Worth the Wait Part6

Crystal already knew what type of Pandora’s box she would potentially be opening by making this phone call, but she couldn’t worry about that right now. All she could think about was confirming or denying Cane’s involvement in this cartel mess. She swallowed the nervous ball in her throat and made the call to her ex, Rami Blackwell lead detective of the police department. They had dated for about three years, but that was over five years ago. There was no bad blood between them; things just didn’t work out with them actively pursuing their careers. They just didn’t have time to work on building their relationship. She hadn’t talked to him in a while, but she was willing to face the awkwardness for some information.

The phone rang and rang, then went to voicemail. Just when Crystal was about to hang up, her phone vibrated from a call connecting on the other end. It was Rami.

“Hey Crys , funny hearing from you. I couldn’t get to the phone fast enough,” he let out a small chuckle.

“Hey Rami, are you busy? Can we meet for coffee in, let’s say, 20 minutes?”

“Sure, yeah, I’m free. Is Jeffries OK?”

Honestly, it could’ve been anywhere but Jeffries, seeing as how that was the coffee shop they went to together all the time, but she obliged him and agreed to meet there anyway. Crystal was well aware of the fact that Rami was going to think this was a personal request to meet up, so she had to be firm and let him know right off the bat that this was business only.

When Crystal pulled up to the coffee shop, she could see Rami in the window, sitting in the booth they always sat in. She started to have second thoughts about calling him and began to rehearse her rebuttals for his flirtation before even getting out of her car, but it was too late to back out now. She walked up the stairs that led to the entrance and opened the door. Rami’s eyes were on her immediately. She looked down at her phone.

“Why are you so nervous? Calm down,” she told herself.

They made eye contact as she approached the booth and sat down across from him.

“Baxter, as I live and breathe! Damn girl, you look good. Did you cut your hair?”

Crystal got comfortable in her seat and adjusted her watch. “Yes, yes I did. And good morning to you too, Rami.” Her face was soft with expression, but her tone of voice was very serious. She couldn’t deny that Rami looked good too—still handsome as ever with brown skin, brown eyes, a strong stature, and a killer smile. But she was in love with Cane and had no desire to rekindle anything with Rami, so she did not return the compliment.

“I called you for a reason, Rami, I need your help with something.”

Rami looked intrigued. He sat back and said, “No problem. Anything for you, Crys. But can we order some coffee first?” He motioned for the waitress to come over mid-sentence, not giving Crystal a chance to respond. “Two Columbian roasts—one with two sugars, two creams, and almond milk, and the other just black.” He placed the order and looked at her.”You still take it the same way right? I mean, the coffee, that is.”

He was really trying to go there.

Crystal let out a single chuckle and placed both hands on the table. “Rami, this is not a romantic meet-up. I called you here because I need some information on that warehouse murder that happened last night. And please don’t say ‘what warehouse murder’ because I know you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

There was a pause. He waited until the waitress brought the coffe to their table. He took a sip, and there was another long pause. Crystal was just about to lose her patience when he finally said, “Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. But why do you want to know?”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “Because this is a huge story, and I’ve been given the task of covering it. This could really be big for me. Please tell me something.” She alluded to the fact that she partially suspected her new boyfriend could be involved.

“I don’t want you messing with this. This is serious. This is some very serious shit. It’s the cartel, for God's sake. And not to be an asshole, but this isn’t one of your desperate housewives' stories. This is really dangerous.”

Crystal took a sip of her coffee and said, “Normally, I would be offended by that and I would say that you are indeed being an asshole. But in this case, you’re right. This isn’t an ordinary story, and I need to write about it so that I can be taken more seriously as a journalist. Please, Rami.”

He cleared his throat. “I mean, there’s really nothing to tell. The guys were members of a big-time production and drug distribution organization. It’s most likely some rivalry shit—fighting over territory and trying to limit competition. Story done.”

“But how do you know they were cartel and not just some random guys?” she questioned intently.

Rami took another sip of his coffee and gazed at her. “You know, I really like the haircut. It brings out the shape of your face and eyes.”

Crystal exhaled and tried not to seem too annoyed. “Rami, I know what you’re doing. Come on, man, seriously. I’m on a time limit here.”

“Well, well, you certainly are a little feisty these days. But I know they were cartel because they both had blood-dripped roses tattooed on their forearms. That is the brand symbol for the Rosalia Fuerte cartel. Listen, whatever you write about this, just keep it simple. The department doesn’t need any public panic about this. I don’t want you saying the wrong thing and…”.

Crystal cut him off immediately. “I’m not gonna say the wrong thing; I’m gonna say…the true thing .” Then she remembered exactly why it didn’t work out between them. He was controlling as fuck and often tried to silence her and keep her in a box—stand out enough to be noticed as his woman but not too much to where she could form her own identity. “Thanks for your help, Rami.” Crystal threw a $10 bill on the table. “Coffee’s on me, but I gotta go. I’ve got a story to write.”

She grabbed her phone off the table and left. Rami met her at the driver’s side of her car.

“So that’s it? You just use me for a little intel for your story and discard me?”

Crystal patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, I bought your coffee, right? See you around, detective, and thanks again.” Crystal got in her car and Rami stood there shaking his head as she drove away. Crystal took a small sigh of relief. Although she was glad that was over, it still didn’t give her any reassurance about anything as far as Cane’s involvement. She got back to the newsroom and immediately went to her desk and started typing.

She needed to get this out by 12 and give it to Green and just think about something else. Monica saw Crystal sitting at her desk and was excited to see her but noticed the stress on her face.

“Hey girl, you good?”

“I’m OK, just kind of stressed out about this. Honestly, I’m just about done typing it up, ready to hand it in and just be done with it.”

Monica said, “Yeah, I can see that you’re stressed out. It’s all over you girl. How about you and I go get a drink tonight? My treat.”

Crystal happily accepted the offer, not knowing that Monica had other plans in mind besides just having a little time off.