“Now I remember you,” and this time I actually did. “I remember watching you dance. You were incredible.”
Jada laughed. “I could do a little something back then.”
“In fact, Bruce, Bruce invited me down there that night to see you; said you were the show.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“And I know why. I take it that this is much more profitable for you?”
“It is; and much easier on the feet.”
I looked down. “And you have such pretty feet.”
Jada giggled and I enjoyed the sound of it, and the smile that came with. We talked at the bar over drinks for awhile, mostly about the differences in our businesses. “Your clientele is primarily working class guys. Where my clientele is a bit more upscale,” Jada said confidently. “My clients are doctors and lawyers, actors, directors and producers, executives, CEOs and politicians.”
“Martin Marshall wouldn’t be one of them?” I asked, always looking for any edge I could find.
“Martin, no, but I do know him. Martin Marshall is an arrogant, pompous jerk, but no, he’s not a client,” Jada said and looked at her watch. “Look at the time. I’ve gotta run.” She reached in her purse and took out one of her cards. It only had a number on it. “It was good seeing you.”
I accepted the card and kissed her hand. “Hopefully, it won’t be the last time I see you.”
“You have the card. It’s my private number. Anything I could do for you, just ask,” Jada said and finished her drink.
“Before you go, let me ask you a question.”
“Sure.”
“Are any of your clients reporters?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Can you arrange a meeting?”
“With you?”
“No. I’m not sure who they’d be meeting with.”
“As long as there’s a story in it, I’m sure I can. His name is James Fremeno; he’s a reporter for the Post. What’s the story?”
I finished my drink and looked at Kevon. He stood up. “I’ll call you in a couple of days.”
“I’m sure that you will.”
“Why is that?”
Jada smiled. “Because it seems that now I suddenly have something you want. And you impress me as a man who always gets what he wants.”
“Not all the time.”
What I really want is Cassandra.
But that’s not gonna happen.
Chapter 34
Nick Simmons
I opened my eyes and looked around the room, halfway expecting Wanda to be sitting there watching me sleep.
It was after midnight by the time I got to Wanda’s house. She was still up waiting for me when I got there. After I left Rain at the motel I thought it would be a good idea for me to be seen at a few of our spots. Since Wanda had eyes everywhere, I figured I’d put them to work for me.
“How’d it go?” Wanda asked as soon as I got in the house.
“Somebody got there before we did. They were dead when we got there.”
“We? Who is we?”
“Me and Rain.”
“Why you take her?”
“Wanda-we’ve been through this. Rain is helping me. We followed-up on her lead, then I dropped her off at JR’s.”
“What you do after that?”
I laughed. “I really don’t like being interrogated, counselor, but if you want me to account for my whereabouts, fine. After I dropped her off, I got a picture of her brother and then I went to Monika’s. Then I hit a few stops.” Wanda doesn’t like Monika. She swears something is going on between us, so I know she won’t call her for any reason.
“What you go to Monika for?”
“She’s helping me with Zakiya’s murder, too. She was having an affair with a married man whose on-line name is Nice N. Slow. The e-mails were sent from a computer at JR’s. I think that Rain’s brother Miles sent them. That’s why I got his picture, so I could show it to the staff at Paradise tomorrow.”
That was my plan for the day.
I got out of bed, took a shower, and was at Paradise by one. The place was packed. I made eye contact with Tasheka and took a seat. When things quieted down a little, Tasheka came to the table with some lemonade for me. “How are you doin’, Nick?”
“I’m doin’ fine, Tasheka. How about you?”
“Tired; need a better job. But other than that, I’m fine.”
And she was; fine as hell.
“Have seat, Tasheka, I got something I want you to take a look at.”
Tasheka sat down and I handed her the picture that I had taken of Miles. She looked at the picture and shook her head. “That’s him. That’s the guy she used to meet here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure am,” she said. “Shameka, come here.”
“Don’t you see I’m busy?” Shameka shouted back.
“I can’t stand her ass sometimes,” Tasheka frowned. “That’s why I need a new job.”
Tasheka got up. She took the pictures behind the counter to show Shameka. She looked at the pictures and came from behind the counter.
“That’s him,” Shameka said as soon as she got to the table.
“When they were here together, how did they act?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did they seem happy with each other? Did they argue?”
“They looked like they were in love. You know, sitting on the same side in the booth, all hugged up with each other. Holding hands, stuff like that.”
She handed me back the pictures and asked if I was hungry. “Starvin’.”
“What you want? You want some chicken, you want some fish?”
“Got any shrimp?”
“Of course: some big jumbo joints.”
“Bring me some shrimp and chicken.”
“You want fries with that?”
“Hold the fries,” I said and Shameka went for the food. Tasheka brought back the food and another glass of lemonade and sat down. While I ate, she told me all the reasons why she hated working there and needed to be gone.
“You got a pen?” I asked when I was finished eating. Tasheka went a got a pen and I wrote down the number for the finance company that Wanda had been dying for me to run. I handed it to her. “Call this number on Monday, but not until Monday. You ask for April Dancer, she’ll be expecting your call,” I said and got up.
Before I knew it, Tasheka had jumped up, hugged, and kissed me. “Thank you.”
“Just don’t disappoint me,” I said, and could hear her scream for joy as I left the restaurant.
Now that I knew for sure that Miles was Nice N. Slow, the married man that Zakiya was seeing before her death, the question now was, what the fuck was I gonna do about?
I had no idea.
When I got to JR’s it was still early, too early for the club to be open. I went around back and knocked on the door. A short time later a woman came to the door.
“I’m looking for Miles Robinson. Is he here?”
The woman took a closer look at me. “You were here with Rain yesterday, weren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“No, he’s not,” she said. “He won’t be back until Monday.”
“Thanks.”
I went back around to the front of the building, thinking that now I had some time to decide what I was going to do about Miles. I was about to get in my car, when Rain pulled up in her BMW.
“Lookin’ for me?” Rain asked as she pulled up alongside of me.
“No.”
“Liar.”
“No, I was looking for your brother, Miles.”
“He ain’t here.”
“Yeah, I know. Some woman just told me that at the back door; said he won’t be back until Monday.”
“He dropped the kids off and took his wife out of town for the weekend, which ain’t a bad idea. Why don’t we go to AC for the weekend?”
“Not happenin’, not this weekend, anyway.” But it did sound good.
Rain put the car in park. “Since Miles ain’t here, why don’t you come ride with me for a minute?”
“Where you goin’?”
“Just ridin’.”
I walked around to the other side of her car and got in. We drove around goin’ nowhere fast, talkin’ about nothing in particular. “There is something I always wanted to know,” Rain said.
“What’s that?”