Chapter 27
A few days ago…
“You can’t go back there!”
“Watch me.”
I brushed past the secretary and opened the door to the chief of police’s office. He looked at the frown on my face with wide eyes. I took my time closing the blinds to his office and locking the door before taking a seat in front of him. I was already pissed that I had to make a trip up here to start with. When Romi came by my shop the other day and told me Derrick pulled up on her, I wanted to send him to meet his son right then.
He was already on my shit list, but having the audacity to go to her and threaten to take Juri… oh, he’d really fucked up now. When I was going to just put a bullet in his head, now I was going to do what he and his son did to Romi before I killed him… terrorize his ass.
“Mr. Dillinger… what can I do for you?”
“We have a problem, and you know how I feel about problems, Barry.”
“Yes… yes. What can I do for you?”
“Derrick Mathis. If that bitch ass nigga comes to you about anybody other than Laurel Timmons being a suspect in his son’s murder, shut that shit the fuck down.”
“Why would he?—”
I sprang across the desk and grabbed him by his collar. “You heard what the fuck I said!” I yelled.
“Yes. Yes, I hear you.”
I removed my gun from the holster beneath my shirt because, of course, I ignored that metal detector and the officer at the front when I walked in. I placed the barrel of the gun to his forehead.
“You wanna know something, Chief? I’m itching to put a fucking bullet right between your eyes. You stood by and allowed your officers to ignore the cry for help from an innocent woman about a bitch made ass nigga because of the bitch ass daddy. I think you forgot who the fuck you work for, Barry. Remember whose influence helped get you this position.”
“I’m aware,” he said, raising his hands.
“So tell me why the fuck my lady has been getting harassed for months, and nobody in this muthafucka did shit about it?”
“Who… who’s your lady?”
“You know who I’m talking about, nigga!” I yelled. I hit him in the face with the butt of the gun. “You knew who she was when it came to not following up on her harassment cases.”
“I’m sorry, man?—”
“Don’t apologize to me. You’re gonna apologize to her, though.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed Romi’s number. She answered on the second ring, sounding all cheerful.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey, beautiful. What are you doing?”
“On my way to the hospital. You need something?”
“No, I just have someone here who wants to apologize to you.” I placed the phone on speaker and set it in front of Chief Barry. “Speak, nigga.”
“M-Ms. Mitchell. It’s Chief Bryant here at the police department. I uh… I um?—”
“Do I need to help you remember what the fuck you’re supposed to say?” I asked, cocking the gun.
“I want to apologize for my negligence and the negligence of my staff,” he rushed out. “We were wrong for not taking your claim seriously and for that?—”
“That’s a sorry ass apology, Barry. You gotta do better than that before my trigger finger gets to itching.”
“I am truly and deeply sorry?—”
“Elaborate, nigga!” I snapped.
“Truly and deeply sorry for putting your life at risk! I took an oath to serve and protect, and I didn’t do that with you.”
“And just what are you gonna do to fix that?” I asked.
He looked at me confused. “I—I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Baby, what would you like me to do with Chief Barry Bryant?”
“Devin, you can’t kill the chief of police!” Romi exclaimed.
“Like the fuck I can’t. Just say the word.”
“Baby… please. I think you’ve scared the man enough. I’m also sure he knows what can happen if we have any more problems, right, Chief?”
Barry nodded his head as though she could see him. “Y-yes, ma’am. No problems at all.”
“Good. Devin, please get out of that station acting crazy.”
I kissed my teeth. “See, Chief. You’re lucky I’m a family man now. Otherwise, I would’ve painted these walls with your blood first and asked questions later. Don’t let me have to revisit this conversation, or there will be a very different outcome. Understood?”
He nodded frantically. “I understand.”
“Good.” I took the phone off speaker and placed it to my ear. “Baby, I’m on the way to come see my girl.”
“Okay. Think about what you want to eat tonight.”
“You already know what I want.”
She giggled. “Food, Devin. Food.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m a big boy, and I’ma eat whatever you put in front of me. I’ll see you when I get there.”
“Okay.”
I hung up, tucked my gun away, and grabbed the tissue from the chief’s desk, tossing it at him.
“Clean yourself up.”
Without another word, I left his office. I garnered a number of stares as I made my way toward the front entrance. Nobody said anything as I left the building the same way I came in. I really hated to show my ass in public, but this was warranted, necessary, and very long overdue.
Barry wasn’t getting off that easy though.
I already had Jaeda pull the incident reports and records of the officers that were dispatched to Romi’s house and her business. She cross-referenced that with phone conversations and deposits made to Chief Bryant’s bank account those same days from none other than Derrick Mathis.
Romi might have spared him, but I wouldn’t. He was going to get his. I just needed him alive long enough to take care of Derrick’s ass. After that, he was free game. His demise was already plotted out, and his fate was sealed. It was only a matter of time.
The Funeral
“You wild as fuck for showing up here,” Deuce said as we sat outside the church where Patrick’s funeral was being held. We’d been here since the family car pulled up. I’d witnessed his mama falling over crying and shit and his daddy trying to comfort her. She’d slapped the shit out of that man, and he deserved it because it was his fault his son went to an early grave.
The last of the guests had just made their way inside, and I could hear the singing that probably drowned out the sound of family members crying. It was good that somebody loved that nigga, because I couldn’t give a fuck about him, dead or not.
Deuce shook his head. “You wild for this shit, Smoke.”
I chuckled. “I came to pay my disrespect to the dead,” I said, adjusting my tie.
Maceo laughed. “You really went and put on a suit for this shit.”
I grinned. “I mean, I’m dressed for the occasion.”
Steel shook his head. “When God strikes you down for acting a fool in his house, make sure you stand far away from me.”
“It won’t matter where I stand. I’ll see you niggas in hell, anyway.” I opened the door and climbed out of the car. “I’ll be back.”
After taking another pull from my blunt, I passed it to my brother and closed the door. As I walked up to the entrance of the church, the two men standing watch moved in front of the door.
“This is a private service,” one of them said.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked, crossing my hands in front of me.
I nodded over my shoulder to where my brothers sat watching with their guns out.
“Get outta my way, or me and my brothers are gonna air this place out. You’re in the right place to meet your maker.”
They looked at each other, then back at me and stepped aside.
“Much obliged,” I said, walking past them and into the church.
When I opened the doors, the choir was singing. One of the ushers offered me an obituary, but I declined as I headed straight up the middle aisle to the front. As I got closer, I could see the bad makeup job the mortuary did to cover up the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. If I was an asshole, I would have snapped a picture and sent it to Roux for a laugh.
Instead of doing that, I took a seat next to Derrick Mathis on the front pew. He looked over at me, and his eyes widened.
“Smoke Dillinger? What are you doing here?”
“It’s a funeral, right? I thought I’d come pay my respects. Since you seem to know who I am, you should know how my family comes. You and your son made enemies with the wrong people, Mr. Mathis.”
He frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?—”
“Romi Mitchell.”
“Let me talk to you outside.”
I waved my hand for him to walk ahead of me. He whispered to the woman next to him before standing and walking back down the aisle. I didn’t miss the stares and whispers of people watching us exit the church. Once we were outside, he turned to me.
“Look—”
I didn’t give him a chance to say shit before I popped him dead in the mouth. He stumbled back. When he caught his footing, he tried to charge at me, but I caught him in a headlock.
“Let’s think about this, my nigga. Do you wanna join your son now or later? I spared you. I could have sent you to glory when I walked in here.”
He struggled to get loose, but my grip only tightened.
“Relax,” I said calmly.
Realizing that he wasn’t going to be free until I released him, he stopped fighting.
“What do you want?”
“Explain to me why my lady told me you rolled up on her? And by my lady, I mean Romi.”
“It’s business?—”
“You threatened her and my baby. That makes it personal. I play about a lot of things, but I will never play with anybody about the three of them, you feel me? You had the audacity to get your son to do your dirty work with her, and when that failed, you thought you’d finish the job on your own? She might have given in if she was on her own, but she has a nigga like me in her corner, and I don’t take kindly to threats.”
He gasped as my grip on him tightened still. “I didn’t… I didn’t know she was yours.”
“It doesn’t matter. Also, what makes you think my uncle or Roux Nelson are gonna let you sell in this city? You know as well as I do that they have the game on lock. What? You thought you were gonna move underground through those tunnels and nobody ever know? Nigga, my people are privy to everything that happens in this city. Don’t ever think you’re safe out here.”
I released him and shoved him away. He turned back to me, rubbing his neck.
“So what now?” he asked.
“All you need to know is you are gonna be joining your son very soon. I gave you time to bury him and get your affairs in order, but believe me, I’ma make you beg for your life just like he did.”
His eyes widened. “It was you…”
“Ain’t nothing like target practice with a live target. I should have made him run. Now that would have been fun.”
“I will fucking kill you!” he yelled, lunging at me.
I pulled my gun out and aimed it right between his eyes, causing him to freeze.
“Aht, aht, aht. Slow your roll. You’ll be dead before you hit the ground, messing with me. Accept your fate and get your affairs in order, like I said. Ain’t nowhere you can run and ain’t nowhere you can hide that I won’t find you. You’re on borrowed time, my nigga. The clock is ticking.” I tapped the side of his face with the gun. “Go bury your son.”
He stared at me with a mixture of hatred and fear. I cocked the gun and aimed at his feet.
“You got five seconds to vacate my presence before I make you catch the holy spirit out here. One.”
He didn’t hesitate to walk back into the church. I tucked my gun and walked back to the car with my brothers, who were shaking their heads.
“The Lord is gonna smite you for that,” Deuce said, cranking up.
Steel laughed. “I feel like we need a word of prayer to combat that foolishness that just took place.”
I sat back in my seat and removed the blunt from my pocket. Maybe it was too much for the time and place, but about my people, it was always up. Derrick Mathis was about to learn that.