Bad Boy Brawly Brown (29 page)

“His uncle died in a bank robbery attempt.”

11

Alva caved in on herself in the chair. She wept. I wanted to 12

touch her, to reassure her, but I didn’t. The pain she felt was beyond 13

my reach.

14

“When was this?”

15

“Nineteen fifty-four,” she said. “It was a Bank of America down 16

on Alvarado. He went in there with a stocking mask and they shot 17

him in the street with forty-two hundred dollars in his pocket.”

18

“Were him and Brawly close?”

19

“Yes, they were. Leonard would come over and Brawly would act 20

right. Brawly and me both loved Leonard.”

21

“So what happened after he died?” I asked.

22

“The police kept comin’ ovah, askin’ ’bout what I knew about 23

Leonard and his partner.”

24

“What happened to this partner?”

25

“He got away with most of the money. And the cops thought I 26

knew about it. They kept comin’ over until I just couldn’t take it and 27

they had to put me in the hospital.” Alva clutched her hands to-28

gether.

29

“You let yourself get that sick rather than turn in Aldridge?”

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Alva looked up at me with both surprise and relief in her eyes.

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“I didn’t know until a long time later that it was Aldridge,” she 1

said. “I would have never sent Brawly to live with him if I knew.”

2

“How did you find out?”

3

“Aldridge told Brawly and they fought.”

4

“When Brawly was fourteen?”

5

Alva nodded. “He told me when he came down here to live.”

6

“He didn’t tell you when you were in the hospital?”

7

“I don’t think so. But I don’t remember everything,” she said piti-8

fully. “They give me drugs. Brawly said that he came and saw me and 9

I told him that I wasn’t his mother and he should go away. But I don’t 10

remember that. Then he went to stay with Isolda.”

11

Hatred replaced sorrow in Alva’s voice.

12

“And what happened then?”

13

“She twisted him,” Alva said. “She did dirty things to him and 14

turned him against me.”

15

“Why she do that?”

16

“Because she’s wicked, that’s why.”

17

There didn’t seem to be much further I could get with that line 18

of questions, so I switched gears.

19

“When did Brawly move away from Isolda?”

20

“When he was sixteen he got in trouble with the police. They 21

said that he stole a radio out some store and put him on trial. If he 22

was a white boy, they would have threatened him and let him go 23

home. But bein’ black up there, they put him on trial and convicted 24

him. He had to live in a residence for delinquents and report to this 25

juvenile detention center until he was nineteen. He was on proba-26

tion until twenty-one. That’s when I told him that he could come 27

down here and I’d help him finish his high school degree and go to 28

college. After he dropped out, John said that we could rent him a 29

room in our building and he could work for us.”

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“Did he steal the radio?” I asked.

2

“Yeah. But it was just a boy’s mistake. Brawly ain’t no thief. He’s 3

just angry. And why shouldn’t he be? He had his childhood taken 4

away from him.”

5

“Why’d you and Aldridge break up?” I asked.

6

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

7

“Well,” I said, “that’s why Brawly lost his childhood, ain’t it?

8

Maybe that’s the key to me talkin’ to him when I finally pin him 9

down.”

10

Alva looked at me then. Before that day I had always thought that 11

a man or woman who had a mental breakdown was weaker than 12

other people. But I could see in her eyes the strength to handle more 13

pain than I could imagine.

14

“It was the same old thing” — her voice wavered — “same old 15

thing. He couldn’t keep his hands off the girls. Finally he found 16

someone he liked so much that he didn’t even come home half the 17

time. I put his things on the front yard one night, and in the morn-18

ing they were gone.”

19

Many thoughts went through my mind but I kept them to my-20

self.

21

“Can you save my son, Mr. Rawlins?”

22

I reached out and took both of her hands in mine.

23

“If it’s at all possible, I will bring him back here to you, Alva,” I 24

said. “Even if I have to hog-tie him to the roof of my car.”

25

She giggled, and then she grinned.

26

“Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry I misjudged you, Mr. Rawlins.”

27

I smiled and patted her hands. I nodded, accepting her apology, 28

but I knew she had not misjudged me. She had seen me for what I 29

really was. The only mistake she’d made was believing that she’d 30 S

never need my kind of help.

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31
/ I DROPPED BY
Colonel Lakeland’s office at about 1

ten that morning.

2

Miss Pfennig wasn’t happy about it, but she sent me on through 3

to Mona, who was, if anything, even less enthusiastic about my pres-4

ence. But Mona called her boss, and he had her send me right in.

5

Detective Knorr was seated at the table, in the same chair that I 6

had chosen to keep from being the center of attention.

7

“Yes, sir,” I said without being asked anything.

8

I took a seat, also uninvited.

9

Knorr gave me his assassin’s smile. Lakeland was more honest 10

and simply frowned.

11

“What do you have for us?” Lakeland asked me.

12

“Not too much,” I said. “Nothing solid.”

13

“How’d you get arrested?” Knorr asked.

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“Just like I told them,” I said. “Me and Jasper and Christina had R 15

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gone to see BobbiAnne, but she was out and the door was open. I’ve 2

been havin’ a weak bladder lately and —”

3

“Cut the shit, Rawlins,” Lakeland said. He took a familiar-looking 4

.45-caliber pistol from somewhere behind his desk. “What in the hell 5

is this?”

6

“I found it on the table in that woman BobbiAnne’s living 7

room,” I said.

8

“That the story you told Petal?” he said.

9

I knew he was talking about Pitale. Maybe that was the way he 10

pronounced his name.

11

“No story,” I said. “It was sitting right there in plain sight.”

12

“How’d you like to spend thirty-five years in a federal prison, Mr.

13

Rawlins?” Lakeland asked.

14

“No thanks.”

15

“Because this, this gun, was stolen from a federal facility in 16

Memphis, Tennessee, and that’s the sentence for the theft.”

17

“I think my paternal grandfather was from Tennessee,” I said.

18

“The story goes that he killed a white man and had to relocate to 19

Louisiana for his health.”

20

Knorr’s light eyes regarded me as a child might stare at the wing 21

he was about to pluck off a fly.

22

“It was on her coffee table,” I said. “I picked it up, put it in my 23

pocket, and then the cops busted in. Why were they there, anyway?”

24

“Petal works for Captain Lorne. They’re also keeping watch on 25

the First Men’s members,” Lakeland said.

26

“They were camped outside of BobbiAnne’s apartment?” I asked.

27

“Apparently,” Lakeland said. “When they saw Bodan and 28

Montes go in, they hoped they could get them on something and 29

break up their organization. But the real question is, what were you 30 S

doing there?”

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“I found out that BobbiAnne was Brawly’s friend from back in 1

high school in Riverside, so I went there with Xavier and Tina to talk 2

to her.”

3

“About what?” Lakeland asked. Both he and Knorr leaned for-4

ward, almost imperceptibly, to hear clearly how I lied.

5

“They were scared,” I said.

6

“Scared of what?” Knorr asked.

7

“Whoever killed Strong. Tina had been moving from place to 8

place, and Xavier was sitting behind his door with a pistol in his 9

hand.”

10

“So what’s that got to do with BobbiAnne?” Knorr asked.

11

“I told them that Brawly’s father, Aldridge Brown, had also been 12

murdered and that I thought that his death had something to do with 13

Strong’s and that BobbiAnne knew something about it because of 14

her connection to Brawly.”

15

“What’s she got to do with Strong’s death?” Lakeland asked.

16

“Hell if I know,” I said. “Like I told you half a dozen times al-17

ready, the only thing I’m interested in is Brawly. Tina and Xavier 18

knew BobbiAnne, so I thought they could get her to get me with 19

Brawly.”

20

“But what’s that got to do with the shootings?” Knorr asked.

21

“Ain’t that the question I just answered?”

22

“So you know nothing about Strong’s death?” Lakeland said.

23

“You just lied to them so that they would take you to Brawly.”

24

“I lied to ’em,” I said. “But that don’t mean I don’t know 25

nuthin’.”

26

I waited, wanting them to feel that they were mining information 27

and not being spoon-fed.

28

“What?” Lakeland asked.

29

“The same thing you should know if you were listenin’,” I said.

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“Tina’s scared to death and so is Jasper. They both loved Strong and 2

believe that he was murdered by the government, the police, or by 3

both. They sure didn’t have anything to do with it. All they want is to 4

build schools for black children.”

5

“Schools where they’d teach children hate,” Knorr said.

6

Lakeland turned his head to Knorr as if his words were the clar-7

ion call. Then he turned back to me.

8

“That’s all you know?”

9

“So far.”

10

“So you walk in here and tell us that you don’t think these 11

people are involved with murder,” Lakeland announced. “Who did 12

kill him?”

13

“Somebody scared, somebody stupid,” I said. “Somebody that he 14

knew and that he could harm. That’s always the way, now, isn’t it, 15

Colonel?”

16

The officers of the law were stumped by me speaking their lan-17

guage.

18

“Are you gonna keep on this?” Lakeland asked me.

19

“If you mean, am I gonna keep on looking for Brawly and trying 20

to get him back home with his mother — the answer is yes.”

21

“We got you out of jail,” the colonel said.

22

“And I told you everything I learned from Xavier and Tina.”

23

Lakeland lifted up the pistol and bounced his hand. “Was this 24

the only weapon you found in the apartment?”

25

“Yes, sir.”

26

“Do you need to know anything from us?”

27

“I’d like one more address,” I said.

28

“What?”

29

“Where did Strong live while he was down here?” I had heard 30 S

the address they’d given on the news. It wasn’t the same one I’d got-31 R

ten from Tina.

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“The Colorado Hotel,” Knorr said. “On Cherry. But you don’t 1

have to worry about going over it. We already searched.”

2

“Does where he live mean something to you?” Lakeland asked.

3

“No. I mean, I thought I might go by there and ask if Brawly 4

been around. You know that’s my prime target.”

5

“I thought you were a janitor,” Lakeland said. “But you sound 6

like some kind of detective.”

7

“Do you know how to sew, Officer?” I asked in response.

8

“What?”

9

“I don’t mean darn,” I said. “I mean could you piece together a 10

pattern and stitch the seams of a shirt or a pair of pants?”

11

“No.”

12

“Can you bake a cake from scratch or lay a floor in an unfinished 13