Public Enemy #1

by Kiki Swinson

Genres: African American Urban; Crime Fiction; Suspense; Mystery

Synopsis

National bestselling author Kiki Swinson amps up the action and suspense with unpredictable characters, breakneck twists, and a gut-punch portrait of Southern surviving—and dying. Now the odds are straight-up killer when a private eye gets in way over her head . . . Too much to prove . . . A former journalist with a knack for unraveling dirty secrets, Khloe Mercer figures if she's going to risk her life, she might as well make big money as a private investigator. But this reckless newbie needs a major case to make her name—and really show she can handle Norfolk, Virginia's toughest streets . . . Too much to hide . . . When a narcotics detective's widow needs someone to investigate her disgraced husband's so-called suicide, Khloe jumps at the lucrative fee—and the clues that the Norfolk Police Department is rotten from top to bottom. And with formidable backup from her ex-felon uncle, she turns the city upside-down to uncover the truth . . . Too late to run . . . But Khloe's cage-rattling tactics and high-wire strategies threaten both the cops and the city's brutal underworld alike. Now, with her life in the crosshairs and no one she can trust, she'll find that building a reputation comes with a price she may not survive to pay . . .

Release date: April 27, 2021

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 256

Sample

I was hesitant to meet this woman, Frances Larson, until she promised to pay me forty thousand dollars to look into her husband’s suicide. I couldn’t believe it—only a day after resigning from the news media, I walked into the opportunity of a lifetime. I knew I had the skills to pull off the job Frances wanted me to do, but I also knew that I’d have to be smarter about the moves I made this time around.

When Frances and I spoke over the phone, I had her meet me at the Starbucks so I could see her in person and get a feel for who I’d be working for. As soon as Frances walked into the Starbucks café, I instantly knew that she was the one I was waiting to meet. She wore all black, as she said she would. Her body language was noticeable and I could see the confidence in her eyes. She looked like she ruled the world.

As she approached me, our eyes connected and that’s when I stood up on my feet. After she got within arm’s reach of me, we extended our hands at the same time and gave each other the proper handshake. “How are you?” I asked her. I was mesmerized by her beauty. She and the singer Rihanna looked almost identical.

“I’m great. Thank you for asking,” she replied, and then she took a seat in the chair next to me.

“I see that you’re carrying a bundle of joy.”

She cracked a smile. “Yes, I am. Some days are good and some are bad, which is why I need to handle this situation I’m in so I can move on with my life.”

“That’s understandable. So, what can I do for you?” I got straight to the point.

“I want you to investigate my late husband’s death. His fellow police officers are saying that he killed himself, but I know my husband, and committing suicide is something I know he wouldn’t do. He was a Christian man and Christians don’t kill themselves,” she protested.

“What do you think happened?” I wondered aloud.

“I believe he was murdered by the other narcotics detectives in his unit.”

“And why would the cops in his unit want to kill him?”

“Because he was about to blow the whistle on a cover-up within the precinct.”

“Those are some very heavy allegations,” I told her.

“What I am telling you are facts. And the sooner you start your investigation on those cop killers, the sooner you’ll discover the cops in this town are not protecting and serving the people of our city, they’re killing them off and leaving them dead in the streets.”

“Can you provide me with the names of your husband’s colleagues?”

“They’re on a piece of paper inside of this envelope. Their home addresses and the model and year of their cars are listed underneath their names. I even put pictures of those bastards in here too,” she replied and pushed a medium-size manila envelope across the table towards me.

I grabbed the envelope and attempted to open it, but she stopped me. “No, please don’t open that here. Someone could be watching us. Wait until you get alone and do it,” she instructed me.

Alarmed by Frances’s behavior and paranoia, I couldn’t help but look around at everyone sitting in Starbucks. Once I scanned my surrounding area, I peered out of the glass window near our table.

“Stop looking around at everyone. You’re gonna bring attention to us,” Frances demanded, but it was barely above a whisper.

“I’m sorry. But I can’t help it. Do you see how paranoid you’re acting?” I pointed out.

“Never mind all of that, let’s just stick to the script,” she said nonchalantly, but in a way to silence me and curtail my behavior so she could continue to control this meeting. “There are four names in that envelope. And those names belong to some very powerful narcotics detectives in this city. What I want you to do is find out as much dirt on them as you can. Dirt that could get them put away in prison for the rest of their lives. I don’t even want their spouses to get their pension. I want them erased from the face of this earth for what they did to my husband. That whole squad are supposed to get honored for a huge drug bust they did a couple weeks ago. So, I want them exposed before that honor ceremony.”

“When is that ceremony?”

“In five days.”

“Oh no, that’s impossible, especially for what you want me to do.”

“I will pay you whatever you want,” she offered. It was evident that money was no object to her. Dollars and money signs started circling around in my head. “Come on, Khloé, I know you can do it. Just name your price.”

But I was mum. I hadn’t done this type of work before, so I didn’t know what to charge her. “What are you willing to pay for this job?” I questioned her just to get a feel of what dollar amount she was willing to pay. “And before you answer, keep in mind what you’re hiring me to do. I mean, this thing could get extremely ugly. And perhaps deadly,” I expressed.

“I know that, and that’s why I told you to name your price,” she agreed.

I sat there for another couple seconds trying to figure out what would be a good price to charge this chick. I didn’t know what kind of money she was working with. For all I knew, she could be living off her husband’s pension and insurance policy payout. And boom, that’s when it hit me that she was probably gonna pay me with his insurance policy. And that policy could be worth a couple hundred thousand dollars. With his insurance policy payout, social security money and pension, she could be sitting on half a million dollars. “Pay me fifty K and I’ll start working on this today,” I blurted out, knowing in my heart that she was going to tell me hell no. I waited for her answer.

“I’ll pay you forty thousand,” she countered me.

“Deal.” I agreed without hesitating. Unbeknownst to her, I would’ve taken ten thousand dollars if she had offered it. Fortunately for me, I threw the fishing bait in the water and she bit.

“There’s five thousand dollars cash in that envelope. So, how would you like for me to pay you the balance?”

“Wire it to my bank?”

“Who do you bank with?” she asked me as she pulled her cell phone from her handbag.

“Wells Fargo,” I told her.

“Awesome, I bank there too,” she said while logging in to her browser and clicking on the link to the Wells Fargo website. After she logged into her account, she asked me for my account number. And just like that, after a few clicks, Frances had wired the balance of thirty-five thousand dollars into my bank account. “There, it’s done,” she assured me as she flashed the confirmation number and the amount of the transfer before my eyes.

I smiled at her and said, “Let the games begin.”

While I watched Frances leave Starbucks ahead of me, my mind shifted to my deadline to dig up dirt on those pigs that killed her husband. Realizing this was nearly impossible to do, and the fact that it could become deadly, I knew that I was going to need some muscle. And the only man I trusted to do that was my uncle Eddie Mercer. He was an OG from the streets, so I knew that I would be in good hands.

As soon as I got in my car, I grabbed my cell phone from my front pocket and dialed my uncle’s cell phone number. While I waited for him to answer, I opened the envelope and looked at the photos of the cops that I had to investigate. I knew all of them. Not personally, but I’d heard stories. Some good and some bad.

“Hello,” I heard my uncle Eddie say.

“Hey, Uncle Eddie, got a minute?” I asked him as I sifted through photos I had before me.

“Sure, baby girl. What’s up?” His voice was a deep baritone. Uncle Eddie is my late mother’s brother. He’s the oldest of my grandmother’s three children and he made sure everyone that walked into my grandmother’s house knew it. He was the black sheep. As a child, I watched my uncle Eddie terrorize people through the years. His Suge Knight resemblance and posture made people fearful of him. His continuous bouts with law enforcement always made him a target, which was why he’d spent twenty-five of his forty-four years in prison. From the day he joined the Ace of Spades gang back in the late eighties, he made no secret of it. He wore their color bandanas and black T-shirts like a badge of honor. Word on the streets was he’d caught over ten bodies since he first joined the gang. But the cops could only prove that he murdered one. As of this moment, I know that he’s still a member but he’s not active. At least, that’s what he told me.

“I’ve got a job for you if you want it,” I started off.

“You fucking right, I want it. What do I have to do?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it over the phone, so let’s get together within the next hour and I’ll answer all your questions then,” I explained.

“Where are you now?” he wanted to know.

“I’m just now leaving the Starbuck’s down on Colley Ave.”

“Meet me at Maggie’s apartment. I’ll be here waiting on you.”

“Okay, I’m on my way to you right now,” I assured him and then I ended the call. After I placed my cell phone in the cup holder, I shoved the photos of the cops back in the envelope. But before pulling my hand out of the envelope, I grabbed the money that was inside. It was five thousand dollars, like Frances had said it was. Having this money in my hand and the other thirty-five thousand in my bank account gave me courage and optimism that I could conquer anything that came my way. Armed with those two things, I shoved the money down in my purse and then I powered up the ignition so I could get this show on the road.

As I drove away from Starbucks, I caught a quick glimpse of Frances as she drove right by me in the opposite direction in her late model, soccer mom, E-Class Mercedes station wagon. Instead of blowing her car horn at me, she gave me a head nod. It was a nod of confidence. She had the look of a spoiled, rich man’s wife who got what she wanted without getting her nails dirty in the process. But that wasn’t her story. I could tell that Frances was a ride-or-die chick. And she’d do whatever it took to get the answers she wanted, no matter the cost.

The drive to my uncle’s girlfriend’s house was a hop and a jump from where I was currently. Her name was Maggie Ashe. She lived in an income-based housing complex off Little Creek Road and Hampton Boulevard. It was walking distance to the Norfolk Naval Station. The apartment complex has been around for as long as I could remember. That ought to give anyone a sense of its condition and the outside landscaping.

When I pulled into the parking lot of this five-duplex community, I was greeted by a dozen bad-ass kids running around unsupervised while a bunch of young thugs between the ages of fourteen and eighteen shared two blunts as they amused themselves with conversation and laughter. Everyone in this clique looked just alike. I swear, you couldn’t tell them apart because they all wore dreadlocks. It was a sight for sore eyes.

While I listened to two of the guys go head-to-head in a battle rap, I texted Uncle Eddie and told him that I was outside. Thankfully, he didn’t make me wait long. He came out of Maggie’s apartment a few seconds later. “What’s up, chief,” I heard one of the young guys say.

“What’s good, OG?” I heard another young guy say. The other guys gave my uncle the proper handshake.

After seeing this, there was no question in my mind that my uncle was very respected by the old and the young and that he was going to be the perfect man for the job I had for him.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said with a huge smile after he climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door behind himself.

I smiled back. “Hey, Uncle Ed!”

He leaned in towards me, gave me a kiss, and then he rested his back against the seat. “Whatcha got for me?” he wanted to know. He was truly eager to hear what I had to say. He had no idea that I was as eager as he was. I mean, he and I never really had a relationship, with all his trips back and forth to prison. I guess this was a nice trade-off, from my dad, Kyle, to him. I don’t think he ever got over the fact my dad took a bullet for him doing a home invasion back when I was just a toddler. He reminds me of this more times than I can count.

“I know you heard that I quit the TV station, right?”

“Yeah, I heard something like that.”

“Well, now I’m doing private investigative work and I just got my first client, so I’m gonna need your help.”

“Private eye, huh?”

“Yes,” I said as confidently as I could.

“What kind of help do you need from me?”

“I’m gonna need your protection.”

“From who?”

“Everybody. You know that if my twin, Kyle, was alive, he’d be my right hand.”

“You’re right. But how come it sounds like there’s more that you’re not telling me?”

“Look, Unc, my client was married to a narc cop . . . and—” I said, but was cut off in midsentence.

“Oh nah, baby girl. I ain’t getting involved with that,” he said adamantly.

“But wait, Unc. Let me finish,” I begged him.

“Go ahead,” he encouraged me, but his facial expression sent a different message.

I cleared my throat and said, “Did you hear about a narc cop that supposedly committed suicide not too long ago?”

“I heard about it.”

“Well, the lady that hired me was married to that cop. And here are photos of the other cops that he was working with.” I pulled the pictures from the manila envelope and showed them to him.

“You know that he was a dirty cop, right?”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“So, if you know this, then why are you getting involved with that? Nobody liked that cop. Plenty of dudes wanted that nigga dead, even those other cop buddies you got pictures of wanted his head on the platter, that’s why when they killed him, they made it look like he did it himself.”

“Listen, Uncle Eddie, I understand all of that. But that lady offered me a nice piece of change to get her some answers, so I’ve gotta help her.”

“Khloé, you’re gonna put yourself in a dangerous situation.”

“It couldn’t be any worse than that murder case I reported a few weeks ago.”

Uncle Eddie turned away from me and stared out the passenger-side window at the young guys standing not too far from where I was parked.

“Come on, Uncle Ed, I need you. It’s not gonna be as bad as you think. During the daytime I’m gonna beat the street alone, but when it gets dark and I don’t feel comfortable going somewhere by myself, that’s when I’m gonna need your assistance.”

Once again, he didn’t reply. He kept his attention on the boys outside my car.

“Tell you what, I will give you six thousand dollars, and all you have to do is watch my back. Okay?”

The mention of money got his attention and he turned back around and faced me. “I’ll do it, but when we’re out together, I’m gonna tell you when and where to go. Got it?”

I smiled. “Got it!” I said, and then I gave him a big kiss on his cheek.

“When am I gonna get my six grand?” he didn’t hesitate to ask me.

“Tell you what, here’s three thousand now.” I reached into my purse and took out thirty one-hundred-dollar bills. “I’ll give you the other three thousand when the job is done.”

“Got it,” he replied, taking the money from my hands. “What are you about to get into now?”

“I’m going home so I can gather my thoughts. I gotta figure out how I’m going to handle this case.”

“A’ight, well, call me later after you figure things out.”

“Will do,” I assured him, while I leaned in to kiss him on the left cheek.

“Drive safe, baby girl,” he replied and then he got out of my car.

I watched him as he walked away. But before he could make his way up the flight of stairs that led to his girlfriend’s apartment, I turned my car in the opposite direction and exited the parking area of this duplex.

“Thank you, Jesus!” I said as I drove away. Knowing that my uncle was going to protect me while I worked this case made me feel overjoyed. Nothing could stop me now.

Maggie was sitting on the living room sofa when I walked back in the apartment. She gave me a half smile while she watched my facial expression and body language. She and I had been together for a couple of years now, so she knew my mannerisms to a tee. Maggie was an attractive woman. Everybody told her she looked like Mary J. Blige, but I didn’t see the resemblance. She looked more like Angela Bassett to me. But regardless of who she looked like, she was a good woman and she was a good mother to her son. Jamie was twenty. He was an active member in the same gang. He was a soldier too. He had so much heart that you couldn’t deny him respect. If you did, then he’d take it from you. That’s just how that dude rolled.

“So, what were you and Khloé talking about?” she asked me. Under normal circumstances I would not lie to Maggie. But this was some other level type of shit and I felt like the conversation I just had with my niece needed to stay between us.

“She was just stopping by to tell me thanks for having her back after all that other shit went down with that murder,” I lied.

“She better keep her ass off the streets. These streets are grimy, Ed, and there’s word going around about her being a snitch.”

“She’s not a snitch. She was only doing her job. And as long as I’m alive, no harm will come to her. Trust me, she’s gonna be all right,” I tried to assure her, and then I headed into the kitchen.

“God forbid, but what if something happens to you?” She threw another question at me as she got up from the sofa and followed me into the kitchen.

“Come on now, you know my peoples ain’t gonna let anything happen to her. They already know that if something does happen to me, then they’re gonna step up and protect her,” I replied while getting a bottle of Corona beer from the refrigerator. By this time, Maggie was within arm’s distance of me.

After I closed the fridge, I turned around and faced her. She said, “Just be careful. I wouldn’t know what to do if I couldn’t have you in my life anymore.”

I leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. “I’ve got everything under control,” I told her, and then I removed the bottle cap from my beer and took in a mouthful.

Instead of hanging around in the kitchen, I walked back into the living room and sat back down on the sofa. Maggie flopped down on the sofa next to me. “What’s that bulging through your pants pocket?” she wanted to know as she eyed my front left-side pants pocket.

I knew the answer to her question without looking down at my pants pocket, but I did it anyway. This was my way of prolonging the inevit. . .