She gave a jerky shake of her head and took her money out of my hands. “I—I have to do this. Before we suspected that it was Flip who killed Jhavon, but now we know for sure. I can’t sit back and do nothing. That would make me worse than Sean.”
My heart tightened at the mention of his name.
“You should take your sister’s advice, Jazzy,” Mr. Henderson said, coming back into the room, holding a small box. “Leave it alone.”
We both jumped. I don’t know how Mr. Henderson could move with such stealth for his age.
He switched his Open sign to Closed and locked the door. When the lock clicked, I felt like I was going to throw up. Jazzy’s eyes were wide as well and she grabbed my hand. Her palm was wet and sweaty just like mine. As much as we were at odds about so many things, she was still my twin and I couldn’t leave.
Mr. Henderson placed the box on the counter and opened it. Like Pandora, we both leaned in to look into the box.
I released a huge breath.
“It’s smaller than I thought,” Jazzy said, wiping her brow. “I need something that will do major damage.” Her bravado was back but I felt her trembling beside me.
“It’s a Colt Mustang XSP. It’ll kill just as quick and clean as the next gun. The perfect pistol for you,” Mr. Henderson said. He challenged her with a fierce gaze. “You want it?”
Jazzy dropped the cash and picked up the pistol with her fingertips. She didn’t know how to hold it, let alone shoot it, which made me all the more antsy. She was more likely to shoot somebody by accident than wipe out Flip.
“You don’t want none of Flip and ’em,” Mr. Henderson warned, though still counting the cash. “You won’t get away with it.” He shook his head and studied Jazzy. “I can tell you’re not going to listen to me but you should. Thank God Sean listened when I told him not to mention Flip and his crew to the cops.”
I furrowed my brow. Jazzy put the gun back in its box. She was all ears as well.
“Youtold Sean not to tell?” I asked.
Mr. Henderson nodded. “Yeah. I heard everything that went down from my window. A lot of stuff happens behind these shops, you know. Mostly fights and other dealings, but I hear ’em. The thing with your brother happened quick.” He snapped his fingers. “Sean came through after the shot was fired. He was all bloodied and beat up, but it wasn’t from Flip ’cause they’d already left. Sean wanted to call the cops and tell ’em everything. But I knew he’d get himself killed, and that boy had been through enough. What with his father beating him to a pulp that night. I had to take him upstairs and clean him up. I had to pull out my old army medic tools and stitch up his eyebrow.
“I never seen somebody beat so bad still able to move and talk. But he had been determined to make it here for his friend. I had a hard time keeping him quiet from all the crying he did that night.” Mr. Henderson shook his head and went to unlock the door. “But when he told me how his Pop beat him, I tell you, I wanted to use one of those on that man myself.” Mr. Henderson pointed to the gun. “But I convinced him to say he and Jhavon had been jumped and that he didn’t know who fired the shot.”
I covered my mouth and placed a hand over my stomach. “He… Hisfatherbeat him?”
“Beat him like he tried to run off the plantation,” Mr. Henderson recalled. “That’s why he didn’t make it in time to have Jhavon’s back, ’cause his daddy darn near handicapped him.”
What else didn’t I know?
My heart pounded in my chest. I placed a hand over my mouth. Oh, my goodness. I had accused Sean of being selfish and a murderer.What have I done?
“Yeah,” Mr. Henderson said, giving me a weird look as Jazzy and I went through the door. “Didn’t you know that? Why else you think he wasn’t there that night? I told him to get out of this here town. Leave it all behind—his Pops, the whole thing Flip pulled him and Jhavon into, the memories of what he saw. I don’t know why he came back.” Mr. Henderson looked at me. “I guess because of you.”
I gulped. “Me?”
“Yeah. I’ve lived a long time, young lady. I know when a male is hankering after a female. And I keep my ear to the ground in Lovetown. But he came by yesterday to tell me he’s leaving. Today. Heading to Washington D.C. Good for him. Good for him.”
My mouth dropped open. “Sean’s leaving? Like leaving for good?” A deep sense of loss filled my heart. I felt like a truck had slammed my insides. I spun around to leave.
“Where you going?” Jazzy grabbed my wrist. “You’d better not be about to tell me you’re going to see Sean. He caused our brother’s death.”
“Then I won’t tell you.” I jerked free of her grip and scurried away without looking behind. All I could think of was the person ahead whose face I needed to see.
