“Oh C’mon sis, let the little one alone.”
Jamilla squealed with delight as she raced out of her room. “Uncle Ronny!”
Mama shook her head in irritation as Jamilla threw herself into her uncle’s arms.
Uncle Ronny laughed and swung Jamilla around. “You just wanted to say ‘hi’ to your favorite uncle didn’t you, Jam-bug?” Jamilla laughed at her special name. Uncle Ronny was the only one allowed to call her that.
Mama didn’t think he was that funny. “Go put yourself back to bed, girl! I have a hard enough time getting you up in the morning as it is.”
Uncle Ronny made a funny face at Jamilla and told Mama, “I’ll put her back to bed.”
Jamilla hugged Uncle Ronny and kissed his check. As Uncle Ronny tucked her back into bed, Jamilla reached out to lift the heavy gold chain around his neck.
“Is that pretty, Jam-bug?”
“I love it!”
“One day I’ll buy you one too.”
“You mean it?” Jamilla beamed with delight.
“So why aren’t you asleep?”
“I had a bad dream…..”
“Oh yeah?”
“…About the ghost lady.”
“What ghost lady?”
“I’m not supposed to tell.”
“You know we don’t have secrets, Jam-bug. Who told you not to tell?”
“Emory. He said if I told about the ghost lady I’d be a snitch baby.”
“He told you a story about a ghost and told you not to tell?”
“No, we FOUND a ghost lady and he told me not to tell.”
“You know there’s no such things as ghost ladies.”
“Yes there are, I heard one! She sounded mad. She pounded and pounded on the door and screamed to me to help her but we ran because we were scared,” Jamilla confessed all in one breath.
Uncle Ronny looked at Jamilla with a funny look, “Where did this happen?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Yes you can. Emory shouldn’t be telling stories and he sure shouldn’t be telling you to keep secrets. Jam-bug, where did you hear the ghost lady?”
“At the old greenhouse.”
“What were you doing playing way down there and with that little hoodlum Emory?!” Uncle Ronny was mad now.
Jamilla started to cry, “I’m sorry! We just go there. We pretend it’s a jungle and we go on safari!”
Uncle Ronny stroked Jamila’s hair but gently scolded her, “I don’t want you going there ever again! It’s too far from home. You stay near the house and play with your sisters. And stay away from that Emory kid. He’s trouble. I want you to promise me Jam-bug.”
“I promise. But what about the ghost lady? What if she comes and gets me while I’m asleep?”
“I’ll tell you what. I’m going to go over there and find the ghost lady and have a talk with her, ok? I’ll let her know she better stay away from my Jam-bug or I’ll cap her!”
Jamilla laughed and snuggled down between her blankets as Uncle Ronny tucked her in like a burrito. Once her uncle left, Jamilla fell asleep thinking about how mean Emory was, how Uncle Ronny was her hero and how she never had to worry about the ghost lady ever again.
Chapter One Hundred Eight
Ronny came out of Jamilla’s room and took his seat at the kitchen table. His sister slapped a deck of cards down on the table. “What that little girl doing? You know you baby her too much.”
“She just had a bad dream is all. Nothing to worry about,” he said as he popped open another beer. Ghost lady indeed. Kids these days.
Chapter One Hundred Nine
It was well after midnight when Ronny Washington decided he’d had enough. He slammed down the last dredges of his fifteenth beer, kissed his sister and her friend’s goodnight and stepped out onto the cracked sidewalk. He lit a joint and watched puffs of smoke float upwards to mix with the fog rolling in. The fog reminded Ronny of something. Ghost lady indeed.
Maybe he should go take a look? Meet the ghost lady for himself? He didn’t like the idea of Jamilla playing in that greenhouse. Not only was it old and unsafe but it was in Shorty’s territory. Shorty didn’t scare him none but some of the guys Shorty ran with were monsters. Screw it. He had warned Jamilla to stay away from there but he also knew how curious little kids can get. That little punk Emory would have her talked back into playing there in no time. At the very least he needed to make sure that building was safe and clear.
Ronny set out on foot and made it to the abandoned greenhouse in record time. Years of neglect had in fact taken their toll on the building as well as the surrounding property. Weeds grew high behind the chain link fence and garbage littered the sidewalk. Ronny walked the fence line until he found a hole in the chain link. It was just large enough for the brats to get through but his hulking six foot frame didn’t stand a chance.
Ronny looked around, took a step back and jumped. Easy. He had been jumping fences higher than this one since he was a kid. Running from the cops and getting out of tight neighborhoods he wasn’t supposed to be in. This was a piece of cake.
On the other side of the fence, Ronnie made his way down a well-worn path through the weeds to the transparent structure. He made his way to the open door and called out, “Hello?” No one yelled back. Ronny made his way through the greenhouse littered with dead plants and broken glass from the ruined walls. He kicked at the piles of spent cigarette butts and the few needles lying around. This was definitely no place for the kids to be playing.
Ronnie used the flashlight feature on his cell phone to illuminate a set of concrete stairs that led into a hallway running underneath the old structure. It looked like a basement. The main building was gone but Ronnie bet the basement was still intact. He slowly ventured down the stairs and at the bottom he froze. A big wooden door stood in front of him and from the other side he could hear moaning.
Chapter One Hundred Ten
Ghost lady! He stood frozen in place for a minute waiting for the sound to come again but it never did. I must be higher than I thought. He tested the handle but it was locked. A padlock with a heavy chain ran from one loop to another and there was no way someone could accidently lock themselves in there. Jamilla had to have been imagining things.
Ronnie walked back towards the stairs and heard the noise again. This time it didn’t really sound like moaning but it didn’t sound like a person either. Cats? Rats? Raccoon? Large families of raccoons were known to prowl these types of structures at night, scavenging for food. Maybe he could find another way in.
Climbing back up the stairs Ronnie made his way around the foundation. He found a window well with a window intact. He cleared out some of the garbage and crouched down inside as much as his hulking frame would allow. I scrubbed at the window and turning on his cell phone light once more he shone it through the window.
He jumped back so hard his head snapped against the concrete. “What the fuck?” He yelled. He shone his light on the window and saw a face looking back at him. He about pissed himself. What the hell? This wasn’t no ghost. Someone was in there!
“Help!” The woman banged on the window. “Help me!”
Ronnie stammered, “Hold on lady. I’ll call the police.”
“No!! No police!!”
“Lady, are you nuts? I can’t get you out of there. I need to call someone.”
“Just come back around to the door.”
Ronnie climbed out of the window well and retraced his steps to the door. He banged on the door, “You in there lady?”
She banged back! “Yes. Get me out of here!”
“There’s locks on the door.”
“That’s ok. I pulled the pins from the hinges and if you can just shove that side of the door as hard as you can maybe we can get the door to separate from the frame.”
Ronnie tucked his cell phone away, leaving him in the pitch black. He pushed but nothing budged.
“Push harder “she yelled
Ronnie used his shoulder and body w
eight and pushed as hard as he could. Still nothing. “Lady, I really think I should call 911. The fire department could have this thing down in no time.”
“What your name?”
“Ronnie.”
“Ronnie, here’s the deal. You can’t call the fire department or the police department. I’m kind of in trouble and I really don’t want to end up in more. Can you understand that?”
“More than you know, sister!”
“Great. I’m glad you get it. Now, try taking a run at the door and hit it as close to the hinges as possible.”
Ronnie backed up against the opposite wall and took a leap at the door. He hit the door square with this shoulder. And wouldn’t you know it, the blasted thing budged.
“You’re doing it! There’s like half an inch to go and then there will space to get our fingers in there!”
Ronnie took one last run and the edge of the door was free from the frame. There was finally a little gap between the door and the frame and as they both reached through the empty space, their fingers met. She pulled, he pushed and finally there was enough room for her to squeeze out.
Ronnie flipped his light on once again. “Geez lady, good thing your skinny. If you didn’t know it already, you look like shit.”
I bent over at the waist trying to catch my breath. I glanced up at my savior and stuck out my hand, “Ronnie, Joanna. You have no idea how much I owe you.”
Ronnie frowned. The ghost lady was wearing a bullet proof vest.
Chapter One Hundred Eleven
My rescuer took a small step back, “You’re a cop.”
I lowered my hand, “As a matter of fact I am.”
“Lady how’d you get in there and why don’t you want me calling the cops? I mean isn’t that what you all do? Look out for each other?”
“You’d certainly think so wouldn’t you. Turns out, not everyone who’s supposed to have your back, does.”
“Yeah. I’ve been there a time or two.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where we are or what time it is would you?”
“We are in the old abandoned greenhouse on south 47th street and its….” he checked his phone, “…three in the morning.”
Shit! Have I really been gone for twenty-four hours?
“Lady look, we gotta get outta here. Neither of us should be out here this time of night. I’m not supposed to be in this neighborhood and you’re…well, you’re you. We are sitting ducks in here.”
No sooner had Ronnie made his brilliant observation then the sound of a car pumping loud music pierced the quiet. Ronnie shut off his cell phone light and both freeze in place. A car door slammed shut and drunken laughter drifted in.
I take a few stumbling steps towards the stairs, “I’ll look, you stay right here.” I check out the situation and get back to Ronnie as quietly as I can “South side boys,” I whisper.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, this isn’t ideal but we can’t stay here. I can’t stay here.”
“You think we can get out of here without them seeing us? Lady, you’re crazy!” Ronnie opens his cell phone and begins to dial. I reach over and knock the phone out of his hands. “I said no cops!”
“Hey crazy!” Ronnie bent down and retrieved his cell. “I wasn’t calling the cops. I’m calling my boys. They can swing by, fire a few shots and cause a diversion and we can make a run for it.”
“If you do that you might as well call the cops. Shots fired will only bring them and I can’t have that.”
Ronnie looked me over skeptically. “Just what kind of trouble are you in?”
“The kind that could get us both killed.”
Chapter One Hundred Twelve
We give the South Side Boys twenty minutes but it doesn’t sound like they are going anywhere. In fact is sounds like they are getting comfy.
I take a second sneak and peak. They have started rolling joints and showing off their guns to each other.
Ronnie shakes his head while I tell him about Carson and how I came to find myself locked in this out building. He interjects with a few whistles and “dammmmn” every now and then.
“I thought crooks were bad! No one betrays you like your own family, Sarge. This guy sounds like he and I need to have a little conversation.”
“Not before I get to him. He isn’t going to make it through what I’m about to put him through.”
Ronnie reached out and gives my knuckles a pound. “My girl!” He stood up. “Ok, we gotta get you outta here and there’s only one way to handle this. I will go out first and distract them and you get out while you can.”
“Hell no! I’m not leaving you to the wolves. Those guys will kill you if you go out there.”
“Maybe not. I know a couple of those guys and they might let me get away with it if I play it right.”
“No. Let’s stay inside until they leave and then we can make a break for it. Together.” I turn to head deeper into the basement and at the last second I look back over my shoulder to see Ronnie is tearing his shirt. He rubs dirt all over it and pushes his hat down low.
“What do you think?”
“What’s your plan? Scare them with your hobo game?”
“Something like that.”
“I think I know what you have in mind.” I stand up and unstrap my vest. “Take this.” I instruct Ronnie to take off his shirt. I slip my vest over Ronnie’s head and tighten the Velcro straps to hold it tight against his body. It’s way too small for him but a little protection is better than none and I’m hoping he won’t need it anyway. “If you’re going to put your life on the line for me, then at least take this to protect yourself. It’s the least I can do.”
“Good thinking.” He puffs out his chest. “Do I look like a cop?”
“Maybe a cop who just got done working the graveyard shift.”
“Here goes nothing.” He moves out into the dark and I follow five feet behind. Man I wish I had my gun with me. I didn’t even stop to wonder if Ronnie had been carrying.
Ronnie gets over the fence and the acting job begins. He barely makes it five steps before the gangbangers notice him. “Hey man!” calls out the smallest of the trio. “What the hell you doing?”
Ronny dips and almost falls. He slurs his words. That crazy S.O.B. He’s trying his damnedest to give me time to get away but I can’t quite let myself leave him just yet. I can’t leave until I know he’s ok. I watch from the shadows as one of the kids gets brave and approaches Ronnie.
“Hey man, who you claim?”
“Wassup lil man. Got a drink? How bout a smoke? Spare a dollar?”
I watch as they surround him and one little twit pushes him up against the car, “Empty your pockets man!” They still haven’t recognized him and he puts his arm around the shoulder of one. The kid he’s leaning on pushes him away and Ronnie falls to the ground. “Man you smell like piss!”
I smile. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Ronnie has just pissed himself to sell his act.
I watch as the kids harmlessly shove him around with their toes and while they are preoccupied I move out of my hiding spot and leap the fence. I duck as low as I can and run across the open grassy area. I can feel the stickers sticking to my pants and poking me but really that’s nothing compared to what I’ve already been through.
I make it to the nearest oak tree and take up a position where I can watch Ronnie a few minutes longer. It looks like they are just going to give him a hard time. I watch Ronnie stumble to his feet and one of the kids pushes him towards the sidewalk to be on his way. Ok he might be good. Thank you, Ronnie!
I turn my back to the scene and quickly walk across the street to the nearest yard. I slide up against the fence and start walking in the shadows. There aren’t many functioning street lights in this part of town so I’m not too worried anyone will spot me. I try to move as quickly as possible without calling any attention to myself anyway.
I make it about a block before the shots rang out. Holy shit. Ronnie. I don’t
care anymore if anyone sees me. I can’t leave Ronnie alone. I can’t just leave him there. I turn around and at a dead run I make it around the corner. I see Ronnie is on the ground and the South Side Boys are standing over him. I run towards them as fast as I can yelling, “Police!! Stop!”
Apparently the word “police” is enough to scare them. All three boys run to their car and fly up the street. I reach Ronnie in seconds. “Ronnie!”
Ronnie lies on the sidewalk but is evidently not as hurt as I thought he’d be. “Stop screaming. Shit. For a cop you sure scream like a damn girl.” He moans as he tries to sit up and I see blood.
I tear at his shirt. “Lie still!” I check the vest. Nothing. I roll him to his side. There’s blood on the ground and blood on his sleeve. I examine all his limbs. “Looks like two bullets, Ronnie; one in the shoulder and one in the leg. You’re shoulder looks like a through and through and its nowhere near your heart.” I probe the wound on his leg. It looks like a graze. Still it has to be painful. “I think you’re going to live. Good thing I made you wear my vest, hey?”
“Too bad they missed the vest in two spots! Fuck, Sarge, this shit hurts!”
I tear a strip from my undershirt and wrap it around the graze wound on his leg. I start putting pressure on his shoulder but he stops me. “Get out of here while you can.”
“I’m not leaving you again! You’ve been shot.”
“You said it yourself, these wounds are minor. They aint gonna kill me. I think I’ll be ok. I’ll call one of my boys to come get me.”
“And what? I leave you here waiting and those little dickheads come back and finish you off? Not a chance. I’m not going anywhere until I know you are getting some help. And I’m certainly not going to leave you lying on a sidewalk in your own blood. Can you walk?”
“I think so. Help me get up.”
Ronnie leans heavily on me as I help him to a standing position. I throw his good arm around my shoulders and start to lead him across the street. Blood is seeping from his shoulder a little faster now. He’s heavy and I struggle to help him walk. What a pair we must make stumbling down the street like two drunkards.
Roland P D Omnibus Page 24