Bad Boy Brawly Brown (10 page)

them back together but . . . but there was never gonna be any peace 18

between them.”

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“What did they fall out over originally?”

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“I never knew,” she said, but I didn’t believe it. “That was years 21

ago. When I went to pick him up after the fight, his jaw was all swole 22

up and he begged me to let him come stay at my house. When I 23

asked him about his father he showed me a bloody tooth that 24

Aldridge had knocked out of his head.”

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“Why didn’t he go to his mother?” I asked.

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“Didn’t John tell you?”

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“We were with Alva. She was kind of emotional at the time.”

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“She is . . . very emotional. That was back around the time that 29

her brother Leonard was killed. She took it so hard that she had a 30 S

nervous breakdown and they had to put her in Camarillo.”

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Isolda turned her lips toward me and I had to concentrate to hear
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what she was saying. Her eyes looked deeply into mine, and I 1

thought that if she wasn’t a good person in her heart, many a man 2

would have hit some jagged rocks while being distracted by her 3

charms.

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Maybe that was why Alva disliked her so much.

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“That’s why Brawly had to come to you?” I asked. “Because his 6

mother was hospitalized?”

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Isolda nodded. “She was really gone. When Brawly went to see 8

her, before his fight with Aldridge, she told him that she couldn’t 9

love him and that he shouldn’t come to see her anymore.”

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“Why did you call Alva, Miss Moore?”

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“Call me Issy,” she said. “That’s what I go by, mainly.”

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“Why aren’t you at your own house, Issy?”

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“I haven’t been back there for a few days. I went up to Riverside 14

and when I came back, Brawly had — I mean, Aldridge was dead. I 15

didn’t go back because I was afraid for Brawly.” She looked away.

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Maybe that meant she was taking it hard, or maybe she was going 17

through the motions — practicing for a more serious interrogation.

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“Why do you think it was Brawly?” I asked. “And why didn’t you 19

go to the cops?”

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“Aldridge had come into town a few weeks ago. He came to 21

see me.”

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“He was your boyfriend?”

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Isolda shifted her eyes toward the window. Again they glittered in 24

the light. I doubt if she was looking at anything. Her gaze was defi-25

nitely of the internal variety.

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“We were close. I mean, Aldridge kept his own schedule. If he 27

come to town and I was with a man, he let me alone. But if I was 28

free, he’d stay with me awhile.”

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“Did Alva know about you two?” I asked, looking for some kind S 30

of thread.

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“I haven’t spoke to Alva in ten years.”

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“Did Brawly know that his father was shacked up with you?”

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I had hoped the rough language would get under her skin, but 4

Isolda wasn’t worried about me or what I thought.

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“He came by when Aldridge was there, about two weeks ago.

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They were eyein’ each other like wild animals in the entryway, but I 7

had them sit down at the table like two normal human beings. I 8

made tea and brought out some bread and butter. I told them that 9

they was father and son and that they had to start actin’ like it.”

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Isolda turned her gaze on me again. I didn’t mind the attention.

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I wondered how those men felt.

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“It went okay at first,” she said as if I had asked my question.

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“They talked and asked each other ’bout what they been doin’.

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Brawly even laughed once.”

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Isolda had the wistful tones of love in her voice. I wonder if it was 16

love for Brawly or for his father.

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“But then Aldridge had to come out with that damn flask,” Isolda 18

said. “Said he wanted to make a toast to their seein’ each other after 19

so long.”

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“He was a bad drunk?” I asked.

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“Both of ’em,” she said with a sneer. “Both of ’em. That’s why I 22

give ’em tea. They drank to their reunion. They drank to me. They 23

drank to a long life and who knows what else. Then Aldridge made 24

the mistake of toastin’ Brawly’s mother. Brawly told his father that he 25

never wanted to hear her name outta his mouth again.”

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She said these last words in the tone Brawly must have used. It 27

made me cringe. I’d seen drunken men kill over just that tone of 28

voice.

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“The only reason one or the other wasn’t killed right then was 30 S

that I put my body in between ’em.” Isolda put a hand in the air, 31 R

swearing.

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She pulled down the left shoulder sleeve of her polka-dot dress, 1

revealing an ugly green bruise just above the curve of her breast. It 2

was one of those deep marks that last for months.

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“That’s what I had to get before they stopped,” she said. “I 4

pushed Brawly out the door and told him not to come back until he 5

learned how to be civil.”

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“So where were you when Aldridge was killed?” I asked.

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“In Riverside, like I said,” she said. “I heard about a man gettin’

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killed on my block on the radio and I called a neighbor to find out 9

what happened. As soon as I knew, I came back down — in case 10

Brawly needed me.”

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“And why didn’t you go to the cops? If you didn’t do it, then 12

there’s no reason to be scared.”

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“You ever been questioned by the cops?” Isolda asked me.

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For the first time our eyes really met. It was no man-and-woman 15

gaze, but a real understanding.

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I had been “questioned” a hundred times and more. And every 17

time my life and liberty had been on the line. It hadn’t mattered that 18

I was innocent or that they had no proof of my guilt. There was no 19

Emancipation Proclamation posted on the jailhouse bulletin board.

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No Bill of Rights, either.

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The sleeve of Isolda’s dress was still hanging off her shoulder. My 22

fingertips got itchy with the closeness of her flesh.

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“Do you think Brawly could overpower a man Aldridge’s size?” I 24

asked.

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“How you know about his size?”

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“Alva told me,” I said, hoping he was a fat man when she had 27

known him.

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“Brawly look like a kid,” she said. “He might be a kid in his mind.

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But he’s strong, scary strong. At a high school picnic once, when S 30

Brawly was livin’ with me, some kids bet him that he couldn’t pull a R 31

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big stone out the ground. That rock was big. Big. Brawly yanked it up 2

like it was made’a cardboard instead’a granite. You know he was with 3

a couple’a heavyset footballers. I could see the fear in them boys’

4

eyes.”

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“Did Brawly make that bruise on you?”

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“I don’t remember. It was a whole mess. Them pushin’ and 7

shovin’ all over the place. But even if he did do it, it was only ’cause 8

I got in the way.”

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“Where is he now?”

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“I don’t know.”

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“He have any friends you know about?”

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“Why are you askin’ me all these questions? Are you some kinda 13

policeman or sumpin’?”

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“Just a friend’a John and Alva’s, like I said. They asked me to look 15

for Brawly, and that’s what I’m doin’.”

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“Well, I ain’t seen ’im since he left outta my house two weeks 17

ago.”

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“Did he say where he was goin’?”

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“He said he was gonna kill Aldridge if he didn’t watch out.”

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“You didn’t tell me if he had any friends.”

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“There was this one white girl. BobbiAnne Terrell was her name, 22

I think. They went to high school together.”

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“Up in Riverside?”

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“Uh-huh.”

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“Would you know her number?”

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“No. Maybe it’s in the book.”

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Somewhere during our conversation a coldness set in between 28

me and Isolda. Maybe it was because I represented Alva. Or maybe 29

she saw no use in me.

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“Why’d you call Alva, Issy?”

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“To tell her about Aldridge and Brawly. And to find out if she 1

knew where he was.”

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“Why’d you want to know that?”

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“I was like a mother to that boy, Mr. Rawlins. And that’s some-4

thin’ that don’t just wear off.”

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/ I GOT TO JOHN’S
lots somewhere about noon.

There were other houses under construction on

3

that block but nobody was out there on Sunday, nobody but John’s 4

crew.

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Mercury and Chapman were sitting on the skeleton of a front-6

porch-to-be, drinking from small paper cups.

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“Wanna snort, Mr. Rawlins?” Mercury asked as I approached.

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“What’s John gonna say if he see you out here throwin’ back 9

liquor on the job?” I asked.

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Since I’d recommended them, I felt somewhat responsible for 11

their actions.

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“John’s a bartender, ain’t he?” Chapman whined. “An’ anyway, 13

he left for home a hour ago. He said that he’d see us tomorrow.”

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“You want us to tell ’im you come by, Mr. Rawlins?” Mercury 15 R

asked.

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I picked a newspaper out of a big trash bin, unfolded it, and set 1

it out on the unfinished porch. Then I sat down.

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“Actually it’s good that John’s gone, because I wanted to talk to 3

you boys when he wasn’t around.”

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Mercury and Chapman exchanged glances. I was glad to see that 5

they were bothered. It meant that they wanted to protect my friend.

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“Don’t worry, boys,” I said. “It ain’t nuthin’ against John. Really 7

it’s to help him out.”

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“What is it?” Mercury asked.

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Chapman clenched his hands together and stared off toward his 10

right.

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They were a good team. Chapman was the smart one but Mer-12

cury had the personality. He’d asked the questions while Chapman 13

contemplated the answers.

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“It’s about Brawly,” I said.

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“What about him?”

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“What do you boys think?”

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“Think about what?” Mercury asked.

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“About him quittin’ this job and cuttin’ it off with his mother.”

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“We don’t know nuthin’ about their family life, Easy,” Chapman 20

said. “I mean, not no more than might come up in normal conver-21

sation while workin’ around here.”

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“Like what?” I asked.

23

Mercury looked to Chapman, who stuck out his lips and nodded 24

almost imperceptibly.

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“Brawly’s a good kid,” Mercury said. “Strong as a motherfucker 26

but not no bully. He got temper, though. When Brawly blow his stack 27

you better stand back. One day he got mad at John an’ almost —”

28

Chapman brushed his hand against his lips, and Mercury switched 29

gears.

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“. . . anyway . . . Brawly’s a good kid. He just young and stupid.”

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“Stupid how?”

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“For about a couple’a months now he been talkin’ that Revolu-3

tionary Party bullshit. John didn’t like it and Alva didn’t, either, to 4

hear Brawly tell it —”

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“Brawly said that they told him he had to quit goin’ to those 6

meetins, or he was gonna be out the house,” Chapman threw in.