G.A.B.O.S. (Original Version)

Chapter XXXV

Special Agent Paula Lindberg sat quietly as she listened to Anthony and Tremaine converse through her headset. Reaching to her left, she grabbed the large bowl of mixed fruits that she'd brought to snack on during what she feared would turn into a day-long stakeout. Anthony had already been in Tremaine's house for over an hour, and their conversation didn't seem like it was anywhere near ending. Luckily for her, she was a patient woman and didn't have anything else to do that day, so she didn't mind the wait. Since she was usually running around chasing criminals, she was actually happy to be able to sit down for a few hours.

"Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but I think you're sulking over more than Heaven's death. What's on your mind, man?"

Pressing her headphones closer to her ears in anticipation of Tremaine's response to Anthony's question, Paula sat up straight. "Thompson," she said, grabbing the other officer's attention. She motioned for him to put on his own headset. "I think we're getting somewhere."

Thompson sat his cookies down and placed his headphones over his ears just in time to hear Tremaine tell Anthony that he was fine.

"T, it's me," Anthony said. "You can talk to me. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. I know that you're feeling down about Heaven, and I know that Lynise getting married didn't help the situation. I feel like there's more to it than that."

"It's about time," Paula muttered. Putting down her food, she grabbed a pair of binoculars and held them up to her eyes. She looked out of the window of the van she was sitting in and focused on Tremaine's house. Through his slightly open curtains, she could see him and Anthony walk into his living room and sit down, Tremaine on the couch and Anthony on the recliner across from it.

"Honestly, I kinda feel guilty about something. I'll get over it soon enough, though." Tremaine was quiet for a few seconds. "Thanks for coming over here to check on me, man. After meeting with Santana, I went right back to doing absolutely nothing, and I probably would have been doing the same shit at this very moment if you hadn't come through."

"No doubt, fam. And, aye, if you ever want to talk about what's bothering you, I'm here. By the way, I don't know if you heard or not, but December is dead."

"Word?" The slightest hint of joy could be heard in Tremaine's voice.

"Yeah, somebody busted his shit open last night when he was visiting Tamia at her mom's spot. It's like crazy stuff keeps happening to the people around him. He's dead, Val is missing, and someone killed Nina not too long ago."

For several seconds, no sound came through Paula's headset. She could see Tremaine tense up in the house, clearly revealing his discomposure. She watched him tear his eyes away from Anthony's and look aimlessly around the room.

"That's unfortunate," Tremaine finally responded.

"I agree. She definitely didn't deserve to go out like that. Nina was a great person. I don't know why anyone would have wanted her dead."

Thompson frowned. "What the hell is he doing?" He moved the microphone that was attached to his headset down to his mouth and spoke to Anthony. "Atkins, ease up. Get him to talk, but don't try to force anything out of him. Be objective and keep the conversation as normal as possible."

Thompson and Paula watched Anthony as he ran his fingers through his hair, letting them know that he'd heard Thompson loud and clear.

"Nina is the one you liked to fuck, right?" Tremaine asked. "The Spanish hoe with the long black hair? She seemed nice."

Anthony winced at Tremaine's description of Nina. Despite how badly he wanted to go off on him, he knew that he had to stay in character. Christopher is married to Marisol, he reminded himself. Nina is just someone that Anthony pays to have sex with. "Yeah, that's her," he said after putting his emotions in check.