Nickel City Crossfire by Gary Ross (popular romance novels .txt) 📗

“Who took it?”

“The men who stopped us. The men who—” Shuddering, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Take your time,” I said after a couple of seconds. “There’s no good way to tell it. No easy way. Maybe you should start with how you got to Jefferson and Best.”

She nodded again, removed her hand, and reached for Bianca’s. “We took a ride after dinner. A nice long ride, just to talk, because I said yes. We drove up Main all the way out to Williamsville and then we took Union Road to the Kensington Expressway. We got off at Best because we were going back to my house. The basic route is left on Jefferson, right on High, right on Orange. But a car pulled alongside us and wouldn’t let Odell get in the left lane for the turn. They forced us across the intersection, and Odell cut into the Wiley parking lot. They followed us in and pulled ahead and slammed on the brakes right in front of us. Odell tried to back up but hit a high curb. Before he could shift again two men jumped out and pointed guns at the car. Odell locked the doors but one of them put his gun right next to the driver’s side window and told us to get out or get shot. We—we got out.”

Keisha was squeezing Bianca’s fingers bloodless, to what must have been a point of pain. But Bianca remained silent.

“Can you describe the men? Did you know them?”

“No. Both medium brown-skin, one a shade darker than the other. Both big, the biggest one maybe your size. They looked enough alike I thought they were brothers.”

“What about their car? Make? Color?”

“Big SUV. Dark, I think black. It looked black in Odell’s headlights.”

“You know the make?”

“No. Sorry.”

“You think the car was following you all along?”

“I don’t know. Must have been.”

“What happened next?”

Keisha released Bianca’s fingers and shifted uneasily. “They turned off our headlights and made us stand in front of the car. Between the streetlights and stadium night lights, we could see just enough. They made us take off our coats and roll up our sleeves. I still wasn’t sure what was happening. At first, I thought they just wanted to rob us. But when they took out this little case that held a needle, I got really scared. I took a step back like I was gonna run. The bigger one—he was on my side of the car—he pointed his gun at me and kinda giggled. A creepy giggle, so I froze, too scared to cry. The other one, the one in charge, put the case on the hood of the car and told Odell to pick up the needle. His voice sounded familiar, but I still wanted to believe this was random bad luck. Odell picked it up and said, ‘Now what?’ The guy said, ‘You’re gonna send nosy Miss Sugar Notch here up in the elevator.’ Felt like a kick in the belly, like there was no chance we could survive now. Odell said hell no, even if it meant getting shot. The guy said, ‘What if you’re not the one shot?’ Next thing I knew I had two guns at my head. From then on Odell did whatever they said, right down to choosing which arm and wrapping his tie around it. He plucked the needle, squirted some out, and they said not too much. Then Odell injected some into me. They said to give me half. But I think he gave me less and saved for more himself. He gave his life to give me half a chance.”

“My God,” Phoenix said, so softly it was almost to herself.

“They made him leave his prints on the syringe,” I said. “Do you remember anything else?”

“Everything for the first few seconds. The bigger guy told Odell, ‘Your turn.’ I was terrified as Odell wrapped his tie around his own arm but I never saw the needle go in. All of a sudden there was this wave of pleasure all over. Warm and tingly everywhere.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Kind of like coming and coming and coming but without sex and without sound. Then I felt happy, drifting, peaceful, kind of like after sex when you’re falling asleep.”

“Do you remember the paramedics reviving you?”

“The memory is vague. I can’t be sure if what I remember is real or imagined because of what I know from pharmacology class. I remember gagging, coughing. I’m pretty sure I was cold because I was shivering, but I’m not sure why. Was it because of the drug or the time of year? I kind of remember being in the car with Odell next to me, but maybe all that’s from what I read in the newspaper or saw on the Eyewitness News website. I wasn’t fully myself till I woke up in the hospital the next day.”

We were all quiet for a time. Bianca excused herself to use the restroom. Phoenix took a deep breath, sank back in her chair, and took a hefty swallow. I heard her whisper, “Wow.”

Keisha sank back in her chair also, seeming lighter somehow. Sipping what was now warm coffee, I was glad Jen was there because I had become so caught up in Keisha’s story I lost all track of my surroundings, something I was unaccustomed to doing. I looked about, chiding myself for not having seen or heard the changes. There were more people now, all the previous diners except the man with the laptop having been replaced. Two were reading newspapers. Several were engaged in their own conversations.

I drank a bit more and set down my cup when Bianca returned.

“Keisha, are you good for a few more questions?” I asked.

She put her glasses back on and leaned toward me. “Yes.”

“Did the police question you when you woke up?”

“Not much. I tried to tell the hospital staff what happened and was told rehab required me to take responsibility. They said I