by Roy Glenn
“I didn’t do nothing, Bobby, I swear.”
“Freeze,” Black said, and Freeze happily resumed his brutal beating.
After what seemed to be a long time, Black stepped up to Banks, “Are you ready to man up, Banks?”
“I keep telling you, Black! I didn’t do shit!” Banks protested.
“Doc,” Black said.
“Yes, Black,” Doc said, with a very scared look on his face. Doc ran the gambling in the house and was probably thinking that he would suffer the same fate as Banks.
“I want you to go behind the bar and reach your hand behind the bottle setup next to the cash box. Let me know what you find.”
Doc walked very slowly to the bar and did what he was told. He reached behind the setup. “There’s another cash box back here.”
“Pull it out and open it,” Black demanded. “Tell us all what you find.”
Doc opened the box, “Drugs and money, Black.”
“That shit ain’t mine, Black,” Banks screamed. “I swear on my mama’s grave, I don’t know nothing about that! You planted it there.”
“Doc, has anybody other than the bartender been behind the bar tonight or any night for that matter?”
“No,” Doc said.
“How do you know that?” Black asked, knowing the answer.
“It’s a house rule,” Cynt said. “Nobody goes behind the bar but the bartender. How stupid can you be, Banks? Bad enough you’re dealing, but why you gotta do it in the house. It ain’t gonna do nothing but bring the cops down on all of us. Fuckin’ fool. You deserve to die.”
“Thank you, Cynt,” Black said. “I’m glad I didn’t have to be the one to say it.”
“Fuck you, Cynt!” Banks yelled.
“Fuck you, Banks. Stupid mutha fucka,” Cynt responded as she stepped up and slapped Banks in the face.
“Black, you gotta believe me. I don’t know anything about that shit. It must be Earl’s dope.”
“Jamaica,” Black said.
We all looked around and there stood Jamaica with Earl. He too had been beaten badly.
“You know I was selling that shit for you, Banks! You said we could make that paper and Black would never know it,” Earl said.
“Any questions?” Black asked as he looked around the room.
Again, no one said a word.
“Tie him up next to his friend,” Black said to Jamaica.
When he finished, Jamaica moved away, and Bobby handed me and Freeze each a 9.
“Gary Banks, a jury of your peers has found you guilty of treason. The sentence is death.”
Bobby walked behind the chairs and placed a black hood over their heads and moved out of the way.
Black looked at me and Freeze. “Fire.”
We both emptied a clip in them.
When it was over, I drove Black home. I asked him, “How’d you know Banks started dealing again?”
Black just looked at me like I was stupid or something.
“I know everything that goes on in my organization. Remember that. Never get too far removed from anything you’re in charge of, Nick.”
Mrs. Childers was right; I knew exactly how Chilly handled his business. But by now, she was talking all over herself.
“The story goes that you and Bobby Ray fell out over some woman and you cut out.”
“True story.”
It made me a little uncomfortable that she knew.
“Tell me about it, Nick.”
“You seem to know the story, so there’s nothing to tell.”
“There’s more to your dark side; that family you don’t like talking about, Nick?”
“If you really gotta know, yes, Mrs. Childers, that’s the family I don’t talk about. I ran out on Black when he needed me most.”
“Mike Black,” she said in a way that made me a little jealous.
“You know him?”
“Of course I know him, everybody knows Mike Black. After Chilly made peace with him, we got invited to all his parties. He always threw the best parties. He used to have them at some mansion out on the Island.”
“I remember those parties. Those were the days. But those days are dead and gone. You and I need to focus on the here and now. I need to know how to find Rocky.”
“Rocky doesn’t come around much. He just shows up when he needs to. I really don’t know how to contact him. Even though he buys from Chilly, he doesn’t like him.”
“I haven’t found anybody who does like your husband, Mrs. Childers. But we’ll pass that for now. How does Rocky do business?”
“He usually sends somebody.”
“Do you know if he knows Pamela Hendricks?”
“If he knows her, they met the same way, at one of our parties.”
“It’s not gonna take the cops long to put all this together and tie it all back to Chilly. But that’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but there is no evidence. Nick, I’ve seen Chilly walk in and out of jail too many times to be excited about this. If they pick him up now, it will just make him mad and he’ll take it out on me.”
“You’re right. Rocky is the one who’s tailor made to step off for this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two women Od’d on cocaine, both of them know your brother. Rocky, his childhood friend, is a dealer and one of the dead women works in a bank. It has money laundering written all over it. What is Jake’s involvement in this? I know. You don’t know, but if I do find him, he is poised to take a fall for conspiracy.”
“I never thought about it that way. Nick, you just have to find him.”
The longing in her voice set me off.
It made my will stronger, more determined to find him. Mrs. Childers was right about one thing, as far as the evidence went; none of this had anything to do with Chilly. The more I thought about the transcript and that thing about problems being taken care of, the more I was convinced that it was Jake he was talking about.
With all that had happened, I had completely overlooked the one person who might be able to put all this together for me.
Lisa Ellison.
She would be my target for the night.
I looked at Mrs. Childers. I wanted to stay and talk to her. But I put aside that thought and focused on what I was doing. It was better that way.
“Tell me about Lisa Ellison.”
Mrs. Childers rolled her eyes and called for the bartender. “Hennessy Martini with a twist.”
Without answering my question, she waited for the bartender to return with her drink. I thought about asking my question again, then I decided to rephrase it. “Why don’t you like her, Mrs. Childers?”
“Because she’s a dizzy airhead bitch, who thinks she’s the shit, but she’s not. She’s just a stupid air headed bitch, who’s so caught up in her own quasi-bourgeois lifestyle, that she don’t know her ass from a hole in the ground. The fake bitch.”
“So you don’t like her, huh?”
“No, Nick, I hate the fake ass bitch.”
“What does she do for a living?”
“She works for Armstrong Direct.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s some bullshit marketing firm. She’s some type of bullshit director.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, hmm.”
“You know what I mean, Nick, don’t be funny.”
“I mean your brother seems to have a thing for professional women with lofty positions. They even look alike.”
“That’s just how Jake is.”
I picked up my pictures. “Good night, Mrs. Childers.”
“You’re leaving?”
She didn’t want me to go.
Maybe she wanted me?
What’s more likely is that she’s just lonely and wants to talk. “I’m not gonna find your brother sitting around here.”
“Where are you going now?”
“Going to see Lisa Ellison.”
“I have a better idea,” Mrs. Childers said and stood up.
I got up, too. “What’s that?”
“Come ride with me.”
Chapter Ten
We rode in silence while Mrs. Childers drove us nowhere fast. She drove out of the city, across the Tappanze Bridge to a small house in Nyack. When we went inside the house, the first thing that hit me was the smell. It didn’t smell bad; it was more like the stale odor of some place that had been closed up for a while. The living room was well furnished and none of it looked like it had much use. Mrs. Childers turned on some music and went around the house turning on ceiling fans and opening windows.
“This is my little hide away,” she said, opening the French doors that led to the deck.
“Hideaway?”
She smiled and went out on the deck, seemingly to avoid my question. So I followed her outside and asked it again. She looked irritated by my question, as well as my presence on the deck.
“I come out here to get away.”
“Get away from what, Mrs. Childers?”
“More to get away from all the stress and pressures, you know, and be by myself. It’s so peaceful out here, it gives me a chance to relax and think.”
“Bullshit,” I said to myself. “Yes, it is very peaceful.”
She went back in the house and I followed behind her. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Thank you. Do you have Johnnie Walker Black?”
“No, will Hennessy do?”
“Hennessy is fine.”
I sat on the couch and watched her as she poured. She looked in my direction, but she dropped her eyes when she saw I was looking at her. She handed me the drink and sat down across from me and started to talk. So we drank Hennessy, quite a bit of Hennessy, talking and laughing for hours about nothing, really. Mostly a lot of reminiscing about her, Jake and Chézaráy growing up dirt poor in Philly.
“Dirt poor and on lockdown. That was us, couldn’t go anywhere. Except this one night, I snuck out and I went over my girl Tina’s house. Naturally, she was shocked to see me. She says she was getting ready to go ride with Beverly. I couldn’t stand that bitch, but her and Tina were cool, and I didn’t have nothing else to do. So we’re standing outside waiting when this burgundy Dodge Daytona hatchback pulls up. I never forgot that car,” she paused. “Beverly was sitting in the back. I don’t know who the two chicks in the front seat were. But I jumped in the car anyway. They said they were going to get some weed.”
“You smoke weed, Mrs. Childers?”
“Every once in a while,” she said and raised her glass. “This is my drug of choice. Back then, never. I had only heard other people talk about it. But I was excited about trying it, cause you know, I never did anything. I was gonna be in trouble when I got home anyway, might as well go for it all.”
“You might as well have some stories to talk about when you’re back on lockdown.”
“You know what I’m saying,” she smiled. “Anyway, I started choking the first time I hit it and didn’t want anymore.” Mrs. Childers laughed and got up to fix us another drink.
While she was gone, I got up, took a quick look around and quickly reclaimed my seat. When she returned with our drinks, Mrs. Childers handed me mine and sat down next to me. We talked our way through that drink and then the conversation turned.
“I remember the first time I caught Chilly with another woman. I was so mad, I wanted to kill him. We were at a party at his friend’s house. It was the usual dope boy party. People doing drugs, listening to music, and having sex all over the place. The place was packed, and it was so hot in there and the air wasn’t doing any good. After a while, I noticed that I couldn’t find Chilly. So I went looking for him. I looked outside, didn’t see him. Then I started going from room to room, that’s when I saw him coming out of a room with some ho. Both of them still putting their clothes back on.”
“The least they could have done was get dressed before they came out of the room.”
“I thought so too.”
“What did you do?”
“I slapped the shit outta him, cursed both of them out and left.”
“That was it?”
“No. Chilly ran after me, and started with the, you know, ‘Baby I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to see that, she didn’t mean nothing to me’ and all that shit.”
“The usual.”
“But I was young, stupid, and in love. A deadly combination. So I bought it, I went back inside with him, and everything was cool. We hung out the rest of the night like two lovebirds. Until most of the people left. So there I am standing by the kitchen, right.” She lit up a cigarette and blew the smoke in my direction. “Chilly was sitting on the couch. So I waved to him and smiled. He got up, walked over to me, and backhanded me down to the floor. He yelled for me to get up, I tried to crawl away from him, but I couldn’t. He grabbed me and pulled me up by my hair. This time, he punched me in the face. He kept on punching me. I don’t know how many times he hit me. Then he stopped. He looked at me and said, ‘bitch don’t you ever raise your hand no higher than your waist to me,’ and he walked away. Here’s the funny part.”
“There’s a funny part?”
“So there I am lying on the floor, crying, face swollen and bleeding. Blood all over my clothes and people just walking by me. The only one who helped me was that same ho he came out the room with. She helped me up off the floor, took me into the same room they were in, and cleaned the blood off my face. She even gave me some clothes to put on. After a while, Chilly knocked on the door, wanting to know if I was ready to go home.”
“I guess I don’t have to ask if you went with him.”
“What else could I do? I was scared to death of him. On our way home, he was just as nice to me, like nothing ever happened.”
“Why do you stay with him?”
“Please, Nick, where am I going? What am I gonna do? I tried to get away before and he always comes after me. There’s no telling what he’ll do if I try it again.”
“When are you gonna tell me what’s really going on, Mrs. Childers?”
“I have told you everything, Nick.”
“I don’t think so. You’re lying about something, or at best, you’re not telling me everything.”
“Can’t you just listen to what I say without trying to read something into it? But no, you have to analyze every word I say? Can’t you stop being a detective for a while? Can’t you just hold me?”
She moved closer to me and put her head on my shoulder. I felt her heart pounding along with her hand on my chest. I wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind, so I put my arm around her. After a while she fell asleep. I sat there holding her for a while. Suddenly, she jerked away from my embrace and grabbed a pillow from the couch. Maybe she can’t stand to be held either.
While she was asleep, I searched the house. After I searched the bedroom, I took the sheet off the bed. When I turned around, I was startled to see her silhouette leaning against the door. The light from the hall seemed to cling to each curve of her body.
“Are you looking for something, Nick?”
“I was just getting something to cover you with.” I held up the sheet. “You were asleep,” I said as she walked toward me.
“I was. But I’m awake now.” She stopped in front of me. I thought about trying to kiss her. “I don’t think we’ll need this.” She took the sheet out of my hand and let it drop to the floor. I could feel the warmth of her body. She looked up at me and exhaled. “Besides, it’s time we start back to the city.”
Chapter Eleven
Monday July 13: 1:47 PM
It wasn’t easy getting to see Lisa Ellison. Mrs. Childers only knew where she worked and had no telephone numbers for her. First, I got the number and tried calling and was immediately pushed off to voice mail. Then I tried dropping by her office.
I introduced myself as Calvin Bailey and said I needed to see Ms. Ellison about a personal matter. But I coul
dn’t get past Yvette, her personal assistant. She was able to keep me at bay for hours with her enchanting eyes, her inviting smile, and her engaging conversation. She also gave me a lecture about dropping by unannounced.
“Next time, Mr. Bailey, please call ahead for an appointment.” After waiting three hours, and reading the interesting articles in last month’s Essence, Yvette informed me that, “Ms. Ellison is gone for the day.”
Now what I wanted to know was how did she get out? She didn’t come past me and I could see the elevator from where I was sitting. So I asked, “How did she get out?”
I got more of a story then an answer. Yvette was good. I thought about hiring her. She’d be perfect.
“Can I make an appointment to see her tomorrow?”
“What time is good for you?”
“First thing in the morning. It has to be first thing in the morning. I have an appointment I have to keep in the afternoon.”
“I’m sorry.” Yvette smiled, and tipped her head to one side. “Ms. Ellison is busy in meetings until four.”
“That will be fine. I’ll see you then.” I smiled at her. “Good night, Yvette. It’s been a pleasure spending the afternoon with you.” I left the office looking around for other ways out of the office. Sure enough, I rounded the corner and there it was. An unmarked door with easy access to the stairs.
Tuesday July 14: 3:00 PM
The next day, I arrived at her office at three o’clock. More to talk to Yvette than anything else. I knew I wasn’t getting in, appointment or not. She informed Ms. Ellison that, “Mr. Bailey is an hour early for his four o’clock appointment.”
Before I came in, I took the liberty of placing a small camera in position to see the outer door and the door to the stairs. I sat talking to Yvette and watching the view on my laptop. At three thirty, Lisa came out the door and went straight for the stairs. I quickly said goodbye to Yvette and followed her. By the time I got to the stairwell, she was gone. She had probably gotten on the elevator on the next floor. I ran down the steps to try to catch her in the lobby. When I reached the lobby, I was exhausted. I used to run ten miles every day, but not one-step since I got out. The elevator doors opened, and she came out with the crowd. I followed her outside where she caught a cab. I tried to follow her, but I was quickly reminded that black men don’t catch cabs easily in New York City.
