Beautiful Liar (20 page)

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, dismissing the
question with a wave of his hand. “It was for the best. We’re still
friends.”

Cairo pondered on that for a moment before
saying, “I feel like I’m losing everybody that I love. It’s
beginning to get unbearable.”

“You’re not losing anybody. I’m just moving
somewhere else. And not to mention, Misty. You still have her.”

Cairo nodded solemnly.

“Speaking of her, how is she doing?”

“She’s straight. Her doctor gave her a clean
bill of health last week.”

“That’s cool. She’s too sly even for death.
Anyway, did Vicky plead out?”

“Yeah, she got twenty-nine to forty-four
months.”

“That’ll give her enough time to think about
what she did.”

Cairo frowned. “They should’ve given her
life. Misty almost died!”

“It happened the way it was supposed to
happen. Know what I’m talking about?” He asked while standing up.
“Everything turned out fine.”

Cairo followed suit. “I’mma miss you,
man.”

The men hugged.

Once they released one another, Ray pulled
out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “This is the number
where I’m going to be staying. Use it every chance you get.”

“I will.”

“Well, let me get on the road. I got to keep
to my schedule.”

“Cairo gave him some dap. “Do you need some
money to get settled in?”

“Nah, I got all I need now. ‘Preciate it,
though.”

“No problem. Take care of yourself.”

“I will, and you do the same. Catch you
later.”

Ray walked ten yards when something dawned on
Cairo. “Hey, Ray!”

He stopped and turned around. “What’s
up?”

“Are you still going to be my best man next
month?”

“I’ll be your best man for life.”

Cairo watched him disappear over the hill
before he turned back to his son’s grave. He readjusted the two
dozen roses he had brought and suddenly realized there was a cause
and effect to everything.

Though he grieved for his son daily, his
death had enabled him to realize what was and what was not
important. And what was important was the second chance God had
given him with Misty.

He smiled through his tears. “Thank you,
son!”

Now his mission was completed, he headed to
his car so he could go home to his wife-to-be.

Cairo pulled up to his newly built mini-mansion,
felling slightly disappointed when he saw Misty’s car wasn’t there.
The first thing he noticed when he entered their home was an
envelope on the statue where they set their keys. He opened it to
find a short note. It read:

Go to the computer.

Cairo headed to the computer room on the
third floor, wondering what this was all about. When he got there,
he saw that the computer was already on. It displayed a live
picture of Misty, sitting in a room that he was unfamiliar
with.

“Hey, baby!” she said, smiling warmly.

Cairo approached the computer and sat down.
“Hey. Where are you?”

“I’m around. But listen, I have something to
say, and I only want you to listen. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Before I actually met you, I had heard so
much about you. I had an image of you in my head as a heartless,
self-centered monster that deserved every bad thing that came his
way. But when I finally met you through arrangements, I didn’t see
any of that. All I saw was a passionate and wounded man recognizing
the true fruits of life.”

Cairo smiled.

“And even though you got me shot,” she said,
with an exaggerated frown, “I have to admit you were the perfect
boyfriend. You understood I wasn’t ready for sex, you made sure I
had everything I needed, and you always put our relationship first.
I really appreciate all of that, and I hope you treat the next
woman you meet the same way.”

Cairo frowned now. “What are you talking
about?”

“It’s over between us, Cairo. I—”

“What did I do?” he asked, cutting her
off.

“If you cut me off again, I’m going to cut
this thing off without giving an explanation. Do I make myself
clear?” Her voice was very stern.

“But—”

Misty began to reach for her computer. Cairo
yelled, “Okay! Okay! I’mma listen!”

She leaned back in her chair and continued.
“I closed out the joint account you set up for us. My plans are to
start over somewhere else.”

“But, why?” he asked without realizing
it.

“I promised Ty ‘UL’ forever, and you were my
sacrifice, so to speak, to him. This would have never been possible
without our mutual friend. He met Wendy in a bar one night, and
they had a brief fling. That’s when he made me an offer I couldn’t
refuse.”

“Who?”

She looked to her left, and Ray appeared at
her side. “What it is, pimp?”

Cairo was so shocked that he couldn’t
speak.

Ray started laughing. “Don’t look crazy now.
You should’ve seen this shit coming. Think about it. I took you to
Deb’s job, and you ran into Misty. Then, I took you to her
promotional party and reintroduced you to her.”

“Why man? Goddamn, Ray!” Cairo started
rubbing his hands feverishly on his thighs.

Ray continued to taunt him. “News flash! It
was me and Misty who broke into your office! Common sense should’ve
told you and your pops that it was me, because other than y’all, I
was the only one who knew about the safe. And just think, Misty,”
he said, looking over at her. “We were going to settle for that two
hundred grand, too.”

“We sure were, but it worked out even better.
Two million dollars apiece, tax free…can’t beat that!” Misty smile
was gigantic.

Cairo was angry now. “You dirty mutha
fuckers!”

“You didn’t deserve the money,” Ray
continued. “I’ve watched you for years dog out girls with the
promises of it. But, I’m not going to sit here and try to justify
why I did what I did. I told you at the cemetery we have to make
necessary decisions that are in our best interest, and this was
mine.”

Ray stared at his crying friend and nodded
sympathetically. “I know. I hate it had to go down this way, but I
couldn’t wait around for you to get me rich. Oh, yeah, that number
I gave you is to one of the best psychiatrist in the country. You
need help. You can spend the rest of your life focusing on finding
us, or you can spend it getting better. The choice is yours. Know
what I’m talking about?”

He then looked to Misty. “Do you have
anything else to say?”

“Uh, yeah. I just wanted to say, thanks.
Because of you, I now have a story line for my next book. I think
I’m going to title it, ‘Who Knew.’ Look for it in stores in about
six months. Oh, and one more thing. In case you were wondering, no,
Ray and I are not together. We just came together for one
purpose.”

They both waved, and said, “Thanks,
Cairo!”

The screen went blank, and Cairo sat there in
shock. Then, to make sure they weren’t playing a joke on him, he
went online to check his account balance. He saw that his balance
was one hundred and fifty dollars, and stared at the screen until
his tears blurred it.

He suddenly remembered the comment that Ray
made at the cemetery. “She’s too sly even for death.”

Though he cared that his money was gone, the
betrayal by his “friends” overwhelmed him the most. They were his
hope and confidence that had kept him going since his son passed.
His whole relationship with them had been a scheme, and he had
never suspected a thing, because love had made him blind to all the
signs.

He bathed in grief for over an hour, before
he pulled out the slip of paper that Ray had given him and dialed
the number.

The woman, who was affectionately called “Sammy”
by her friends, turned off the shower when the sound of breaking
glass echoed through the house. “Brian, please tell me that you
didn’t just break my vase!”

She stepped out of the shower, and when she
didn’t get a response she grabbed a towel. “Brian?”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up
when a nearby floorboard creaked.

“Brian? Is that you?”

Silence.

Sammy wrapped the towel around her just as
another floorboard creaked. She suddenly came to the realization
that it couldn’t possibly be her husband ignoring her, so she
scurried to the bedroom for her gun. She screamed when she was
intercepted in the hall by a masked man.

He muffled her scream with a gloved hand and
put a gun to her head. “Shut up!”

She complied, but she couldn’t mute her
heart. It seemed audible through her chest.

“Is there anyone else in the house?”

She shook her head.

The masked man paused, as if he was listening
for evidence of other occupants. He scanned every inch of the house
that was visible from where he stood before focusing back on
Sammy.

“I only came for the money and your
valuables. Take me to it, and I will leave you unharmed. But if you
play with me, I will be the last person to see you alive. Do you
understand me?”

She nodded while wondering why the man was
disguising his voice. Is this someone I know?

“Good. Now, lead me by pointing.”

Sammy pointed to the bedroom, and he nudged
her forward. Her personal jewelry and purse, which contained seven
hundred dollars, sat on the dresser. “That’s all I have. Take
it.”

The man pocketed it before slapping her to
the floor. “Don’t fucking play with me! Do you think this is a
random robbery? I know what your husband does, and I need all of
it!”

“I…I can’t get to it. He has it locked in a
floor safe that only he knows the combination to!”

The man aimed the gun at her, and she
screamed. “I’m telling you the truth! I swear!”

He looked at his watch for what seemed to
Sammy an eternity. “We have forty minutes to kill before he gets
here. For your sake, you better hope he comes straight home.”

Sammy sat on the floor, holding her face. A
slew of thoughts ran through her head. Who had put the man up to
rob them? Who was he? Would he kill them when he got what he
wanted?

It was evident he had been watching them for
some time, because he knew their schedules.

The gun in the nightstand crossed her mind,
but she knew he would never allow her to get it. So, she sat there
and waited for the time to pass, trying her best not to think about
her nakedness.

Her captor made this easy, because he seemed
totally occupied in his own thoughts. He leaned on the dresser with
stillness of a mannequin. She tried to sneak a peek at his eyes to
see if she could identify him, but the slits in the mask concealed
them well.

The house was in total silence; they both
heard her husband insert his key in the lock, thirty minutes
later.

The masked man immediately snatched Sammy off
the floor and jammed his gun into her neck. “Remember, I came only
for two things. Don’t make me leave with four!”

Sammy nodded. She knew the other two things
were her and her husband’s lives.

Brian came up the stairs, unaware of the
danger that awaited him. He entered the bedroom and almost had a
heart attack when he saw them. “Jesus!”

“I’mma tell you like I told your wife,” the
masked man said calmly. “I already know what goes on here. Give me
the money and the valuables, and I’ll leave y’all unharmed.”

Brain focused on his wife. “Are you okay,
Sammy?”

“I’m fine.”

“As long as I get what I came for,” the man
added.

Brian held out his hands. “Okay, there’s no
need for violence. Everything is in the basement, locked in a
safe.”

“Lead the way. I’m warning you, don’t try
anything.”

Brian led them down to the basement and
opened the 6’ x 4’ foot safe. “There, take it all. Just take it and
go!”

The masked man threw him a knapsack. “You
fill it up. Start with the cash first.”

Brian filled the sack with seventy thousand
dollars and most of the jewelry, before sitting it on the floor.
“There.”

The man made a move to grab it but changed
his mind when he noticed something strange. He suddenly shot Brian
in the leg without warning, unknowingly piercing his main
artery.

Brian fell to the floor, and an emerald
studded dagger dropped out of his hand.

“I warned you not to try anything! I warned
you!”

Sammy rushed to her husband’s aid, shielding
him. “Please, go! You have what you came for. Just take it and
go!”

The man stood there for a few more seconds
before sprinting up the stairs and slamming the door behind
him.

Now, as Sammy sat in the house waiting, she shed
tears for her late husband. It had been two years since the
incident had occurred, but the horror and grief were still fresh.
The front door opened, she lifted the pistol from her lap and
leveled it at the woman.

Misty’s hand shot to her chest when she saw
the stranger. “Oh, shit!”

“Get away from the door.”

“Who are you and what are you doing—”

Sammy fired a single round into the ceiling.
“Get away from the door, goddamnit!”

Misty complied immediately; she was still
somewhat shell-shocked from the last gunshot she had suffered.

As she advanced towards the woman, she froze
in her tracks when she got a clear view of Sammy’s face. “You! I
know you! You’re Ty’s probation officer!”

“And you’re the spouse of the man who
murdered my husband!”

“I don’t have any knowledge of that.”

“Sure you don’t. From reading your book, you
were more than likely the getaway driver.”

“That book is fiction.”

“The same exact fiction matches the pattern
of the man who killed my husband. Calm demeanor, six feet tall, and
well aware of his victims’ schedules. The most incriminating thing
of all is the tattoo of the letters, “UL” inside of a heart. I saw
it on his hand when he unstrapped his glove. If I’m not mistaken,
you have an identical tattoo on yours.”