Malpractice Makes Perfect

Chapter 20

          "Okay. And? Lots of older siblings help out."

          "Help out?" A snooty little scoff escaped his lips. "Mom and dad were shit parents. The other three confuse our parents paying for everything they ever wanted as competency, but I remember what it was like to be poor."

          "And what was it like? Did you have to help Destiny with her homework? Wash the dishes? Play with her? The inhumanity. My God, how did you survive?"

          "I did all that and cook breakfast and dinner, walk her to and from school, schedule her doctor appointments, supervise her play dates, clean the whole fucking house, mow the lawn, and sometimes help pay bills when they were short! The only adult who cared was Aunt Margie."

Sheesh. That sounds like what Manny had to do after his father died and his mother suffered a brief depression. It almost made me feel sorry for him. I didn't believe in making older siblings basically raise younger siblings, but the man was still a murderer and it was time someone called him out.

         "So, you killed her? That was the solution? Mom put too much on you too young, so you take revenge?"

          He blinked once and stepped back as if I'd struck him. "How fucking dare you!"

          "How dare you! Standing around acting like some kind of saint."

          "What the hell are you talking about?"

         "I'm talking about you, in the house the night she died! You slipped in and killed the person you hated most."

          He got quiet. "I didn't hate her."

          "Could've fooled me."

          "Who told you I was there?"

          "No one had to tell me anything. You're just that predictable."

          "You think I care about the opinion of some crazy, irrelevant bitch?" His face about turned purple in his anger as he yelled, "I'll tell you one more goddamn time, give me my necklace!"

          "Hey!" Jackson stepped into the office with his hands gripped around a Styrofoam container of piping hot chicken wings. "You can get up out of here with all that bullshit."

          Malik looked over Jackson with a calculated glare. He was a little taller, yes, but his slim almost skeletal form couldn't beat Jackson's shear muscle.

          So, instead he turned back to me. "I'll pay you twice as much as Alexis to drop the case."

          A little desperate, I think. "I can't be bought."

          "Anyone can be bought." He said with his lip set in a sullen scowl. "You have three days to give me my necklace."

          Malik turned and slid his boyish frame past Jackson without looking at him.

          When I was sure he was gone I released the breath I'd been holding. "Thanks."

          "The hell was that?"

          "A possible murderer just stopping by to say hi."

          "You ai'ight?"

           I felt my head bob in the affirmative. "Yeah. But I'd feel better with some of those wings."

          He grinned. "I don't like you that much."

          I, for sure, had no plans to hand the necklace over to Malik, but now I was less certain I wanted to give it to Alexis either. The necklace I reckoned wasn't the problem but a symptom of the bigger issue: an ordinary family torn apart by greed. Yeah, I can call out Malik for doing anything in pursuit of money but what about Destiny or Gabe or even Alexis. Let's not pretend she hired me because the ugly shit had sentimental value. It's worth millions!