“I got it,” Candice said, giving the door one forceful yank.
Uncle Rock was slightly embarrassed at how weak he was these days. He walked with his head down as he passed through the door into a small, dusty hallway that separated the store part of the range and the actual shooting range.
In the little hallway, Candice and Uncle Rock prepped for their shooting session. They double bagged their ears by inserting bright orange foam earplugs into their ear canals and then covering them with hard ear protection. They both slid clear plastic protective eye goggles over their eyes, and Uncle Rock put on his customary black gloves.
Candice hated shooting with gloves on. For her, it made getting her rounds on target and in the five rings a bit more of a challenge. But she knew if she didn’t wear the gloves, she’d get a never-ending lecture from Uncle Rock about the lead particles getting all over her hands and contaminating her skin and blood.
After getting geared up like they were going into a battlefield, Candice and Uncle Rock entered the shooting range. Several of the lanes were occupied.
Candice smirked when she saw a woman no bigger than five feet tall, wearing thigh-high boots and a miniskirt, shooting a large gun almost longer than the woman’s entire arm. Candice recognized the gun as an MP5. Guess I ain’t the only bad bitch around. Candice felt a twinge of admiration for the woman. She would never have thought to go shooting in high-ass heels and a skirt.
“Come on over here and let me show you what I got here,” Uncle Rock called out loudly, screaming over the resounding gunshots coming from the adjacent shooting lanes. He had already pulled down the gun rest and placed his plastic case on it.
Candice moved in closer to see this great prize Uncle Rock had brought with him. She had to admit, she’d become a big gun buff while living with Rock, but she still didn’t think anyone could get as excited about guns as her uncle.
Uncle Rock slowly unlatched the case and pulled up the top in a dramatic fashion, as if about to unveil the Hope Diamond. When the case flapped open, his eyes sparkled, and he smiled wider than Candice had ever seen. “Here she is!” he announced with a flourish.
Candice’s eyebrows arched high, and she flashed her even white teeth in pure delight. “Uncle Rock! You know how long I been asking you to let me shoot your AR-fifteen!” she exclaimed, a warm feeling coming over her. Candice was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was giddy and ready to shoot Uncle Rock’s prized possession for the first time.
“Candy, you were too young back then. This weapon is for grown-ups,” Uncle Rock told her, like he was handing her keys to her first car or preparing her for a first date.
“Did you bring the legs?” Candice knew the sniper equipment would just make shooting the big gun even more exciting.
“Let me show you how to shoot it first. Then we’ll worry about the legs. I fixed it up just for you, Candy,” he said softly.
Candice scooted over as Uncle Rock set up to show her how to shoot the weapon.
“You need to put this baby on your support side shoulder, relax, then place that support side ear on your shoulder. Candy, you gotta get your head down behind the sights or else this will jump back and hit you in the face. Grip it here, like your life depended on it,” Uncle Rock said, smacking the side of the weapon to demonstrate where he wanted Candice to put her hands. “Watch and learn now,” he said.
Rock quickly put down the weapon when he was suddenly overwhelmed with another coughing spasm. This time, there was blood.
“Oh my God! Uncle Rock! Are you okay?” Candice screeched, her face etched with worry.
Uncle Rock tried to speak, but it took him a minute to wipe away the blood from his mouth and catch his breath. He grunted in frustration.
Candice eyed him suspiciously. She knew that Uncle Rock hated her to ask him questions relating to his health, but this was getting out of hand. “Don’t tell me not to ask any questions! Something is wrong! There is blood coming out of your mouth!” Candice bellowed, her hands shaking.
“I’m okay. Let me show you how to work this now.” Rock’s chest felt like hot coals were lodged in it. He swallowed hard several times to get the burning to subside. Teaching Candice how to shoot the AR-15 was very important to him.
“First, you need to tell me why blood is coming out of your mouth when you cough. Have you seen a doctor?” Candice folded her arms across her chest.
“Look, when I am ready, I will give you all of the details. This is much more important!” Uncle Rock growled, one of the very few times he’d ever raised his voice at Candice.
A bolt of panic shot up Candice’s spine. Uncle Rock meant business; she had never seen him this passionate about anything. She couldn’t help but think his unwavering insistence that they meet at the range today had something to do with his failing health. Candice let her shoulders go slack. There was no use in fighting Uncle Rock over this issue. But she intended to find out what was wrong with him. She promised herself she would make him go see a doctor for that cough.
“C’mon, Candy, now take this. Get your head behind those sights, get a firm grasp, and learn how to treat this baby like it’s your own,” Uncle Rock instructed, handing Candice the oversized weapon that was almost too big for her arms to hold.
Like my own? Is he giving this to me?
Uncle Rock had regarded his AR-15 like a child. He had never even let her lay eyes on it before today. Skeptically, she accepted Uncle Rock’s prize into her trembling arms. She did as instructed, getting into the proper stance and positioning the gun properly. Closing her weak eye and keeping her dominant eye open, Candice tugged on the trigger. When the first couple of rounds exited the end of the gun in rapid fire, she looked downrange at the ripped-up target. She smirked as she pictured the holey target being Broady and Junior, or anyone else who tried to come between her and her marks. Even Junior’s fine-ass sidekick, Tuck.
* * *
Candice walked into the Woodward Funeral Home and followed the signs for the services of Corey Jackson. As she stepped into the small room, Shana jumped up off the hard teakwood bench and rushed over to her, eyes wide.
“Girl, I am so fuckin’ glad to see you,” Shana whispered, grabbing Candice’s arm and pushing her back through the doorway.
Candice followed her in confusion. “What’s going on?” Candice asked in a harsh whisper. She didn’t appreciate being damn near accosted by Shana.
“Candy, I’m so scared. Broady is running around here like a madman. He got guns and saying he waiting for any niggas to show up here that ain’t supposed to be here. He just going crazy,” Shana said, her words shaky and frantic.
“Where is Junior and Tuck?” Candice asked because she knew they could probably calm Broady down, but she also needed to keep tabs on all of them before deciding on the appropriate course of action.
“They haven’t gotten here yet. I just want to leave, for real.” Shana shook her head.
“You better not do shit to set Broady off. I’m here to keep you company, and I don’t feel like the drama y’all be having. Let’s just go inside and sit in the pews and observe.”
Promising a lonely girl like Shana company always did the trick. Shana smiled, relieved that her friend had provided her a rational solution to her dilemma.
“Okay, okay. You’re right, Candy. If I left, that nigga would be all on my ass when he got home.”
Candice looked at Shana’s obviously expensive black Nicole Miller fitted sheath dress and her black Brian Atwood pumps and shook her head. An expensive little black dress still ain’t worth the matching black eye that comes with it. Shana still donned her dark Jackie O shades, which now seemed to suit the occasion.
As Candice and Shana slid onto one of the benches, Candice glanced toward the front of the dimly lit room, at the closed casket. An 8x10 portrait of Razor stood atop the sealed body box. Razor’s condition must have been too bad to allow for an open casket. Candice felt the urge to inspect the picture more closely.
Shana notic
ed Candice staring at the photo. “You wanna walk up there and see it before it gets mad crowded in here?” Shana asked, breaking Candice’s trancelike gaze.
“All right,” Candice replied hesitantly. She hated funerals, funeral homes, and anything related to death. She’d had enough of it to last her a lifetime.
Candice and Shana ambled slowly toward the front of the stuffy room. The scent of embalming fluid mixed with the sickly sweet aroma from the arrangements of flowers assailed Candice’s senses and threatened to make her lose her last meal.
Razor’s family members were stuffed together, shoulder to shoulder, directly in front of the casket. His baby’s mother clutched the sleeping baby daughter up against her chest as if she expected someone to bust in and grab the baby out of her hands. An older lady, who Candice just assumed was Razor’s mother, had her face covered with a small black net, and every so often she stuck a wad of tissue under it and swiped away falling tears.
“That’s his family.” Shana whispered the obvious as they passed the first row of pews.
When they stopped in front of the casket, Candice examined the photograph. It was apparent that the picture had been taken some time ago. In the photograph, Razor looked studious, with a collared shirt and tie, and holding what appeared to be a small diploma case. He was smiling, with no diamond-encrusted fronts on his teeth.
A cold feeling washed over Candice, like someone had pumped ice water into her veins. She realized then that she only knew Razor, not Corey Jackson. If she had to depict the Razor in a photograph, he’d have long dreads, his lips would be visibly darker than the rest of his face from smoking so much weed, and he would be wearing some sort of expensive T-shirt with the name of a designer splashed across the front, and the obligatory chunky chain hanging in the middle of his chest.
Staring at the picture, Candice felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for Razor’s family. Corey Jackson had been someone’s son, father, and friend. His family was now experiencing the same grief she felt when her family was murdered in cold blood.
“You ready to go sit back down?” Shana asked, noticing how long and hard Candice was staring at the picture. She just figured that Candice had liked Razor more than she let on.
“Yeah, c’mon,” Candice replied, ready to return to her seat. As she turned, she noticed a flower delivery guy placing a bouquet of red roses fashioned into a bleeding heart near Razor’s casket.
“Wow! That is a beautiful flower arrangement,” Shana commented, impressed. She walked over to the flowers and looked at the small envelope attached to a piece of white ribbon. “Oh my God! These flowers are from Phil. The guy . . . the one Broady said—”
“Broady said what?” a voice boomed from behind Shana and Candice.
Broady was hovering over them. Too close for Candice’s comfort.
Shana’s legs immediately seemed to buckle a little bit at the accusatory tone. Her heart thumped wildly, and her mind raced for an answer to his question. Thinking quickly, she surreptitiously passed the small card from the bleeding heart to Candice.
Catching on just as quickly, Candice secreted the card between her palm and the back of her black leather clutch.
“I was just telling Candy how you said that this place was gonna be packed ’cuz Razor was so cool with e’erybody,” Shana fabricated on the spot.
Candice noticed that Shana spoke way more broken English when she talked to Broady. She can’t even be herself around him.
“Yeah, mad motherfuckers gon’ be up in this camp. So make sure you keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious niggas and keep me posted ’n shit,” Broady grumbled. He pushed past Candice without saying a word to her.
Candice felt a spark of heat in her chest. She never knew her hate to take on such physical manifestations. That’s what you get when you dance with the Devil.
“I’ll be right back, Candy,” Shana said, her tone shaky as she rushed out of the room.
Candice sat in a far corner in the back of the room. She checked her surroundings and pulled the small card from the envelope. She read the inscription:
To Broady, Junior, and the crew, Sorry for your loss. We’re here if you need us. Stay up.—Phil and the uptown crew.
Candice furrowed her eyebrows, perplexed. She thought Shana had told her that Phil and the uptown crew were believed to be responsible for Razor’s murder. If that was the case, why would they send such a nice card and flowers? Candice knew Broady was convinced it was Phil who had commissioned Razor’s brutal murder.
Inspiration seemed to strike Candice at that moment. A wondrous plan began to take shape in her mind, but first she needed to find a card and something to write with.
Frantic, she rushed around the lobby of the funeral home trying to find these items before Shana came back to look for her. She walked over to what appeared to be the funeral director’s office and knocked hesitantly. When no one answered, she let herself inside. The lobby was beginning to get filled up with people fast, and she needed to accomplish this task before anyone noticed her absence.
A tall, slender older woman approached Candice from the side, scaring her out of her wits. “Can I help you?”
Candice’s heart hammered, and her eyes darted around the room for Broady or Shana. She took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. “Uh, yes. I sent flowers, and the florist forgot my card. Would you happen to have a small piece of paper I could write my note on?”
“I can do you one better,” the lady offered kindly. “I have blank floral arrangement cards in all colors. This happens all of the time. Those daggone florists are so forgetful sometimes.”
“Great! I am embarrassed to let anyone see that I have to put my card on after the fact. It’s starting to get crowded in there,” Candice said, rushing behind the woman as she fished around for the cards in the desk drawer.
“I knew they were hiding in there somewhere. Here you go,” the woman sang cheerfully. She retrieved a rubber-banded stack of small, blank cards. “What color?” the woman asked Candice.
“The light blue will do.”
“Here, I’ll give you two, just in case you make a mistake.” Candice took the cards, thanked the woman, and rushed through the door of the office. When she stepped into the lobby, she had tunnel vision, wanting to get back inside the room where Razor’s casket lay. She scanned for Shana but didn’t see her.
Candice started into the room, cards in hand, and once again, she walked smack-dab into someone, and the cards went fluttering out of her hands. “Oh shit!” Candice exclaimed, startled.
“Damn! We bump into each other again. Literally,” Tuck said, his deep baritone massaging Candice’s eardrums.
“Maybe you should watch where you’re going,” Candice huffed, her words nervous and choppy. She bent down to pick up the cards, but Tuck beat her to it.
“I got it. A lady in a dress shouldn’t have to bend over.” Tuck picked up the two small light blue cards and handed them to Candice.
Candice straightened back up. Hands shaking, she accepted them.
“It’s real nice seeing you here,” Tuck said honestly. “I thought after the night in the club, Shana wouldn’t ever get you to come back around us.”
“I have thicker skin than you think.” Candice was trying so hard to keep up her tough-girl persona.
“That’s good. I love women with tough skin.” Tuck licked his lips seductively.
Candice swore she could feel her pussy pulse as she watched his moistened lips. She was stuck on stupid for a moment.
“Now, if you excuse me . . .” Tuck said, touching her shoulder to move her aside. He walked toward a group of men milling around.
Candice felt a flash of heat on her neck and cheeks. She instantly felt rejected. She wanted to be the one to end their interaction.
Candice stomped back into the corner where she and Shana had been sitting earlier. She noticed that Shana had moved up a few rows to join some of the crew’s girlfriends. Candice quickly sat in a vacant
chair and opened her clutch to retrieve a pen. Everybody in the room was too preoccupied with their grief to pay her any attention. She placed one of the small cards up against her thigh and scribbled down the real message she wanted Broady and Junior to get from Phil and the uptown crew.
* * *
When Razor’s casket was lowered into the earth, screams erupted through the cemetery loud enough to wake the dead. Candice felt cold all over her body. She intensely disliked being in the cemetery; it reminded her that she had missed her own family’s burial. She wondered if she would’ve screamed and jumped up and down like Razor’s family.
Razor’s mother hollered and spread her body atop her son’s shiny death box. “Why, Lord? Why my chile?!” the woman screamed.
Candice wondered if she knew what type of life her son had been living before he died, that he had been peddling poison to his own people to make easy money.
Candice kicked at the upturned, rocky red earth with her pumps. She looked around at all of the mourners’ faces and decided that she wasn’t sorry for Razor or his mother. She did feel a flitting stab of grief for Razor’s young daughter, however. Candice knew the love between a father and daughter. Razor’s daughter would never know that feeling.
Candice felt partially responsible. Maybe if he hadn’t followed her out of the club that night, he’d still be alive.
Scanning the rest of the attendees, Candice caught a glimpse of Broady dabbing at his eyes. She involuntarily smirked at the sight. She couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction that he was in some kind of pain.
When the burial ended, Candice trudged through the gravelly dirt and grass and started toward her car.
“Candy! Hold up!” Shana caught up with her. “You coming back to the house, right?”
“I just think I’m going to go home. It’s very late. I have never been to a funeral, in the cemetery this late at night,” Candice told Shana. The truth was, she had never been to a burial, period.
“Well, the one-day service was cheaper, so they decided to just do it all today. If they had waited, Broady woulda had to pay another two or three stacks. You know that nigga funny with his money. As much as he loved Razor, he did foot the entire bill for everything.” Shana gazed off in the distance, a look of admiration in her eyes.
Hard Candy Saga Page 9