Trickery & Envy (22 page)

“Ye
s,” the lady said with a fake smile. “Its Batman and Wonder-Woman,” walking past them. After a few more steps the woman a bit afraid said, “Batman is getting a little fat these days. I’m no fool they’re out for more than just candy. Come on Joseph,” she said and picked up her pace moving the little boy along with the help of her hand against his back.

“I don’t feel good about this Vernon
, I’m scared. What if she recognized my voice?”

“Shut the hell up! If she can finger you
, it’s your fault. I told your big head not to open your mouth. I ought to knock you out like I did her.” Just as Vernon balled his hand to hit Tracie he saw Reggie hustling toward them. “Grab those bags!” he said to her.

“I can’t do this! I can’t,” Tracie shouted and t
ook off running.

“You better bring your
butt back here,” Vernon said to her running away and he was a little tickled.

The woman who had just walked pas
t with her child trick-or-treating looked behind her. When she saw Wonder-Woman running towards them she snatched her child’s bag of candy and stretched it out for Wonder-Woman to take. “Here, here, please don’t hurt us,” she pleaded.

The little boy quickly crie
d out, “No mommy, I want my candy. Wonder-Woman has candy! Give it to me mommy!”

Tracie r
an past the woman screamed, “They made me do it!”

“Man we got busted,” Reggie said out of breath and looking around in all directions. “Come on, let’s go!”

Vernon as if he didn’t hear that Reggie said he was being chased by the police went for the bags of food Tracie left behind.

“
Man, forget those bags! I told you I have the police on my trail.”

“Man calm down! Tracie
’s fingerprints are all over these bags. Her scared behind took off her gloves. Besides my dinner is in these bags,” and he picked them up. “Now how the hell are they going to point us out? If the police saw you then dish the damn costume. Between you and Tracie’s scared behinds you need to be caught.”

“Man where she going anyway. You better stop her.”

Vernon spat the toothpick out. “Man she saw you running toward us and got scared. She knows better than to dime us out. Though, her big head did speak when we were in there.”

“Vernon, man, I think they got Richard.
He was talking about raping your sister I told him it would be a foolish act.”

“Man if he touched my sister
its better the police got him because I will obliterate him. And how did you get busted? Did that broad from next door show up?”

Vernon couldn’t believe his plan to rob his sister
’s house was just spoiled.

“
Man, I was putting the microwave in the van when I turn and saw the police sitting at the end of the alley. I just took off and one of them jetted from the car and began chasing me. Somebody must have seen me loading up and called them.”

Reggie after removing the
costume he was wearing over his jeans and blue sweatshirt balled it up. He went and tucked it under a car parked on the street. He and Vernon then began walking down the street as if they were just out for a stroll. Reggie glanced over at Vernon. “Man isn’t you going to ditch that costume,” he said.

Vernon glanced down at himself
. “Man, Tracie got me all messed up running away” and he began removing his costume. He turned down an alley, walked a few feet and then threw his costume in someone’s garbage can.

Reggie then said to Vernon,
“Man, the last I saw your sister she was still out of it. Are you sure you didn’t kill her? She should have come to by now.”

“No
, I didn’t kill her. What am I going to kill my sister for? I just hit her ass too hard. As for Richard, he better not have touched her,” Vernon stressed and now getting angrier.

The squad car
pulling up in front of Vivian’s house brought the neighbors out. Some couldn’t help but take notice because they were giving candy to the kids.

“Oh my God Charles something’s happened,” Jennifer
said after Charles turned down their block. She was making slow progress with radiation treatments and now was dealing with the flu. They were returning from the hospital emergency room where Jennifer was prescribed antibiotics. They originally chalked Jennifer’s having the chills and her constant coughing up as a bad cold. When she started coughing up phlegm and when her temperature didn’t decrease from the 102 degrees it had reached, they sought medical attention.

Jennifer
hopped out of the car as soon as Charles stopped in their driveway. Tissue she had balled in her hand for her coughs she placed to her mouth as she hurried across the lawn to see what happened to her friend.

Jennifer
walked in the already opened door. She stopped by the door, “Vivian,” she called out to her friend sitting on the floor in front of the sofa in a far-away state. She walked on over and kneeled next to her. “What happened to her?” Jennifer said, glancing up at the Officer Grayson. She then looked over at a person wearing a black cape, black pants and black boots. She saw a mask on the carpet and looked confused at it, then coughed a couple times covering her mouth with one hand.

“Get
this rapist out of here,” Officer Grayson said to another officer and moving his head from side to side at Richard.

Jennifer
stunned by what the officer said again covered her mouth, but this time to shield the shock that her friend had been raped.

“Bradford, it’s clear inside
,” Officer Grayson said into his radio. “There was a man inside and he is being taken into custody. Did you get a description of the man you was chasing?”

“
Negative, he got away.”

“Copy that,” Grayson responded.

A tall and bulky looking officer lifted Richard up by one arm to his feet. He then steered him out of the house and to the patrol car out front.

Charles
entered the house and was immediately stopped by the police.

“Who are you, sir
?” Officer Grayson asked, his hand outstretched in Charles direction.

“
Charles. I’m her next door neighbor.” He nodded at Jennifer. “That’s my wife. What happened to her?” he asked and taking in the scene. He then went over next to Jennifer who stood from kneeling by Vivian’s side.

Vivian continued to look downward in a far-off state.

“I don’t know Charles,” Jennifer said concerned and looked back at the officer. “What’s wrong with her? Why won’t she respond to anyone?”

“Ms., she’s probably in the state of shock,” the officer responded.

Officer Bradford returned to the alley and headed toward the patrol car. He saw that Toni was still handcuffed in the back seat.

“He went inside,” Toni
informed the officer through the rolled up window. “Can you please un-cuff me. My woman is in there” he added and tilting his head in the direction of Vivian’s house.

Since his story ha
d checked out so far Officer Bradford opened the door and removed the hand cuffs.

“I wouldn’t normally do this
, but you need to stay calm and behind me,” the officer said.

The
officer placed his hand near his gun and entered through the open black cast iron gate with Toni trailing. He proceeded several more feet and entered the garage. He moved past two vehicles and on into the house.

“Grayson
,” the officer called out.

“Yeah
, in here, Bradford,” his partner responded.

Officer Bradford turned
into the living room with Toni trailing.

“
As I was saying, your friend was being raped as I entered. She’s still in shock,” Officer Grayson said.

“
He didn’t hurt the baby did he,” a now teary eyed Jennifer asked leaning her head into Charles shoulder and just as Toni came into her vision. “Toni?” Jennifer said lifted her head from Charles shoulder and if she wasn’t sure it was him despite looking right at him.

Toni
didn’t respond to Jennifer and moved quickly over to Vivian and knelt by her side.

Jennifer
watching him then realized she may have told something she shouldn’t have. Though, at the moment it didn’t matter as Vivian seemed oblivious to the fumble.

Toni
laid his hand softly on Vivian’s stomach and then his head in her lap. Vivian just looked at his head as if someone had just sat a ball into her lap and she didn’t know what to do with it.

“I’m so sorry baby this has happened to you,” and Toni crie
d into Vivian’s lap.

“Oh
Charles,” an emotional Jennifer said and then began coughing repeatedly. Her legs began to buckle and Charles placed his arm around her waist to stop her falling to the floor.

“I know you care about your friend but
you are sick Jennifer. You need to get this medicine in you that the doctor prescribed. Vivian’s friend and I will take care of her.”

“Grayson, come in,”
was then heard from the two-way radio from another officer.

“Go ahead
with your message.”

“The van has been secured and is on its way to the
auto pound. We’re going to head to the station with the offender.”

“10-4,” Grayson responded.

Charles looked at Toni. “I’m going to walk my wife home and then we’ll use my car to take her to the hospital,” he said.

Toni nodded at him in response.
He then rose and lifted Vivian from the floor sitting her on the sofa. He sat next to her taking Vivian in his arms and laying her head on his shoulder.

“Sir, an ambulance is in route,”
Officer Grayson said.

“If it’s okay we prefer to take her,” Charles said.
“I don’t think Vivian would object to it.”

Officer Grayson
using his lapel radio cancelled the ambulance. He then placed his hands on his hips. “In light of what she’s gone through, we’re probably not going to get any information from her. We’re going to take care of what else needs to be done here and be on our way.”

About fifteen m
inutes later Toni and Charles were helping Vivian out of her house. They waited until the officers cleared out and the block was empty of spectators.

“What happened to her,” an ER nurse asked and assisted with sitting Vivian in a wheel chair.

“She was raped,” Charles said which caused Toni to ball his mouth in fury.

“
Weren’t you here a little while ago?” the nurse quizzed.

“
Yes, I was here with my wife.”

The nurse then
over her shoulder said to an aide, “Were going to need a rape kit. Set up room four, it should be empty,” and the Aide moved to carry out the request. “Are you gentlemen related to her?” the nurse inquired.

“I’m
her boyfriend,” Toni said placing his hands on his hips, which widened his jacket enough to expose muffins size breasts.

The nurse appeared a little surprised
at the size. Toni saw her astonishing expression and embarrassingly crossed his arms. He quickly realized he didn’t put on the spandex t-shirt he usually wore under his shirts when he left home. His routine of doing so had been replaced by his urgency to get to Vivian.

“I’m her next door neighbor. She and my wife are
best friends,” Charles said.

“Ok, if you gentleman don’t mind kindly
moving to the waiting area while we take care of her,” the nurse said and then looked over the information the ER receptionist had taken down.

When
Charles and Toni were out of sight the nurse turned to the receptionist looking flabbergasted. She whispered, “Did you see the size of the boobs on that man?”

The receptionist
moved her head, no.

“My God,” the nurse said
and turned and walked away.

The waiting room was near empty
. Waiting to see the doctor was a young black woman cradling a child and an elderly white couple sitting close to where the circuit television was stationed. It was one reason Charles was glad they lived in the suburbs. They knew the wait to see a doctor wouldn’t be as long if they lived in the city.

“No dagger to you
, but that woman has been through a lot in the last couple of months,” Charles said, and took a seat stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his arms.

“This invasion didn’t have anything to do with her brother
, did it?” Toni inquired and he sat down leaving a seat between them. He leaned over resting his arms on his thighs.

“Man who knows
. Then again, I doubt it. The police did say she was being raped when they entered. I don’t know any one that would rape his sister, or set her up for something like that to happen, despite what’s going on between them.”

“Ye
s that would be disgraceful. I just want you to know that I care a great deal about Vivian.”