First Round Lottery Pick (16 page)

I felt good knowing that Tori was going with me to France, but I still had to deal with Toy. I had let him breathe long enough.

I called him up. When he answered, his voice never before seemed so fake to me. It only made me wonder how many other people he had killed.

“We need to meet,” I told him.

“Yeah? What's up?”

“Been thinking about those investments you talked about. I think I want to do a few. I want to sign on before I leave.”

“Yeah?”

“That's right.”

“So what made you change your mind?”

“Life, man, just life. You have to get it while it's good, right?”

“No doubt. Look, I was going to reach out to you about your boy, but I thought I would let you get through it awhile. Another senseless murder in the hood, you know.”

I could tell he was trying to feel me out. “Yeah, you got that right.”

“A'ight,” he said. “Call me when you ready to meet.”

“I will.”

“The sooner the better,” Toy said.

When I hung up the phone, my mother was standing near the sink, getting a glass of water.

“So what are you signing with Toy?” she asked.

“A few investments, that's all.”

“Anything you want me to look at for you?”

“Naah, they all good. Just some property downtown and stuff like that.”

I sat down at the kitchen table with her. She was still shaken by Jalen's death and had been going back and forth visiting his mother. I was wondering what I was going to do to Toy and how, and whether I could get away with it or not.

“What's wrong,
L
?”

“ Oh, nothing. I just want to give you all my information on my accounts so that you can go in and get my money if anything ever happens to me.”

My mother was quick. “Happen to you? Like what?”

“I don't know. I mean, like Jalen . . . if I ever get killed or something.”

“Boy, ain't nothing going to happen to you. You're a chosen one.”

“You never know, Ma. “

“What's gotten into you? Now you know I'm not going to be able to stand it if you don't have your faith. You're getting ready to travel all over the world playing ball, and you're going to need your faith and confidence sky-high all the time.”

“I know, but you still need it, just in case.”

 

 

The court was finally finished. The contractor that Jalen worked with to get the whole thing together called and let me know that they were putting up the nets on the rims and wanted me to come down to see how it looked with the bleachers because the kids were dying to bounce up and down on the new rubber matted pavement he'd laid down. He seemed really down concerning Jalen, telling me that Jalen was one young man on the move who just needed a little more seasoning and would have turned into a fine businessman.

When we finally pulled up to the court, there were about fifty kids and a few parents standing around the court looking at the painting of Jalen that me and the contractor decided to put on the center of the court. When they saw me get out the car with Tori, they all cheered.

We walked to the middle of the court, dedicated it to Jalen, and begged them to always come to the court to have fun, without the violence. All of a sudden, a big truck pulled up, opened up the back doors, and basketballs were being thrown to the court, sending the kids wild.

“Aww! This is so nice,
L
,” Tori said.

“Yeah, they need this. Keep them off the corners, turning them drugs, you know.”

“And they get to remember Jalen too,” Tori said.

We sat around in the bleachers watching the young'uns go buck wild on the court for a while.

Tori said, “You ever think they are going to get who kill-ed Jalen?”

“I don't know, but I am,” I told her.

“What?”

“Just what I said.”

“You know,
L
?”

I didn't answer, but she read my eyes.

“How? I mean, what happened?”

“He told me, Tori. Jalen told me when I went to see him before he died.”

“And you've been keeping this inside all this time?”

“I had to. Can't trust anybody around here. You know that.”

“You can trust me. I'm gonna be your wife.”

Just then, a ball bounced into the bleachers. I grabbed it and gave it to a little boy, who thanked me for having the court built.

Tori hadn't taken her eyes off of me. She wanted to know what I knew.

“It was Toy.”

Her eyes began to well up. “Are you sure?”

“That's what he told me. I heard him clear as day.”

Tori wiped a tear from her face.

“He told me something else, Tori.”

“What was it?”

I waited a few seconds before I answered her. I felt myself biting my lip. “Jalen said Toy was the one who set you up to get raped. And it makes sense now, because he's the one who told us where we could find you.”

Tori was silent for minutes. She looked out at the kids screaming and playing. She looked at me hard then said, “Are you going to need any help, baby?”

I looked back at her then back out at the kids standing around looking at the drawing of Jalen.

“Naah, you just get ready to go, okay. I got this. This all on me.”

I was locked and loaded waiting outside The Strip Club for Toy. My heart was racing. I was a little nervous, but when I saw him walking out, the smile on his face filled me with mad get-back. I wondered if that was the way he looked when he walked away with Jalen lying in his own blood, or after having his moment with my girl.

Toy flopped down in Jalen's ride. “Young brother, the back rooms in the VIP are poppin' tonight,” he said. “I mean, really getting buck wild.” Then he looked around, probably remembering we were in J's ride. “Look, when we done with this, you need to come inside so we can really party.”

“Not my thing,” I told him.

“A'ight, whatever.” Toy reached into his suit jacket and pulled out the paperwork and began to unfold it. “When you're an old man like me,
L
, you're going to be happy you did this.”

I wasn't paying much attention to Toy because I was looking around the lot and at the vacant building next to the club. That's where I had planned on taking him and laying him out.

“So you ready for France or what? They told me they are starting you at shooting guard right out the gate. Just be careful 'cause those ‘Euros' will bust your ass when you drive to the hole. I plan on traveling there to check things out and meet your coach in a couple of days, maybe even get me a spot.”

I was really tired of hearing his voice. “Yeah, whatever, Toy.”

He looked up from the papers. “Whatever? C'mon, what do you mean? This is our—”

I snatched the papers from his hand and threw them to the floor. “Why'd you do it?”

His lying eyes wandered around. “Do what?”

“So now you're a killer and a liar?”

“Killer? What the hell you talkin' about?”

I locked the car doors then pulled the pistol from up under my tee. “Jalen. That's what I'm talking about.”

Toy kind of laughed.

I snapped at his arrogance and put the gun right on his temple. “Shut up! And you raped Tori too!”

Toy had his hands up and was looking at the pistol I was trying to push through his head. “
L
, c'mon, man. I think you got some bad information or something.”

“Info came from
J
's mouth while he was on his death bed.”

Toy stuttered, “W-w-well, he was lying to you. I know that much. C'mon, get the tool off my head.”

“Shut up, Toy. You had some thugs snatch Tori up, and you gang-raped her then told me where she was when you were sure I would sign with your crooked ass.”

“Rape? I ain't never raped anybody in my life. Now, c'mon. Put the gun down, so we can talk about this shit like real men. We got too much at stake for this here.”

I wasn't in the mood for his cons and pleas. Jalen would-n't lie to me, and Toy looked guilty.

I looked around the lot and made sure it was empty then unlocked the door. “Get out.”

“What?”

“Get out, Toy.”

As Toy stepped out the car, I kept my pistol on him. I walked over to his side of Jalen's ride.

Toy probably saw the fear on my face and tried to get cocky. “Now what? You goin' to shoot me right here? Young'un, you don't have the guts.”

Out of the darkness, a female voice said, “But I do.” I looked through the night to see who it was. It was Katrina. She walked up to Toy. Her face was swollen, and I could see blood dripping from her mouth.

Katrina said, “I bet you and your friends don't rape me or anybody else again.”

Before Toy could say one word, Katrina lifted up her arm and fired two shots from the pistol she was holding. We stood still; looking at him lay in his own foul blood.

Katrina wiped her bloody mouth, spit on Toy then looked at me. “We gonna just let him lay there,
L
?”

Toy was dead. There was no denying that. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I felt better for Tori, Jalen, and Katrina.

I tucked my tool under my tee and took a good look to make sure no one else was around and said to Katrina, “Yeah, why not? I didn't shoot him, and neither did you.”

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First Round Lottery Pick ©copyright 2010 Franklin White

 

 

 

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