Read Baltimore Chronicles Online
Authors: Treasure Hernandez
Baltimore Chronicles
Treasure Hernandez
Tiphani called Scar. “It's done, baby,” she said. “I made all of the calls. We will live happily ever after.” She smiled as she spoke into the receiver. “I love you too,” she added, closing her eyes.
After hanging up the telephone, she shrugged into her coat on her way to mail her packages. She grabbed her keys and stepped out her door. As she took her first step, she was hit from the side. She didn't even have time to scream before she was dragged away.
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“In breaking news, police report that Assistant District Attorney Tiphani Fuller has been reported missing. Police fear Mrs. Fuller may be in grave danger because of her husband's alleged criminal associations. ADA Fuller is the estranged wife of embattled Maryland State Trooper, narcotics detective Derek Fuller. Fuller, the former leader of the State Troopers' Drug Enforcement Section, was indicted by a grand jury last week on charges of conspiracy and first-degree murder. He is a suspect in the brutal murder of a DES officer. The officer's mutilated body was found outside of the home Fuller shared with a fellow officer. Detective Fuller, who is currently being held without bond, is also suspected of cutting deals with the Dirty Money Crew, a notorious drug syndicate headed up by the infamous Stephon “Scar” Johnson. Police would not confirm whether they believe ADA Fuller's disappearance is directly related to her husband's alleged crimes, but said they are putting out all of their manpower and resources to find her. The FBI is also involved. ADA Fuller was last seen dropping her children off to school two weeks ago. The children's whereabouts are not being disclosed, for their safety. We will continue to follow the story as it develops,” the reporter said, staring into the camera.
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Derek sat on one of the small, hard, plastic chairs in the dayroom of the protective segregation unit inside the Baltimore County jail. The room was pin-drop quiet. Everyone was interested in the infamous narco that sat right in the same jail with them; inmates and COs alike were glued to the television. In protective segregation Derek was surrounded by other corrupt cops under arrest, and other inmates who needed special protection. The warden knew there was no way Derek would survive in general population with people he had put behind bars.
Derek felt the heat of eyes on him, but at that point, he didn't care who was around him in the hellhole of a jail. The air around him was thick and threatened to suffocate him, even after he had finally exhaled. He was watching the television so intently, he didn't even realize he was involuntarily holding his breath.
He flexed his jaw at the news of Tiphani's disappearance and at the sight of his old home on the news, outside which every broadcast news station in Baltimore, Maryland was posted.
Derek was immediately drawn back to a time when his life was almost perfect. The two of them had everything, and within a second, Boom! Their lives had exploded into chaos. Now, here he sat in jail for crimes he didn't commit. His wife was missing, feared dead, and their kids would surely end up in foster care.
He shook his head. What had he done to himself? To them? Just seeing his former home on the screen made his stomach muscles clench. What would happen to his kids? Where could Tiphani have gone? “She wouldn't just leave the kids like that,” he mumbled under his breath. “Something had to happen to her.” All of a sudden, a rush of anxiety filled his gut, and he raced for his open cell so he could throw up.
Derek had a fucked up feeling about this whole disappearance, and about everything in general that had happened thus far. He felt betrayed in more ways than one. He couldn't believe that his administrative leave had so quickly turned into an all-out witch-hunt against him, and now he sat rotting in a fucking jail cell with a bunch of trumped-up evidence compiled against him. The crimes he was accused of were unheard of, but Derek had been pegged as the scapegoat for the department for some reason.
Derek finished emptying his guts into the toilet and swiped the back of his hand over his lips, his mind crowded with thoughts of Tiphani. The news story had clearly shaken him. He had hoped that Tiphani would've come home by now. Every day that passed made it worse for her and damn sure made it bad for him. He had already been questioned about Tiphani's disappearance and didn't like the underlying innuendo in the voice of the detective who had interviewed him. It was like they were trying to blame him for her disappearance too. He had become so frustrated at the detective asking him the same question seventy-five different ways, he jumped into the detective's face, but the cocky detective still didn't back down.
“Mr. Fuller, we understand that you and your wife were going through a bitter and nasty divorce and custody battle,” the detective had said, a sly smirk on his wrinkled, olive-colored face.
“Yeah. And what of it?” Derek squinted his eyes.
“Well, sometimes when things like that are going on, one spouse, you know, may⦔ The detective's voice trailed off like he wanted Derek to fill in the blank with some crazy shit.
Even though Derek knew all of the interrogation tricks, he couldn't keep his cool. Blood immediately rushed to his head. “I didn't have anything to do with my wife's disappearance!” he screamed, his face turning almost burgundy as his heart hammered against his chest bone. He was used to being on the other side of the table, doing the interrogating, and discovered he didn't like being interrogated himself.
“Mr. Fuller, we are just trying to run down any leads that may help us find your wife,” the detective said, his paper-thin lips moving in slow motion.
Every word seemed like flashbulbs of light to Derek, with nonstop images of Tiphani and Scar fucking exploding in front of him.
“I'm stuck in this fucking hellhole because somebody wanted me out of their way. My wife needs to be found now! My kids are all alone,” Derek croaked out, the tears burning his eyes, and a sharp pain gripping him around the throat.
He couldn't erase the images of Scar ramming his wife in and out. Tiphani's face contorted with pleasure, pleasure that Derek was never able to give her. Derek's heart was breaking all over again. This was all too fucking much to handle.
“We are trying to find her, but I will tell you now. If she has in fact been kidnapped, and ends up dead, it only makes you look worse,” the detective had said, as he rose to leave.
Derek shook the memories of that interrogation from his mind. That was almost two weeks ago, and still Tiphani had not been found. He'd heard on one of the many news stories that Tiphani's cell phone was found on the side of I-95. Not a good sign.
The night he was visited by the detective, just like today, he hadn't slept for even one hour. He hadn't been able to concentrate since. If Tiphani turns up dead, I can forget my freedom. They will believe it was me, no matter what I do or say, Derek thought as he paced up and down the pod. Although Tiphani had cheated on him, basically the catalyst for his downward spiral, he still worried about her whereabouts. He had a recurring thought since he'd learned about her disappearanceâScar could be the only person responsible for her kidnapping. He is the only muthafucka that would dare.
And just like everything else that had gone wrong in Derek's life as of late, Scar was behind it. Derek couldn't believe he was being labeled a cop killer for Archie's murder. Now Tiphani was gone, and he appeared to be the only one with an ax to grind, the divorce and custody battle making him the prime suspect, since no one knew about her affair with Scar.
Derek put his head in his hands and rocked back and forth. “God, if You exist, please let her be alive,” he whispered.
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Rodriguez let a smile spread across her petite face. This must be it. It's really about to happen for me, she thought to herself as she walked with a pep of arrogance in her step. She felt overly confident as she followed Chief Hill down to his office. Rodriguez was sure the private meeting requested by the chief would be the first step to promoting her to DES lead detective permanently, to officially taking over Derek's role.
The two walked in silence, both deep in thought. Once they arrived in the chief's office, the chief walked over to his desk and sat down. Rodriguez noticed that the chief's face was emotionless. To say that he had a poker face would be an understatement.
Suddenly, shit didn't seem like Rodriguez had thought. Watching the chief take his seat, a feeling of dread washed over her. Maybe she was wrong about the purpose of this meeting. The chief looked like he was about to bite her head off. Rodriguez couldn't figure it out, so she waited for the ball to drop.
“Nice artwork,” she said, gesturing toward the chief's collection of black art paintings. She was trying to lighten the mood in the room.
The chief nodded, but inside he was laughing. This bitch really thinks I'm stupid. “Look, I didn't call you here for a social love call or no shit like that,” Chief Hill said. “Have a seat. You'll need it.”
Rodriguez sat down across from the chief. She placed her hands under her thighs to keep them from trembling. She knew now that she was definitely wrong about the purpose of this meeting.
“Look, I don't know what you got going on, or what you had against Derek Fuller, but I know what you did,” Chief Hill said, staring Rodriguez down. He stared at Rodriguez so hard, his dark-brown, almost black eyes dug imaginary holes into Rodriguez's face.
Rodriguez started to say, “I don't know what?”
The chief put his hand up and cut her off mid-sentence. “You don't know what I'm talking about? Is that what you were going to say? That's the best you could do? The best lie you can come up with? C'mon, my six-year-old can do better than that!” Chief Hill spat, growing angry, feeling like Rodriguez thought he was stupid. More than anything, the chief hated to feel like somebody was trying to insult his intelligence.
“You fuckin' changed evidence in Fuller's case! Not only did you change it, you stole mitigating evidence that might help get him off! You also planted some shit,” the chief said, letting Rodriguez know that she wasn't fooling him.
Rodriguez's face turned pale. It was like all of her color leaked from her face and pooled on the floor, buckets of sweat now dripping from her head. Rodriguez was frantic inside. She couldn't go out like this. I'm taking shit to the grave, she thought. She got defensive, the only way she figured she'd get around these accusations.
“You're fucking crazy!” she screamed, jumping up from the chair. “I would never do that shit! Fuller was my friend!”
“Sit the fuck down!” Chief Hill barked, the vein near his temple pulsing like crazy. “I'm not asking you if you did it. I know you did it!” He leaned back in his oversized leather chair and turned his computer monitor around so that the screen was facing Rodriguez.
Rodriguez swallowed hard, trying in vain to get rid of the huge lump that sat at the back of her throat. Finally able to breathe, she stood and stared at the monitor. She watched the computerized, grainy surveillance image of herself as she moved around the evidence cage. Her legs buckled, almost sending her five-foot seven-inch frame crashing to the floor.
“You look like you've seen a ghost. Sit down before you faint.” The chief smirked. He had Rodriguez right where he wanted her?scared and willing to play the game.
Rodriguez flopped back down in the chair, exasperated and scared to death of what was about to come her way. “Chief, I swear⦔ Rodriguez started, her hands shaking so badly, she wanted to cut them off. Cold sweat now drenched her entire body, not just her head. Her bowels felt like they would release right there in her pants. This was the end of her career for sure, or so she thought.
“What made you do it? I mean, I thought Fuller was your friendâ¦your supervisor and team member. I thought the DES was like a brotherhood? Didn't all you bastards go around professing this brotherhood shit?” Chief Hill shook his head left to right in a fake display of disgust.
Rodriguez hung her head at first. Then something hit her like a thunderbolt. “IâI was so mad about Archie's death. I mean, he didn't have to do him like that. His family couldn't even have an open casket. Then I started feeling like that mu'fucka Fuller had something to do with Bolden and Cassell's murders too. It was all too much to think about!!” Sweat dripped down her face, and she felt hot all over her body. She clenched her fists. At that moment, she wanted to see Derek in front of her. “I just wanted revenge. I didn't do it for any other reason, just revenge. I wanted him to suffer,” Rodriguez fabricated on the spot.
“Bullshit! Nice acting job, Rodriguez.” The chief smirked. “Scar Johnson is paying you too, ain't he?” Chief Hill stood up and leaned on his desk, toward Rodriguez. At that point, he was letting her know the gloves were off.
Rodriguez almost choked on her own tongue. It's impossible for the chief to have figured that out, she thought to herself. Rodriguez had only had one meeting with Scar, the initial meeting, and had always dealt with one of Scar's little workers when it came time to collect her money. There was no way Chief Hill would even associate her with Scar, unless he was on the fucking take himself.
“No. I don't know what you're talking about,” Rodriguez lied, sticking to her take-it-to-the-grave philosophy.
“Don't bullshit me. I know all about it. See, I'm like God. Omniscient. I know everything that goes on in Baltimore,” Chief Hill said, smiling evilly.
There was no need for her to continue fighting and denying her association. Her shoulders slumped, and she mentally gave up. It was time to level. “Please, Chief. This job is all I got. It's what I worked hard for all my life. I can't lose it. I can't afford to end up like Derek. I made a mistakeâ¦you gotta understand,” Rodriguez pleaded, almost in tears.
“I hate to see a beautiful woman cry. Pull your skirt down and just fucking listen to what I have to say.”