“I never said you were lying. It’s simply a second opinion.”
“My doctor is the best. I trust his diagnosis, though I’m scared. And I’m trying to get ahead of this sickness.”
Kid grew tired of playing nice. “You’re a greedy fuckin’ bitch, and you used my brother to get money from him. He did a lot for you when you didn’t fuckin’ deserve it. He even robbed a drop to help pay for a sickness that you don’t have.
“The first day I met you, I knew you were a fake bitch, only looking for cash and handouts. You took advantage of our situation. Nice government checks every month for taking in two ghetto niggas, and giving us the nitty-gritty while you lived in glamor, having nice things. I always saw through you, you bitch!”
“How dare you, Kid! You need to leave now!” she demanded.
“I’m not going anywhere, Nana. We’re not done talking.”
“You were never him, and you never will be your brother. The only thing you’ll be is a crippled fool. You legless, retarded muthafucka! Kip will always be a better man than you, more now that he’s dead.”
“There she is—the evil bitch I’ve been looking for. Now that’s who I wanted to see come out. It’s about time.”
“Get out, before I throw your handicapped ass out of my fuckin’ house!” Nana lifted to her feet, not needing a cane this time, feeling superior to him. What could he do? What power did he have?
He smirked at her and wasn’t intimidated at all. “You know, Nana, we do have one thing in common.”
“You think I’m playing with you? We don’t have shit in common.”
“Oh, but we do. We both know how to play out a sickness very well. In fact, I commend you, because you’re a great hustler and a crafty con artist. But you know what? I’m a better hustler and smarter con.” He suddenly sprung up from the wheelchair, showing her the miracle. He could stand and walk.
Nana’s mouth dropped open in complete shock.
Kid had one last trick up his sleeve. He lunged for Nana, and there was a minor tussle, but he soon overpowered her with a gut punch then wrapped his hands around her neck. He slammed her against the bed and straddled her. He wanted to choke her to death, but he couldn’t. He had to do it the right way.
“Sick, my ass!” he said. “You got more strength than a farm mule.”
Quickly, he stuck Nana in the back of her neck with a cyanide-loaded syringe. The lethal dose of cyanide started to work in seconds. He stood back and watched the poison do its job. She began to gasp for breath before passing out and suffering cardiac arrest.
Finally, the old bitch was dead, and he felt no remorse.
He wiped away his fingerprints from what he touched, placed the body to make her death look natural, and then sat back in his wheelchair. He rolled out of her apartment feeling he had done everyone a huge justice. He exited the building calmly and had help getting into the van. He felt good.
Kid puffed out with a proud grin and said to Maniac, “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
When Kid, as next of kin, was contacted about her death, he refused to pay for her funeral. In people’s eyes, it wasn’t odd, because he was broke, crippled, and still grieving for his brother.
In the end, Nana’s small church raised the money to bury her. Kid didn’t bother to show up to her funeral. He wanted her to rot in hell.
***
Kid found it suspicious and disrespectful that Jessica didn’t show up to his brother’s funeral. Despite Jessica’s sudden conflict with Eshon and Brandy, she should have been there. He felt something was odd and wrong, and he planned on getting to the bottom of things.
When he tried to talk to Eshon about Jessica, Eshon was useless, still distraught over Kip’s death.
So he went to Brandy and asked questions. Who was this man she was seeing? Where did they meet? Had they ever seen a glimpse of him?
Brandy didn’t know the man’s name, had never seen his face, and didn’t know what his occupation was. The only thing she could tell him was that he had money, and plenty of it, because Jessica had upgraded her wardrobe to Fendi, Prada, and Chanel, she wore expensive jewelry, and she had lots of spending money, sometimes in the thousands.
Kid came to the conclusion that Jessica was trying to hide her man. But why? Who was he?
***
One late night Kid sat parked in a burgundy Honda Odyssey outside Jessica’s building and watched the front lobby. He’d changed vehicles because Kip’s van was marked and too familiar with people.
As he loitered near the projects, he felt a bit nostalgic but shook off the feeling. This wasn’t back in the day. Everything had changed, including him.