Get Some

by Pam Ward

  “You in this, huh?” Jimmy slapped her face hard.

  Trudy shook her head no. Her lids brimmed with tears. She struggled to stop them. To not let one drop. This was just how she felt when confronted by her mother. Her mother would scream and yell right in her face while Trudy willed herself not to weep. She knew if she let one fall, let one single drop, her whole face would flow like an ocean.

  Jimmy let go of her hair and took a step back.

  Trudy took a half breath when she saw Jimmy smile. It took everything she had to try to appear calm while her insides raged on like a storm.

  “Come on, baby, it’s me, Jimmy. I wouldn’t hurt you, girl.”

  Jimmy smiled at her cunningly while he pulled out his gun. He wiped the gun clean with a white satin cloth. He spoke to her softly, saying each word nice and slow.

  “Now I’m going to ask you one time.” Jimmy folded the cloth, putting it back in his pocket. He was standing so close she could count the lines in his eyes. Jimmy aimed the clean gun against the hollow of her throat.

  “Tell me everything and you won’t get hurt.”

  Trudy wouldn’t speak. She just stood there silent. She tried to breathe easy as her blood blazed with fear. She was losing the fight in trying to stay calm and was almost engulfed in full panic.

  Trudy’s mind flashed to the only time she ever got caught. It was two years ago and she hadn’t stolen in weeks. She was desperately trying to stop. But before she left this store she saw a beautiful jacket. It was lavender suede with a furry fox collar. She looked around the store without moving her head. She quickly unlooped the big metal ring and pulled the chain out through the arm. She glanced around the store again. She slipped the coat on. She casually took the escalator downstairs while the fluorescent lights shined on her brow. She could see the front door. She saw the cars in the lot. When she finally got both feet all the way out and inhaled deep, someone violently grabbed hold of her arm. Trudy was shocked. The undercover came from nowhere. She’d never seen the man anywhere near her in the store.

  “Come with me, miss,” he said, holding her firmly. He brought Trudy to a small basement room. A man behind a desk asked her all sorts of questions. “Who are you with? Where are your parents? Don’t you know stealing’s a crime?”

  While sitting there still, Trudy unzipped her purse. Her body was rigid. She just moved her hands. Her fingertips searched through her purse for her wallet. When she found it, she lifted her pants leg with one hand and shoved the wallet inside her boot.

  Trudy was eighteen. She did not want to go to jail. But taking a five hundred–dollar coat was considered grand theft. She had no choice but to lie through her teeth. “I’m only fifteen,” she told him without blinking. “I thought you had to treat minors different.”

  “You’re under age?” the man examined her hard. With her body and made-up face she looked at least twenty. “Hand me your purse.” The man grabbed her bag and dumped the contents on his desk. There was makeup, a mirror, a Mr. Goodbar and sixty-five dollars in cash.

  Trudy knew as a minor she couldn’t be charged, but the manager was pissed. He didn’t like losing a suspect. So he called the cops to come down to the store anyway and take her. They cuffed her and took her back to the West L.A. station. Trudy was petrified riding in that black and white car. One cop rode in the backseat with her.

  “Tell us everything,” the nice cop said, “and you won’t get hurt.” He smiled with the warm face of a father.

  “She’s a thief,” the other one barked. “Don’t waste your time. I can’t wait to lock her up in a cell.”

  The police jumped right into their Mutt and Jeff routine. She ignored the hard one driving and looked at the one who stayed nice.

  “Tell us everything,” the nice one said. “We’ll go easy on you, honey. Is there anything you want to say? Do you have more stuff at home? How long have you been shoplifting?” he wanted to know. “Tell us and I promise you won’t get hurt.”

  Trudy shook her head no. She blinked tears from her eyes. She tried to create a look that mixed sweetness with sorrow. She knew about Mutt and Jeff, the good cop, bad cop routine. She knew it was best to keep her mouth shut.

  When they got to the station she looked on the floor. There was a thick yellow line, two outlined feet and letters saying, STOP HERE AND FRISK.

  Trudy was frantic. Were they going to frisk her right there? They would find her ID. They’d realize she was lying. Damn, she was going to get caught. But Trudy toyed with the cops, she asked them questions about their job, and when it was time to walk up to the frisk line and stop, the cops walked her right over the letters. They brought her inside the station. They joked with her more. Someone brought her a cold can of Sprite. They liked having this sexy young thing in the station and leered at her giant young breasts. She watched when they brought in a young-looking brother. He held her gaze for a second. They worked him over hard and threw him down inside a cell. Trudy watched the man standing, holding the dark steel bars. She was glad she’d kept her mouth shut. She’d always be grateful for what her mother did for her that day. Joan came to the station as soon as she got the call. Trudy didn’t have to tell Joan she’d lied about her age. Joan came in and sized up the whole situation. In ten minutes she had gotten Trudy released. She scolded the cops for “handcuffing babies” and immediately took Trudy home. Joan never got after her about stealing that stuff. She thought getting handcuffed was punishment enough.

  Trudy clenched her back teeth as Jimmy’s gun pressed her neck. She knew one thing for sure: it would be worse if she talked. So Trudy did just what she did back then. She stood there and did not say one word.

  When Jimmy realized Trudy was not going to talk, he cold-cocked her hard in the jaw.

  Outside the bathroom door, the club went berserk. People were howling and screaming and hitting spoons against bottles. Jones left-hooked Liston in the ear. Liston looked stunned. He swung at the air. He tried to throw a right but his timing was off. He took a full swing but he missed and lunged forward, teetering back and forth on his water-hose legs. Liston was dazed, like someone who forgot where they’d parked, like any minute he’d be eating the canvas.

  Trudy dropped to the floor. Her mouth tasted like salt. She could move her front tooth back and forth with her tongue. Trudy wished she could blast Jimmy’s head with her gun, but her gun was in her purse on a chair.

  Jimmy stood over her, putting one foot on her chest. “Look, I don’t care. This can go either way. Just tell me where my cocaine is at.”

  He started choking her neck with his boot.

  Just then Pearl burst through the men’s bathroom door. Jimmy had one foot at Trudy’s throat and aimed his gun straight at Pearl’s face.

  Pearl stopped in her tracks. She squinted hard at Jimmy. She was wearing a long, silvery, sequined gown. One fist was hitched to her thick, strong, firm hip, and the other fist held the neck of a long wooden bat. She glanced quickly at Trudy but held a steady gaze at his eyes. Pearl stood like he could shoot her nine hundred times and she’d still be posed the same way.

  Jimmy held the gun, but he dropped it a few notches. “Oh, I’m supposed to be scared.” Jimmy laughed in her face. “Come on,” he said to Pearl. “Go ahead, take a swing. I’ll even put my gun down.”

  Jimmy loved this. This was big fun to him. He loved taunting folks. To him this was pure pleasure, like a kid stabbing bugs with a stick.

  “You need to be clocking some of these fools up in here instead of wasting your time messing with her.” Pearl threw a glance over her shoulder toward the door. “I heard someone came in here with a whole bunch of money. You need to go see about them.”

  “Who? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Tony knows. Ask him. He been bragging to anybody who’ll listen, talkin’ ’bout he got big bank tonight.”

  Jimmy pushed past Pearl and peeked from the door. Tony was laughing, sloshing drinks into rows of shot glasses. Both fists clutched two exp
ensive bottles.

  Jimmy looked confused. He clicked back his gun and shoved it into his waist. He reached down and pulled Trudy up. “Look, I don’t know what’s up, but don’t try to leave.” Jimmy put his gun in the back of his waist. “You better stay put. I’m not done with you yet.”

  Trudy wanted to spit in his face.

  Jimmy left the bathroom and went back inside the club. He told Percy to watch the bathroom door.

  Trudy ducked inside the men’s stall and pulled across the latch. She was so scared she almost peed in her panties. She watched Pearl from the stall’s tiny crack.

  Pearl hissed a sharp whisper when Trudy came out. “Girl, didn’t I tell you not to tangle with him? That crazy fool don’t need a reason to murder. That mean shit just runs in his blood.”

  Pearl narrowed her eyes as she peeked out the door. Jimmy and Tony were starting to yell. “Look, girl. I found it upstairs.” Pearl handed her a wrinkled piece of paper. “I knew I’d find something if I kept snooping around.”

  “What is this?” Trudy said, scanning the sheet. “Looks like a receipt to a rest home in Barstow.”

  “Look at the name at the bottom,” Pearl triumphantly said.

  In tiny print at the bottom of the receipt was the small name “Miss Geraldine Dee.”

  “You mean Miss Dee’s up there? She’s been alive all this time!” Trudy could hardly believe it.

  “That’s just what it means, according to this. That no-good dog lied to us all.” Pearl looked out the bathroom door once again. Jimmy was talking even louder this time. Another man knocked down an older man’s drink. Some women were screaming for shots. “You best get the hell outta here, chile. I smell a riot up in this spot tonight. Better use the side door in the back.”

  Trudy nervously walked toward the dressing room door when Percy left the bathroom door to pat some man down. Charles raced up to her elbow. He handed Trudy her purse.

  “What happened in there? I was scared to come in.” Charles meekly dug both his hands in his pockets.

  “Um,” Trudy said, rummaging around the junky room. Finally she found what she wanted. She took a hairy mass from out of a bag and shook the brown curly wig out. “Where’s the money?” she asked Charles, watching him in the mirror. She shoved all her braids up under the wooly-haired cap and slipped on some dark tinted glasses.

  “I got some of it on me,” Charles said, opening his jacket, revealing the blue vinyl pouch.

  Trudy quickly yanked Charles’s jacket shut. “Are you crazy? Keep that thing closed. That fool almost killed me a minute ago! And what do you mean ‘some of it’? You don’t have it all? Charles, where the hell is the rest?” Trudy stopped peeking out from the dressing room hole, staring Charles in the face.

  “I couldn’t let Ray Ray see I had all that cash. I hid the rest.”

  “Hid what?” Shirley said, bursting through the small room. She surprised Trudy and Charles. They stood totally stiff, like kids caught making out in the closet. Shirley grinned wide, popping her gum. “Ummmmm! Whatchu all doing hiding in here, huh?”

  Trudy impulsively grabbed Charles’s hand.

  “You something else, girl. Ain’t no shame in yo’ game. Don’t matter to you if he’s taken or not. You want some, you get some, you treacherous skank.” Shirley rolled her eyes up and down Trudy’s body. She popped her gum loud in her face. “I ought to tell your ol’ lady myself,” she told Charles. Shirley grinned at the wig sitting on Trudy’s head. “Oh, hello! Are we role-playing tonight? You trying to be Cleopatra Jones in this bee-yatch?”

  Shirley reached over and tried to snatch the wig off. But Trudy caught her hand and slapped it away. She was shaken and angry about what happened with Jimmy. She reached in her purse and pulled out the gun.

  “Touch me again and I’ll blast your jacked-up face,” Trudy said.

  Shirley was stunned. Her mouth dropped completely open. She backed to the corner of the room.

  Charles was stunned too. He didn’t know Trudy had a gun. When she said “come on” this time, he did what she said.

  Trudy and Charles pushed through the tight crowd of people in the club. Shirley watched them out of the dressing room hole. “I’ma get you for that, bitch. Don’t think I won’t.” She blew a giant pink bubble with her gum.

  “Walk slow but keep moving. Try and stay cool. We gotta get out of here fast!” Trudy’s brown eyes slid across the dense, smoky club. It was packed with folks watching the loud, angry fight. “You go out front. I’ll meet you in back.” Trudy didn’t see Jimmy. But Percy was there. He was obviously searching the room for her now. But Percy was looking for Trudy’s long braided head; he didn’t recognize her in dark lenses and brown curls. Trudy snuck out the back. Charles drifted out front. He trotted quickly toward his car.

  Charles saw Trudy ease out the back door of Dee’s. But she didn’t rush over to Charles’s car first. Instead, she raced over to a huge glossy black SUV and carefully sliced all four tires. Charles took another big swig from his flask, letting the warm liquor enter his skin.

  Trudy raced toward Charles and jumped in his car. She gushed out a sigh of relief. Charles stroked her hair, touching the curls on the wig, which glistened in Dee’s warm neon glow. Charles eased his brandy-stained mouth over hers but Trudy pushed Charles’s face back.

  “Uh-uh! Let’s go! We gotta leave quick.” Trudy breathed deep and exhaled out of the window. Homeboy was tripping, she thought to herself. She looked at Charles hard out of the corner of her eye. He was too scared to come in the bathroom to help her and she’d almost been shot in the face. Trudy cracked the window. She needed to breathe some cool air. Charles was testing her nerves.

  “Where’s the rest of the money?” Trudy urgently asked.

  Charles’s eyes shifted down the street. “It’s at home. It’ll be safe there.”

  “You left it at home? Where did you put it? How do you know it won’t get stolen?”

  “It won’t. It’s hid real good.” Charles took out the blue vinyl pouch of money. “You want to have part of it now?” He could lie about what was left in the envelope now by saying the rest was at home.

  “No, Charles, let’s go. We can’t do this here. We’ll divvy it up at Vernita’s.” Trudy strapped on her seat belt.

  Charles strapped his too. He decided not to say he’d given some of the money away. He was feeling euphoric. He’d paid Tony back. He was holding an envelope with some serious money and there was plenty more waiting at home. For the first time in a long time he felt like a man. He wasn’t about to spoil his good mood by being honest. He tried to peck Trudy’s cheek but she pushed him away.

  “Let’s go,” Trudy said hastily.

  That’s okay, Charles thought. He drained the rest from his flask. He could definitely wait. He turned the ignition. He clicked the radio on and switched the headlights. He thought about the paint can with the money and smiled. He put his hand on the gearshift and adjusted his mirror. Trudy had the sweetest little worried look on her face. Like a child trying to figure out a difficult puzzle. But suddenly her face changed to horror.

  Trudy screamed but before she could finish Charles heard the gunshots. Three loud, angry blasts. Trudy slowly sank into Charles’s lap. Blood leaked all over her dress.

  Flo stood at the car window. Her face was enraged. Her chest heaved up and back down again. The warm gun dangled limply from her wrist.

  18

  Ray Ray

  When people heard those shots they started running outside.

  Trudy thought she’d been shot when she finally eased back up. She thought she’d see Jimmy standing next to the car. But Jimmy wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere around. She lifted her head slowly to look.

  Pearl was out first. “Somebody call the police. Hurry!”

  People began to get in their cars and pull away.

  Ray Ray looked around wildly. “What happened?” he asked.

  “Get out the club, man. Police’ll be here any minute.” Sonny
was about to go. Even Big Percy hurried away.

  Ray Ray wasn’t leaving. He scanned the club’s room. Chairs were turned over, bottles lay dripping. A large crowd of people tried to squeeze through Dee’s door, like booze coming down through a funnel. But Ray Ray had business. He walked quickly upstairs. He wasn’t about to leave the club without getting his money. He eased the door open to Tony’s small closet office. Tony was stuffing something in a brown leather bag.

  “Hey, Ray Ray, whatchu doing up here, man? Ain’t you heard? A man down there’s been shot. We got to clear out before the police gets here, boy!”

  Ray Ray didn’t move.

  “Didn’t you hear? Whatchu waitin’ on, son?” Tony didn’t even bother looking up. He hastily shoved some papers in a briefcase.

  “Naw, man, I didn’t hear nothin’. I got business up here. I ain’t leaving without you giving me my money.” Ray Ray’s eyes locked on Tony. Tony’s locked back on his.

  “I done tol’ you already, the man’s got it. I passed it on to him. He got it now, got mines too. You saw him in here collecting all them bets. You give it to me and I give it to him, remember? I know you saw him. He came right over to where you and Charles was.” Tony was talking real fast. He wanted to get his cash and get out.

  “I didn’t see shit,” Ray Ray said flatly.

  “Listen, man, Jimmy came in and took the bet money. We got to leave before the law turns the place out!” Tony stood up and tried to walk around Ray Ray’s frame. But Ray Ray was blocking his path.

  “I ain’t leaving without my ends, man.” Ray Ray took out the gun in his underarm holster.

  “Come on, man,” Tony said, laughing nervously now. “Don’t do nothing rash. I’ma get you your money. You know I’m good. Don’t I always come through? Didn’t I treat you like a son? Wasn’t I the one who hired your black ass when all of them other folks wouldn’t have ya? Now put that gun down. Think about what you’re doing. You don’t want to go back to the pen.”

  Ray Ray walked closer. Tony felt his breath on him now. Ray Ray pressed the gun into his stomach. A ripple shook his gut like a rock tossed in a pond.