Déjà Vu Read online

  ZANE PRESENTS

  DÉJÀ VU

  Dear Reader:

  It is my pleasure to present Déjà Vu, the story of Angelica Barnes, who is struggling to lead a normal life in the middle of chaos and danger. Author Suzetta Perkins has established herself as a provocative, engaging novelist of the new millennium.

  After doing a five-year stint in prison, Angelica finds herself trying to become re-acclimated to society. That is not easy for a convicted felon with no support system. She decides to move to New York City but instead of the life she dreamed of, she ends up working as a stripper.

  Like most people, Angelica has trouble escaping from her past and when a demented ex-boyfriend takes her captive and starts murdering people in the name of his love for her, she has to fight for her life or concede to becoming his next victim. Readers will be sure to enjoy this thrilling offering and recommend it to all of their fellow avid readers.

  Thanks for supporting the work of Suzetta Perkins, one of my authors under Strebor Books. I appreciate you giving this book a chance and if you enjoy it, I hope that you will read the author’s other books: Behind the Veil, A Love So Deep and Ex-Terminator: Life After Marriage.

  Peace and Many Blessings,

  Zane

  Publisher

  Strebor Books International

  www.simonandschuster.com/streborbooks

  ALSO BY SUZETTA PERKINS

  Ex-Terminator

  A Love So Deep

  Behind the Veil

  Strebor Books

  P.O. Box 6505

  Largo, MD 20792

  http://www.streborbooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  © 2009 by Suzetta Perkins

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3148-0

  ISBN-10: 1-4391-3148-1

  LCCN 2009924329

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1–866-248–3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Visit us on the Web:

  http://www.SimonandSchuster.com

  DEDICATION

  To everyone who’s ever loved someone and lost—

  this is for you.

  ODE TO ANGELICA

  My life has been floating on a cloud

  Drifting from one bad place to another.

  Now I have a chance to get it right

  To show the world that I have arrived.

  But now that I’ve taken that step

  I realize I’ve been this way before.

  But I’ve got to find my way

  My way to freedom.

  —SUZETTA PERKINS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I don’t have the words to express how wonderful I feel and how thankful I am for all the blessings God has given me, enabling me to utilize my gift of the written word to reach out to others. It’s still an amazing journey, and to the readers who’ve expressed so eloquently how much they’ve enjoyed my work, I thank you.

  My family remains the springboard from which I fly, as they continue to support me in my endeavors, forever giving me encouragement as I continue to pursue this dream of mine. To my Dad, Calvin Goward, Sr.; my sisters, Jennifer and Gloria; my brother, Mark, thank you for taking every step of the journey with me. Your enthusiastic praise and support has meant the world. To my daughter, Teliza—We thank God for bringing your hubby, Will, home from war to a changed United States with its new black President, Barack Obama, and First Family in the White House. God is awesome. Kiss my granddaughter, Samayya. And last, but certainly not least, to my son, JR, who graces the cover of this novel, your unwavering support of my writing and all I do is so much appreciated. You said you wanted to be on one of my book covers, and I’ve delivered. I hope we sell as many books as you predict we will. LOL

  To my sisters-in-law, Celeste, Gwen, and Dolly, especially my mother-in-law, Lavada, and my niece, Candace, thank you for sharing the love and singing my praises from California; Raleigh, North Carolina; to the family reunion in Columbia, South Carolina. We sold some books at the family reunion, but it was fun because I shared it with you.

  Whether out to sea in the Mediterranean or onboard ship, my niece, Carla, has always been an inspiration and a great supporter of my work. Thank you, sweetie, for sharing my work with the Navy.

  This journey wouldn’t be what it is without the special people who I’ve been blessed to meet along the way, those who’ve made my dreams possible, those who’ve given me a path accessible to readers, and those who just reached out and gave me love. To Maxine Thompson, my agent, I couldn’t have done what I’ve accomplished without you. Our marriage was meant to be, and I love you. To the helm of Strebor Books, Zane, you made my dream possible. You never cease to amaze me as you move from one level of success to another, while helping others share their written works with the world, to your own work that now boasts a primetime series on CINEMAX, Zane’s Sex Chronicles, based on your own book. Thank you so much. To Charmaine, the other powerhouse at Strebor, thank you for all that you’ve given unselfishly to help me be successful. To Curtis Bunn, founder of the National Book Club Conference, it was an amazing ride being a featured author last year. Although I’ve attended this conference since its inception, 2008 will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for the opportunity. To Shunda Leigh of Booking Matters, thank you again for giving me the forum to showcase my work.

  To Yvonne Head, Mary Farmer, Marsha Jenkins-Sanders, Lissa Woodson, and Emily Dickens, each of you have been an integral part of my journey. Yvonne—thank you for the warm bed and good eats each time I came to or passed through Columbia; Mary—thank you for your unwavering support and your good word that helped me to land that spot at NBCC; Marsha—thanks, roomie, for all of your hard work putting the Between the Sheets Tour together; Lissa—thank you for a first-class ride at the Cavalcade each year and because of you, I LOVE CHICAGO; and Emily—thank you for being one of my strongest supporters and believing in me enough to invite me to speak at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Women’s Networking event.

  The book clubs continue to be my strongest allies on the journey. I’d like to thank all the book clubs for their continued support, especially the Sistahs Book Club—Val, Bridget, Donna, Tara, Bianca, Bianco, Jean, Latricia, and Melody; The Angelou Book Club—Debra, Alice, Sheila, Ernestine, Janine, Star, Jessi, Latoya, Elma, Myra, Norma, Robin, and Patricia; Let’s Talk Book Club—Carolyn, Desdy, Daisy, Lyndelia, Charlene, Mavis, Sharon, DeSandra, Barbara, and Paula; Sisters Unlimited—Patricia, Priscilla, Dail, Freddie, Mary, Gwen, and Tina; and the Imani Book Club—Angela, Mary, Pam x2, Denetrice, Teaner, Bernadette, Stephanie, and Charlotte. I must give a special shoutout to Motown Review who always show up and show out in full force in support of me—Jeanette (thanks for the spiritual experience), Sherri (for the great drink you fixed when you hit Fayetteville), Francine (smile), Yvonne (where is my gold blouse?), Roberta (thanks for my bag), Valerie (have your flat iron ready the next time I hit Detroit), and Yvette. While I didn’t meet with them this year, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Sister Circle for their support—Mary, Pamela, Jo, Rhonda, Alberta, Derian, and Lenora.

  Thank you Simon & Schuster/Atria for another wonderful year. And to all the readers who have read my work and enjoyed it, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me come into your homes, your vehicles, on your stress-free vacati
ons to entertain you, wow you, and give you an exciting read. God bless.

  Contents

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  1

  “Hey, hey, hey. What’s all the commotion about?”

  Twenty-five occupants of dorm “L” dressed in prison blue moved back from the two inmates who were in an intense shoving match as the plump corrections officer in a starched, slate-blue uniform and curly Afro wig approached the quad, giving everyone a once-over like she owned the joint. The two women continued to push and curse each other until one of them got in a lucky punch and knocked the other to the floor, but then offered a hand to help her up.

  “I said, what’s going on in here?”

  The two women stood erect and glared in defiance at the intruder. The inmates were serving five years to life, and Ms. Macy didn’t scare them. In fact, no one liked Ms. Macy. She had a mean attitude. She was Sgt. Macy at the control desk but was Ms. Macy to the inmates. Some speculated that Ms. Macy had endured a tough life…that someone had done her awfully wrong. Others thought Ms. Macy might have served time in prison, too, because she looked like a cold-blooded killer.

  Ms. Macy swung her arm out and pierced the air with her long finger, stopping short of one of the inmates’ faces.

  “You don’t have to say anything—none of you. Somebody will snitch you out. But I better not catch none of you passing another lick because you’ll be mine, if you get my meaning.”

  The twenty-seven women stared at Ms. Macy who had her nose stuck in the air like she hadn’t said a word. She was “Big Bark” to them because they knew Ms. Macy wasn’t going to do anything, that is not if she expected to reap any sexual favors from “her girls” while the others kept quiet.

  “Sgt. Macy, please report to the control room immediately,” said the voice over the loudspeaker.

  “Barnes, I’ll be back for you in a minute,” Ms. Macy said. “We’ve got to go up the hill to see the warden.”

  Angelica pushed her nose as high as Ms. Macy’s and nodded her head. The other women crowded around Angelica. Ms. Macy looked on, and then turned abruptly and left the quad.

  “Hey, sister. Getting ready to get up out of this joint, huh? Tell that fine brother of yours to do what he can to get me out of this hellhole.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” Angelica said.

  “I’ll miss you, Angel,” another inmate said. “You are the only sane person around here. I appreciate all you did to protect me from Ms. Macy. I don’t know what will become of me once you’re gone.”

  “Don’t worry. Ms. Macy is not going to touch you. If she does, let me know. There are ways to take care of the big, bad wolf.”

  “It’s just that the other corrections officers are so nice and Ms. Macy is so full of hate. She makes it her business to see that we suffer anytime she’s around.”

  “Like I said, don’t worry about Ms. Macy. My brother is an attorney, and even though he couldn’t save me, Ms. Macy wouldn’t want to face him in a court of law.”

  Angelica looked around at the place she had called home for the past five years. Sharing a room with twenty-six other inmates dressed in seasick blue didn’t compare to the cozy home with the moat around it that she had left. Her mansion was a gift to herself made possible by a messy divorce from ex-husband Hamilton Barnes. Hamilton was serving a life sentence at Central Prison a stone’s throw away from where Angelica lived at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. She had been a model prisoner, and now her time here had expired. Angelica was ready to get her release papers, which lay between where she stood and the outside world.

  “Barnes, let’s go,” Sgt. Macy shouted on her return. “I’m taking you to out-process.”

  Angelica stopped to hug the few women she had befriended. It had been tough on her, but these women made her time bearable.

  She had had very few visitors in her five years at the prison, but what saddened Angelica most was that the one person she thought would come didn’t. Margo Myles was her best friend once, and the cost of betrayal was too high and painful to think about. But Margo had forgiven her, or so Angelica thought. Margo’s name was on the visitor’s list, but not once in the five years Angelica was in prison had Margo shown up and signed in, which seemed to confirm what Angelica didn’t want to believe to be true.

  “I’m ready.”

  Sgt. Macy eyed Angelica from head to toe. Angelica’s hourglass figure made Sgt. Macy squeeze her hand like she was holding a glass of chocolate milk that she was about to consume. She licked her lips for emphasis, and her breathing intensified every time Angelica took a step.

  “I can hook you up on the outside—get a place for you to stay, if you like,” Sgt. Macy whispered, her voice raspy and deep.

  “And why would I want you to do that, Ms. Macy?” Angelica said, turning around to look at Ms. Macy with contempt in her eyes and heart.

  “Because you don’t have nowhere else to go? I hear your brother had to sell your place to pay your attorney’s fees.”

  “What’s it to you?” Angelica barked, her finger pointed at Ms. Macy’s nose. “You need to keep your nose out of other people’s business. I do want to make one thing absolutely clear, though. There is nothing you can do for me.”

  Ms. Macy grabbed Angelica’s arm and gripped it tight. “Don’t play with me, girl. You ain’t even all that anyway. You just sugar with some paint on it. Good riddance.”

  “Whatever. Now take your hands off me.”

  “You’ll never be far. I hear that your ex-husband and boyfriend are at Central Prison.”

  Angelica flinched. The last time she saw Jefferson, he was being placed in an ambulance after the shootout at the courthouse. It was also the last time she saw Margo. She had tried to see Hamilton, but his family made sure that she had no access to him.

  “Process me out, Ms. Macy. Today is a new chapter in my life. If prison taught me anything, it taught me to be strong, to be tough, and let nobody change who I am, no matter what is dangled in front of me. I am who I am. I’m ready.”

  Ms. Macy wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes. “You’ll be back before Christmas. You can’t survive by yourself. Let’s get you out of here.”

  2

  The clerk at the property desk handed Angelica her belongings. There wasn’t much—a North Carolina driver’s license, a tube of lipstick, two hundred dollars, and a diamond ring that her ex-boyfriend Robert Santiago had given her. Funny, she had not thought about Santiago the entire five years she was in prison, but looking at the ring made it all come back to her. So vivid was the image, it made her shudder.

  Santiago was a vicious person. As head of Operation Stingray, an underground group that purchased weapons stolen from a military base to sell to Honduran rebels, Santiago had ordered her ex-husband Hamilton and good friend Jefferson Myles killed. In fact, Angelica was in the car with Jefferson when he was gunned down. She
and Jefferson miraculously survived the hit, although Jefferson was partially paralyzed from the waist down and was now spending time in jail for his part in Operation Stingray. Angelica had no idea where Santiago was and she didn’t want to know. Simplicity was what she craved, and anonymity is what she prayed for.