After Izzy left with the tainted sandwiches, Eloy returned to the front of the building to wait for Neema.
He tried to keep a low profile, but it wasn’t easy because he didn’t look homeless and didn’t appear strung out or amped up.
Finally, he saw Neema’s ride creeping down the street. She parked in front of the building next door, behind a nine-foot-high pile of trash bags at the curb.
A woman lounging nearby struggled to her feet and began to walk toward the arriving vehicle. The woman’s hands were in the pockets of her grimy cargo shorts.
He was certain she had a weapon, likely a knife of some sort.
“Hey, Ne! Glad you finally got here,” he yelled as he approached the street.
The transient woman sized him up and returned to her tent at the front of the building.
His baby-mama scowled as she exited her car. “I don’t know why the hell we had to meet here. This place is disgusting.”
“I had business to take care of here.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. My brother had to set a few guys straight about this apartment a few nights ago. The dudes were cut up kinda bad, and now he can’t come around here no more.”
He nodded. “That’s okay. After today, I’m done doing business here. The last of the girls are gone, and it’s getting too rough.”
“What happened to them?”
“They OD’d.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Who was it that was staying here?”
“Izzy and Sabrina.”
“Oh, they were nasty,” she chuckled. “They did a favor for society.”
She stared at his empty hands. “I thought you said you had something to eat.”
He grinned. “I do. It’s back inside.”
Once they arrived at the apartment, he took her over to a wobbly-legged card table where there was a mesh folding chair along with a battered piano bench. “Chair or bench?”
He wanted to laugh at the death look she gave him.
Wordlessly, she sank onto the bench.
He nodded at the sandwich next to a bag of chips and a bottle of soda.
She unwrapped it and took a bite. “So, what are we going to do about the crew? They’re all scared. Hell, I’m panicking. I’m the one they know from the business, and I won’t take the fall.” Her lips formed a straight line as she glared at him.
“Don’t worry. The new girl, Chloe, was driving. The cops will never get to you or me.”
“I’ve got two babies. I can’t do jail time,” she warned. She frowned as she took another a bite and swallowed. “How do you plan to implicate her without gettin’ caught up in her shit?”
“Really. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. But if you must know, the rich bitch will be so guilt-ridden from what she’s done, she’s going to kill herself.”
Neema’s eyes widened, giving her an owlish look. “Are you sayin’ what I think you are?” She set her food down.
He slowly nodded.
Her torso swayed, and her hand clutched her throat.
He pulled the wax paper holding the rest of her sandwich away from her. Then her upper body collapsed forward, her head making a loud thunk on the table.
“I’m sorry, girlfriend. It was either you or me, and it sure as hell wasn’t gonna be me.”