PROLOGUE
IT WAS THEperfect start to summer, and the yacht party was lit. The sun was shining bright over Lake Michigan as a group of friends partied without a care in the world. Music blasted from the speakers, heavy beats pulsed through the deck, and drinks were flowing nonstop. Everyone was feeling good and tipsy. Some were way past drunk, laughing and dancing.
A few of them had already jumped off the boat. They were splashing in the cool water, relieving themselves from the relentless heat. Others were floating around in the lake on inflatable rafts. It was wild, chaotic fun, just like it was supposed to be for Kayla’s birthday party.
“Yo, what’s that?” one of the guys shouted from the water. He was pointing to something a few feet away that was bobbing in the lake.
Kayla, who was lounging on a floatie with a drink in hand, glanced over, squinting. “Probably nothin’. People throw all kinds of trash in the lake.”
But Marcus was persistent, per usual. “Nah. It looks like a suitcase or somethin’.”
Standing on the deck of the yacht, Trey shook his head as he held his beer up to his lips. “This nigga always minding the wrongbusiness.” Then he took a swig before shouting to Marcus, “Bro, chill! You better leave that alone. It’s probably some drugs in there that fell out of a plane.”
Marcus looked back at Trey, grinning. “Then I should definitely go open that bitch up.”
“And you goin’ straight to jail,” muttered Angie who was lounging beside Kayla.
But Marcus being the nosy one, he wouldn’t let it go. He swam closer to the suitcase, and as he did, something caught his eye. “Hold up,” he muttered to himself as he got a better look. He squinted as he realized what was caught in the zipper of the suitcase.
It was…hair.
His heart began to pound against his chest now. “Yo, I think there’s hair stuck in the zipper!”
Kayla sat up on her float, frowning. “Hair? Hell nah. You trippin’. You better leave that shit alone, man.”
“I’m serious,” Marcus said as he continued to swim toward the suitcase. “I’m checkin’ this out.”
“Marcus, don’t! What if it’s some weird shit? Just leave it,” Angie shouted.
But Marcus was already too close. He grabbed the suitcase, feeling how hard it was to move. Shockingly, it was heavy.
As he tried to pull it open, his hands shook a little. The zipper creaked, and when he finally got it open, he froze.
Inside lay something grotesque. Its eyes were staring blankly at nothing, and its limbs were twisted at unnatural angles. “Oh shit!” Marcus’s stomach turned as panic hit him. He couldn’t think or breathe.
The body was in a grim state. It had seemingly been in the water for days, and the effects of decay were clear. The skin was pale and bloated. It stretched tightly over the bones in someplaces, while in others, it had started to peel and loosen. There was a greenish tint to the body, and parts of the skin were dark and discolored from being submerged.
Her face was swollen and unrecognizable to be human. The lips were pulled back slightly, exposing the teeth. The eyes were sunken and clouded over, no longer resembling anything human. Her hair, tangled and matted, stuck out from the zipper of the suitcase and clung to the sides like seaweed.
There was a foul smell, even over the lake water. It was a sickly odor that made it clear the body had been decomposing for some time. The joints were stiff, and her limbs looked awkwardly positioned since they had been forced into the small space of the suitcase.
Marcus’s stomach lurched before he screamed, “Oh my God!” He let go of the suitcase and pushed himself away from it as fast as he could, splashing wildly. “What the fuck?”
Kayla saw the look on his face and started freaking out too. “What? What is it?”
Marcus, still swimming away from the suitcase, yelled, “It’s a body! There’s a body in the suitcase!”
CHAPTER 1
AVIANA SCOTT
MIA AND Isat across from each other in a soul food spot in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. Our table was cluttered with mason jar lemonades, half-eaten cornbread, and empty plates. Old school R&B played low through the speakers.
“How was your food today, ladies?” The waitress, Nakia, grinned as her slanted eyes bounced back and forth between Mia and me, waiting for our approval.
“It was delicious,” I replied. Then, with a heavy breath, I sat back in the booth and began to rub my belly, which felt like it was being stretched to capacity by all of the food I had just inhaled.
In response, the waitress giggled.
