Thin Line

by Anthony Whyte

  “Help him, Shareef,” she used to shout whenever we would come across an insect in need.

  Lolo was the best friend I ever had and I could feel my thoughts roaming out of control. Then the realization of the loss hit me. And as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t prevent my tears from streaming down. The night wore on and I realized how quiet it was. Slowly I went to the window where I sat listening to the nocturnal sounds. After a while I realized that birds were whistling. It was daylight.

  The sad moon, even though fading, was still staring down. It was goodbye to a yesterday that I’ll never forget, but it was a new day. I’ve got to find out what’s going on. I heard faint sounds of chatter and I inched closer to mother’s bedroom. I could hear them arguing. Stanley sounded really angry. My ears strained to listen.

  “I don’t give a rat’s tail what the detectives told you, Rita. I was not having sex with dancers in Vegas. I went to the party, then left and went back to the hotel alone.”

  Mother and Stanley were still arguing. I continued listening as Stanley spoke.

  “Mozi and his buddies went in another room to have a nightcap. From that point, I was asleep. I told you the plane ride was long, and I wasn’t feeling well.”

  “It just so happens that condoms were found in your room…”

  “Hey, those could’ve been there before I got there.”

  “I suppose the whole janitorial staff cannot see, huh Stanley?”

  “No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying that I know nothing of that girl’s death. Nothing…”

  “Stanley, there are eyewitnesses who saw you and Mozi with her. They were staying in the same hotel as you and Mozi. Don’t lie to me, Stanley. I know you very well!”

  “I swear to you, Rita. I’ve never met that woman until we were all in the club. I don’t care what your police friends shared with you, I know that I had nothing to do with her death.”

  There was a long pause and I felt like I wanted to sneeze but this was too interesting to leave. I wanted to learn more. It was obvious that Lolo and her father were not the only ones who had been killed in connection with this drug gang. I waited holding my nose to prevent the sneeze from coming out. I had to know why mother and Stanley were up arguing about Lolo’s parents.

  Something in what he said made my mother’s voice of authority relax. “I’ll level with you; Detective Johnson thinks you know way more than you are volunteering. That’s why he wants you to come down to the precinct.”

  “Well level with me some more. Do I need an attorney or not?”

  “Are you being honest with me? I don’t know—I can’t tell anymore. And that’s the real deal. I mean if I’m wrong, then God forgive me, but I don’t know about you…”

  “You know me. You’ve seen my family. You know both my children, and I’ve never hidden anything from you. Am I anything like what you’re thinking? My cheating wife is the reason I am divorced. Just because Mozi was a front man for a drug cartel doesn’t mean I cheated on you.”

  “I don’t know. I just want you to go downtown and clear this situation up.”

  “Will that make you feel better? If it’s going to make you feel any better then I’ll go down tomorrow and take the damn lie detector test they have been asking me to take. Then you can get off my back.”

  “I’ll be happy when you clear it all up.”

  “You think that’s going to be the end of it? They’re going to want more and more.”

  “If you’re not implicated in any of the wrongdoing, then we’ll be alright. If you fail the test, then you’ll need a good criminal attorney.”

  “What about the bad guys? Think they’ll be happy that I’m going to the police?”

  “Don’t worry about that.”

  “Are you crazy? Didn’t you see what happened to Mozi? The moment he went to the police. Pow! His family… You wanna live with that, Rita?”

  “Easy, Mister,” my mother said, her tone laced with resentment. “First of all I did not pull the trigger. Secondly I wasn’t there, telling Mozi to launder money taken off drug dealing, robbery or extortion, okay? I advised him to talk with the lead detectives because they saw something on film involving you.”

  “I know everything will be alright. I did nothing wrong. All I did was travel to Vegas, and the Bahamas with a friend who turned out to be involved with…”

  “The truth is you took gifts of trips with known felons. You didn’t know their true identities, but you willingly cooperated with them and may have been a mule or a keeper of drugs. Now you must cooperate with law enforcement or your freedom will be curtailed. It is that simple, Stanley.”

  I had heard enough and walked away from my listening position near the door. I slipped back into my room unnoticed and restless. My mind was racing, and my thoughts kept swirling around Lolo. Glancing at the clock, it was going on three in the morning. I tried closing my eyes, but kept seeing Lolo in my memories. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep. I kept thinking that I just have to get out of here. I’ve got to see for myself what happened.

  I rose to my feet, threw on my gear, and grabbed my spare key. I’ve never been much for sneaking out, but something just came over me. As I tiptoed out of my bedroom I was terrified that someone would suddenly feel like using the bathroom. My heart was pounding. My mom would be furious if she knew what I was doing. And Stanley was already a snitch, but more so with my mom’s missiles pointed at him. He just couldn’t wait to aim them right at me, the easy target. The carpeting muffled my footsteps, so I easily slipped out my room. Tiptoeing, I made it past their bedroom, and was in the clear. I walked down the stairs slowly and headed for the kitchen. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew that once I turned the knob, there was no way out of trouble if I were to get caught.

  CHAPTER 6

  I did it. I was able to make it out of the house. This part of the neighborhood was nothing like the busy street I lived on. Here no one was awake, there was no corner store, no one out sipping booze out of bottles covered with brown paper bags. Out here it was just the squirrels, the cold early morn, and I. My feet moved swiftly as I did not want to be out for too long or too late. I walked as close to the edge of the sidewalks to keep the motion lights from the dark homes from turning on and catching me out at this late hour of the night. The whole neighborhood is sleeping, not a light on or a sound.

  My heart sank as I saw the yellow tape. Never before had this community been decorated with such a display. I wanted to turn back around, and run home. I felt dizzier with each step I took closer to the scene of the crime. I slipped around back where Lolo once told me they kept a spare key under a fake rock. As I held it in my hand, I almost wanted there to be no key so I would have a good excuse to turn around and slip back into my bed. I turned the fake rock over, and there it was—a silver key.

  Removing the key from its hiding place, I slid it inside the keyhole. Then I entered the kitchen by turning the key. It was eerie to be in someone’s home like this. There was still coffee sitting on the counter, a newspaper laying across the table, dishes in the sink, and one of the cabinets half open. The house felt abandoned, as if the family had suddenly up and moved did not even have time to tidy up or pack. I could hear no sounds other than my breath and heartbeat. I moved from the kitchen into the living room, and could see the bloodstains on the floor. I moved quickly past it to avoid getting caught in the horrific drama, and emotion of the sight.

  I pushed myself up the stairs and crept into Lolo’s room. It felt so cold without Lolo. I felt obligated to be here but at the same time I felt like an intruder. I walked over to the computer, which was still on, and held a draft of her latest save-the-world plans. The place was tidy. Nothing was out of place. I found her book of her poetry. One of her many aspirations was to be an author. Her words had always been much more articulate than mine. She managed to make her poetry sound like ‘the new Black’, while mine sounded like a dead language.

  Sitting on her bed, I careful
ly thumbed through the pages. Suddenly I heard movement and sprang into action. Quickly turning off the light, I shoved the poetry book into my pocket. Then I slid under her bed, knowing that whoever was in the house with me expected no one would be here.

  I could hear the faint sounds of more than one person moving, and then more loudly I heard footsteps above me, below me, and moving down the halls. My heart raced louder and faster. I heard someone standing by the door.

  He pushed the door open and was about to search the room when a voice said, “Where is it? Where is the key to the safe?” The steps of the strange figure could be heard moving further away. Just then, the voice of another man said, “He kept the key in the desk. Top drawer. There is a hidden compartment. Just feel around for it.”

  That voice sounded familiar but I could not make it out because they were whispering. I heard nothing further. How am I going to slip out of here? I thought. I crawled from under the bed on my stomach and peeked out through the open door. I searched the hallway as far as my eyes could see and saw only shadowy figures in the study. This might be my only chance to get out. I stayed low and used the darkness to shield me from their sight. I heard the familiar voice once again.

  “I cannot go down for this! I have to get out of here before someone notices I am missing.”

  Another voice replied, “What do you mean you cannot go down for this? You already know what the deal is. Don’t even think about snitching, if you know what’s good for you!”

  “I would never dare speak. You know me. You know that I’m not like that. I would never dare betray you,” the familiar voice squeaked.

  “You see what happens to snitches! Go! Get your punk ass out of here. As of right now, your usefulness has reached its limit.”

  I heard footsteps drawing near. I slithered into Mr. and Mrs. Mozi’s bedroom. I had never seen this room before. It was the perfect hiding place because I could hear everything happening in the next room and would know when the bad guys made their exit.

  “Would you look at this? This man was about to bury us,” a voice said.

  I heard the footsteps moving quickly down the stairs and out the door. Who was that voice? Who could it be? My mind was swirling, my heart racing, and I was trapped.

  When I was certain I was alone in the house, I decided to look around for anything they missed. I turned on the light in the Mozi bedroom to see if Mr. Mozi had anything hidden in here.

  Once the lights were on, a beautiful matching bedroom set was revealed with only one piece that did not match. It was an old secretary desk. I opened it and discovered stacks of pictures taken on a yacht. The men were all holding their left hands up in the pictures. They were sporting matching pinky rings with black jade and garnet. Stanley was in all of these pictures. He had the same ring as the men he was pictured with.

  I had noticed both Stanley and Mr. Mozi had these rings, but had just thought they shared the same poor taste in gaudy jewelry. Mr. Mozi’s ring was also in the desk. I pocketed the pictures and the ring. Mom was right. Stanley was more involved than he let on.

  While searching the desk drawers, I stumbled upon a gold chain, and hanging from it a gold skeleton key. I remember Lolo used to wear this around her neck whenever Mr. Mozi’s business partners came to town. I took the key, put it around my neck. This key must be to something, and there must have been a reason Lolo wore it at those moments.

  The sun was starting to rise. How long had I been here? I had to get home before I was missed. I raced down the stairs, and out the back door. I cut through the neighbors’ backyards to avoid being seen by those starting their early-morning commute. I was lucky. No one spotted me slipping in the backdoor of our home. Once safe inside, I put all the things I found inside my backpack.

  I threw on my pajamas, and jumped in my bed. Then I closed my eyes, trying to catch some sleep before mother’s wake-up call.

  CHAPTER 7

  The sun came up too early that morning. It was Friday, and I pushed myself slowly out of bed after hearing my mother yelling.

  “Shareef, come on let’s go. You’ve got school, young man.”

  She darted in and out of my room at rapid pace. Rolling over, I sought the comfort of my pillow and covers, but I would not rest for long. Her flurry of movements continued to disturb the sleep coming over me.

  She would take me to school as soon as I was ready but she was not going to allow me to be late. No way.

  “Shareef, I know you don’t think you’re going to just lay around and be late for school?”

  “No mom, I’m up…” I yawned.

  “C’mon Shareef, get in the bathroom now.”

  There was a strong sense of urgency in my mother’s voice. I quickly jumped out of my comfortable bed then ran to the bathroom. Later at breakfast she explained that my father would come and get me from school.

  “Where are you going to be, mom?”

  “I’ll be in an important meeting with your stepfather,” she answered.

  “Your meeting is too important for you to come and get me yourself?” I asked in my most pitiful tone. I hated when she took time out for Stanley at my expense.

  “Shareef, please do not start. This is a very, very important meeting, okay? So please just this once, okay? I will make it up to you.”

  “Okay mom,” I said gratefully. “Why can’t grandma pick me up, mom?” I asked trying to push for an advantage. If grandma picked me up, I would be able to eat whatever I wanted and there would be a good surprise.

  My grandmother seemed to always have a neat gift stashed away waiting for me to come by and claim it. My mother was wagging her index finger indicating that grandma was out of the question.

  “But why?” I insisted.

  “Shareef, sweetheart, grandma has a medical appointment and will not be able to.”

  “Grandma is sick?”

  “Not really, she had a medical appointment prior to all this and it is too much of an emergency for her, okay?”

  “Okay,” I sighed, disappointed.

  “Now your father will get you after school and I will pick you up from his place, okay, Shareef?”

  “It’s his girlfriend’s place,” my mother sort of giggled before she answered.

  “Go brush your hair,” she answered.

  Maybe I wasn’t moving fast enough because before I could walk away and honor her request, she was repeating her directive.

  “Shareef, didn’t I tell you to brush your hair?” she said.

  Turning back, I raced upstairs back to my room. I did a dance while I brushed my hair. Then I raced downstairs feeling better than I did when I awoke.

  “I’m ready,” I announced. My mother gave me the once-over. She hand-brushed my hair before she nodded her approval.

  “Okay your father will pick you up after school,” she repeated.

  “I know, mom. ”

  “And don’t give him any trouble,” my mother warned.

  I could feel every syllable. After that my head felt like mush. I was tired and almost fell asleep over the cereal. I wanted to see what was going on between my mother and Stanley so I managed to stay awake.

  They tried to keep it normal asking each other to pass the toast in friendly voices, but I sensed they were seething under the cordiality. Mother and my stepfather ate mostly in silence. I guessed they did not want me to hear any of the ‘adult’ stuff.

  Stanley seemed agitated drinking his coffee and staring off into space like he was a kid caught playing a foolish prank. In the midst of our silence, the cup rattled loudly against the saucer as he set it down. He offered a frown. I smiled.

  “C’mon Shareef, we don’t have all day. I have to go with Stanley to the precinct and then to our meeting—”

  “You don’t have to go anywhere with me. It is your choice to go,” Stanley said.

  “Okay,” she said, staring at him before continuing. “Because I have chosen to attend an important meeting with Stanley.”

  “Do you have to
tell this eleven-year-old everything? I mean what don’t you tell him?”

  “I try to be as honest with my son and I expect everyone around me to be the same way. C’mon Shareef, let’s put a rush on this breakfast,” mother said and my stepfather left the breakfast table. “Shareef, we can’t be late.”

  She was always rushing in the morning. I heard Stanley’s voice grumbling in the background.

  “You better do as your mother says and stop falling asleep.”

  It sounded like the voice of a disgruntled man. I guessed he returned to try and put some of the spotlight on me. I yawned and nodded then left out the door. All three of us got in the car. My stepfather appeared flustered and nervous as the car pulled out of the garage. He was dressed in his best blue suit, white shirt and red tie. Mom was outfitted in a gray suit and white blouse. She carried a black handbag. I’ve seen my mother dressed like this once before. She was going to a court. It was a custody battle for me.

  That day, my father showed up to court wearing dirty, blue jeans, and there was alcohol on his breath. It wasn’t a fair fight. The judge readily awarded custody to my mother. I would get to see my father whenever my mother allowed. Like that day, today she was on a mission, but did not want to discuss what it was.

  She was my mother and I ignored all the warning signs. Maybe Stanley wanted to be nice and talk about the itinerary. I tried to engage him.

  “You’re not going to work today?” I asked, looking at him.

  He looked at me as if he wanted to open up and talk, but could not speak at this time. I understood. Maybe he was on punishment. The idea brought a smile to my face.

  “All right, everyone’s in? Let’s go,” mother said in an authoritative tone as she glanced back.

  The car was in reverse, and this brought back vivid memories of Lolo. Again she would not be in school today or any day after. I felt emptiness building in the pit of my gut. This feeling combined with my lack of sleep inspired me to want to skip school.