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.
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 friend…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. “I—I 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 mistake…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.”
Rodriguez hung her head and listened. At this point, she didn’t have a choice.
“I want twenty percent of whatever Scar is paying you, whenever he pays you. I want to know every time Scar contacts you. I will make sure my eyes and ears remain closed to what you’re doing, but I expect my money. Don’t ever think I can’t find out how much you got, so make sure I get my twenty percent and you don’t try to short me. We can all work together to bring Fuller down,” Chief Hill said, leaning back in the chair in relax mode. “I never liked his ass anyway.”
“Y-y-yes, sir, I can do that,” Rodriguez stammered. She stood up and extended her hand toward the chief for a shake. “I can keep you posted, and the money is no problem. I can help you if you help me.”
The chief accepted her hand, and they exchanged a brisk handshake, sealing their deal to help Scar put Derek away for life.
Chapter 1
The Best Laid Plans
Tiphani sat across from Scar and picked up her martini glass again. She was finally