“Bret, are you being serious right now? You’re just going to drop this on me like this right now?”
When she jumped to her feet, Bret quickly stood with her, knowing the angry detective was armed.
“Who is this man you’re leaving me for? Oh God, what did I do? What the hell! You know what, I don’t fucking care! I am glad you’re leaving, you fucking lying and cheating asshole! How fucking long?” Tabitha demanded, feeling hurt and crazed.
“How long what, Tab? You’re upset, and it’s hard to follow what you want to know. Please, just calm down.”
“Don’t you tell me to calm down! You don’t get to tell me shit besides what the fuck I want to know! Now, how long have you been feeling gay?” she asked with a frown as if the word tasted bad.
“I guess I’ve always had a little attraction to men. I just didn’t really know what it meant because I also liked women. It wasn’t until a few months ago when Jimmy kissed me and I allowed it. That’s when I understood that what I’d been living with you was a lie. I had hoped that the line of work you do would be enough.”
“My line of work? Are you telling me you could only fuck me because of my job?”
“No! I, I, I’m trying to tell you that I need to explore this whole other side of me.”
“This is a load of crap!” she blurted. “I don’t need this shit. I want you out of here by the time I get off work, or I’m going to forget that I am a fucking officer of the law!”
She drew her gun and shoved him as hard as she could with her free hand over the coffee table.
“Arrrggh! So that’s where you’re going? To move in with this Jimmy guy, Bret?”
“No, no! I found a place of my own. Come on, Tabitha, put the gun away. I’m sorry!” he said, slowly scooting away from her.
“Just be gone when I get back!” she ordered before she turned and stormed out the front door and back to her car.
She let the sirens blast as she raced away.
* * *
Many of the city’s news media outlets were in attendance for Noeekwol Bondz’s afternoon court appearance. Right in front of the judge’s bench were twin tables that were equipped with thin little microphones that swiveled for easy access, and both tables were littered with the current case’s files.
At the table on the left stood the defendant, Noeekwol Bondz, along with his shrewd lawyer, Jake Sharps, standing tall right beside him. At the table on the right stood the star female assistant district attorney, Julie Peters, who had been assigned to the case from the start. Beside her was Detective Tabitha Allison, who stood there hanging on every word that was being said by the court officials.
“Am I correct in saying that the defendant, Noeekwol Bondz, wishes to now change his plea from one of not guilty to one of guilty?” the judge asked Attorney Sharps.
“You are correct, Your Honor.”
“Is the state in agreement with the defendant’s wish to change his plea?”
“Yes, the state agrees, Your Honor,” ADA Peters answered.
“Mr. Bondz?” the judge started. He looked Noeekwol in the eyes. “Do you understand that if you change your plea here today, you will give up your right to stand trial?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay. There are a few more questions I need to ask you before I can move forward today.” He shifted some pages in front of him then asked, “Do you understand that I do not have to go along with the time amount offered by the state in the plea agreement, and that I am free to give you more or less than what’s stated in the written plea agreement?”
“Yes, sir,” Noeekwol answered, starting to second-guess things.
The judge’s questions had him a little worried about the deal Sharps had made for him with the ADA for two years in prison and three years out on parole once released. The champ thought of all of the guys in jail with him that he had overheard tell stories about how the judge played them at their sentencing dates. He now wondered if this was what was happening to him with the judge today. He took a shallow breath and told himself to trust in Jake doing his job.
The judge took a moment and sat back in his chair, and continued to look over the papers that his bailiff had handed him from the court reporter. The judge’s silence was heavy on everyone in the courtroom. They were all eager to know the fate of the city’s champ, and it was stressing the champ out as well.
“I accept that you’re making the choice to plead guilty here today under your own free will, and I will allow you to do so,” the judge announced after a few long moments. “Is there anything you would like to say to the court before I go ahead with sentencing today?”
“Your Honor, all I would like to do is apologize to the detective’s family and this court. I honestly did not mean to hurt anyone in my state of grief that night. It was seeing my baby brother lying covered in his blood right there in front of me that made me black out and snap the way I did. I didn’t mean to do it, and I’m deeply sorry for my actions.”
“Your Honor, may I add that all of these events came within the week of Mr. Bondz learning that both of his parents had been killed in front of the very same residence where the events of his crime took place in the early morning hours, suddenly and without warning. I ask that this fact be taken into careful consideration, please, sir,” Sharps added when Noeekwol had finished his speech.
“Thank you for that bit of information, Mr. Sharps, and thank you as well, Mr. Bondz. Now, Mr. Bondz, I want you to know that I as well as the court understand how a person could lose all self-control after being burdened with so much grief in such a tight timeframe. I do not believe you were in a clear state of mind at the time, and I want you to know that I am taking that fact into consideration.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Mr. Bondz, I also do not believe you are someone who thinks that because of his fame he is above the law and expects special treatment from this court. Nor do I believe if given a second chance you would be the type to re-offend, at least not outside of the ring,” the judge chuckled along with a few others. “With that said, this court holds you to the same standards of the law as it would anyone else who commits such a crime as yours under those same circumstances, and hereby sentences you, Noeekwol Bondz, to serve eighteen months in the Wisconsin State Prison system and twelve months of extended supervised release. Mr. Bondz, I hope upon your release you continue to be the outstanding citizen and role model our inner-city youth need.
As the judge stood up to leave, Noeekwol asked Jake when he had to start his time, because he would like to see his brother before then if he could.
“Excuse me, Your Honor? We have a question. When does Mr. Bondz’s sentence start? He would like to get a few last-minute things taken care of before he has to go in,” Sharps asked after halting the judge’s exit.
“Oh yes, Mr. Bondz is still out on GPS monitoring, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let me see.” The judge looked up at the clock hanging on the wall above the bench and then said, “The time is now 1:45 p.m. Let the record show that I am giving Mr. Bondz until 1:45 tomorrow to report to the Milwaukee County Jail. If he fails to report at that time, it will be considered an escape, and Mr. Bondz, you will be given an additional sentence of up to ten years in prison. Is this understood, Mr. Bondz?”
“Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you, sir.”
With everything understood, the bailiff stepped over to Noeekwol’s table to escort him and Sharps out into the hallway. Loads of reporters snapped photos and shouted questions inquiring about how he planned on spending his last night of freedom, and how he felt about going to prison. The champ said nothing. He just kept his head down while moving forward away from the courtroom.
“Excuse me, Mr. Bondz?” Tabitha shouted after pushing her way through the mob to talk with him. “I’m Detective Allison, one of the lead detectives assigned to your parents’ murder,” she explained as she approached.
“Yeah, you’re the partner of the
dude that shot my brother too. Let’s not forget that part,” Noeekwol retorted, stopping in his tracks to speak briefly with her. “Do you have something to tell me about my parents’ case?”
“No, not at this time, but I want you to know that my job is and always has been to find the ones responsible for it. I intend to continue searching until I have them behind bars. Bondz, I never believed you or your brother had anything to do with your parents’ deaths. I am very sorry about what happened to Beysik and hope that neither of you has lost faith in me finding justice for your family.”
“Detective, I don’t know what you want me to say, besides for you to get outta my face and go do your job. I’m not the one you need to be talking to. You need to be talking to the one that put your partner in the hospital—the one of us Bondz sons that may never walk again. Bye, Detective!” he snapped at her before he marched off with Heaven and Nyte in tow.
SEVENTEEN
The girls and Noeekwol used the time he had before he had to be home for his curfew to go visit Beysik in the hospital. As they approached the nurse’s station, the champ was bombarded by fans of his. Nurses and patients asked him for his autograph and to take a selfie. Noeekwol did not mind spending a little time with his fans, especially the nurses, because he knew if he made them happy, they would take even better care of his brother.
“Hey, Brenda! How’s he doing? Any changes?” Nyte inquired, when she spotted the head nurse that was also assigned to Beysik’s care.
“No changes, but everything’s good and steady, which is always a good sign. He’s not scheduled for an MRI until morning, so we won’t know how he’s healing until then,” Nurse Brenda answered as she escorted them into Beysik’s private room. “Mr. Bondz, my husband and two sons love you. They ask me all the time if I’ve seen or met you, since your brother is in my care. It would really mean a lot to them and me if I could take a picture with you, please?” she asked, once they were behind closed doors.
“Sure, I can do that. We can take a few.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask when you were just taking them out there with the others, but I’m the one in charge, so I can’t let them see me fanning out over you too. Not easy to be able to keep order at the same time,” Brenda explained, blushing as she removed her iPhone from her smock pocket.
“It’s good. I understand,” he responded while looking at the girls standing beside his brother’s bed.
When he saw Nyte tenderly holding Beysik’s hand, he knew she held real feelings for him, unlike what their heartless father used to tell him about them wanting to be together. Mercy Bondz always told Noeekwol that Beysik was a fool and that Nyte was only using him to get her freedom from the life. He said a hoe could not love anything but a pimp and money.
“Nurse, do you think there’s a chance of the doctors waking him up in the morning, because I would really like to talk to him before I gotta go away.”
“I really can’t say. It all depends on what they see in the X-ray in the morning. I heard what they did to you at court today. I’m sorry that you gotta go through that,” Brenda answered sincerely, and then continued, “You should still talk to your brother. Many of the patients that have been placed under a medical-induced coma do say they remember things their loved ones said to them, after they were awakened.”
After hearing the nurse’s wise words, he put his happy face back on and gave her a few fight poses for her husband and sons. He even had Heaven take one of Brenda holding him in a sleeper choke hold. When they were done fooling around with the selfies, the nurse thanked the champ again and informed him that she would be at the nurse station if they needed her. She then excitedly left the room.
Noeekwol knew, without a doubt, that Brenda was rushing off to forward the photos to her family and post them on her social media pages. He hoped not to hear anything from Jake Sharps about it.
“Noe, I like Brenda, but if these bitches are gonna be hanging all over you like that, then their asses are gonna have to pay. They can fall in line or fall back like the rest of us,” Nyte said with a smile.
“Nyte, if I keep them happy, then they’ll be good to bro, so chill with all that. Now why don’t y’all go somewhere so I can talk to Bey alone.”
“Okay, but you only got like twenty minutes left before we gotta go, if you still want to stop for food before you gotta be back at the house,” Heaven reminded him before following her friend out of the room.
Noeekwol stood at Beysik’s bedside just staring at him and the machine to which he was connected. He just watched the beat of his brother’s heart for a long moment before sitting on the edge of the bed. Noeekwol took hold of his hand, which was cooler than he expected it to be. Even though he knew Beysik could not respond, he still filled him in on all that had happened since the night of the shooting.
“Bro, I gave that punk brain damage for shooting you. I tried to beat him to death, but his buddies zapped my ass like three or four times to get me off him. The judge gave me time up north for that shit, so I’ma be gone for a minute. That means you gotta hurry up and get better. I’m putting Nyte and Heaven in charge of the business with your guy Rich’s help until you wake up. You know that ain’t my lane. That was all you and Pop. I’m having Jake put the house on the market and place the money from it into a trust account for the kids. We don’t need that bad-luck muthafucking house in our life. I also had him set it up so the bank will take care of all of the bills so the girls won’t have to worry about shit, other than taking care of you and making sure the cash is right. I love you, man. I want you to know that I’ma be expecting you to write me and shit when I get up north, so you hurry up and feel better.”
Maybe thirteen minutes later the girls returned, and then Noeekwol and Heaven took off so he would not mess up his curfew. Nyte stayed with her man like she had every night since she found him there.
EIGHTEEN
Tabitha took the rest of the day off from work after attending Noeekwol’s court appear-ance. She was now at home clearing out all Bret had left behind earlier. She did this all while singing along with a recorded live Ani DiFranco concert. Tabitha fast-forwarded the concert along until she came to Ani DiFranco’s break up song, “Untouchable Face.”
Think I’m going for a walk now,
I feel a little unsteady.
Don’t nobody to follow me,
Except maybe you.
I could make you happy, you know,
If you weren’t already.
I could do a lot of things,
And I do . . .
Tabitha took a sip of wine right from the bottle of Double Gold French pinot noir which was a gift from one of Bret’s friends. Then she tossed a framed photo of her and Bret standing falsely in love aboard a Carnival cruise ship just that past Valentine’s Day into a trash box, smashing the frame.
Tell you the truth, I prefer the worst of you,
Too bad you had to have a better half.
She’s not my type,
But I think you two are forever.
And I hate to say it,
but you’re perfect together.
Fuck you
And your untouchable face.
Fuck you
For existing in the first place . . .
Tabitha heard the doorbell and staggered to open it, already knowing that it was her best friend, Aurora, coming to save her from herself.
And who am I
That I should be vying for your touch?
Who am I?
Bet you can’t tell me that much . . .
“Noooo, Tab, I’m not going to let you sit around here and beat yourself up over Bret. I’d always thought he was kinda sweet. From the first time you introduced him to me, I thought he would make you a good wife,” Aurora said, trying to make her laugh about her pain.
“Well, I wish you would have said something to me about it then.”
“If I did, would you have listened to me?”
“No, I don’t know,” Tabitha answered
sadly.
“No, you wouldn’t have! But you are going to hear me now. Tabi, we are not going to do this in here right now. Get your stuff. We’re going out to get something to eat and drink. I already made plans to spend the night with you, so we got all night to finish packing his junk and that bottle,” she told her after plucking the wine out of Tabitha’s hand.
“Okay, let’s go. I don’t care where as long as I can get a good Long Island, because that wasn’t doing the job,” Tabitha accepted before pausing the video of the concert.
Out of habit, she grabbed her gun and work wallet before following her friend back out the front door.
The two ended up at Applebee’s for dinner and drinks, because it was the closest and served the best Long Island iced tea drinks Aurora could think of outside of them going to a sports bar.
“Excuse me, Detective. Can I speak for a minute?”
“You were with N. Bondz at court today, right?” Tabitha asked, looking up at the woman standing beside their table.
“Yeah, I was. That’s kinda what I wanna talk to you about,” Nyte said, paying attention to the woman ogling her at the table with the detective.
“Look, miss, I can’t do anything about the time the judge gave him. If it means anything to you, I don’t believe he should have gotten a day for what he did to my ex-partner.”
“Okay! From what you said about still working on finding his parents’ killers, I already knew you felt that way. Do you mind if I sit down and talk to you?”
“Only if you don’t mind her hearing what it is you gotta say to me.”
Nyte looked Aurora up and down and then flashed her a smile before sliding into the cozy corner booth beside her.
“I got something that can help you catch the killers, but you have to keep Beysik and Noeekwol out of it and out of any investigation y’all got going on about them. Because they didn’t have anything to do with Mercy Bondz’s business. You know what business I’m talking about, right?” Nyte asked her all in one nervous breath.
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