As we rode down in the elevator, I was thinking about what I would say to Jemisha; how I would tell her that her husband was dead, when suddenly Vickie was all up in my mind. I didn’t have to tell her parents that I killed her. Wanda spared me that when she insisted that she had to tell them.
When Bobby and I got to the house and Jemisha opened the door, she took one look at us and started to cry.
“If both of you are here, then Whitey is dead.”
All I could do was open my arms and hold her. I held her tightly as Jemisha cried and punched me in the chest.
“You fuckin’ promise me, Mike,” she punched me again through her tears. “You fuckin’ promise me that you’ll find the mutha fuckas that did this and put them in the ground. You fuckin’ promise me that,” Jemisha said and then she buried her face in my chest and cried.
“You trust me, Jemisha. They’re as good as dead.”
I had known Jemisha a lot longer than I had known Whitey. We were friends, and by friends, I mean we were fuck buddies’ years ago, so I stayed with her until she calmed down a little. I sat with Jemisha, holding her while she cried over the loss of her husband.
Holding her that way while she cried made me think of holding Wanda and that made me think about Vickie. As I held her, I could feel Wanda’s pain, just like I was feeling Jemisha’s pain now, but it was different. Maybe it was just that I shared Wanda’s pain because it was my own, or maybe it was because I caused it. I wasn’t sure, but that’s another fucked up thing about pain, it’s unpredictable how it comes at you, it just does.
I looked over at Bobby, he was sitting in the chair across from us, looking bored. Shit, I was bored too. I wanted to get outta there and find out who killed Whitey, but based on our prior relationship, I didn’t want to leave her crying like that. But, Bobby being Bobby, after a while, he began making motions with his hands like he was encouraging me to grab a handful of Jemisha’s tittie, you know, since it was practically in my hand.
“You gonna be all right?” I asked her and tried to begin the process of separating myself from her.
“I’ll be all right, Mike,” she may have said, but she cried even harder, but it didn’t last long. “Make me wanna get my gun and get in them streets with you, Mike,” Jemisha said and Bobby mouthed the words; she wants to fuck you.
I gave Bobby the finger. “You don’t need to be out there like that,” I said and patted her on the back. “You got to be here for these kids.” Jemisha had two kids, but they weren’t Whitey’s.
“I know, I know.” Jemisha touched my face and kissed me on the cheek. “I know I need to be strong for my babies, Mike.” And that realization seemed to give her strength. Jemisha separated herself from my embrace and stood up.
“Can I get either of you a drink?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Bobby said.
“I’m sorry about my manners, Bobby,” she said and walked in the kitchen. “What can I get you?”
“Any kind of Cognac will do.”
“Courvoisier all right?”
“That’s fine.”
“What about you, Mike; can I get anything for you?”
“Courvoisier is fine,” I said, and Bobby leaned close to me.
“Can I get you any of this pussy, Mike,” Bobby whispered.
“Lighten up, Bobby. Whitey ain’t even cold yet.”
“It didn’t stop her while he was alive,” Bobby said knowing that Jemisha used to bring me that pussy for at least a year after she started fucking Whitey. And yes, I did stop fucking her after the thing with Mitchell Wright.
When she came out of the kitchen with our drinks, Jemisha’s eyes were pink and puffy. She handed us our drinks, poured one for herself, drained it and poured another and put the bottle down on the table before she sat down next to me. Jemisha rested her head on my shoulder, and I put my arm around her. She began to whimper quietly while she stared at their wedding pictures that were framed on the wall.
“I hate to have to ask you this, but do you know anybody who might have done this. Anybody Whitey had beef with?”
“Not that I know of, Mike. Whitey was careful not to mention too much about y’all’s business. Said it was better for me that way.”
“He was right,” I said and Jemisha pushed off my chest and sat straight up.
“There is somebody.”
“Who?”
“Lisa Benson,” Jemisha said and Bobby buried his head in his hands and I wanted to because he used to fuck Lisa Benson. I hoped this wasn’t some love triangle shit.
“Who is Lisa Benson?” I asked and hoped it was another Lisa Benson.
Jemisha looked at me. “Come on. Both you and Bobby know who Lisa Benson is.” And then she looked at Bobby. “Especially you, Bobby.”
Bobby took a deep breath and drained his glass, and I knew it was the same Lisa Benson.
Jemisha turned up her glass and brought it down empty. “Lisa Benson is the other bitch my husband is fuckin’. Fuckin’ her good too, I guess.” Jemisha poured herself another drink. “I know y’all ain’t waitin’ on me. Y’all help yourselves.”
Bobby grabbed the bottle. “Why you think Whitey was fuckin’ her good, Jemisha?” he asked and poured us a drink.
“Because he stopped begging me to call her over so the three of us could get together and she stopped calling begging me to let her come over to suck this good pussy,” she said and looked at me.
“You really think that’s what this is about?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Mike. All I know is that I heard them fighting on the phone yesterday. And I heard Whitey say that he would kill her if she did.”
“Did what?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask him.”
“You know if she was fuckin’ with anybody that might have wanted Whitey dead?”
“Sorry, Mike, I didn’t keep up with who my husband’s step off was steppin’ off with,” Jemisha said.
Since she wasn’t hugged up on me, I stood up. “I need to go, Jemisha.”
She got up, steadied herself and made a move straight for my chest. “What I’ma do now, Mike?”
I put my arm around Jemisha and started slow walking her toward the door. Bobby poured himself one more glass of Courvoisier, drained it, and was at the door in time to open it before I got there.
“Whatever you need,” I said and moved my arm on the way out the door. “Just let Freeze know.”
“Sorry for your loss,” Bobby stepped between us and said.
“You come by tomorrow and check on me, Mike. You know, let me know if you found anything.”
“I will,” I lied. I’ll send Freeze tomorrow to check on her.
Bobby was quiet in the hallway and in the elevator. It wasn’t until he got in the car, that Bobby began laughing and since the shit was funny, I did too.
“If I said it once, I said it a thousand times; hoes ain’t shit.” He started up the car. “You just told her that her man is dead and she’s telling you how good the pussy is.”
I laughed. “I’m sure that wasn’t what it was about.”
“Bullshit. You come by tomorrow and check on me, Mike,” Bobby imitated. “You come by tomorrow and get this grieving pussy, Mike!” Bobby shouted. “That’s what she was saying.”
“Fuck all that. Like I said, she sees Freeze for whatever she needs. If that’s what she’s about,” and knowing Jemisha like I did, it was. She was a pretty girl with extraordinary sexual skills, and was used to having a man take care of her and her kids. “Fuck her.”
“I believe that’s what she wants,” Bobby said.
I shook my head and laughed. “But fuck all that. You used to fuck Lisa, she the type that would send niggas to kill Whitey?”
“No,” Bobby said flatly. “She ain’t got the heart or the juice,” Bobby laughed, “Or the money. Three-man hit squad ain’t free.”
“But the new guy said one of them been there before to see Whitey, so he knew them.” I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s about that.”
“I don’t think it’s about that either. But it wouldn’t hurt to ride by there, see if she knows anything,” Bobby said, and we drove to her apartment building. When we got there, Bobby knocked on the door, but nobody answered, so we left.
“Where you wanna go now?”
“Let’s ride out to Angelo, get that shit over with,” I said as we left the building. As we got closer to Bobby’s car, I saw a car coming down the street fast. When the gun came out the window, I yelled, “Get down!”
We lay motionless as bullets rained over our heads. Once the car drove on, we got up.
“You all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah, I’m all right,” I said. “But there just might be something to this Lisa Benson shit.”