The Reason Why (16 page)

“Boy!” Pam said laughing.

The saleswoman looked at Chino strangely.

Chino headed toward the restroom, and Pam placed the stack of bills on the counter. She had never held that much money in her life. She loved having the salespeople's full attention. She loved the power she felt having that amount of money. Whatever Chino did, and however he did it, he must have been very good at it. The money that he had made her curious. Now more than ever, she was intrigued with the drug world, and the enormous amount of money that the drug game generated. She wanted to learn more.

“S
he is really going to love this!” the saleswoman said excitedly. “Your soon-to-be fiancée is one lucky lady!”

Chino held the ring in the air and examined it once again. It was a three-carat, round, VVS diamond, sitting in a platinum base. It was an engagement ring for his beloved Pooh. They had moved in together. He had given her a comfortable home, and now it was time to take that final step. He would ask Pooh to marry him.

That he loved Pam was without question. She was everything that he was not. She was good-hearted, innocent, and square. He was hood and grimy and street. Pam made him a better person, making the world seem like a better place. His Pooh gave him hope, and she gave him the final piece of his dream. He wanted a house in the suburbs, and he wanted a son to carry on his legacy. Pooh would be the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker, and the perfect mother for that son. Would she say yes?

She could stay in college. He would take care of her. They
would have their house, their children, their two cars, their dog, and the life that he dreamed of. He would open his own business, maybe even go back to college himself. He was definitely going to get out of the game. That was what it was all about, getting what you needed and getting out, as Fabian had said. That was the race he was in. Getting his before the police got theirs, or better yet, getting the hell out of town before his karma caught up to him.

“Are you sure this is the right size?” the saleswoman asked.

Chino nodded. “Yeah, I bought her a ring a couple of months ago, and this was the size.”

“The absolute worst thing in the world is receiving an engagement ring and not being able to wear it right away because it doesn't fit right,” the saleswoman explained. “Then she would have to wait while it was sent off to be resized. The wait would be excruciating!” She rolled her eyes upward and gave a distressed look. Chino and the saleswoman shared a laugh.

“Gosh, she is so lucky. And you look so young! I wish that my husband could have afforded a fourteen-thousand-dollar engagement ring when we were your age.”

Chino pointed at a watch in the display case. “Let me see that watch right there.”

“Which one?”

“The gold Rolex.” He pointed. “The Oyster Perpetual model.”

“Good choice.” She pulled the watch from the case. “It comes with a self-winder too.”

Chino took the watch and tried it on. “How much for this one?”

“Ten thousand dollars.”

“And if I wanted to add a diamond bezel?”

“We're running a special right now. You can get the diamond bezel and diamond face for an additional five thousand dollars.”

“Y'all install it?”

She nodded. “We have an in-house craftsman that does it. You can pick it up in three days.”

“I'll take it,” Chino told her. “And the special with the diamond face and bezel.”

“Good choice,” the saleswoman told him. “And the ring?”

“Most definitely, yeah.” Chino nodded.

Chino counted out thirty-two thousand dollars and handed it to the lady. “Seven percent tax, right?”

“Yes,” she said, still adding the numbers on her calculator. She glanced up at Chino surprised, after she finished her calculations. “Wow, you hit the nail right on the head!”

“Counting money has always been my specialty.” Chino smiled.

“Are you an accountant?”

“Something like that.”

The saleslady placed Pam's ring inside a small purple felt box, then inside a small plastic bag, and placed the bag on the counter. “Your watch should be ready in three days, but you can call tomorrow and check on it after four o'clock. There's not many people in front of you, so he may be able to get to it tomorrow afternoon. Just call and see.”

“Thank you,” Chino told her, taking his receipt and bag from the counter.

Chino headed out of the jewelry store toward his car, when he noticed three people walking toward him.

“Fuck!” Chino said when they became visible.

He had learned his lesson from the last time, so this time Chino raced and dove behind another car. He wasn't going to hide behind his Benz and get it shot up. Within seconds, gunfire erupted in the parking lot. Innocent shoppers scattered into the stores trying to find cover.

“Fucking bitch-ass niggas!” Chino shouted. He pulled out his pistol and returned fire over the Nissan Maxima that he was hiding behind. “I thought I killed you, Jo Jo!”

Jo Jo and two members of his crew had been walking up to the jewelry store as Chino was heading to his car. They recognized each other at the same time, and both went for their weapons. The good thing was Jo Jo hadn't been there to jack him, they had just run into each other by accident. The bad thing was it didn't matter. Whether they came to jack him or not, their bullets were still just as deadly.

Chino worked his way around to the back of the brown Maxima and peeked around the rear bumper. Jo Jo and his boys were hiding among the parked cars. He didn't know whether they were going to try to get away or to jack him now. He had become a target of opportunity. And then an idea hit him.

Chino got down on his hands and knees and looked stealthily beneath the cars in the parking lot. He saw feet gathered together about forty yards away. He had to make them get out of there before they split up and came at him from different directions. And then there was the little matter of the police, who would be coming soon.

Chino lay on his belly and carefully took aim. He unleashed the fury of his pistol on his targets, watching as the
sparks flew off the concrete near their legs. He saw two of them fall and heard voices crying out. Now would be the time to make it back to his car and get the hell out of the shopping center before the police arrived.

Ducking behind vehicles, he made his way back to his Benz. He didn't want to climb inside unless he was sure they weren't looking. Although he knew that they knew what he was driving, he still didn't want to risk its getting shot up. He dropped to his stomach again, looking intently beneath the cars. He couldn't see anyone.

“Fuck it!” he said, rising to his feet. He noticed that others in the parking lot were starting to stand too, and they were all looking in the same direction. Chino quickly turned to see what they were staring at. He could see someone being helped into a green Mustang 5.0. He wondered if he should run over and finish them off or make his own escape. His Mercedes would allow him to leave without suspicion from the innocent bystanders who were now fleeing. No one would suspect the driver of a Benz to be involved in a mall shooting.

Chino climbed into his car, cranked it up, and backed out. As bad as he wanted to kill Jo Jo, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get away with it. It was broad daylight, and everyone was watching. That muthafucka had gotten away once again, but next time, he wouldn't be so lucky.

“Either me or you, Jo Jo,” Chino said, pulling out of the parking lot. “Next time, one of us ain't leaving the scene. One of us is being put on a slab.” The next time, someone was going to die.

C
hino led Pam across the parking lot and stopped just in front of the window of an empty store.

“What is it? Pam asked, cupping her hands around her eyes, looking in the window. “It's empty.”

“It's empty for right now. But close your eyes and imagine it full of people. People getting their wig done in our very own beauty shop.”

“What?” Pam turned toward him excitedly. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.” He pulled a key out of his pocket, stuck it into the lock, unlocked the door, and led Pam inside. “What do you think?”

Pam looked around and grinned. “Chino, I love it! It's perfect!”

Chino and Pam walked through the empty store and took everything in.

“I could put my hair dryers against this wall, and my sinks
against this wall. We could line up the chairs over here for the beauticians.”

“We could put the lounge area over there,” Chino said, pointing, “and we could put a play area for kids over in the corner.”

“Ooooh, that's a great idea!” Pam grinned. “We can put toys and children's books, and coloring books, and blocks and shit in the corner for the kids.”

“Not too much though,” Chino warned. “We don't want people dropping their bad-ass kids off here and jetting for a while like we some damn day care.”

They both laughed.

“What do you think about a barbershop on that side?” Pam asked.

“Of course, boo. Let's do it all. We ain't leaving no money behind. We need to cut hair, do hair, nails, pedicures, manicures, the works. Shit, if we wouldn't get in trouble, I'd say throw a massage parlor in the back too.”

“Nuh-uh,” Pam told him. “We know what goes on in those things.” She looked around eagerly and a smile crossed her face. “Oh, Chino, I really want this to happen!”

“What are you talking about, Pooh? This is going to happen.” Chino emphasized the word
going
. “We are going to open this shop, and you are going to manage it. Do you think you're up to managing a shop?”

“Yeah. This is something that I've always wanted to do! I've always wanted my own business.”

“Well, now you've got it, but remember, the purpose of the shop is twofold, baby girl. We are going to really do hair and
run a business, but we are going to inflate the numbers so I can wash my money through the shop.”

Pam nodded. She understood, but what Chino was saying wasn't important at the moment. This was her chance to build her dream shop. The shop that she always wanted to go to when she got her hair done. Everything would be just perfect. “I want this to be the best shop in the world! I want it to be luxurious. Almost like a spa experience.”

“Maybe one day we can get the space next door and turn it into a full-blown spa and beauty salon.”

“That would be fly. We could cater to the sisters who don't feel comfortable going to those white spas.”

Chino looked at his watch. “I'm glad you like it, Pooh, because the contractor should be here any minute.”

Surprised by what he had just said, Pam crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. “What if I didn't like it?”

“Ah, baby girl, I knew you would.”

“Yeah, what makes you so confident about that?”

Walking toward Pam, Chino put his hands on her hips and pulled her toward him. “Pooh, do you know how long and hard I looked for a place like this? Everything else that I ran across, I knew you wouldn't like. I know my Pooh and she has class. Everything you visualized in here”—he nodded with his head—“I did too.”

“You know me so well.” Pam winked and kissed Chino on his lips. Breaking away from his grasp, Pam became even more hype. “Chino, I want this to be top-notch. I want coming here to be an experience, one that's different from all the other salons. I want jazz music playing over a stereo system. I want to serve beverages like coffee, tea, soda, juice, and bottled water.
I want mirrors all along this wall and this wall, and I want a lot of chrome. I want it to be really modern and futuristic.”

Chino nodded. “We can hook that up. We're gonna need a name for this futuristic and luxurious shop. I was thinking of calling it Pam's at first.”