Bad Apple - the Baddest Chick(30)
“I’ll find her my damn self, and whoever disrespects her or do somethin’ to her, God help them, ’cause they gonna have to deal wit’ me.” Kola charged out the apartment and slammed the door shut, leaving Apple and Denise wondering and worried.
*****
Twenty-four hours after Nichols’ disappearance, two detectives entered the untidy apartment, where Denise sat on the couch worrying about her missing daughter. Apple sat next to her and had the same concern.
The two suit-and-tie detectives looked around the apartment and noticed the tattered furniture, ragged carpeting, and soiled walls, and quickly passed judgment on the mother, figuring the daughter was more of a runaway than a kidnap victim. Still, they had to carry out their job, minus their opinion. They stood over the family, trying to look concerned, but it wasn’t easy for them to reserve judgment. From their experience, many missing young girls sixteen and under were either trying to escape from something at home—abuse, rape, molestation—or in other cases, leaving home in pursuit of love or a dream.
Detective Miles was tall, young in the face, easy on the eyes, and looked more caring than his partner. He said, “Miss, sometimes a young girl runs away in search of love. Did she have a boyfriend or someone?”
“My daughter ain’t go chasing behind some f*ckin’ boy. She ain’t like that. They took my baby!”
Detective Greggs was older, shorter, had a graying beard, and appeared to be the father of many. He knew Harlem like the back of his hand. He remembered being a rookie cop during the days when Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas ran the show. He had watched Harlem change drastically over the years. Witnessed the birth of crack cocaine firsthand. He remembered Rich Porter and Alpo, young kingpins coming up after the older ones died out on the streets or in prison. His thirty-plus years on the force were met with good times, but also racism and neglect. He had seen his fair share of missing young runaways chasing after pimps and boyfriends, thinking they had found love. Years later, they’d be either turning tricks or dying slowly while chasing a high.
“Did she have any enemies at school or in the neighborhood?” Detective Greggs inquired.
“No, not my baby.” Denise started sniffling.
Detective Greggs had seen many mothers heartbroken over their children’s absence. Sometimes, it could have been prevented with good parenting, but other times the child left on their own volition. He remained unfazed by Denise’s tears. Looking at the condition of the apartment, he wondered why Child Protective Services hadn’t already intervened and taken her children away.
“Look, I’m going to be honest with you,” Greggs told Denise. “She’s young, and the chances are she’s with a boyfriend that you are unaware of. She thinks she’s found love and wants to chase it. Give it some time. She’ll come back.”
But Denise still wasn’t buying it, so the detectives took down Nichols’ description, and Denise gave them a small headshot Nichols had taken at school. Still, both detectives were reluctant to pursue the case.
Apple broke her silence. “She don’t have a boyfriend, a’ight! My little sister tells me everything. If she was dealing wit’ someone, then I damn sure woulda known about it.”
“We’ll look into it, ma’am, I promise,” Detective Miles expressed half-heartedly.
They then exited the apartment, leaving Apple feeling like she couldn’t trust them and that she would have to handle things on her own. She rushed into her room and quickly got dressed, sliding into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She rushed by her mother and bolted for the stairway. She left her building with an attitude and strolled through the projects, asking around for her little sister.
But everyone was giving her the same answer: “Didn’t see her.”
Apple rushed up to Lenox Avenue, where the bustling streets were filled with people and young teens. With the drive of a machine, she went into every establishment with a picture of Nichols and asked if she had been inside in the past twenty-four hours, but the replies were all negative.
Apple stood on the avenue, tears trickling down her face. She was fearing the worst, knowing that something had probably happened to her little sister already. She started walking up the block, her mind racing. Faces became a blur to her, and the sound of traffic was muted from her mind as she moved up and down the street with speed.
By nightfall, it seemed hopeless. After hitting every block and every corner, Apple was no closer to finding out what happened to Nichols. She slowly walked back to her home, praying that, when she walked through her front door, Nichols would be there waiting for her with a smile and a hug; that it was only a nightmare.
When she made it to the corner of Lenox Avenue and 139th Street, she spotted Guy Tony chilling out with a few friends. Something wild sparked inside of her, and then it dawned on her that Supreme was probably the one responsible for her sister’s disappearance. He definitely had the motive and reputation to do something so vile and heartless.
She marched over to Guy Tony, her eyes beaming on him intensely. She bent down, picked up a beer bottle, and rushed up to him while he had his back turned to her.
Guy Tony noticed the look of expectation his friends had in their eyes, distracted by something or someone approaching from behind him. By the time he turned around, Apple had already struck him upside his head with a glass bottle, smashing it into pieces.
“Bitch, what the f-uck is ya problem?” Guy Tony screamed out as he doubled over in pain, clutching his bleeding wound.