Daddy's House (25 page)

One fireman, dashed up to me, and asked, “Who’s inside.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“
Was she in that house?” he asked Agent Barnes. He had such a worried look on his face, the fireman didn’t wait for an answer. Within seconds, he led me to the back of the fire truck, and shoved an oxygen tube down my throat.

Sushi came running up the hill in a hysteric craze. She squeezed my face between her hands. She was invading my space, but I didn’t even complain.

“
The house!” she pointed. “Me so glad you safe, Candy.”

Candice! I wanted to say.

“
All girls out the house!”

“
I think so Sushi.”

“
What ‘bout Daddy?”

I shrugged my shoulders once again. “The firemen have already gone in to see who they can get out,” I told her.

“
Did you start this fire,” Agent Barnes asked me once again, after talking to the Assistant Fire Chief now on the scene.”

“
No, I didn’t,” I said sadly. I looked over at Cat who stood nervously on the side.

“
My mother did it,” I spoke softly. “She was after Daddy, the man who owns this house.”

“
And you too, I’m sure,” he added. “How did all this go down?”

I started explaining how Daddy showed up at the house with Big V not knowing she would try to kill me. I never told him Daddy was my father. I was too ashamed. Instead, I told him Daddy wasn’t gonna let her shoot me, so she shot him, killed him dead. Then shot at me too.

“
Are you gonna follow through and testify this time?” Agent Barnes asked.

I thought deeply about what he was asking me to do. Testifying against the woman who gave me life when I know she wasn’t guilty was completely foul. My conscious told me to say no…I can’t do it. But the sane part of me said, “Yes. I’ll testify. No more running,” I added.

My mother needed life. That would be the only way I could ever walk the streets of America. There may have been 50 states for me to choose from to hide. But none could save me from her wrath.

Suddenly, I watched two firemen escape the flames. The shortest of the two carried a body slumped over his shoulder. Instantly, the EMT workers ran to assist, and jumped in to do their job. The moment the others could see that the woman was alive, claps sounded. I recognized my mother’s face and instantly felt defeated. Tears welled up in my eyes; not because they saved my mother, but because she was alive. I tried to ignore the fact that she put fear in my heart even being placed into the ambulance. I just stood there, turned away from the ambulance, and watched my latest home burn to the ground.

Epilogue

SIX MONTHS LATER

Six months later, I sat curbside in my rental car outside the Marshall Heights Banking Company with my eyes on my man. It was my twenty-fourth birthday, the most important day of my life. I’d been waiting over the past year to be eligible to collect my money. No one ever knew that I’d met Gary, an investment banker from Vegas back when I dated my Columbian connection.

Gary urged me to set up an account which was a trust fund for myself. The downside- I couldn’t get the money until I turned twenty-four. I remember acting like giving him my $300,000 was the craziest thing in the world, but I now know it was the smartest. It was the only way to hide the money I was making in the streets.

“
You going with me?” I turned to ask Rich.

“
Nah… I’ma stay here and wait for you, beautiful.” He shot me his sexy-ass smile and grabbed a hold onto my thighs.

I was in la la land. I loved that nigga. Thankfully, I decided to call him a month after my father’s house burned down to the ground. We hooked up a few months ago once I wrapped up all my business with Agent Barnes, ‘cause I didn’t wanna get Rich involved back into my mother’s shit.

Even though Rich was still upset with me about cheating on him with Luther, he said he’d forgiven me. We’ve been like two peas in a pod ever since. His one request was that I didn’t share any details about the sex life me and Luther shared. When I told him about the money I’d be getting today, he just said I was getting what I deserved. I told him what was mine was his, and we’d spend it together.

I leaned over, kissed him passionately in his mouth, then hopped out the car. He looked so sexy behind the wheel of our rented convertible Chrysler Sebring.

“
I’ll be back. You sure you don’t wanna come?” I asked for the second time. “I told you I requested all cash. I might need help carrying all that heavy money,” I joked.

“
The way you handled your mother, I know you can handle this situation. When you come out that front door, I’ll be waiting right here.” He smiled, then blew squeaky sounding kisses through his lips.

I rushed off toward the building with a smirk on my face. It reminded me of the same smirk I wore a month ago when I walked out of the federal court building back in New York. I remember having enough courage to lie straight-faced right on the stand in front of my entire family. I told how my mother had the streets on lock, and how she was getting it all from Luther.

I couldn’t believe the judge didn’t show any remorse for my mother. Not even thinking about the fact that she’d suffered sixty degree burns and came to court looking like a burnt, crispy piece of bacon. He sentenced her ass to sixteen years on King Pen charges, conspiracy charges, and her most recent charge-the murder of my father. I snapped from my thoughts as soon as I entered the financial institution. I promised myself I wouldn’t let my mother’s situation haunt me forever.

Before I knew it, I was thrown into some plush office, signed a few papers, and was handed a black nylon bag with the words Marshall Heights engraved on the side.
Damn, this is how the rich folk do it
, I thought.

Twenty minutes later, I pranced out of the building only to see my baby grinning from afar. I felt like a superstar as my chauffer continued blowing kisses. I opened up the back door and threw the bag in with a smile. Like the race car driver, Mario Andretti, Rich zoomed off leaving the door wide open, and me standing on the curb. My mouth fell open as I waited to see if this was all a joke. Rich hit the corner at the light ahead, then turned to look at me with a smile.

I stood there looking stupid thinking about why Rich would do me dirty. Then I thought about my mother. She was right. I remember her saying it’s a doggy dog world. When you do wrong-it comes back.