Black Viper

by Christopher Speight

  “Has she moved at all since you arrived?”

  “No, she hasn’t, and I was careful not to move her,” Marie said.

  “Good.” Speaking to the other paramedic, an overweight black man, he said, “Go get the gurney and bring a pair of shears as we may have to cut this seat belt off of her.” The other paramedic, a slightly overweight black man nodded and scampered off.

  “Miss! Are you awake? Can you hear me?” the sound of the paramedics voice caused the woman to stir slightly. A low moan emitted from her throat as she tried to sit up.

  “Don’t move yet ma’am,” Freckle-Face cautioned. Just then, Joe returned, pushing the gurney.

  “Ready Mark?” he asked.

  Mark nodded as he tried unsuccessfully to release the latch on the seat belt.

  “Dammit! Hand me the shears, Joe.”

  Mark took the shears from his partner and cut the straps holding the seat belt in place. After doing that, the two paramedics carefully removed the woman from the SUV and placed her on the gurney. Just as they were putting her in the ambulance, a Cleveland patrol car pulled up. Two policemen jumped out of the car and headed straight to the back of the ambulance. Marie decided to stay close to the woman’s vehicle, just in case anyone had thoughts of burglarizing it. She watched as the paramedic named Mark pointed in her direction. The two uniformed officers nodded and headed her way.

  “Good morning Detective. I’m Officer Patrick Graham. This here is my partner, Officer Marvin Black. The EMT worker informed us that you were the first to arrive on the scene. Would you like to tell us what happened?” Officer Graham asked as his partner pulled out a pen and pad and prepared to take notes.

  “Well, from what I gather, the woman being taken away in the ambulance crashed into this light pole.”

  “Was she being chased? Speeding? Texting?”

  “I honestly have no idea. I didn’t see the accident when it occurred. I was inside the restaurant having dinner with my husband at the time. We heard a loud bang and I came out to investigate.”

  Officer Black lifted his head to see around the damaged vehicle and directly into Red’s.

  “Would that happen to be your husband with his head sticking out of the restaurant door?” Officer Black asked, grinning. Marie took a couple of steps and glanced toward the restaurant.

  “Yes, that would be his nosey ass,” she said frowning. With a jerk of her thumb, Marie indicated to her husband that she wanted him to go back inside the restaurant. Other people in the restaurant were staring through the window, but she was powerless to stop them.

  “Anyway,” Marie said, directing her attention back to Officers Graham and Black, “when I came outside and made my way over here, I looked inside and saw an African American female slumped over the steering wheel.

  “Damn,” Officer Black said, staring at the front of the vehicle. “She must’ve been traveling at a pretty decent rate of speed in order to do this kind of damage.”

  “That would be my guess,” Marie agreed.

  “Pat, I’m going to go back to the car and radio this in and have a tow truck sent over.” Officer Black scurried away to make the necessary arrangements. While he was gone, Officer Graham put on a pair of rubber gloves and got ready to inspect the vehicle. Since Marie had already informed him that she’d smelled alcohol when she opened the door, probable cause had been initiated. That allowed the officer to search the vehicle without the driver’s consent. Still, he wanted to be sure that he’d heard her right.

  “Now, you did say she reeked of alcohol, right Detective?”

  “That’s right,” Marie answered. She had no illusions of why he was asking that particular question. The officer nodded triumphantly as he proceeded to rifle through the SUV. Although he was only doing his job by conducting the search, it was clear that Officer Graham was intent on finding something illegal.

  “Aha,” he said, as he reached under the driver’s seat and pulled out a half-empty bottle of vodka. “Wow, she drank half the vodka.” Officer Graham then opened the glove compartment and rambled inside of it. He almost looked disappointed when he couldn’t find anything else. However, his mood perked up when he reached into the console and found a small bag filled with a white powdery substance. He lifted the bag to eye level, shook it couple of times, and smirked.

  “Well well well, what have we here?” he asked, condescendingly.

  “Looks like cocaine to me,” Marie said.

  “Yeah, me too. I’ll bet she was zooted out of her mind when she crashed the truck.”

  “Yeah, looks like it,” Marie said sadly. It was bad enough that the woman was on her way to the hospital because she’d wrecked her car as a result of drunk driving. Now, it appeared that she might have been under the influence of drugs as well. When she noticed the satisfaction in the officer’s eyes at discovering the illegal substance, she knew that it was time for her to go.

  28

  When Marie finally re-entered the restaurant, many of the occupants, including her husband, had retaken their seats. However, there were still a handful that continued to have their faces pressed against the glass windows attempting to see the commotion through to its conclusion. Marie thought about telling them to sit their nosey asses down, but since they weren’t breaking any laws, what would be the point? When she got back to her table, she immediately noticed the frown on her husband’s face. He was leaning back in his chair, sipping his glass of wine. His piercing, blue eyes had followed her from the moment she’d re-entered Red’s until the second she’d sat back across from him.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

  Donald shook his head. “No reason at all, Marie.”

  “Donald, what should I have done? I’m an officer of the law. I couldn’t just ignore the situation.”

  “Marie, I know that you’re an officer of the law, but I’m a husband who hasn’t been laid in months.”

  Marie’s eyes narrowed into slits. The upper right corner of her mouth twisted into a half smirk.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “What? Of course, I’m sure. What kind of question is that?”

  “I’m just asking.”

  “Marie, I know that you’re not about to tell me that you think I’m cheating on you. I never have, and I never will,” Donald said.

  “Look, Donald, I’m not about to discuss this here. We can talk about this at home.”

  Donald leaned across the table. He gazed into Marie’s eyes and stared at her. “Look. No one’s cheating on you. You are my wife, and I want some sex from you tonight. Are we clear?”

  Marie smirked.

  “Yes Donald, we’re clear. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to leave so that I can stop at Veronica’s Secret and get something nice so that I can look sexy for our night of passion,” she said sarcastically. Marie then got up and strolled toward the exit. Suddenly, she wasn’t very hungry.

  29

  Donald watched with lust as his wife sauntered out of the restaurant. His loins jumped as he watched her stroll away. He didn’t give a damn about her having an attitude. He wanted to screw his wife tonight and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He felt terrible for sleeping around on his wife, but Marie hadn’t shown any sexual interest in him in quite some time and he had needs . . . needs that could only be fulfilled through physical contact. Only the waitress’s voice was able to break his trance.

  “I take it you want me to box the rest of your food up for you?” she asked when she saw that his wife had left.

  “How’d you guess?” Donald asked.

  Growing up in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Donald’s interaction with minorities were minimal at best. Although he did associate with African Americans daily in high school, the student population still consisted of fifteen Caucasians to one African American. Donald went through high school hearing the jokes and off-color remarks about Black people. To his credit, he never participated in the derogatory statements. He cou
ld never wrap his mind around why some individuals were so hateful. The way he saw it, all people were created equal. All blood was red, and all shit stank. His sister Irene, on the other hand, felt slightly different. Although she wasn’t an all encompassed racist, she did let it be known that she didn’t want to get too friendly with people of the opposite color. She didn’t have a problem conversing with them from time to time, but she wasn’t about to stop and have a drink with them after work. That was where she drew the line. Hence, her icy relationship with her sister-in-law. Despite her brother pleading with her to be a part of the happiest day of her life, Irene decided that it would be best if she skipped the event. Donald loved his sister dearly, but he never forgave her for her absence. Nowadays, the two barely spoke.

  As soon as the waitress returned with Donald’s boxed up food, he made a beeline to the door.

  “Damn,” he heard a female voice stutter. He didn’t have to wonder what she was marveling at. Donald had had a raging hard on ever since his wife had left. Slightly embarrassed, he quickened his pace. He had to make a quick stop and hoped like hell that his boner would subside before he got there. He checked his watch and saw that he had just enough time to pick up his Viagra prescription. After pulling into the flow of traffic, Donald reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. He hastily punched in the number to CVS pharmacy and waited for someone to answer the call. It rang just long enough to make him frustrated before someone picked up.

  “CVS pharmacy, how may I help you?” a gruff voice sounded from the other end.

  “Todd?”

  “Yes, this is Todd, how may I help you?”

  “Todd, this is Donald Snyder.”

  “Oh, hey Donald. What’s going on buddy?”

  Donald had been a CVS customer for years and Todd had worked there for nearly the same amount of time, so it was natural that the two of them would become friends. On some weekends, they even went golfing together.

  “I need my prescription refilled.”

  “No problem, buddy. Let me just run it through the computer right quick.” A few seconds went by before Todd spoke again.

  “Uh, it looks like you don’t have any more refills, my friend.”

  “What? No refills?”

  “Nope. Sorry about that. I’m going to have to call your doctor tomorrow and—”

  “Tomorrow? Todd, I need those pills tonight, man.”

  “Sorry, buddy, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s much too late to call it in tonight. As a matter of fact, it would be a minor miracle if the physician even responded to the phone this time of day.”

  “Todd please man. Look, I’ve got this romantic night all planned out with my wife. The last thing I need is for my equipment to malfunction. There’s got to be something you can do for me.”

  Todd remained silent. He’d been a pharmacist for the last seven years. He loved his job and didn’t appreciate someone asking him to put it on the line because they were desperate to screw their wife–– a friend.

  “What the hell are you asking me to do, Donald?”

  “Come on man. No one is going to miss one pill,” Donald said, practically begging.

  “Donald, you must be out of your damn mind if you think . . . hold on a second.” Todd pressed the hold button, took a deep breath, and collected himself.

  “Are you okay, Mr. Mason?” one of the pharmacy technicians asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  The young lady gave Todd a skeptical look. It was clear that she didn’t believe him but chose to let the matter drop. An idea suddenly formed in Todd’s head. He wasn’t about to put his job in jeopardy, but since Donald had been such a loyal customer and a good friend, he decided to help him out . . . at a cost.

  “Donald? You still there?” he asked, placing the phone back to his ear.

  “Yes, I’m still here.”

  Todd covered his mouth and whispered so that his co-workers couldn’t hear him. “Look, meet me in the parking lot in ten minutes,” he said.

  “Okay, thanks.” Donald disconnected the call and waited for Todd to come out of the pharmacy. He’d pulled into the parking lot five minutes ago. Every minute seemed like five as he waited for Todd to emerge. Eight minutes later, Todd came out of the store. He looked around slowly in search of Donald’s car. Once he spotted it, he quickly jogged over to it. Donald hit the unlock button just as Todd reached for the doorknob. He slid into the passenger’s seat, slammed the door shut, and shot a disbelieving glance toward Donald.

  “Man, you have a lot of nerve, asking me to steal some damn Viagra pills.”

  “First of all, it wasn’t some pills: it was just one pill.”

  “Regardless of whether it was one pill or a thousand, you still have a hell of a nerve to ask me to do that.”

  “Oh my God, dude, are you going to help me out or give me a damn lecture?” Todd raised an eyebrow.

  “You’re talking a lot of shit for someone who needs a favor, my friend.”

  Donald opened his mouth to protest but quickly closed it. His friend had a point and he knew it. A great night of passion awaited him, and all he had to do was not mess it up.

  “You’re right. I apologize. Did you get it?” Donald asked. Todd stared at him for a few seconds before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a blue pill wrapped in tissue paper. Donald scrunched up his nose up.

  “Man, what the hell? You wrapped it in toilet tissue?”

  “Look, I wasn’t about to get reported and fired because you want to bump uglies with your wife tonight. Now, do you want it or not?”

  Donald sighed and nodded his head. He wasn’t about to let what the pill was packaged in deter him from performing for his wife. He reached for the tissue, but Todd quickly pulled it away.

  “That’ll be twenty dollars, please.”

  “Twenty dollars?”

  “Twenty dollars.”

  “Wait a minute. You stole the damn thing, and now you want to charge me twenty dollars for it?”

  “First of all, I didn’t steal anything. This belongs to me. My doctor wrote me a prescription for them two weeks ago. I know damn well you didn’t think I was going to risk my license stealing you a Viagra pill, and since I had to pay for them so do you.”

  Todd smiled as he held out his hand. Donald frowned as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He opened it and snatched the money out of it with such disdain that he nearly tore it.

  “Here!” he said, shoving the money into Todd’s hand.

  “Nice doing business with you,” Todd responded as he exchanged the pill for the money and exited the vehicle. He looked back through the window and gave Donald the thumbs-up.

  Donald responded by giving him the finger. He was pissed that Todd had requested that he pay for the pill. Donald looked down at the tissue paper for a few seconds before slowly opening it. A large smile fell across his face when he saw the small blue pill. He peeled out of the parking lot and headed home.

  As soon as he got there, he jumped in the shower. When he was done, he lotioned himself up and splashed on some Polo cologne. Marie often complimented how good he smelled when he put it on. Donald then lit some candles in the bedroom and put on romantic music. After that he threw his robe on and went into the kitchen, where he proceeded to pour himself a glass of wine.

  When he walked into the living room, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched. His eyes slowly scanned the room, searching for anything out of the ordinary. When he didn’t see anything, he shrugged his shoulders and made his way to the couch.

  Donald smiled from ear to ear as he thought about the night ahead. He couldn’t wait to get his beautiful wife in the bed, and ravage her body. His manhood grew, and as much as he tried to resist, he couldn’t help but run his hand down his leg and grope himself. Donald closed his eyes and began to fantasize about how it was going to be making love to his lovely wife. It had been so long, he was beginning to wonder if
she found him attractive anymore. The way she’d behaved at the restaurant however, erased that thought from his mind.

  He took a sip from his glass, set it down on the table, and threw both of his arms back, resting them on the couch. Thoughts of the hot time they had on their honeymoon flashed through his mind. The reflections caused him to become fully erect, and he hadn’t even taken the Viagra yet. He started to wonder if he was going to need it at all. The thought of what he was looking forward to had him feeling like he hadn’t felt in months.

  “Baby, I can’t wait,” he said to himself.

  “The wait is gonna be longer than you think,” a hard voice whispered into his ear.

  Donald’s eyes suddenly popped open. He was about to sit up but before he could, he felt a thin wire loop around his neck. His eyes began to protrude from his skull as the wire tightened. He desperately tried to use his hands to push himself off the couch. He soon discovered using that tactic was a mistake. Trying to rise from the sofa caused the wire to tighten even more. Gasping for air, Donald fell back on the couch and tried to push his fingers between the wire and his neck, but the fact that it had begun to bite into his flesh made it nearly impossible to do so.

  Blood began to seep from under the wire and ran down Donald’s neck. His eyes began to bulge out of their sockets. He tried to speak but the pressure from the wire smothered his voice box. For added support, Donald’s assailant put both feet on the back of the sofa. With the added pressure, it didn’t take Donald long to pass out.

  “You know, this wouldn’t be happening to you if you weren’t such a slime bucket.”

  Those were the last words Donald heard before he slipped into the afterlife.

  30

  “Captain! Captain, what’s going on?” Frank yelled into his cell phone.

  After having his return calls to her go directly to voicemail, Detective Stone shoved his cell phone back into his pocket. He hoped to high hell that his boss wasn’t in any danger. He thought about calling 911 but quickly realized that he had little to no information to give them.