Guarding Secrets

by Pat Tucker

  She covered the phone’s mouthpiece with her hand, and asked for my name again.

  “Yes, Sir. Ms. KenyaTaye Dunbar.” I watched as she shook her head. “Yes, Sir. I’ll let her know.”

  Once off the phone, she looked at me and said, “Mr. Richards is in a meeting right now. We’re not sure how long it will take, but he’d like you to wait.”

  Ten minutes into my wait, I asked myself whether I was really about to do what I had come to do. Frustrated with the wait, the missing gun and all the stuff on my mind, I got up and left.

  Hours later, I decided to take a different approach. It was easy to walk up on them without being spotted. But the minute I stepped into view, the look on their faces told me those bitches thought I was gone and forgotten. They should’ve known better. Just as I suspected, Edwards and Bishop were inside the hole in the wall they liked to go to on the north side.

  When I strolled up on them, Edwards nearly dropped the beer bottle she was sucking on. Bishop looked nervous as usual. Those were clear signs that both of them had betrayed me.

  “So that’s how we doing it now?”

  Edwards shrugged like she wasn’t fazed by my question. She knew I had so much dirt on her, I couldn’t believe she had been so reckless.

  “KenyaTaye, what’s up with you? You come sneaking up in here like a hurricane trying to do as much damage as possible. I don’t get why you trippin’,” Edwards said, then pulled the bottle to her lips and took a healthy swig.

  “You don’t get why I’m trippin’?” I looked at her, then at Bishop. Her eyes quickly looked away when I focused my stare in her direction.

  “What do you want us to do?” That was Bishop.

  At the sound of her question, Edwards and I both whipped our heads in her direction.

  “How about being loyal? Y’all see what I’m going through and neither one of you stepped up to help. Y’all supposed to be my girls, and what y’all do the moment I’m down? Y’all ready to get in line and kick me right along with DaQuan and that bitch Jones.”

  I choked back tears, not over them, but more so over the messed-up situation I was now in.

  “It’s like y’all ain’t even trippin’ over me. You see him dog me out over her and next thing I know, y’all sniffin’ right behind her just like him. That shit is foul.”

  Edwards stepped closer to me. She lowered the bottle from her lips and looked me square in my eyes.

  “See, that’s where you got this all wrong. The shit ain’t foul; the shit is called survival. Do you know how much money I’ve made working for DaQuan? I may not have had the luxury car or him paying my rent, because you thanked him on your back before either of us could, but I live real good because of him. Now why would I go and mess that up just because you’re all caught up in your feelings?”

  My eyes filled with tears. I felt like a real big boulder was caught in my throat.

  “I get it. You’re pregnant, so you’re real emotional, but be honest with yourself for a sec. If the tables were turned, you know damn well you wouldn’t give either of us a second thought. If you was faced with losing everything you worked for, or guarding our friendship, what would you do?”

  Edwards pulled a finger up to her pursed lips and hushed me. “Nah, you ain’t even gotta answer that. You’ve threatened to blow everybody’s spot up so many times, I already know the answer.”

  When I realized that most eyes in the little pool hall/bar were fixed on me, Edwards, and Bishop, and the girl fight bystanders probably hoped they’d see, I stepped off. She had made her position real clear and that was good for me.

  As I rushed out of the place, a question made me stop. “Say, I thought you was tight with those females back there.”

  I barely looked at the dude, when I said, “I thought I was too.”

  “Well, if you ever need help getting rid of your problems, I may know someone who can get that done for you.”

  That was when I turned to face him and realized exactly who he was. At the sight of him, memories of the cryptic phone call we shared flooded my mind.

  “Hey, this is KenyaTaye. I’m calling about this package that was dropped off at my house.”

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “Well, I need to know why it was dropped off and what’s inside.”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. Don’t worry; someone will come talk to you all about it. Just chill.”

  “Someone? Who is this? And when? What if I get rid of it?”

  “You don’t wanna do that, ma. We still working out the details, but like I said, someone will reach out to you and let you know what’s what.”

  Seeing E-Dawg face to face made me wonder whether I was being set up. I didn’t know what to make of the offer he’d just proposed. But I did know, I didn’t need to be seen out in the open talking to him.

  My nerves were bad. What was he even doing checking for me?

  “Who sent you? DaQuan? Why he got you checking for me?”

  E-Dawg slowed his roll and looked at me closer. With his head slightly tilted, he said, “Wait up, I thought ol’ boy dumped you, and word on the block is you circling the drain.”

  My blood boiled at his comment. Did every fucking body in Texas know DaQuan had left me for that mud-dog Jones? And why did I have to be circling the drain? I threw a hand to my hip and prepared to serve up much attitude, until he stepped closer.

  “Wait; no disrespect, ma. I’m just saying I wouldn’t even be stepping to you right now if I knew y’all was still good. I just thought that since he was kicking it with Charisma, that y’all was through.”

  Even his tone softened.

  I scaled it back once I realized he wasn’t the enemy.

  “Actually, we are. I mean, he’s with her now, but you just threw me off the way you came at me, that’s all.”

  His nervous smile made me calm down a bit. I still glanced around the parking lot just to be sure nobody was paying attention to what was going on with us.

  “Okay, so am I wrong to think that you might wanna see them all pay for the way you’ve been treated?”

  I cocked an eye in his direction and pursed my lips. This was all too much, too soon, and too convenient. I didn’t know him like that.

  “Okay, peep this. I know you probably real jittery right about now, not sure who to trust, and I get that, but I think we can help each other out.”

  “I’m not interested in talking right here, all out in the open like this.”

  E-Dawg looked around.

  “Okay, I feel you. So, how about this: can I meet you over at your place? I just holla at you and run a few ideas by you. I don’t have to come inside or anything. We can sit in the car and talk.”

  “Can I call you? I mean, let me get to the house, get things settled and maybe we can meet around the corner or something like that.”

  “Okay, however you wanna do it. Just make sure you call me, bet?”

  I nodded. I looked around again.

  The entire drive home, I looked in my rearview mirror every few seconds. If E-Dawg had followed me, who else might be on my tail? Then I told myself to calm down.

  When I made it, I checked with my mom and made sure everything was okay. When I was convinced nothing was out of the ordinary, I called E-Dawg and told him I’d meet him at a neighborhood park in an hour.

  Before I forgot, I walked outside to put the little duffle bag in the car. As I closed the trunk and turned to walk back in, I flinched because a white man walked up on me.

  “What the fu—”

  “Aww, shoot! Ma’am,” he cut me off. “My mistake. I’m so sorry. I must be lost, looking for an address and I think I got all turned around.” He jumped back like he was scared he was about to get hit. And he probably was.

  Once the threat seemed to be gone, I looked at him and he seemed harmless enough. He was middle-aged, wore khakis, a button-down Polo shirt, and a pair of loafers.

  I inched close and motioned for the paper he held.

>   “So, what address are you looking for?”

  He cautiously stepped closer and showed me.

  “Oh, you’re one street over,” I said.

  “Whew! Okay. Again, I’m sorry I startled you. But thanks. Thank you!”

  I told him a shortcut and sent him on his way.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHARISMA

  “Look, ma. I don’t want ya splitting ya focus.”

  I looked into DaQuan’s eyes and tried to be the type of confident woman he obviously thought I was. But inside, things had fallen apart for me. First, I still wasn’t sure what Dunbar was doing, and why she had gone missing, and that was a major reason for concern. After I learned that Lena was snooping around the prison, it all made me feel uncomfortable and off my game.

  “Ya know I run thangs in here, and er’body knows what’s up with us, so I need ya to chill and be the female boss we know ya are.”

  DaQuan wouldn’t win any awards for his pep talk, but I knew he was right. And it made me smile when I realized, he was actually trying to lighten things up to help me feel better, but it didn’t work. Although the roses and the massage were thoughtful, my mind was stuck on all that might be around the corner.

  “Besides, if ya that high-strung, call Lena and work that shit out.”

  Before he suggested it, I never even thought about checking Lena out myself. He was right, my focus was split and we couldn’t afford for me to be off.

  I took a deep breath and tried to formulate a plan to figure out what Lena might’ve been up to. She pressed me about my new man and whether he had any friends, but I ignored her. I mostly ignored her because it felt good to finally turn things around on Lena.

  All our lives, she had been on top, got the best of everything, and in the rare moments when there was something I had and she wanted it, she’d simply take it.

  Steven, George, and Craig were all so irresistible that Lena couldn’t help but throw herself on them. She didn’t give a damn that I was in love with each of them throughout the years.

  After Steven, she cried and claimed she had gotten drunk and slipped up. I forgave her and we moved on.

  Then with George, she said he confessed it was her he really wanted in the first place, but because she was taken, he had settled for me. Still, I forgave her, because she was family.

  But by the time I found out about her and Craig, she lied and said he had come on to her and she only gave in to show me how “no good” he was. The only problem with her story was, Craig recorded it all on his tape deck and gladly played it for me to hear how it really went down.

  In the end, Craig said we were the most fucked-up women he had ever encountered and he didn’t want anything to do with either one of us.

  Yeah, Lena and I had a troubled past, but when she pointed out to me that I had been just as lowdown for getting with Craig’s brother, Corey, I kinda had to let go of the bitterness. I guess that’s why Corey turned out to be such a loser.

  DaQuan kissed my lips before he eased out of the closet. I was physically spent and emotionally empty. I didn’t feel like dealing with any of the mess.

  As I slowly dressed, I thought about what I would need to do to get the real information on Dunbar. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Edwards, but I still couldn’t be sure that she’d choose me over Dunbar if or when it came down to it.

  The more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that a transfer would have gone through that fast. I didn’t need any more surprises, so I left the closet determined to get some solid information on Dunbar.

  When I approached the guards’ booth, Edwards, Bishop, and Franklin were in there chilling. I strolled in and instantly commanded attention.

  “What’s up, Jones?” Edwards greeted me. “Everything all right on the cell-block?”

  “It’s all good. For now, the inmates are all on their best behavior.”

  “That’s what’s up!” Bishop said and slapped a low high-five with Franklin.

  The festive atmosphere continued and I busied myself with nothing in particular on a nearby chart.

  I waited for what I thought was a lull in the conversation, then I asked, “So, anybody seen or heard from Dunbar?”

  Bishop suddenly found something on the floor to focus on. We were all screwed if Bishop was ever questioned about anything illegal. She didn’t have a poker face.

  Edwards’s expression changed, but it was Franklin who spoke up first.

  “I heard she put in for a transfer, but when they told her it would take a few days or at least a week, I heard her doctor ordered her to take a few weeks off because of stress and the baby.”

  I hoped they didn’t notice the twitch in my eye when he mentioned the baby. The fact that her pregnancy was common knowledge gave me more than a twinge of jealousy, but I quickly reminded myself I had no desire for any more kids and that feeling quickly passed.

  These correctional officers were just as dirty as ever. Less than a month ago, all three of them probably smiled all up in Dunbar’s face; now they treated me like I was the queen bee and no one wanted to get on my bad side.

  I didn’t trust any of ’em.

  “So, are we getting a replacement or are we supposed to keep pulling overtime to cover her shifts?” Edwards asked.

  All I thought was, damn, that was your girl and you worried about her shifts?

  “I kinda like the way things are without her,” Franklin said.

  That was followed by another high-five with Bishop.

  “I know what you mean, Franklin; it’s like a whole new day around here without her. She didn’t know how to lead—plain and simple,” Edwards said.

  When the radio went off about a problem on the yard, that broke up our impromptu meeting and we all rushed out of the booth and left Bishop behind. Safety procedures called for at least one C.O. to be in the booth at all times.

  Because we didn’t know what to expect out on the yard, I wasn’t in a hurry to get there. We were a minimum security facility, so we didn’t have a lot of the problems that probably happened at other lock-ups.

  And DaQuan wasn’t exaggerating when he said he ran things. Most times, when there was beef between two groups, he could calm things down before the C.O.s and the administration.

  Once outside, we saw some C.O.s as they tried to keep a group of inmates back.

  “What the hell is going on?” I said.

  “I’ma ’bout to go find out.” Franklin left Edwards and me and headed toward the group.

  We stood off and waited.

  Nearly thirty minutes later, Franklin returned.

  “It was a drone.”

  “A what?” I asked.

  I knew drones were used to take pictures and Amazon planned to use them to deliver packages, but I couldn’t imagine them being used to smuggle contraband into a prison.

  “Don’t tell me someone tried to get a drone up in here,” Edwards said.

  “Yeah, and get this. The drone was carrying a cell phone and charger along with some tobacco.” He looked around, and lowered his voice. “You know that wasn’t ours, right.”

  I paid attention to the conversation, but I couldn’t help but focus on the two people near the far end of the gate.

  DaQuan was chatting with a visibly pregnant correctional officer. And from his body language, I could tell, the conversation wasn’t going his way.

  There was no way I was about to blow up his spot. The rumors had been flying around for months. I had heard all about C.O. Clarkson and the fact that she was pregnant for him again, but that was none of my business.

  Once I got the all clear that it was good on the yard, I turned around and went back inside the building. I decided there was no point in me even mentioning what I had seen to DaQuan. What would be the purpose? It wasn’t like I was about to leave him and give up my spot. Dunbar showed me what life was like on the other side and the last time I saw her, she pushed a bucket, and her weave looked real loose. She looked broken down and broke
.

  I was the first one back at the guards’ booth and I was happy to tell Bishop it was a false alarm.

  There was no question about it; I knew how to play my position because I loved being on the team.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  KENYATAYE

  Could it be that DaQuan made so much money that he didn’t even miss the few thousand E-Dawg had locked up in that duffle bag? And why did E-Dawg bring the money to me in the first place?

  True enough, I needed that money worse than I needed the air I had to breathe. But I also didn’t want to start a war when I didn’t have the soldiers to back me up. The truth was, even though DaQuan was locked up, he was powerful, both in jail and on the streets.

  Ever since I’d met with E-Dawg, I thought that maybe I deserved the money for all I’d been through. After all, my bills had piled up. But I still wasn’t completely sure E wasn’t trying to use me.

  My mother walked into the kitchen after dropping off the kids. At first she didn’t say anything to me. But she didn’t have to speak for me to know there was something on her mind.

  When I got up from the table, she started in on me.

  “You’re grown and I get that. But I’m still your mother and when you’re wrong, it’s still my right to tell you that you’re wrong.”

  The problem with Mary was she couldn’t get straight to the point. Although she didn’t talk a lot, when she spoke, for some reason, she acted like a lecture would help drive her point home.

  I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture.

  But since she followed behind me as I walked down the hallway, I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid her until she said whatever was on her mind.

  “I told you that sleazy gangster was nothing but trouble, and it seems like since then, you’ve been drawn to him even more.” Her eyes zeroed in on mine. “I don’t know what’s going on with your job, but he’s been over here twice this week and you still not back at work. All of this, but you say you not selling no drugs.”

  “Mom, work is complicated right now. I’m trying not to get stressed out,” I touched my stomach, “with the baby and all.”