During the week that went by following Evan Murphy's kidnapping, I did some undercover research of Detective Javon Saunders. From what I could find out, he was a decent officer of the law who didn't have even a single infraction on his record. It was the same with Sergeant Maliah Cox. I felt like shit for not trusting them but I still wasn't sure that I should have trusted them. There was a thin line between being suspicious and being paranoid and I was afraid of crossing that line. Cox and Saunders were pushing me further and further to that line, and I couldn't even begin to explain why that was.
After finding nothing suspicious in their records, I put my full focus back into the case. We'd been closely watching the five CEOs during that same weeklong period but they weren't leading us to anything. The key to finding out some important information about their organization was Samir Whitlock. I had to know if he was in on it or not. The only way I could get to the truth was to push him.
"Do you have any new leads?" he asked me the moment I entered his office and closed the door. "I heard about Randall Williams being found tortured in a white supremacist's house? What in the hell is going on?"
"Mr. Whitlock," I said while staring into his eyes. "I need to know information about Kings in the Making."
His demeanor changed a little as he asked, "You're the ones behind the audit, aren't you? Why are you auditing my non-profit organization?"
"I can't disclose that information but what I can tell you is that I need you to be honest with me. Do you have anything to do with your son's disappearance?"
"You're out of your mind."
"No, that's not the case, sir. Look, my partner isn't here. Whatever you say to me does not have to go on the record. But I need you to level with me, here. This is serious. Your son is in grave danger and I need to rule out every single possibility."
"Get out of my office!"
"Goddamn it! Your son is being injected with a highly corrosive chemical compound right now as we speak! Your only child! You look me in my damn eye and you tell me neither you nor anyone you're involved with is behind all of this!"
"Where is this coming from? What does Kings in the Making have to do with my son being kidnapped?"
"You tell me."
He slammed his hands down on his desk hard as tears filled his eyes. With his chest heaving up and down out of frustration and hurt, he told me with a voice that was barely there, "I don't know where my son is and I don't know what's going on. I swear I'd give away everything I own if it meant Kemari could come home where I can protect him. Can you arrange that? Can you get the word out that I'll offer everything in my bank accounts and investments to bring my son home?"
It was in that moment that I realized he truly wasn't in on it. I needed to know the truth and I'd received it. Sadly, it had to come at the expense of causing a grieving father more pain. I offered him an apology and after assuring him that I was doing everything I could to find his son, I left his office. While taking the elevator back down to the ground floor, I thought about something. Wesley Gilmore told me about the five CEOs but maybe he assumed the fifth person was actually a CEO like the others. The fifth person could have actually been the woman Dr. Nathan referred to as the mastermind. Either way, I knew in my gut that Samir Whitlock was only the founder and leader of Kings in the Making. His board of directors were serving at the pleasure of the mastermind; albeit, unbeknownst to Samir.
"I can't believe you pushed him," Karen said to me as we headed towards the church where Michael Travers's funeral service was being held. "What were you thinking?"
"I had to, Karen," I said while keeping my attention on the road as I drove. "There was no other way. I had to push his limits because people usually show their real selves when you put pressure on them or instill fear in them."
"I'm aware of that but I think you went too far. From what you told me; it sounds like Whitlock is losing hope that we'll bring his son home alive. With that in his mind, you accused him of having his own son kidnapped. Think about how that looks."
"Karen, I had no choice. You don't understand. When I went up against Kappa Sigma Phi, I thought the leader of the fraternity was the leader of it all. Well, he wasn't. And he got killed because of my wrong assumption. I can't let that happen again."
"And what if Whitlock lied? What if he is acting?"
"No, that wasn't acting. No one can fake what I saw in that office."
"You're one hundred percent sure?"
I glanced over at her as I stopped at a red light and told her, "Karen, I am one hundred percent sure. Samir Whitlock is not in on this."
The church was filling with people as Pastor Henry Travers was preparing for the service. Karen and I had decided to attend the funeral for two reasons: to pay respect for Michael and to see if anyone suspicious would show up. Instead of taking a seat, we stood in the back near a set of doors. As the service was beginning, I noticed a man who wasn't wearing formal clothing enter the church through a side door. I hated profiling people but if I had to take a guess, I'd say he was a gang member, a drug dealer, or a combination of both.
"Before I get into my sermon," Pastor Travers began with a trembling voice, "I want to talk to you about my son, my Michael. I know the Lord doesn't make mistakes but..." His voice broke and he took a moment to collect himself as tears streamed down the sides of his face. "I never imagined that I would be here on this earth longer than my son. I miss him every second of every minute of every hour and I know some of you have a word or two about the way he was born, but my wife Corinne and I do not. We've always accepted Michael as he was and we will rejoice when we leave this life and join him in heaven."
He went into a prayer so everyone bowed their heads except me. I kept my attention on the man who had walked into the church just moments before Pastor Travers began speaking. He was crying. For some reason, that made me less suspicious of him. Still, I was curious to know how he knew Michael. After sitting through the entire service, which was beautiful and somber, everyone began exiting the church to travel to the burial site. Karen and I caught up with the young man that I'd initially thought was suspicious.
"Excuse me, sir," said Karen as we approached him outside by his Chevrolet Caprice.
He looked around nervously before asking, "Yeah, what's up?"
"Were you a friend of Michael's?" I asked.
He looked down at the ground before replying, "Yeah, somethin' like that."
I stared at him and said, "Listen, we're with the FBI and we're trying to get the people who did this to Michael. Can you tell us exactly who you are and how you knew Michael?"
He looked around again as if he were making sure no one else was around before answering, "Just call me AJ. And I've known Michael since we were sixteen. We uh...we were off and on, ya know?"
Karen and I looked at each other for a second. She then asked him, "When was the last time you were with him?"
"Like three days before he went missin'. I uh..." He got choked up but managed to continue, "I bought him a ring that cost a grip because I wanted to let him know I was gettin' my shit together. He thought I was askin' him to marry me." He laughed a little as tears filled his eyes. "I did wanna ask him to marry me but I couldn't do it. I'm a hood nigga and...he knew the shit I'm involved with. Yet, he never turned his back on me."
"We're very sorry for your loss," I offered. "Please know that we're doing everything we can to bring his killers to justice."
"If I knew who it was, I would've smoked them my damn self by now. Michael was...this shit wasn't supposed to happen, man." He finally allowed the tears to fall from his eyes as he told us, "I always thought this shit would happen to me. Like some nigga would get back at me for some shit I did years ago or a nigga from another set would get me. I never imagined a world where I'd be here and Michael wouldn't. I swear to God I'd trade places with him right now if I could. Sometimes, I wonder if bein' here is even worth it anymore. My life ain't shit without him."
I put on a front in that moment and offered him numbers for grief counseling, but when Karen and I went back to our car, I broke down. I kept thinking about how I felt immediately after Tommy's death. I felt the same way as AJ back then. Why Tommy and not me? Survivor's guilt is one of the worst feelings in the world. It leaves you feeling so hopeless. I knew part of the reason why I was so passionate about bringing an end to the network was because I did still feel like it should have been me and not Tommy. There wasn't enough therapy in the world that could change my mind. It should have been me.
"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Karen asked while taking a break from eating her medium steak in a midtown restaurant we'd stopped at. "This steak and baked potato are amazing."
"I can't eat," I told her.
"Cameron..."
"I know what you're gonna say, Karen. And I agree, I shouldn't let this get to me the way it is but I can't help it. After everything I learned in my training, nothing prepared me for this emotional shit."
"Then shut it off."
"What?"
"You know it's been getting to me, too. But I've learned to just shut it off when I've had enough. God knows I miss my brother with every fiber of my being but I can't lose myself in the grief. And you can't either, Cameron. We're going to win this fight. You have to believe that."
"What happens if we lose? Karen, what happens if we both die?"
"Do you hear yourself right now?" She laughed a little as she picked up her steak knife and began cutting into her steak again. She then stared into my eyes and declared, "They're gonna have to come at us with all they have because we don't give up without a fight."
I nodded in agreement and not a second later, my phone began ringing. I looked at the screen to see it was Cox calling. I quickly answered the call, "Cox, what is it?"
"The tactical team picked up something on surveillance," she told me. "Remember how you told us to listen out for them speaking in riddles?"
"Yeah."
"Well, one of the secret cameras we installed in Atwood Properties recorded footage of Quincy Atwood speaking absolute nonsense. I'm about to send you the recording right now."
"Okay, go ahead and send it." I ended the call and when I received the recording, I told Karen, "Come here, this is important."
She stood up and came over to my side of the table. I opened the message with the recording and played it. In the video, Quincy was pacing back and forth behind his desk and said into his phone, "Keep them a pair instead of one, hold tight until the job is done." He continued to pace but was silent for a while and then said, "Stop with the juice, at least for now. No need to overdo it, don't break the bough."
Karen looked at me and asked, "What in the hell does all of that mean?"
"He's telling the person on the phone to keep Evan and Kemari locked up together, and by juice he means the diluted hydrofluoric acid and potassium combination. They're easing up on it so Evan and Kemari can live longer."
"Are you sure that's what he meant?"
"Karen, that is exactly what he meant. This also means he and the others know we're watching them. That's why they speak in riddles. It's to cover their tracks in case someone does catch onto them. None of this shit would hold up in a court of law because it can be interpreted in so many different ways."
"So, what do we do now?"
"We wait. Someone has to slip up somewhere. And when they do, we'll be right there ready to catch them."
"I feel bad for investigating Pastor Travers last year," Byron said to me over the phone. "We put him through a lot and it turned out his deacon was the one behind the money laundering."
"You were doing your job," I told him. "Besides, who would've known his son would be kidnapped and mutilated a year later? I damn near had a breakdown after that funeral, baby."
"I wish I could've been there for you."
"Michael had a boyfriend that no one knew about. He was at the funeral."
"Whoa, did you talk to him?"
"Yeah, Karen and I did. He's on the downlow and had been in an off and on relationship with Michael since they were in high school. I could tell he came from a rough background but I could also see how much he loved Michael. He reminded me of myself in the moment but now when I think about it, he also reminds me of Stephon. That boy loved him some Tommy."
"You've told me a million stories about their relationship."
I laughed and said, "And I have a million more. They were so great together."
"Baby, I know all of this is probably making you think of Tommy more but..."
"I'm okay, Byron. I promise."
"You're strong, baby. I know you are. But I also know you have a tipping point. That day in your apartment after we took down Kappa Sigma Phi..."
"I had my breakthrough that day, Byron. You know that. I realized I do need to be here. And this is why. This is my destiny." I checked the time and quickly told him, "Hey, I have to get to the precinct. If it's not too late when I get back to the hotel, I'll call you later."
"Okay, baby. I love you."
"I love you, too, Byron." I ended the call and after collecting myself, left my hotel suite.
When I arrived at the hotel Karen was staying at, I knocked on her door but she never answered. I figured she'd caught a Lyft or Uber to the precinct. I made my way there and was surprised to learn she wasn't there yet. Becoming worried, I called her phone several times but it immediately went to voicemail. I didn't want to panic so I rationalized that there was a reasonable explanation for why I couldn't get in touch with her. I was relieved when she texted me and told me she was on the way and that her phone had died.
"I'm just glad you finally agree with me," Saunders said to me with a smirk. "Samir Whitlock has nothing to do with it. You accused an innocent man."
I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Quincy Atwood's business account holds all of the money for the Kings in the Making foundation. All five board directors have access to the account, but Atwood is the primary holder. This tells me he makes the decisions, so we're sticking with him."
"Other than that weird riddle," said Cox, "we don't have anything else to go on with him."
"That riddle tells me all I need to know about him." I picked up Atwood's phone records and told them, "The person he made that call to is using the same device that helped Zachary Scholtz because the number is actually the number of a local Chinese restaurant, meaning Atwood could simply say he was calling in an order. We need to figure out how to identify the device they're using to mask their true call locations. If we can identify it, we can hack it and find out who is carrying out these missions from the mastermind and the CEOs."
"How do you know about the riddles anyway?" Saunders asked me.
"What?"
"You told us last week to pay attention to how the men speak. How did you know they'd speak in riddles?"
"Because I have information about this case that you don't."
"And why is that?"
Cox began to interject, "Javon, stop and..."
"No," he said. "I want to hear what Mr. Bigshot has to say."
"I have asked you to take this seriously," I said to him. "I have explained over and over again that these people are dangerous. If you don't get it by now then you won't get it. I hope you don't get yourself killed, Saunders."
"Damn, is that a threat?" He laughed and looked at Cox before saying, "This dude just threatened me."
"I am not threatening you. I am warning you. I have been warning you; but now, it doesn't even matter anymore. You're not taking this seriously."
"We are taking this seriously," said Cox.
"Are you?" I snapped at her. "Because it feels like you weren't taking it seriously before Jeffries and I even got assigned to assist you. Having sex in Kemari Whitlock's apartment after he'd been reported missing?"
"Oh my God," said Cox as she became visibly embarrassed. She looked at Saunders and shouted, "You bastard!"
"And you," I snapped at Saunders. "Coming onto me constantly and trying to seduce me last week in the sauna at my hotel? I have never worked with people this unprofessional."
"I can't believe you," Cox said to Saunders before running out of the room.
"Maliah!" Saunders called out as he followed her out of the room.
I ran out after them and when we made it outside, I noticed Karen heading towards the front steps of the building. She looked at Saunders running behind Cox and asked me, "What's going on?"
"They're arguing because of me," I replied. "I had to call them out on their irresponsible relationship and his disrespectful flirtation with me." I looked out and saw Cox was crying as she was climbing into her car. Feeling guilty for causing the commotion, I descended the steps so that I could try to cool everything down.
Karen stopped me and said, "No, let them work it out."
"But this is my fault. I'm the one who..."
I was cut off by Cox's car exploding into flames! Although Karen and I were on the front steps of the building, the power from the blast still knocked us down. I hit my head on the concrete steps and lost consciousness for a few seconds. When I came to, I heard the sound of Karen screaming, "No! Oh my God! No!"
I jumped up and ran to Cox's car with Karen following behind me. Cox was still sitting in the driver's seat but was engulfed in flames. She had been burned beyond recognition. Lying on the ground a few feet away was Saunders. He was lying on his side and since the back of his body looked normal, I had hope that he'd survived the explosion. However, when I turned him over, I discovered that his entire thoracic cavity had been blown open and the skin on his face and neck was completely gone, exposing his facial tissue and some of his skull. Karen turned away and vomited.
As officers ran out of the precinct, I tried to wrap my mind around what happened. One second, everything was fine and the next, the two officers I'd been working with were dead. I became dizzy and I wasn't sure if it was because of shock or because I'd hit my head. Either way, I blacked out for an unknown amount of time. When I reopened my eyes, I realized I was in a hospital. I sat up and when I heard someone clear their throat, I looked to my left to see Chief Cunningham sitting there.
"I have to get back out there," I said while attempting to pull the IVs out of my arm.
"Rowell, stop," Chief Cunningham said to me. "Do you even recognize where you are?"
"Yes, a hospital."
"In Virginia. We had you airlifted here from Emory last night."
"What? No, I have to get back and..."
"We're giving you and Jeffries a break from this case."
"You can't do that. We're the only ones who know..."
"Two officers of the law are dead, Rowell. We don't even know how that bomb got under Sergeant Cox's car."
"Bomb?"
"That's what caused the explosion."
"But...she didn't even have her key in the ignition. How could it have been a bomb?"
"We're going to figure it out. You're going on a two-week vacation." He stood up and said, "I'll go and get your husband."
"Wait, sir."
"Yeah, Rowell?"
"How is Jeffries?"
"She's fine. According to her SAIC, she's on her way back to Los Angeles." He softly patted my shoulder and then left the room.
Byron immediately entered a second later and rushed to my bedside. He grabbed my hand and asked, "Baby, are you okay? Are you in any pain?"
Tears began to build in my eyes as I told him, "I'm fine, Byron. But I'm scared."
"How do you think I feel? I could have lost you."
"No, I'm scared about what happens now with the case. Kemari and Evan are in danger and I can't help them now."
"Cameron, I understand what this case means to you but you have a life. You have me. The job can't come before that."
"Byron, you know I love you. Nothing has changed. But I can't let those young men die."
"You need rest."
"I know and I will get it. But I'm not staying off of this case just because I've been forced to take a two-week vacation. As a matter of fact, I'm going to need your help."
He stared into my eyes while caressing my hand and said, "I will help you with anything you need, baby."
"No matter what?"
"No matter what. I promise."
"Good, because I need answers to some lingering questions." I sat all the way up and said, "But first, I need something else from you."
"What is it, baby?"
I began crying as I asked him, "Baby, can you hold me?"
Tears rushed to his eyes and he immediately grabbed me and held me in his arms. While comforting me he told me, "Forever, baby. I could hold you forever."