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The Next Day
“It’s unimaginable what’s happened.” Sixty-year-old Hyeon Shim sat beside his wife Sora, on the suede, topaz-brown sectional, which brought warmth to the stuffy living room. “The Kengs were like family. In our faith, we consider all Jehovah’s Witnesses kin.”
Dee sat on the turquoise ottoman while her partner Detective Connie Wilks checked out the photos on the fireplace.
“Hyeon and I couldn’t believe what happened.” Sora’s high cheekbones sunk into her long face as her slanted eyes gazed upon the beige carpet. “I’d just spoken to Tabitha yesterday morning.” She lifted her head, her thin, jet-black hair stopped at her shoulders. “She seemed so vibrant and full of life and now she’s gone.”
“How long have you been the minister at the church?” Dee asked, getting out her notepad.
Hyeon’s face relaxed, his Asian eyes shrinking more. “We don’t call our places of worship ‘churches’. They’re Kingdom Halls and we refer to our ministers as ‘ministerial servants’. In our religion, we work as a group and the elders lead our faith.”
Dee faked a smile, feeling a fool.
“I’ve been at the Little Korea Kingdom Hall for thirty years,” Hyeon said.
“That’s a long time.” Connie took a seat on the couch. “You must be dedicated.”
“When you’re called on a mission by Jehovah, you have no choice but to fulfill it.” Hyeon smiled through paper-thin lips. “You can say the calling was instilled in me from my father.” He crossed his legs in white slacks. “He escaped from North Korea when he was nineteen and studying the faith is not allowed there. You can be killed for being a Jehovah’s Witness even to this day.”
The brightness left Connie’s green eyes. “It’s amazing how your father chose his faith over even his life.”
“My father was a very honorable man. When he came to Baltimore, he worked hard, opened his own jewelry shop and became one of the most revered citizens in the neighborhood. Everyone looked up to him because he’d lived through the harshness others had only heard about. He died ten years ago but I think of him every day.”
“I see where you get your pride from.” Dee smiled. “Your father’s spirit’s in you.”
“If it hadn’t been for Hyeon’s father there might not be a Little Korea in Baltimore.” Sora smiled. “It was because of him other Koreans migrated to the area and built this community.”
Connie pushed her blonde hair behind her ears. “Is every member of your congregation Korean?”
“Yes,” Sora said. “But we welcome people of all nationalities of course.”
Hyeon looked at his wife. “It’ll be a long time before I get over what happened to the Kengs.”
“Such a lovely family,” Sora said. “Faith was an A-student and only sixteen with a scholarship to Stanford already.” Her lips wiggled. “She was to study medicine.”
“Hm.” Connie sighed.
Sora switched her stare to her husband.
“What?” Dee asked. “If you have something to say that can help us please do. That’s why we’re here.”
Hyeon laid his wrinkled, yellow hand over his wife’s knee. “We don’t want to cause trouble where there is none.”
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Dee said. “What you tell us will stay between us.”
“Faith had an ex-boyfriend,” Sora said. “Normand and Tabitha couldn’t stand him because he was dangerous.”
Connie bit her lip. “How?”
“He’s in a gang,” Sora whispered. “We don’t know what they’re called but they wear a lot of blue.”
“The K-Town Crips?” Dee squinted. “Also known as The Korean Town Crips. They’re a subset of the Baltimore Crips.”
Hyeon’s breathing turned shallow. “The Kengs forbad Faith to have anything to do with this boy and he didn’t take that lightly.”
Connie scrunched her face. “How in the world did someone of Faith’s caliber meet up with a member of the K-Town Crips?”
The Shims shrugged.
Dee positioned her pen to write. “What’s his name and where can we find him?”
Sora’s long nose rose as her face twisted. “His name is Donn Cho, and he’s eighteen. He’s about five-nine, skinny, where’s blue suspenders all the time and has his hair shaved on one side and long on the other.”
“There’s a skating park where the kids hang out,” Hyeon said. “He’s there a lot.”
****
Dee and Connie arrived at the K-Town Sports Park, which sat in the heart of Little Korea surrounded by strip malls and other recreational facilities.
The detectives made their way through the outdoor maze as kids from elementary school age to high school performed twists and turns on the concrete slopes that reached the clouds.
“Jesus.” Connie shielded her eyes from the sun as a little Asian boy, around seven or eight, flew past the officers on his skateboard. “I’m getting nauseous just watching. Could you do that?”
“Do I look like I know anything about skateboarding?” Dee watched a heavyset girl flip and then cruise on the concrete. “You go, girl.” She gave the girl the thumbs up. “Girl power.”
The little girl smiled with her braces catching the sunlight.
Connie followed Dee past the tables and benches saying, “A kid fitting Donn’s description shouldn’t be too hard to find if he’s here.”
The kids howled as a boy on a yellow and black BMX bike, rode up the railing and into the air, shifted his front wheel and landed on the railing in perfect fashion.
“Wow.” Connie clapped, chuckling. “These kids could show Tony Hawk a thing or two.”
The BMX rider who appeared to be in his late teens or early 20’s, rode off the platform and into a smooth stop.
“That was the shit, Donn!” Another boy patted the rider’s back. “Gotta show me that sometime.”
“What do you know?” Dee rocked on her heels. “Is God smiling down on us or what?”
“Excuse me?” Connie rushed toward Donn as he took off his helmet, revealing a half-shaved head. “Donn Cho?”
He got off the bike. “Yeah?” The oversized, black T-shirt and baggy denim shorts swallowed him.
“I’m Detective Connie Wilks.” She showed her badge. “This is Detective Dee Quarter. We’re homicide.”
Donn’s puny cheeks filled with air. “Is this about the Kengs?”
“You were Faith’s boyfriend, weren’t you?” Dee asked.
He hung his helmet on the bike, the tiny K tattoo flexing on his wrist.
“We heard her parents made her dump you,” Connie said. “Also heard you weren’t too happy about that.”
“Fuck, man.” He crossed his arms and leaned on the bike. “Her parents ain’t even know about us until a month into the relationship. I liked her, but she was always whining about them finding out. Her folks said she couldn’t see me and I was cool with it. Ain’t like I don’t have enough chicks to go around.”
Dee rolled her eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way but you don’t strike me as a big ladies man, Donn.”
“How did you meet Faith?”
“At this party.” He removed his bike gloves. “We clicked.” A smirk eased over his moist lips. “She was fine. I didn’t want no relationship or nothing. I was just trying to hit it but there was something about her I couldn’t shake.”
“You were in love with her.”
He avoided eye contact with Dee. “I’m sorry for what happened to her. She ain’t deserve that.”
“What about her parents?” Connie’s hair blew in her face. “Did they?”
“I didn’t do nothing to those people all right? I left Faith alone when they told me to. She’s the one who kept calling me.”
“Interesting tat.” Dee pointed to his wrist. “Looks like a K-Town Crips tattoo.”
“I’m not no Crip.”
“Sure about that?” Connie asked. “Because the K-Town Crips wouldn’t like you false claiming, which would be what you’re doing if you have that tattoo and not a member.”
“I have nothing to do with that murder and it’s none of your business if I’m a Crip or not.”
“That murder scene was nasty.” Dee whistled. “Reminded me of a murder the K-Town Crips were accused of a few years ago. Ambushing seems to be their style.”
“We don’t kill folks in their sleep.” He did a gang sign. “When we wanna kill you, we do it looking straight in their eyes.”
Dee smirked. “It’s nice to meet the real Donn.”
“I gotta go.” He turned his bike in the opposite direction.
“Wait,” Dee said. “Can you point us to someone we should talk to?”
“Why should I?”
“Because you’re not in a position to say no.” Connie stood on the other side of the bike. “If you don’t know who killed the Kengs then it shouldn’t matter, right?”
“I don’t know shit about Faith’s parents except they go to church and her Daddy owned that store. You talk to Priti Yi yet?”
“Who’s that?” Dee asked.
“That’s Faith’s best friend.” Donn straightened his bike. “Maybe she knows something but other than that I can’t tell you shit.”
He jumped on the bike and rode away.