Daddy Cool (16 page)

The two new arrivals took one glance at the couple about to be arrested and laughed. "I wouldn't want to be the ones who wrote out the charge against them," one of the late arriving officers stated.

His partner stated coldly, "Just make them show some ID, that's all. That should clear the matter up fast enough."

"I don't have any on me," Janet stated quickly, remembering that Ronald had made her leave everything with her real name on it at home, so that if she got busted she could use a phony name.

"Well, there's your charge there," one of the policemen said. "She ain't got any ID on her, so you could take her down and run a make on her."

"I just wish the fuck you would," Daddy Cool stated harshly. "My daughter is only sixteen years old and if you motherfuckers take her down to a police station, I'll spend ten thousand dollars trying to hang your asses up for it!"

Now every one of the policemen stared at Daddy Cool sharply. They didn't like being threatened, but if she was under age like he said, it could become a sticky problem.

"I'll tell you what," Officer Bill said, "why don't you just get back into your car with your girl and leave? We'll forget this crap ever happened, okay?"

Mack glared at him hotly. He didn't like the idea at all. He was sure that the couple was putting shit on them. He remembered what he had seen and wouldn't change his mind.

"For myself," Mack stated loudly, "I'd still like to take them down and charge them, just like I said from the beginning. I know what I saw, and I don't give a damn how much they look alike. I believe they were carrying on unlawfully, parked right here on the fuckin' street."

"Man, man, man," Janet said, "I can see now they don't hire police for their brains, that's for sure." She stared right at the policeman who wanted to arrest them.

"Well, I just hope the hell you do take us down and charge us with some bullshit," Daddy Cool said.

Officer Bill shook his head. He wasn't about to let his partner shove them into something that would make them the laughing stock of the police station. The other two officers stood in the street undecided. If they were going to book the couple, it was up to them to drive the arrested couple down to the station. Neither man wanted any part of it. They could see the relationship between the father and daughter.

"Mack," the driver of the cruiser said, "I think you had better listen to your partner on this one, man. This thing can get out of hand, and I for one don't like the idea of being made a fool of."

Despite the warning, Mack still hesitated. He knew he could force the issue, but if he did he would be going against the wishes of all three of the other officers. He hadn't been on the force long enough to want to arouse the anger of the men in the squad car. As far as the black officer he worked with, he couldn't care less about what his partner felt.

In fact, if he had his wish, he wouldn't even work with the black man even though the Negro had never done anything against him. He just didn't like the idea of having a black man for his partner.

Anxiously, Mack stared at the two white officers, trying to find support for his actions in their faces. Each man only stared at him coldly. It was obvious that none of them wanted the trouble Mack was starting. He tossed his hands in the air. "Okay, okay, if you guys want to let this fluff get away, it's up to you. I won't force...."

That's as far as he got. Daddy Cool roared loudly, his voice drowning out the policeman's. "That's it! I've had enough. I want all three of you other officers to be my witness. I've listened to this ignorant-ass bastard insult my daughter too many times! I've had enough. He can't pay common courtesy to a black woman; well, I'm going to find out why he can't," he stated as he took out a pencil and began to write the officer's badge number down.

The officers stared from one to the other bashfully. They knew that now the shit was in the fan. If the man reported it, they would have to go up on the carpet and make out a report. Mack's ass would be in a sling, whether or not he knew it. Insulting a child in front of a parent wouldn't go down lightly with the captain.

"You wanted to find out if she was my daughter, well, you damn sure will, 'cause I'm going down to the station right now and report this. This officer has called my daughter a whore and worse, in front of me, and not just one time but numerous times. Even after I've informed him that she's only sixteen." Daddy Cool was breathing hard and there was no doubt in the policemen's minds now whether or not this was the father. They knew he was.

Bill tried once more to smooth things out. "Come on now, Mr. Jackson, let's let sleeping dogs lie. It's all been one big mistake, but I believe we can all forget it. No one has been hurt, so let's just go our own way."

Finally Mack realized that he might have put his foot in his mouth, but his pride was too much to let him apologize.

"Come on, Daddy," Janet said, "this has been a wonderful birthday present for me. Listening to you give these officers hell was enough. Let's forget about it and go have that dinner you were promising me, okay?" She hoped desperately that he would do what she asked because she knew Ronald wouldn't like the idea of her going down to the police station. Once she did that, every time she hit the streets, one or the other of the officers would be harassing her or picking her up and taking her down to the station. Even now she knew she was marked. She wouldn't be able to work the streets here any longer.

Actually, Daddy Cool didn't really want to go to the station, but he would go if he was pushed. The less he came in contact with the police, the better off he was. Policemen had a tendency to remember faces, so it was best he kept his out of sight.

"Come on, then, honey," he said sharply, "I don't like the idea of givin' in to them, but if you insist, we'll let the matter go this time. But I can't stand any more of this shit." Daddy Cool waited for Janet to get into the car. "I hope you boys realize," he added, staring coldly at the policemen, "how lucky you are, because I believe I could have somebody's ass for this shit!"

None of the policemen spoke. They just stared angrily at the couple in the car. Each man was busy with his own thoughts. None of them wanted any part of the captain's office.

Daddy Cool started up the motor of his car. "I wish you would change your mind, Janet. I'd like to follow this mess up. I don't like the idea of them talking that way to you."

She blushed. It gave her a warm feeling to know that he cared for her that much. She knew that he had seen her working, but he never let on that he had. From his behavior, she reflected, in all probability he might not have realized that she was really working. Maybe he had just thought she was trying to get a ride. But his very next words made her realize how foolish this thought had been.

"If you're going to do that kind of work, child, you should try and get in a house instead of out on the street. Anything can happen to you, but I don't want to lecture you, Janet. You're a woman now, so whatever you do is your business. If you like that kind of thing, it's nothing I can do about it but pray that one day you will see the light and realize that you don't have to do nothing like that."

He removed a white envelope from his pocket and tossed it in her lap. "That's your birthday present from me. It's cash. I don't know, maybe you need it. I'm hopin' it will stop you from doing what you've been doing." He hesitated, then continued. "There's two thousand dollars in there, Janet. It's enough to keep you off the streets for quite a while. If you should ever need any more, all you got to do is pick up the telephone and call me. I'll see to it that you get all the cash you need." He pulled over and parked behind a cab stand. "Maybe it will be better if you took a cab home, unless you want to go home with me."

She heard his words and was tempted, remembering how safe she felt in his arms. She knew he was waiting patiently and praying that she would accept his offer. He wasn't trying to force her to come home, just offering it to her. But she knew in her heart she couldn't accept. She didn't believe she could live without Ronald.

Janet slowly opened the car door. There were tears in the corner of her eyes. "I'll remember, Daddy. I swear I will. And if I ever need anything, you'll be the first person I'll call." She took a quick glance at him as she closed the car door. For a brief second she thought she saw tears in his eyes. But she refused to accept such an idea. Daddy Cool would never cry.

That much she was sure of.

14FTER HIS D A UGHTER got out of the car, Daddy Cool sat silently behind the steering wheel and watched her in his mirror as she got into a cab. For a brief second he was tempted to follow her, but just as quickly disregarded the idea.

Janet sat back in the seat of the cab, huddled up like a small rag doll. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but this time she wasn't concerned with her makeup. If her father had only taken her in his strong arms and made her go home. No, she reflected, it wouldn't have done any good. She only would have slipped away at the first chance she got.

The way he did it was the best way. He was allowing her to make her own mess out of her life, giving her free room to make all the mistakes she wanted to. He had also told her that there would always be a place waiting for her. So she knew, if she ever got tired of the life Ronald was making her live, she could go back home.

But she had other ideas now. With the large sum of money her father had given her, it was enough for Ronald to settle down and take care of her. They had enough to buy them a small store or something. She daydreamed as she rode home. Now all they had to do was get married. She planned on bringing it up as soon as Ronald came to get his trap money.

This time he would listen to her. She would make him listen. None of his other women would be able to give him as much money as she carried. It was enough, she believed, for them to make another start. One thing she was sure of, she was finished with the street. There would not be another night like tonight. She remembered the shame she felt when she realized her father knew what she had been doing.

And then he asked if she liked doing it. He didn't seem to think she was doing it for the money, and he never mentioned Ronald, so maybe he really thought that she was doing what she liked. She blushed again. How could she ever get herself into such a mess.

But then again, she reflected as the driver pulled up to her apartment building, maybe it was better if he thought that, because if he knew that she was only working the streets because of Ronald, there was no telling what her father would do. She knew all too well how good he was with knives, because he had taught her how to toss them too.

So she knew that Ronald wouldn't stand a chance against her father if Daddy Cool ever got mad and called Ronald out. For all of his loud talk, Ronald would be like a baby against her father. She shivered at the thought. The last thing she could do was let him know the truth. No matter what happened, Daddy Cool must not find out that she had a pimp.

But it was out of her hands. Daddy Cool already knew she had a pimp. He knew about it but didn't know what he should do to the man who turned his daughter out. He had been around the game all of his life. In fact, when he was younger, he had had a few whores himself, so he was faced with a very difficult problem. As he drove slowly home, there was a fixed determination on his face, which, if Janet had seen, she would have been in even greater fear for Ronald's life.

No matter how sensitive the problem was, Daddy Cool knew he couldn't keep on ignoring it. He had put on a good act tonight, hiding the fact that he had been hurt badly when he saw Janet walking up and down the streets trying to stop tricks. He had to see it for himself before he could really believe it.

Now he had seen what everybody else was talking about. It was up to him to figure out what was to be done. He knew behind a life of experience who was to blame. His daughter had just run into a smooth-talking pimp, that was all, and in her inexperience she believed she was in love with the man. He could sympathize with her because he knew what the root of the problem was. Yet he hadn't come up with the solution.

When a tooth hurts you, you have it removed, he reasoned as he pulled up in his driveway and parked. After what he had seen tonight, there could be no more evasions, that he was sure of. Something had to be done, but what? The same thought kept springing back into his mind. Remove the source of the problem, then let the rest of it work itself out.

Janet paid off the cab driver and made her way upstairs to her tiny apartment. It was clean, but other than that it was a come down for a young girl who was used to everything a girl could want. As she stretched out on the couch, she thought about how she had been planning on going to college this year.

It must have really hurt her father when he thought about it. They had talked about what school she would go to so many times in the past. He had promised to buy her a small car so that she could drive back and forth without any trouble.

Now as she thought about it, she realized that she had thrown all that away, and for what? To work the streets, lying down with any dirty old man who came her way. As she remembered what one man had forced her to do, she blushed. Holding her head while he made her suck him off, then feeling the stuff filling her mouth until she was choking on it.