crossfire, something that was out of my control.  In my field of work, that is not my problem.  However, I worked with a contact of mine from the Division of Family and Children Services to ensure the children would remain together and with blood relatives.  I didn't think that they should have to suffer more than they already had.  In the end, Cassandra took a bargain plea deal in order to get less time on a lesser charge.  One of my contacts did tell me that she did tell the authorities how she met ol' boy and what he did to her.  At that point, I knew that it was only a matter of time before they contacted Terry about this scam.  But the way their operation was set-up, on the surface, Terry appeared to be innocent and had no knowledge of it, so there was nothing they could charge her with.  This of course worked out in my favor as I had the proof needed to have her arrested if necessary.  So as long as Terry kept her mouth shut, she would be just fine.

I did contact Terry the day her husband was killed and reminded her of the consequences of her mentioning AJ or myself to the authorities.  It sounds heartless, I know.  She did just lose her husband but I really didn't give a shit.  Terry and her husband made their bed and they had to lie in it.   Karma is a bitch, they should have known that.  They also should have known Karma rarely ever comes back in the same form.  Either way it didn't matter.  I had all kinds of protocols set up should she ever make mention of AJ and myself to the authorities, so she wouldn't get very far.  Besides, when you lead a life of fraud, you will make mistakes.  It was only a matter of time before Terry and ol' boy got caught.  If it wasn't me and AJ it would have been someone else.

As for me, unlike AJ, I went right back to my everyday life and kept it moving.  This act of revenge was a walk in the park for me, so no sweat off of my back.  All I know is if, there is anything that AJ has learned from this is to vet a dude before she gets too close to him.  Sheeeyit, I feel bad for anyone who tries to talk to her now, that dude is going to be under a microscope until she learns to trust people again.  I'll continue to keep my eye on her though because life is a funny thing and like I always say, don't sleep on anyone because anyone is capable of doing anything.  Because of that, I will always keep AJ safe.

Terry

The day my husband was killed was the day my world came crashing down.  I was angry at him for putting me in this crazy situation in the first place and I wasn't sure how he and I were going to move forward.  Well his death took care of that.  I was in a daze for some time, just going through the motions and trying to remain strong for the sake of my son.  The stress of having to start a new life was getting to me.  My mama was asking me all sorts of questions that I simply could not answer.   I had already felt like she was disappointed in me for marrying Geoffrey in the first place and now this. 

I had the police asking me all sorts of questions.  That crazy bitch Cassandra told them about the scam that Geoffrey and I had.  Thank goodness that none of the evidence pointed in my direction.  I told them the story that Geoffrey and I had rehearsed so many times in case we got caught.  I played the victim.  I was the woman who had a husband who led a secret life.  I then followed with the scripted story that Aaliyah's friend told me to use.  He instructed me on the day my husband was killed to tell the police that Geoffrey and I had gotten into a terrible argument to account for why the house was a mess and that I fled to my mother's house to take some time to think about our marriage. I couldn't risk going to jail for the sake of my son so I went along with it.  I never strayed from my story.  I felt like my life depended on it.

My life was ripped apart in the news.  Fortunately, my background was clean.  Unfortunately, Geoffrey's past was all over the news and on the internet.  Reading the responses to the articles on-line was painful.  People were saying he had it coming to him and that Geoffrey deserved to die.  I knew that the world was full of cruel people but why do they have to be so hurtful?  Reading these comments only fueled my fire for revenge.  Aaliyah and her friend had me where they wanted me, or so they thought.  You see, they may have planned this whole thing out to get her money back and to make Geoffrey pay for what he did, but what they didn't see coming was an angry scorned widow who was going to stop at nothing to make them pay for my ultimate loss. 

Yes, Geoffrey cheated on me but he was still my husband.  Yes, he was a scam artist but as far as I was concerned he was providing for his family.   Either way you slice it, that bitch Aaliyah is cause of all of my hurt and my pain.  She is the reason why my son no longer has a father.  She is the one who led Cassandra to my house in the first place.  If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be in the position I am in right now.  One thing is for sure, I am going to make sure that the bitch pays for what she has done to my life. 

The first thing that I had to do was get my son situated.  Mama offered to take care of him for awhile so that I could have some time to get my life back on track.  I didn't want to leave my son but I had no choice.  Some time had gone by and I was informed by the owners of the house that I lived in with my family that I would need to move out since I no longer could afford the rent.  My only saving grace was that my house was a crime scene for some time and that kept the owner at bay. I knew that I was supposed to wait for the green light to go back to the house but to hell with Aaliyah.  The moment my husband was killed, all bets were off. 

In order for me to carry out my plan of revenge, I needed money.  Once I got back to Atlanta, I contacted my former supervisor who had a soft spot for me and asked if they were hiring at the hotel.  Fortunately, they did and I was back cleaning hotel rooms again.  Of course I never wanted to have to work for somebody ever again in life but in due time I would find another way to make ends meet on my own terms. 

Fortunately, the house was fully furnished when we rented it so I only had to remove my personal belongings.  I sold the big ticket items like the TV and stereo on Craig's List to make enough money to pay for two months rent on a room so I would have a place to live within my price range.  I knew that I was only going to be in town for a certain period of time but until that day came, I decided that this would be the beginning of Aaliyah's end.

©All original content copyright Kim M. Washington, 2014

Entry# 14: The Beginning of the Second Grave

Introducing the inner thoughts of Terry

The whole time while I was on the bus, I kept asking myself, how did I get here?  I continued to stare out of the window while my son slept with his head in my lap.  I gently rubbed his back while I was deep in thought.  I kept replaying the hellish night over and over in my head.  I didn't know what to be more upset about; the fact that Geoffrey cheated on me or the fact that these people now held my freedom in their hands.  Here I was not even thirty years old and I didn't have a dime to my name with just a few of my belongings while being shipped home to my mother.  Shit, I didn't even have a cell phone on me.  These people stripped me of everything.

I guess in a way I had no choice but to chalk it up to karma.  Whoever said it was a bitch sure knew what they were talking about.  Never in a million years did I imagine getting caught never mind my life turning out like this.  The only good thing at the time was that staying with my mom would have bought me some time to come up with a game plan.  Once I was able to get situated, I could figure out how Geoffrey and I could move forward.  I loved him too much to let him go but at the same time I hated him for lying to me and sleeping with those women.  That was never a part of the plan. 

I started thinking about how long Geoffrey and I had pulled this scam.  For a little over two years we have were living off of desperate women, so did that mean that Geoffrey was cheating on me for two years?  But then again, in a way, I guess that I had given him permission to cheat.  I fought back the tears that were trying to flood my eyes as I thought back to all of the nights that he did not come home.  My naive ass never once thought that he was taking his role in these women's lives to an intimate level.   I felt the rise of anger creeping up in my chest.  I wanted to smash my fist through the bus window.  Instead, I balled my hands up into a fist and dug my nails into the palm of my hand and bit my lip to stop the tears from coming. 

I felt my son stirring in my lap.  I shifted his body so that we were a little more comfortable.  For the sake of my son, I needed to come up with a plan to make some money to support him.    But before I could even do that, I needed to come up with a story to explain to my mother why we were suddenly coming to her house.  It wasn't as if she lived down the street.  The best that I could come up with under the stress that I was feeling was to say that Geoffrey and I got into a fight and I needed some time away from him.  It seemed to make sense at the time.  What else could I have possibly said?  It's not like I could start the conversation by saying, "Hi Mama! Your daughter is a scam artist and got caught."  Mama was already skeptical of Geoffrey.  She never did care for him.  She always expressed that he was never going to amount to much and felt that he was going to do nothing but bring me down.   Clearly she was right because I wouldn't be in the position I was in if I had listened to her in the first place.

When I had decided to leave home at the age of eighteen, I had told Mama that I no longer wanted to live in the country backwoods of Georgia.  I felt it in my bones that the city life was more my speed.  Mama had wanted me to go to college and become the first college graduate in the family.  Truth be told, school was never my cup of tea.  I barely passed high school because I was cutting class all of the time as I was more focused on boys than books.  I'm lucky that my fast ass didn't get pregnant or some kind of STI.  Mama felt that I was not ready for city life but what did she know?  She never left the state of Georgia.  I was young and of course I thought I knew a whole lot at the age of eighteen.  Hell, I felt that I was legally old enough to be on my own and her opinion didn't matter.

I ended up moving to Atlanta with two other girls from my hometown who felt the same way that I did, but eventually we all just grew apart.  One decided to go to college and the other one started her own business.  So over time, they no longer cared to party the way that I did.  Eventually, I started to feel alone until I met Geoffrey.  I thought that he was so suave and smooth and had that city flair.  It was what attracted me to him.  He said that he was an aspiring rap artist and he had big dreams of making it big.  Clearly he sold me on his dream because I married him.  Looking back, it was a struggle.  When the music thing didn't work out, Geoffrey would get odd jobs in order to get by.  I was working in the housekeeping department at one of the downtown hotels and when I started to get tired of having to work for other people, I came up with the idea of starting my own cleaning business.   I had met quite a few of Atlanta's elite through small talk at the hotel and figured that I could make more money cleaning their houses.  Was it a glamorous job?  No but it was mine and no one could take it from me.  If I had known that allowing Geoffrey to talk me into scams with my clients' credit cards was going to lead me down this path, I probably would have thought twice.

At first, these scams were supposed to be a temporary fix until my cleaning business picked back up.  It just eventually became a lifestyle and I was convinced that we really weren't doing much harm so I figured that if it wasn't broke, why bother to fix it?  Besides, Geoffrey and I agreed that for the sake of our son, he would take the heat if we were to get caught.  After all, he was used to it.  By the time I learned  about his long ass rap sheet, I was so deep in love there was no way to dig back out.

I looked down at my son and realized that in the midst of this madness, I had a beautiful blessing.  That brief moment of joy disappeared quickly as I realized that I had truly hit rock bottom.   I asked myself, where do I go from here? 

I rubbed my temples as the bus pulled into bus station.  As I gathered my things, I gently woke my son up and told him that it was time to get off of the bus.  I wondered how I was going to get to my mother's house without any money as we stepped off the bus.  My son suddenly let go of my hand and yelled, "Grandma!" as he ran towards her.  My stomach dropped.  How did she know that we were coming?  My mouth suddenly became dry.  There was no way my story was going to hold up now.  It was clear she knew something but I didn't know what.

"Hi, hi Mama," I stammered.  The look that she had on her face was not happiness to see me.  She turned back to my son and said, "Let's go to the car."

Once I got my duffel bag off of the bus, I followed the two of them and was racking my brain.  I watched as Mama placed Junior in the back and secured him in his seat belt.  As she closed the car door she turned to me and asked, "Why in the hell did I receive a phone call instructing me to pick you up here?  And where is your cell phone?  I have been calling you all morning.  I have been worried sick.  What is going on Terry?"

My head started spinning.  All of these questions she was throwing at me and I didn't know how to answer them.  It was only a matter of time before I had to tell her the truth.  I didn't want to.  I already had been such a disappointment to my mother by marrying Geoffrey.  I felt the palm of my hands getting sweaty as I looked at my mother waiting for me to answer her.  The next thing I knew, I dropped my bag and began vomiting.  I don't know what caused it.  Maybe it was my nerves, but at least it bought me some time.

Mama rushed to my side and asked me if I was okay.  I simply nodded my head as I was still at a loss for words.  "Let me see if they have a vending machine inside so I can get you some ginger ale," she said as she helped me into the car.  She then removed a bottle of water from out of the car trunk and handed it to me.

"Here," she said.  "Rinse your mouth out."

I did as I was told and then laid my head against the seat and closed the car door.  I tried to steady my breathing as my heart was racing.  I didn't know what to do in that moment.  It wasn't like I could run away.  I had nowhere else to go.

My mother came back into the car and handed me a can of ginger ale.  I popped the can open and began sipping slowly. 

"Now are you going to tell me what is going on?"  She asked.

"Mama, can we talk about this when we get to the house?  I am not feeling well right now."

She acted as if she didn't hear me.  "Where is Geoffrey and who was the person that called me?"

I decided to push forward with my story.  "It was a friend Mama.  I had to get out of the house.  Geoffrey and I got into a really bad argument,"  I said as I removed my shades.  My mother slammed on the brakes.

"What in the hell happened to your face?  Did Geoffrey hit you?  Girl, I will kill him if he laid his hands on you!"

I forgot about the bruises on my face.

"Mama it is not as bad as it looks."

"Child you are not answering me and it sounds like you are defending the bastard," she responded.

At this point, I felt that letting Mama believe that Geoffrey hit me was better than me telling her the kind of trouble I really was in.  So I continued with my lie.

"I had a friend come and get me and I asked him to call you because I left my cell phone at the house.

Junior and I just need to stay with you for a few days until I sort some things out.  Okay Mama?"

Mama remained silent as she drove.  About ten minutes later, she pulled into her driveway.  I was dying to get inside of the house to take a hot shower.  I wanted to wash last night away.  I climbed out of the car and went into the back seat to let Junior out.  It was clear that I was going to have to try to sneak a call to Geoffrey's cell phone.  He probably had his taken too but I was worried as to his whereabouts.  Despite the warnings that I received from those people, I needed to know that he was okay.

I walked into the house and I heard the house phone ringing.  I headed upstairs to my old bedroom when my mother called my name and asked me to come back downstairs.  I headed to the kitchen and saw that my mother was gripping the telephone receiver so hard that her knuckles were practically white.  I watched her as her eyes grew larger and she took a deep breath and then quietly hung up the phone. 

"Start talking," she demanded.

"Mama, I.." She cut me off.

"Terry, that phone call that I just got informed me that Geoffrey was shot dead.  Please tell me that you did not kill him."

As strange as it was at the time,  I couldn't help but laugh. 

"Girl, this here ain't nothing to laugh about.  Your husband is dead."

I looked at my mother and said, "Mama, someone is playing a prank on you."

"Terry that was the Atlanta Police Department.  Apparently they were trying to contact you on your cell phone.  Geoffrey was shot dead.  Did you kill him?"

The look on my mother's face indicated that she was dead serious.  The room started spinning and I felt as if I was going to vomit again.   I don't remember exactly what happened next.  The only thing that I remember thinking was that revenge was mine right before the room went black and I passed out.

©All original content copyright Kim M. Washington, 2014

Entry# 13: Is There Really A Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Aaliyah Jasminda

I yelled, "What the hell?" No sign of Cassandra anywhere.  I jumped out of the car and raced into the house.  Cassandra apparently woke up in a rage as the living room was trashed.  I ran back outside and looked at Omar. 

"Get in the car," he commanded. 

My mind was racing as I slid into the passenger seat.  I was tired and over this mess.  "Where in the hell did she go?"  I asked.

"I think I have an idea.  She seems to be dead set on getting back at ol' boy," Omar said as he pulled out of the driveway.  "We gotta go back and get him."

"What?  Where is he?"  I asked.

"In the middle of nowhere.  Even if he got out, he won't get far.  The funny thing, he is closer to home than he thinks."

As Omar sped down the road, all I kept thinking was when would this be over.  I couldn't get mad at anyone else but myself.  I chose to go down this path of revenge.  I chose to drag Omar down the path with me.  Now we have a psycho chick on the loose.

"Okay, so wait.  Where do you think Cassandra went?"

"She probably went back to the motel which is not too far from where I left ol' boy and if he has managed to start walking to try to get some help, there is a chance that their paths may cross."  Omar pulled out his cell phone.

"Who are you calling?"  I asked.

"Cassandra.  If I can come up with a way to give her some closure, I can keep her from doing something stupid."  Omar didn't get an answer so he ended the call.

I stared out of the window.  All I could do was ask the good Lord for nothing crazy to happen.  I shook my head at the irony of asking God to help me in a mess that I created;  one that He surely would not smile down on.  I laid my head against the headrest and closed my eyes.  I must have fallen asleep because by the time I opened them, we were in front of what appeared to be an abandoned farm house.

"Where are we?"  I asked.  I squinted my eyes while using my hand to shade them as the sun was beginning to rise. 

"In the middle of nowhere," Omar replied as he grabbed a bottle of water out of the car and then headed towards the entrance.

I followed Omar and stopped dead in my tracks once I entered the doorway.  Geoffrey was laid out on the ground and it appeared that he pissed and crapped on himself.  Omar walked over to him and nudged him with his foot.  Geoffrey stirred some and then stopped. 

Omar nudged him again and then yelled, "Hey! Wake your ass up!"  Omar then poured water on Geoffrey's face.

Geoffrey  began coughing and shook his head as he tried to sit up.  He slowly opened his eyes and looked very confused.  He turned his head and looked up at Omar and flinched.  I couldn't even laugh as I no longer found the situation funny.  I don't know what Omar did, but Geoffrey looked like he was beat up pretty badly.  Omar then grabbed Geoffrey by the collar and pulled him into an upright position. 

Geoffrey was the first one to break the silence.  "I thought you weren't coming back," he said.

I looked at Geoffrey.  He really was a certified jackass.  With all that had happened he still couldn't turn off his sarcasm.

"Shut the hell up.  The plan has changed," Omar said.

At this point I was wondering what the plan was.  I wasn't supposed to know what happened to Geoffrey once he left the house, but seeing him made a very small part of me begin to feel guilty of his condition.  I began to wonder if all of this was worth it.  I cleared my throat.  "Where do we go from here?"  I asked.

"Once we find Cassandra, we are going to turn him in," Omar stated.

"But I thought we weren't going to do that?"

"Look AJ, I have enough on ol' boy to get him convicted for at least credit card fraud.  With his 

record, he may do a year or more.  He clearly can't afford a good attorney."  Omar then walked over to me.

"We need to end this and I can see that you are ready for it to end.  Truth be told, this really ain't your thing.  Well at least not the violent part of it.  You are turning into someone you are not.  We can turn him in and keep our hands clean.  We know where his wife is.  He doesn't.  As long as we keep a tight rein on her, he won't breathe a word of our involvement.  He'd rather serve time than have his son's mother go down with him.  We just need to find Cassandra and have her turn him in.  She doesn't even know who we are and will never be able to track us down.  I will make sure of it."

I looked over at Geoffrey and then walked towards him.  I stooped down beside him and then stood right back up because he smelled awful.  Just as I opened my mouth to speak, I had an idea.  I walked back over to Omar.

"Why don't we just drop him back off at his home and tell Cassandra where he is.   At that point what happens to him next is completely out of our hands and we just walk away.  I'm tired and I am ready to move on."

Omar remained quiet for a moment and then nodded in agreement.  He walked over to Geoffrey and said, "Get up."

Geoffrey could barely manage.  Omar grabbed him by the collar and yanked Geoffrey to his feet.  Geoffrey winced in pain as Omar shoved him towards the door.  Geoffrey looked at me with remorse.  I looked at him with a blank stare.  At that point, I was feeling emotionless and numb.  After the hellish night he had, I was sure in that moment that Geoffrey would think twice before pulling a con ever again.

Omar popped the trunk and without resistance, Geoffrey slowly climbed in.  Once we were settled in the car we headed back to Geoffrey's house.  My mind started to feel more at ease as the light at the end of the tunnel was coming near.  I looked over at Omar and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.  

Although things got out of control, he still had my back and I was so appreciative of him for that.  As we approached Geoffrey's house, I looked around to see if maybe Cassandra returned.  There was no sign of her.  Omar tried calling her again and the phone went straight to voice mail. 

"She will find her way back here, she needs closure," he said while pulling into the garage.  I then grabbed the remote and closed the garage door.

Omar climbed out of the car and opened the trunk and Geoffrey slowly climbed out.

"What now?" Geoffrey asked. 

"Nothing. We are done.  I guess you can call us even," Omar said.

"Where's Terry?"  Geoffrey asked.

"You will find out eventually, until then, we are done with you," I said through gritted teeth.  Like I said before, only a small part of me felt bad for him.  "You don't contact me and I won't contact you.  That way you don't have any problems."

Geoffrey opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off.  "Quite frankly, I really don't care about what else you have to day.  Just get in the house," I said as I walked back to the car and opened the passenger door.  I then pressed the garage door opener and  tossed it on the garage floor.

"You heard her," Omar said as he got into the car.

Geoffrey turned around and went inside of the house.  When he closed the door, I realized that I had stopped breathing.  "Is it really over?"  I asked Omar.

"I hope so," he said as he backed out of the garage.

I leaned my head back and breathed a sigh of relief.  I just wanted to go home and take a nice hot bath and get some sleep.  We still had to go back to the diner and get my car.  As we were driving, I began to fully understand why revenge was truly a waste of time.  I had no sense of satisfaction.  I felt empty.  What did I really accomplish was the question that came to mind.  I rubbed my temple as I felt a headache coming on as we approached the diner parking lot. 

Omar pulled up next to my car and said "I'll follow you home."  I climbed out and got into my car.  I hung my head down low and sat quietly for a moment.  I just needed to put this behind me and move on.  Regardless of the feeling of emptiness, I was just glad that it was over.

Once we got back to my house, I took a long hot bath and then crawled into my bed.  It took a while for me to fall asleep but when I finally did I slept for a good six hours before Omar woke me up. 

"AJ," he said as he sat on the edge of my bed and reached over to the nightstand for my TV remote control.

"What?"  I asked groggily.

"You need to see this," he said as he turned on the TV.

I looked over at the image on the screen and was hoping that I was just dreaming. 

"It looks like Cassandra got her closure," Omar said.

My jaw dropped open.  Cassandra was being escorted in handcuffs by two police men.  "What happened?"  I asked.

"Ol' boy is dead."

"Huh?"

"Cassandra killed him."

©All original content copyright Kim M. Washington, 2014

Entry# 12: The Beginning of a New Dawn

Omar

I felt as if I had blacked out as I sped down the street.  Things happened so fast and I needed to get away from Cassandra as quick as possible.  She truly was one crazy chick. 

I looked over at AJ and she remained quiet while looking out of the window.  I never yelled at her before so I know she didn't know how to react to that.  I looked in the rear view mirror and saw Terry looking at me with the look of terror in her eyes.  I wanted to say something to her but I had no words.  This whole situation was becoming unreal.  If it wasn't for AJ, I would have never gotten involved in this crazy shit in the first place.

As I was driving, I began thinking about how AJ and I first met.  It was about 8 years ago at a house party out in Decatur.  I was playing bartender for the host when AJ came up and asked for cranberry juice with vodka.  I noted that she was cute but didn't really say anything to her as I handed her the drink.  I didn't see her for awhile after that until I started cleaning up towards the end of the party and she walked over to me.

"So I see that the host is pimping you out," AJ said.

I turned around to see her smiling at me.  I noted that she had some nice lips.  "Aw man, you hurt my feelings," I responded as I walked away.  I couldn't see what she was doing, but I was pretty sure that AJ was standing there looking confused.   A few minutes later she came up behind me again.

"Did I really hurt your feelings?"  She asked.

"No," I said as I turned around and smiled at her.  "My feelings don't get hurt easily."  I winked and then walked away.  About fifteen minutes later, I saw her playing with her cell phone and since I had four shots of Patron in my system, I figured why not give it a shot.  I then walked over to her and asked, "So, are you going to call me?"

AJ looked up at me looking puzzled.  "What?"  She asked.

"Are you going to call me?"  I asked again as I glanced down at her phone. 

AJ smiled and said, "Why? Do you want me to call you?"

I grinned back.  "Yeah."  I then gave her my number.

"And your name is?"  AJ asked.

"Omar."

"I'm Aaliyah Jasminda, AJ for short."

We chatted briefly and then went our separate ways.  I noticed that she never gave me her number and briefly wondered if she really was going to call me.  I then let the thought go and figured if she called, great, if she didn't, still great.  It didn't matter to me either way.  As far as I was concerned, women come and go but there was something about AJ that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

A few days later, AJ called me and she caught me in one of my playful moods so I started telling her some crazy stories.  Some were true, others were embellished just to see if I could generate a reaction out of her.  Most of them were based off of the type of work that I do for a living.  I can't remember exactly what she said to me during that conversation but I do remember telling her that she was going to love me and that I wasn't going anywhere.  Again, I don't know what prompted that comment but I just knew I was telling the truth. 

I must have freaked AJ out because a few days had gone by and I didn't hear from her again so I called her.  We had this pattern for a few weeks and somehow AJ eventually became more comfortable with talking to me.  I learned about her soft heart and hard mind.  She cracked me up because I learned that she was definitely a piece of work.  She challenged me when I needed it and I appreciated her for that.  I learned a lot from her as she did from me and we formed a really solid friendship.  I'll be honest though, there were times the thought of crossing the friendship line had popped into my mind but AJ always made it clear that as long as I was seeing anyone, that line could never be crossed.  It was for the best anyway, as there was a period and time when I kept ending up with women who changed during the course of the relationship and went nuts for no apparent reason.  I had too much respect and love for AJ to risk losing her as a friend. 

When I felt that I could trust her enough, I told AJ what I did for a living.  I explained that i was a stay off of the grid kind of dude.  The less anyone knew about me the better.  Maybe that is why finding a solid relationship was a challenge for me.  I couldn't really talk much about my whereabouts and looking back, it probably caused women to think that I was out with another chick or something.  But then again, not my problem.  It's either you trust me or you don't.  Perhaps that is why AJ and I get along so well.  She asked very few questions as if she understood the less she knew the better.

Over time, I had developed a really soft spot for AJ.  There were times I was involved in a case and I couldn't be there for her as much as I would have liked to and I felt guilty sometimes.  But in this case with ol' boy, he came after my girl and I promised myself that I wasn't going to let work get in the way of helping her out with this.  However, I wondered from time to time if I should have encouraged her to go another route.  I personally was built to be in the business of revenge and it has been lucrative for me but if someone is not ready for it, it can mess with one's head.  I looked over at AJ as she continued to remain quiet.  She seemed to be handling things okay.  Well at least up until thirty minutes ago.  Again, I wanted to say something but didn't know what to say.  I needed to remain focused.  I felt that if I tried to talk to her in that moment, my soft spot for AJ would get in the way of what we needed to accomplish.

As we headed to midtown Atlanta, the streets were quiet.  There was a bus leaving at 5 a.m. to Albany and it was close to 4 a.m. and only a matter of time before the sun came up.  AJ and I still had to head back out to the countryside to look for ol' boy as I know he couldn't have gotten far.  Plus the monkey wrench known as Cassandra still needed to be handled.  As much as I preferred silence, the one we were experiencing was an uncomfortable kind.  I started to wonder if I had frightened AJ into thinking differently about me....

Aaliyah Jasminda

My mind was racing.  Omar never yelled at me before.  The look on his face was one that I didn't recognize.  I was stunned and was at a loss for words.  The whole ride to midtown, I remained quiet.  I thought that I knew Omar like the back of my hand but this is a side that I didn't know.  I knew what kind of work he did but to know it and to see it were two different things.  The moment he put Cassandra to sleep, a feeling that I can't describe waved over me.  I guess because at first I thought that she was dead.  I don't know why I had that thought, I just did.

I met Omar about eight years ago and I knew early in our friendship that he had a dark side.  A side that I never really cared to get to know.  Ever, point blank period.   That went out of the window when I was pushed to the edge I suppose.  As I looked out of the window, I thought about how crazy I thought Omar was when I first met him.  We met at a party and he was slurring his words which I later found out that he had four shots of tequila that night.  After my first phone conversation with him, I had deleted his number swearing that I was never going to speak to him again.  This negro had the nerve to tell me that I was going to love him and that he wasn't going anywhere.  Yeah right.  I laughed when he said it.  He told me he was serious.  I still took it as a joke at the time.  I thought he was nuts.  However, he continued to call and I continued to delete his number until one day something just clicked and we were thick as thieves ever since.

I will admit, I liked him more than just a friend, but I valued our friendship more.  I once told him that if I was his girlfriend, I would end up killing him.  I guess it's because I know him very well and knowing him as a girl friend is different from being his girlfriend.  There was always some kind of drama that he had with the women he did date and I always said that if it was that good, I didn't want it.  It was a joke but there was some truth to it.

While deep in thought, I felt movement by my hand.  It was Omar reaching for it.  Like me, he seemed to be speechless.  He took my hand and he squeezed it.  I looked over at him.  No look in particular, I just looked at him.  I still didn't know where his head was at.  This whole night was completely out of control.  I really couldn't make this stuff up.  I don't have that kind of imagination.

A few minutes later, we pulled into a parking lot down the street from the bus depot.  I turned and looked at Terry who still looked frightened from the events that happened earlier.  "You know the deal Terry.  Go to the cops, you get into trouble. If you come back before I tell you to, you get into trouble.  Either way, you will create problems for yourself."

"What about Geoffrey?"  Terry asked.  I rolled my eyes in response.

"Let me make this really clear to you.  I don't give two shits about Geoffrey.  You need not worry about him if you want to stay out of trouble.  You will know when we are done with him.  Now get your son and get out of the car."

Omar got out of the car and removed Terry's bags from the trunk.  The little boy was still sleeping, which I found quite odd.  "Omar, this little boy has been sleeping a lot.  Is this normal?"

Terry cleared her throat.  "I slipped a little rum into his juice.  I'd rather have him sleep than to witness any of this."  I turned around and looked at Terry. I had to stop myself from saying anything.  I'm not a mother so I let it go.

While we walked to the bus depot, Terry started asking all kinds of questions.  When would she hear from us?  What was she going to do for money?  Blah blah blah.  I finally got annoyed.

"Look, cut the noise.  You will hear from us when we are good and ready.  Anything else, you need to figure that out.  Not our problem."    As we approached the bus depot, I saw the bus that had Albany posted on the digital sign.  I removed the computer printouts of the tickets from my pocket and handed them to Terry. 

"We will be monitoring your house.  Any movement and we turn you over to the cops and your son ends up in the system."  I knew that it was an empty threat but Terry didn't know that.  I just needed her to fear for the well-being of her son.  Besides, I would never want an innocent child to be taken away from his or her mother if it wasn't necessary.  Terry obviously had a great deal of love for her son. 

We walked up to the entrance of the bus and Omar handed the bags to the bus driver after he checked the tickets.  At this moment things felt awkward.  I looked at Omar and he finally broke the silence.  

"Get on the bus Terry.  We will be in touch."  With one final look at Omar and I, Terry and her son got on the bus.  We stood there as we watched her take a seat towards the back of the bus.

"Do you think she will stick to our deal?"  I asked Omar.

"She will.  I made sure of it," Omar replied.

"How?  Wait, do I even want to know?"

"Probably not.  Let's just say that her mother is expecting her. "

I remained silent.  I didn't know if I wanted Omar to go any further.  About twenty minutes later, we watched as the bus pulled away.  "So who do we deal with next?  Cassandra or Geoffrey?"  I asked.

"Let's go," Omar said.

"But what about my question?" 

"Don't worry about that.  Let's go."

I had no clue what was going on with Omar in that moment, all I knew in that moment was that we needed to move quickly before Cassandra or Geoffrey caused anymore problems.  About thirty minutes later, we were pulling up to Terry's house only to see that a new problem was on the horizon, Cassandra's car was gone.......

©All original content copyright Kim M. Washington, 2014