“Keith asked me to pick him up,” Reek said, getting behind the wheel.
“Keith? I heard he was fuckin’ with Mack and T-Lova.”
“Yeah, the bawh been down with the team for a minute now.”
“I don’t know how that li’l nigga wiggled his way in.” Reek shook his head.
“Wasn’t that your li’l man?”
“I fucked with him, but I knew he wasn’t loyal. He was dealin’ with them grimey ass twins, and they was filling his head with a bunch of bullshit. He didn’t give a fuck about the movement, it was all about him.”
“I’m glad you put me onto his ass.” Boogs pulled over in front of Keith’s apartment, then called him on his cell phone letting him know they were outside.
Three minutes later Keith was out of the door. He trotted over to the Cadillac and hopped in the back seat. “Wassup, cannon?” Keith said to Reek, excitedly.
“I’m coolin’. Wassup with you?”
“You already know. I’m tryin’ to make it happen.”
“I hear you doin’ big things now.” Reek turned the upper, mobile half of his body so he could get a better look at Keith.
“Nah, I ain’t doing it big, yet, but I’m finally getting my chance to shine.”
“That’s wassup,” Reek responded, not particularly interested in what Keith had to say.
“Where’s your truck at?” Boogs asked as he pulled away from the curb.
“Oh, it’s at Impressions in South Philly.”
“Aaight.” Boogs headed in that direction. They engaged in small talk until he made it to the repair shop.
“Damn, Keith. The shop’s not open yet,” Reek said.
“Fuck! They supposed to be open. Go around to the back and see if they left my whip back there.”
Boogs released a sigh of frustration, but did as he was asked. Once there, Keith scanned the area. His truck was nowhere in sight.
“Give me a second. Let me run to the back door and see if someone’s inside.”
Boogs threw the car in park and Keith bolted out. In a matter of seconds he was back. “Nobody’s there.”
“So, what you gonna do?” Boogs asked. He turned in his seat only to come face to face with a huge semi-automatic handgun.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Keith sent three rounds from his .45 into Boogs’ head. The high velocity slugs shattered his skull. It’s thick, red contents decorated the windshield, dashboard, and left side of Reek.
Reek sat there in complete shock, staring at the half-headed, bloodied corpse that was once his cousin. His ears were still ringing from the deftly loud gun bursts.
“Mack thinks you’re snitchin’,” Keith said. The raw words snapped Reek out of his state of shock.
“Nah, man. Mack know I ain’t no rat...why you killed my cousin?” Reek couldn’t stop himself from sobbing as the pungent copper smell filled the car. “You ain’t have to kill him, man.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Keith aimed his gun at Reek. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re tellin’ or not. Both of ya’ll gotta go. Your bitch ass ain’t never want to put me on, but I got on anyway. Once you get back in the game, I ain’t never gon’ blow up.”
“Keith, you ain’t gotta do this.”
“Fuck you, it’s done.” Keith fired two close range shots into the left side of Reek’s head. The bullets exited the right side, causing a mixture of blood and brain matter to flow out of the gaping holes.
Keith quietly, but carefully, wiped down every section of the car that he touched, and then got out. He opened the driver’s door, took Boogs’ phone, and left the two bodies slumped in the car...
CHAPTER 26
After a long and strenuous night of work and less than six hours of sleep, Terry was reluctant to get up and remove himself from the comfort of his cozy king-sized bed. But he had no other choice. Unlike the street hustle where he created his own work schedule, in the legal field he had to abide by business hours; no matter how stringent they were.
The magnificent three thousand seven hundred square feet home he’d purchased begged for him to remain inside. Resisting the calling, he forced himself out of bed, and then washed up and got dressed. The anticipation of going to his office and reviewing the volume charts of his commodities stocks was the motivating factor. He could easily analyze them on his laptop or iPhone, but he had made it a part of his routine to wait.
Just as he stepped out of his home and deactivated the alarm of his Tesla, his phone vibrated.
“Hello?”
“T. Wassup, big bruh?” It was Keith.
“I’m coolin’. I just stepped out of the house. What’s good?”
“I got something important to holla at you about.”
“I’m on my way to work. Can it wait until I get off?” Terry asked.
“Nah, it can’t. Stop by my crib on your way.”
“Aaight. I’ll be there in a half an hour.” Terry hung up and cursed himself for answering the phone without viewing the Caller ID first. Deciding it was best to just get it over with, he drove directly over to Keith’s house.
Terry pulled into Keith’s drive way and blew the horn twice. It didn’t take long before Keith came out the door and got into the passenger side of the car.
“I hope this is important.” Terry looked over at Keith showing a hint of frustration.
“It is.” Keith looked back at him. “I had to kill Reek and Boogs.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“You know I wouldn’t play with nothing like this.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“The bawh Reek was workin’ with the police, and Boogs knew about it.” Keith defended his actions.
“How you know?”
“They told me this morning. That’s when I hit ‘em.”
“Yo, you can’t be that fuckin’ stupid!” Terry pounded on the center armrest in anger. “Why didn’t you just come and tell me?”
“Man, put yourself in my shoes,” Keith said. “I just found out that Reek was a rat. That nigga was tellin’ on my man. Nobody was around. I had to do it, T.”
Terry fought to suppress his anger and remain focused. “Listen, I want you to lay low for a minute. I don’t want you doing nothin’ unless me or Mack tell you to.”
“Aaight.”
“Don’t you tell nobody about this. I don’t even want you to fuckin’ think about it too hard. You hear me?”
“I got you. I might have reacted too quick, but I did it for you. I ain’t lettin’ no nigga cross the fam. I don’t care who it is.”
“Aaight, kid. Just be easy. Do you need any paper?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Remember what I said. Lay low and keep your mouth shut. Once this shit blows over we’ll be back to business.”
“I got you, T.” He gave Terry some dap and left the car smiling inwardly. His actions brought him one step closer to achieving a top position.
Terry’s mind was no longer on his legal business. He was too preoccupied with how to deal with the horrible information that was just relayed to him. There had to be more to the story. He did a masterful job of concealing his emotions in front of Keith, but the truth was his heart was crushed. Reek was a great friend. He had been there unconditionally for Terry. He placed his life on the front lines for the team. Terry never mentioned it to Keith, but he was positive that Reek didn’t tell the police anything. He was sure because his personal attorney and Reek’s attorney worked for the same law firm. Reek had never given any statement to any officer, and any discussion with the district attorney was conducted through his lawyer.
Two of his good friends, Twan and Reek had become casualties of wars created by him and Mack. Boogs, who had grown to be a great and trustworthy friend, had now lost his life too. All of this weighed heavily on Terry’s heart and mind.
Terry did his absolute best to switch roles and mask his emotions, pulling into the lot of Dynasty Luxury Rentals. He walked into the building and greeted his st
aff routinely. Making it to his office, he was relieved to see Mack inside at work.
“I know this ain’t the time or the place, but I got some horrible news.”
“I guess when it rains, it pours. I got some bad news, too,” Mack countered.
“Reek and Boogs are dead,” Terry’s voice was low and course.
“That can’t be true. I just talked to Boogs last night. He told me that Reek was doing good.”
“Keith killed both of them this morning. He said Reek was snitchin’ and Boogs was in on it.”
“That’s bullshit!” Mack shouted, as the burning anger consumed him. “We got all of his paperwork. He wasn’t hot!”
“I know, but I didn’t tell Keith. I just went along with what he was saying.”
Mack jumped to his feet with his large hands clenched tightly into fists. “Nah, man. I can’t fuckin’ believe this shit. My mans can’t be dead!” Mack shouted. He refused to believe the truth, as reality forced it’s way in. Visions of both Reek and Boogs impeded his thought process, forcing him to take a seat.
They sat in their chairs in a contemplative moment of silence. “I’ma have to kill Keith,” Terry said, finally.
Mack wanted nothing more than to make sure Keith was removed from earth, for unjustly killing his comrades. Just before he agreed with Terry, a thought came to his mind. “I may have a better idea.”
“Wassup?”
“I was going to tell you that word just got back to me that Jihad and Shawn is still selling weight in North and West Philly.”
Terry’s eyes widened at the news. “Do you think they’re the ones who broke into the house?”
“We kept that place a secret. They’re the only ones besides me, you and Sandra who knew about it. Think about it; Shawn gets robbed earlier and he claims he didn’t get to see their faces, then we get robbed for fourteen bricks...it’s them.”
The more Terry reflected on it, the clearer the picture became. The relationship between him and his long-time friend had withered away. The problem was he had become too consumed with working toward reaching his goals to realize it. While he pursued new ventures, Jihad remained content with continuing to use proceeds from selling drugs as his only source of income. The line was clearly drawn. They now stood on opposite sides.
“What’s your plan?” Terry asked.
“We’re going to kill three birds with one stone...”
CHAPTER 27
Since receiving the helpful information from the robber-turned-informant, Kevin, detectives Todd and Latrice began to utilize all their resources to compile as much information on Terry – T-Lova – Maddox and Sabrie Mack.
The more information that was gathered, the more convinced they became that those men were, if not responsible, at least capable of causing the deaths of the Simmons twins.
The detectives sat in Latrice’s congested cubicle sipping poorly made coffee out of styrofoam cups. “So, what do you think?” Todd asked.
Latrice pushed against her desk, causing her chair to roll out a bit, then stretched her legs. “Well, we definitely don’t have enough to arrest Maddox or Mack on the murders. There’s absolutely no direct evidence. All we have is a statement from a thug with an extensive arrest record who wants to save his own ass from spending life behind bars.”
“What if we bring them in for questioning?”
“That’ll do more harm than good.” Latrice batted down the option and took another sip of her bitter coffee. “When we brought Maddox in the last time, he knew exactly what to, and what not to say. He’s not dumb by a long shot.”
“Yeah, but it might be different with Mack,” Todd said.
“Birds of a feather flock together. These guys didn’t make it this far by being lucky. I don’t even want to bring them in here until we have enough evidence to charge them.”
The detectives racked their brains trying to figure out how to get Terry and Mack off the streets. Todd bolted upright in his chair when an idea came to him. “Terry is originally from Syracuse, right?”
“Yes.”
“There has to be a reason why he left. Do me a favor, get me the number to Syracuse Police Department.”
Latrice rolled her chair closer to her desk and began typing rapidly on her computer. “Got it.”
Todd pushed the intercom button on her desk phone and pressed the numbers as she recited them to him. The phone rang a half dozen times before someone picked up. “Syracuse Police Department, Maggie Flemming speaking.”
“Hello Maggie. This is homicide detective, Todd Reed, from Philadelphia. There is an individual that we are investigating. He’s originally from Syracuse and we wanted to find out if he’s raised any eyebrows there before coming here.”
“Okay. I’m going to transfer your call to the lieutenant. He will be able to assist you.”
“Thank you.”
There was a momentary pause, then someone picked up. “Lieutenant Schwartz,” the voice bellowed through the phone.
“Good afternoon, Lieutenant. This is Detective Todd Reed of Philadelphia Homicide. We’re investigating a suspect by the name of Terry Maddox. He goes by T-Lova. We know that he was a lifelong resident of Syracuse. We’re trying to see if anyone in your department has ever investigated him, or has any helpful information about him.”
“You said, Terry Maddox, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The name certainly rings a bell. Hold on a sec.” The clicking of computer keys could be heard in the background. “Ah...here we go. Terry Maddox, also known as T-Lova. I remember him now. I had a confidential informant who was working on a controlled buy from him.”
“What was the outcome?” Todd asked.
“My CI was murdered before we had a chance to get to Maddox.”
“Do you think that Terry was involved?”
“There was no way we could attribute the murder to him. During our investigation we found out that Maddox was out of town when the murder occurred. We concluded that his death was the result of a drug deal gone wrong. It was a side deal that my CI was conducting which we weren’t privy to. The case is still open.”
“Damn, another dead end,” Todd said disappointedly.
“For what it’s worth, detective, I’ve always believed that Maddox was somehow involved with the murder of my CI He informed me that the four kilos of cocaine recovered from his vehicle during his arrest belonged to Maddox. It’s my belief that Terry found out the CI was working for us and had him killed. But, of course, it’s just speculation.”
The fact that Shwartz’s informant was killed as a result of involvement with drugs caused Latrice to chime in. “Hello Lieutenant Schwartz. This is Detective Reed. The case we’re working on involves drugs, as well. We believe the victims were killed in retaliation for a robbery which resulted in the death and severe injury of Terry’s friends.”
“Well, if you need our assistance for anything, just give us a ring.”
“We appreciate your help, Lieutenant,” Todd said, and then hung up.
The detectives looked at each other wearing the same dismal expression. Just then Latrice’s cell phone rang. Whenever that phone rang they knew they would be coming in contact with a dead body. She answered the phone, jotted down the needed information, and ended the call.
“It looks like we’re the proud owners of a double homicide. Are you ready?”
“Would it make any difference if I said no?” Todd questioned.
“Nope,” Latrice exhaled and stood. She began to gather a few things from her desk. “Let’s see what we have on our hands and pick up some real coffee on the way,” she said in a frail attempt to lighten the mood.
The change into the spring season brought a beautiful and pleasing mood to the city. Budding leaves on the trees danced softly against the winds. It was an alluring day. Unfortunately, it was a day that someone was no longer blessed to enjoy. Todd believed that he would eventually become numb to witnessing the aftermath of a murder. But for both him a
nd his sister, each corpse they encountered brought with it a feeling of loss. Their defense mechanisms were to force their minds not to think of the person or spirit that once occupied the body, or the traumatic loss of their father. Sometimes it worked, but for the most part it didn’t.
The Chevy Impala crawled into the rear lot of Impressions Car Shop. They were greeted by the usual bright yellow crime scene tape, and forensic examiners milling about the scene. Latrice was the first to approach the Cadillac that contained the two bodies. They were both slumped over. The interior was splattered with drying blood. Slowly, she circled the perimeter of the car, peering inside the windows. She came to a stop at the driver’s side and leaned in an attempt to get a closer look at the victims.
Todd walked up to the car, coming to a stop at her side. “You’re not going to believe who’s in that car.”
“Who?” she looked to her brother for the answer.
“The one in the passenger seat was ID’d as Tyreek Simmons.”
Latrice was slightly taken aback once the name registered. “I’m willing to bet my last dollar that all of these murders are somehow tied together.” Her mind reverted back to the moment they went to the hospital to question Reek. He had lay in the hospital bed partially paralyzed, fighting for his life.
She went to the hospital room with the simple motive of questioning a witness. However, once she laid eyes on him and noticed his condition, she saw a young man who was swallowed by his circumstances. That same young man lost his battle for survival which he fought hard to win. The bullet laced body was the evidence of his defeat.
“I don’t know if Terry and Mack actually pulled the trigger, but I’m almost certain that all of these deaths are linked to them.” Her discomfort was clearly visible. “We have to get them off the streets...”
CHAPTER 28
Inside of a tinted, maroon Honda CR-V, Keith sat reclined in the driver’s seat scanning the surrounding area. He focused on the white and gray duplex that was five houses away.