I thought about the club being shut down, about Zurie on my ass about lost revenue, about Zach still being out there thinking he won.
Having a police chief in my pocket would solve a lot of problems. And if it cost me some money and a night playing dress-up, that wasn't the worst deal I'd ever made.
"Aight," I said finally. "We can work something out."
Her smile widened. "Good; Smart man." She pulled out a business card, flipping it over and writing something on the back.
"That's my personal number. Call me tomorrow and we'll discuss the details, you know the fee for my help with theinvestigation, and what kind of donation the Chief would appreciate, all that good stuff."
I took the card, looking at it. Detective Nia Williams. Who would've thought.
"One more thing," she said. "Whatever you got planned for Zach, Be smart about it. Don't do anything that's going to bring more heat on you than you already got. Morrison's not the only one watching you right now, and I can only do so much."
"I'm always smart," I said.
"Sure you are." She headed for the door, then paused, looking back at me. "It was good seeing you, Sontae. Even under these circumstances. We should've stayed in touch."
"Yeah. Life happens though."
"It does." She opened the door. "Wait. Are you still with Sheree? The girl who had the big booty back in high school?” She asked and I chuckled. “Nah, we still cool tho.”
“Aw damn, I thought y’all would’ve been togethere forever, but look, let me get back ova here, I'll be waiting for your call."
She stepped outside where Morrison was leaning against their car, looking impatient. They had a brief conversation I couldn't hear, then got in the car and pulled away.
I stood at the door watching them go, turning the business card over in my hand.
Zurie came back into the room once they were gone, with an suspicious expression on her face.
"What was that about?"
"Insurance," I said, slipping the card into my pocket.
"What kind of insurance?"
"The kind that gets our club reopened and keeps the haters off our back." I turned to look at her.
"Detective Nia, went to Dunbar with me, I know her. You probably don’t remember her because you were in college,but shorty is offering to help smooth things over with the investigation. For the right price.”
Zurie's eyes narrowed. "You trust her?"
"I don't trust nobody. But I trust money, and I trust that everybody got a price. She got hers, and I got mine. It's business."
"And what's her price?"
"Ion know yet, but she wants me to go to some police ball with her so she can introduce me to the chief and get me in good with him."
Zurie was quiet for a moment, then she nodded slowly. "That's actually not a bad move. Having the chief on your side could open a lot of doors. Make a lot of problems disappear."
"That's what I'm thinking."
"Just be careful," she said, her voice serious. "Cops are tricky, even the ones trying to help. One wrong move and she could flip on you."
"I know." I sat back down on the couch. "But right now, we need all the help we can get.”
"Aight." Zurie grabbed her purse from the counter. "I gotta go handle some shit. But call me after you talk to her tomorrow. I want to know exactly what kind of numbers we talking."
"Will do."
