Trust No Man 2

by Cash

  With a cracking voice, Inez entered a plea of guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. I heard her mom cry out when the bailiff cuffed Inez.

  Two days later, we were brought back to court, wearing prison jumpsuits, for sentencing.

  “Do you have anything you would like to say to the court before I hand down your sentence?” the judge asked Inez.

  “Yes, Your Honor. I just want to say to my daughters, who is here in court with my mother I love y’all. Mommy will be home before you know it. To my mother, thanks for standing by me and I’m sorry if I let you down.

  “To the court, all of my decisions in life have not been bad ones. I ask that you take that into consideration and that you show some mercy to my codefendant as well as to me.

  “Finally, to Terrence,” she said, turning so that she could face me. “I’ll always love you. No one or nothing will ever make me regret loving you. Stay strong, baby,” she concluded with tears.

  The judge was not impressed with Inez’s vowed loyalty to me. Not only did he scold her, he added an additional three years to the seven she was expecting to serve. “Because you show no remorse for the life you helped take, young lady!” he spat.

  Inez’s mom cried out and had to be escorted from the courtroom, but shawdy took her sentence on the chin like a champ.

  Me, I was heated. When I was given a chance to speak I snapped.

  “You sit up there in your black robe, lookin’ down on mafuckaz like you God. You ain’t God, cracker! Who are you to pass judgment on anybody? You the devil. The black man is god! What you know about justice? With y’all it’s just-us!

  “Fuck you, the DA, the bougie-ass jurors who was salivating at the chance to convict us. Gimme a life sentence, cracker. So what! Y’all can’t fade me. I’m the realest nigga alive!”

  The cracker’s face was beet red. He banged his gavel so hard it flew outta his hand and smacked the court reporter in her hawk-like nose. I was quickly cuffed and dragged from the courtroom.

  An hour later, I was brought back before the bench. The judge’s face had lightened from red to pink. He sentenced me to life plus sixty.

  Whatever.

  CHAPTER 26

  By the time I was processed into the prison system in Kentucky, then sent back to Georgia to face the capital murder charges, winter had replaced autumn.

  Back in Dekalb County Jail, I was again housed on the eighth floor in a cell alone. The solitude was all good. I had begun telling my story to a dude who planned to write a street novel based on my life, but I decided to write the book myself so that I could leave my seeds the true account of how it all went down.

  Juanita was holding me down, being the true black queen that she is. She visited once a week, having moved back to ATL. I tried to tell her to go on with her life, it was a wrap for me. Of course, she wasn’t hearing it.

  Ma Duke was staying strong for the most part; however, once she had broken down in tears on the phone.

  “If it wasn’t for my faith, I wouldn’t want to live in this stinking world any longer. It was my job to protect you and Toi, and I didn’t,” she cried.

  “Ma, you didn’t fail us. I was hard-headed and didn’t listen to your wisdom. With Toi, that was my fault. My actions brought harm to her.”

  “Still…” she cried on.

  During a visit, Swag told me that before it got cold, niggaz were wearing T-shirts with my picture on ‘em with The Realest Nigga Alive! inscribed underneath.

  Swag’s CD had dropped and gone double platinum. The hottest singles were the two that I spat sixteen bars on. He broke bread with Ma Dukes and Juanita, but really they were already straight because I still had shit stashed. Po-po would never find that. Juanita would bless my seeds with it when they became of age.

  “Tell them to do the wise thing with the dough, ’cause it cost me my life,” I instructed. “And make sure that when I’m gone, you look out for Inez.”

  “I will, god,” she promised.

  I knew that her word was bond.

  “But I’m hoping you won’t be going anywhere,” she said.

  “It’s a done deal queen,” I said, keeping it real.

  “Anyway, I already told you I prefer death over life in a cell.”

  “I know, baby, but—”

  “No buts,” I admonished through the wire-meshed Plexiglas.

  Finally, the day came for the trial to begin. I wanna discuss all the bullshit that went on to secure my conviction, but most of it doesn’t matter. Long story short, that rat mafucka Lonnie took the witness stand and sold his soul. The bitch nigga didn’t even have the courage to look at me as he testified.

  The courtroom overflowed with niggaz from around our way. Niggaz that once had mad respect for Lonnie shook their heads in disbelief at the sight of him snitching. Lonnie kept his eyes glued to the floor while he relived every single murder that he witnessed me commit.

  “I shoulda killed your bitch ass first!” I yelled out. “Weak ass mafucka!”

  I was immediately restrained and threatened to be removed from the court if I couldn’t control myself.

  This the same nigga I used to think was so gangsta. But like DMX said, he’s just a bitch in disguise. Just because a nigga will body somethin’, that don’t make him a G. Pussies kill too.

  After Lonnie hammered a nail in my coffin, the DA passed the hammer to Shan. She took the stand and sealed the deal for the state, adding a few lies to insure my conviction. The bitch didn’t even care that our son sat in the courtroom listening to her rat out his pops.

  “I hate you!” Lil’ T screamed at her before Poochie rushed him out of the courtroom, crying.

  When I was found guilty of the Lithonia killings and sentenced to death by lethal injection, Cita screamed, “Yes! I hope you die slow, mafucka!”

  Out of nowhere, Ma Dukes ran up to Cita and hit her with a two-piece, sending snot flying everywhere.

  Murder Mike’s people were cussin’ at me, applauding my fate. That set Swag the fuck off. As the bailiff whisked me out of the courtroom, I saw that mafuckaz was tearing that bitch up.

  CHAPTER 27

  When I first arrived on Death Row at the Georgia Diagnostic Center in Jackson, Georgia I saw my home boy Blue, Delina’s son’s father who had murdered the Rib Lady and her daughter. It was instantly obvious that Blue’s death sentence had blown his mind. The nigga didn’t even recognize me!

  He was mumbling to himself like a crazy man. Damn! Delina sho’ had poor taste in men! Blue was a busted up crackhead on the streets, a mumbling fool on Death Row. Lonnie, Delina’s other nigga was even worse. He was a fuckin’ rat!

  Looking at Blue though, I knew that Death Row would never break me down like that. I’m built to handle whatever.

  Three Years Later

  I sat in my cell writing my last letters and completing Trust No Man, the book based on my life story.

  I had won a decision in court that stopped all further appeals of my death sentence. For the past three years, against my wishes, attorneys had fought to have my death sentence commuted to life without parole.

  “What gives them the right to appeal my sentence if I’m all good with it?” I had been screaming from the onset.

  To the lawyers I said, “If y’all wanna save somebody’s life, go down in the hood and rescue the babies. Educate my people the proper way, and stop teaching them lies!”

  Still, the lawyers had fought to save my life.

  Six months ago, at the final hour, they had gotten a stay of execution. But now it was going down. The next day at midnight I would be put to death.

  Bring it on!

  Out of the blue, I received a letter from Cheryl with pictures of Eryka and Chanté enclosed. The letter read:

  Youngblood,

  I know that I’m probably the last person in the world you want to hear from, but I just had to write you. I am so sorry for what I did to you. Will you please forgive me? Because if you don’t, and they carry out the executi
on, the guilt is going to destroy me.

  Just so you know, I am no longer with the Haitian guy. Once he found out that I had all of that money, he changed too. By then, we had twin boys and he had stolen all the money and ran off. Now I’m back at home with Mama. Dag!

  Please don’t hate me.

  Cheryl

  The shit was too pitiful to laugh at and I did owe her an apology.

  Dear Cheryl,

  Disloyalty is unforgivable! But I do understand why you did what you did, and I apologize for creating the hatred inside of you that made you cross me. Straight up, I was wrong. You gave me two beautiful daughters, and that alone should’ve trumped the small shit I let turn me away from you. I apologize for the emotional abuse. Please try to remember the good times.

  Take care of my princess. Tomorrow night when I close my eyes for the last time, they will be in my thoughts. Shed no tears for me.

  Take care,

  Youngblood

  I sealed her letter and stared at the pictures of my beautiful princesses all night. I had already written final letters to each of my other children. Now I composed a letter to Eryka and Chanté.

  Dear Eryka and Chanté,

  My two precious princesses, you were stolen from me at a young age, so your memories of me may be few. However, my memories of both of you are plentiful and rich.

  If you want to know the uncensored truth about me, grab my book titled Trust No Man when it’s released. Everything in it won’t be favorable, especially in regards to how I treated your mother, but it will be the truth.

  I’ve missed you both so much over the years. Now that I know where you are, and that you are okay, tomorrow night I will close my eyes in peace. I love you both.

  Love,

  Daddy

  I prepared the letter to be mailed off and began a final letter to Inez.

  Sup Inez,

  Baby, by the time you receive this letter I’ll be gone. I want you to know that no man has ever had a woman who’s more real than you’ve been to me. Our time together was bliss, never an argument, never a fight. You held me down, no questions asked.

  Shawdy, best believe I love you back ten-fold. I don’t have to tell you to keep ya head up; you’ll do that naturally, because you’re a rider. Here’s a surprise for you: Swag pulled some strings to get your time cut short. You’ll touch down in twenty-eight months. It’s official, but keep that to yourself.

  You know I had to look out for my boss chick before I checked out. Remember me as I was.

  Mad Love 4 U,

  Youngblood

  After completing the letter to Inez, I began the letter that I knew would be the toughest to write, besides the one I had previously written to Ma Dukes.

  My Beautiful Black Queen,

  The day has arrived when I must say goodbye to you. But remember, it is only in the physical. What we have is forever manifested in our star, Justice, and in all that we shared. How do I begin to say how very special you were to me, from the very first time our ciphers touched?

  I wrote and wrote until I saw that the letter was twenty pages long. Still, there was so much more to say. Things that I won’t go into because best believe those devils wanna know. Suffice it to say, though, that my seeds will be well taken care of. So with that, I put down my pen, packed my belongings, which Juanita would pick up after the execution.

  Soon I would be taken to a cell across from the death room, where I would await execution under suicide watch for my last twenty-four hours.

  The prison chaplain came to my cell door to request that I leave a final statement that would discourage the streets from revering me. He was concerned that I would become a martyr.

  While he was bumpin’ his gums I could hear Blue, who was still on death row fighting his sentence, screaming out biblical incoherencies from his cell down the range. “The Row” as it’s called, had snapped his mind. From the time I arrived on The Row, Blue didn’t even know who I was. Some cats can handle death row, some cats can’t.

  “I’ma let the streets respond to my execution, however they choose to,” I told the chaplain. “It is what it is.”

  “May God have mercy on your soul,” he replied.

  “I am god!” I said with a serious expression.

  The chaplain frowned, and then stormed away.

  EPILOGUE

  Four guards and the warden led Youngblood into the state’s death room at the DiagnosticCenter in Jackson, Georgia. With respect for his culture, no chaplain accompanied him. Youngblood did not need a figurative crutch, he was ready to face his execution the same way he lived: with no fear.

  He had, by stopping his appeal, told the state to bring it on.

  Well, tonight they were bringing it.

  Juanita, Poochie, and Swag were present as witnesses, per Youngblood’s request. His mother declined to attend the legalized murder of her child. She wanted to be there to say goodbye to him, but she knew that they would have had to kill her too, because as soon as they strapped her baby on that gurney she would’ve acted a fool.

  There were three witnesses for the state also present. They sat outside the viewing window along with Youngblood’s family and friends.

  Juanita and Poochie held hands, giving one another strength. Swag put a hand on top of theirs. “Try to stay strong,” he whispered.

  Youngblood saw their faces through the viewing window. He flashed them a strong smile and tapped his heart with his fist. There was no resistance from him when he was strapped down on the gurney.

  “Do you have any final words?” asked the warden, a black puppet.

  Youngblood turned his head to the side so that he could see his people. The death room had a PA system so his voice could clearly be heard.

  “Tell my Ma Dukes that I love her, and that my choices were my own. They in no way reflect on her. Tell all my seeds that I leave here at peace, because I trust that they’ll be all right. Tell ’em I love them. Poochie, thanks for being here. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” mouthed Poochie.

  “Swag, you held me down, fam. Stay thorough and you’ll rape the rap game. Juanita, baby, no words can suffice. So I’ll just say you represent my legacy. You and my tribe. I love you, queen. Knowledge, knowledge,” he concluded, which meant “peace” in their culture.

  “Peace, god. I love you,” Juanita said aloud.

  “Hold Inez down,” added Youngblood.

  Juanita nodded, wiping away tears that poured down despite the strength she was trying hard to maintain.

  Youngblood smiled his understanding and blew her a kiss.

  “Swag,” he stated, “tell the streets I said Disloyalty is Unforgivable-Trust No Man.”

  Youngblood then turned his head towards the warden.

  “Bring it on!” he said with a brave heart.

  When the death fluid was pumped into his arms, Youngblood did not flinch. He locked eyes with Juanita and relinquished his life, dying with his eyes open, smiling at his queen.

  “I love you always, baby.” Juanita whispered through her tears, as she realized that Youngblood was gone.

  The End

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  TRUST NO MAN II

  CASH

  ABOUT THIS GUIDE

  The suggested questions are intended to enhance

  your group’s reading of this book.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Did Youngblood deserve a death sentence?

  Was Youngblood a good man even though he was a killa?

  Is Lil T’s anger over his daddy’s execution too strong for him to ever

  forgive Shan for her role in Youngblood’s demise?

  What do you think will become of Lil T.?

  Did you ever expect Lonnie to rat out Youngblood?

  Was Youngblood justified in killing Murder Mike?

  Was Inez or Juanita the thoroughest chick for Youngblood?

  What do you feel motivated Juanita to get out of the stripping profession and go back to
school?

  What is your opinion of Keisha?

  Which character could you relate to the most?