Author's notes: This chapter is rated M for the harsh language. There will be more Bobby and Angel action in the next chapter. Right now, I need Alex and Bobby doing what they do best. I don't own any of the LO:CI characters, just the ones that come out of my warped brain. LOL. Read, review and enjoy:o)
Tuesday, August 15
Residence of Sasha Cruz, 10:00 a.m
"Go ahead. Say something," Bobby said to Alex as they got out of the SUV and walked up the path to Sasha Cruz's home. Alex just
shook her head, a sly smirk on her lips. "I have nothing to say." When Bobby had returned to his desk after walking Angel to her car,
Alex had looked at him and then started grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He knew what she thinking, but he wanted to hear her say it.
"You know you want to say something." Alex flashed him another Cheshire Cat-like smile before ringing the doorbell. A few seconds
later, the door opened slightly. A slender girl with mocha colored skin, curly sandy brown hair pulled into 2 long pigtails and big brown
eyes appeared in the doorway. She was wearing red shorts and a white t-shirt with a picture of the Puerto Rican flag on it. Bobby and
Alex both knew she had to be DeMarco's daughter just by looking at her eyes. She looked expectantly at them. Alex pulled her
badge out of her jacket pocket and said, "Hi. I'm Detective Eames. This is my partner, Detective Goren." Bobby showed her his
badge, too. "Are you Celena?" Alex asked. "Yes, ma'am," the girl replied softly. "May we speak to your Mom?" Celena looked at
their badges a little longer before asking, "Are you here about my Daddy?" "Yes, we are," Bobby answered with a smile. "Are you
going to catch the people who killed him?" "We'll do our best to catch them. I promise." She flashed them both a big smile, revealing a
set of deep dimples.
Celena opened the door wider and stepped aside to let them in. Bobby and Alex waited as she closed and locked the door. She made
a gesture for them to follow her. "Mama, the police are here," Celena said as she and the detectives walked into the kitchen. Two
women were seated around a small table talking; one with the same skin coloring as Celena, the other with dark skin and dreadlocks.
They both looked up and smiled at Alex and Bobby. The dark skinned woman stood up and said, "We better go get Asia before she
and her cousin Natasha get on each other nerves and try to kill each other." Sasha chuckled and said, "I know that's right, Chantal.
I've seen them fight like cats and dogs." They hugged each other and then let go. Celena stepped towards Sasha, smiling up at her.
Sasha put her hands on Celena's shoulders and smiled back at her. "You be good, Mamacita. You listen to and do whatever Chantal
says, okay?" "Yes, Mama." "That's a good girl," she said as she kissed her daughter's forehead. Celena turned and took Chantal's
hand. They both said goodbye to Alex and Bobby as they walked out of the kitchen and out the front door.
"I'm Sasha Cruz," she said as she held out her hand to Alex. "I'm Detective Alex Eames," Alex replied as she shook her hand, "This is
my partner, Detective Robert Goren." Sasha shook Bobby's hand, then pointed to some chairs. "Please have a seat." Alex and Bobby
sat down while she went to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of tea and placed it on the table. Then she reached in the cupboard
next to the fridge, pulled out 3 glasses and placed them on the table before sitting down. "We're very sorry for your loss, Ms. Cruz,"
Alex said as Sasha started pouring the tea into the glasses. "Thank you," she replied, "Please call me Sasha. It's just so hard to believe
DeMarco's dead." She placed a glass in front of each detective. Bobby was the first one to take a drink. "This is very good. It's
lemonade and tea mixed together, isn't it?" Sasha nodded. "DeMarco's favorite thing to drink in the summertime. Something his
paternal grandmama made for him when he and his family went to visit her. " Alex said, "It's delicious." Sasha gave them a small smile.
"I'd like to thank you both for letting Drew and the crew come and tell Celena and me about her daddy. It was easier for both of us, I
think, to get the news from them." "You're welcome," Bobby said. "Celena spelled with a 'C' is very unusual. Is she named after
someone?" "DeMarco came up with the spelling. His mother's name was Selena. My mom's name is Celeste. He wanted to combine
their names to honor them."
Alex asked, "When was the last time you saw DeMarco, Sasha?" "He came by here Sunday after he got out of church. A little bit
after 1 p.m. He called to make sure we were at home. Celena and I had just got back from visiting my great uncle Tomas with my
dad." "How was his mood when you saw him?" "He was fine, happy. He was making jokes as usual, hugging and kissing on Celena."
"Was it normal for DeMarco to call and come by like that?" "Oh, yeah! Me and Celena talked to him practically everyday. He came
by here at least once a week for dinner if he didn't have to work a security detail or something like that." "How about in the past few
weeks? Did he seem bothered or upset by anything?" Sasha shook her head. "DeMarco seemed to be fine to me. If something was
troubling him, he would have told me." "You and DeMarco were…were close?" Bobby asked. "DeMarco and I could always talk to
each other about anything. He was one of my best friends and I loved him." She sniffed as she wiped away a tear with a paper napkin
that had been laying on the table. "You were still…intimate with him?" "Nah. Dee and I hadn't had sex since Celena was 5."
Bobby and Alex looked at each other. Alex nodded her head faintly, giving him the signal to continue with his questions. "When we
examined the crime scene, we found a…a substantial amount of drugs hidden in DeMarco's Explorer," Bobby stated. "Were you
aware that he was a..." "A drug dealer?" Sasha said, finishing Bobby's sentence. She sighed as she nodded. "That was the main
reason I didn't marry his stupid ass. I had already been there, done that." "Really? How so?" Sasha sighed heavily again. "When I was
15, I was going with this 17 year old dude named Chiggy. He was in a gang and a major drug dealer. I didn't care though. I was in
love with him and the money. I used to go anywhere and everywhere with him. On my 16th birthday, I found out I was 3 months
pregnant. My folks were pissed off, but we didn't care. Chiggy and me were happy. Shoot, we had started looking for a place to live.
Anyway, about a month later, I was riding with Chiggy and some of his homeboys up in this rough neighborhood in the Bronx. I think
we were on enemy turf because the next thing I know we're being shot at from all sides. Chiggy got hit in the neck; I got hit in the side
of my stomach. I lost the baby."
"Did you ever go with DeMarco on any of his drug deals?" Alex asked. Sasha replied, "No, I didn't. When DeMarco told me he was
a drug dealer, I almost dumped him but instead I told him not to tell me anything. I didn't want to get caught up like I had when I was
younger. When we found out I was pregnant, he wanted to get married. I told him I wouldn't marry him unless he gave up his hustle
and got a real job. As you can guess, the hustle won out." "We were told that DeMarco would disappear for a while when he was
dealing. Do you have any idea where he may have gone or who was with him?" Sasha shook her head. "DeMarco did a pretty good
job of keeping his real life and his secret life separate. The only time I ever knew he was leaving to hustle is when he called me from a
pay phone and say, 'I'll be back later.'" Bobby stroked his chin a couple of times. He was impressed by how DeMarco managed to
keep those who loved him out of harm's way. He asked, "Who else knew DeMarco dealt drugs?" "There was me, Janelle, Drew,
Garvin, Angel and Jayson. We knew about the dealing, but weren't involved in it. If you're looking for somebody who knew and was
probably involved in the dealing, you might want to talk to the Wonder Twins."
Alex looked up from her notepad with a puzzled look on her face. " 'The Wonder Twins?'" she asked. Sasha excused herself and got
up from the table and went into the living room. When she came back, she had a packet of pictures in her hand. She sat back down
and started shuffling through them. She pulled out the picture she was looking for and showed it to Alex and Bobby. "This is from
Celena's 11th birthday last May," she said. It was a picture of DeMarco standing outside at someone's home with his arm around a
woman with micro braids in her hair. Standing next them was another man and woman in the same pose. Sasha pointed to the people
in the photo. "The woman DeMarco is hugging is his baby sister Lynnette. These folks right here are his younger brother and sister,
Eric James and Eden Jane, a.k.a. The Wonder Twins." Bobby took the picture from her and studied the twins more closely. They
were both light skinned with black almond shaped eyes. Eric had his hair cut close like DeMarco in the picture. Eden was sporting
very short hair with blonde highlights. "Why are they called The Wonder Twins?" he asked. Sasha snorted. "When you get to know
them, you wonder how can they be so mean and low down."
Bobby raised an eyebrow. "How so?" "DeMarco used to tell me these stories about his childhood and stuff. DeMarco's parents died
when he was 10. After their parents were killed by a drunk driver, their aunt and uncle adopted them. He told me when they moved up
to New Jersey, Eric and Eden just went buck wild. They would start trouble, steal, lie and pick fights. Eden would almost always be
the leader. Eric would be following right behind her. Eden used to pick on Lynnette so bad that when Lynnette turned 18 and
graduated from high school, she moved away to Saint Louis with her best friend to go to community college and get away from Queen
Bitch as Eden loves to refer to herself. Eden's very selfish and possessive, especially when it came to her brothers. Whenever
DeMarco and Eric had something, she would always try to take it or destroy it if they wouldn't let her have it. Heaven forbid if they
had a girlfriend. Eden would damn near break her neck trying to make them break up. No other woman would come before her."
"Can you give us any specific examples of things Eden and Eric did?" Alex asked. "When I was pregnant with Celena, I went with
DeMarco to visit his family for Christmas. I was coming down the stairs, they were coming up. They both made a point of bumping
into me really hard. I honestly think they were trying to make me fall." Alex let out a low whistle. "Man, that is mean." "That's not the
meanest thing they've done," Sasha said softly. "Janelle and Jayson had a good friend named Teresa Jean Campbell, T.J., that lived
next door to them when they were growing up. T.J. was living with a cousin of her dad's because her dad lost custody of her when he
was found guilty of being an accessory to the murder of her 9 year old brother, Eugene. Their step mom used to beat Eugene and T. J.
badly. Their dad did nothing to stop her. She was beating on T. J. in the kitchen with an extension cord when Eugene jumped in and
tried to stop her. Well, the Evil Stepmother picked up a cast iron skillet and hit him in the head with it. She hit him so hard that his head
bounced off a counter before he hit the floor. He died before help could get there. When they had her trial, it took the jury less than 5
minutes to find her guilty."
Sasha dabbed at her eyes. "Anyway," she sniffed, "the day T.J. died at the hospital, DeMarco and I met up with Angel, Drew, Jayson,
Janelle, and their parents at the hospital. The cousin had already passed away 3 years prior, so Janelle and them were her family. We
were standing out in the waiting area, waiting on Pastor Overton to show up. Eric and Eden showed up out of nowhere. They paid
their respects to Eddie Lee and Loretta, then hung out away from the rest of us in a corner. I'd say about 10 minutes later, you could
hear this man and woman saying, "Where's Teresa Jean? Where's my baby girl?" It was T. J.'s daddy and step mom. Oh my God! I
thought all hell was going to break loose between Janelle's parents and T.J.'s parents. I looked over at the twins and saw them
laughing and pointing. DeMarco saw them, too. His face was so red. He grabbed Drew by the arm and told him to grab Eric while he
grabbed Eden. I followed them to the men's restroom. DeMarco had Eden pinned up against the wall with his forearm on her throat.
Drew had Eric in a chokehold. DeMarco told Eden 'This is the most cruel and evil thing you two bitches have ever done. I want you
to go back home and not come back here for 2 months.' He let her go, Drew let Eric go. Eden kept saying 'I'm sorry' and 'Let us
stay' over and over again. DeMarco turned around and backhanded her so hard, it echoed in there. He said, 'Make it 4 months' and
walked out of the restroom."
Alex and Bobby sat there in silence for a few minutes, trying to gather their thoughts as they tried to decide what to ask next. Finally,
Bobby spoke up. "Was DeMarco the only one that seemed to be able to handle the twins?" "Yeah, as a matter of fact, he was. Their
aunt and uncle could too, but they listened more to Dee than them." "Interesting. May we borrow this picture?" "Sure. You can have it
if you want. I've got another copy." "Thank you." "Do you have any idea what DeMarco did with his drug money?" Alex asked.
Sasha thought for a moment. "He probably gave some to Eric and Eden because they are or were always looking for a handout. I
know he gave some to Lynnette to help take care of their uncle Todd." "Is Uncle Todd sick?" "Uncle Todd has been messed up his
whole life. You name the drug, he has smoked it, popped it or injected it. The house he's living in actually belonged to his parents and
he almost lost it because he didn't pay the property taxes on it. DeMarco paid all those back taxes. Then he gave money to Lynnette
for her to set up an account to make sure the bills are paid and for someone to take care of Todd. His youngest daughter, her husband
and 3 kids live there. She sends them something once a month to help out with taking care of him."
Alex closed her notepad and placed it in her pocket. "I think that's all the questions we have for now, Sasha," she said. "We'll contact
you again if we need some more information." Alex and Sasha started to get up when Bobby said, "I have one more thing before we
leave." He unzipped his binder and pulled out one of the photos of the brand that was on the back of DeMarco's hand. He slid it
across the table to Sasha and asked, "Have you ever seen this type of branding before?" She studied the picture for a minute before
she gave it back to him. "When I was with Chiggy, we used to hang out with this dude named Hector Ruiz who used to make branding
stamps the size of a car cigarette lighter." "Do you know where we can find him?" Sasha shook her head and said, "Sorry, I don't."
"We were told that DeMarco carried 2 cell phones. Do you happen to know the numbers to both phones?" "I just know the number
to one of the phones." Alex gave Sasha her notepad and pen for her to write the number down. Bobby placed the branding picture
back into his binder. "That's all right. Thank you for your time and cooperation."
Sasha led the detectives out the front door and onto the porch. "We'll be in touch if anything else happens with the case," Alex said.
Sasha gave her a small smile. "Thank you." As Alex and Bobby started walking down the path towards the SUV, she said,
"Detectives, please wait." They looked at each other then at Sasha as she walked up to them. "Janelle told me that despite what
people think of NYPD, you two are the best and that you would at least make a serious effort to find out who killed DeMarco instead
of pretending to make an effort. I know DeMarco seems like a very bad person to you, but he was loved in spite of his flaws and
faults. I just want to thank you for giving me some hope that my daughter and I will get some closure in dealing with his death." Sasha
turned and walked back into her home, closing the door behind her. Bobby put on his shades; Alex put on hers. "We gotta keep this
case and solve it, you know," he said. "Hell, yeah," she said as she opened the driver's side door and got in.
Tusday August 15
Inside of SUV, 3:16 p.m.
Alex and Bobby were on their way to Todd Miller's, a.k.a. Uncle Todd, home. They had talked to Jayson Hamilton, owner of J
Security, brother of Janelle Spencer and employer of the late DeMarco Anderson. They had asked him the same questions they had
asked of Sasha Cruz. He pretty much told them what they've been hearing so far: that those closest to DeMarco knew he was a drug
dealer, he kept his family and close friends out of his drug business and he had the number to one of the cell phones. Jayson did give
them a key and the code to the security alarm at DeMarco's house. He had his receptionist call ahead and tell Junior and Junebug that
the police were coming by and that they should be on their best behavior. Bobby asked him why did they need to be told to behave.
Jayson replied, "No offense, Detective Goren, but somebody your size who is a police officer is enough to provoke them into picking
a fight with you. They like testing their boundaries."
The search of DeMarco's home didn't yield any new clues, either. They had been expecting to drive up to some two story glittering
mansion with 5 cars out front. Instead, the house looked like any normal looking house you would find in the suburbs. Nothing flashy
or glittery about it. It was a one level ranch style home with a 2 car garage. Bobby saw why Jayson told Junior and Junebug to behave.
As soon as the detectives had pulled up and got out of the SUV, they had come out the door and stood on the porch, arms folded
across their chests, scowling. When Bobby had stepped onto the porch, they took a step towards him, staring him in the eye. They
were both 6 foot 5 and packing more muscles than Bobby. Alex put her hand on her gun, ready for trouble. She relaxed as Junior and
Junebug relaxed and stepped aside to let them in the house. Inside of the garage was a 1981 Cadillac El Dorado. It had purple paint
that would glitter in the sunlight and white leather interior. "Sweet," Bobby said as he sat down behind the wheel. Alex practically had
to drag him out of the car to get him to continue the search. Alex asked the 2 hulking bodyguards why were they watching an empty
house. Junior answered in a booming, bass voice "Because the Wonder Twins will try to break in and steal any- and everything that
ain't bolted down."
"You've been unusually quiet," Bobby commented. "Anything wrong?" Alex sighed. "I'm okay. It's just…it's just I never knew about
T. J.'s home life until now. It's just a shock to hear." "Had you ever met T.J.?" "Yeah, she came over with Jayson and Janelle a few
times during the summer when we were growing up." Alex shook her head. "I used to always wonder why they were so protective of
her. And why my parents and Eddie Lee and Loretta would always talk in a hushed tone when they brought her over." "I think your
parents were just trying to protect you guys from the horrors of reality." "Yeah, I know. But, it's just so hard to fathom anyone beating
their child to death sometimes." "You never met my father," Bobby thought as he looked out the window. Instead, he said, "That
must have been the chaos Angel mentioned to me." "Huh? What do you mean?" "The day T.J. had died, Angel was waiting for me on
my doorstep when I came home from work. She wanted to spend the night to get away from the chaos before it began." "Oh." Bobby
shrugged. "It's strange that…that someone would seek solace and peace with someone whose life has been nothing but chaos and
disorder." "Angel knows a strong calming center when she sees it." Bobby glanced over at Alex and smiled.
"It's so hard to believe one of my babies is dead," Mary Frances Anderson said through her tears. "Who would hurt my baby?
DeMarco didn't bother nobody!" Bobby and Alex were in a back bedroom with her and her husband Albert at the Miller residence.
She was sitting on the bed, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. Albert was sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulders
doing his best to console her. "It'll be aight, baby. Everything will be okay." he said softly. Alex was sitting in a folding chair; Bobby
was leaning on the dresser. They looked on with sympathy as Mary and Albert were trying to deal with the death of their child. Albert
looked up at them. "Are you sure there were drugs in his car?" he asked. "I'm afraid so, Mr. Anderson," Bobby replied. Albert shook
his gray head. "That boy promised me and his mama 7 years ago he would stop hustling. 'I'll stop, Daddy Al, I promise,' he said. Me
and Mary always worried about him." "Maybe the drugs were planted," Mary said to her husband. Albert shook his head again and
hugged his wife. "Naw, baby. DeMarco got that defiant streak honestly from my brother. He was still dealing."
"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, can you tell us the last time you spoke with DeMarco?" Bobby asked. "He came home on August 4th,"
Mrs. Anderson replied. "He had Celena with him. They spent the weekend with us." "Do you know why he came home?" "We hadn't
seen him or Celena since her birthday in May. He figured since he had her for the weekend, he'd bring her to visit us." "How was
DeMarco's mood when he was you? Did he seem…troubled or bothered by anything?" She shook her head. "Nothing seemed wrong
with him. He was usual normal self."
A knock on the door followed by a female voice asking, "Mama Mary, can I come in?" interrupted Bobby's questioning. "Come on
in, Lynnette," Mary said. The door opened and in stepped Lynnette. Alex and Bobby recognized her from the picture Sasha gave
them. She looked the same as the picture except for 2 things: she had auburn micro braids and her belly slightly bulged. Alex guessed
she was about 3 or 4 months pregnant. Lynnette stopped short when she saw the detectives. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you
company," she said. Mary got up and hugged her. "It's okay. These are Detectives Goren and Eames. They're investigating your
brother's murder." "Nice to meet you," Lynnette said as she nodded at them. Mary asked Lynnette, "Whatcha need, sweetie?" "Baby
Girl just called to say that Brother's body has been released from the morgue and is on the way to the funeral home. Me and David are
gonna go check into the hotel before we go over there." Mary sighed heavily. "Y'all don't have to stay in a hotel. You can stay here,
you know."
Lynnette looked at her adoptive mother before rolling her eyes. "Oh, please. Queen Bitch has already started to get on my flipping
nerves. There are 3 things keeping me from whopping her ass: my brother's dead, I'm pregnant and the police are here. Take away
items 2 and 3 and I'd smack her head off!" Mary threw up her hands and shook her head. "Eric and Eden are here?" Alex asked.
Lynnette nodded. Alex was about to ask where they were when a loud engine revved up. "THAT belongs to the pimped out candy
apple red Mitsubishi Lancer parked out front. It belongs to the Queen herself." Sensing they weren't going to get anything new out of
the Andersons, Alex stood as Bobby pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to Mrs. Anderson. "We'll leave you and your
family to get ready to go to the funeral home. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions." She took the card and said, "Thank
you." Bobby followed Alex out of the bedroom, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Anderson to talk with Lynnette.
As soon as Bobby and Alex came out of the front door, the Lancer's engine was revved again. "Eden!" Bobby called as she was
about to get in on the passenger side. She turned around and made a face as the detectives approached her with their badges out. She
leaned against the car door, arms folded across her chest, one leg crossed over the other. "I'm Detective Eames," Alex said. "This is
my partner, Detective Goren. We want to talk to you about your brother DeMarco." Eden looked Alex up and down with a scowl.
She gave Bobby the same treatment. When she looked at his feet, her eyes wandered back up to his crotch. "Well, it must be true
what they say about shoe size and dick size," Eden said as she looked Bobby in the face and licked her lips. Bobby maintained a
neutral look on his face as he mentally made a face and thought, "Ugh! As if!" As he was studying Eden's face, he noticed she was
wearing gray contacts. "Hmm. Interesting." "What's interesting?" she asked. "The fact I want take that big thick dick of yours for a
spin?" "No, the fact that you're wearing gray contacts. Are you copying someone?" Eden just shrugged.
"Eden! Get your ass in the car and quit talking to them punk ass police!" the male driver said. Eden opened the car door and got in.
Bobby and Alex leaned down to look at the driver. It was Eric. He looked back at them before putting on some shades. He said to
Eden, "I know you ain't gonna try to fuck that white boy. He look like he'll tear your shit up." Eden laughed and said, "Naw. As old
as he as looks, he probably can't keep it up with some Viagra or Cialis." They both laughed louder and harder. Ignoring the snide
comments being made about her partner, Alex said, "We need to talk to both of you about your brother DeMarco. How about you
step out of the car so we can talk?" Eric and Eden looked at each other. Eden turned to Alex and said with a smirk, "I don't fucking
think so." "Well, is there a number we can reach you at?" Eric leaned across Eden and said, "Yeah. 1-800-Eat-A-Dick." He and
Eden laughed as he threw the car in gear and pulled off. Alex and Bobby continued to watch the Lancer as it was drove out of sight.
"Did we just get dissed?" Alex asked sarcastically. Bobby nodded his head. 'Yep. Dissed and dismissed. Did you catch the license
plate?" The license plate read QUNBICH. "Yep. She and her court jester are both living up to the label." Bobby looked at Alex with
a smirk on his face. "I'm going to enjoy having them in our interrogation room." "Oh, yeah. Me, too."