Suave looked at her in shock. “A boy killed Mason?”
Miss Pam, whose crying had tapered off to hiccups, whimpered in pain as she clung to Suave.
Miss Celes nodded her head. “They knew that a strange man by himself would have caused Mason to be suspicious, and he would be on guard, so they used a child. Mason loved children and wouldn’t have thought anything strange when the boy entered the shop. The boy took advantage of that and shot him over ten times.”
Suave was floored. He too had killed when he was a boy, but it was because Pastor Ralph had left him no other choice. But this young boy who took Mason’s life was a trained, cold-blooded killer. Obviously, snakes came in various sizes and ages. But Mason found out too late.
Chapter Twenty-four
A week after Mason’s huge, statelike funeral, Suave was still in a rut. He felt sad that he didn’t get a chance to make up with Mason before he died. He kept playing different scenarios in his head on how he could have prevented Mason’s death. Maybe he should have stayed with Mason instead of going on his own. If he had gone back and apologized to Mason, then he would have forgiven him. He should have found a way to stay in Mason’s life. He would have been there to stop the child killer. Maybe this, maybe that... but Mason was still dead.
“You couldn’t stop it, you know?” Daddy Lizard’s voice snapped Suave’s head toward him. “That was Mason’s destiny.” Daddy Lizard reclined on the couch he sat on in Suave’s living room, stretching out his long legs before him. After Mason’s death, Daddy Lizard started working for Suave.
“He’s right, Suave,” Cobra said from his seat beside Daddy Lizard. “Not even you would have suspected a little boy to be a killer. But we will use that to our advantage because they can’t try that with us.”
Suave looked at his two friends and knew in his heart they were speaking the truth, but he still hated how things ended between him and Mason. “Yeah, now we know not to trust anyone... man, woman, child, or animal.”
“I heard that Junior and Miss Pam moved to Jungle to live with Miss Pam’s sister,” Daddy Lizard added. “Miss Pam is selling the house, the shop, the bar on Spanish Town Road, and the other businesses. I guess she just wanted a fresh start.”
Suave took a sip of his Red Stripe beer. “I’m glad Miss Pam didn’t stay there. Who knows, they might have come back to kill her too.”
“Mambo said Junior vowed to carry on his father’s business in Jungle,” Cobra replied. “So, I guess we have some more competition now.”
Suave smirked, a look of disgust on his face. “King Kong doesn’t know where his behind starts from where it ends. How is he going to run a drug business?”
Cobra and Daddy Lizard laughed out loud, and Suave joined in. Junior, a.k.a. King Kong, was a joke to them, or so they thought. Little did they know that King Kong was going to become one of their biggest nemeses.
“All right, I’m going to take care of some business,” Suave stated when the laughter died down. “Daddy Lizard, ride with Cobra today. You guys collect the money and distribute the work. Also, get the supply from Queen Bee. We’ll meet back at your place around six o’clock.” Cobra and Daddy Lizard were roommates, sharing an apartment.
After the men left, Suave took a drive and was mentally checking off all the stops he had to make that day. Business was good, and with Daddy Lizard now on board, Suave was ready to take it to another level. He wanted to expand into St. Catherine, focusing on the Spanish Town market. “I’ll put Daddy Lizard in charge of that operation,” he muttered, making his way down Half Way Tree Road. “I’ll let Cobra... What the—?”
Tires screeched, horns blared as Suave swerved across two lanes of traffic, narrowly missing a collision with a truck before coming to a grinding halt in front of Esquire Fine Food Supermarket. His breathing labored, Suave leaned over the steering wheel, trembling as if he had hyperthermia. Cold sweat washed over him as his bugged eyes peered at the sight before him—Nadine, draped in a long, tight, floral dress with her gorgeous hair blowing gently in the breeze, was laughing at a little boy who was making funny faces. A little boy who was the spitting image of Suave.
“My son,” Suave whispered and allowed the tears to run down his face. “That’s... That’s my son.” He rested his head on the steering wheel and wept. He worked hard, day and night, trying to forget Nadine and the baby but had only managed to push it to the back of his mind. There wasn’t a time that he hadn’t thought about them as the days ran into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. Suave had kept his promise and never went back to see Mr. Esquire, so he had no idea if Nadine had a boy or girl. He didn’t even know if she had the baby. For all he knew, Mr. Esquire could have been lying when he said Nadine was keeping the baby. But he wasn’t, because right in front of Suave stood his son.
It took a few minutes for Suave to compose himself. He wiped his wet face with his handkerchief, blew his nose, and took deep breaths to relax his nerves. Then he got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and marched toward Nadine.
Nadine was laughing so hard at her son’s antics that her sides were beginning to hurt. Then suddenly, she stopped as a chill ran through her body. Her heart leaped in her throat and before she turned around, she knew who
