Influence

by Carl Weber

  I understood where Lamont was coming from. Daddy had always loved a good courtroom fight, so his own ego could have influenced his push for them to turn down the deal. But I couldn’t fault my father’s logic. Pleading guilty to something you didn’t do is a terrible choice to have to make. Maybe they would have turned down the plea deal even without Dad’s advice.

  “I hear you, Daddy, but how are we going to win this case with no evidence?” I asked.

  “There’s this thing in law school they teach you called reasonable doubt,” he said halfheartedly. “You see, you only need one juror to hold out to stop a conviction. But we are going to pick three jurors. Once we pick them, we’re going to make them feel like Langston, Kwesi, Krush, and Tony could be their sons, grandsons, brothers, nephews, or any other young person they’ve ever loved. We’ll make these young men so sympathetic to these jurors that Langston could shoot someone in front of them and they’d still never convict.”

  I heard “wow” come out of Michael’s mouth, and I had to admit that was also how I felt after listening to my father.

  “This is why I came to work for you,” Michael gushed.

  Perk walked into the room, and I tried not to make eye contact. We hadn’t spoken more than five words to each other since he moved out a month ago. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed the big lug. We’d been so close for so long. He was the only person I could really talk to. I damn sure couldn’t talk to Jerri, because she was worse than any man I’d ever met when it came to jealousy. But she had this way of making up with me that was neurotic yet sexy at the same damn time, so I just couldn’t make myself quit her.

  “Where have you been?” Daddy asked Perk.

  “Down at Thompson Audi, looking at surveillance video footage.”

  “Anything come up?” Michael asked.

  “Man, that car’s been sitting on their lot for six months. All they did was wash it and start it up. It barely moved the whole time, until Jacqueline purchased it.”

  My father swiveled his chair in Perk’s direction. “I need a smoking gun. I need something.”

  “I told you I’m working on something, but I need a little more time, Bradley.”

  I noticed Michael giving him a strange look. The look on my father’s face said he’d noticed it too. Perk shook his head almost imperceptibly.

  “What? What is it?” I asked Michael. Perk shot an annoyed glance in his direction.

  “Um, it’s . . . I don’t . . .” Michael shook his head.

  “Someone tell me what the hell is going on and make it quick.” Daddy began opening and closing his hands into fists, a habit he had whenever he was angry.

  Perk gave Michael an exasperated glare, but he couldn’t ignore a direct order from his boss. “Tony’s brother Adonis was arrested a couple weeks ago with a substantial amount of heroin. He’s in federal custody,” he said.

  Daddy exploded. “A couple of weeks! Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this sooner? This is what we’ve been waiting on.” He stood up and started pacing the room. “What’s wrong with you, Perk?”

  I was wondering the same thing. Here we had possible evidence that could get Lang out of jail, and he was keeping it a secret? Why? This was something he should’ve brought to our attention the moment he found out.

  “Well, I didn’t say anything because I’m still waiting to confirm that the heroin he had came from the same source as the heroin found in Langston’s car. Right now, we don’t know that,” Perk explained, and I begrudgingly admitted to myself that he was right. It wasn’t solid evidence yet.

  “Bullshit. Tony was riding in the car with Lang, and the cops found heroin in the trunk. Then, his brother gets busted for the same thing? It’s obvious where the dope came from,” Daddy said.

  “No, it’s not. Not until we get the report back from my guy, which should be any day now,” Perk told him.

  “Reasonable doubt, Perk.” Daddy was grinning now. “Reasonable doubt. That’s all I need to bring Langston home.”

  “Bradley, this could just as easily backfire on us as help us. And what about poor Tony? Are we just going to drop this at his feet? What if the drugs don’t match? He’s gonna be holding the bag if we let out that his brother was arrested.”

  “He’s right, honey,” Carla said as she entered the room. “Bringing Tony’s brothers arrest into this case is a ticking time bomb without proof the drugs are somehow related.”

  “Carla, what’s the chance they aren’t?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not going to let you paint Tony in a corner. That boy’s slept in our house, and I’ve read his emails and his texts. He’s a good kid. They’re all good kids from what I can see,” she stated without any hesitation. We might all have been a little afraid of Daddy, but she definitely considered herself his equal. “Now, I don’t know how those drugs got in that car, but unless you show me something more concrete, we will defend them all equally, until we can’t anymore.”

  “Okay, okay,” Daddy said. Unlike his stance with Lamont, he didn’t even sound angry at Carla for disagreeing with him. “Perk, I need you to get that fucking report ASAP. I don’t give a shit what you gotta do to get it. It may be the key to this whole case.”

  Perk nodded. I could see that he was frustrated, but he didn’t say anything as he turned and walked out of the office.

  Suddenly, a thought came to me. “Daddy, do you think the DA’s office knows about Tony’s brother being arrested?”

  He thought about it for a second, but he didn’t look worried. “I doubt it. Our case is state, and that one is federal. Usually, the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing. Besides,” he added, “I don’t think James Brown is looking to pin this on Tony alone. He’s looking for a bigger conviction.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “You mean he wants all four of them locked up, no matter who did it?” I asked incredulously. This assistant DA was out for blood, it seemed.

  “Yeah. Something like that,” Daddy said, glancing over at Carla. Then he changed the subject.

  “On another note, is everything ready for tomorrow?” Daddy asked.

  “Everything’s in place,” I told him. “We’ve gone over all the witness statements and evidence to be presented so far.”

  “The notes you requested for your opening argument are right here.” Michael held up a folder that he took from me.

  “The final jury selection looks good, along with the alternates,” Carla added. “The only thing we’re waiting on is the witness list from the DA’s office. They still haven’t sent it over.”

  “They will. We’ll have it by midnight. James is just fucking with us,” Daddy said.

  “I don’t know, Bradley. I’m a little worried. He seemed kind of excited about that change of venue. That’s not like him, based on his prior case files. There’s a reason he wanted to get away from Staten Island.”

  “He wants to get away from Grace, that’s all,” Daddy replied.

  I agreed. “Could be. She was really pushing for him to plead us out.”

  “Exactly, that’s because the press is roasting her ass. Don’t worry, we’ve got this; especially once Perk brings me that evidence. It may just make this a slam dunk case for us.” He smiled confidently. “Des, go and see if you can find some food. We’re going to be here a while.”

  “Will do.” I was glad to get a little break, even if it was only to find a late-night Chinese takeout spot.

  I headed out of the office and pressed the button for the elevator. The doors opened, but I froze in my spot when I saw who was standing there.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Jerri repeated the words of the text messages she sent me every morning.

  “What—”

  “I brought you dinner.” She held up a large brown paper bag, reminding me of the one Lena had brought that damn strawberry pie in.

  “Wow.” I tried to smile. “Thanks.”

  “No, thank you for this morning.” She stepped closer to me, running he
r finger along the side of my face, down my neck, and into my cleavage. I could feel my nipples hardening, as much as I didn’t want them to.

  “You didn’t have to come all the way down here to do that,” I said nervously.

  “I wanted to.” She went to kiss me, but I stopped her.

  “Oh, it’s like that?” Her smile faded. “I thought we were beyond this.”

  “We are. I’m just not into public displays,” I said. “You know that.”

  “Whatever.” She sighed.

  “How did you get past security?”

  “The half asleep guy watching porn on his cell? He barely looked up after I told him I had a food delivery for you.” She held up the bag again.

  I took the bag from her and said, “I appreciate this. I really do.”

  “So, I guess having dinner in your office is out of the question, huh?” The dejected way she said it made me feel worse than I already did.

  “Yeah, it’s a little tense around here with the trial starting tomorrow,” I told her. “But I think I know how to thank you.”

  She brightened a little. “Oh, really? How?”

  I pushed the elevator button again, and the doors opened. I stepped in then pulled her inside. As soon as the doors closed behind us, I pulled her to me, kissing her full on the mouth. Hands started wandering, and things got so heated that I almost didn’t notice when the doors began to open once again. I now realized we’d never moved, never left the fourth floor. As I pushed Jerri away and scrambled to pull down my skirt, I quickly pressed the button to close the doors again. The last thing I saw as the doors shut was the confused look on Michael’s face.

  Langston

  50

  I’d been in Rikers a little over three months. I’d missed my birthday, Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July in Sag Harbor, and more importantly, my graduation from college. With all that being said, I’d reached the most important day of my life. I was finally getting my day in court. The COs shuttled me to the bus right after breakfast. Tony and Krush were already seated. I stopped in the middle of the aisle when I saw Krush’s face.

  “What the fuck? What happened to you?” He looked like he’d been in a boxing match.

  Krush didn’t say anything, but surprisingly, Tony did. “They been whipping his ass daily. Not much I can do if he won’t fight back, Lang.”

  I’d known Krush since my first day on the yard at Howard. He’d been my roommate every year since, so I knew he wasn’t as hardcore as he tried to portray. Still, I wouldn’t consider him a punk. I stared at Krush then took a look at Tony. There was something about both of them that was different. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “You a’ight?” I asked Krush.

  “Yeah.” he nodded, but he didn’t make eye contact.

  “Keep it moving,” the CO yelled. I took a seat behind Krush.

  The driver got on board with three other COs. He started the engine and closed the door. I kept looking out the window, expecting to see Kwesi coming out, but then the bus started moving.

  Kwesi and I were still in the same unit, but I’d avoided him ever since our conversation on the yard. I had, however, been watching him from afar, and he seemed to be very respected by the Muslims. I’d been hoping that without all them around, we might be able to clear the air between us before trial. Now he was nowhere to be found.

  Tony noticed too. “Wait, where the hell is Kwesi?” He turned toward me, looking confused.

  “Man, I was about to say the same damn thing,” I told him.

  “Maybe he’s on another bus or something,” Krush suggested. “Or caught an earlier one and he’s already there.”

  “I doubt they’d have two buses to Staten Island when this one isn’t even filled,” Tony explained to him, “This ain’t the fucking F train. These buses don’t leave every twenty minutes.”

  The look in Krush’s eyes said he understood. He shook his head and said, “Something ain’t right. His ass should be here.”

  Krush finally looked at me, and we locked eyes. I could see what he was thinking, but I didn’t want to speak on it.

  “Nah, he’s gonna be there,” I insisted.

  “We damn sure better pray that he is,” Tony said.

  I spent the rest of the bus ride in nervous silence.

  At the courthouse, we were brought into a room where we changed into suits. Then we were eventually escorted into the courtroom, where there was still no sign of Kwesi. I didn’t see his lawyer, either. I scanned the crowd, and my heart began to race. There was my mother, along with Tony’s mom, and a few more familiar faces; however, Kwesi’s parents, who had been at each and every court hearing, were nowhere to be found.

  Krush was right. Something was very, very wrong.

  We shuffled over to the defense table where Dad, Lamont, and Desiree were waiting for us.

  “Where the hell is he?” Krush whispered.

  I turned to my father and asked, “Where’s Kwesi?”

  Before my father could speak, Lamont snapped, “We don’t know.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

  “We haven’t been able to get in touch with his lawyer in two days, and this was delivered this morning.” He waved a paper at me.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s the prosecution’s witness list,” my father chimed in unhappily. “They have Kwesi lined up to testify.”

  I knew he was going to say that, but it didn’t stop my stomach from doing flips.

  “What exactly does that mean for us, Mr. Hudson?” Tony asked.

  “It means that your friend Kwesi took a deal with the prosecution and he’s planning on testifying against you,” Dad replied.

  I slumped down in my chair, knowing that Kwesi’s sudden disappearance would make shit way more complicated than it already had been.

  Lamont

  51

  “Right there. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.” Felicia moaned softly as she dug into my lower back with her fingernails. I plunged into her; the sensation of her throbbing wetness and her seductive voice was almost enough to make me forget about Langston’s case. I say almost because I still couldn’t believe that son of a bitch Kimba had stabbed us in the back by taking a deal with the DA and not telling us.

  “Oh, shit, Lamont. Please, don’t stop!”

  After court, I would usually have dinner with my dad, Carla, Desiree, and Perk back at the house to discuss strategy. I just couldn’t do it today after my old man refused to let up about Kwesi taking a deal. He insisted it was my fault because I was supposed to babysit his lawyer. So instead, I’d called Felicia to see if she would give me a chance to call in that raincheck, after my “interview” with her had been interrupted last time. After dinner, we’d ended up back at her place, just as I’d hoped. A night with her would be the best kind of distraction.

  “Lamont, I’m coming.” She grabbed my hands and placed them around her throat. I gently tightened my fingers, and she closed her eyes and smiled. Felicia liked to be choked, saying that it heightened her climax.

  She began gasping, then finally screamed, “Ahhhhhhhhhhh, yesssssssss.”

  Knowing that she was satisfied, I loosened my grip and allowed myself to release into the condom, fighting my own urge to scream. I collapsed on top of her. As usual, the sex was hot, sweaty, and satisfying. Had I been a smoker, I would’ve needed a cigarette. It was just that damn good. I was exhausted, but in a good way.

  “Damn,” I finally said. “That was nice.”

  “You feel better?” She giggled.

  “Hell yeah, I feel much better, thanks to you.” I rolled off of her.

  “Nobody knows what a trial can do to you like I do.”

  “I’m sure you do.” I placed my hand on her stomach and gently massaged.

  “So, other than this guy Kimba sandbagging you and your father placing the weight of the world on your shoulders, how did the rest of the day go?”

  “Good, actually,” I re
plied. “We picked a hell of a jury. I think we have half of them rooting for us, and the other half are at least impartial.”

  “Really? In a case like this, that’s imperative.” I could tell she was surprised by my confidence. “Who are you using as jury consultants?”

  “We have our own. Have you ever heard of Carla Crippen?”

  “Only by reputation, but she’s good. She used to work with Cochran until he passed, didn’t she? Then I think she was teaching at Columbia Law, too, until she fell off the face of the earth a few years back.”

  “Well, not exactly. She married my old man. Works for us exclusively. And you’re wrong—she’s not good. She’s the fucking best,” I boasted. “She’s like the COO, office shrink, jury consultant, stepmom, and a best friend all wrapped up in one.”

  “Sounds like quite a lady.”

  “She is, and if she weren’t involved, I would have forced my brother to take that deal the DA offered. I still think it was foolish not to consider it, but with my father’s strategy and Carla’s help, I think we might’ve been able to pull this off with at least a hung jury—until Kwesi’s defection.”

  “That’s a pretty bold prediction.” She stared at me. “Now, I’m not asking for any privileged information, but you yourself said that your case is pretty weak. They found these boys with two kilos of heroin. How do you beat that kind of physical evidence?”

  “You don’t.”

  “Huh?”

  “If there is one thing my old man did teach me, it’s that winning a jury trial is not as much about the law as everyone thinks. It’s about the twelve people in that box, because most people don’t understand the law; but they do understand the world they live in. Making sure that you and your client connect with them is what wins cases—not the law. Otherwise, you might as well just ask for a bench trial.”

  She looked about as impressed as a lawyer could be. “And you think you did that today.”

  “I know we did. You see, my father and I have this thing we do. He questions male jurors, and I question females.”