Chapter 7 #2
JJ sat back in deep thought. My eyes went back and forth between the road and him as I drove to Perrae's house. He was quiet for minutes until his head snapped in my direction.
“No, not at all. We didn't have much contact with any of the neighbors at the time, but I remember seeing an older couple.
They waved at us from their porch as the movers removed our items from the moving truck.
That was the last time I seen them. I hadn't thought about them since then,” JJ responded.
I nodded my understanding. “Thank you for sharing, JJ. We're going to get to the bottom of this.”
“I hope so. This has me a little worried. What if dude is like a serial killer or something? Mama has a lot of guns, but I don’t want him to corner her again like he did at her salon,” JJ stated.
My fatherly instinct had filled me. JJ wasn't my son, but he was my responsibility now. Myron had me fucked up. There was no way I'd allow him to hurt anybody in our family. That shit wouldn’t happen. I pulled up in front of her home and parked.
We climbed out and walked up the stairs. JJ went inside, but I examined Myron's house. The yard was still filthy. His mess had now spilled over and was now pushed against the outside of Perrae's fence. An idea popped in my head.
“Hey, babe. You good?” Perrae inquired, waiting at the door for me.
I gave her my full attention. “I'm good, sweet thang. How are you?” I quizzed, picking her up and closing the door behind me.
“I'm well, especially now that you guys are back.”
I didn't let another word leave her mouth because I crashed my lips against hers.
“Mm,” she moaned in my mouth. Our tongues moved in sync. Perrae dry humped against me as I stood in her living room holding her. She had me hard and ready, but there were things we had to discuss.
I hated to break our contact, but I had to. We kissed a little more, then I separated us. Perrae pouted like a baby.
“No, no, no. Why are we stopping?” She pouted.
I kissed her lips and placed her on the couch. “Trust me, I want my head between those thighs right now, but there are some things we need to discuss.”
Perrae’s flirty smile fell, and her brows merged together. “Are you breaking up with me, Fortune?”
My eyes widened. “Hell naw! I want to talk to you about Myron's ass. My apologies for making you think that.”
She exhaled, and her smile returned. “Oh, okay. I was about to say.”
I chuckled at her. “Chill, my lil gansta boo. There's some new information I discovered, but I gotta start from the beginning.”
“Alright. Lay it on me, baby.”
“A week ago, I broke into Myron's home.”
“You did what! Baby, you could’ve been hurt,” Perrae admitted with concern.
“You’re right, but you also know I'm a street nigga at heart, and I know how to handle myself.”
Perrae fanned herself and popped her lips. I loved her sassy antics. “Well, damn, you got it, big papa. Tell me what's going on.”
“First, those niggas are disgusting. Him and that lil boy are living real nasty in that crib. It smells terrible, and there’s trash everywhere. I mean everywhere. No kid should live like that.
“Secondly, I found some letters with the names Bill and Shirley Packer on them. I had my tech guy, Chris, look into the matter. Today, he informed that that house is owned by Bill and Shirley Packer.
“They're an eighty-year-old couple that went ghost six months ago. There has been no activity on their bank accounts, but their utility bills are high as hell and unpaid. Now I asked JJ if he remembers seeing them, and he said yes.
“It was the first day you all moved in. Other than that, he hadn't seen them again, so it was pretty much out of sight, out of mind. Do you remember seeing an older couple?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I do. It was brief, but they were on the porch when we first moved in. After that, I didn't see them, so I forgot all about them,” she replied with concern tracing her tone.
Perrae stood from her couch and paced the floor. It was what she did when she was in deep thought. Her brows were furrowed, as she stared at the floor.
“Fortune, are you thinking he swindled them out of their home?” Perrae stopped moving and looked up at me.
“Honestly, babe, I'm thinking something more sinister than that. I think he probably killed them, unless he has them tied in the basement. The way the backyard and inside his home smells, that place has death in there somewhere.”
Perrae took the seat across from me. “We have to do something. I have a bad feeling. I've always had a bad feeling since I met him, but now it's amplified. I think we should sneak back into his place and look for more information.”
“Ain’t no way in hell I'm risking your life.”
Perrae looked up at me with her arms folded. “Who gon’ stop me? You? I been taking care of me and my kids since before you came in the picture. I got this.”
I sat up and stared at her. Not in an intimidating way but just ogling at how Perrae still operated in survival mode. She didn't need me to boss up on her but empathize in a firm yet gentle way.
“Perrae, you are absolutely right, but you have me now. I'm not going anywhere. You're still operating in your masculine energy, and that means I'm not doing something right. You may be a mom of three, but you ain’t single.
“We ain’t in the hood no more either. The street ethics won’t work here. Trust me, I wanna buss that nigga shit wide open, but this situation gon’ take some finesse and logic.”
Perrae nodded. “You’re right. What should we do?”
“First step, we reach out to the homeowner’s association about the trash in his yard that’s spilling onto your property. Secondly, we take everything we have to the police. We voice our concerns and have them do a wellness check on that house. Afterwards, we’ll move accordingly. What do you say?”
“I think that’s a great idea, baby.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re on board. Now let’s go upstairs. I gotta punish that pussy because you thought you could lil boy me.”
Perrae ran from the couch giggling as I chased her upstairs. I couldn’t wait to drown in her.