Page 100 of Maceo

Jaeda shrugged as she turned to the computer. “He’s the only one I looked into because he was putting money on Quame’s books. I didn’t think about him having another kid. Damn. This bitch has a whole fake identity. I swear everything I found on her looked legit. Birth certificate, social security number, all of her records… everything. Somebody went through a lot of trouble to make Charity Lynn look like a real person.”

I nodded. “It makes sense now why she was in the back of that van. She knew if she got caught, the police would be involved in some way. She needed to look clean.”

“I’m gonna dig into this some—Oh my God,” Jaeda mumbled, covering her eyes and turning away from the screen.

When I saw what she saw, I turned my head, too, because I wasn’t trying to watch Charity sucking this man off. The sound was enough and too much all at once. Jaeda’s face was beet red, and it made me laugh.

“Sis, you really need to get laid,” I said.

“I’m so not discussing my sex life or lack thereof with you, Maceo.”

“You talk about it with Mia, Shar, and Salima.”

“They are women and my sisters. They understand.”

“You know what I don’t understand? Why you don’t think you’re deserving of everything a good nigga has to offer.”

She sighed. “I do. I just… Men make me nervous, Maceo. I’ve never been good at talking to them. I know I’m attractive. I know I’m smart, and I have a lot going for me. The problem is, I don’t know how to talk to men and just be myself. Outside ofthe family shit, I’m boring in real life. I like to shop, eat, read my books, do techy shit, play with Legos, and watch anime?—”

I frowned. “The fuck is wrong with that? You’re perfect for one of these niggas. You just need a nerd like you.”

“You know, calling me a nerd isn’t the compliment you think it is.”

“I apologize. I mean it in the best way possible. You’re the smartest person I know. Remember when you used to help me with my homework? You know how embarrassing it was that my little sister understood that shit more than I did? That was a flex for you though. Who else do you know can say they have all the degrees and certifications you have at your age?”

She blushed. “Nobody.”

“Exactly. You the shit. Period, pooh.” I snapped my fingers, and it made her laugh.

“Don’t ever do that again. You sound like Mia.”

We shared a laugh. I glanced back at the screen because it had grown somewhat silent. My eyes widened as I watched Charity reach for a butcher knife.

“Oh shit! She’s about to stab that nigga,” I said, grabbing Jaeda’s attention.

Now, I’d copped my share of bodies, and I’d seen my share of lives taken, but I’d never seen some shit like this.

“Is she—” Jaeda started.

“She definitely is.”

“Oh my God! She’s sick!”

We watched until she finally left the kitchen. A few minutes later, the group of men returned to get Blane’s body.

“That was dark,” Jaeda mumbled. “I definitely have to get that image out of my head before I go to bed. Anyway, back to this bitch being Quame’s daughter. Give me a second.”

I watched as she clicked away on the keyboard. “What are you doing?”

“I’m searching birth records with Quame listed as the father.”

She was silent for a moment as she searched. After about a minute, information loaded on the screen. Turns out, Quame had about four kids outside of the two he shared with his ex-wife. There she was, Quinn Alexander.

“Let me grab her social… There we go. Now I can run her background.”

I relit the blunt we were smoking since it had gone out. I was gonna need something to ease my nerves after this shit. Six degrees of separation was a crazy thing. What were the chances of Charity… well Quinn, being this man’s daughter?

“Whoa!” Jaeda said, as an extensive rap sheet and mug shots populated. “She’s always been a terror. This is crazy.”

---