"Damn, Nia Williams. I ain't seen you since…."
"Since my family moved when we I was like sixteen," she finished. "I know. It's been forever." Morrison looked between us, clearly annoyed.
"You two know each other?"
"We went to the same high school; we had a couple of AP honor classes togethere" Nia said. "But as smart as his ass was, he was always getting into trouble, and I was always trying to stay out of it." She smiled at me. "Looks like some things never change."
"And now you a Detective," I said, shaking my head. "That's wild."
"Is it? I always said I was going to do something with my life."
"Yeah, who would’ve thought it would be this.” I said.
"Small world," Morrison muttered. "Can we get on with this?"
"Can we come in?" Nia asked, her tone friendlier now. "Just for a few minutes. I promise we're not trying to jam you up."
I hesitated, then stepped aside. "Yeah, alright. But like I said, I ain't answering nothing without my lawyer."
"That’s cool," she said.
They came in, and I led them to the living room where Zurie was standing now, arms crossed, looking like she was ready for whatever.
"This is my sister, Zurie," I said. "She runs the club. Zurie, this is Detective Morrison and Detective Williams."
"Detectives," Zurie said coolly, not moving to shake hands or anything. She wasn't the friendly type.
Morrison pulled out a notepad while Nia looked around the room, taking everything in. Her eyes lingered on my furniture, the artwork on the walls, and how my shit was decorated.
"Nice place," she said.
"Thanks."
"So," Morrison started, clicking his pen, "the night of the shooting. You were at the club, correct Mr. Maddox?"
"You already know I was. It's my club."
"And did you see who started the altercation that led to the shooting?"
"Like I said, I'm not answering questions without my lawyer."
"Ms. Maddox," Morrison turned to Zurie, "you manage the club, correct? Were you there that night?"
"No," Zurie said shortly. "I had a personal matter to handle."
"What kind of personal matter?"
"The personal kind." Her tone made it clear she wasn't elaborating.
Morrison's jaw tightened. "Mr. Maddox, multiple witnesses say you were involved in a physical altercation with Zach McDonald and his associates. Is that true?"
At the mention of Zach's name, I felt my expression harden. "No comment."
"People were hurt. One of Coleman's associates is still in the hospital with a fractured skull and severe facial lacerations. You want to tell us anything about that?"
"No comment."
"Mr. Maddox—"