Life (48 page)

back his tears, “Mommy, I don’t like it herrrre.” He was trying not

to cry. His little chest just heaved. The only thing I could see was

his father’s face, and a young Black man being subconsciously

trained by the system to put his face up against the wall. I picked

him up in my arms and he latched onto my neck. “Mommy take

me with you.”

“
Mommy surely intends to take you with her,” I reassured him

as I caressed his head.

I looked up to see the two nuns whispering as I approached.

For the first time, I took interest in the other children, and I

noticed that only two children out of about forty were African

American, at least from what I could see.

“
I will be removing my child from this school as of today,” I

said curtly, while fighting to keep the anger out of my voice. Sister

Mary stepped for ward with a look of dismay on her pale face.

239

L i f e

“
Ms. Evans, that wouldn’t be a good idea. Your son is suffer-

ing from hyperactivity along with –”

“
Whaat? My damn son is not suffering from anything, but

white people syndrome. When did our society start giving three-

year old children drugs because they were hyperactive?” I

screeched.

“
And another thing, if my son learned bad behavior it was

from right here. I just heard that little girl curse.” I pointed at the

girl. “And you heard it, too. Why is she not in the corner being

trained on how to put her hands against the walls?”

The nun craned her neck backward with a look on her face

like she smelled something awful, her cheeks flushed red.

“
That’s preposterous,” she scuffed, turning up her long nose at

me.

“
No ma’am, what is preposterous is this school and the way it

is run. Let me remind you of something, I’m a lawyer. If I find out

that this school has a contract with a doctor and he is peddling

drugs for profit outside the guidelines of the requirement of the

AMA, I will personally have both of you placed so far under the

jail, that the devil will be the only one interested in hearing your

prayers.” Silence. Both nuns stared at me as if I were the great

white hope. Marcus retrieved his book bag and the little white girl

with the foul mouth said something to him.

Once Marcus and I were in the car, I placed him in his car seat

and with a moistened thumb, I wiped away the shadow of dry

tears from his handsome face.

“
Marcus, what did that little girl say to you before you left?”

My 3-year-old child bunched his lips together and batted his

eyes looking away from me. A child’s way of pleading the fifth.

“
Mommy isn’t going to spank you.” I prodded, “Tell me.”

“
She said ... she said … fuckin A.”

“
Fucking A?” I repeated my son’s words. “‘Is that what the

nuns heard you say at school?” I asked. Marcus nodded his head

up and down. Just like I figured.

*****

240

L i f e

Life Thugstin’s trial loomed heavily on my mind, most impor-

tantly, the cutthroat lawyers that he had spent all those millions

on. The media labeled his defense team The Dream Team 2, only

I knew better. One day I overheard my boss talking, actually, I was

eavesdropping on my boss while he was in conference. Mr.

Scandels called me into his office to get some case files for a court

proceeding because one of the lawyers had taken ill and I was

assigned to fill in. I lingered at the file cabinet. Once I heard the

name Life Thugstin, I was all ears. After all, he was the father to

my child and the master to my most deepest, darkest secret.

“
With all the fanfare and media attention we’re getting, this

should be a piece of cake, the trial shouldn’t last longer than two

months. He has about as much chance at winning as an ice cube

in hell.” Mark Buckly, the famous trial attorney, was talking to my

boss. Buckly was Life Thugstin’s head attorney. Scandels cut in.

“
I sure would have liked to nail his ass for tax evasion, but

someone in his ring did a good job of organizing the operation.

We think it’s Willie Falcon and his organized crime family.” Tom

Braxon was another famous attorney hired on as part of The

Dream Team 2. His career dated back over four decades. Tom had

not tried a case in nearly three years, but still enjoyed the reputa-

tion as one of the best trial lawyers in the nation. However, like his

partner, Mark Buckly, he was in it for the money. As far as Tom

Braxon was concerned, Life Thugstin was guilty as sin.

“
We’ll put up a good show at the trial,” Mark was saying. “But

by the end of the trial, we’ll make sure that you have your day.”

I listened, not believing what I was hearing. I could not believe

that they would talk so freely in front of me. Maybe it was because

I was a United States Prosecutor, a part of their elite team, or

maybe it was because I was a woman. That day I played the part

of the proverbial fly on the wall.

“
Hope!” Mr. Scandels called my name. I flinched and moved

as I turned away from the file cabinet. A woman knows when it’s

time to take advantage of her charm, especially when she’s in the

company of a room full of men. I gave them my hundred-watt

241

L i f e

smile, the one that Black women invented solely for the benefit of

white men. I saw how they ogled me when I first came into the

office. On the inside I was infuriated, on the outside I had to play

the part that was handed down to me by generations of people

that learned to survive by outwitting the man. It was right then

that I had made the decision that I was going to warn Life

Thugstin.

“
Yes,” I responded to my boss.

“
Are you having trouble finding the Johnson file?” he asked.

“
I have it right here,” I replied as I held the folder up in my

hands. I had also come up on something else of interest, the wit-

ness list of all the people that were going to testify against Life,

including confidential informants. With my heart racing in my

chest, I walked out of the room feeling like a spy behind enemy

lines.

*****

242

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

“
The Ultimate Betrayal”

–
Hope –

On the day of Life Thugstin’s trial, I was still brooding after the

way he treated me when I risked everything to warn him that his

lawyers were going to sell him out. I told myself that I would not

attend the trial, but I could not help myself. The event itself was

a spectacle, with media from all over the world. That was mostly

due to Life’s connection with the drug lord, Willie Falcon.

As I pulled into the cour thouse parking lot, the media sensa-

tion was like a wild frenzy. The young thug, Life Thugstin, turned

drug King Pin, with his aloof air of power and stoic thug appear-

ance was handsome and charismatic. The media loved him.

Somehow they came upon some pictures of him and Willie Falcon

together on a yacht with a beautiful model. The paparazzi in

England and Colombia ran full page articles on how Life Thugstin

was being groomed to take over the throne of the multi-billion

dollar empire at the time of his capture.

What made the case so interesting to the public was that it was

alleged by the media that Thugstin had recruited all women as his

lieutenants. The pictures of Trina, Tomica, Evette and Black Pearl

made the front pages of the USA Today. The case was truly amaz-

ing. The government estimated Life Thugstin’s wealth at over a

hundred million dollars because of his association with the infa-

mous billionaire cocaine baron.

243

L i f e

The Thugstin case, with all its intrigue and mystic, seemed to

take on a life of its own. I illegally parked in one of the prosecu-

tor’s parking spaces. I exited my car and waved through the

throngs of media and ordinary people that just came for the atten-

tion of the hype, including groupies that came to watch what

would one day be labeled the trial of the century.

As soon as I entered the courtroom I took notice of all the

heavy security. I sat in the last row to make sure I was inconspic-

uous as possible. I wore my hair in a different style, I also donned

a pair of Channel glasses. So far so good, no one noticed me.

I waited for the proceeding to begin. Sitting in a spectator’s

seat was a change for me. I tried a few cases in this very same

courtroom, and was more than familiar with the judge, William

Statford. He was on the bench for over thirty years and was known

as a no nonsense judge, that openly displayed no mercy for drug

defendants. It was rumored that his daughter overdosed on hero-

in. My old boss, David Scandels, sat at the prosecutor’s table. Next

to him were his assistant prosecutors, Brian Smith and Susan

Swaltz. The prosecution motioned to have cameras allowed into

the courtroom, but lost. The word in the judicial arena was that

the United States prosecutor, David Scandels, was desperate. His

political ambition ran as high as a seat in the Senate, but time was

running out, and he was getting old. The Life Thugstin trial, and

its connection to the infamous Willie Falcon cartel, would be just

the stepping stone that he needed, once he made a show of defeat-

ing some of the best lawyers in the United States, The Dream

Team 2. America was going to have to applaud his genius, and

thus open the door to his political career.

Across from the prosecutor’s table was The Dream Team 2:

Tom Braxton and Mark Buckly along with a host of assistant

lawyers. There were only two key participants missing, the judge

and the defendant.

On the first day of any criminal trial the anxiety runs high,

like watching two opponents getting ready to battle.

As I waited for Life Thugstin to enter the courtroom I reflect-

244

L i f e

ed back on ever ything that happened the last nine months after

his arrest. Three different branches of federal agencies orchestrat-

ed the arrest, the FBI, DEA and ATF along with the local and

state authorities that raided the Chateau. Inside the authorities

discovered a treasure trove–money, jewelr y and expensive antique

cars. The ironic thing was none of the proper ty was in Life’s name.

It was in the name of a young girl, Annie Bell, who was also

known as Black Pearl. Miraculously, she survived after being shot

during an assassination attempt on Life. She awoke from a coma

a few weeks after she was shot and learned that her three-year-old

son was killed. Federal authorities placed her under arrest in a

three-count indictment.