Once You'Ve Touched the Heart (15 page)

Tracy did not want this moment to stop. Since she was 19, she had waited for this moment and now, he was ending the kiss. JD placed his hand over hers and held it against his chest. He did not want to pull away completely. As he pulled his lips from hers and looked into her eyes he knew she was feeling the same thing he was.

He smiled at her. “Did I answer your question?”

“That wasn’t the answer I expected,” she said and lowered her head.

“What did you expect?”

“Oh, something like, Squirt Two, you know I love you like a little sister.”

“Hmm,” he laughed, “I’ve never looked at you like a little sister. I called you ‘Squirt’ to remind myself that you were off limits back then.” JD rested his head against hers. “Tracy, I don’t have a lot of experience at relationships. I have been with a lot of women in the past and some issues may arise. I’m going to make mistakes here, so please be patient with me.”

“I’m not experienced at this either, Jeffrey.” She smiled. “So, we will make mistakes, learn from them, then move forward.”

“I just don’t want to do anything to hurt you,” JD confessed. “I would walk away before I do that. I want to do this right.”

“You want to cultivate the relationship.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I do.”

Relieved to have come to this point, they sat there talking and laughing with each other for hours. Neither wanted to leave that room. Tracy knew in her heart that once they left that room something would destroy the moment they had just shared. That’s just the way her life went. JD did not want to leave because he knew what issues he had to address to do right by Tracy. Some of those issues were not going to be easy. But he was determined to make it happen.

I
t was 8:30
a.m.
when Brian walked into the DA’s office. Calvin was at the receptionist’s desk talking with Mrs. Langston.

“Good morning, good people, how is everyone?” Brian asked.

“Brian,” Calvin said, shaking hands and bumping shoulders. “Man, what are you doing here so early in the morning?”

“Good morning, Mr. Thompson, how are you this morning?” Mrs. Langston asked.

“I’m pretty good this morning, Mrs. Langston, and yourself?”

“Fine, thank you.”

Brian turned to Calvin. “JD asked me to meet him here at nine. I decided to come in early, knowing how he is when he first gets a case like this.”

“Same here,” Calvin replied. “Whenever JD gets a case involving a child, he is hell to deal with until he gets the person responsible.”

“Maybe we should put a call in to Carolyn now, to try to ease his mood,” Brian suggested.

“Gentlemen!” Mrs. Langston reprimanded the two friends.

“Well, it works,” Brian, replied laughing
.

“Maybe, but I believe Ms. Roth is seeing Mr. Roberts now,” Mrs. Langston replied, trying to clean up the subject. “Is it a bad case, Calvin?”

“Yeah, I’m afraid so,” Calvin responded. “A 13-year-old girl was killed during a gang initiation.”

“Any case concerning children and gangs usually puts him in a bad mood for days.” Mrs. Langston shook her head.

“You better get your oven ready, Mrs. L.,” Brian suggested. “We are going to need it.”

“I’ve already put Jackie on notice. It will be long hours until this case is closed,” Calvin added.

The elevator doors opened and JD stepped out. “Good morning, everyone. “Mrs. Langston, you look too good to be behind that desk today. Why don’t you take the day off and bake us some of those oatmeal raisin cookies,” he said smiling broadly.

“Well, Mr. Harrison, I would if you signed my paycheck instead of Mr. Roberts.”

JD laughed. “Well, just tell him I gave you the day off. Hey Calvin, Brian, glad you could make it in early. Let’s take this to my office,” he said, walking off.

Calvin, Brian and Mrs. Langston stood there for a moment, stunned at JD’s disposition. The men followed him down the hallway.

“Have a seat; I have to make a quick call,” JD said as they entered the office.

Standing at the window in his office, overlooking the city, he pulled out his cell phone and pushed a button. He played nervously with his tie. “Good morning, sunshine,” he beamed. He dropped his head as Tracy began to speak.

“Good morning to you. Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“No, I couldn’t sleep once I got home. I worked on the case.”

“I couldn’t either,” she said, blushing. “It is the next day, right?”

“Yeah, it is.” He replied with a smile.

“This is real, right? You’re not calling to say it was some kind of dream, are you?”

“Yes, it is real, and no, it was not a dream,” he said firmly.

Tracy sighed in that sweet voice JD loved to hear. “Okay.”

He smiled. Brian and Calvin sat there a little puzzled.

“Are you going in to the office today?” JD asked.

“I’m already in. We have the Brooks presentation this morning.”

“Oh, yeah, the one you were supposed to work on last night,” he joked. “Will you be free for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah, especially since I did not get a chance to eat last night.”

“I know. I forgot about the food, too.” He laughed. “I owe you one.”

Turning while he was laughing, JD noticed Calvin and Brian were watching him curiously. He honestly forgot they were there. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I wrap up here,” he said and pushed the end button on the phone. “Gentlemen,” JD said while pulling a folder from his briefcase, “we have three main targets to bring the Latin Eagles down.”

Brian grinned. “No, my brother, it’s not going that way. Who in the hell were you talking to on the phone that has you swinging from the chandelier like that?”

Calvin didn’t have to ask—he already knew. “Decided not to follow your plan?” Calvin asked, smiling.

“The plan went out the window.” JD sat down laughing. He leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs, still laughing. “Calvin, if there’s such a thing as heaven right here on Earth then I was there last night and if I do this right, I will spend the rest of my life there.”

“Tell me you did not hit that last night?” Calvin said.

“Hit what?” Brian asked.

“No, I’m not even pressed for that.” JD laughed. “The shit is funny.” He exhaled “It was like you said, I just want to take my time and really get to know her; you know?”

“Get to know who, damn it?” Brian demanded.

JD and Calvin replied “Tracy” at the same time.

“Come on, B, keep up, man,” Calvin said.

Brian looked at JD. “You sure that’s a wise move?” he asked. “I mean, you did just convict her brother on federal charges.”

JD exhaled. “B, I don’t know if it’s the right move for me professionally or not. But I gave her up before because of my career; I can’t let her go again, not now.”

He stood, pulled the bulletin board out and pinned three faces on the board. “As I was saying, gentlemen, these are the targets to bring down the Eagles. We have two additions to our group for this one. They should be arriving at nine.”

Mrs. Langston’s voice came on the intercom. “Mr. Harrison, Ms. Rivera and Mr. Graham are here to see you.”

“I’ll be right out,” JD replied and exited the room.

“What in the hell did I miss?” Brian asked.

“Did you think he just let Carolyn go for nothing?” Calvin asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Carolyn don’t have shit on the head job Tracy put on that man,” Brian replied. “Damn near makes me want to have some of that.”

Calvin laughed. “Yeah, man, he’s done.”

JD walked back in the office. “Gentlemen, meet Magna Rivera, specialist on Hispanic gangs from D.C. and Dan Graham from the AG’s office. They will be with us throughout the entirety of this case. Ms. Rivera; Mr. Graham; my right arm and partner Calvin Johnson; and head of security, Brian Thompson—both of whom I trust with my life.

“Let’s take a seat and get started. The wheels are in motion on this case, so let’s get caught up.” JD handed each person a file with a detailed plan of action on each target identified. “This is the plan; it’s your job to make it work.”

They began reviewing the files and worked through lunch. JD suggested they wrap up around four. That would give him a chance to catch Gavin up on the events of the day, give Ms. Rivera a chance to get settled in and give him a chance to make a trip he promised Tracy he would make.

“Brian,” JD called out as everyone was leaving the office, “let me talk to you for a minute.”

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” Calvin said and left with the others.

“B, I need you to make arrangements for me to see Day as soon as possible. I don’t want him to get word about me and Tracy off the street. I need to tell him in person.”

“All right, man, I can do that.”

“I need another favor. I need you to take a ride with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“Blackwell.”

Brian gazed at JD. “Give me10 minutes, I’ll set it up.”

JD and Brian crossed the James River using the 14th street Bridge. As they pulled into the Blackwell area of Southside, it was easy to see the illegal activity going on. The Latin Eagles had control of a 25-block radius. All of the high-rise apartments were under gang control; no one entered or left without permission from Juan Cortez, their leader.

Brian pulled the Suburban in front of the 25
^th
Street high-rise and turned to JD. “The white Expedition to the right and the Chevy Caprice to the left are us.” Brian was not a man to be caught off guard. He had his revolver in his hand as they got out of the car. JD entered the high-rise first, Brian directly behind him. There were several Latinos sitting on the steps and another group down the hall to the right of them.

“What’s up?” A man’s voice came from the stairs above. “Y’all in the wrong place.” Men in suits did not frequent the high-rises. They were either Social Services or cops; either way, they were not welcome.

“We are looking for Lisa Gonzalez’s parents,” JD politely stated.

“They live on the third floor. What you want with them?” A young man asked.

JD ignored the question and walked towards the steps. No one moved. He looked at the group to determine who the leader was, then glared at the man doing the talking. “I’m District Attorney Harrison. I don’t want any problems. But, like I said,” Brian put his revolver in clear view, “I am going to talk to Mrs. Gonzalez. How that comes about is up to you.” JD stepped closer to the man and asked, “What’s it going to be?”

The other group moved closer to the steps. Brian cocked his gun then pointed towards the group. “Who’s first?” he asked.

Two men with sawed-off shotguns walked in the door behind Brian to support him and flanked the doorway.

“Man, it ain’t got to be all that.” A voice came from the top of the steps. “It’s all good, let them up.”

Brian lowered his gun. The boys at the bottom of the steps got up. JD and Brian went upstairs; the armed men stayed at the doors.

“Mr. Harrison,” the man at the top of the stairs asked, “what brings you to our part of town—slumming?”

“Taking care of some business with the Gonzalez family,” JD replied.

“They don’t have nothing to say to you, man.”

“That’s cool, but I have a few things to say to them.”

“You a bold motherfucker to come down here. You know Juan is going to have your ass for this.”

JD and Brian laughed. “Juan controls you, not us,” Brian replied.

JD knocked on the door and a little girl opened it. He stooped down and smiled. “Hello, what’s your name?” A woman came up behind her. JD stood. “Mrs. Gonzalez?”

“Yes.”

“My name is JD Harrison. I’m the district attorney handling your daughter’s case. May I have a moment of your time?”

“Si, come in.” JD stepped inside. Brian guarded the door.

“Why a DA got secret service guards?” the man asked Brian.

“The man is connected like that,” Brian smirked..

“Y’all know you suppose to clear shit like this through Juan. He ain’t going to like this.”

“In case you missed the point before, we don’t give a damn what Juan likes or don’t like.”

“You can’t disrespect the man’s turf like this and don’t expect retaliation.”

Brian looked at the man. “Do I look worried to you?”

An hour later, the door to the apartment opened. JD stepped out. “Thank you for taking the time to listen, Mrs. Gonzalez. I will be in touch.”

“Thank you, Mr. Harrison. It’s good to know somebody cares.”

“You have a good evening, ma’am.”

“You, too, Mr. Harrison, and thank you.”

JD turned and left the building with Brian. Once they were in the car, the two men with the guns left the building and got into the Chevy Caprice. The Chevy pulled off, Brian next, and then the Ford.

“That’s a lot of coverage for just a DA,” one man said.

“Yeah, and they weren’t all secret service.”

“How you know that?”

“Sawed-off shotguns are illegal. Let Juan know we had visitors tonight. See how he wants it handled.”

Once all three vehicles were back in the downtown area of Richmond, Brian signaled an all clear. The other two vehicles pulled away and Brian hit Interstate 95 heading toward the federal prison in Petersburg.

“How did it go?” Brian asked.

“Pretty well. I’m glad I did this, it felt good,” JD replied.

“Well, let’s hope your next conversation goes as well.” Brian laughed. “I made arrangements for you to see Day within the hour. You up for it?”

JD smiled. “Hell no, but I have to do it.”

“No you don’t. The man is in prison and it’s not a damn thing he can do about you being with his sister.”

“It’s a matter of respect, B. If this was my sister I would expect no less.”

It was getting late, but JD had to do this before word got to Al about him and Tracy. He prayed all the way to the facility that Al would understand. He respected Al for taking the steps he did to protect Tracy. JD felt as though he owed Al at least that. Well, as far as that went, he also owed Gavin. It was because of them he was able to reconnect with Tracy. Damn, that’s twisted. All JD knew for sure was he couldn’t turn back. Even if Al did not accept his relationship with Tracy, he could not give her up, not now, not ever.

The warden met JD and Brian at the front entrance. “Mr. Harrison, you indicated this was a sensitive matter you needed to discuss with Al, so we set you up in my conference room. No one will disturb you there. A guard will be outside the door, if you need him.”

“Thank you, we will not be long,” JD replied.

“You want me in there with you?” Brian asked out of concern for his friend.

“No, thanks B, I got to do this on my own,” JD said as he entered the room.

“Harrison,” Al said as they shook hands.

“Al,” JD replied and shook hands.

“I didn’t expect to see you, much less hear from you this soon. It’s only been a couple months. What’s up, man?” Al asked.

“How are you doing in here, Al?”

“Life’s okay; it ain’t great, but I’m surviving.”

“Good. I wanted to fill you in on Gavin, but I also need to talk to you about Tracy.”

“Tracy?” Al questioned.

“Yeah,” JD said, clearing his throat, “but first Gavin.” He filled Al in on the agreement he made with Gavin to keep him off Tracy.

“I can hang with that as long as he keeps his word,” Al replied.

“He will or I’ll have to kill him myself.”

“Harrison breaking the law.” Al said laughing. “I think you better leave that one up to me.”

JD smiled.
That damn propensity for violence. All right
, he said to himself,
stop putting this off, talk to the man.

“Thanks for the update, but that’s not why you’re here,” Al said, sitting back in the chair.