Chapter 18
Saint badges had less and less power in Harlem these days.
Sterling wore his proudly as they approached a line of police officers outside an apartment building.
Elise stood close by, unable to stop staring at the cold metal of his badge.
It was odd, seeing the shine of the Saint seal in the early-afternoon light, knowing that her home and its empire had been destroyed.
Elise swallowed hard while Sterling introduced himself and gestured to their group.
Though it was small at a glance and only consisted of her, Sterling, Jamie, and Layla for now, Jamie had his crew hiding out nearby for backup.
“You are not permitted to enter this event. It is invitation only, for the residents of this building,” the police officer said in a flat voice.
Sterling blinked. “Do you not think if this man is to represent the people of this city, the people of the city should be invited to these events?”
The police officer’s jaw tightened. He lowered his hand to the gun at his hip and sighed. “Look, kid, you should just go. Don’t give us any trouble.”
A young Black couple shuffled right past them.
One of them, a man wearing a hat and a casual suit, stopped as Layla muttered something beneath her breath.
He gave her a knowing smile, then handed Jamie something before continuing on with his girl.
Layla nodded for Elise to come over, and she did, leaving Sterling to converse with the officer.
“What was that about?” Elise asked, gesturing to where the couple had disappeared into the building.
Layla nudged Jamie, and he brandished a small piece of paper with print that read, You can wake up the devil, raise all the hell; no one will be there to go home and tell, on top of address and time details. It appeared to be an invitation, though for what, Elise had yet to determine.
Jamie let out a low whistle. “This is nothing we should be getting involved in. I don’t want to see you in such circumstances. We are not that close.” He looked behind Elise at Sterling and lifted a brow. “He might enjoy it—”
“Jamie, what are you talking about?” Elise demanded.
His mouth gaped at her confusion as he lifted the card. “Is this not an invitation for a petting party?”
Elise’s heart skipped a beat. “A what?”
Layla snatched the card from Jamie and grumbled.
“No, it’s not. This is an invitation for a rent party.
You know, where people get together to help pay for rent.
” She sighed as Elise gave her a blank look.
“Of course you don’t know. Never mind that.
Jamie, I told that man you would supply alcohol, so you will have to at least pretend to do that when we go in. ”
Elise blinked in confusion. “Why would Mayor Arendale be at a rent party?”
“He isn’t,” Layla said, her voice going hard with exasperation. “But he’s in the courtyard of this building, intending to address its residents. Getting inside is our first step—”
“Step back!” the officer shouted, interrupting their seemingly endless back-and-forth. Elise whirled to see the man pointing his gun at Sterling, who had his hands up and eyes narrowed with anger. “You don’t run things around here. I do.”
Sterling’s breath came out quickly but with considerable effort. “This is my neighborhood—”
“And I protect it. You were a Saint member. I know you understand the magnitude of the danger that has been running rampant in these streets. Your people left one hell of a job behind for us to clean up,” the police officer spat.
Elise couldn’t be sure if your people referred to Saints or Black people.
Either way, she’d had enough. Stepping forward slowly, she took hold of Sterling’s arm and gave the police officer an apologetic smile.
“I am sorry, Officer. We are actually on our way to an event at our family friend’s home. So sorry to bother you.”
The officer leveled his deep glare on Elise, and a sharp fear shot through her at the intensity in her his gaze.
Even without the gun pointed at her, Elise did not like being in this man’s presence.
He made her feel small in more ways than one, and just moments into being on the other end of his interrogative stare, Elise had her fingers digging into Sterling’s arm to ground herself.
“Do you really expect me to believe you?” the officer demanded.
Before Elise could even open her mouth, Jamie was stepping forward with the small invitation. “Yes, sir.”
The officer took one look at Jamie, then lowered his gun. He barely glanced at the invitation. Just stepped to the side and gestured for his police colleagues to stand down and let them pass.
“What pigs,” Layla muttered once they were all inside. “I hate that you have to change your voice for them. This is all such bullshit.”
Elise tried to reach for her, but she continued walking at a faster pace. As Layla departed on her own, Elise turned to Jamie and Sterling. “Maybe we should split up for a bit. Sterling, you go with Layla. Jamie and I will go to the party and try to warn everyone.”
Jamie sighed. “What if you’re wrong about this? Maybe nothing bad will happen at this event. Maybe the mayor really wants to help people.”
All Elise could do was shrug. “Maybe he does. But Karine certainly doesn’t. The moment she shows up, we have to be ready.”
***
Elise barely had to show the invitation to the guests who opened the door to the party before she and Jamie were whisked inside.
Live music made up the majority of the commotion inside this tiny place of living.
All the furniture had been pushed back against the walls, and people leaned on the edges of tables and chairs while they watched a jazz musician wield his saxophone in the middle of the room.
Neighbors tapped along with this soulful song, some passing around a hat to place money inside.
Despite the room’s small size, it was still packed with people who wore smiles and had eyes that shone brighter than most crystals.
Some danced together, taking up the little space available, bumping into others, who only laughed and joined in.
Elise had never seen such genuine self-made joy.
All the parties she had attended growing up had been ways to flaunt money and status; people walked in with their nicest jewelry and did not even bother to dance half the time.
Or they attended to intoxicate themselves with the people’s poison and drank until the room spun and they collapsed.
Here there was only benevolence and camaraderie.
It was a refreshing scene to experience, no matter how close to tragedy they all might have been.
The man who had opened the door for them spoke over the music. “You can make yourself at home here. We have refreshments and some food, but it’s going pretty fast.”
Elise nodded and gestured to the performer. “What’s his name?”
“Wilson,” the man replied. His eyes wrinkled as he gazed at the attendees around the room.
“Rent is supposed to be ten dollars a month, but this place charges us folks more than the few white families they host.” The man eyed Jamie with suspicion.
“You are not a plainclothes police officer, are you?”
Jamie only smiled and shook his head. “I’ve got your refreshments covered.”
The man gave him a delicate smile before turning away and reintegrating into the moving crowd nearby.
Elise carefully stepped around a couple of kids coloring on one of the tables and dragged Jamie over to the window.
Outside, the mayor’s rally was beginning in the courtyard below.
Layla was down among the hopeful audience, weaving in and out of the crowd to get closer to the stage.
Sterling stood farther back, keeping an eye on the entire crowd from a distance.
From up here, Elise could not hear what the mayor was saying, but she knew enough to believe it was all a rhetorical distraction.
“We need to get these people out of here,” Elise murmured.
Jamie looked down at the growing crowd outside. “And what about them? Are you not also worried about Layla and Sterling being down there?”
She shook her head and turned back to the dancing room. “Let’s worry about them first.”
They couldn’t wait for the saxophonist to finish his song. Jamie lifted his hands and shouted, “I am with the police!” He did not have to threaten to arrest people for having illegal liquor. The room exploded with chaos at the mention of police.
Elise began herding the people closest to her toward the door, calling out for everyone around them to evacuate.
The party deflated like a dying balloon, all energy evaporating in an instant.
Murmurs of needing the money to continue through the week followed Elise all the way out of the building.
The things people would do for money…it made Elise wonder about all the ways people had turned into corpses just to hold their life’s earnings with them in their graves.
What was the use if one wasted their life to be able to afford it?
If she let them stay and make more money, they could die in an attack planned for this building.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? That people died to live at all.
Once outside, people gathered around the sidewalk, still grumbling and upset. A few tried to maintain the mood from inside, tapping their feet to whispered lyrics and swaying under the effects of the alcohol.