by Erica Hale
Ernest closed his eyes and tried to remove the thought of punches raining down on his face.
“I’ll have him back here at the house at five p.m.”
Tugging the curtain back, Forrest squinted at the morning day light. “He’s outside right now. He’s waiting for you.” The officer smiled. “Now, you just do what we asked and all will be fine.”
Ernest paused with his hand on the brass knob. “Y’all ain’t gonna hurt him, are you?”
“You don’t worry about that. Now, scoot.”
Forrest watched the exchange between the boys, how they laughed up the street.
“We’ll see if you still laughing after today, boy. You or your coon ass momma.”
★★★★★★★★★★
It was just as I thought, Clay had been in out of jail for the last ten years. Petty crime here and there, nothing huge until 2009. That was when he finally got his feet wet and stepped into the big league. The article was from August 19th 2009. It said that Thomas Clay was in an altercation with another man at a rest stop right outside of Planters. The argument is unknown, but it seemed as if Clay took a tire iron from the bed of the pickup truck and commenced to hitting the man repeatedly until he was unconscious. Bystanders had to break up the fight, which led Clay a stay in the pokey for fourteen months for aggravated assault.
The man that was assaulted was a Timothy Wu, a Chinese-American man. Wu suffered a few broken ribs and a concussion. Wu’s whereabouts were undisclosed and he couldn’t be found to testify against Clay.
“This shit is crazy.”
“Who you talking to?” A tiny scream escaped my mouth as I looked into the dark eyes of Frank. “Thought you’d run off or something.”
I had made myself comfortable on the linoleum floor with piles of Clay’s information scattered around me. “I was just looking into some things, you know, since we’re slow this morning.”
Taking my hand, he pulled me off the floor. “Lauren, you’ve been in a time warp. It is way past morning; it’s almost four in the afternoon.”
“I’m so sorry.” My thirst for knowledge nearly drowned me. “Frank, I had no idea I was down here that long.”
“Don’t worry, you’re fine. At least you weren’t on Facebook all morning,” he joked, guiding me back to door. “You’re smart and I like that. You’re down here learning about the trends of the city and I appreciate that. You thought I was joking when I told you that this place is slow. Now, let’s get some food in you before you pass out.”
Before I could tell him that I wasn’t hungry, I was standing in line at the deli.
“Whatever you want, my treat.”
“Look, I’m the one that pulled a disappearing act on my second day at the job. I should be the one getting your lunch,” I said, digging in my purse for my wallet. “It’s the least that I could.”
Frank pressed his lips together and spoke after thinking for a minute, “What about this? I pay for lunch today, and tomorrow, if you want to come down here and grab a bite, you can pick me up something. Does that sound okay to you?”
“That works.”
I had the remarkable ability to sit in silence and have people dish all of their business to me. I wasn't sure when it started happening or where people thought it was okay, but one day, the life stories of total strangers became my baggage.
Frank told me in great detail of the failure of his first marriage to his college sweetheart, who came from a wealthy family. Himself, having come from humble beginnings, tried everything to please her. He even bought a house they couldn’t afford. He lived a life that no matter how hard he’d work always fell under scrutiny from her parents. The marriage fell apart a few years later. Then, the second one wasn’t any better. The marriage failed due to infidelity from both parties. The couple’s union also included two children that he loved, but he wasn't sure if they belonged to him.
“So, there it is, my life in a nutshell.”
He gave me a distressed look, probably kicking himself under the table for saying too much.
“Hey, we all got things in our life that set us back. But, I believe humans are wired to be conquerors, ya know? We have to keep going, moving and evolving. You’ll find that special someone one day.” He frowned and looked out the window. “Don’t count yourself out. You never know, you may have had to go through a ton of frogs before you get your princess.”
Frank smiled and put his hand over mine, which under different circumstances would have made me slide it from under his and put my hand in my pocket. “You’re so sweet, you know that. But I think you say the whole kissing a frog thing to a woman and she’ll get a prince.”
“I never said that I was good at giving advice. I guess I’m a better listener.”
The deli owner cleared his throat loudly and I looked at the clock.
“Frank, I think they want to close.” I took my purse from off the back of the chair and stood. “It’s almost five.”
“Do you need me to walk you to your car?”
“I think I’m good. Again, I’m so sorry about today. I will nail my butt to my desk chair if I have to, I promise,” I said, making my way to the door.
Frank put a fifty-dollar bill on the table. “You just show up tomorrow and don’t quit on me.”
He winked and I smiled.
While driving through town, my thoughts turned pleasant. What if me and Anthony decided to live here? The place wasn’t crime filled like Washington. True, time went by at a snail’s pace, but that wasn't a bad thing. He’d make friends and I would hopefully make friends. Could we be happy here?
I pulled up in my driveway, thanking God that I had an understanding boss.
“I’m home.”
I opened my front door and my son sat there, facing me at the kitchen table.
“Mom.”
His tone was off and I sprinted to him.
“What’s wrong?” He’d been crying. “Honey, tell me.”
“Looks like your son has a bit of a problem.”
I turned and faced the officer from the other night. The red necked bastard was smiling as he looked me over.
“Looks, like your kid likes to take things that don’t belong to him.”
“Anthony?”
My son put his head down. “I didn’t take anything, I swear Mom, please believe me.”
“Your son was with another neighborhood boy and there were some reports of some items missing from a store. Your son fit the description. I came here, and in fact, there were several shirts that your son had in his possession.”
“Mom, EJ bought that shirt for me. I told him when I got my allowance that I would pay him back. Those other shirts, I swear I have no idea where they came from. Mom, please.”
My fist balled at my side and my heart began to twist.
“I’m giving you the courtesy of seeing your son of to jail until we get word from the shop if they want to press charges.”
The officer stood there, all smug and pleased with himself.
I took a step closer to the officer. “I don’t know what the hell I or my family has ever done to you, but if you want to send someone to prison, send me. Leave him out of this.”
“Well Ms. Neilson, you don’t get to make those decisions,” he said, looking above my head. “Come on son, let’s go.”
“Mom.” My son’s voice shook while the officer turned him around and put handcuffs on him. “I swear, Mom. I didn’t take any of that stuff, Mom. You have to believe me, please?”
Tears fell on his shirt.
The officer took him by the elbow and dragged my son to the door.
“Anthony, please listen to me. I will get you out of there, you hear me? You just understand that I love you.”
He nodded as I walked behind them and watched as my son was stuffed into a squad car and driven away.
I reached the toilet in time to have the food that Frank just bought hurl itself out of my mouth. Once my stomach was good and empty, I held on to the b
owl and sobbed. This was my fault somehow.
This damn town, I thought while wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
I didn’t want to play the race card, but it was burning a hole in my pocket. That was the same cop that tried to arrest me for Leland being on my property. He was the same asshole has dragged my son off to jail for something I knew he couldn’t have done.
“Clear your head,” I said out loud.
Pulling myself up by the towel rack, I made it to the kitchen. Frustrated that I couldn’t find my cell fast enough, I dumped my purse upside, spilling all the contents. My cell dropped to the floor.
My hands were shaking so hard that I could barely scroll through my contacts. The phone only rang twice before he answered.
“Erron, I’m gonna need your help.
★★★★★★★★★★
“Dad, it wasn’t my idea. Mr. Forrest said that you would be happy with it. He said that it was something that you wanted to be done. Ya know, to break her down.”
EJ had curled himself into a ball in the corner of the basement.
“Is Forrest your daddy? Answer me, is he your daddy now?”
The crack of his dad’s belt landed on his back. “No, sir. You are my dad.”
“If you live in this house, you follow my rules. If I wanted you to get that boy arrested, I would have had him arrested. Shit.” The older Ernest watched as the blood dripped down his son’s face and he cursed again. “Forrest is just as dumb as you are. That man thinks square out his asshole. Doesn’t he know about security cameras? There will be a file on that boy. And the shit will come back right on him, which will come back on me. Stand up and tell me again what happened.”
EJ palmed the cement walls to help him up. “Mr. Forrest told me to be back here at five, so we were. He told me to buy a few shirts and to be sure to get Anthony one, too,” he spoke cautiously, wiping the dripping blood off his chin. “We get back and Forrest is waiting for us; he said that the store called the cops and said that that some boys were there stealing clothes. I had money that Forrest gave me and a receipt and Anthony didn’t have either. When Anthony was talking to some girls, I bought more shirts and stuffed them into his bag,”
The boy’s back straightened as his father approached and looked his nose down at his own son. “So, the two of you set him up, right?” His father looked impressed. “You understand that you will never talk to him again. Whatever friendship you thought you had with him is over. You don’t carry your ass over there and utter a sorry to him, you understand?” The boy stood in the center of the room and nodded. “Now, the boy will fear ya. He didn’t know what you were capable of, now he’s got a glimpse of what happens when you mess with us.”
His dad hated the sound of his son sniffing snot, so he let it drip passed his lip on to his chin.
“Yes, sir,” he said, waiting for his dad to look away so he could wipe what his dad called ‘weakness’ away.
The boy’s eyes snapped shut when his father reached for him. “Make no mistake, I’m not happy how this turned out, but you listen to me. You don’t listen to or follow direction from a man that ain’t me or you’ll be sorry.”
It was pretty late for the ‘sorry’ part. Ernest was already sorry for ever listening to Forrest. At this point, the boy was pretty much sorry for being born. “Yes sir. I’ll listen to you.”
Before barking out his next order, he slapped him on his back. “Go upstairs and shower, and then come on back down and eat.”
The boy ran upstairs, bumping into the Leland as he walked down. Leland spat chew into a red cup.
“What did the boy do this time?” he asked, stepping over the drops of blood and pulling up a chair.
His looked him over and clenched his fists. “The little shit got the neighbor kid arrested. Forrest had the great idea of framing the kid up for some stolen shirts and shit.”
Ernest pushed his thinning hair from his face.
Leland only had a few options at this revelation; he could either go to the jail house and bail the kid out, or shrug it off. He chose the middle, which was to ask a question.
“So, what did Forrest think he was going to accomplish by doing that? The kid is white; we’re trying to get his momma out of here. She is the one that should be put away.”
“I don’t damn know. He should have talked to me first before making a move like this. If that gal is half as smart as you say she is, she could bring a lot of hurt down here. State department comes down on us…shit.”
Leland’s mind didn’t even have to go far in what could happen. With that consequence, multiple illegal businesses would be in the spotlight. Everything that he’d work for will go down the tubes because of Forrest’s dumb ass.
“We’ll talk to him, Forrest, that is. We will tell him to release the boy. Your neighbor will be looking for new housing soon just knowing that he, well we, could do whatever we want to her.”
“We? You haven’t done a damn thing.” Ernest looked him up and down. “You busted three tires. That’s it.” Ernest squinted. “I really think you got a thing for that monkey across the street.”
“Ernest, I think you better watch your mouth about that. You know I don’t like no colored girl. We had a plan and I’m sticking to it.”
By Leland’s tone, Ernest took it as a threat and stood from the couch. Not one to cower from anyone, Leland pushed his chair back and stood. Lowering his spit cup to his side.
Standing face to face with Leland, Ernest spoke, “Well, you just sticking too well. I think you need to show me how far you are willing to go. Show your loyalty so to speak, show me what the hell you are really made of.”
Spitting in his cup and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he returned, “If we weren’t friends, I’d tell you to go put the .45 between your teeth.” He paused and exhaled. “I shouldn’t have to prove anything to you.”
He knew that he couldn’t win. There was no option.
Leland plopped back down in the folding chair in the basement and listened to his instructions.
An hour later, Leland sat in his truck and looked up at the house across the street. Unlike the night before, all the lights were on. There was a tug of pain when he saw Lauren’s silhouette in the upstairs hall through the window.
He had his cell phone in his hand and punched in the number.
“Yeah, this is Leland…no, everything is fine. I need every bit of information on a Lauren Neilson and an Anthony Neilson.” He listened for a moment. “Last residence was Washington State, currently in Planters, Georgia.”
He took down the information on his ticket pad and tossed it on the passenger seat. “Thank you, I’ll be in touch.” Leland couldn’t look back at her home, the home that she started with her and her son. Not after his betrayal. He went to the police station to give Forrest the information that he received.
“God, forgive me.”
★★★★★★★★★★
It was a quarter after eight a.m. when my doorbell rang. I still had my clothes on from the day before as I raced down the stairs. I opened the door. “Ms. Neilson?”
“Yes, come in. Tyson Miles, right?”
“Yes. I’m a friend of your friend, Erron.” Tyson came into the house and put his leather Louis Vuitton briefcase on my kitchen table. “Erron told me everything you told him last night. I will have your son out of lock up in a few hours, but there are some questions that I need for you to answer for me, if that’s okay?”
There was no wonder Tyson and Erron were friends. They were carbon copies of one another. Tyson, had the rich white kid look about him, where Erron had the rich black kid look. His designer suit and shoes, and necktie that cost more than my wardrobe. If Erron sent him to me I knew that I could trust this man with my life.
“Go for it.”
Giving a quick yank on his pants legs, he sat across from me at the kitchen table.
“Ms. Neilson, I don’t know what you are into, and as you know, Erron is very discreet.
Erron said and I quote, get her the hell out of there. My instructions were simple, get your son out of jail, and then, both of you are too leave Planters with me. I am supposed to take you to Atlanta with me. I am supposed to allow you to get your affairs in order here and have you on a plane no later than the end of the week.” Tyson smiled, “I don’t know how much Erron has told you about me, but I can be very persistent when I need to be.”
“I’m not leaving. I’m close to what he and I have been looking for.”
His Colgate smile brightened the room. “He told me that you would say that. Ms. Neilson, if the local police department has no fear in taking a young man out of his home and pinning theft on him,” He threw both hands in the air. “Do you think that they will stop at that? This is harassment and intimidation. Do we really want to escalate things?”
God knew that I didn’t want to escalate a damn thing. I wanted my son back in my house safe. I wanted to nail Clay for the murder of Corey Marks. I wanted to be in Washington with my family and not be afraid of what the officer or my neighbors had in store for me and my family. “No.”
“No, what?”
“I’m staying and I’m going to see this to the end. Now if you don’t mind, could you please get my son out of jail?”
Tyson lowered his head. I was sure that Erron had let him know all about me and he had to have known that I wasn’t going to leave Planters without having any hard evidence against Clay.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll drive.”
Tyson and I didn’t have to drive far. The police station sat in the middle of the city.
“Ms. Neilson, let me handle this. You can wait in the car.” Tyson snapped off his seatbelt and looked me over. “I think with you being there it could possibly set this asshole off.”
“Boy, if you don’t come on and help me get my son,” I demanded, slamming the car door and stomping to the entrance of the police station.
I saw the officer right away, sitting there picking his nails with his feet on his desk. I felt myself turn slowly into a volcano seconds away from eruption. How dare he sit there while my life and my son’s life was being tipped upside down.
