2005 Grace #9
I had been expecting a stereotypical, tattooed criminal—but this guy looked more like a businessman, with an air of authority about him that scared me to death.
“It’s him,” Jamie whispered in a paper-thin voice.
“Don’t go,” I begged.
“I have to… I have to tell him and ask for more time.” Jamie was trembling with fear, but he steeled himself and stepped out onto the front porch.
I watched from the window as he walked up to those guys, my heart beating at a crazed pace, my throat dry. I held my breath while I waited for their discussion to end.
The boss took off his sunglasses, nodding as he wiped the dust from the lenses without looking at Jamie. It was obvious he despised him.
He probably thought he was a half-naked, unkempt junkie, a loser trying to trick him with his endless excuses.
I was breathing shallowly and hoped the man would understand Jamie’s situation—that he’d give him a bit more time.
But they made Jamie kneel down in the dust. I know it wasn’t a smart move, but I started moving and ran out onto the porch in tears.
“Stop!” I shouted. “Leave him alone!”
I put my weight on the first stair.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The rotten wood gave way—it broke apart under my right leg, tearing my pants and scraping my skin.
“Please, leave him alone!” I shouted and frantically tried to escape, wriggling like a worm trapped under a rock. I pounded the wood with my fists in anger because I couldn’t free myself. As I tried to pull my leg out, the broken board pressed even deeper into my thigh.
The man flashed me an icy smile, his face arrogant and self-satisfied. He nodded. One of his men stepped behind my brother, pulled out his gun, and shot him in the head.
The world around me froze for a second. Blood sprayed from my brother’s skull, then his lifeless body crumpled into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust. The shot thundered in my head, making my ears ring. My head buzzed as if a thousand bees were inside it.
“Noo!” I shouted. Then they pointed their guns at me. “Jamie!” I pounded the stairs with my hands while warm, thick blood oozed from my leg. “Jamie!” I sobbed.
“Let her be,” the mob boss said angrily, then sat back in the car. There was something familiar about his voice, something I felt like I’d heard before. But my brain froze. I flailed helplessly and pounded on that goddamn wooden stair as they drove away.
It took hours to free myself. I crawled to Jamie’s body like a worm. My wound was full of dirt, itching and burning.
“Jesus! Jamie!”
I stroked his bloody hair with trembling fingers, then limped into the house, crying. I rummaged in Jamie’s room, searching for his phone, and when I found it, I called Nikky. She didn’t pick up.
“Fuck!” I tossed the phone onto the couch angrily, crouched down in the corner, then rocked back and forth. The shock and anxiety made me tremble nonstop. I lost the capacity to think rationally. My mind kept replaying the murder and the voice of the man in the suit.
I should’ve called Cyrus. I should’ve asked for help, but I was dumb enough to choose my sister.
I knew that if there was an investigation, Nikky would go to jail.
I wanted to protect her, because she was all I had left.
But I hadn’t forgotten about my brother, either.
I couldn’t leave his body there. It took a lot of effort to pull him behind the house, then I covered him with a blanket.
I went into the house, bathed, then cleaned and bandaged my wound.
Meanwhile, I kept calling Nikky nonstop.
I crouched on the couch, my eyes red and burning.
My heart raced from all the adrenaline and throbbed from all the crying—and from the knowledge that I was being weak and acting ridiculous.
What idiot doesn’t call the police and hides her brother’s body behind the house instead?
These were the thoughts I kept mulling over when Nikky finally arrived. I saw the headlights of her Chevrolet pass over the bare beams.
“Where the fuck were you?” I attacked her instantly.
“With the guys,” she replied flippantly.
“And why don’t you pick up the goddamn phone when someone is calling?”
“What the hell is wrong with you, Grace?”
“Where is the dope, Nikky?” I stepped in front of her quickly, and shook her by the shoulders.
“You are insane!” she screamed, and shoved me back, making me stumble back a few steps. “What dope?”
“The dope you took from Jamie.”
“I gave it to Bo.”
“They killed Jamie!” I screamed, completely losing control.
“What?” She looked at me with her mouth wide open, without blinking.
“Those guys don’t mess around, Nikky. You must get it back… because they’re gonna come back for it. They shot him right in front of my eyes…”
When I thought about Jamie, tears flooded my eyes. He had been withdrawn and sometimes acted weird, but he was still my brother—who was much nicer to me than Nikky.
“Calm the fuck down, Grace!” she yelled. “Where is his body now?”
“I pulled him behind the house.” I buried my burning face in my hands.
“We’re going to bury him.”
Now it was my turn to stare at her with my mouth wide open, without blinking. “What are you talking about? Jamie was our brother. He deserves a proper funeral!”
Nikky started to walk toward the door angrily. “You’ve lived here with us, but you have no idea who Jamie got tangled up with. I won’t go to jail because of him and Bo—and I don’t think you want to, either. I’ll get the dope back—I don’t think Bo has sold it yet. Have you talked to Cyrus?”
“No,” I snuffled. “But…”
“Don’t even think about it! Not for a second!” The force behind her words overwhelmed me. She turned to me, her cold face showing emotions that scared me, held up her index finger in warning, then called Bo.
I followed her to the courtyard with quick steps.
“Fuck you!” she hissed. “He didn’t pick up,” she grumbled, then picked up the shovel leaning against the side of the house.
“I’ll text him. In the meantime, you start digging.” She put the shovel in my hand. She licked her upper lip, then pulled the hairband off her wrist and tied her long blonde hair into a ponytail.
“We can’t do this, Nikky. Jamie—”
“—was a loser.”
“He died because of you! You got our brother killed! Why did you give the dope to Bo? If you knew the people Jamie had tangled up with… Why, Nikky?”
“People sometimes make bad decisions on impulse, Grace.” She lit a cigarette with shaking hands.
“Listen, I’ll go to Bo. In the meantime, you should…
Fuck. This is gonna take hours.” She pinched her nose.
“You should go into the house and close the door. Don’t open it to anyone. The boys will help with the digging.”
“Nikky…” My voice trembled, and sorrow and anger burned like acid in my throat.
“You have to be strong, Grace. I’ll come back, okay?”
“Okay.”
I did what she told me: I went into the house and locked the door. I sat on the couch, holding Whiskers against my chest, stroking his soft fur.
Small lights appeared on the horizon. They were getting closer and closer. I turned the lights off. My heart was beating in my throat as I watched the lights in the darkness from the window.
It wasn’t that arrogant man who had arrived, but Bo and his gang. The moment I heard their voices, goosebumps prickled across my skin. I didn’t open the door—but Bo let himself in anyway. My sister had given that asshole a key!
Fear tore the gaping hole in my chest even wider. Anger and sorrow burrowed deep into my bones.
I was tiptoeing silently toward my room when the door burst open and the light snapped on. I turned toward Bo, blinking, as he stood in the doorway like some twisted vision of Jesus. He looked me up and down with a predatory gleam, the corner of his mouth curling into a sneer.
“Hello, Grace.”
Run! I ordered my legs, but they stayed numb, paralyzed by the darkness pouring off Bo, filling the room like thick fog. The sound of boots on the rotten floorboards made me tremble.
I looked down, my heart beating frantically.
Now! I commanded my body to move, but that weasel was almost unnaturally fast. He was standing before me in the blink of an eye, barring my way.
I stepped to the right, and so did he. I stepped to the left, and he did too.
His cronies laughed scornfully at my pitiful attempts to escape. I was trapped.
“You’re in a hurry again, even though we’ve just arrived,” Bo said in a soft voice, his breath burning my face. My stomach twisted into a knot, and bitterness filled my throat.