I screamed so loud that my throat felt raw. I must have looked like a woman possessed, because that’s how I felt when Pam, one of the stoop regulars, told me Daryl was dead. Not ten minutes earlier, I’d felt like I was on the top of the world, the wind blowing through my hair as Slim and I cruised back to the building in my new convertible Benz. The car was given to me as a going-away present from my father, who I hoped was lying on some tropical beach with a fruity drink. He’d sent me a text promising me that he’d be back when the heat died down. I was glad to hear that he was safe and even happier that the text also said Connie had the keys to his Benz, which was now mine. I still couldn’t believe the cops were after him and he had to leave town under the cover of darkness, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it at this point except pray he was safe. In the meantime, I was damn sure going to enjoy riding around town in a car that cost more than I made in a year. Oh, and I was definitely going to make sure all the gossiping heifers in my building saw me riding around in it.
