Piece Keeper (15 page)

“We got the word from upstairs to clean house,”
Witherspoon stated.

“I understand, sir… It’s only… I can’t...”

“You can’t what?”

“Eliminating is never a problem but disposing of
them… I don’t know, sir. I may miss something,” she said lowering
her head in shame.

“There will be a bigger cut. You’ll do fine. Just do
as I say.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Go visit the dimwit first,” Witherspoon said
referring to Hunter. “I always knew this day would come for
him.”

“Yes, sir. Sir?”

“Yes?”

“Can I bring in some people on this one?”

“Back up for Hunter?”

“No, sir. Collins will be a problem if he’s not
gone. I suspect he will not go down without a fight. The call just
went out for him over the radio. Waeltz issued the APB. He may be
in the wind.”

“I know… he’s coming unhinged. That work in the
hotel was sloppy, not his style. You know where he may go?”

“Longshot… but I think so.”

“Take Billy and the boys from the bar fight with
Love. I trust ‘em. Make sure you let them know you’re running this
Op. Any of ‘em have an issue with you they have an issue with
me.”

Foster nodded yes and Witherspoon waved her off. She
stood and left the room. He dropped two Alka-Seltzers in a glass of
water, watched it fizz, downed it, and then took a swig of the
Martel right from the bottle.

***

Waeltz sat at his desk in his tiny apartment going
over his files for the Prince case. Day old Chinese food still in
the box sat in front of him as he worked at his kitchen table.
Something didn’t add up. It was getting messier and messier by the
day. There was a lot of extra stuff for a simple a rape case. He
smashed a roach with the palm of his hand as it crept across the
table in front of him. Wiping his hand on his pants leg he paused
as he heard the sound of a gun being cocked back behind his head.
He never turned to look back. He froze.

“I have a proposition for you Waeltz.”

Waeltz was surprised twice. The first time because
this intruder had gotten the drop on him and the second time
because the intruder was a woman.

“Are we going to talk like this or can you take that
gun from the back of my head?”

Waeltz flinched as he felt the barrel of the gun
press against the back of his neck.

She continued. “The man that I work for is offering
you a job.”

“Yeah? What kind of job?”

“Chief of police.”

Waeltz laughed. “Is the piece to the back of my head
a part of the hiring process?”

“The man I work for doesn’t like disappointing news.
The piece to the back of your head, as you put it, assures me that
I won’t disappoint him.”

Waeltz tried to place the voice. She most definitely
wasn’t local. In fact she sounded British.

“Who’s your boss? He from across the pond too?”

“You’re asking the wrong questions, Waeltz.”

Waeltz’s thoughts were racing a million miles per
second. What’s the right question to let me walk out of here alive,
he thought. “When do I start?” He blurted out nervously.

“When Witherspoon’s seat is vacated you’ll be
offered the position and you will accept.”

“What will I have to do for the boss?”

“Once you’re in office our contact out here will
instruct you of your duties.”

“And if I refuse?”

The room was silent. Waeltz was nervous but he
slowly turned to face her. He felt a chill shoot through him
looking around the room to find his apartment door open and the
intruder gone. He jumped to his feet knocking over the chair in the
process. He ran to the door and snatched his gun that was hanging
in the holster on the coat rack near the door. Rushing into the
hall and down the stairs all the way outside he frantically looked
left to right, up and down the block to find no one there. He
cursed as he went back inside and closed the door. Yeah, things are
getting messier and messier he thought as he flopped down the
couch.

***

Once in his truck Black pressed TALK on his cell
phone and dialed Teresa’s number. It went straight to voice mail.
He dialed again as he drove over to her home. He wanted to check on
her. She sounded pretty depressed last night. He still had yet to
hear back from Seshat. He looked at his phone as it began vibrating
in the cup holder. He picked it up and read the CALLER ID. Morena’s
face popped up on the screen. He tossed the phone back into the cup
holder and let it go to voice mail. He wasn’t in the mood to argue.
Whatever it was could wait until he got home. Pulling into the
parking lot at Teresa’s apartment building he jumped out and made
quick strides towards her unit. He’d ditched his suit and tie and
opted for jeans, sneakers, a hoody, and a Chicago White Sox
baseball cap. He pulled the cap down low over his eyes and touched
the butt of his registered glock he had tucked underneath his hoody
to make sure it was secure. He was feeling apprehensive about what
happened the night before. It made him feel better to carry his
piece. As he approached her door he heard loud laughter coming from
the inside. One of the voices was definitely a male’s. He cringed
at the thought of having to confront James in front of her. He
shook his head as he knocked on the door. One awkward situation
after the other, he thought.

The door opened and Teresa stood on the other side
smiling. “Black?”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she said as she stepped to the side to
allow him to enter.

He walked in and made his way to the living room
where he stopped in his tracks surprised. “What are you doing here
pops?”

“Came to see my girl,” he said as he stood and gave
his son a hug. He whispered in his ear. “I got your message. We can
talk now.”

Black nodded.

Pops continued. “You been taking care of my
girl?”

“Yes he has, Dad.” Teresa said entering the room
carrying two bottles of beer. She still called him dad even though
she and Black were no longer together. They still had a father
daughter bond that she felt was sincere so when he came to town it
was no surprise. She handed the men the beers and sat on the
sofa.

“Well he better be. You know I’ll crack his head
don’t you?”

“Yeah I know, Dad. He’s been good.”

Black half smiled as he sat on the sofa across from
Teresa. “I’ve been calling. Why you haven’t picked up?”

“I had my ringer off. James has been calling and
calling.”

“Everything alright between you two?”

“Yeah, just didn’t feel like talking that’s
all.”

“Hmm.”

Teresa gave him the side eye, shifted her position,
and faced Pops. “How long you gonna be here, Dad?”

“Not long. Just wanted to see you and Black. She
wanted to see him too.”

“You brought her with you, Dad?” Black asked.

Pops whistled. The sound of paws scratching against
the carpet could be heard as the dog came scurrying into the living
room. The all-white Pit-bull jumped up on Black.

He smiled as he held her and rubbed her down. “Hey,
girl. I missed you too.”

Pops moved towards the door. “Step outside with me,
son. Let’s talk.”

“Give us a few minutes,” Black said to Teresa then
followed his father outside.

They took Sparkle with them. Once outside they let
the dog run freely.

“How’d you know, Pops?”

“I know my boy and you were talking about having to
put your dog down. I always knew it was never you who did it but
your sister.”

Black lowered his head. “She told you?”

“No. Your personality, son. Any person can kill, be
it animal or man. Only a select few have a heart of a killer. I
know. I’ve seen it. I know because it’s in me. It’s in your sister.
But you. You were my strategist.”

“How long have you known?”

“Almost immediately. The important question is who
was the one you had to put down last night?”

“A guy named Hunter. One of the scumbags that hurt
Teresa.”

“Well, good for you.”

“Figures you would say that.”

“Damn right.”

“You been anti-establishment my entire life.”

Pops laughed. “Yeah and you’ve been teeter-tottering
this line between activist and conservative for too long.”

“Humph.”

“Well, we are who we are. I didn’t come here to
debate political and socio-economics with you.”

“Why did you come, Dad?”

“To make sure you’re okay up here.” Pops tapped
Black on the side of his head with his pointer finger.

“Thanks, Dad. My head’s okay. I’m okay.”

“Good. Don’t need you getting all remorseful and
turn yourself in. You behind bars does no one any good. Especially
over trash like that Hunter.”

Black took a swig from his beer. He watched Sparkle
run around the parking lot. “What should I do now, Pops?”

“Finish it.”

“Finish what?”

“What you started.”

Black shook his head. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do. What did you do with the body?”

“I cleaned up and left it there.”

“There? Where’s there?”

“His place.”

“Don’t you know, son? No body, no crime?”

“Couldn’t be moved. Wasn’t prepared. Spur of the
moment thing.”

“What I always tell you, son?”

“I don’t know. You tell me a lot of things.”

Pops sighed. “There is no such thing as it just
happened! All actions are rooted in thought, even those we claim to
be spontaneous.”

“Thought you said I didn’t have the heart of a
killer?”

“Again… not here to debate.”

“So what else? I know there has to be more to you
coming.”

“There is…”

“I’m listening.”

“Talked to your sister… she’s on her way down. She
should be here in a couple hours.”

“Come on, Dad.”

“You’re a lawyer and you’re smart and I know you
ain’t no punk. I’m proud of you but this….this is your sister’s
terrain. Let her help.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I ask. And Black…”

“Yeah?”

“I am proud of you. What have I been telling you
since you were a boy?”

“Men protect their women.”

“That’s what you did as a man… what you saw fit. You
took care of that woman in there.”

Black remained silent.

Pops continued. “That’s why I fought tooth and nail
with your mama about your name.”

Black smiled. “I used to hate this name when I was a
kid.”

“Black Love. Only love I know, baby.”

Black laughed.

Pops placed his hand on his shoulder. “How you feel
about the name now?”

“I love it. It defines me. I love our people.”

“That’s what’s up. Well, tell my girls in there bye.
I’m going to go on and hit the road. You know that traffic driving
into Chicago is crazy.”

“You know Teresa’s going to be mad you didn’t come
in and say bye.”

“Tell her I’ll make it up to her.”

“I will.”

Pops climbed into his red pick-up truck. It was two
years old and beat up. He had been using it for scrapping. He
turned the engine on and let it idle. “How’s that other girl of
yours?”

“Morena. She’s fine.”

“Good. You and these women… don’t let them be the
death of you, boy.”

“I won’t, Pops.” Black said with a smile.

“Love you, man.”

“Love you too. Dad, what about Sparkle?”

“Keep her. You got all the women with you any way.
She might as well stay too.”

“Alright, Dad. Be safe.”

“Peace.”

“Peace.” Pops pulled off and Black whistled for
Sparkle. She ran behind him as he went into the building.

***

Waeltz didn’t know what was going on. He knew it was
high up the ladder he just had no idea how high or where to even
begin. He knew Witherspoon knew the answer but how could he get him
to talk without showing his cards? Whatever the answer was he felt
in his gut by the end of this case he would know it all whether he
liked it or not. Who was the woman with the accent? Unless he heard
her speak again he’d never be able to pick her out of a line up
especially since he never saw her face. He was headed out of the
door. He needed to get to a homicide scene.

***

It took some doing but Black was finally able to
convince Teresa to go back to his place and hang out with Morena.
He didn’t tell her about James because wanted to be 100% sure
before he started stirring that pot. He had tossed his cell phone
so he wouldn’t hear from Seshat until he contacted her. He had
gotten the call from his sister and she was meeting him to talk. He
pulled into a parking lot at a restaurant, purposefully choosing
the one with no surveillance cameras. He didn’t need anything to
trace his sister back to this town. As he pulled in he noticed his
sister and one of her girls standing outside of her car while the
other two sat in the car. He turned the truck off and got out. She
was two years younger than he was. She was very attractive but very
dangerous. She had been running the streets since a teen. She’d
moved from Chicago to Indianapolis as soon as she was old enough to
drive.

“What up, big bro?” she said as she gave him a
hug.

“Hey, sis.” It felt good seeing his sister.

They didn’t hang out as much due to their different
lifestyles. She was deep into the streets and he was locking people
like her up. She had no qualms about hanging out. He did. He felt
bad now that he needed her help.

She noticed the guilty look on his face. “Don’t
worry about it, big bro. I got you.”

Black nodded.

She motioned to her girl standing beside her. “You
remember my girl Danesha don’t you?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

Danesha shook his hand. “Long time no see, Black.
You been good?”

“Yeah and you?”

“Same, you know.”