Page 138 of Call Me Mrs. Taylor

The whole thing goes up in seconds.

Kam stares, her eyes going wide. “What the fuck?”

“Do you recognize this person?” the officer asks, getting right down to business.

She squints at the screen. “No…looks like a white boy, maybe?”

I exhale sharply, releasing some tension.

The officer nods at the screen. “Looks like.” He turns back to Kam. “Do you have any idea who would want to do this to you? Went right to your car, no break-in…seems personal.”

She doesn’t answer right away. She goes still, then slowly turns her head—to look at me.

I stiffen. “What?”

She crosses her arms. “There’s only one person I can think of who has something against me.”

I scoff, shaking my head. “You think Raya did this? That’s crazy.”

“Is it?”

Kam wipes her face with her sleeve, giving me a pointed look. Everybody else brings their eyes to me, too, which immediately puts me on the defense.

“She hates me. And we know she ain’t all there upstairs.”

“You saw the video,” I say, my blood running hot. “That’s a white boy. Not Raya.”

“Who is Raya?” One of the other cops puts his hands on his hips. “And do you have a picture?”

“My g—my ex-girlfriend,” I say, pulling my phone out of my back pocket. I pull up a picture of her in Hilton Head, all tan and lovely in a pink sundress. I hand it off to the officer, not liking where this is going.

He studies it a little too long, then glances back at the video, shaking his head. “Doesn’t look like her to me.”

I tuck my phone away, shooting Kam a glare. “Next time, think before you start throwing around accusations.”

She rolls her eyes but says nothing.

My father walks up to stand at Kam’s side. “How do we find this person?”

“We’ll make use of other surveillance videos from the area. Maybe some traffic cams if we can pick this person up entering or exiting a vehicle.”

“Is my daughter safe?”

The officer inclines his head to the side. “Hard to say with such limited information. I’d keep my eyes open.”

None of us are satisfied with that answer, but there’s nothing we can do. It’s a feeling I really hate, and here I am again—useless.

The two officers move off to the side to talk to each other, followed by my father, giving me a chance to dap Rico up, then wrap my arms around my sister.

“You okay?” I say in her ear.

“I’m scared,” she admits. “And pissed. And frustrated.”

I kiss her cheek, then release her from my embrace. “You know we ain’t gon’ let nothin’ happen to you.”

Rico nods. “He better hope the police find his ass before I do.”

I know he means that shit. Rico ain’t much for words. That’s probably why my mama can’t stand him. My pops has a grudging respect for him, but I’m the only one who really fucks with him.

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