Amra looked into Tasha's eyes, then looked at the money, and slowly cracked a smile as she grabbed some of it and slowly began to swim her fingers through it.
Tasha yelled, “Hold on, everybody. Let's call Manolo, and then count this shit up.”
Honey was in a zone. It was like she didn't even hear Tasha. She was too busy counting the money and softly singing a Biggie song. She was already planning what she would do with the cash.
Tasha finally got her attention and said, “Let's count this shit up and take out the money for Ms. Pat first. Then we will split the rest.”
Honey looked up and replied, “Cool.”
They began to count the money.
Tasha called Manolo, but didn't tell him about what happened at Key's house.
“So, y'all got the money?” he asked her.
“Yeah, we got it.”
After Tasha hung up the phone, she helped Honey count out the money, while Mimi and Amra just sat and watched.
“Let's count it again.”
“Tasha, we just counted this shit five times already. It's only one hundred and sixty grand here.” Honey leaned back in her chair and looked at the twenty different stacks of hundred-dollar bills sitting on the table in front of her.
Tasha said, “Ms. Pat can get her surgery.” She looked over at Amra and Mimi, who had both fallen asleep on the couch. “We did it, Honey. I was worried about how I was gon' get this money for Ms. Pat, but I got it.”
Honey responded with less enthusiasm. “Yeah, we did it, but was it worth the price? A man is dead because of us.”
Tasha's enthusiasm went from high to low instantly. It was almost as if she had forgotten what had just taken place a couple of hours earlier. “We need to go see Manolo in the morning. I didn't tell him about Keys.”
Honey shook her head. “Good. He doesn't need to know that we fucked up.”
“I'm done with this shit. We just killed a man, Honey. After we talk to Manolo, I'm out. I'm going back home. Besides, Joe is there, and I want to be there with him. We ain't nothing but gold diggers, and that shit has gotten old real quick. Eventually, all this grimy shit we doing is going to catch up with us.” Tasha paused for a minute, thinking about all the shit she'd done since coming to Flint.
Honey knew exactly how her friend felt, but instead of agreeing she said, “Help me put the money away. I'm tired.” Honey began to put the money in the pillowcase with Tasha's help.
As Tasha lay in bed, she couldn't get the image of Keys' body sprawled on the bed out of her mind. She tossed and turned, trying to focus on something elseâanything that would take her mind to a peaceful place. She had never seen a dead body before.
I helped kill someone,
she thought to herself as tears ran down her cheeks.
Eventually she fell asleep, Keys' death haunting her conscience.
Chapter Fifteen
E
arly the next day, the girls grabbed the money they'd stolen from Keys and headed to Manolo's house. The events of the night before had their minds racing.
I can't believe that he's dead. I helped kill Keys. Eventually, somebody is going to find his body. I know I didn't wipe all my fingerprints from out of his house. I was all over the place. I couldn't have gotten every one of them. How did I get myself into this?
Tasha was overwhelmed with fear, anxiety, and pain.
Amra was shaken. If they got caught, she and Tasha would be the ones to get the worst punishment.
I didn't try to kill him. I have to get out of Flint before they find Keys' body. I can't go to jail. They all acting like everything's normal. Keys was a boss. If the police don't get us, somebody will.
Mimi looked at Amra and could see she was deep in thought. She knew she couldn't be tied into what had happened inside Keys' house, so she wasn't tripping.
Shit, I wasn't in the house when they killed Keys, so I don't really give a fuck. My prints ain't there or nothing, so I'm straight. Fuck what they talking about!
Honey's mind had been blank ever since they'd left Keys' house.
We messed up. It should never have gotten to that level. Tasha should have given him both pills. We did all this, and we still don't get to keep no money. Ain't that a bitch?
When the girls arrived at Manolo's house, they were all solemn and confused.
Manolo picked up on their vibe as soon as they entered his house. “What's wrong? Y'all got the money, right?”
Tasha spoke up first. “We cool. The money's right here.” She placed the duffel bag full of money on the table.
Manolo began to count it. It took him a minute. As soon as he was done, he announced, “One hundred and fifty thousand.”
Tasha frowned her face in confusion and turned to look at Honey. Honey winked her eye, and Tasha knew her girl had pocketed the extra ten gees.
“So, how much does your moms surgery cost?” Manolo asked, looking at Amra.
She doesn't look too good,
Tasha thought to herself, assuming Amra was still sick about the night before.
Amra sat down next to Manolo and said, “Her surgery is a hundred and fifty thousand.”
Manolo shook his head and started putting the money back in the bag. “Here. Take it and take care of her.”
Amra looked up at Tasha, and then back at Manolo. “You're not going to take a cut?”
Manolo shook his head. “You won't have enough to handle your business if I take my cut.”
Amra hugged Manolo tightly. “Thank you so much, Manolo. You don't know how much you are doing.”
“Oh, I ain't doing this out of the kindness of my heart,” he quickly replied. “I got another job for y'all.”
Tasha cut in. “I can't do that shit no more, Manolo. I'm sick of this hustle. It's getting old.”
Honey added, “Yeah, we done with that.”
Manolo shook his head. “Fuck that! I need y'all to do this job for me. Y'all owe me, as much shit as I've done for you. Or y'all can give me my cut from the Keys job, and we'll call it even.” Manolo was calm. He didn't get loud or anything, but he made it clear that they were going to do this for him. He knew they couldn't afford to give him a cut of the money because of Ms. Pat's surgery, so he had them right where he wanted them. Their silence was his cue to continue.
“It's not the type of job that you're used to, though. This is a one-time thing. And it's going down the day after tomorrow.”
Tasha didn't care what type of job it was. Whatever it was, she wasn't down with it. “I'm not doing it. I told you, I can't fuck with that shit anymore,” she said in a shaky voice, remembering how she felt when she saw Keys fall onto his floor, his head bleeding.
Manolo sat back on the couch and stared Tasha in the eye. “I need all four of y'all for this. I looked out for you when I didn't take my cut out of the hundred and fifty gees. Now you need to look out for me with this.”
Tasha rolled her eyes at Manolo and sat down in the chair farthest from him. “Fine, but after this, don't ask me to do nothing else, because I'm done. This is the last time.”
Manolo nodded his head. “I need y'all to deliver a package for me. I need y'all to deliver some dope to my cousin down in Florida. I can't get it through the airport, but y'all can.”
“Hell nah!” Mimi stated, shaking her head. “If we get caught with dope in the airport, that's a fucking felony.”
Manolo quickly replied, “You won't get caught.”
“Well, why can't you do it yourself, if it's no chance of getting caught?” Honey asked.
Manolo had been expecting them to ask him questions. He knew they weren't dumb, and he would have to talk them into doing it. “I'm a black man. I'm guaranteed to get searched. They won't search y'all.”
Amra stood up and walked toward the door. “I'm not doing that shit.”
Tasha dropped her head, knowing they didn't have a choice. “We have to,” she said quietly. She turned her attention toward Manolo. “What do we do?”
Manolo smiled mischievously and rubbed his hands together. “Just deliver the package and pick up the money and bring it back. Your flight leaves out of Bishop Airport the day after tomorrow at ten in the morning. Come to my house that morning at six o'clock.”
Honey asked, “How are we supposed to get drugs through a damn airport?”
“You'll see when you come over that morning.”
The girls, pissed off that Manolo had pulled them into something so hot, got up and left the house. When they finally arrived home, they passed out in their beds. They were tired, and upset.
Tasha went to sleep. Her dreams seemed like the only place she could get away. Since the day she had arrived in Flint, she had been doing things she wouldn't normally do. She was exhausted from partying every night, paranoid from the thought of being caught by the police for Keys' murder, and homesick from being away from Joe.
The next morning, Tasha woke up and walked downstairs, where Tammy was making breakfast. She took a seat at the table.
“Hey, Tasha,” Tammy said. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Tammy.”
Tammy placed a plate in front of Tasha, and she sat and ate breakfast with Honey, Mimi, and Tammy. Amra was still asleep.
“Is Amra doing alright? She hasn't been looking too good lately,” Tammy commented.
“Yeah, she'll be okay.” Tasha got up from the table and fixed Amra a plate of food. She walked up to the room that she shared with Amra, who was tucked underneath her covers.
Tasha pulled back the covers and noticed that Amra's skin was blotchy and her eyes were dark around the lids. “Amra, wake up. You need to eat something. You haven't eaten much lately.”
Amra groggily sat up in her bed. “I'm not hungry.”
“What's wrong with you?”
Amra shook her head and started to cry. “I can't do this shit no more, Tasha. I'm ready to just go home. We need to hurry and go back home, so my momma can have her surgery. I'm not trying to do no more grimy shit. I just want to go be with her.”
“We're going back to home as soon as we do this last job for Manolo. We'll be back home by next week.” Tasha hugged Amra and left the food on the stand by the bed. “Eat something, okay?”
Amra nodded her head and wiped her eyes, and then Tasha walked out the door.
The day crept by slowly, giving the girls too much time to think. Tasha couldn't wait until she was back in New York.
I just want to be with Joe,
she thought to herself as she remembered the night she'd spent with him. It had been months, and she just wanted to hurry up and get back to him.
She made her way to Honey's room and sat on the bed across from her.
“Close the door,” Honey told her.
Tasha got up and closed the bedroom door, and then asked, “What's up?”
Honey pulled out the ten thousand dollars she had taken from the money that was in Keys' safe. She counted out five thousand dollars and handed it to Tasha.
“I don't want to do this thing with Manolo.”
Honey nodded her head. “I know, but what else is there to do?”
Tasha didn't answer. She just walked out of the room and walked into her own, and then went to sleep.
The next morning, all of the girls headed to Manolo's place. The ride was quiet, and the anticipation of what they were about to do grew more and more during the ride. The girls arrived at Manolo's house, and he greeted them at the door. He felt the animosity from them, but it didn't bother him.
They owe me. I don't give a fuck if they want to do it or not.
Once all of the girls were in and seated, Manolo pulled out a duffel bag from behind the couch. He opened the bag and pulled out duct tape and eight white packages. He then walked into the back room and returned with an arm full of clothes. “Alright, this is how it's going down. I'm going to strap y'all with the dope, and my cousin will meet y'all at the airport in Florida. He's going to give you two briefcases full of money and plane tickets to a flight that comes back the next day.” Manolo started searching through his pile of clothes. “Who's first?”
Mimi stood up, and he gave her a corny outfit. “I ain't wearing this ugly shit!” she said.
“Mimi, be smart. This is not a fashion show. We trying to move weight.”
Mimi quickly changed her attitude.
“Take off your shirt.”
Mimi looked at Manolo like he was crazy. “What?”
“Take off your shirt. I've seen titties before.”
After Mimi reluctantly took off her shirt, Manolo began to strap the dope to her chest, wrapping it firmly.
Thirty minutes later, Manolo had taped all of the girls. As he escorted them to the airport, he briefly went over the small details of the task. “Be calm. It's going to be easy. Just don't seem nervous.”
It seemed like the girls became more nervous when he said that.
“My cousin is going to take y'all to a hotel. Just give him the drugs, and he'll give you the money. He's family, so don't worry about anything.”
They finally reached the airport. Just before they exited the car, Manolo grabbed Honey's arm just as she was getting out, and whispered, “Don't fuck with me!”
Honey smiled at Manolo. “You know we don't even get down like that. We would never try to get over on you.”
Tasha, Honey, Amra, and Mimi entered the airport, walking side by side. All of them could sense the other's nervousness, but no one said a word. They each had a pit in their stomach, and they were growing uneasy as the minutes passed by. Without looking at each other, they separated, each going a different way, as if they didn't even know each other.
Tasha's appearance was far from her usual attire. She wore a yellow sundress with yellow flip-flops, and the dope that was taped in place around her stomach made it look like she was at least five months pregnant. She had on a pair of sunglasses that covered most of her upper face. She was glad that something covered her eyes, because she knew that if someone were to look into them, they would see how nervous she was. She was breathing hard, and the palms of her hands were sweating profusely. She kept looking around. It felt like everybody in the airport was looking her way.
The lady that sat next to her looked at her with concern. “Miss, are you okay? Do you need some water?”
Tasha shook her head no, and put her hands on her stomach, patting her “baby”. “No, thank you. I just get short-winded sometimes.” She got up and hurried to the bathroom. She felt the plastic dope package stick against her skin.
I can't do this. I'm never gonna make it on that plane with this stuff.
Tasha stood in the mirror and set her luggage down. She grabbed a paper towel, wet it, and then patted it against her face, trying to gather herself. She was shaking from paranoia. She had to control herself, or she was going to be a dead giveaway. Sweat started to form on her skin from the plastic bags taped around her. It was uncomfortable, and she was trying her best to appear to be a pregnant woman. She turned to the side and studied her stomach to make sure that she didn't look too bulky. She took a deep breath in the mirror, and picked up her luggage. She exited the restroom and went back to her terminal, where she waited to board her flight.
Mimi, in a long jean skirt and a W.W.J.D. T-shirt, sat with a Bible in her left hand and her suitcase in the other. Every time she saw a security guard, she thought they were coming for her.
Calm down. You can do this,
she told herself as she sat there clenching the Bible. She felt the dope that was taped around her chest, and prayed that it didn't bulge out.