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After swinging by her place and changing clothes, Deja headed back to Nina’s. She’d convinced Rodney to take Miles out with the girls, which bought her more alone time with Nina. She needed to help Nina get over the initial shock then get her on the same page as Deja.
She rang the doorbell and waited outside in the light drizzle. Dark clouds travelled across the late-morning sky, and more rain was definitely on the way. When Nina didn’t answer, Deja knocked, but Nina still didn’t come. Deja cursed under her breath, regretting leaving Nina by herself. But she’d needed space to figure out her next steps. She used her key to let herself in. “Nina. I’m back.”
No answer. Deja raced through the house, past the empty living room, and to the kitchen. The breakfast dishes were still in the sink, so it didn’t seem Nina had been in there yet. She hurried to Nina and Rodney’s room and threw open the door. The blankets were pushed to the side, but Nina no longer occupied the bed. Deja’s heart thudded in her chest. She knocked on the bathroom door then opened it. Empty. Finally, Deja walked to the walk-in-closet. “Oh.” Deja placed her hand to her heart.
Wearing her gray nightdress and sitting cross-legged on the floor, Nina leaned against clothes in plastic dry-cleaning covers, sipping Hennessy straight from the bottle.
Deja sat next to her. “It’s okay, girl. We’ll get through this together.”
Nina rested her head on Deja’s shoulder and sobbed.
Deja wiped the tears from Nina’s face. “I made some calls and found someone who will permanently remove the body. It’s all one hundred percent confidential and one hundred percent under the table. But he’ll take care of it.”
Nina shivered. “Who is he? Where’d you find him?” Nina shot her questions like bullets at a target.
“I think it’s better if I don’t say exactly who he is, but he’s someone I’ve known for a long time. Someone I trust.” Deja didn’t purposefully want to sound so vague, but she couldn’t say much else. “I wouldn’t place us in jeopardy. You have to trust me. You trust me, right?” Deja peered at Nina’s bloodshot eyes.
Nina’s shoulders slumped. “Yes. I do. When will he do it?”
“As soon as we get him the money.”
“Okay, how much?”
Deja inhaled a long breath. “Twenty-five thousand dollars—”
“Okay—”
“Before,” Deja continued. “And twenty-five thousand after it’s done.”
“Fifty thousand dollars!” Nina took a long drink of Hennessey. “That’s a lot of money.”
Deja shrugged. “I don’t know if it is or isn’t. I’ve never needed someone to do something like this before. That’s how much he charges. How much are you willing to pay for peace of mind?”
“I’d give my last dime. But I know I’ll never have peace of mind again.”
Deja removed the bottle from Nina’s hands. “You’ll have confidence that this matter is over and done with. No body resurfacing. No worries about the cops. Nothing.” Deja desperately needed Nina to agree so she could leave all the drama with Kevin behind her for good.
“How do you know this? How do you know he won’t take the money and run?”
“You don’t want to know. But”—Deja bit her lip—“he’ll give us proof.”
“What proof? Not pictures or something, right?”
“No pictures. But they’ll show us Kevin’s teeth,” Deja whispered. “I’d never make you see them, but I will, to make sure it’s done for good.”
Nina gasped. “We’re talking about disposing of the corpse of a man I killed.”
Deja grabbed a tissue from her purse then handed it to Nina. “I know this is hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. But you saw that he would have taken my life in a second. Besides, I also love my son, and in order to be in his life, I need to keep my head on straight and take care of business now. I’m trying to get us out of this mess.”
Nina dabbed her eyes. “I’ll get the money when the bank opens first thing tomorrow morning.”
Deja rose and held her hand toward Nina. “Cash, okay? The guy obviously doesn’t want a paper trail. Why don’t you relax in bed? I’ll make us some tea.”
Nina let Deja help her up. She left the closet and sat on the bed. “Okay.”
Deja walked to the kitchen then placed the kettle on the stove, breathing a little easier. In spite of everything that had gone down, maybe it could actually turn out okay. Maybe Nina could get the money, and they’d all move on. If not, Deja didn’t know how long she could stick around.
She’d been down this road before, needing money and doing anything to get it. It had first started three months after she’d given birth to Miles. The very first time Kevin had arranged for Deja to turn a trick, he’d driven her to a motel and parked the car. “I have a friend inside waiting for you.”
“What?” Deja had hoped and prayed it wasn’t what it seemed. She’d learned that Kevin was a pimp shortly after he’d taken her in. But he’d always told her that he loved her and that she was different from “the girls.”
“Don’t act naïve,” Kevin had said. “When we met, I told you that you were too pretty to live in a shelter. You knew exactly what that meant. We both know you’re not the Virgin Mary. So you have two choices: work what you have or leave.”
Everything in Deja had told her to leave. Open the car door, get out, and never look back. She’d rested her palm on the door handle, searching her brain for options, somewhere to go. But she was a sixteen-year-old single mother with no job, no high school diploma, and no options. “Fine.” She’d dragged her feet to the door and knocked.
Now that she thought of it, the man who’d opened the door that night looked similar to Thompson, though he’d had less than a tenth of Thompson’s wealth and smelled like he hadn’t bathed in days. With his mouth slightly parted, revealing two rotten front teeth, the man had stroked Deja’s cheek before yanking her hair and throwing her to the bed.
After years of working the streets, Deja had accumulated a rap sheet. There had to be at least one warrant out for her arrest now, another reason she’d moved to the South Bay. If Nina went to the police and dragged Deja into this mess, it would all come out. No, Deja couldn’t have that happen.
After the kettle boiled, she steeped some tea then returned to Nina’s bed. “How are you?”
Almost inaudibly, Nina said, “Everything hurts. I feel like I’m dying.”
Deja extended the tea. “Why don’t you sit up? The tea will make you feel better.”
Nina straightened and accepted the tea. “I’ve thought about what you said, and I think everyone would be better off if I’m locked up. I’m dangerous, Deja. I killed a man, and I should just disappear.”
Deja sat next to her. “You were trying to save me, and you didn’t mean to kill Kevin. You have two young daughters who need a mom. I can’t see you or your girls punished because you were defending my life.”
Nina’s eyes filled with tears. “But how can I go on?”
There were too many times to count when something terrible had happened to Deja and she didn’t think she’d be able to survive. But she always did, and it would have to be the same for Nina. “You go on with your everyday life like usual. The more you do that, the easier it will get. One day at a time. Where’s your planner?”
Nina put down her teacup, retrieved her planner from the nightstand, then handed it to Deja. “I shouldn’t have much planned this week.”
Deja flipped through the planner. “Shit. You see your shrink tomorrow morning. Will you be able to get yourself together, or should you cancel it?”
“If I cancel, my dad will wonder why. The last thing I need is for him to worry and show up here. I can’t see him right now.”
“That’s true. You have all today to relax and plan out what you’ll say. But you can’t mention Kevin, and you have to act normal. We can’t risk the doctor thinking you’re off.”
“I haven’t known what normal is for a long time, and I don’t think I’ll find out again.”
Deja squeezed Nina’s shoulder. “I promise you’ll feel better. Once you accept that you saved me and a fluke accident happened, it’ll be easier to manage.”
Deja needed to be right. She’d have to do everything in her power to help Nina stay sane. Over the next few days, Deja needed to get the money from Nina, keep Nina away from the police, and plot an escape for her and Miles.