“I’m afraid we can’t do that Violet,” said the oldest of the three. He was just a couple of inches taller than Violet. His ice blue eyes were cold under circular wire rimmed glasses. Bald, his head shined under the light like it had recently been waxed, and his mustache and short cropped goatee were jet black and sprinkled with grey. He held out his hand for Violet to shake but she recoiled back into Mike’s chest as if she thought his hand was a poisonous snake about to strike.
“It’s okay, Violet, none of these men are here to hurt you. They just want to talk to you. Go have a seat, and hear what they have to say. Brandi and I will be right out here in the hall if you need us.”
Feeling embarrassed, Violet took a seat and eyed the other two men in the room. They didn’t look as scary as the old guy. The man sitting in front of the machine had fire red hair and looked like some sort of hippy nerd crossbreed.
The third and biggest guy in the room was taller than Violet sitting down in his chair. He had a golden tan and dark hair and eyes. The older guy cleared his throat and introduced himself again, minus the hand shake.
“Ms. Brown, my name is Edward Clements and I am the assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. This is Bradley Thompson a U.S. Marshal, and Rodger Dunn from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. We are here to review your application for the Federal Witness Protection Program.”
Violet’s mouth dropped open. She looked from one man to the next in complete shock and confusion. “I didn’t apply to any program.”
Edward opened a manila folder and slid it over in front of Violet. “Do you know who this person is?”
Violet looked at the picture of Rodney and shook her head yes.
Edward pulled the folder back over and thumbed through it. “Your sister, a Ms. Begonia Brown is working with the DA’s office to bring this man to justice. Your sister has implied that you have inside information on his organization and that information will be helpful to our case. She’s told us that you will turn state’s evidence in exchange for a reduced sentence and acceptance in the program.”
Violet’s head spun. She blinked several times and cleared her throat, trying to process what was said. “Begonia told you guys that I would testify against Rodney. Are you serious? Does she know, I mean, do you guys even know what this man is capable of?”
Edward opened his mouth to respond, but the big guy held his hands up to cut him off. He turned to Violet. “Your sister said that you would be suspicious of us, and you have every right to be, however, she told us that Rodney put a bounty on not just your head but on your sister’s head, as well. I am here to inform you that it would be in your best interest to cooperate. This man’s arm has a long reach and it wouldn’t be the first time that he reached through the bars of an institution like this.”
Violet could care less about Rodney reaching through the prison bars to kill her. She wished for death every moment of every damn day, but she couldn’t see her family paying such a high price for her mistakes. She took a deep breath and sat up straight in her chair. “What do you need me to do?”
Chapter 14
Babygirl sat on the sofa Indian style eating cereal and watching Begonia pace back and forth across the living room floor. “Why don’t you sit the fuck down, yo, you making me dizzy.”
“How the fuck can I sit down when no one’s here? We were supposed to leave an hour ago yet nobody’s come back . We have a plan and we agreed on a time to meet after we left the Marshal’s office.”
“And you think walking back and forth in front of the TV is going to make everybody come home faster? Sit the hell down.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Babygirl looked around the empty room. “Is there somebody here besides you?”
“I think you need to shut the fuck up and stop talking to me, ’cause I don’t know you, I don’t like you, and I don’t have a problem with fuckin’ you up.”
“Aw shit, now that’s what I’m talking about.” Babygirl put her cereal bowl down, and stood up. “I’ve wanted to kick your ass since I met--”
Begonia punched her in her face before she could finish her sentence. Babygirl fell back onto the couch with a smile. She wiped the blood off of her lip and got back up slowly. She jumped in the air and twisted around kicking Begonia in the chest. Begonia fell back into the banister. “Let me find out that your little high yellow ass knows how to fight.” She pulled her switchblade from her back pocket. “Let’s play”
Portia walked in the door dressed in a black plastic jumpsuit and carrying a whip. “What the fuck is going on in here?”
Babygirl sat back down on the couch and picked up her cereal bowl. “Nothing. We were just waiting for everybody to come in.”
Begonia closed her knife and put it back in her pocket. “What the fuck do you have on?”
“Our friend the DA likes to be dominated and this get-up turns him on.”
“I thought that was over with.”
“That’s why I stopped fucking with him in the first place, because it’s never over with. Once he gets a taste of it, he needs it every day. He’s sick and I’m tired.”
Begonia felt a pang of shame deep in her gut. “I’m so sorry Portia.”
Portia looked at her like she was crazy. “What are you sorry for? This is what I do, and I will do this, and much, much more for my family.”
“Portia, do you think they’ve talked to Violet yet?”
“Yeah, Ricky said they spoke to her today and she’s being transferred. Now give me ten minutes. I need to get out of this hot shit and shower all of Ricky’s blood and sweat off of me. When I come back down we’ll go over the plan again. In the mean time you and Babygirl can count the money. Oh, and if I hear you gu’s fighting again, it’s not going to be pretty, so try me if you want to.”
Begonia looked at Babygirl and smiled. “I guess we’ll finish this later?”
“You bet your ass we will.” Babygirl said as she walked over to the safe by the minibar. She handed Begonia her knapsack and pulled out four large stacks of cash wrapped in plastic. “What the hell do y’all wrap it up like that for?”
“Oh, so we’re talking now?”
“Don’t be an ass.”
Babygirl smiled, she was really starting to like Begonia. “I don’t have any idea why Portia wraps her money up, and as long as she keeps my cereal stocked up, I don’t really care.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you trick for cereal?”
“Hell naw, I like cookies, too.”
Begonia could do nothing but stare. She reached into her bag and pulled out two rubber banded knots of money. “I’ve counted this over and over again its 25 stacks.”
Babygirl just nodded her head as she counted the money in Portia’s stash.
She was almost finished when Portia came back down stairs dressed in sweats. “You know I really can’t stand the sight of blood. I can’t wait until all of this dumb shit is over so I can part ways with the good DA.” She looked at the money on the table, opened the china closet door and pulled out a silver .38 and stuck it in her waistband. “What’s been counted?”
Begonia pointed to her money. “That’s 25k.”
“Good,” Portia said pouring herself a glass of wine. “I’ve got about 50 thousand in that safe.”
“I can’t take all of your money.”
Portia downed the glass and poured another. “That’s funny, ’cause I would take all of your cash in a heartbeat.” She grabbed another glass from the china closet and poured a finger for Begonia. “You know, I’ve watched you and your sisters struggle for years. I’ve always wanted to help, but you would never let me.”
“You wanted me to join this brothel.”
“Yeah, I call that helping. Trust me, growing up in a whorehouse is way better than growing up in a crack house.”
“Bullshit,” Begonia said taking a sip of the wine. She made a face and put the glass down.
“What’s wrong with the wine?”
“
Nothing, I just rather have vodka.”
“Well,” Portia said emptying Begonia’s glass into hers, “I’d rather you weren’t fucked up when you go see Rodney tonight.”
“Who gets fucked up off of one little shot of vodka?”
Portia cracked open a bottle of Smirnoff. “When have you ever stopped at one shot?”
Begonia eyed the gun hilt sticking out of Portia’s sweat pants. “You plan on shooting somebody tonight?”
“No, I don’t plan on it, but my money is on the table and Peanut isn’t here.” Portia shrugged. “I’ll shoot a motherfucker if I have to.”
Babygirl tore into the last bundle of money. “What I want to know is: what’s wrong with living in a whorehouse?”
Both Begonia and Portia looked at Babygirl like she was crazy.
“Oh, y’all was just playing, huh?”
“Where the hell did you get this chick from, Portia?”
“Kmart, they were having a buy one get one sale.”
“Fuck both of y’all,” Babygirl said pushing the money into the center of the table. “There’s 62 thousand here, Portia.”
“Okay, cool, put twelve thousand back in the safe and the rest in Bee’s bag.”
***
Lisa sat in the back of Peanut’s car thinking about Tony. They broke up about six months ago but she still felt as though she were about to betray him. She still loved him. She would admit that to herself, but nobody else. She thought that he still loved her. God knows he still hangs around like he does. Tony took the break up hard. They had been through a lot together so he didn’t understand her decision. Lisa thought it was cut and dry. She couldn’t see a future with a drug dealer. She wanted to get married and raise a family. She wanted to travel and see the world. How could she do any of that with someone who hugged the block as hard as Tony?
Lisa stared at the setting sun out of the car window. The sky was washed in pretty purple and pink hues. She’d left Tony because of drugs and now she was going to sell herself to a kingpin to buy her friend some time. She looked down at her French manicure and sighed. What a difference a day makes.
She wondered what Tony would say seeing her dressed up like this. He would probably shit on himself, she thought, smiling. This was the first time she wore anything other than pants or shorts in about two years. Lisa even stopped wearing nightgowns to bed, preferring boxers, and now she wasn’t going to get to wear either. In a few minutes they were going to head to a lingerie shop on South Street to get her a bunch of skimpy silly mess to sleep in with Rodney.
A shiver ran up her spine with that thought. She’d only slept with two men in her life; Tony and her stepfather. The thought of Rodney touching her made her skin crawl. And just how are you going to get over that part, Genius? You want to play at being a prostitute like it’s as normal as flipping burgers at McDonald’s. How are you going to handle another evil man putting his hands all over you?
Lisa had no answer for that. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, she thought with a small frown. She closed her eyes, sat back in her seat, and took a deep breath to focus her mind on the present. Peanut and Honey were in the beer distributor refilling Portia’s stock. “What were they buying all the damn beer in the store?”
Lisa had been left alone with her thoughts way too long. She began to rock back and forth slightly. Her nerves were getting the best of her. Even though it was her idea to sleep with Rodney, she couldn’t believe it was about to go down. “This is what you wanted to do, Lisa,” she said to herself, equal parts sad and angry.
She had to spend half the night trying to convince everyone it was the only way. Lisa knew that Rodney wouldn’t accept any of the other girls for the rate that they were asking and she knew that she would command top dollar because of Tony. Rodney had spent the better part of a year trying to seduce her away from Tony. He would tell her how fucked up it was that she had to serve french-fries to fat fuckers all day and how if she was his lady, looking good and relaxing would be her only job. “What grown woman wants to play at being a real life Barbie all damn day?”
Peanut and Honey came out of the beer distributor. Honey was carrying a brown paper bag and Peanut pushed a hand cart with five cases of beer stacked on it. Honey got in the car and popped the trunk.
“Damn, you really just going to sit there, huh?”
“You damn straight. What the fuck did I tell you in the store? I don’t do manual labor, baby. Stop crying like a little bitch.” Honey popped open a can of beer and handed it back to Lisa.
“Oh no, thank you, I don’t drink like that.”
Honey turned around in her seat to look Lisa in the eye. “Take it from a professional, baby. You gonna need a little buzz going to get through this night.”
Lisa took the beer, sipped it and then held it in her lap. Honey nodded at her and then turned around. She popped another can open for herself chugged it and then lit a cigarette. “Will the smoke bother you, sis?”
Lisa cleared her throat. “No, I’m alright.”
“You ready for all this shit?”
“I’m about as ready as I’m going to be.”
“You little bitches really got balls.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, no disrespect, love, I’m just amazed at the lengths that y’all will go for each other.” Honey took a few gulps of her beer. “I ain’t never had nobody do nothing for me until I met Portia. You bitches bang for each other from the gate. I mean, for real, look at what you about to do for ol’ girl. Y’all not even related.”
“We’re related,” Lisa said as Peanut got into the car. Lisa took another swig of her beer. “We ain’t blood, but we’re damn sure related.”
Honey took a long pull off her cigarette. “You sound like Portia.”
Lisa smiled but said nothing. Begonia may not be blood, but she is family, she thought, and family means everything.
Honey had them in and out of the sex shop, and Lisa was now armed with enough silken skimpy shit that would give an 85-year-old grandpa a stiffy. By the time they pulled up in front of Portia’s speakeasy, Lisa had finished her beer and her buzz was in full gear. She felt a weird mix of nervousness, excitement and fear. Everyone one knew that Rodney was a no-good nigga, but Lisa remembered the look in Tony’s eyes when he came home after witnessing Rodney beat a 15-year-old boy to death for coming up short.
Lisa knew that Rodney was a murderer without any remorse. He was a baby killer that would kill Begonia, Violet, and Daisy without blinking. That’s why she was doing what she was doing. That’s what she kept in the forefront of her mind. That’s what was going to get her through.
Lisa walked into Portia’s house and was relieved to see Tabitha and Shanice sitting at the living room table with Portia, Begonia, Babygirl, April, and Mookey.
Tabitha’s mouth fell open at the sight of her.
“Oh my God,” Shanice hollered out. “Bitch, you look fucking gorgeous!”
Lisa smiled, but Honey spoke out first. “I do good work, don’t I?”
Lisa was dressed in a brown slinky shift that came down just above her knee. Her trademark braids were gone, replaced by a sleek rap that hung down past her shoulders. She’d had her eyebrows waxed when they did her nails and then Honey took her to the MAC counter at the mall to have the ladies there make her face up and teach her how to apply her own make up. Lisa looked like a wet dream walking and Tabitha and Shanice were amazed by the transformation.
Tabitha got up and rushed around the table to hug her little sister. Tears sprung to her eyes. “You look beautiful,” she said while holding her sister tight.
“Thank you, Tab.”
Shanice reached for Begonia’s hand under the table and squeezed it tight. Begonia looked at her but said nothing. She didn’t know what to say. It was still hard to believe that they were doing this. She had met every obstacle in her life by herself, so it was very odd to have so much support. Begonia was speechless.
Lisa took a deep sh
uddering breath as she pulled away from her sister. “Stop crying, Tabby, because you are going to make me cry and ruin all this good make-up.”
Begonia squeezed Shanice hand quickly and then walked over to stand by Lisa.
Portia stood up hefted the bag of money off the table and passed it to Honey, who handed it to Begonia. Portia looked at Lisa who still had her hands wrapped around her older sister. “You clean up nice, youngin. Are you ready for this?”
Lisa nodded her head yes.
“This is the last time you have to change your mind.” Portia swept her hand over the heads of the girls at the table. “Any of my girls will trade places with you in a heartbeat, so I’m going to ask you this one last time. Do you want to go through with this? Because you don’t have to.”
Lisa shook her head and let go of her sister. “I’m not changing my mind, Portia. If fucking a dude is gonna buy my girl here some more time, then pass the condoms and the KY, ’cause I’m ready!”
The girls at the table started cracking up. Portia looked at Begonia. “Ricky just called me and told me that the ADA met with Violet and she’s being transferred as we speak.”
Begonia walked to the door. She was about to put her friend in harm’s way. She really didn’t have anything to say other than, “I’ll see y’all later.” With that she walked out the door.
Shanice got up to hug Lisa before she left. “Please be careful.” Tabitha joined in with the hug. “Call us as soon as you can.”
Lisa said nothing she just followed Begonia out.
Shanice buried her face in her hands and cried. Portia poured herself another glass of wine. “Don’t worry, Shanice. Rodney’s dick and ego are going to have a meeting and then he’s going to fall for this hook line and sinker.”
Shanice wiped her eyes and shook her head. “I hope you’re right Portia.”
Portia raised her glass to Shanice. “I don’t know a lot of things, but I know pussy is a powerful thing.”
Violet: Strawberry Mansion 3 Page 9
