The Plug's Wife by Chynna Read Free Book Online Page A

shit from Cardinale…I’m talkin’ kilos…not one or two bricks.  A whole fuckin’ shipment.  They sayin’ Cardinale might’ve got wind that JB was cooperating with the feds n’ shit.  Psssh, it ain’t lookin’ good for us if these rumors stick.  Everybody thinkin’ Cardinale sent those sparks to that wedding.” Scrap spoke urgently in his usual raspy, movie narrator voice. 
    Summer bit down on her bottom lip, listening intently.  She wanted to hear their theories about Jesse’s death.
    “It could’ve been anybody that shot JB.  Ya’ll saw how cocky JB was in the last few months.  I’m not sayin’ it wasn’t Cardinale, but that just ain’t the man’s style.  JB was bugging right before he got mirked. He even came down on me one night and hit me in my fucking jaw.  He was always stressed about some shit lately.  But me, I had too much love for him to harm a hair on his head,” Doon chimed in. 
    Summer raised an eyebrow.  Why did Doon feel the need to say Jesse had hit him, but in the same breath say he wouldn’t hurt Jesse back ?  Summer’s eyes went squinty. There was a lot more to this story. 
    “I don’t give a fuck who he owed and who was mad at him.  Or who believed he was talking to the feds, I still respect that man as boss.  He was for the hood.  That man did for everybody.  As big as JB got with his business, even with the connect to Cardinale, JB never forgot where he came from.  Word to my unborn kids, when I find out who did it, I’m mirking the first thing breathing. That’s my word,” Billy gritted out.  Summer loved Billy—he was truly loyal to the end.
    “ Ya’ll need to keep your voices low.  His wife ain’t dead, she’s asleep.  This ain’t the time or place for speculating.  I’m sayin’ we in JB’s crib.  Show some respect, if not for her, at least for the dead.  C’mon.  We have our usual at the Bridge with all of our distributors soon.  They all worried about their supplier being gone.  Setting them at ease is what’s important right now.  We can’t lose business, I mean, JB gone, but shit must go on.  Who shot JB is a mystery, but if it must be discussed, we’ll do it somewhere else,” Mitch chastised.  He wasn’t comfortable with all this open talk. Who knew, the feds might even be bugging the place. 
    “I don’t trust nobody.  Everybody is a suspect to me until we find Jesse’s murderer,” Billy chimed in. 
    “Can’t you just chill?” Mitch scolded. 
    Marco intervened before things turned ugly.  “A’ight, this ain’t the time or the place.  But one last thing…did you get JB’s phone for Cardinale’s contact?  I mean, you said you was gonna work on it.  Not only is the dudes that buy their supply worried about this shit, the streets drying up too, and you know who is anxiously waiting to fill the gaps.  Even if Jesse did steal from Cardinale, we gonna have to negotiate some kind of truce with that man. He’s our only source.  If we don’t move fast, we all gonna lose and the rival Mexicans, the Colombians or the Jamaicans gonna come put our asses out of business,” Marco addressed the crew. 
    “Give me another day.  Summer is grieving.  She still picking up the pieces of her fucking life. Let’s not be insensitive.  I don’t wanna just come out an ask for her dead husband’s phone and contact list without a good explanation.  The detectives gave her the bag with JB’s shit in it.  I’m sure the phone was in the bag.  I’ll get to it,” Mitch assured the crew.  “In the meantime, run your legitimate businesses like JB would want and keep your fucking eyes and ears open.  We still don’t know if we got a killer amongst us.” 
     
    Summer heard them slapping their hands together and filing out as the meeting ended.  She ducked back inside her bedroom before they spotted her in the hallway.  The less they thought she knew, the better.
    Summer’s left fist was clenched so tight her