On top of that, the manly sounds of snoring and the foul smell of fumes from the two females passing gas added to what she knew would be a restless night. A bolt of anger shot through Heaven as the thought of Monty getting away appeared. The fact that she was able to land one out of the three shots she had fired at his fleeing body was not enough. She wanted every shot her twin Glocks possessed emptied into his flesh until he was dead and stinking. But that had not been the case. Instead, he had escaped death, and the man she loved was forced to embrace it. Chill’s face replaced the image of Monty’s. His lifeless body lay there in her embrace as if he were resting. For the first time, a tear trickled down her face. Then, another followed until they spilled out of Heaven’s eyes onto her cheeks. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to shake the image of Chill out of her mind, but it was no use. Uncontrollable tears took over her as her heart ached. She cried not only for the loss of Chill, but also for the loss of Earth and for the missed opportunity to make Monty pay. But most of all, she shed tears for the loss of her freedom.
Her nighttime tears soon turned into morning stains as she heard the click of the cell door and the sounds of running water combined with a flushing toilet.
“First tier trays up,” Heaven heard the officer roar.
“You eatin’?” one of her cell mates asked dryly as she looked down at Heaven from the sink area.
Heaven matched her tone with her facial expression and shook her head. She then glanced over to the other bunk bed and noticed the bottom bed was still occupied with a body letting her know that the girl at the sink was the one who made the sound effects on the top bunk last night. Not being new to jail, Heaven was sure the girl had deliberately and intentionally made noise at the sink and toilet to wake her out of spite of being awakened in the middle of the night when she came in. Females, especially those in jail, were spiteful like that Heaven knew. She wondered if she’d have to make an example out of her cell mate while she was in there.
“Paula, get up; it’s time to eat,” the medium-height, dark-skinned female with bad skin and baby cornrows shouted to the lump in the bottom bunk.
“I’m good,” a hoarse voice moaned from under the covers.
“Whatever,” the girl shot back making her way out of the cell.
“First tier, let’s go; last call for trays,” were the words that boomed through the room when the cell door opened.
Heaven stood up and went to the sink. She held the cold-water button with one hand and used her other to splash water on her face, due to the fact that she had no washcloth in her bedroll last night. She saw how bloodshot her eyes were as she looked into the mirror. She snatched up the shank-proof fingertip toothbrush along with the clear toothpaste and brushed her teeth as best she could. She let out a chuckle at the unsanitary way the jail forced her to groom. She was drying her face when her cell mate reentered with her breakfast tray.
Heaven couldn’t help but notice the morning serving before she lay back down. Her stomach turned at the sight of it. The facility called it Cream of Beef, but the inmates coined its rightful name as “Shit on a shingle” due to its resemblance to wet feces.
Heaven never understood how someone could eat a meal and enjoy it after calling it such a name. Her last six-month stay, she had never eaten the disgusting-looking meal and promised never to. The officer walked by, glanced in the cell, and slammed the door shut.
“So, what they got you for?” the dark-skinned girl asked with the same dry tone she had used when she spoke to Heaven about breakfast. Heaven was tempted to jump up and choke the girl until she regurgitated her breakfast, but instead, she answered, “Bullshit.”
“Yeah, that’s what they all say,” the girl chuckled. Her remark got her more than she bargained for. Not expecting a response or a reaction, she was caught by surprise. Before she realized she was being deprived of oxygen, Heaven had her hands wrapped around her neck cutting off her air.
“Bitch, you got me twisted,” snarled Heaven as she pinned the girl’s head up against the cell window. Her words were deep and low enough not to alarm the officer but loud enough to wake the girl in the bottom bunk.
“Oh my God,” Paula, the frail, half-Hispanic, half-Black girl hopped out of the bed in shock.
“Please,” she begged on behalf of her friend Samantha, whose eyes seemed to be about to pop out their sockets.
“Whatever she did she didn’t mean it,” Paula pleaded.
“Nah, this bitch knew what she was doing,” Heaven spat as she continued choking the life out of the girl. She pictured the helpless body being Monty as she applied more pressure to the girl’s throat. She was already facing murder and attempted murder charges, so another one would make no difference she told herself. It wasn’t until her name was called that she loosened her grip.
Paula tried to pry Heaven’s hands from around Samantha’s neck. Regardless of the situation, she refused to be labeled as a snitch, so she sided against banging on the door for officer assistance. When she looked into her cell mate’s face and continued her plea, she could see that the newcomer had blanked out. What stood out the most, though, was that she had recognized the female stranger. Upon calling Heaven’s name for a second time, Paula realized she had finally gotten through.
“Please, Heaven,” she begged again, seeing Heaven hadn’t fully released her hold around Samantha’s neck.
Heaven was curious how the girl knew her. She released her death grip and shoved Samantha, causing her head to bang against the window.
Heaven walked to the cell door and looked onto the dayroom. The female officer was still at the desk filling out paperwork. Samantha bellied over, gasping for air. Paula rushed to the sink and got her a drink of water. “Thank you,” she said to Heaven.
Samantha slowly sipped on the water as she regained the function of her throat, allowing an open passage for air. She regretted the façade she had displayed that caused her life to nearly end in attempts to intimidate her new cell mate—especially after hearing Paula call the girl’s name. Being from New Brunswick herself, Samantha was all too familiar with the name Heaven and what she and her deceased partner Earth were all about. According to the streets, Heaven and her partner Earth were just as thorough and ruthless as any male hustler that was getting money. She had never had the privilege of meeting either of the two, but being the dopefiend and crack addict she was, she had spent enough money on their drug block and navigated enough sales to Shell, Sonya, and Le Le. Knowing all too well how the three female hustlers got down, witnessing them all on different occasions making examples out of other junkies and dealers who underestimated them because they were women, Samantha was sure her life had been spared by their boss. Silently, she thanked her higher power.
Meanwhile, Paula was working up the nerve to say something to Heaven to break the ice and cut through the tension that filled the six-by-nine cell but couldn’t figure out what to say. She could see the steam still mystifying overtop of Heaven’s head like a halo, while her eyes began to darken by the second. Being kin to one of Heaven’s team members, Paula had heard enough stories from her older cousin Shell to know that had she had not intervened, life as Samantha knew it would be over. She herself wanted to join the all-female crew after watching in admiration the type of love and respect her cousin and the others received whenever they entered a room with Heaven and Earth, but Shell refused to bring her in. Paula knew the reason, although she denied it. It was no secret to the family, though. No matter how well she tried to hide it, everyone knew she was sniffing heroin, including Shell. Paula remembered Shell saying that there was no way she would allow her kin’s blood to be on her hands. Seeing Heaven in action made Paula realize the depths of her cousin’s words. She knew her five-bags-a-day habit would have increased had she been around the drug with daily accessibility, putting her in a position to slip even further into addiction. Paula was sure her then twenty-two-year-old life would have ended before her twenty-third birthday came arou
nd had she joined their team.
Here she was now, at age twenty-five, sitting in Middlesex County Jail with a fifteen-bag-a-day habit and what would be her fourth charge. Tears began to well up in her eyes at the thought.
The silence was broken by the clicking sound of the door.
“Y’all got trays in here?” the female trustee came around with the trash can and asked.
Samantha just stood there plastered against the wall. She was hesitant, fearful of a repeat occurrence with Heaven. Not wanting to draw suspicion, Paula picked up the tray and walked it over to the trustee. The trustee sensed something was wrong as she noticed the facial expressions and demeanor of the three women. Regardless of the situation, it was none of her business, so she took the tray and moved on to the next cell.
“Where you know me from?” Heaven wanted to know as she studied Paula. There was no doubt in her mind that she didn’t know the girl.
Her tone intimidated Paula. “Shell’s my cousin,” she offered as an explanation.
“Oh,” Heaven nodded. She then took a second look out the cell door. The officer was still in the same position hovered over the desk. She was sure her attack went unheard.
“What time they let us out?” Heaven directed her words to Paula. Samantha had made her way back onto her bunk. Paula thought for a minute. “I think we go out at nine today because we went out before dinner yesterday. It rotates for us because we’re on twenty-three-hour lockdown and one-hour rec until we get medical clearance,” she answered. Things were different since the last time Heaven had been in the facility, so she was unaware of the new operations of the female unit.
“And in order to make a call, your peoples has to set up an account with Global Tel-Link. A lot has changed,” Paula spat in disgust. She was among the percentage of inmates who couldn’t reach out to their loved ones because of the new phone system.
“This place is messed up,” she added in frustration. Heaven didn’t say anything. Instead, she just listened as Shell’s cousin babbled. Her eyes happened to look over at Samantha who she noticed was staring at her. “What’s up?” gritted Heaven.
She was all too ready to finish what she had started if Samantha had felt froggy and decided to leap. Heaven kept her eyes locked on Samantha. Samantha chose her words carefully before she spoke. “I didn’t mean any disrespect,” she started out saying. “I was in the wrong. That was my bad,” she confessed.
Heaven weighed up Samantha’s apology. She had been in the game long enough to know when someone was trying to game her. Samantha’s words were genuine.
“I respect that,” Heaven retorted.
Instantly, the tension lightened, and the air cleared at the acceptance of Samantha’s apology. Both Paula and Samantha were relieved for their own reasons. Paula, because she didn’t want to be a witness or an accessory to a murder, and Samantha, because she wanted to make it out of the county jail the way she had come in . . . in one piece, breathing. It wasn’t until Heaven had sat on the bunk bed that Paula and Samantha had lay back down. No one spoke anymore.
Heaven woke to the sound of the cell door clicking for the second time. She hadn’t realized she had dosed off while sitting up. The excitement the night prior had taken a toll on her body as sleep overpowered her will to stay awake. She hopped up, splashed cold water on her face, gargled, dried her face all in one motion, and stormed out of the cell. She could hear the stampede of footsteps rustling down the steps of the second tier like a herd of cattle. By the time, she made it to the phone area, all five phones were occupied while other females waited in line. Heaven cursed herself as she looked around in search of other phones. There were none on the second tier but four others she knew she couldn’t use. One was in a cage for any female who got into trouble and went to lock up, another was for a female who may have been deaf, and the other two were for females who had to be medically quarantined. Heaven shook her head as she watched the clock tick away at what seemed to be a rapid pace. She knew how time escaped you when you were up against it, especially in her situation. An hour was no time in jail when you needed to get something done.
The entire female unit was moving at lightning speed, thought Heaven. Women scurried to the showers, others huddled around the television, while women in red jumpsuits stood in a cipher congregating. Judging by the foreign appearance, Heaven figured they were Immigration detainees. As she finished her observation taking in her surroundings, she noticed she too had become the observed. Sets of eyes locked in, glanced, and studied her as whispers and murmurs filled the dayroom. A couple of faces she recognized, while most she didn’t. Either way, she was not beat.
The phone where she stood in line became free, and one of the callers in front of her hopped on. A total of twenty minutes had gone by since they’d been let out. Heaven sighed in aggravation. She had one more caller before her. She was tempted to jump in front of the female but feared she’d snitch on her. To her relief, she didn’t have to because the phone became open again as the unsuccessful caller slammed the phone and stormed off in a tantrum after a three-minute failed attempt. Heaven crossed her fingers hoping the same for the new caller. The smile on the girl’s face let Heaven know her wish didn’t come true.
Heaven stood there steaming for what seemed like an hour as the tall, frail, white, dirty-blonde continued with her giddiness on the phone. Eight minutes had passed by the time Heaven was able to make eye contact with the blonde. She was sure her eyes had spoken volumes judging by the sudden fear that appeared on the blonde’s face, not to mention the fact that she told whoever was on the other end of the phone she loved them and had to go. The blonde wasted no time getting away from Heaven once she ended her call. Heaven wasn’t in the least bit concerned with the girl or any of the other females. She glanced at the clock as she dialed the only number she knew by heart. The clock informed her that she had thirty minutes remaining.
By the time Global Tel-Link phone system instructed them on the procedures to accept the call, nearly two minutes had gone by when she heard the familiar voice.
“Qué pasa, mami?” Shell answered happy to be hearing from her boss. “You good? What happened?” Shell bombarded her.
“I’m good, don’t have too much time to talk or explain,” Heaven spit out. “I need you to get in touch with Hassan or Bashir and tell them I need a bail ASAP.”
“Already on it,” Shell interrupted. “Left them both messages, waiting to hear back. Don’t worry, we’re gonna make sure you get out of there, no matter what,” she assured Heaven.
“I know that,” Heaven’s tone dropped.
Shell caught it, “You sure you good, mamá?” she asked again.
“Yeah, this spot just fucked up and things just went fucked up,” Heaven replied.
Shell knew what she was referring to, between the news and the streets. She had a clear picture of how things went down. “Why you didn’t let us know something? You know we had your back,” Shell had finally asked what was weighing heavy on her mind. That’s what they all wanted to know.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Heaven answered, not because she was avoiding the question but because she knew the calls were being recorded and monitored.
“We’ll talk, though,” she then said. Shell understood.
“The girls send their love and said they’ll see you soon.” Heaven could hear Sonya and Mia in the background.
“I love y’all too. Let me get off this phone and take a shower.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get out tomorrow,” Shell said.
“Hopefully.”
“Nah, you’re comin’ home,” Shell stated with confidence.
“You’re right; see you tomorrow,” Heaven ended the call.
“Excuse me, Officer Garace.” Heaven approached the officer’s desk addressing the nearest of the two female officers. She was sure she had mispronounced the officer’s name she had read on the name tag. The stylish spiked-hair Caucasian officer looked up at Heaven. She was so p
reoccupied with the reading of her book she hadn’t noticed Heaven’s sudden presence. Her partner, an attractive sister, who was also engrossed in a book, her name tag read George, noticed Heaven. Officer Garace used an ink pen as a bookmark and closed the book. Heaven read the title of the cover. It was the book Ride or Die Chick 2 by Earth’s cousin. How ironic, she thought.
“Yes?” Officer Garace asked. Between her baby face features and soft-spoken tone, Heaven knew the officer couldn’t have been more than twenty-three years old.
“Can I get a bar of soap?”
“Here you go.” Being the closest to the crate that held the supplies, Officer George handed her a bar of soap. “Do you need tissue?” she asked Heaven.
“No. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“And it’s pronounced Gracey,” the officer corrected Heaven before she walked off.
“Got it, Officer Garace,” Heaven repeated before making her way to the shower.
Morning turned into afternoon, and the afternoon turned into the lights going out for the evening. As before, Heaven threw her hands behind her head and stared at nothing in particular while her cell mates lay soundly asleep.
Chapter Fifty-One
“Jacobs, come get your early-morning court tray,” the midnight shift officer announced as she stood in the doorway of the cell. Heaven recognized the soft-spoken tone from earlier. When she opened her eyes, she saw Officer Garace standing there. She’s definitely getting her hustle on thought Heaven, seeing how Officer Garace had just worked two shifts prior. The hustler in her made her think how much of an asset the officer could have been to her crew had they met on the outside.
Heaven and Earth Page 21
