“What’s going on?” I ask Javon in between breaths. Even jogging I can’t keep up with Javon’s gait. He’s walking with determination. He’s walking like he wants to kill someone.
“I fucking asked them,” he shouts, more to himself than to me. “I asked them if they knew what’s what. ‘Nah, Javon, bro.’” His voice morphs into something that sounds like a surfer dude. “‘He never showed up at the spot. We haven’t seen him, bro.’” Javon barks out something I can’t translate and punches his fist into his open hand.
“Javon,” I try to speak calmly, even though it seems like Javon’s past the point of no return. “I don’t know what’s happening. Tell me what’s going on and I can help.”
Javon laughs at me. The laughter comes out harsh and quick, like a stab. Before I know it, we’re back at Javon’s car. He swings open his back door and nudges his head at Riley. “Ay, come on out of there.”
Riley blinks as she gets out of the car. “Is everything okay?” Then to me. “Where’s Nicole?”
I shake my head at her. Another dead end. But I’d have to explain that to her later. Right now, Javon looks like he’s about to jump from a cliff.
“What are you doing, Javon?” I ask him.
“I need to take care of something.” He gets back into his driver’s seat. “Y’all going to have to find your own way back home.”
“Wait, you’re just leaving us out here?” I ask.
Javon’s tires answer me, screeching at high volume as Javon speeds away. He leaves with Nic’s phone—and leaves me with a shitload of unanswered questions.
Twenty-Three
“WAIT . . . IS THAT HIM?” RILEY ASKS, PULLING BACK the curtain of my living room window.
“Riley!” I tug the curtain back down. “We can’t be too obvious.”
“Why not? Javon filled us in on everything. It’s obvious we’d want to know where he ran off to. Especially you.”
Once again, Riley makes a good point. The night’s just been so jumbled that I can barely keep my head on straight. After Javon ditched us at Deer Park, we ordered an Uber. Dropped Pooch off at the closest emergency room to clear his head, then made it back to Riley’s car. Riley drove me home and wanted to wait with me for word from Javon. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. Now we’re posted up on my living room couch, peering out the window to see if anyone drives up to Javon’s building.
“Okay, so what did he say again?” Riley asks me.
I sigh. “Told you . . . he had some kind of dialogue with himself. With voice changes and everything. He seemed like he was pissed at someone but didn’t tell me who.”
“It has to be someone who he thinks might have had Nic’s phone.” Riley taps her chin in deep thought. “But who?”
Those are the questions of the night—the ones that Javon disappeared with. The ones he’ll hopefully answer for us once he returns to the Ducts.
“You both know it’s a school night, right?”
Riley and I swirl around from the window and MiMi stares at us, tying her house robe around her waist. I figured she’d be so knocked out that she wouldn’t hear us, but this night has been full of surprises.
“Yeah. Riley was just helping me with a project,” I say. “She’s done something like it at her school already.”
MiMi frowns at me then shifts her eyes to Riley. “Your parents know you’re here?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Riley lies. “I told them I’d be a little late. As long as I’m home by eleven, they’re fine.”
MiMi studies us as if waiting for one of us to pop so the truth bursts out. I hold my breath. Finally, she shakes her head and walks toward the kitchen. “Well, sure you can’t concentrate on an empty stomach. Let me fix you both a PB&J sandwich.”
“MiMi, you don’t need—”
“Sounds delicious,” Riley says. I give her a look and she shrugs. “What? We never finished dinner, remember? You try calling Nic’s phone again?”
I point at her. Good thinking. I tried ringing up Nic’s phone a couple of times, hoping that Javon would pick up and fill me in on everything. I press her name when there’s a sharp knock at the door. Riley and I look at each other, eyebrows raised in hope.
“Who in the world is that this time of night?” MiMi calls from the kitchen.
“I got it, MiMi.” I jump to my feet and rush to the door. I had been so caught up with selling fake news to MiMi, that I didn’t even see Javon pull up. Maybe he’s dropping off the idiot who took Nic’s phone to demand some answers. Wait—maybe he’s even dropping off Nic herself! I’m so jittery with the possibility that my hand slips from the doorknob before I’m able to take a proper hold to swing it open.
Javon doesn’t stand at my door with answers. Instead, Rick Ross, aka Officer Hunter, stands there, his mouth turned down at the corners like somebody’s tugging at it.
“Hey, son,” he says to me. “Mind if I come in?”
I blink, taking in the fact that he’s really there. “For what?” I manage.
He breathes through his nose. “You said before that I never fill you in on anything. I think it’s time that I did.” His eyes shift past me. “Evening, Ms. Murphy.”
I turn and MiMi stands in the living room, holding on to a butter knife slathered with peanut butter. “What’s going on here?”
Hunter looks back at me, raises his eyebrows as a request to enter. I take a step back so he can come in, close the door behind him.
“We arrested your neighbor, Javon, tonight,” he says. He takes off his hat and holds it in his hands like an old-school gentleman.
Arrested Javon? I don’t get it. Javon was on the way to get me answers. He didn’t have time for any nonsense that could’ve gotten him pinched. “For what?” I ask.
“One of our patrolmen caught him speeding. When he pulled him over, Javon got mouthy, which led to him getting handsy with the officer. While restraining him, the officer found your sister’s phone on him. It was the missing link we needed to arrest him for Kenny’s murder.”
I shake my head. No. No, this isn’t right. Javon didn’t hurt Kenny. He told us himself.
“Wait, this is a huge misunderstanding.” Riley stands, speaking up for both of us. “Javon didn’t have Nic’s phone all this time. He found it tonight . . . on Pooch. Jay saw it all.”
“Wait—what?” MiMi frowns at me. “What were you doing hanging around Pooch or Javon? You were supposed to be working.”
“I’ll explain it all to you, MiMi. I promise.” I give her my best attempt at a reassuring nod before turning back to Hunter. “Riley’s right. I saw everything go down at Deer Park tonight.”
Hunter sighs and looks at me like he’s about to break the news that the Tooth Fairy isn’t real. “Did you actually see the phone on Clyde Thompson?”
It takes me a moment to realize he’s talking about Pooch. I haven’t heard Pooch’s real name in a minute. No one around here ever felt the need to call him that. I think about the scuffle between Pooch and Javon. How Javon hovered over him with Nic’s phone already in his hand.