Chapter 21 #2
“Fuck that, Vega! Them niggas shot me! I could’ve died, and they’re walking around like shit is sweet!
” Quick chimed in like that was going to make shit any different.
I definitely wanted revenge on them niggas, but I wasn’t about to lose out on half a mil just to get it.
At the end of the day, we were about business, and there was no way I was losing out on what was mine.
“And we gon’ kill them niggas, but first we need to track down our money!
I’m all for revenge but let’s not be goofy!
That’s half a mil them niggas got. Plus, they’re missing a man, so we don’t even know for sure if they’re the right ones or if the fifth ran off with the cash. I ain’t tryna move too fast on this.”
Sosa’s face balled up, and he instantly sat up in his seat. “It’s definitely Jordan’s broke ass crew who did that shit, and you know it. Don’t try and play me.” He snorted.
“I’m not, nigga. I just wanna be sure of our information before we make a move.
We need our money back. It’s too much to just let go,” I insisted, and before they could try and argue anymore, there was a knock at the door.
Ashley, one of the cashiers at the dispensary, stuck her head inside, eyes bouncing around before landing on me.
“Uhh, Mr. Baptiste, there are two detectives downstairs for you,” she said in a hushed tone, and I shared a look with Quick and Sosa. I’d been expecting a visit since they’d found Bear’s body, so I was already ahead of them.
“Okay, I’ll be right down,” I told her, standing with Sosa and Quick following suit.
“What the fuck the dicks want?” Quick asked as soon as the door shut behind her.
“Bear’s dead ass,” Sosa answered while I tucked the folder away in my desk.
“It’s cool. Just let me do the talking. Bear ain’t even our doing, so this shit should be quick.”
We headed downstairs, and the open layout of the dispensary floor gave us a perfect view of the two white detectives. They immediately looked like they smelled of old coffee and cigarettes in their wrinkled suits, and once we approached them, I was proven right.
“Detectives, I’m Valentino Baptiste. How can I help you all today?” I put on my best professional voice, gaining a chuckle out of Sosa’s immature ass.
“Mr. Baptiste, I’m Detective Spencer, and this is my partner, Burns. We actually just have a few questions about one of your employees,” the taller one said, flipping through a notebook. “Does a Brian Cooper, also known as Bear, work for you?”
“Bear did do some security work for me, but he was let go a few weeks back. In my line of business, you can’t be unreliable, and he’d missed a few shifts. No call no show.” I shrugged indifferently.
Burns’ face instantly balled up as he put his hands on his hips, revealing the gun there. “And you didn’t think to follow up after he did no calls no shows?”
“I run a couple of businesses, so I can’t follow up every time an employee isn’t clocked in.
Some people just don’t want to work, and I have to conduct business regardless.
Bear already wasn’t the most reliable, so it wasn’t out of the norm,” I replied, making his eyes narrow, but his partner reeled him back.
“Umm, how long did Brian work for you exactly?” Spencer wanted to know, and I scratched my chin in thought.
“I believe it was about four months, give or take a couple of weeks.”
“And did he ever have any issues with anyone? Other employees, a girlfriend, friends, even?” He shot off question after question, and I shook my head.
“Not that I know of, but again, I only knew of Brian through his employment. Whatever he had going on outside of business hours wasn’t any of my concern.”
The two shared a look before Spencer nodded.
“Okay, well, that’s all I have for now, but if you can think of anything else that might help, please don’t hesitate to reach out.” Spencer handed over his card.
“Oh, of course, I’ll make sure I do that. I really appreciate you boys for the work you do.” I nodded while Quick and Sosa chuckled behind me. Burns was the only one who noticed, and before they could get too far away, he turned around.
“You know, I think it’s kind of funny that you didn’t even ask what happened to Brian, but you’ve been using the past tense to refer to him.
Sorta like you already knew.” He narrowed his eyes, and I tried not to laugh in that nigga’s face.
It was obviously amateur hour at the police department for them to send these two rookies to my shit, but I was going to play along.
Forehead bunched, I feigned concern and clutched my chest. “I thought what happened was public knowledge. It’s been all over the news what happened to Bear and that missing family. I honestly hope you all find them.”
“Burns! Let’s go!” Spencer called out, and he finally left, making sure to hit me with a mean mug. The only thing I was worried about them niggas tying me to was the casino. Everything else was legit, but I could already tell he was going to piss me off.
“That nigga gon’ be a problem,” I grumbled, balling up the card in my hand as we all headed back to my office.