Daddy Cool (20 page)

Daddy Cool let him take two steps toward the toilet, then reached behind his neck. The knife came out like a blur, striking Tiny right between the shoulder blades. Tiny grunted from the pain, then staggered toward the door. He fell up against the wall and slid down before rolling over on his side. On his face was an expression of dismay, as if he was asking how this could have happened.

The two brothers stared at the body dumbfounded. Neither man spoke. They still couldn't put it together. Daddy Cool removed a small snapshot he had taken from Big Jack's house. It showed Tiny tearing off the young girl's skirt. He pushed the picture under Buddy's nose while holding out another one to Jimmy. The picture he gave Jimmy was one of Jimmy straddling the girl. Jimmy's face changed color. He belched loudly, and for a second he was scared he would mess on himself.

As of yet, neither brother had any fear for their lives. True, they had seen their friend and partner killed right before their eyes, but they still thought the bond between them and their stepfather was too tight for them to have any fear.

As Daddy Cool removed his second knife, he stared coldly into Buddy's face. He saw the automatic sitting on the edge of the end table where Buddy had placed it. "Why, Buddy, why?"

Buddy could only shake his head. Jimmy, on the other hand, was beginning to realize their danger. He decided to inch his way into the bedroom and get his gun, then he could face Daddy Cool on a more equal level. Daddy Cool allowed him to reach the bedroom, then he made his move. His hand came up in a forward flip, the knife made two turns before embedding itself in Jimmy's chest.

Jimmy's eyes seemed as if they would pop out. He stared down toward the strange thing sticking out of him. He couldn't believe it. He reached out toward his stepfather, his hand beckoning, begging, pleading, but there was no kindness in the chilling black eyes that stared right back at him.

"I guess," Buddy began, "it's my turn next, huh?" he asked, not attempting to make any move toward the gun on the table.

Daddy Cool stared at the young black man in front of him. All he could see was his wife's face. After so many years of dedication, he owed her something, didn't he?

"How much money was in the ripoff?" Daddy Cool asked slowly, as he reached for another knife.

Buddy followed his movements with his eyes, he knew his stepfather was giving him a chance to try for the gun if he wanted to. "We took off twenty-five grand," Buddy answered, not even looking at his gun.

For a second the two men stared at each other, then the elderly one spoke. "You went along with a nasty thing, boy, something that should be with you until you reach your grave." Daddy Cool hesitated, then shoved the knife back down in its sheath.

"You don't deserve it, Buddy, but I'm goin' give it to you. Since you didn't touch the child and stopped them from abusing her further, I'm going to let that be in your favor. I don't know if the people you ripped off will accept it or not, but as far as I'm concerned, the contract is completed.

"What you do, boy, is get the money and get as far away from here as you can. Don't even stay for your brother's funeral. It might end up being yours also. So start running and maybe one day you and me both will be thankful for what's happenin'. I don't know. I know your mother deserves more than a double funeral. When your mother talks to you, I hope you will keep this between us. It won't help matters if she knows I'm the one who made Jimmy pay for his ugliness."

Buddy stared down at the floor. He didn't answer, just thanked the Lord that he was still alive. He knew that he had been closer to death than ever before in his life. When he heard the door close, he looked up. The house was empty. He hurried toward the bedroom. It wouldn't take him long to get out. He could call his mother from the airport. He decided not to take any chances. Maybe Daddy Cool wouldn't change his mind, but if he did, Buddy would be taking the man's words and putting as many miles between him and death as he possibly could.

1F THERE WAS ONE thing Earl hated, it was having to be out in the streets. Now, standing in the dimly lit hallway, he wished that the man he waited for would come on out. He had waited all night, after making up his mind on what had to be done. There was no other choice that he could see. If things continued the way they were going, his only friend would end up worrying himself to death.

The decision that Earl had come to hadn't been reached lightly. He knew that Daddy Cool might be mad about it, but once it was over with, there wouldn't be anything anyone could do about it.

Though Earl didn't know much about women, he knew that Janet was doing something she wouldn't ordinarily do. She was no whore, and there was no reason for her to be out on the streets hustling her body. From all he could find out on the subject, the person responsible for a young girl being out on the street was her pimp. If you eliminated the pimp, there was no cause for her to work.

He heard a door open and close on the floor under him and swore under his breath. The few people who had come past him in the dimly lit hallway had moved away swiftly after getting a look at the huge man. The sweater he wore had a hood on it covering his head so that people who passed by couldn't see how deformed he really was-but his mere presence was enough.

How Earl wished for the quietness of his small room. But if he had to sit out in the hallway until evening time, he would be there. For a second he worried about the pool hall. If he wasn't there by nine o'clock, how would the girls get in to open up the restaurant?

For the next half hour he worried over it, wondering if he should leave and open up the club, then return. It would mean exposing himself to the daylight traffic. People hurrying nowhere would stare at him as if he had just crawled out from under a log.

Earl glanced at his watch. It was almost nine o'clock. He remembered some of the men joking in the poolroom about how late pimps and whores slept. He couldn't believe they really stayed in the bed until two and three in the afternoon. At any rate, he didn't believe Ronald would. The man had arrived at the apartment building one jump ahead of Earl. Earl had had a problem finding the right building. If only he had been quicker he could have finished his job last night. Now it was daybreak and people would be up and around.

Even as the thought flashed through his mind, a door down the hall from where he stood opened and three small children came running out. Two of them carried small books in their arms, so he knew that they were on their way to school.

At times, children were even harder to stand than the grownup counterparts who were deliberately cruel. While the children didn't really mean any harm, their hard stares and cold remarks hurt him to the quick. Now as the children came abreast of him, he noticed that there were two little girls and one boy. They glanced at him curiously, but he managed to turn his back so that they couldn't really see him clearly.

Down the hall in Janet's apartment, Ronald dressed slowly. He had made up his mind to allow her to take a few days off, but this shit she kept talking about was bugging the hell out of him. He had no intention of getting a job or buying a store, and he was tired of lying to her about it. He was tempted to tell her the truth, yet he was afraid he might lose her. He had heard guys talk about hundred-dollar girls, but she was the first one he had ever had. Ever since Janet hit the streets, she averaged a hundred dollars a night.

"Please, Ronald," she begged, "at least say you'll give it a try. Let me try and find a nice small store somewhere, and I'm sure if we need a little more money, Daddy will gladly loan it to us."

She waited silently, hoping that he would see it her way. Together they could move mountains, she believed, but Ronald just needed guidance.

"Listen, baby," he said, feeling the huge roll of money in his pocket. It made him feel free-spirited. "Why don't you take some of this cash and go shopping today, you know, just get out of the apartment and enjoy yourself?"

She smiled and shook her head. It sounded nice, but instead of buying something for herself she would surprise him and buy something nice for him. "Okay, Ronald, if you say so," she replied quietly, then waited while he pulled the bankroll out and peeled off a ten.

She stared at the ten-dollar bill as if it was a snake. Ronald, too caught up in his own importance, didn't even notice the disappointment on her face.

"Yeah, Jan," he said, "since I didn't get you a gift yesterday, you buy something nice with this."

For a second she was afraid to speak. She didn't want to reveal her disappointment. After all, she had given him twenty-one hundred dollars. It wouldn't have hurt him to be a little more generous. Staying with a man was one sure way of really finding out things about him, she reasoned, as she watched him put the money back in his pocket.

"Maybe you had better take this with you," she couldn't stop herself from saying, as she held the ten-dollar bill out to him. She was sure of one thing. She definitely wasn't about to go through all the trouble of going downtown just to spend ten dollars.

"Hey, honey, what's the deal? You don't appreciate the little bread I gave you? Oh yeah, okay, Janet, I remember, you're the little rich girl. You're used to spendin' them big, aren't you?" There was envy in his voice, something he couldn't hide. All his life he had to struggle for his. But here was a little bitch who had everything put out on a platter for her. She needed dogging, or so he reasoned. That way, he would be able to control her better. If he was good to her, she would take softness for weakness, something he wasn't planning on allowing to ever happen.

"It's not that, Ronald. I'm just not used to tryin' to shop with such a small piece of money, that's all. I don't think I'd know where to begin," she stated, then flashed him a smile, trying to take the sting out of her words.

"Oh, you wouldn't, huh? Maybe you'd feel better if I gave you back a grand for you to go shoppin' with. Would that make you feel better?"

"No, no, Ronald, I don't want nothing like that, honey. I gave the money to you, for you to do whatever you want with it. So I wouldn't think of takin' it downtown and wasting it on clothes when I already have plenty of them."

Ronald stared at her with surprise. This silly bitch really thought I was serious about giving her back that much money. He shook his head. He didn't think he would ever be able to figure her out.

Seeing the look on his face, she stood up on her toes and put her arms around his neck. She tried to kiss him, but he didn't want any part of that. The lovemaking they had that morning was enough for him. And anyway, the good, hard, older pimps said the less you showed your affection, the more they loved you.

It was a bad habit letting a whore kiss her man on the mouth. And anyway, he could never get it out of his mind that the women who worked the streets for him had more than likely sucked a dozen dicks that night and swallowed a bucket of come. No, the very thought of it made him turn his cheek to her.

Janet wasn't anybody's fool. She noticed most small things, and she saw the way he acted when she wanted to kiss. She remembered how he had forced her to make love to him with her mouth, telling her that he was teaching her something she needed to know. Now she was putting it all together and she figured that was the reason he didn't want her to kiss him on the mouth.

As she thought about it, she decided that he had had his first and last oral love from her. She would be damned if she would go down on any man and then have him treat her as if she had done something dirty.

Noticing the look on her face, Ronald thought it was over the money. He pulled out another bill. But seeing that this one was a twenty, he wished that he had fished out a ten instead. "Here, girl, I want you to buy something nice today, so that when I come back you can really surprise me."

This time, Janet didn't even bother to glance at the bill he gave her. She just balled it up and tossed it on the dresser.

Now that he had freed himself from the bear hug she had on his neck, Ronald made ready to go. For some reason, he felt out of place when he was with her. She gave him a feeling of being inferior. "I'll give you a call around six o'clock tonight, Janet, so be sure to be back by then. You never can tell what might jump off." He smiled, then tried to crack a joke with her. "Maybe one of those hundred-dollar-ass tricks might inquire about your whereabouts, and you know we don't want to pass up any of them."

She caught herself before she said something nasty to him. Janet started toward the door. For the first time in her life, she was glad to see him leave. She needed time to think.

Ronald followed her to the door, wondering now what the problem was. She was just too motherfuckin' moody, he reflected as he stopped in the doorway. "Remember what I said now," he warned, his voice going cold. "I'm not joking about them hundreddollar tricks."

Janet just held the door open. She didn't bother to answer. She watched him go, torn between her love for him and her common sense.

Ronald hesitated in the doorway, staring at her. She was a lovely picture in her short, black slip. The top of it hung down just enough to reveal her well-developed breasts, which, with no bra, stood out proudly. Any other man would have been overcome with pride, but Ronald's ego was so large that he never took into consideration what a jewel he had.