"Silver Lining" by Walter Mosley

From: Six Easy Pieces: Easy Rawlins Stories, Washington Square Press, 2003

Rawlins's old friend Jackson Blue appears at Sojourner Truth Junior High asking Easy's help tracking down Misty MacDonald. Misty's sister Jewelle is the girlfriend of Mofass, who manages Easy's apartment buildings in and around Watts. With Mofass dying from emphysema, Jewelle is feuding with the rest of her family for control of Mofass's business. Misty appears to have been caught in the middle.

From the Rawlins books I've read I only knew Jackson and Mofass, but Mosley's sharp description quickly brought me up to speed on the MacDonald family dynamic. Mosley also paces the story well, keeping Easy's familiar caution most of the time, snapping into violence at the right moments.