Chapter 1
'Booger' Bordelon watched the street carefully, while posturing as if he wasn't watching the street at all. A solidly built girl waddled down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Booger waved in greeting but she ignored him. She reached into her snug jeans pocket and retrieved a cell phone.
"What? I'm busy," she snapped into the phone.
She stopped walking and frowned deeply.
"Nuh uh, I tell you what you are, uh huh," she said, then resumed walking again.
She turned the corner, still ranting into the telephone.
Booker heard his own cell phone chime and took it out. An unknown number was in the display.
"Yeah?" he said into the phone.
"Heard you got a little problem," a female voice said.
"What? Who the fuck is this?" he yelled.
"Two of them, in fact," the voice went on.
"I asked you a question, bitch," Booger said forcefully.
"Heard you," the voice said. "I can help you with your little problems."
"Oh yeah, and how you do that, huh?" Booger asked.
"How isn't really important, now is it?" the voice said, still very monotone, almost bored. "Ten thousand each, no more problem. Interested?"
"Uh huh, and next thing I know mother fuckers be at my door, all up in my shit, saying I done reduced them no thank you very much," Booger said.
"It'll never come back to you. Ten thousand each. If you're interested, just nod your head yes," the voice said.
"What? Who the fuck is this? Where you at?" Booger said, looking all around.
"Any idea how stupid you look, swiveling your head all around like that?" the voice said, a hint of mirth creeping into her voice.
"Okay, yeah, I'm interested," Booger admitted, nodding his head yes.
"Okay, tomorrow morning, put two thousand dollars, cash, into the mailbox right across the street. Number 112? See it, right across the street from you?" the voice said.
"Oh yeah, I just drop two thousand in and kiss my ass, huh?" Booger said.
"Then I'll collect the rest when they're done," the voice said. "Bye."
Booger shrugged his shoulders and put his cell phone back into his pocket.
The two problems were Sammy Clivens and Tuquor Amaan Kandira. Both were scheduled to testify against him at his trial next month. Both men claimed to have seen Booger kill Tuquor's girlfriend, Polly. The poor girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But since the first inquiry, neither Sammy or Tuquor had been seen.
"Ain't got nothing lose," Booger shrugged and, with one last look up and down the street, went to the apartment he shared with his grandmother.
"Nana, you fell asleep again in front of the television," Booger said gently to the woman that had raised him since he was an infant.
"Oh, let me tell you, ain't nothing worse than getting old," she whimpered as she eased her bulk out of the chair.
Still grumbling and fussing, she walked down the hallway to the single bedroom.
"Damn, Nana," Booger mumbled, waving at the air.
Nana's gas was normally quite offensive, but tonight she was outdoing herself.
"Nana, you eat at Popeye's again?" Booger called out.
"Coupon came in the mail," Nana called back.
"Damn, woman," Booger grumbled and lighted a joint.
Soon, the smell of Nana's gas dissipated and Booger lay down on the dilapidated couch to sleep.
----
"Very good," the female voice said when Booger answered his cell phone.
"What?" Booger said, squinting at the mailbox across the street.
He had been watching it all day, ever since putting the two thousand dollars into it.
"How'd you, where are you?" he asked, swiveling his head around, trying to see the whereabouts of the caller.
"It'll be taken care of," the voice said and terminated the call.
----
Booger walked around the neighborhood, trying to see if he could notice anything out of the ordinary, notice any people he'd not seen around the neighborhood before.
"Hey Booger, come see," Detective LaRocca called out and Booger's insides hardened.
"Yeah, what you want?" Booger yelled, trying to adopt a tough swagger.
"You one lucky little n*gger, know that?" Detective LaRocca said, staring Booger down.
"Yeah, what the fuck makes you say that?" Booger asked, looking Detective LaRocca eye to eye.
"Sammy was found dead this morning, drug overdose, and Tuquor put a gun to his head, suicide," Detective LaRocca said. "Just before giving testimony in front of the grand jury. Wouldn't know anything about that, huh?"
"What you think?" Booger asked.
"Think you about the luckiest n*gger I ever seen, that's what I think," Detective LaRocca admitted. "Lord knows you too fucking stupid have anything do with this."
"Uh huh," Booger smirked and walked away.
His cell phone chirped and he pulled it out.
"Same mailbox, tomorrow morning, the rest of the money," the female voice said before Booger could even say a greeting.
"Nah, nah, I ain't paying shit," Booger laughed into the phone. "Case you ain't heard, Sammy O.D.'d and Tuquor done put a bullet in his head."
"Uh huh, and I told you, there was no way it'd get back to you. Who you think put that twenty five to Tuquor's head?" the voice said.
Booger's blood ran cold. Detective LaRocca had not said what caliber handgun RTuquor had used.
"Barely even made a pop," the voice went on. "But you know that bullet was bouncing around in there, turning his brains into hamburger. Eighteen thousand, tomorrow morning."
"Uh huh," Booger smirked, having no intention of paying the remainder of the money.
----
"Booger, this isn't a game," the female voice said.
"What you going to do, huh?" Booger laughed. "Go to the cops?"
"Don't fuck with me, Booger. Last mother fucker didn't pay me sitting in a wheelchair now. You got until nine o'clock get me the other twenty three thousand," the voice said coldly.
"Thought it was only eighteen?" Booger asked, smiling.
"Wipe that ignorant smile off your face," the voice snapped. "Went up. Next time I have to call you, it'll be fifty."
"Make it a Hundred, huh, bitch?" Booger laughed.
He laughed as the call was terminated.
Diamond pulled up, his Lincoln Navigator thrumming and vibrating as JZ boomed out of the subwoofer. Booger sauntered out to the SUV, smiling widely.
"Shit, man, what you doing?" Booger laughed. And took the small bag Diamond handed him. Diamond smiled as Booger gave Diamond the cash.
"Business doing pleasure with you," Diamond said and drove away.
Booger put the crack cocaine into his vest pocket and sauntered back onto the sidewalk. His cell phone chirped; his grandmother's ring tone.
"Hey Nana, what's up?" he cheerfully said.
"Booger, there's some girl here, says you owe her some money?" Nana's voice crackled worriedly.
Booger's blood ran cold for the second time that day.
"Nana, she still there?" he asked her.
"Yeah," Nana agreed.
"Nana, put her on," Booger asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"You don't want to cross me," the voice said. "But I'm done talking."
"You listen here, bitch, you hurt one hair on my Nana's head, I swear to God I'll..." Booger screamed into the phone.
"Get me my money, Booger," the voice said and the call was terminated.
Booger ran to the apartment building and ran up the stairs.
"You see her?" Nana asked Booger as Booger barreled into the apartment. "She just left here, not even a minute ago."
"What she look like?" Booger asked the old woman.
"Oh you know, just like any other girl, not enough clothes on, showing us everything we don't need be looking at," Nana fussed. "And using language like I are never heard, I swear I don't know what's up with you children these days."
"Nana, she white, black, what?" Booger asked.
"Black girl, of course," Nana said. "Shirt don't even come down, belly all hanging out, had one of them rings in her belly button, why anyone would want to do that beyond me, I tell you."
----
Victoria carefully removed the skin dye, checking her ears to make sure no traces remained there. The black wig was already in her bag, along with the gold tooth implant.
The padding had been removed as soon as she entered the house, along with the two pennies she'd jammed into her nostrils to widen and flatten her nose.
Nude, she walked to the window and looked out at the street. Booger was visible, looking up and down the street.
"Typical fucking man never sees anything, even if it's right in front of him," Victoria sneered and picked up the disposable cell phone.
There were only ten minutes left on the phone. She could, of course, add more minutes, but she wouldn't. She would use up the minutes, then dispose of the phone and then use another disposable cell phone.
Booger went back into the apartment, still wondering where the girl had vanished too. He had not seen any girl on the street or in the building when he'd run up the stairs.
He got the newspaper and tore several strips, stuffing them into an envelope. Then he went back down the stairs and walked to 112 Sycamore Street and put the envelope into the mailbox.
Then he walked back across the street and waited.
----
"Newspaper?" the voice asked. "Newspaper?"
Booger was amazed. He'd stood in front of the house all day and into the evening and no one had even walked in front of the house, much less looked into the mailbox.
"Go home, Booger, your Nana needs you," the voice sighed.
"I swear to God, you hurt..." Booger threatened.
"And it's fifty thousand now, dumb ass," the voice said and the call was terminated.
Booger ran back to the apartment he shared with Nana and entered.
He heard Nana groaning and whimpering from the bathroom and ran to the door.
Nana lay, naked, on the floor of the bathroom. She had obviously fallen as she was getting out of the bathtub.
Nana!" Booger screamed.
"Booger, you pay that girl, you hear?" Nana screamed back at him.
