Murderville 2: The Epidemic (20 page)

“Liberty?” Trixie replied.

Po, Ayo, Rocko, and Dahlia all looked on in confusion as Liberty rushed to hug Trixie.

“Oh my God! Trix! What are you doing here?” Liberty asked.

Po stepped up and answered, “She’s in on the diamonds.”

Liberty looked at Po in disappointment, and she turned to Ayo, to Dahlia for support. They stayed out of it. No one wanted to take sides. The only thing that mattered to them was the money. They could give a damn about the blood diamond crisis. Liberty reached out and grabbed Trixie’s hands, squeezing both of them gently.

“I’m going to let you all handle your business, but please don’t leave before I get a chance to talk to you,” Liberty said. She looked back at Po with hurt in her eyes, then walked up the stairs.

Po wanted to go after her, but he knew that now was not the time. “Follow me into the study,” he said.

Po got right down to business breaking down the money plot to the girls. “Dahlia meet Trixie. Trixie, Dahlia. I need
you ladies to get to know each other. You’ll be working closely together,” Po said.

“Doing what exactly?” Trixie asked.

“Moving diamonds,” Po replied. “You’ll be selling them to jewelers, rappers, open market, black market . . . whoever can afford them.”

“Why do you need us? You have plenty of men on your payroll,” Dahlia asked.

“Exactly. Men. The Middle Eastern jewelers hate black men. They won’t deal with any of my people, but they love black women. That’s where you two come in,” Po said. “I’ll give you 10 percent for every deal you broker.”

“I’m in,” Trixie said. “Now where did Ms. Liberty disappear to?” she asked flamboyantly while looking around.

Po pointed to the second floor and said, “Take the stairs to the second level. She’s in the last room on your right. Rocko and Ayo will be in touch.”

Trixie made her exit and as soon as she was out of earshot Dahlia spoke. “She may be content with 10 percent, but
my price
is 20 percent.”

Dahlia smirked as Po licked his lips and rubbed his goatee as they stared at each other.

“What’s it gonna be, Po? You know I’m worth it,” Dahlia said seductively.

Ayo and Rocko shot each other a look with raised eyebrows.

“A’ight, 20 percent,” Po agreed.

Dahlia smiled. “Good night, gentlemen,” she said as she left the room.

“You better be careful with that one,” Rocko cracked under his breath, admiring Dahlia’s long legs and fat ass as she walked away. “She’ll be the bitch to break up a happy home.”

“I might have already done that myself,” Po admitted; he had a lot of making up to do to his lady.

*    *    *

Liberty sat at her vanity removing her makeup and jewelry. She was so livid that she didn’t even want to see Po’s face. She was sure that she would scream at him as soon as he entered their bedroom. She put her face in her hands and leaned onto the glass top, feeling overwhelmed. Her stomach turned from the thought of Po dealing blood diamonds. He was representing everything that she hated.
How could he?
she thought.

Her mouth began to taste like metal, and she felt disgusted as she bent over and hurled up the contents of her stomach. She grabbed the trash can near her feet and hugged it as she threw up.

A knock at the door got her attention, and she looked up, wiping her mouth with the side of her hand. Trixie stood at the door and just seeing her face caused a weak smile to spread across Liberty’s face.

“Hey, Trix,” Liberty greeted her. She stood and placed the trash can back on the ground.

“Liberty, I know the last time you saw me I did you dirty, but—”

Liberty put up her hand. “It’s old news, Trixie. We were all just trying to survive out there. Now if you don’t come give me a hug . . .”

The two women embraced.

“You look good, girl! Look at you! You landed on your feet, Liberty. Big fancy house, cars, clothes, that fine man down there,” Trixie complimented. “You were always too good for the life. This is exactly how you always deserved to live.”

Liberty smiled. “What about you, Trix? You still on the strip? Still stuck? I can get you out. I can help you get away from it all.”

Trixie waved her hand in dismissal. “Honey, I haven’t been pimped since the day we both made a run for it. Yeah, I’m still on the strip, but that’s what Ms. Trixie do, boo. Now all the little chickens on the block are reporting to me. I’m good. Don’t need no saving. I’m making money doing what I do best. For some of us, this is all there is,” Trixie said.

Liberty nodded in understanding. She knew that she couldn’t want more for Trixie than she wanted for herself.

“I’m glad you’re well, Trix,” Liberty said. “Thank you for looking out for me all those years ago. They would have eaten me alive out there if it weren’t for you. You were my guardian angel.”

“And you were mine, baby girl. A soul like yours kept me pure when everybody else out there was trying to corrupt me. I love you, Liberty, girl,” Trixie stated.

“I love you too, Trix,” Liberty replied.

Trixie turned to leave, happy that she was able to apologize for doing Liberty dirty once upon a time. It was the one thing that had haunted her over the years, but now
she had been given atonement. Liberty’s forgiveness would help her sleep at night, especially now that she knew Liberty was okay.

*    *    *

Liberty awoke to an empty bed and knew that Po had slept in one of the guest rooms to give her some space. She stood and immediately the room began to spin. She ran to the attached master bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before she was throwing up again. Liberty struggled to her feet and heaved in air.
I have to get out of here. I can’t be with someone like him,
she thought.

She quickly dressed, and then began to throw her things inside of a suitcase. She had too much stuff to take, so she grabbed a few pieces and cleared her money from the safe that Po had built for them. Liberty wanted to cry and felt as though she should be sad that this was coming to an end, but in her heart she knew that it would never last. Po was not her soul mate. He was simply a replica, a cheap knockoff of A’shai Montgomery, and although he would make the perfect mate for someone, it wasn’t her. Liberty was built for someone else.

She grabbed her two vintage Louis Vuitton suitcases and left the room. She bumped into Dahlia who was coming her way with a cup of coffee in her hands. The coffee spilled all over her short kimono robe.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, Dahlia . . .”

“You’re leaving?” Dahlia asked, ignoring the spill and eyeing Liberty, and then her luggage.

Dahlia was slightly disappointed that Liberty was
squandering such a good opportunity to be Po’s queen. Liberty was too sensitive, too moral.
Who gives a fuck about the diamond crisis in Sierra Leone? Whether Po has his hand in the pot or not won’t make or break the struggle. She better let her man get his money. If she can’t hold him down, I have no problem doing it for her,
Dahlia thought.

“I’m sorry, cousin. I just can’t stay here,” Liberty said.

“Then I’m coming with you,” Dahlia said, faking loyalty. Her love for Liberty was true, but her love for herself was greater. She wanted to be the woman on Po’s arm, but she had to get Liberty out of the picture first.

“No, you stay here with him. I know you two have business with each other. He needs you here,” Liberty said.

Liberty was naïve and made the number-one mistake of trusting another woman around her man. She trusted Dahlia too much. So much so that she didn’t question the short robe that Dahlia wore, exposing her long, luscious legs with her cleavage peeking from the top. A seasoned woman would have told Dahlia to respect her house and put some clothes on, but Liberty was blind to Dahlia’s manipulation.

“Where are you going?” Dahlia asked.

“A hotel or something until I can figure out something long term,” Liberty replied. “I’ll be fine. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Dahlia said.

The sound of her footsteps coming down the marble staircase got Po’s attention. He walked into the foyer and when he saw Liberty descending the stairs with her bags packed his heart sank. He had told her if she wanted to leave
that he would let her go. That was their deal, so although he wanted to stop her from leaving he held his tongue.

Liberty walked right past him and didn’t stop until he called her name.

“Liberty.”

She paused, but didn’t turn to face him.

“I’ma have Rocko deliver a package to you tonight. Please text me the address to wherever you are going,” he said. He didn’t turn to look at her as he spoke because he knew that it would break his heart to see her walk away. Liberty was the bandage that had stopped him from bleeding out after Scarlett had passed away. Now that she was leaving, he was mourning the loss of two great women.

Liberty didn’t respond but continued to walk away. She kept telling herself that if she didn’t stand for something that she would fall for anything.

SIXTEEN

DAHLIA AND TRIXIE WALKED INTO THE AIRPORT
together, but as soon as they were inside one veered right while the other strayed left. They didn’t speak and to the average eye it would appear as if they didn’t even know each other. Between the two of them they carried a million dollars’ worth of diamonds. There was too much at stake for them to engage in pleasantries. They were there on business, booked on two different airline carriers, headed for the East Coast.

Dahlia stood in line with her carry-on luggage. Her demeanor was calm as she waited patiently behind the other passengers on her flight. Check-in went smoothly just as she suspected it would, but the challenge would be getting through security without any alarm. The high-tech x-ray machines picked up on everything, and Dahlia would not be able to explain her way out of this situation if the diamonds were discovered. TSA was the last organization
that could be bribed. With the terror threat so high, she knew that they would arrest her first and ask questions later if anything went wrong.

Dahlia’s poker face was award-winning as she placed her small suitcase on the conveyer belt and watched it disappear under the machine. She removed her red bottom heels and belt and placed them in a bin, sending them down the conveyer belt behind her bag.

“Step through here, ma’am,” the TSA agent directed.

Dahlia stepped inside.

“Put your arms above your head and stand still.”

Dahlia did as she was told and waited a few seconds until they gave her the all clear. She stepped out, and when she saw her luggage rolling out, she smiled inwardly.

She grabbed her things, putting her shoes and belt back on quickly before grabbing her rolling luggage and hightailing it down the terminal. She hurriedly went into the bathroom and opened up her luggage. She removed the vitamin bottle in which she had concealed the diamonds. She emptied one capsule out into her hand and then twisted it apart. One beautiful stone fell into her hand. They were the perfect size to fit inside the large capsule. No one would ever suspect that she was moving product through the airport because her hiding place was flawless. She put the diamond back inside, then secured the lid before placing it back in her luggage. The hard part was over. Now all she had to do was make the sales. Her charm and gift of gab would have her buyers eating out of the palm of her hand. Liberty bumped into Trixie on her way out of the bathroom.

The two met eyes but didn’t speak as they continued on their separate ways. At least Dahlia knew that Trixie had made it through security. She didn’t know how Trixie got her load through, but she was glad that it had worked. Dahlia pulled out her phone and sent a text to Po.

WE GOT THROUGH.

Dahlia boarded her plane and took off into the friendly skies, knowing that this was simply the beginning of a very lucrative hustle.

Trixie rushed into the stall and breathed a sigh of relief as she came out of her blazer.
Damn, a bitch was sweating bullets,
she thought. Trixie pulled off a few sheets of toilet paper and dried underneath her arms. She had been so nervous that she was sure she would give herself away, but was fortunate to have pulled it off. She unwrapped her extra large bun that sat on top of her head and gently shook out the diamonds, making sure to account for every single stone that had been carefully taped into her weave. When she was done, she put the diamonds in a clear ziplock bag, then taped them underneath her fake DD breasts and walked out of the restroom, heading for her flight.

*    *    *

The sounds of the city streets blared around her as Dahlia stepped foot out of the NYC cab.

She looked around cautiously before reaching for the crocodile briefcase she carried. Her stilettos clicked against
the dirty concrete as she walked into the jewelry store that sat in the middle of the Diamond District.

“How can I help you?” one of the store’s workers asked. The women in the store worked off of commission and as soon as they spotted Dahlia they pegged her as a big spender. Everything from her shoes, her clothes, even her demeanor screamed money.

“I’m here for Ahmad,” she announced. “My name is Dahlia. He’s expecting me.”

The lady nodded her head and disappeared in the back. Dahlia walked around, running one hand on top of the glass displays as she admired the sparkling jewels that were protected below. The pieces were pretty, but compared to what Dahlia was holding they looked like cheap costume jewels. Dahlia was working with quality and knew that her stones were a rare and hot commodity. They would practically sell themselves.

An attractive man with olive skin and shoulder-length jet-black hair emerged from the back and smiled warmly at Dahlia.

“I’m Ahmad,” he introduced as he extended his hand to her.

“Dahlia,” she replied. She could tell by the way that he stared at her that he was smitten instantly.

“This way please,” he said as he led her to his office and closed the door. He took a seat behind his oak desk and motioned for her to sit in front of him. “Let’s see what you have for me, beautiful.”