Piece Keeper

by Antwan Floyd Sr.

  Hunter stood also placing his hand on James’ chest in an attempt to push him back down into his seat. “We ain’t done talking. Sit down!” Hunter demanded.

  James grabbed Hunter’s fingers and bent them back until he felt them break. Hunter yelped in pain and dropped to his knees while staring up at James through pleading eyes.

  Foster wanted to interject, but she knew it was a fight they would not win. She failed to jump in and shook her head woefully. “Let him go, James.”

  James let his angry scowl linger on his face for several seconds before releasing Hunter’s hand.

  Hunter fell back, gripping his wrist and trying desperately not to touch his crumpled hand. “You broke my freakin’ fingers man!”

  Foster pulled out the chair sitting next to her with her foot. With her eyes still trained on James she barked at Hunter. “Sit down and shut up!”

  Hunter shot her a nasty look that quickly turned as sad as a heartbroken toddler being scolded by her father. He reluctantly rose from his place on the floor and took his seat next to her.

  James remained standing, positioning himself with his back pressed against the wall. He placed one foot on the wall and slid his hands in his pockets. “So is the Laurel and Hardy show over now?”

  Hunter looked as if he was ready to speak but he held his tongue when he saw Foster shoot him a dirty look that indicated that she might break his other hand.

  Foster turned her glance back to James. “We have a code, James.”

  “I have my own code.”

  “No code is above the uniform. We stick together no matter what.”

  “What do you want from me, Foster?”

  “You’re close to Teresa. You should know better than anyone that she’s mixed up in the head. Talk to her. Help her to get her story straight… you know… retract her statement.”

  “Why in the world would I do that?” James was trying to remain calm which was becoming harder and harder every time one of them spoke, especially since they were talking about Teresa.

  “Thought you wanted into the club?”

  “Not if that’s what’s the club’s about.”

  “Don’t get high and mighty on us now,” Hunter stated. “We know about that unsolved murder case.”

  “What about it?”

  Hunter was referring to an unsolved murder of which he was the first on the scene. It was sloppy work. The man had been found face down in the alley with his neck broken. His blood was all over James’ nightstick. There was no way he should have been cleared yet he was. The entire incident was a distant blur of a memory. To top it all off the feelings of redemption he thought he’d have never manifested. He thought that was all behind him. He should have known better. He didn’t know what they may have had on him but more than likely it was nothing. Surely this was all a bluff to get him to compromise the investigation of Teresa’s rape.

  “You don’t want internal affairs to start poking holes in that weak ass incident report you submitted?” Foster stated.

  “That case is a dead end just like this conversation.”

  “What do you have to gain by going against us?”

  “What you bastards did to her was wrong and by God you’ll pay!”

  Foster laughed. “By God you’ll pay!” She repeated him in the best gruff voiced imitation she could pull off.

  James wasn’t impressed by her mocking him. “If that’s all you got I’m out of here and fuck you very much for wasting my time.”

  “Didn’t want to pull this card, man, but you’re leaving us no choice.”

  “I’m done playing with you two.” James began walking away.

  “James!” Foster yelled.

  James paused with his back still to the two.

  “Two options,” Foster stated evenly. “You make this thing go away and the Captain moves you up in rank faster than you can blink an eye.”

  “Or?” James asked no longer masking his frustration.

  “We strike deals with the D.A. implicating you in the rape. We’ll say you were the mastermind of the whole thing. You don’t want us to start rattling those bones in that closet. We know what will fall out.”

  “Good luck with that. For one, Teresa will never corroborate that and two they’ll never believe it. You’re grasping at straws. As far as those bones, do what you gotta do. You two cross my path again I’m going to break more than your fingers.” He walked out of the bar never turning back. Things were getting out of hand. His secret ghosts were coming back to haunt him. He needed to exorcise them and do it quick.

  ***

  Waeltz and Black walked side by side down the hall towards Jordan’s office. The two looked at one another skeptically.

  “She call you down too?” Black asked referring to Jordan.

  “I was summoned so I came. You know what this is going to be about?”

  Black shrugged his shoulders. “She didn’t say anything to me.”

  Waeltz snarled. “Whatever it is I’m sure I’m not going to like it. Geez, I hate lawyers.”

  Black shook his head and laughed to himself. “Just like cops. Everyone hates ‘em until they need one.”

  Waeltz looked at Black angrily from the corner of his eye. He knew he was right, but he’d never admit it.

  They reached her office to find the door open. She stood at the door wearing her signature jacket and skirt ensemble with her ink pen behind her ear and a tablet in her hands.

  “This bullshit!” She screamed as the two entered her office.

  “What is it?” Waeltz asked as he flopped down on her leather sofa.

  She cut her eyes at him angrily. “Get your greasy ass off of my furniture detective!”

  Waeltz cleared his throat and stood. “Yes ma’am.”

  “What’s going on Jordan?” Black asked, trying to get to the core of the problem.

  “What’s going on is you too screwed the pony royally on this one.”

  “Are we going to play guessing games or are you going to spit it out?” Waeltz shot back now becoming annoyed.

  “There will be no trial.”

  “No trial?” Black blurted out angrily.

  “Why not? What’s the issue?” Waeltz asked trying to calm everyone down.

  “The issue is there will be no grand jury because of a lack of evidence,” Jordan stated.

  “No evidence? Sure we do. We have the strap-on from Foster’s place.”

  “Which you obtained illegally. I had to pass out I-owe yous to get her attorney not to press charges against you two.”

  “What the hell do I have to do with this?” Black asked looking confused.

  “Foster’s attorney tells me that while boy genius over here was breaking and entering with what I’m assuming was a fake warrant you were there as an accomplice. I don’t know how you win cases in Chicago but in Danville we—“

  Black cut her off mid-sentence. “Wait a minute… he called me over so I met him. I don’t know anything about a warrant or how he obtained it.”

  “Even if I believed you that’s beside the point. It’s all about perception. You’re an attorney for the state of Illinois. Any first year lawyer’s going to say that it was safe for her client to presume from seeing the A.D.A., who just happens to be working a case she’s involved in, at her home with the investigating detective that the warrant they’re holding was legit. It doesn’t take much leg work to prove it wasn’t and that the warrant asshole did have was presented falsely to illegally search her home. And what in the hell are you even doing working this case, Waeltz? Shouldn’t it have been passed to internal affairs?”

  “Something must’ve gotten lost in the process,” Waeltz stated. “I was never taken off of the case.”

  “This is classic. Grade A professionals over there at your station huh, Waeltz?” Jordan asked sarcastically. “The evidence is out. What were you two thinking?”

  “Thinking? I told you I didn’t know what he was going to pull,” Black stated.

  �
��In his defense he had no idea, Jordan,” Waeltz said trying to defend Black.

  “That’s District Attorney Benton and this isn’t the eighth grade, detective. There’s no taking one for the team. You both screwed up, point blank. Without any other evidence the case is dead in the water. Her word against theirs and I am not taking that chance. Bring me some more evidence, some legally obtained evidence, then maybe we can do something.”

  “Come on, Jordan,” Black asked pleading with his old comrade. “How am I going to look Teresa in the eye and tell her the case is closed pending further investigation?”

  “Sorry, Black. I wanted to help you. Don’t forget when the case came across my desk I’m the one who called you. I’m afraid you came out here for nothing. Just go home.”

  Waeltz shook his head disapprovingly and exited the room. Black paced the room angrily.

  Jordan ignored him and scrolled through her iPad. “Anything else, Black?”

  “No….hell yes!”

  She paused from looking through her iPad and focused her attention on Black. “Excuse me?” she asked taking offense at his tone.

  “You heard me. How dare you talk to me like that in front of Waeltz?”

  “Please, Black. I don’t sugar coat and I don’t coddle.”

  “Not asking you to, but how about some professional courtesy next time, aye?”

  “Professional courtesy? You’re kidding me right?”

  “Am I smiling, Jordan?”

  She stepped closer to his face so that they were almost touching noses. “Are you a lawyer or an activist?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. You know the law better than anyone. I know your outline. Out of whack with reality and out of time. There is no jury in the country that will convict those officers and you know it.”

  “So all of this was just for show?”

  “No, Black. I was sincere when I said I wanted those convictions but what do I have now?” Black began to speak but she cut him off. “I’ll tell you what I have. A small town that’s more than fifty percent White, three white cops, two of which are highly decorated and one a war vet, versus a Black woman who for the record was screwing one of D.A.s involved in her case.”

  “We can’t give up. How will things ever change if we just quit?”

  She laughed. “You still haven’t changed. You should have went into the private sector, Black, and worked pro bono cases in the hood or volunteer for appeal cases on death row because this bleeding heart kick you’ve been holding on to since college will never work in the D.A.’s office. The two don’t mesh. They never will. Our jobs are to get convictions and like it or not convictions and justice rarely coincide.”

  “Are you ordering me to not pursue this case?”

  “Black, I’m telling you as a colleague you need to pick a side and ride with it.” She walked to her door and held the door knob.

  He shook his head and snickered. “Yes, ma’am.” Black walked out of the room at a casual pace. He was barely out of the office before the door slammed closed. He laughed out loud but on the inside he was pissed. This case was not closed as far as he was concerned. Justice would be served if it was the last thing he did.

  ***

  There was no way Black was going to let this be the end. He didn’t have it in him to tell Teresa that he’d failed. He would start from square one: the evidence. There had to be something that Waeltz was leaving out. He figured he’d do some more digging into Waeltz as well. That was some sloppy police work he’d done. Either he had to be purposely trying to get the case closed or he was a complete imbecile. Black had been around too long to believe the latter. Then there was what Brown said the other day about the black cop. There were only four black cops on the force including James and two of them were women. Teresa never mentioned anyone else. If someone else was involved why did she leave that out? Maybe the old man didn’t know what he was talking about. Waeltz still hadn’t given him anymore information about James. There were too many missing pieces to just give in. He would fight until the very end.

  At home he felt awkward around Teresa and Morena even more so than before. He knew he needed to tell Teresa about the case being officially closed. He had no idea how she would react. Then there was Morena. He pretty much knew how she would react once he told her he decided to stay in Danville and investigate the case on his own time. She would blow a gasket. Hell she might even leave, he thought. He had to ask himself was all of this even worth it?

  The three sat in the living room watching the news. Ever since the case broke and the media caught wind of it the social websites and online media outlets were ablaze with supporters of Witherspoon and the other officers. They were calling them the Danville Three. A website was put up for donations. Almost two-hundred fifty-thousand was raised for their court fees. It was the same with the supporters for Teresa. Protesters from across the country travelled out to Danville to show their support and march. Civil rights advocates, celebrities, women’s rights groups, and countless rape victims’ support groups all came to show their support. The incident went viral. It was getting support from rape victims uploading testimonial videos from as far away as Russia and Senegal. Danville had most definitely shaken up the world.

  The news clips of the marching and attacks by the police were being shown as usual just before being interrupted by a breaking report. A moderately dressed field news reporter appeared on the screen. She put Black in the mind of Kelly Clarkston. She pushed her finger into her ear making sure that her earpiece was secure. Standing in front of the government building where Black worked, she spoke into the microphone. “Breaking news. We have just found out from District Attorney Benton that there will be no formal charges brought against Chief Witherspoon and the other officers involved in the alleged rape and assault of Teresa Prince, the young lady working as an intern at the police department where the three officers are stationed. She has also stated that all three would be returning back to work at the beginning of next week. It is unclear if Ms. Prince will be returning to work as well. We will see if this will be the end of this case that has made this, not only for the people of Danville but people all around the world, a month of madness. This is Janice Beverly reporting live from Danville Channel 6 News. Back to you in the studio.”

  Black turned his head to face Teresa and Morena who both had their eyes trained on him. They were fuming.

  “What the hell, Black?” Morena spat out first.

  Black stood up and held his hands up in a defensive manner. “Let me explain.”

  “Explain what, Black? The damn news reporter just explained everything. You weren’t going to say anything? Why do we have to find out the case was closed from watching the news?”

  “I wanted to tell you just didn’t know how.”

  “You never have a problem saying anything else.” Morena spat out.

  Teresa still had yet to speak.

  “Officially yes… the case is closed,” Black stated.

  “And unofficially?” Teresa asked finally chiming in.

  “I’m going to crack this thing.”

  “They’re going to get away with it aren’t they?” Teresa asked staring off into the distance.

  “No. My word as a man! All involved will pay!”

  Teresa stood and began making her way towards the stairs leading to her bedroom.

  “Where are you going?” Morena asked standing up and looking confused.

  “I’m going to pack. I should leave.”

  “Honey, no. You don’t have to…”

  “I’ve intruded in your lives enough. The case is over. It’s time I finally faced the world again and become a part of society.” Teresa took a deep breath. “And the first step in doing so is going home.”

  “Black, tell her she doesn’t have to go,” Morena pleaded.

  She didn’t know why but she wasn’t ready for Teresa to leave. She felt a bond with the woman that she wasn’t ready to break.

  “
I appreciate it, girl. Don’t worry. I meant what I said. We’re friends and that doesn’t end here… at least not on my part.”

  Morena smiled, walked over to Teresa, and hugged her. “Not on my part either.”

  Black left the room. He headed to the garage, got into his truck, backed out, and sped down the block.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Black cruised to a smooth stop at a red light. He considered his next move. He had questioned all of the black officers at the department except James. He purposefully waited to interview him last. That was another can of worms he didn’t want to open. There would definitely be added tension especially since he and Teresa were getting along so well now. He was really hoping that it would have been one of the other officers or even better if Brown had been mistaken. He knew it was just wishful thinking. It was all but a done deal. He just needed to speak with James and see the reaction in his eyes when they spoke.

  Waeltz had already phoned Black and told him that James’ fingerprints were all over the shed. Black was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t noticed that the light had turned green. The cars honking behind him jarred him back to the right now. Just as he moved his foot from the brake to the gas and the vehicle began to roll he slammed on the brakes abruptly seeing that someone from out of nowhere had stepped in front of him. The brakes on the car behind him screeched as they came to a sudden stop almost rear ending him. Again horns blared. He looked into his rearview mirror and could see the driver from the car behind him yelling. He looked back to the person in the street discovering that it was Brown standing there smiling back at him. Black waved at him anxiously.

  “What are you looking at? Get in here!” Black yelled as Brown scurried over to the passenger door, opened it, and climbed in. Black jerked away through the intersection before the door was completely closed.

  “What’s going on, baby? Heard you was looking for me,” Brown said enthusiastically.

  “Brown, my man, you are a hard man to track down.”

  “You found me. Now what you want?”

  “I’m sure you heard about the case right?”