"How do you know it was this guy?" The detective asked Brooklyn as she sat in the interrogation room with Claude and Duke.
"Joey became really aggressive and mean towards CJ out of the blue when CJ reached out to him about his nephew. He made threats and tried to cause chaos. I wouldn't put this pass him." Brooklyn explained.
The detective nodded. "I wouldn't either, but this isn't enough information for me to bring him in for questioning."
"Come on, man. You serious right now?" Claude exclaimed.
"Look, I know he killed my husband. Nobody else had an issue with him." Brooklyn pleaded.
"Wasn't your husband apart of a gang in the past?" The detective asked. "Being apart of a gang comes with having a lot of enemies."
"Excuse you?!" Duke snapped as he and Claude got a little riled up.
"I didn't mean it like that." The detective said.
"Then how did you mean it?" Claude asked.
"I'm just saying that we can't point the finger at this one person when he could possibly have a lot of enemies due to him being in a gang." The detective replied.
Brooklyn huffed in frustration. "He never had enemies though. Everyone respected my husband because he was there for everybody and was always lending a hand. Yes, he did bump heads with a few people, but the petty beef didn't go as far as it did with Joey. I'm telling you to look into it. I have no reason to lie or assume. I know he did it and I suggest you act on it now before others find out and do it their way."
The detective sighed and gave in. "Okay, I'll bring him in for questioning and do more investigation."
"Don't fail us, please." Brooklyn pleaded.
"I'll do my best."
-
Brooklyn hissed in pain as she rubbed her belly. She just hit twenty eight weeks and she's been having sharp, contraction-like pain in her stomach. It's too early for her to have the baby and she was praying that it's just Braxton Hicks.
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?" Shayla asked her sister as she rocked Nigel to sleep.
"I'm sure. I just need to relax for a minute." Brooklyn replied, trying to assure herself.
"If the pain keeps happening in the next hour, then I'm taking you to the hospital." Shayla told her.
"You need to go home and be with Jake. Make sure he's okay." Brooklyn said.
Shayla rolled her eyes. "I've been by his side and now I'm by your side because he told me the same thing you just said. The two of you need all the help y'all can get—especially you. You have four kids to take care of and you have one who will be here any minute now. Accept the help. If you think you need to go to the hospital, then I'll take you."
"I don't need to go." Brooklyn said and Shayla just nodded in response. "Thank you for everything."
"You don't have to thank me. I'm your big sister. I'm supposed to do this for you."
Nicole walked into the living room with Brooklyn's phone in her hand. "Your phone went dead while Hassan was playing on it and now he's having a fit."
Brooklyn got up to see what was going on, but was stopped when she felt wetness between her legs. Shayla gasped and stared at her sister while Nicole stood there confused.
"This can't happen." Brooklyn said in disbelief. "It's too early."
-
"Joseph McMann." The detective said as he sat down at the table across from Joseph.
"I want my lawyer." Joseph said.
"Take a chill pill, brother. We're not doing anything extreme. We just want to ask a few people who were close to Cleo some questions. Is that a problem?" The detective said. Joseph waved him off and sat back in his chair. "Who was Cleo to you?"
"A nobody."
The detective raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because it seemed like y'all were pretty close. Didn't he join a gang for you so you wouldn't get killed?"
Joseph shrugged. "So."
"And didn't he take in your nephew?"
"And, so."
The detective squinted his eyes and leaned forward in his chair. "Did the two of you have a falling out? You seem very nonchalant when I mentioned the things he's done to help you and your family."
"The nigga thought he was better than everybody, but he was still another nigga from Compton." Joseph replied.
The detective began to write down a few things in his notepad. He could see what Brooklyn was talking about and he had every reason to believe that Joseph killed Cleo.
"So, you didn't care about Cleo?" The detective asked after he was done writing.
"Nah, fuck that nigga. He deserved every bullet he got that day." Joseph said.
"What about his wife and kids though?"
Joseph shrugged. "Fuck them too."
"Where were you the day Cleo was murdered?"
"I want my lawyer."
-
"He looks like CJ." Adele said as she looked at baby Nicholas through the window of the NICU.
Nicholas came out to be four pounds and six ounces. Even though he came early and weighed less than normal, he was still healthy. The doctor decided to put him in the NICU to be cautious.
Brooklyn smiled as she sat next to her baby. She was happy that Nicholas made it out okay, but she was saddened because she couldn't experience this moment for the third time with the love of her life.
Brooklyn's water broke due to her grieving and being stressed out. Her body couldn't handle all of her emotions and neither could the baby.
"I want to go in there." Nicole said as she stood with her grandmothers.
"Only your mama is allowed in there at this time. You'll get the chance to come face to face with your baby brother." Val said, rubbing Nicole's back before she could get emotional.
"Why is he so tiny?" Nicole asked. "Nigel wasn't that tiny and neither was Hassan."
"He came a little too early, so he didn't get the chance to fully develop. He will pick up weight in the next few days or so." Val replied.
Brooklyn looked back at her daughter through the window and smiled before she waved down a nurse and asked her if Nicole could come in to get a closer look at Nicholas. The nurse agreed and went out to the hallway to get Nicole.
"Nicole, would you like to get a closer look at your baby brother?" The nurse asked.
Nicole gasped and nodded. The nurse escorted her to the entrance of the NICU and prepared her to step inside. Once she was done, she quickly walked over to Brooklyn and Nicholas.
"Aww, mommy. He looks so much better now that I'm closer." Nicole said excitedly.
Brooklyn laughed. "He looks like your daddy. Can you see it?"
"Yes—he should open his eyes, so I can see if he has daddy's eyes." Nicole replied.
"He hasn't opened them yet, but he will soon." Brooklyn smiled. She had no doubt in her mind that Nicholas would be a healing to the whole family. He was their healing baby—a gift from the heavens.
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This story will be ending soon. I have already completed the second story for this series, so I already have an idea on how this story is going to end.
