Cartier Cartel

by Nisa Santiago

  At the precinct, almost relieved, Janet and Trina embraced. When they heard the commotion at the sergeant's desk, they realized Shanine and Lil Momma had also been arrested. Janet and Trina didn't wait to join the ruckus. Four mothers were raising hell inside the precinct, all demanding answers.

  It took the precinct captain five hours before he told them why the girls were being held. They had been arrested for murdering Donald Williams, who went by the street name Donnie, and was one of the biggest drug dealers in Brooklyn. The women knew the name. Who in Brooklyn didn't know Donnie? Or heard about his death?

  Trina was uncomfortable while in the precinct. She sat fiddling with the money, jewelry, and drugs in her twat. When she realized there wasn't anything she could do for Cartier tonight, she decided to take a cab to her mother's house. There, she could hide Cartier's stash and think about what she could do to get Cartier out of this mess she was in.

  Trina needed to talk to her daughter. She didn't understand what Cartier had gotten herself into. She counted the money and was surprised at the amount. Did she steal it from Donnie's dead body? Did she really have anything to do with Donnie's death?

  Trina couldn't handle the stress. First Barn, now her own daughter. She heard Barn had received a serious beat-down by Donnie and the only thing she could think of was Cartier and her friends had put a hit out on Donnie. At least Cartier isn't in the shape that Barn is, was Trina's only resolve.

  The more the thoughts flooded her brain, the more stress she felt. Then the one thing she didn't dream of happened. Her water broke. In her mind, she facetiously thanked Cartier.

  "Driver... please ... I'm having my baby... please take me to the nearest hospital," Trina pleaded.

  "OK, lady, hold on," the driver said in his heavy Middle Eastern dialect. "Do you want to go to Kings County or Downstate? I think I take you to Downstate. I hear they good for delivering babies."

  "Make it quick, I don't have much time!" Trina pleaded.

  The labor pains were more intense in her thirties, than when she was in her teens. When she went into labor with Cartier, it was a walk in the park. Trina realized she was too old to be playing mommy again. As she did her routine breathing in and out, the thought of Cartier in a dirty jail cell added more stress. She was worried about Cartier. She conceded she was tough, but Trina knew Cartier couldn't handle being locked away. None of the Cartel could. Trina was sure of that fact.

  As she continued her breathing, she wondered where and if she had failed Cartier. How did her daughter end up in such a bad situation? Trina was sure she should have seen it coming. She knew she was the one who put the added pressure on Cartier to be independent and get her own money. And when Cartier did what mommy told her to do, Trina turned a blind eye to her dealings, her comings and goings. Trina knew it, but she couldn't accept it. She never thought that advice would land her daughter in such a shitty situation.

  It was hard for Trina to accept. Of course she knew what Cartier was doing out in those streets. She wasn't stupid. But she told herself it was petty shit. Weed. Nothing too heavy. If Cartier would have gotten knocked it would have been a slap on the wrist. And when she was boosting, what could the police do? She was a minor. Again, a slap on the wrist. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be going to a precinct, hearing her daughter was involved in a murder.

  Trina was afraid. She was in labor and had so much weighing on her mind. When they arrived at the hospital, she was rushed to the emergency room to prep her for surgery. She gave the nurse Janet's information and asked her to relay the news of the impending delivery. She never thought she and Janet would ever be in this situation with their daughters.

  Eleven hours later, Trina welcomed her second daughter into the world. Prada Quinn Timmons came into the world weighing six pounds, eight ounces. Trina tried to celebrate the birth of her child, but the moment was tempered. She was a nervous wreck.

  At the arraignment, Janet passed word to Cartier that Trina had the baby. When Janet came back to the hospital, she didn't have any new information.

  "As it turns out," she began, "Donald Williams is Donnie, the drug dealer. The same shit we already know."

  "The one they found dead in the alley?" Trina asked confusingly. She was still on medication after the delivery of her child.

  "Yeah.-

  "Why would they say the Cartel killed him?" Trina asked.

  "Same shit. You know everyone on the block know Donnie's the one who hurt Bam."

  Both Trina and Janet were in denial. In some ways they knew the truth, but didn't want to accept it. The arraignment was only a preliminary procedure in the judicial system, but both women knew the prosecutor had a valid point: all four girls did have a motive to see Donnie dead. He had maimed their friend for life.

  "Damn, Janet, do you think they did it?" Trina asked the question they both didn't want to know.

  Janet shook her head from side to side. "I don't know, Trina. You know if it were you and me, we'd go to bat like that back in the day. But I never saw either one of our girls as murderers. And although Cartier has a little fire in her as we have, she's no killer. And you know Monya-my scary child-ain't no killer. It pains me to see her locked up." Janet was trying her best to keep it together. But the heart is a delicate organ and its worst enemy is emotions. She began to choke up and cry. "That's my little baby, Trina. She won't survive in jail."

  "Don't cry, Janet. Listen, they ain't doing no time. We gonna get them good lawyers and get them out, even if I have to sell my pussy on the corner!"

  "That old shit? All that will get them is a public defender," Janet joked and they both chuckled through their tears.

  "When they were remanded back into custody all you heard was Monya screaming and crying for me," Janet said. "It liked to break my heart into pieces."

  "What about Cartier?" Trina asked.

  "You know she had on her game face. She was strong and held her head up. You would have been proud. Just keep your cell phone on. I'm sure she's going to call you:'

  artier was the first to call her mother. Trina had nodded off from the medication they'd given her for her cesarean.

  "Hello?" Trina's voice was groggy.

  "Ma, this Cartier"

  Trina sat up in bed as best as she could. "You know I would have been there if I could."

  "You know I know that. Besides, you held me down when I needed you most when you-"

  "Don't talk over those phones," Trina cut her off.

  "Oh yeah, my bad."

  "Now, when's the next time you get to see the judge, and who's the lawyer they appointed you?"

  "All of us go back to court in two weeks and I got this bullshit lawyer who's already telling me I'm going to do life, even though I'm telling him I didn't do shit. I swear I wanted to punch him right in his cracker-ass face!"

  "Don't go getting yourself into any more trouble," Trina tried to calm her down. "Look, Cartier, try to look out for Monya. Janet was here and she said Monya won't be able to handle the pressure. If they put you girls together, always make sure you got her back as me and Janet always got down. You know how we do."

  "I hear you, Ma," Cartier said and exhaled. She didn't want to admit it but in a million years she never would have thought the Cartel would end up in jail for a murder. "I'll look out for Monya, but I need you to do me a favor."

  "What?"

  "Call Ryan and tell him what's up. He needs to hear from you what's happened to me before the streets tell him my story. And when you get him on the phone tell him to come and see me as soon as possible. OK?"

  "Yeah, I'll call him later-"

  "Ma, why can't you call him now?" Cartier whined. "As soon as we hang up the phone just give him a quick call."

  "Calm the fuck down!" Trina yelled. Although she was in pain and weak, she felt her daughter should be more worried about getting out of prison rather than running behind some nigga. "I said I'll call him. I've been through a lot too."

  Cartier re
alized how selfish she was being. "I'm sorry. Get some rest and when you're better make sure you come and see me too."

  "I'll be up there to see you as soon as I get out of here," Trina assured her.

  "Oh, yeah, my bad. Congratulations. What we have?"

  "A baby girl. I named her Prada Quinn Timmons."

  "Ma, now you know that's some ghetto shit, right?" Cartier said, laughingly.

  "Look who's talking?"

  "You're the one who named me Cartier. Now it's Cartier and Prada, and yet we don't have a pot to piss in." In unison, they both said, "Or a window to throw it out."

  Cartier felt good talking to her mother. Ever since Cartier stepped up to the plate and began relying on herself to get money, her and her mother began to grow closer. Seemingly overnight. Trina was now one of the coolest mothers around in Cartier's eyes. And if her mother told her it was going to be all right, then it was. Cartier tried to assure herself that the police only had circumstantial evidence. She was sure no one saw them do shit. Plus, she couldn't believe Jason would snitch. But if he did, she would turn it back around and say he lied. Anyway, the only thing he could testify to was he asked her to call Donnie, and the last time she checked, that wasn't a crime.

  But the saving grace for Cartier was Monya keeping quiet. If Monya talked or bragged about being a killer, that was it. The worst thing that could happen would be Lil Momma or Shanine getting that information and using it against them. This was truly a game now and the players were plentiful: Cartier and Monya against Lil Momma and Shanine, the whole Cartel against the cops, and possibly, Donnie's people against the Cartel.

  What Cartier didn't know was that the police didn't know anything. They were playing the system, and the judicial system was letting them do it. Technically, the cops didn't have any evidence, circumstantial or otherwise. The search of all four girls' homes came back empty, and they didn't have a murder weapon, eyewitness, or even a reliable snitch to rely on. They used the theory, let's arrest them all and let the pieces of the puzzle fall where they may. And they knew the weakest link always spilled the beans. It was a gamble, but they had a murder to wrap up. And they didn't want it to end up in the cold case files.

  ason was the first to post bail. The detectives had visited him often but he said nothing. He didn't own up to anything and never mentioned Cartier's name. He was a soldier, and true soldiers didn't break. He was innocent of any murder beef. They couldn't charge him for making a phone call nor could they prove that phone call led to Donnie's death.

  "Picture that," he spat when Cartier's mother approached him. Trina was back on the block after visiting Cartier in jail.

  "Yo, that girl is my heart and I would never do anything to hurt her," Jason continued. "Tell her to hold her head. They bluffing. Those cops ain't got shit! Besides, she told me she's clean. She ain't got shit to worry about. Matter-fact, I'ma go see her"

  Jason was worried about the Cartier Cartel breaking. Jail was a different animal for those experiencing it for the first time. Those basic civil liberties people take for granted were no longer free. You paid with time. That's why they called it pulling time. And for young girls like the Cartel, it could be brutal. He was worried one may break and confess to all kinds of shit. And he couldn't live with Cartier being locked up for a dime or quarter.

  Jason had heard all the horror stories from niggas who folded under pressure and copped out to crimes they didn't commit. He knew most suspects looked guilty and was afraid to go to trial for that reason. Hell, every detective and defense attorney who worked for the man knew that same fact. Add the pressure and stress from being locked up in the joint, it was a nowin situation. But once you copped out, it was a wrap. You couldn't come back later saying you were railroaded, because no one cared. He had to get at Cartier before she folded.

  uesdaywas visiting hours and Jason made his way to see his sweetheart, Cartier.

  When she walked through the visiting room door, her eyes lit up. She was outfitted in standard jailhouse garb: an orange jumpsuit. But the baggy clothes couldn't prevent her thick thighs and round ass from standing out. Her hair was pulled back tightly into a ponytail. Her face was void of makeup and her nails of polish. She also looked worn and dusty from her stay in jail, but Jason could see past her current living environment.

  He greeted her with a smile. "What's up, gorgeous?"

  Cartier blushed and felt self-conscious. She took her hands and ran them across her hair and looked down. Although Jason wasn't her man, she knew how he felt about her. He had her back and regardless of how many times she dissed him, he always came back, always stood strong for her. She couldn't say the same thing about Ryan.

  "I'm surprised you really came," she stated.

  "And why is that? You my peoples, right?" His everlasting smile made her feel good.

  "But you know how guys feel about going to see women in jail." Cartier was really referring to Ryan. She had Trina contact him to tell him what happened and he gave her a song and a dance about not being able to take seeing Cartier locked in a cage. He promised to give Trina the money to post bail for Cartier, but to date, he hadn't came through.

  "I don't give a fuck how guys feel, all I care about is how I feel about you."

  Again, Cartier blushed.

  "So look, peep this," Jason began his schooling. "You know I ain't tell them cats nothing about calling duke for you. Your moms came talking sideways."

  "Yeah, she told me. Thank you for holding me down."

  "No doubt. But I want you to stand strong. Those niggas are bluffing. They trying to rattle y'all to flip on each other and one false confession and it's a wrap."

  Cartier shook her head.

  "I'm serious," Jason tensed up. "When you get a chance, go back and tell those knuckleheads not to fold ... to wait this thing out and all y'all will be going home soon."

  "Ain't nobody to go back and tell. Lil Momma and Shanine aren't speaking to me and Monya." Cartier paused. She looked at Jason. He didn't press her. "And Monya is a zombie. She hasn't eaten anything since she got here. They got her on suicide watch. So it feels like I'm in here by myself."

  "Well, hold your head. You the strongest one out of the crew. I always saw something in you that I didn't see in those other broads. I don't know why you even used to hang out with them. When you get out, you better do things differently. Put up boundaries and don't let motherfuckers in your circle. You feel me?"

  "No doubt," Cartier pepped up. "I just can't wait to get out of here. You know I even miss going to school?"

  "They done scared you straight in this motherfucker if you miss school. Hell, remember, you dropped out for a reason. Don't tell me you somebody's bitch and giving my pussy away!" he joked.

  "Since when this your pussy?" she retorted.

  "Well, not yet, but hopefully one day. You know I'm still waiting on you to recognize I'm a good dude."

  Cartier looked at Jason and saw his sincerity for the first time. She was still young and really didn't know what she wanted in a man. It was about the status, but when she needed someone to come strong, it was always Jason. He would drop everything for her. She knew she could count on him, but thought he was only shooting shit her way, not sincerity. She was wrong.

  "I know you are," she replied.

  The visit ended with Jason promising to put money on her books and to check up on her mother and little sister, Prada.

  "Jason?"

  "Yes?"

  "Can you put a few dollars in Monya's commissary too?"

  He shook his head in the affirmative.

  "And Jason?"

  "Yes"

  "One more thing ... maybe two."

  "What? I got shit to do."

  "Can you put money in Lit Momma's and Shanine's?"

  He thought for a moment and her request made him only love her more. "Oh, when you get out you're definitely hooking up with me!" He gave her one more big smile.

  Cartier walked back to her cell and thought about her v
isit. She never thought he would be the one who came to her rescue. How could she have overlooked him all these years?

  t didn't take long for Jason's prophecy to come true. That next day, the detectives began interviewing each girl, and the game plan was simple, divide and conquer.

  Shanine was the first to be interviewed and play "let's make a deal." She was summoned into an interview room with the arresting detectives and her public defender, which she already wasn't crazy about. She was nervous and didn't know what to expect, but she composed herself for the worst.

  "What did I do now?" Shanine asked.

  "Shanine, please have a seat," her public defender said. He was a young white guy who looked as if he had just completed high school, let alone law school. "These detectives are going to ask you questions and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. If you decide to answer them, only answer what you know."

  Shanine nodded in agreement.

  "Shanine, we need you to talk," the lead detective stated as soon as her butt touched the chair. "You might be able to talk your way out of trouble."

  "What do you mean?" she asked.

  "Look, we know you didn't kill Donnie-" the detective iterated.

  "Oh really?" she cut him off quickly. "Then why am I in here?"

  "Because you need to tell us which one of the Cartier Cartel did him in," the second detective chimed in. "If you were there and didn't stab him, then we can get you a reduced sentence if you tell us which one of you did it."

  Her voice raised an octave. "I told you that we didn't do it! We might do a lot of things, but we ain't no murderers."

  After twenty minutes of trying to get Shanine to turn against her friends, the detectives gave up. She didn't give them anything. She didn't volunteer any information nor did she slip up and say the wrong thing. They wouldn't admit it openly, but the detectives were impressed by her willpower. They just hoped all the girls were not that strong.