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"It’s not that I don’t like her, Nick, really. She’s a nice person."
"But you’re jealous of her."
"No I’m not," Wanda said, but her eyes told a different story. "Me and Mike had our time, remember. And we both agreed that we were better off as friends."
"You must not remember that I was there. So forgive me if I remember it a little differently from that."
"What do you remember?"
"I remember Black saying you two would be better off as friends. I also seem to remember you nodding your head on the verge of tears when he said it."
"You noticed that?"
"Yes, Wanda, I noticed that. I noticed a lot of things about you."
"I didn’t think you noticed. I know Mike didn’t."
"I always thought you and Mike would make it back, the two of you are like two halves of the same mind."
"I thought so too. But if you breathe a word of that to Mike or anybody else, I’ll kill you, Nick."
"You wouldn’t hurt a fly, Wanda."
"That’s what you think," Wanda said and smiled. "But anyway, I’ve adjusted and gotten comfortable with the fact that he’s married now and that’s that."
"Mike Black married and retired to the Bahamas. Hard to believe, that’s all, Wanda."
"Make no mistake about it, Mike still runs things."
"Freeze said he likes to keep his hand in. I kinda figured that’s what he meant. But you, Wanda."
"What?"
"I hear you’re the mad scientist that made everybody rich."
"It wasn’t just me, Nick. Sure, I handled the money, made some good investments, but everybody did their part. We changed with the times, Nick, which is how we all got to be respectable, as you say. Part of what we built here belongs to you. You just need to recognize. And ask for it."
"What’s that supposed to mean? What am I supposed to be asking for, Wanda?"
"When you recognize, you’ll know what to ask for. Now, let’s get back to it. You followed Rocky to Soundview to some house and then back to whatever hole in the wall he hangs at. And —."
"And the whole time I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said to Chilly."
"It’s about that shit ain’t it? Told y’all that shit wasn’t gonna work."
What shit? What ever it was, it was the missing piece of this puzzle. Whatever it was, it involved this Diego Estabon guy that Chilly met for lunch.
"I took care of mine, Chilly. What about yours?"
Jake was Chilly’s and he hadn’t taken care of him. It was all starting to make sense to me. Jake wasn’t missing; he was somewhere hiding. For all I knew, he could be out of the country. I called Mrs. Childers and told her to meet me later at my office. Then I entertained the idea that Mrs. Childers hired me to find Jake and she would turn him over to Chilly.
"Don’t you mention anything about Jake being missing or me looking for him to Gee. You feel me?"
I remembered the fear in those eyes whenever she talked about him. I couldn’t be sure. And that’s when that programming kicked in. I wasn’t there to choose whose right and whose wrong. Pick out the good guys from the bad guys. This was a mission like any other. Mrs. Childers was the client and my orders were to find Jake Rollins. What the client did with him once that was done, was their business.
With a newfound sense of clarity, I went inside to talk to Rocky. I could tell from the stares I got when I walked in that this was Rocky’s spot and I was the only one that didn’t belong there. The Spot was crowded with Ballers, male and female, along with the usual array of wannabes and hangers on. Rocky was seated at a table in the back, surrounded by his crew. I stepped up to the table, and guns were drawn immediately.
"I want to talk to Rocky."
