Return of the Cartier Cartel (14 page)

Trina looked into her daughter’s eyes. She didn’t see despair, hurt, pain, confusion, or shock, but anger, betrayal, and a coldness she knew too well.

“Cartier, what did you do?”

“Ma, I can’t believe it either. I mean, I knew I could do it, but I didn’t know I would do it.”

“Tell me what you did!” Trina yelled, tired of the cat-and-mouse game her daughter dragged her into. “Did you kill Jason?”

“Yes.”

“What! Why, Cartier?”

“It’s like I told you, I didn’t have a choice.”

“Are you fuckin’ crazy? Do you think I want to lose you again to prison? Only, this time you’ll get life, Cartier. You hear me? Life!”

Cartier couldn’t believe Trina was flipping out. Usually she was down for whatever. “Why are you yelling at me?”

“I should slap the black off you! Did you ever stop to think about Cee Cee or Jason Jr. growing up without a father?”

“Well it’s not like I can click my heels three times and go back to Kansas,” Cartier remarked, dryly.

“Sometimes I wonder about you, Cartier. You can be chilly as an iceberg, and I know you don’t get that from me.” Trina’s voice was laced with disappointment.

Cartier knew, if she needed anyone on her side, it would have to be Trina. Her mother was her rock. The only person she could run to when things got rough.

“So you’d rather me be dead?”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I wouldn’t rather it be you.” Trina reached for her Newport and lit one up. “Stop talking in riddles ’cause you working my last nerve, chile.”

“Jason and Jalissa were secretly building a life together. We already knew that he took all of our money—”

“Yeah. So? That doesn’t mean he was gonna take you out of this world.”

“What the fuck! When did you become his cheerleader?”

“This is wrong!”

“Well, since you know so much, know this. Know that Jason got Jalissa pregnant, and Jason told her that he’d stand by and let Ryan get at me and he wouldn’t do shit! He was gonna let Ryan kill me, just as he did Monya and Shanine! Now do you still want to take up for your son-in-law? I thought you were the mother who said she didn’t want to go through what Janet went through.”

Cartier didn’t tell the true story. She couldn’t admit to Trina that her jealous rage killed Jason. That her husband had cheated on her for the last time. He’d put another chick before her one too many times, and at that point something in Cartier had snapped and there was no turning back.

And truthfully, as she sat there, she wasn’t sure she’d even want to go back and take back what she’d done. All she kept seeing was how hurt Jason looked when he walked through the door and saw the badly beaten Jalissa. And how he kept trying to get her to leave so he could save his ho.

To Trina, this new news was startling, yet believable. Jason was doing foul shit all the time. “How did you find all this out?”

“You know Bam is a wealth of information. We should call her Perez Hilton ’cause she stay getting the scoop.” Cartier’s attempted joke fell flat in the midst of all the tension. “Anyway, Bam got word that Jason and Jalissa were plotting against me and when I confronted him, he didn’t deny it.” Cartier hoped that Trina’s line of questioning would soon stop, or else she would get caught up in her lies.

“Oh, so you confronted his slick ass?” Trina’s pressure began to go up with thoughts of laying Cartier to rest. She just couldn’t bear that.

“Yeah, Ma, and you should have saw the cocky look on his face. Like I said, he made his choice. I pulled out and let off a dozen shots into not only him but his bitch too.”

Trina smiled. “Oh, you got that ho too?”

“Sure did.”

“Cartier, please tell me that no one saw you and that you did your dirt by yourself. I don’t want another situation with The Cartel flipping on you.”

“I’m good. I handled my business alone, but I think we should turn on the news to see if in fact it’s relevant enough to make the news.”

Cartier’s admission wasn’t totally false. No one was there to actually see the murders, but Bam and Li’l Momma were involved and could easily be charged as accessories after the fact.

It took about thirty minutes before they found the story on the news. As the reporter stood in front of the motel and ran down the details of the night’s incident, Trina and Cartier’s mouths both dropped.

Chapter 17

Lies and Alibis

“Mrs. Payne?”

“Yes.”

“Ma’am, there’s been a terrible incident last night. Your husband was shot and is in critical condition at Brookdale Hospital. I think you should get here as quickly as possible. He underwent eight hours of surgery, and things aren’t looking too good. I think you should gather all your family and bring them to say their good-byes. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this information.”

So it was true. Jason didn’t die on the dingy motel room floor with Jalissa. Last night the news reported that there had been a murder and an attempted murder at the Surfside Motel. The reporter went on to say that the female victim was DOA and the male victim had been rushed to Brookdale in critical condition, barely clinging on to his life.

At this point Cartier was freaking out. How in heaven’s name could he have survived taking all those bullets? Cartier was almost positive her aim was spot-on. She hated to face reality, but if Jason made a full recovery there wouldn’t be any “let’s kiss and make up.” It’s not like she could just say sorry and let bygones be bygones. She had killed his mistress and unborn child and tried to kill him. What could she do to make things back right? Put him on a guilt trip and tell him that he made her do it and plead temporary insanity? She was sure the first moment Jason opened his eyes, he’d want those same eyes to see Cartier in a pine box.

The putrid hospital odor assaulted Cartier’s nose as she traveled through the main level of the hospital up to the Intensive Care Unit, where the head surgeon was awaiting her arrival. The petite, well-spoken Indian woman greeted Cartier with a warm smile. Her eyes displayed her fatigue from nearly going twenty hours without sleep.

“Mrs. Payne?”

“Yes. Hello, Doctor Kumar.”

“We worked really hard on your husband, and I’m delighted to say he’s a fighter. He’s a strong man, Mrs. Payne. Most people in his condition would have expired. He has something to live for.”

“So, he’s going to pull through?” Cartier tried to sound hopeful, to not sound disappointed. “He’ll make a full recovery?”

“Yes, he’s expected to make a full recovery, but it will take a while. He’ll heal at his own pace, and he’ll need to work with a physical therapist once he regains his strength back. You’ll need to be strong for him because he’ll need you to help him bounce back from such a traumatic experience.”

Physical therapy, Cartier thought. Perhaps she didn’t have anything to fear with Jason so fucked up from taking all those bullets.

“When you say he’ll need physical therapy, like, what are we talking about? Does he have control over his bowel movement? Is he a vegetable? Can he walk? Hold a gu—can he grip things?”

“Right now it’s hard to say. But, as I said, he’ll need extensive physical therapy, and it could take months, maybe even years for him to make a full recovery. This’ll be hard on you and your family. There’s counseling available for everyone, but let’s just take this one day at a time. Right now, thank God that he even pulled through. One bullet lodged two-tenths of a centimeter from his heart.”

“Thank you, Doctor Kumar. Can I see him now?”

“Now isn’t a good time. He needs his rest. Give him at least eight hours before you come to see him. Besides, he’s fully sedated.” Doctor Kumar cleared her throated and then gave Cartier a sympathetic pat on her shoulder for reassurance. “Don’t worry, your husband will be fine. But before you go, a few detectives would like to speak with you.”

“With me?”

“Yes, it’s just a routine for any gunshot wounds. They’ll most likely ask you if your husband had any enemies, things like that. Come with me. I’ll escort you to the vestibule.” Doctor Kumar paused and looked deeply into Cartier’s eye. “Mrs. Payne?”

“Yes?”

“Are you all right? I know this is a lot for such a young woman, but believe me, your husband is a fighter, and he’s in good hands.”

The doctor tried to comfort Cartier with her words and tone. She did read fear in her eyes, but it wasn’t for her husband’s death. She feared that he lived.

****

“Ma’am, my name is Detective O’Leary, and this is my partner, Detective Graves.”

Both detectives were women, which threw Cartier slightly off her game face. Women were suspicious by nature, so Cartier knew she had to be as blunt as possible to fuck their heads up.

“First, let me start off by saying, it’s unfortunate, what happened to your husband, but did you—”

“Do you know who was the bitch he was fucking?”

“Excuse me?”

“The news said that there was a woman found murdered in the motel room with my husband. Who was she?”

“Well, we were going to ask you exactly that.”

Of course, you were, Cartier thought. You were going to try to establish a motive. “You asking the wrong person. Try coming back here tomorrow and ask that slimy bastard who the fuck he was shacking up with!”

“You don’t seem too concerned that your husband got filled with bullets. Can I ask where you were last night around nine p.m.?”

“I was home with my kids.”

“How old are your children?”

“Four years old.”

“Not old enough to vouch for your alibi.”

“I don’t need an alibi, but if I did, my mother was there too. And, as I said, if you want to know what happened to Jason, come back tomorrow and stop wasting my time. I’m a jilted wife at the moment whose husband just got shot up, fucking some skank bitch, so excuse me, and give me some time to wallow in my misery.”

“Why are you so sure that Jason will even wake up tomorrow or anytime soon?”

“Because he promised me he would never leave me out here to raise our kids alone, that’s how.” With that line, Cartier could see she had one of the detectives eating out the palm of her hands.

The other one wasn’t that easy. “Did you know your husband was having an affair?”

“Yes, I did. Did I know with who? No. I would have beat the brakes off of her and then fucked him up too.”

“Perhaps even killed him?”

“As you can see, my husband ain’t dead. If you’ll excuse me . . . I have two kids at home who need their mother.” Cartier’s heart felt like it was about to rip through her chest, but she managed to put up a good front. She turned on her heel and left the two detectives standing in front of Jason’s room, stuck on stupid.

Once the elevator doors closed, Cartier finally exhaled, wiping the sweat from her brow as she rode down to the ground level.

As she exited the elevator, something pulled her gaze across the room. She and Marisol locked eyes. Marisol was coming from out the back of the hospital, where she had come to ID her sister’s body. The beauty was stoic as she walked out of the coroner’s room, head held high, hair pulled tightly back, revenge plastered on her face.

At that moment Cartier knew the beef with her husband and mistress didn’t end on the filthy motel room floor as she’d thought; it had just begun.

Chapter 18

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

Each day for six days Cartier went to check up on Jason’s status in the hospital. Cartier knew two things were certain: She’d have to face Jason again, and he would surely seek revenge. One small part of her heart kept telling her that she could explain away her actions. Put him on a guilt trip and let bygones be bygones.

Perhaps they could just divorce and continue to raise their kids as supportive parents. In her heart, she knew it was hard pulling that trigger, but in her mind she would do it again, if he forced her hand.

When Doctor Kumar had called to tell her that Jason was no longer going in and out of consciousness, that he’d requested to see her, she exhaled.

“You gotta finish what you started,” Trina said when she saw the spooked look on her daughter’s face. “Go there and see where his head is at. For all you know, he could snitch you out to five-o.”

“Ma, Jason would never go out like that. He’s a thorough dude. You know that. He would never talk to those peoples. Under any circumstance. How pussy would he look, snitching out his wife? He’d never live that down out on these streets. You feel me?”

“Well, if you done shot all the fight out of him, he might not have a choice but to use the police for reinforcement.”

“If he felt like things were looking grim, and physically he’d never be able to seek revenge, then Wonderful would inherit his beef, and he would be the one to take out next.” Cartier shook her head. “Don’t think that I haven’t thought about what would happen if Jason went to the police. But something inside my gut keeps telling me that even if physically he wasn’t up to getting at me, snitching would never be an option. Sure, some people do snitch, but not all people would snitch. And let’s not forget when five-o snatched him up for suspicion of murdering Donnie. Even though he was looking as guilty as anyone, he held his tongue. Ma, I just gotta believe he’ll keep it street.”

Cartier rolled up to the hospital in Jason’s luxury vehicle and found a park right outside. She’d taken to wearing form-fitting dresses and stilettos, with her .25 strapped to her inner thigh. It was a cunningly deceiving look that made her look vulnerable.

As she exited the elevator on the third floor, two stationed police officers were at their post, as requested by the chief of police. Moments later, the two detectives working the case came out with looks of frustration.

“I guess Doctor Kumar called y’all as well,” Cartier casually remarked. “Is he talking?”

“He’s talking, but he ain’t saying anything credible. Perhaps you’ll have a better chance at getting him to finger who killed an innocent woman and tried to kill him, because the story he’s telling ain’t ringing true.”

“So I’m going from suspect to snitch?”