More Money for Good (17 page)

Rossi noticed a glass sliding door when he was disconnecting the alarm. We made it our point of entry. Of course it didn't take him long to get the door open. He pried the screen open with a screwdriver and used the same tool by unscrewing two screws connected to the lock on the door. We watched the entire lock mechanism fall to the ground as Rossi called it some cheap-ass shit.

It didn't take long to get our bearings and finally see the layout of the house. When we stepped in we were right between the kitchen and what looked to be a sitting room that had an HD TV mounted on the wall. We didn't know what kind of time we were working with to search for the money so I pointed for Rossi to go one way and I was in the wind in another.

I pointed my flashlight toward the kitchen and stood for a few seconds wondering where to start. I noticed that there were quite a few cabinets and drawers. Some were over a built-in desk with a computer sitting on top. That's where I started my search. I pushed the Enter key on the keyboard but it had no power so I reached down to the computer and turned it on. While I waited I opened up the two cabinet doors above the desk. With the help of my flashlight, I could see two shelves. One of the shelves was half full with books that were lined up in an orderly fashion. Most had something or other to do with police tactics and urban security. The other shelves where filled with all types of other knick-knacks: deck of cards, light bulbs, an old Rolodex, and a small camcorder and so much other shit that I just got tired of looking at it. I took my arm and started to throw it all to the floor searching for the money. I noticed the computer came on but I decided to unplug it. I took it along with the camcorder and placed it near the door so I could take it back to see if Rita and Lauren could find anything on it.

We were in and out the house searching for the money in about forty-five minutes and, sad to say, no money was in sight. The one thing we did find out was that the major didn't seem to spend much time in her residence of record, which Rossi's snitch copied off their emergency contact list. We came to that conclusion because once we started searching through the house it was in perfect order. It didn't seem to have someone there on a day-to-day basis. There were no towels in the bathroom, no dishes in the sink, and no clothes in the washer or dryer.

It rained all the way back to my place. When we went inside Lauren and Rita were sitting in front of the television, snacking on popcorn and drinks while watching a show Lauren had recorded sometime ago, called
Single Ladies.
They hardly noticed that we were dripping wet when we walked through the door. It almost felt like they shooed us into the kitchen while they giggled and laughed about the show. At least Lauren was smiling.

I put the computer we took from the major's house along with the camcorder on the counter, and retrieved a few beers from the fridge, then handed one to Rossi.

“I can't believe it, not a damn thing to be found in that house,” I said.

“This major is crafty, man—maybe more so than we ever thought. I mean it was a nice try but I would probably keep two million dollars so close that you would think I was making love to it,” Rossi admitted.

“You're probably right. That money is so close that we are going to have to get an eyeball on this major and just follow her until it's revealed.”

“You talking twenty-four-hour surveillance?”

“Maybe . . .”

Rossi's immediate expression was not pleasant.

“No other way around it.”

Rossi thought for a minute. “I never thought it was going to be this difficult. I mean it's not like I've ever tried to help a man get his two million dollars of drug money back that sat in the wall of a friend for twenty years and is now connected to multiple murders and police. But geez, man, who are we dealing with here?”

I didn't get a chance to answer Rossi because the ladies entered the kitchen. There was no hiding that it was not soda in their glasses.

“Wow, what a crazy show!” Lauren said in her outside voice. She kissed me on the cheek and then put her glass down on the table.

Rita was close behind. “You got that right. Hey, Rossi, would you ever cheat on me?”

Rossi was taken aback by Rita's question because her conversation was 180 degrees from what was on his mind. “Rita, are you serious?” he wanted to know.

“Of course I am. I didn't even know people in Atlanta were so shady. There are so many places to go and do the nasty without getting caught.”

Rossi didn't say a word. The look on his face gave Rita all that was on his mind.

“Okay, okay, yes . . . it's no secret about my past life. But geez, I didn't think everyone was doing it—and for free.” She chuckled.

“It was a television show you were watching,” I reminded her.

It didn't take Lauren long to focus on the computer. They were so busy watching their show when we walked in she hadn't even noticed.

“So, what's this?”

“Computer and a camcorder,” I let her know.

“Okay . . .” she sang.

“We're going to sit here and go through it and see if there's anything that can help us with Tavious.”

“Where is he by the way?” Lauren wanted to know.

“Oh, he's fine,” Rossi interrupted.

“I didn't ask that,” Lauren said.

I could tell Rossi and Lauren were close to getting into one of their loving squabbles so I went in quick. “So, will you ladies help to see what's on this computer for us?”

“Sorry, babe,” Lauren said. “I'm on my way to bed. I was caught up knee-deep in getting your receipts in order on your desk all day and I'm beat.”

“That makes two of us, honey,” Rita decided. “This drink has a sister wanting her pillow.” Rita kissed Laruen on the cheek, then told Rossi to take her home so they could continue their conversation in the car.

Rossi looked at me and shook his head back and forth.

“I'll take the computer, man,” Rossi told me. “I'll have her check it out in the morning,” he confirmed.

Not getting much sleep had programmed my body to do just that. My self-mandated requirement of eight hours' sleep had become a thing of the past since we were on the hunt for the money. I'd curled up into the bed next to Lauren until about three in the morning, when my tossing and turning wouldn't allow me to sleep any longer. My intentions were to make coffee and fiddle around with the camcorder we took from the major's. But there was no coffee so I quietly went out the house to the grocery store to buy some so the coffee wouldn't be an issue once Lauren was up for the day.

To my surprise the store had way more people than I expected. The twenty-minute wait I had to endure with the two shoppers in front of me with baskets full of items didn't help matters. After the cashier swore to me she would have let me move in front of her if she had been the customer in front of me and noticed that I only had a can of Chock full o'Nuts coffee and her basket was full with almost $200 of groceries, I noticed the
AJC
delivery man slam a stack of morning papers on the counter. I picked one up and asked the cashier to add it to my bill.

“Dang, you already doin' coffee and it's barely five in the morning,” Lauren said from behind me as she stood in her T-shirt with her hands on her hips.

“Couldn't sleep, babe, so I went out and got some when I realized we didn't have any.”

“Pour me some when it's ready?”

Lauren moved toward the kitchen table and asked if I'd seen her house shoes, then took a seat at the table. I grabbed some cups from the cabinet and placed them on the table. I noticed the coffee was just about ready so I stood in front of the maker waiting for the last drop to fall through, while I told Lauren about the lady shopper in the store with all the groceries and how I would have let her move in front of me if I would have had an army-load of food to check out. As I continued to give my two cents about the lady and the lack of human decency people display, Lauren gave me the customary early morning acknowledgment of a nod and a yawn. The coffee was ready. I picked up the pot, went to the table, poured it into our cups, then went into the fridge for the hazelnut cream. She still hadn't responded to what I said to her about the lady in front of me at the store. I could see some of the major headlines on the front page about the Atlanta school system and the cheating by principals and teachers that had occurred resulting from the No Child Left Behind Act.

“Wow, that paper really must be interesting,” I said to her. I sat down at the table and took a sip of my coffee. “So, are they throwing all the teachers and principals in jail? Hey, maybe the prisons can save a bit on contractors teaching coming in with their own on site,” I said to her.

Lauren looked up at me. I'd known her way too long not to tell something wasn't right. She didn't say what was wrong; she just slid the entire newspaper toward me and started on her own coffee and told me to relax.

After my turn at reading the paper it was as though I'd been smacked in the face. I couldn't believe it. Saadia had thrown Tavious under the bus in a scathing article that just about implicated him in the killings of Amara and Ely. Her article was a local news front-page story; and not only had she written her accounts on how she thought the murders occurred, but she added a dark picture of Tavious that made him look murderous and hardened. Her call for a manhunt by the APD to find him and throw away the key was enough to send me quickly over the edge.

I threw the paper on the table and asked Lauren to get my cell phone. I wanted to talk to Saadia pronto, but, as I expected, when I called there was no answer. The article that I had just finished reading was 180 degrees from what we had discussed with her. There was no mention of the police major crime unit or any of the unlawful bullshit they had been doing passing it off as police work.

The audacity of Saadia calling her article her best work ever. She applauded herself for going undercover to find out more about Tavious after her contacts told her he was initially under investigation for the murder of Amara. She even went so far as to write about spending a day with his mother and now understanding where his anger came from. Saadia was not shy about letting everyone know that Tavious was the last person to ever see Ely alive. She wrote that he was fresh out of prison after twenty years and the prison system had hardened him. Her article said that when he got home to retrieve money that he left with his drug mule, she had spent it all. She claimed he snapped and took her life, then weeks later took Ely's because men in his mother's life had always taken her from him and he had never been able to deal with seeing his mother hurt.

I called Rossi and briefly explained what Tavious was now up against. I took a quick shower and asked him to meet me at the spot where Tavious was staying.

Mrs. Bullock had always been an early riser. Before I even got out of the shower she had called my cell and Lauren let her know we were on our way to see Tavious. She let me know that she would be there just as soon as she could.

I didn't like the look on Lauren's face when I jumped in my car just after she called out to me and ran out to give me the camcorder and newspaper that I'd left sitting on the kitchen table. She knew that things were coming to a head.

“You're goin' to be careful—right?”

I put the car in reverse. “Yeah, yeah, it will be fine.”

“I'm not worried about it, West. I'm worried about you. Promise me right now you won't put yourself in a dangerous position where you might get hurt.”

I hadn't even let the fact that two people had been murdered and a shady reporter had just about told the world who was responsible for them put me in that space where I was in danger. But I had to console my baby.

“I promise you, Lauren. Promise, I will be back here soon, safe and sound.” With that I let the car roll down the driveway in reverse and kept my eyes on Lauren as she gave me her kiss and customary peace sign as I drove away.

I didn't get a chance to knock on the door before Tavious swung it open and snatched the paper out of my hand.

“This is bullshit, West.”

“So, you heard?”

“Grands called. Got me all riled and shit.” Tavious sat down to read the paper. More than likely he was reading the headline: E
X-DRUG
K
INGPIN ON
M
URDEROUS
R
AMPAGE IN
A
TLANTA. “
This is bullshit! What the fuck is she thinking?”

When Tavious mentioned Saadia I pulled out my phone and called her number again. No answer.

“What the fuck did you guys talk to her about, man?”

“Just like we said,” I told him. I almost felt guilty for going to see her backstabbing ass. “We told her about the connections to the raid on Amara's house and the major crimes unit along with Ely. We told her everything. It had nothing to do with you.”

Tavious didn't respond; he was still reading. I sat down on the couch just knowing it was only a matter of seconds before he would explode again.

“What the fuck does she mean I have been made a hardened criminal in prison without any feeling to society? Are you kidding me!” Tavious threw the paper on the floor and stood up. “West, I don't understand this, man. Somebody needs to tell me something or I just might hurt a fool on this shit. This right here in this paper is liable to get me the chair, man. The fuckin' chair!”

There was a knock on the door. We knew it was Rossi because he announced himself as he continued knocking. He came in and looked around.

“What the fuck, man?”

“You got that right,” Tavious said. “They got me all in the papers, man. Whole got-damn city is looking at my face, thinking I'm running around killing people.”

“Why would she write this mess?” Rossi said. “Did you have it out with her or something, Tavious?”

Tavious looked at Rossi. “No. I thought we were cool. We've only talked a few times since I've been here. She asked to come see me, I said it wouldn't be good, and that was that.”

“We have to go see her,” I decided.

“We sure as hell do,” Tavious said.