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“That man, the one you…that’s him. I-I recognize his face,” she softly said.
I slowly nodded. “Magenta was my sister.”
She lifted a hand to her mouth, her wide eyes affixed to me, a tiny, “Oh,” escaping her mouth.
“He admitted that he did it a bunch of times,” I said, surprised at my calmness. “Always when he was drunk and always to someone other than the cops. The police didn’t seem to care. It was like they didn’t even try to convict him. The case was cold, old, and Magenta was Black. She didn’t matter to them, but she mattered to me. The shit killed my mother.”
“Ray…I…” her voice faded as a tear fell from her eye.
“Yeah,” I said, “I told you the motherfucker deserved it.”
11
“You were staring at your phone all evening. What did you find out about me?” His voice pierced the darkness of my bedroom and almost gave me a start.
“Uh, what makes you think I was researching you?” I posed.
“I put a spy app on your phone. I can see everything you do…in real time.”
I sighed. “I almost forgot you’re a piece of shit, Horacio Nation.”
Of course, he laughed. “Oh, you hitting me with my government name, huh? What else you got?”
“You saw what I read, didn’t you?”
“I ain’t read all that shit. You went to like, thirty websites.”
“Mmhmm, anyway…you were born here in Parkton. Your mom, Monica, was a nurse. I didn’t see much on your father, just his name—Issac Bridges.”
“That’s pretty much all I know about him, too.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, continue.”
“Uh, Magenta was the oldest by three years. It was just the two of you. No more siblings. You two were close.”
“Very close.”
“And your mom, she passed away when you were sixteen?”
“I swear she died of a broken heart.”
“Yeah, I think so, too. I read that she never got over your sister’s death.”
“Neither did I.”
“I can imagine. Um, there was a lot about how that man—Talbert Penny—should’ve never been paroled after his last conviction before he…before what he did to your sister. He was a career criminal. Everyone knew he’d strike again.”
“And he did, except he escalated.”
“Yes.”
“You know why he was off the grid, living on the streets? Because he knew I was coming for him. He knew there was only a matter of time before I got to him. Because of him, I lost my big sister, my mom, my fucking stability. I had to live with relatives until I turned eighteen, ended up in the damn military because I didn’t know what else to do, was dishonorably discharged after three years, had to crawl my way up to where I am. When I saw him that night, I wasn’t letting the opportunity pass me by.”
“I…I get it. I understand. Horacio?—”
“Ray.”
