The Divorcee Murder Club

Dieciseís ~ 16

“Because of Richie Reddy.”

“Who?” Jackson’s brows lift.

“He’s Mindy’s ex but also the third-largest heroin trader in the Bay Area—”

“I’m sorry, he’s what now?” Alma almost chokes on her milkshake.

“Apparently, he’s a big deal, and after kicking him out of Penthouse on Thursday, I’m on his radar,” I say.

“Basically, Richie wants to kill Miguel,” Angie adds.

“And you want to kill him first? Jesus. So you are serious.” Jackson sits back. 

“I just know I need to get ahead of this if he’s coming after me, but I'm not sure what that entails yet.”

And I'm lying through my teeth because they don't know I've got Richie strapped to a chair in a hidden dungeon underneath my mom's basement. Not even Angie knows the details of what I've done.

“Oh, and not only is he a huge drug dealer,” Angie says, “He’s a wife-beater too. We saw photos and a police report from the last time he attacked Mindy.”

“That wasn’t the last time,” I say.

“What do you mean?” Jackson leans forward.

“After the Penthouse incident, I met up with Mindy for lunch, and she had a black eye. She swore it was an accident, but we know abused women sing that song too often.”

“Then he needs to die.” Alma shrugs her dark, tan shoulders. “Simple.”

“You know,” Jackson says, his eyes searching the untouched Turkey Club sitting in front of him, his fingers fidgeting with the fries. “We could always figure out how to pin everything on him.”

This causes Angie’s eyes to light up, and she leans forward. “Jackson, you are a damn genius!”

However, it's a terrible idea because I've been torturing Richie for the last few days, and by the time I'm done, he'll be fish food. But they don't know that.

“And how the hell do we pull off something like that?” Alma snorts, and my heart is thumping faster as I clutch the burger in my hand. I need to shift this conversation.

“I’m sure we can figure it out.” Angie snags a fry from Jackson’s plate and pops it into her mouth. “We have important people on our side.”

“Angie, we don’t know that.” I shake my head.

“Such little faith. But don’t worry, handsome. I’ll hold your hand until you come to your senses and realize this is the way to go. This will make all of our lives better.”

“I dunno.” I shake my head again. “It’s one thing to joke about killing our exes and quite another to go through with it. But also, my thing with Richie is completely separate and has nothing to do with my ex or either of you. This path you all want to walk down is sketchy as fuck, and I’m not too chicken-shit to admit all of it has me on edge.”

“I thought you said he was on board?” Alma directs to Angie.

“Handsome is just scared.” She glances at me.

“Scared people sing like a canary when questioned by the police.” Alma’s expression hardens as she looks my way with a fork gripped in her hand. “Men, like my ex-husband, don’t deserve to breathe.”

“It’s ok.” Jackson covers her hand with his, and it dawns on me that he’s become more affectionate with her over the last few weeks. Is something going on between them?