They exited the vehicle and walked to the front door. After banging for two minutes, Agent Havoc decided to walk around the house to see if the back door was open. He checked the knob and to his surprise, the locks were off, so he called to his partner. “O’Malley, I got an open back door over here!”
O’Malley walked around to the back of the house and they slowly pushed the door open. The stench was atrocious. Both agents covered their mouths and rushed out the door.
“What the fuck is that smell?” Havoc yelled.
“Smells like somebody got to Priest before we did. Shit… C’mon, let’s go back in and find him.”
“Fuck no! I’m not going back in there, that shit is horrendous.” Havoc complained. “If he’s dead, what the fuck we going in there for? Call the coroner.”
“Stop being a pussy and get your ass in here.”
The two agents searched the house for Priest’s body. They found him in his bathroom, slumped in his tub, with a bullet hole in his head.
“Oh my God, I think I’m gonna throw up.” Havoc turned around and hurled on the floor.
“Jesus Christ, Havoc… get it together.’ O’Malley said. He stepped inside the bathroom covering his nose and mouth and looked down at Priest’s decomposed corpse. “Probably been in here a few days… fuckin’ guy stinks.”
“What’s that?” Havoc asked, seeing a note sticking to the mirror.
O’Malley ripped it off the mirror and read it.
They could never say I wasn’t a stand up nigga. Tell Mox I didn’t kill his mother, and I love him.
________
Earl killed the ignition and stepped from the vehicle. He had ten minutes before church would start and he was nervous as hell. He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and walked up the stairs and into the church.
“Good morning, Earl.” Mrs Garrett greeted. “You ready?”
Earl nodded and continued into the church. It was packed. Since he’d been coming to the church, he’d never saw it this crowded. The whole neighborhood attended. He scanned the crowd looking for the people he invited. He saw Mox sitting in the front row next to Jasmine and smiled. He knew his nephew wouldn’t let him down.
Earl also spotted Tyrell and Priscilla in the crowd, and thought he saw someone who had a striking resemblance to Cleo. He took a deep breath and walked down the aisle to the pulpit. Dressed in his best suit and shoes, Earl was ready to let the truth be told. The congregation quieted and when he stepped in front of the microphone, he cleared his throat and began.
“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and merry Christmas to all. Today is a very important day for me. Not just because it’s a holiday, but because this is the day that I rejoice and confess my sins.” He paused, looked over the crowd, and continued. “I’ve done a lot of good, but there’s one thing I can’t seem to erase from my brain, and that’s the murder of my sister.” Earl looked down at Mox sitting in the first row. “I think I owe my nephew an apology.”
Mox didn’t understand what his uncle was trying to say. He just listened.
“I been living a lie for thirty years, and I can no longer live like this.” Earl placed his hand on the Bible and closed his eyes. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Mox’s heart dropped when he heard his uncle Earl reciting the prayer. It was the same prayer that the killer said the night his mother was murdered. He stood up and stared at Earl standing in the pulpit.
“I’m sorry, Mox.” A tear fell from his eye and splashed the Bible. “I’m sorry for taking my sister’s life, I’m sorry for lying to you… I’m sorry for everything. I hope you can forgive me.” Earl stepped back from the pulpit, reached for his waistline and pulled out a black.38 revolver. Before anyone could react, he put the barrel of the gun to his temple and hugged the trigger…
EPILOGUE
Federal agents had the church surrounded, waiting for Mox to come out. After the shot went off, they stormed the church, and in the mix of it all, Priscilla, Cleo and Tyrell were taken into custody. Authorities were never able to locate Mox.
________
-VALHALLAH CORRECTIONAL FACILITY-
“Yo Rell, tell the C.O. to crack my gate!” An inmate yelled.
“He ain’t gon’ do it unless you signed up for sick call.” Tyrell replied.
“You the trustee, make it happen!”
“I don’t even fuck wit’ you like that, homey.” Tyrell continued mopping the tier floor.
The C.O. shouted from inside the bubble. “Cell twenty-one! Daniels! Sick call!”
Tyrell dropped the mop he was holding, waited until he heard the cell door open, and then he started walking down the tier. He dug his hand inside his sweatpants and fetched his prison gun. When he reached the front of cell twenty-one, the inmate had just stepped out. Tyrell gripped the handmade shank in his palm, bit down on his lip and approached the inmate. “I got a gift from Mox,” he said, shoving the sharpened tip of the shank into the target’s abdomen. He pulled it out and stuck it in his chest directly over his heart and blood squirted from the hole and splashed his t-shirt.
Cleo pulled the shank out of his chest and the blood poured out even faster. On his way to the floor, he looked up and all he saw was Tyrell’s back as he slowly walked off.
SUMMER 2013
Illuminant rays burst out the sun, giving the sky a bright yellowish tint. Not a cloud was in sight as the children played amongst themselves on swings, monkey bars, and in the sandbox. Parents and siblings sat on benches and stood against fences watching their little ones have the time of their life.
Ms. Davis sat on the bench she usually sat on when she brought her granddaughter to the park. It was the shadiest area of the playground, and she could see the entire park from her sitting position. With her newspaper in hand, she skimmed through the day’s topics searching for something interesting to read.
“Crime, crime and more crime.” She mumbled to herself, flipping through the pages. A droplet of water landed on her arm and she looked around to see if one of the kids was playing with a water gun, but she hadn’t spotted any. Suddenly, another droplet hit her and then three more. When she looked up she saw dark clouds forming in the sky, and before she knew it, thunder was roaring and lighting struck down from the heavens above.
Parents scurried to find their children, grabbing them up, rushing to their vehicles before the torrential rains fell.
Ms. Davis stood up and walked over to the swings where she had last seen Brandi. “Brandi!” she called. “Brandi, where are you?”
________
Jasmine kept her foot on the brake with the car in drive. “Hurry up, c’mon!”
“Where we going, Daddy?” Brandi asked, holding onto Mox’s hand as tight as she could as they ran to the waiting car.
“We goin’ home, baby… we goin’ home…”
-THE END-
The Union III Page 13