Short Stories

Shelton Hurste leaned over the bathroom sink and tried to catch his breath. His phone began to vibrate on the window seal; a text had just come in. “I’m on my way in.”, said the text from his friend and confidant Wilkins. There was a knocking at the door as someone tried to come in the bathroom. “It’s occupied!”, screamed Hurste. He looked in the corner at his briefcase and began to pace back and forth. Five minutes passed and he heard a knocking at the door. “It’s me Shelton, open up.”, said the voice. Shelton opened the door and saw a well-dressed black gentleman in a bowtie. The man rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. 

“Do you have it, Doctor?”, asked Shelton. Wilkins nodded his head and reached in the bag. He pulled out a twenty-ounce bottle with what appeared to be grape soda in it. “I mixed it the way you like; two parts codeine to one part soda.”, said Wilkins. Shelton took the bottle from Wilkins and began to slowly sip it. He leaned against the bathroom wall and began to wipe the sweat from his forehead with a paper towel. 

“I’m sorry I was late. Are you ok Shelton?”, asked Wilkins. Shelton took another sip, looked at Wilkins, and smiled. “I’m alright now. My brain wouldn’t slow down. But I’m ok now.”, responded Shelton. Shelton drank half of the bottle and placed the top back on it. He opened his briefcase and placed the bottle in the briefcase. “Let’s go Doc. I don’t know how much longer they’re going to wait on me.”, said Shelton. Wilkins nodded and the two walked out of the bathroom and down the hallway.

The two approached a giant wooden door and Shelton took a deep breath. “How do I look Doc?”, asked Shelton. “Like a man on a mission.”, replied Wilkins. Shelton opened the door and walked into the large courtroom. The Judge was sitting on the bench and two States Attorneys scowled at him as he walked in. “I take it that you’ve composed yourself Mr. Hurste?”, asked the Judge. Shelton nodded and smiled as he sat next to his client. Shelton Hurste’s client sat next to him in a gray Department of Corrections jumpsuit. Darius Jones was 19 years old and had been offered 120 days in the county boot camp program by the State prior to the trial. He had no criminal background and his family had all intentions of leaving it that way. Jones’s uncle sat in the back of the court and calmly glared ahead.

“Mr. Hurste are you alright?”, asked Darius. “Of course. Why do you ask?”, replied Hurste. “Well, you sort of looked a little nervous when you walked out of here.”, said Darius with a demoralized look of his own. “Well, don’t worry. I just had to gather my thoughts.”, said Shelton as he scanned over some papers.

Hurste looked over at the officer on the witness stand and noticed a pair of reading glasses in his shirt pocket. “Alright everyone we shall continue. The State tendered the witness and now it is time for a cross-examination by the Defense. Mr. Hurste you may begin.”, said the Judge.

“Thank you, Your Honor.”, said Shelton. “Officer Pagliano, approximately how far away from Mr. Jones were you when you saw the alleged drug transaction take place?”, he asked. “I was approximately 1 ½ blocks away.”, replied Officer Pagliano. Shelton nodded. “Officer Pagliano were you in a vehicle or on foot at that time?”, Shelton asked. “I was in a vehicle.”, Officer Pagliano responded.

Shelton paced back and forth and chewed on the end of an ink pen. “Now where were you positioned in this vehicle?”, asked Shelton. “I was in the back passenger seat of the vehicle.”, answered Officer Pagliano. “And what time of day was it, Officer Pagliano?”, asked Shelton. It was pretty dark, the streetlights were on.”, said Officer Pagliano as he sat up in his seat. “No, Officer Pagliano I want to know the exact time that you saw Mr. Jones.”, asked Shelton.

"Well, I don’t remember the exact time.”, answered Pagliano. “Is there anything that would refresh your memory Officer Pagliano?”, Shelton asked as he paced across the courtroom floor. “I guess my report.”, responded Officer Pagliano. Shelton picked up a copy of the police report. The State nodded in approval for it to be used and the Judge did as well. Shelton approached Officer Pagliano and gave him the Police Report.

Officer Pagliano removed his glasses from his shirt pocket and put them on. He held up the Police Report and scanned over it. “It was 9:13 p.m. when I made my initial observation.”, said Officer Pagliano. “Thank you, Officer Pagliano.”, said Shelton. “I noticed that you wear glasses Officer. Are those prescriptions?” , said Shelton. “Objection!”, yelled the States Attorney. “Overruled.”, said the Judge in a calm manner as he leaned back in his chair. “Answer the question, Officer.”, said the Judge to Officer Pagliano.

“Yes, they are prescription.”, responded Officer Pagliano. “On the night of the incident in question did you have your glasses on Officer Pagliano?”, asked Shelton. “I don’t recall.”, said Officer Pagliano with a slight stutter. “On the night of the incident in question what did you see take place?”, asked Shelton. Officer Pagliano unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and said, “I saw Defendant Jones shake hands with a male with his right hand and recover money with his left hand.” 

“And you saw this at night, from the backseat of a car, 1 ½ blocks away?”, asked Shelton. “Yes.”, replied Officer Pagliano. “Do you know what the denominations of the bills were Officer Pagliano.”, asked Shelton. “No.”, responded Officer Pagliano. “Now when you approached Mr. Jones what did he do?”, asked Shelton. “Nothing he backed up against the wall and stood there.”, responded Officer Pagliano.

Shelton looked to the back of the courtroom and saw Wilkins smiling. “Now, Officer Pagliano what did the male with Mr. Jones do?”, asked Shelton. “He spit an object to the ground that was later recovered and tested positive for heroin.”, answered Officer Pagliano. “Now did you see Mr. Jones place said object in the man’s mouth?”, asked Shelton. “No.”, replied Officer Pagliano. “Did the said object test positive for any fingerprints from Mr. Jones.”, asked Shelton. “No. we were unable to get any prints from the object.”, answered Officer Pagliano.

Shelton walked over to the table and picked up some papers. He shifted through the papers and turned to face Officer Pagliano. “Officer Pagliano, do you know the street value of the drugs that you found that night?”, asked Shelton. “I believe that it was approximately $10.”, he replied. “Did Mr. Jones have any money on him when you searched him after this incident.”, asked Shelton. “Yes.”, replied Officer Pagliano. “Do you recall the denominations of those bills?”, asked Shelton. “No.”, answered Officer Pagliano. “Did Mr. Jones have any drugs on him when you searched him?”, asked Shelton. “No.”, responded Officer Pagliano. 

“No further questions your honor.”, Shelton said to the Judge. He turned his back to the Judge and winked at the States Attorneys as he walked by. “Does the state wish to re-direct?”, asked the Judge. The two attorneys conversed amongst themselves and said no. “Mr. Hurste are you prepared to make your closing argument?”, asked the Judge. “Yes sir.”, replied Shelton.

The Judge stretched his arm out for Shelton to begin speaking. “Your Honor this is a case where Officer Pagliano alleges, he saw something pass between two people. He did not see what object was passed or the amount of currency that it was passed for. When Officer Pagliano approached Mr. Jones the other gentleman spit something on the ground that later tested positive for heroin. The object did not have my client’s fingerprints on it. Also, Your Honor my client did not have any drugs on him and Officer Pagliano doesn’t even recall if my client had any bills on him that valued $10. Finally, he alleges that he saw this entire transaction take place from the backseat of a vehicle 1 ½ blocks away and doesn’t recall if he was wearing his glasses. However, he could not read from a piece of paper that was directly in front of his face without the aid of his glasses. Your honor the State has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and we find it appropriate that Mr. Jones be deemed Not Guilty.”

‘Thank you, Mr. Hurste.”, said the Judge. “State you may begin.”, he then said. Hurste took a seat next to his client as the State stumbled through its closing argument. The two young States Attorneys looked at each other in disappointment after giving their closing argument. The Judge rubbed his eyes and leaned forward to give his verdict, “Both the State and the Defense have given good arguments today. However, Officer Pagliano’s position in the vehicle plus his lapse in memory as to whether he wore his glasses is significant. That, as well as his finding no drugs on Mr. Jones, no fingerprints on the object that tested positive for heroin, and no recollection of the denomination of the bills found on Mr. Jones, influenced my decision. Mr. Jones, I want you to know that I believe that you are far from innocent but based on the law I must find you not guilty.”

“Thank you, sir.”, said Shelton to the Judge. The Judge got up and walked to his chambers. “They’ll release you sometime today.”, said Shelton to Darius as he patted him on the back. Shelton gathered his materials and walked out of the courtroom with Dr. Wilkins. When they walked out of the courtroom Jones’ uncle was standing against the wall smiling and clapping his hands as Hurste and Wilkins approached him. “Damn good job Mr. Hurste.”, he said as he reached in his pocket and removed a roll of $100 bills. “A $5000 bonus like we agreed on for you getting my nephew out. My sister would have killed me if her baby went to prison.”, said the man. 

Hurste took the money from the man and tossed it to Wilkins. “If you want my advice you should let him, go to school. He’s not built for this.”, said Shelton. Shelton and Dr. Wilkins turned and began to walk away. “Hey Doc, I always wanted to know something; what type of doctor are you?”, the man asked Dr. Wilkins. Wilkins turned and smiled at him as he said, “I have a Ph.D. in theology. I was ordained years ago, young man.” He turned back around and continued walking. The man stood there and shook his head and thought, “Hell, even criminals need a little bit of God’s power on their side." 

“The streets ain’t the same no more. Back in the day street niggas kept business in the streets. Any problems that came from the street were handled in the streets. But now there’s this influx of new niggas; they shoot at muthafuckas and then testify in court. These are the type of muthafuckas who want the benefits of the streets without any detriment. They want money, cars, and bitches, but don’t aren’t man enough to deal with jail and death. There’s a good and bad side to all of this shit. I know that I’m no angel, and I never claimed to be. But I do understand this street shit. I’ve made too much money doing wrong to think that I’d never have to do any time for it or even die because of the shit I’ve done. However, I’m not taking any time because some punk ass nigga with Escobar Ambitions and bitch-nigga standards decides to snitch on me. You come recommended to me from the Haitians downstate. They say you’re discreet and intelligent. What can you do for me?” Simeon Carver sat in Shelton Hurst’s office and explained his criminal philosophy. Hurst sat there and sipped on a glass of codeine and lemon-lime soda while scoffing at the Haitians downstate recommending his services. 

Simeon Carver was a 40-year-old drug dealer from the East Side of Chicago. He had sold drugs since he was 10 years old and had seen every level of the game. Now in the twilight of his career an up-and-coming drug dealer, Avery Smith, had offered to aid the State in a case against him. Avery had even gone so far as to have his grandmother on TV speaking about how glad she was that her grandson helped clean up the neighborhood. What no one outside of the neighborhood knew was that his grandmother was the person who made all his drug deliveries. “I saw the headlines Mr. Carver. The police and States Attorneys are making this guy out to be a champion for the hood who’s attempting to put you, evil drug dealers, in your place. If we take this case to trial there is no way you can win.”, said Shelton. “So, what you’re saying is that I’m fucked?”, asked Simeon. Shelton shook his head and took another sip of his concoction. “No, I’m just saying that this matter needs to be handled prior to trial.”, responded Shelton. “In order to win your case, the first thing I’ll need is your payment of $50,000 and two kilograms of heroin.”, said Shelton. Simeon laughed and looked in amazement. “I can understand the 50 g’s, but heroin?”, he asked. “Don’t bother yourself with the small details Mr. Carver. Leave this in the hands of professionals.”, said Shelton with a smile. 

Simeon stood up and shook Shelton’s hand. He assured him that he would have all the items he required the next day and that they would be available for pickup by Dr. Wilkins. Dr. Wilkins stepped into Shelton’s office after Mr. Carver left. “So, I take it that you’re putting together some devious plan Shelton?”, asked Dr. Wilkins. Shelton laughed as he sat down at his drum set. “We are in a peculiar situation Doc. Mr. Carver has a desire to keep his honor and clear his name at the same time. So, I developed a plan that will put the State, their witness, and the police in a compromising situation. Dr. Wilkins, I need you to make a pickup from Mr. Carver tomorrow. Also, have Plow and Jason come by tomorrow. I’ll require their assistance.” Shelton began to play his drums and zoned out as Dr. Wilkins left the office. As Wilkins left the office a slender black woman in her mid-20s approached him. “Good day to you Ms. Henderson.”, he said. “Hello Doctor Reverend”, she said with a smile. “I see Shelton is at it with those drums again. I guess it won’t be too much of a problem since the building is basically empty for the night. Does he even care that beating those drums disrupts everyone else’s focus?”, she asked. “I doubt he even takes the time to consider how inconsiderate he can be at times.”, answered Dr. Wilkins with a chuckle. “Doc how is it that someone like you can work with Shelton? You’re a veteran of the Marines, a doctor, and a Reverend. Yet, you work for a slimy lawyer.”, asked Ms. Henderson with a serious face. “Ms. Jones, with all my accolades no one but Shelton was willing to help me in my time of need. For that, I will be forever grateful. Believe me, there is much more to him than he allows the world to see.”, responded Dr. Wilkins. Ms. Henderson shrugged her shoulders as she and Dr. Wilkins said goodnight to each other and got in their cars. 

What very few people knew was that Dr. Wilkins was one of Shelton’s first clients. In Shelton’s first year out of law school, Dr. Wilkins believed himself to be a happily married man. His wife of 10 years was unable to have children, but the two worked around it and built what Dr. Wilkins and the rest of the world believed to be a happy marriage. One night Dr. Wilkins decided to come home early from work to surprise his wife and take her out. When he entered the home, he heard moaning upstairs and walked up the stairs to investigate. When he entered the room, he saw his wife in bed with another woman whose head was between her legs. His wife looked up and made eye contact with him. She jumped away from the lady who then looked up and saw Dr. Wilkins standing in the doorway. In a fit of rage, Dr. Wilkins rushed toward the bed. But before he could strike the unknown woman grabbed a pair of scissors from the nightstand and lunged at Dr. Wilkins. She stabbed him in the shoulder and arm five times before he had a chance to respond.  Dr. Wilkins wrestled the woman to the ground and punched her in the head twice. Due to Dr. Wilkins massive 6’4 290 lb. stature, the blows proved to be fatal. His wife jumped on his back and began to hit him repeatedly. Instinctively he flung her off him. Her head hit the corner of the nightstand and killed her instantly. Dr. Wilkins turned around to check on her. He held her and eventually passed out from blood loss. When Wilkins awoke, he was handcuffed to a hospital bed. He was informed that he had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. 

The newspapers deemed him the “Psychotic Reverend Marine who could not deal with his wife leaving him.” He sat in the county jail for a year awaiting his trial. He had a Public Defender who appeared to be disinterested in his case. One day he overheard some of the inmates talking about a young attorney who was taking any case for any payment and was winning. This was a good deal for Dr. Wilkins because he had nothing to offer, and apparently, nothing to lose. He reached out to a young Shelton Hurste who took the case for free and managed to win the case for Dr. Wilkins by arguing that the deaths of the two women were the results of self-defense. Because he was a man who believed in paying off debts Dr. Wilkins agreed to work for Shelton and even managed to overlook his addiction to codeine and strippers, although both went against his religious beliefs. However, Dr. Wilkins believed that if Shelton was good enough for God to send to his aid, then he had no justification to question his activities. 

A few weeks later Plow called Hurste from her cell phone. “Yeah, him and the old lady just got in the van. They’re about to pull off. Yeah, man I put it all in there. Don’t forget to take care of me later now. I trust you, Shelton.”, said Plow. Plow was a former homecoming queen and honor student who showed great promise until her high school sweetheart introduced her to heroin. Since then, her life had been a cycle of heroin, prostitution, and jail. However, she was slightly older than Shelton and at one time he had a crush on her. Now she worked as his unofficial investigator. She had the ability to get into places and find out things that no one else could.  Avery Smith sat in the passenger side seat of the old van as his grandmother drove. “Yeah, granny we won’t have to make these drives anymore after Simeon’s ass goes to jail. You’re gonna have a chauffeur and get the fuck up out of this neighborhood.”, said Avery. The grandmother smiled as she sat at the light. 

 “Shelton, so you really expect me to do this?”, asked Jason. “Yeah muthafucka, you took the money, now do the work.” Jason closed the throwaway flip phone and threw it out the car window. He took a deep breath and put on his seat belt. He saw a van coming through the light with an old lady driving. Jason sped through the light and hit the driver side door at about 50 miles per hour. He hit the van so hard that it rocked to the passenger side before slamming back on the ground. Seeing the accident Plow immediately called 911 and reported the accident.  The police arrived on the scene to see a semi-conscious Jason. Avery crept out of the vehicle as the police arrived on the scene and his grandmother looked on in fear. The police approached the vehicle and assessed the situation. “There’s a baby in the back!”, screamed Plow from the crowd. The police opened the back door and saw two packages that were busted open and spread over the back of the van. To the officers, the packages appeared to be white heroin. They placed the old woman and Avery into custody while they searched the rest of the vehicle. Under the passenger’s seat, they discovered more heroin. The two were taken to the local police station and charged. Jason sat there with a broken nose and looked on in amazement. An officer approached him and said, “No officers saw anything and we have bigger shit on our plate now. Tow this piece of shit car out of here and drive more safely next time.” The officer walked away, and Jason looked as a tow truck hooked his car up. 

The next day Shelton received a phone call from a State’s Attorney. They informed him that they would be dropping the charges against Simeon. Shelton said thank you sarcastically and the State’s Attorney slammed the phone on the other end. Dr. Wilkins walked into the office and tossed a new bottle of codeine to Shelton. Shelton caught the bottle and placed it on his desk. “Good news I presume?”, asked Dr. Wilkins. “Great news, the charges against Simeon were dropped.”, replied Shelton. Dr, Wilkins looked in amazement at Shelton and asked, “How?” 

Shelton began to explain, “Well Simeon refused to snitch. He said he’d rather serve his time than stoop to Avery’s level. So, I had to find a way to discredit Avery before we made it to trial without having any fingers pointed toward Simeon. I had Plow stakeout Avery’s home for a few weeks. They thought she was just another cluck and didn’t pay her any attention. She figured out when they made their drops and that they always put the dope in the vehicle the night before. I gave her 1 ½ kilos of the drugs Simeon gave me so that she could break in the van and plant it under the seats. I’ll use the other half to pay Plow with every now and again. Next, I told her to cut long lines along the bottom of the packages so that any major movement would make the drugs spill. Also, I told her to do this so Avery’s dumb ass wouldn’t notice. I figured he had gotten comfortable since Simeon wasn’t moving anything and that he would just check to make sure that the drugs were still in the van. Then I had Jason hit the fucking van as hard as he could with his old ass car. I gave him $5,000 to do it, well worth the pay. Then Plow simply called the police and said there was a baby in the back of the van. The rest simply worked itself out. The State’s witness lost his credibility, Simeon didn’t have to snitch, and I’ve eliminated Simeon’s competition for the foreseeable future.” Dr. Wilkins shook his head and stood up from his seat. He smiled as he walked out of the office and Shelton poured some codeine into a glass. “He’s a pure genius, I just don’t know if he’s pure evil or pure good.”, said Dr. Wilkins as he closed the door. 

As the pastor said a prayer over the casket Daniel Hollis, Jr. and Kevin Hollis stared at each other from opposite sides of the casket. There was light rainfall, and the sky was gray. Daniel Jr. stood next to his mother, who held his one-year-old brother and the hand of his six-year-old sister. Daniel Jr. was 19 years old and a Seminary student. His father had encouraged him to engage in activities outside of the family business. His mother’s father was a pastor, so he decided to follow in the footsteps of her family. However, you can only avoid seeing violence for so long when you’re a Hollis. The pastor finished speaking and the casket was lowered to the ground. Family members and friends threw flowers on the casket as it descended into the Earth. 

JJ walked around the grave to the other side to hug his brother’s wife Victoria, and speak with his niece and nephews. Kevin and Jeremy walked off as Jeremy cut and lit a cigar. “You’re smoking now?”, asked Kevin. Jeremy looked at Kevin and shook his head. “We all can’t remain psychopathically cool at all times.”, answered Kevin. Kevin gave a slight smile and said, “It’s all business bro. When you realize that it’s all business your life will become much easier.” 

Meanwhile, JJ was speaking to Victoria. “How are you holding up sis-in-law?”, asked JJ. Victoria shook her head from side to side as tears flowed down her face. Daniel Jr. looked down at his sister and said, “Olivia take ma and Michael to the limo for me.” Olivia obliged by holding her mother’s hand and pulling her towards the limo. “That’s a strong little girl.”, said JJ. “Yes, she is. I wonder if she would be as strong if she fully grasped what was going on.”, replied Daniel Jr. “We had to bury my father with a closed casket. The scoundrels that took his life did not have the decency to leave his face intact. My mother had to say farewell to her husband of 20 years through a picture. My sister will not remember his face and my brother will only know him as a myth.”, said Daniel Jr.

 “Now, my father never wanted me to engage in the hellacious activities of our family and neither did I. However, this is the life that you and my father chose to deeply submerge yourselves into. My question to you Uncle JJ is: What will you do to avenge my father and your younger brother?”, asked Daniel Jr. “Well DJ this is a delicate matter. Handling it the wrong way could kick off a war in the city. Besides, I thought you believed in turning the other cheek and stuff?”, said JJ. “I do not care about this city and your soul is already damned!”, screamed DJ. He turned and walked to the limo where his mother, sister, and brother were waiting. 

Kevin walked up behind JJ as JJ watched the limo pull off. “Is little Jesus angry?”, asked Kevin in a smug manner. “This shit ain’t funny Kev. His lil ass is pissed and a lot of people are going to expect us to stack up some dead bodies because they believe the Mexicans killed my brother.”, said JJ. Kevin strolled through his phone calmly and looked back up at JJ. “Actually, cuz this is not a complicated matter. We should tell all the major people in the family the truth; D was a sneaky little bitch, and we stretched his ass out. We should also tell his son.”, replied Kevin. Jeremy walked up to join his cousin and brother. “You know you talk tough. Especially since you didn’t have to make the decision to kill your own brother.”, said JJ as he turned to look at Kevin. Kevin put his cell phone in his pocket, turned to JJ and said, “No, I didn’t have to make that decision. But I was prepared to shoot my brother in the face just like I shot yours in the face.” JJ stared at Kevin briefly and walked away. “So, you just gonna say that shit like I ain’t even here?”, asked Jeremy .

Months passed by and the Hollis’ flourished like never before. They had JJ’s stern leadership, Kevin’s cunning, and the brute violence of Jeremy. Kevin lay in his bed early one morning and heard the creaking of footsteps across the wooden floor of his living room. He reached under his pillow and pulled the hammer back on his gun. Kevin looked at the mirror he had positioned next to his bed so that he could see anyone entering his room. In the doorway stood a naked woman in heels, a bag of food, and a smile on her face. “You know, one of these days I’m afraid you’re going to shoot someone.”, said Meka as she laughed and jumped on the bed with Kevin. Kevin slowly released the hammer and rolled over on his back as Meka crawled on top of him.

 “Good morning baby. I’ve brought you breakfast and ass. Which do you want first?”, said Meka as she lay on top of Kevin. Kevin and Meka had begun dating shortly after they met through Kevin’s cousin Sage. Kevin had always been a very secretive person and did not want anyone to know that he was dating Meka; not because he was ashamed of her but for her own safety. “Did anyone see you come in?”, asked Kevin. Meka let out a sigh of disgust and rolled off Kevin. She got up and placed the food on the nightstand. “No James Bond. No one saw me come in.”, she said as she kicked off her heels.  Kevin heard the attitude in her voice and asked her to get in the bed. He pulled back the covers and Meka got in the bed with him and smiled. “Listen, this shit is serious out here. There are a lot of people who would do horrible things to you just because you fuck with me. You must be more careful.”, said Kevin 

“Oh please, I am not that important. You are just paranoid.”, said Meka. “Yeah, maybe I am. But paranoid people rarely get killed or go to jail.”, replied Kevin. “Anyway, how is school going?”, asked Kevin. “Cool. I present my dissertation in a few weeks and then I can decide if I want to get my PhD or not.”, replied Meka. “Hmm, a Doctor and a lawyer. I like the way that sounds.”, said Kevin with a smile. Meka looked around the room with a concerned face. “Why is this place so empty?”, she asked. “I told you, I want to hear if anyone tries to creep on me. The echoes give everyone away.”, replied Kevin. Meka shook her head as she laid it on Kevin’s chest. “You don’t even have a TV. What type of childhood did you have? Did you even play video games?”, asked Meka. Kevin laughed as he rubbed her hair. “Yeah, pops bought that shit. But Jeremy mostly played that shit. I was either in school, shooting people, or bagging up drugs.”, replied Kevin. Meka threw back the covers and got back on top of Kevin. “So you’ve always been a serious tight ass. You don’t smoke, you rarely drink, and you don’t watch TV, or play video games. What is the great Kevin Hollis’ one sin?”, asked Meka. Kevin smiled as he pulled Meka’s face closer to his and said, “You.” 

JJ sat in his office reading a newspaper as the door was bust open. He looked up to see his nephew DJ standing at the door clad in all black and a clerical collar. JJ’s secretary rushed in and said, “Mr. Hollis I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen.” JJ waived his secretary away and pointed to a seat for DJ. DJ closed the door behind him and sat down. “What’s the deal nephew?”, asked JJ. “Do not patronize me uncle, you know why I am here. The associates of those who killed my father still live and you have yet to respond. Why is that?”, said DJ. JJ put down his newspaper and looked at his nephew. “I told you JJ. For the sake of peace, we have to let this slide. Your father killed them, and they killed your father. What are we going to war over?”, replied JJ. 

DJ got out of his seat and walked to the window behind his uncle’s seat. “My mother cries herself to sleep every night and my sister doesn’t understand why. My family continues to make money as if nothing happened. How am I supposed to look at this?”, said DJ. Before JJ could respond DJ picked up a mail opener and held it to JJ’s throat. “What happened uncle? I talked to our connections at the police department. .50 caliber bullets were used to kill those Mexicans. My father only carried 9 millimeters. What are you covering up?”, asked DJ. 

JJ took a deep breath and said, “Calm down DJ and sit down so we can talk about this. You’re mad and not being logical.”. DJ pressed the mail opener deeper into his uncle’s throat until blood started to pour down.  “Don’t lie to me. I will kill you!”, screamed DJ. “Ok. It was discovered that your father was about to work a deal with the Mexicans and have Kevin and Jeremy killed. Kevin and Jeremy ambushed your father and the Mexicans at a meeting. They even killed your cousin. I told them to wait until I got out so I could see what was going on. I covered the shit up to avoid a war in the family and let the Mexicans think that your father and Omar killed each other.”, said JJ.

DJ removed the knife from his uncle and took a step back. “They looked me in the face after the funeral as if nothing had happened. They even had the audacity to show up at the funeral and act as if they were concerned. How shall we handle this?”, asked DJ. JJ caught his breath and stood up. He pulled out a handkerchief from the inside of his suit pocket and wiped the blood from his neck. “We can’t just kill Kevin and Jeremy. Kevin handles all the family’s legal matters and Jeremy is in control of most of our soldiers. An internal war would split the family in half and allow other groups to take control from us. Think this out DJ.”, said JJ. “I do not give a damn about the illegal activities of this family. I care about my mother, my brother, my sister, and my dead father!”, screamed DJ.

 JJ wiped the sweat from his forehead and threw the handkerchief on his desk. “What do you want DJ?”, he asked. DJ threw the mail opener on the desk and walked towards the door to the office. ‘I want Kevin and Jeremy without your interference.”, said DJ. JJ looked at DJ and saw his brother. JJ had made the decision to have his own brother killed and could not bear to do the same to his nephew. “You can have them both. But wait until the celebration of my father’s birthday next week. Don’t do anything before then.”, said JJ. DJ nodded in approval and exited the office. 

“Kevin would you please stop looking around. You’re making yourself look suspicious.”, said Meka. “Well, I’m sorry. You have us sitting in the middle of this restaurant and anything could happen.”, replied Kevin. Meka smiled and took a sip of her wine. “Nothing is going to happen, dear. We’re just a couple out at dinner.” After weeks of badgering Meka had finally convinced Kevin to take her out to dinner. She was tired of their secret nights and wanted to have a real date. Kevin, finally gave in because he felt as if Meka thought that he was trying to hide her. He had no intentions of hiding her but simply protecting her.  

Kevin eventually relaxed as he and Meka laughed and ate dinner. However, there were eyes peering at them from the second floor of the restaurant. DJ was out to dinner with two of his seminary school classmates when he saw Kevin and the woman that was unknown to him. He had never known Kevin to smile too much or show any real emotion at all. As Meka and Kevin laughed DJ saw his way to get even with Kevin. 

As time passed DJ barely paid attention to the banter of his classmates. DJ watched Meka and Kevin get up from the table and walk towards the exit. “I apologize, gentlemen, I must excuse myself. An urgent matter has come up.”, said DJ as he quickly left the table. He rushed down the stairs and followed quickly but silently behind the couple. The two exited the door and walked towards the valets. DJ beckoned for a waiter, gave him his ticket, and a $100 bill, and told him to get his car while he used the restroom. The waiter quickly did the job. DJ slowly slid out the front door so that he could hear Meka and Kevin. “Are you coming over tonight?”, asked Kevin. “Of course. I just need to pick up your gift from my house.”, replies Meka. “Do you want me to go with you?”, asked Kevin. “No, I’ll be ok. Go and get comfortable. I’ll be right over.”, said Meka. 

Kevin’s car came first and he got in the vehicle and drove off. After Kevin drove off DJ walked up to Meka. “Good evening, ma’am.”, he said to her. “Good evening, Father.”, she replied. Both of their vehicles pulled up simultaneously. Meka entered her vehicle and DJ entered his. Meka pulled off and began to drive towards her house. DJ followed her but made sure to stay a good distance behind her to not draw attention. After about a twenty-minute drive Meka pulled in front of a small single level house in a nice middle-class neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. DJ parked on the other side of the street a few cars behind Meka. 

Meka exited her vehicle and smiled as she walked towards her home. She opened the door, entered her home, and closed the door behind herself. A few seconds later the lights in the house came on and DJ could see her silhouette. DJ reached in his arm rest and pulled out a blue steel .38 special. He placed the gun in his pocket and exited the vehicle. Inside the house Meka held up a brand-new video game system that was still in its packaging and looked at a few videogames she had bought and laid them on her couch. “Kevin is going to love this.”, she thought as she smiled. Suddenly she heard a loud sound at her front door, and she dropped the game. She turned to see the Preacher from the restaurant standing there and pointing a gun at her. “Do not scream you whore.”, he said. He quickly moved towards her and hit her in the head with the gun. She blacked out as she hit the floor. 

When Meka came to she was naked. Her arms were tied behind her and her legs were tied to the chair. Her mouth was gagged and her head hurt. She could feel blood trickling down the side of her face where she had been struck. The Preacher sat in front of her on her ottoman rocking back and forth as he held his gun. “You’ve finally awakened.”, he said. Meka peered at him as tears started to roll down her face. “No, my child. Do not cry. There is a chance that you can leave here today. All you must do is tell me where Kevin lives.”, said DJ. Meka looked away and did not attempt to say anything. DJ walked up to Meka and slowly massaged her left breast as he closed his eyes and pointed his face towards the ceiling. “I never thought the great Kevin Hollis would show a moment of weakness or happiness with anyone. But you are a tempting creature. I personally have never partaken, but you could make me question my vows. Now I am going to remove your gag and I do not want you to scream. Do you understand me?”, said DJ. Meka nodded her head and DJ removed the gag. 

“Now tell me where Kevin lives and I will untie you and walk out of here.”, said DJ. “I don’t know where he lives. I was his escort for the night. I’m supposed to meet him at a hotel downtown.”, replied Meka. DJ stepped back and backhanded Meka across her face. “Do not lie to me whore! I heard your conversation with him. You’re more than his escort.”, screamed DJ. Meka cried as her face throbbed from being struck. “How about we call Kevin and see what he has to say.”, said DJ. DJ picked up Meka’s purse and dumped out all the material in it. He looked on the floor and saw a cell phone. DJ picked the phone up and scrolled through Meka’s “Contacts” list. “Here’s Kevin.”, said DJ.  

DJ dialed Kevin’s number and held the phone up to his ear. “What’s up baby, you downstairs?”, asked Kevin as he picked up the phone. “No cousin, she is far from downstairs.”, said DJ. Kevin sat up in his bed and said, “Who is this?”. DJ smiled at the sense of urgency he heard in Kevin’s voice. Something he doubted anyone had ever heard. “It’s the son of the man you killed. Uncle JJ told me how you and Jeremy killed my father. Now it’s time for you to pay your debt.”, said DJ. “Listen you religious little piece of shit. I don’t know what the fuck JJ told your ass, but I’m willing to bet it is either a lie or half of the fucking truth!”, screamed Kevin. 

“Oh, please calm down cousin. Are you telling me that you did not kill my father?”, asked DJ. “Yeah, I killed your father. But it was business. Your father understood that. You’re making this shit personal.”, replied Kevin. “Well how am I supposed to take it when you shoot my father’s face off Kevin.”, asked DJ. “You know what, speak to your whore.”, said DJ.

DJ held the phone up to Meka’s ear and she slowly whimpered out, “Kevin, baby, I love you.” DJ threw the phone on the floor as Kevin screamed Meka’s name on the other end of the phone. DJ walked over to the couch and picked a pillow up, turned, and walked back towards Meka. Meka closed her eyes and pointed her head toward the floor. DJ placed the pillow over her face and two bullets through the pillow and into Meka’s face. 

Kevin heard the two muzzled gunshots through the phone as he screamed. DJ walked to the front door and exited it, making sure to close the door behind him. Kevin felt a rage that he had never felt before and grabbed his car keys. He ran to the elevator and went down to his truck. Kevin drove full speed down the expressway to the south suburbs. He pulled in front of an all-white mini-mansion that had the lights on inside. Kevin calmly walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Victoria answered the door. “Kevin, what’s wrong? Why are you here so late?”, asked Victoria. Kevin quickly pulled a switchblade from his pocket and stabbed Victoria in her left temple. Before she could fall Kevin rushed to catch her body. He pushed the body inside, closed the door behind him, and dropped the body on the floor. 

 Kevin walked into the kitchen and opened the oven. He turned the oven on and turned to walk upstairs. At the top of the stairs, he was met by his young cousin Olivia. She ran up and hugged him. “Hi Cousin Kevin.”, she said with a smile as she looked up at him. Kevin looked down at her with a blank expression. 

He placed his hands on her cheeks and quickly snapped her neck, killing her instantly. Kevin tossed her body down the stairs as if it were a bag of laundry. He made his way down the hall until he came to a door that had “Michael” spelled out on it in blue wooden blocks. Kevin entered the room and saw Michael sleeping in his cradle. He walked up to baby and placed his hand over Michael’s nose and mouth. The baby kicked and attempted to cry for a moment, but then he stopped moving. Kevin picked the baby up, took him into the hallway, and threw him over the banister down to the first floor.  

Kevin walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. He looked around and saw a bottle of oven cleaner. Kevin grabbed the bottle and placed it into the microwave. He set the microwave for 5 minutes and exited the house. As Kevin approached the expressway in his truck he heard a loud explosion and saw flames in his rearview mirror. He got back on the expressway and drove towards his condo.  

Sage, JJ, Jeremy, and one of JJ’s bodyguards sat around JJ’s office laughing and drinking. The three cousins laughed as they reminisced about stories of their childhood. JJ’s phone rang and he saw that it was DJ calling him. “Let me take this.”, he said. JJ walked to the corner of his large office and answered the phone. “What’s up nephew?”, he said. ’They’re all dead. My mother, Olivia, and Michael!”, cried DJ. “What the fuck do you mean?”, asked JJ. “I killed his whore, and my family was found burned in our home.”, said DJ as he continued to cry. “Who?”, screamed JJ. “Kevin!”, replied DJ. 

Jeremy paid no attention to his cousin’s screaming; it was nothing new. He picked up Sage’s glass and walked to the bar to refill both of their glasses. “What do you want cuz?”, Kevin asked Sage. “Whatever you’re drinking.”, she replied. JJ beckoned for his bodyguard to come to him. The bodyguard stood up and walked to him. “Kill Jeremy’s ass now!”, JJ said in a stern, but low voice. The bodyguard nodded his head and walked towards Jeremy, who had his back turned to everyone else in the room. Sage watched wondering what was going on. As the bodyguard reached inside of his suit jack and pulled out a gun Sage removed a fully automatic handgun from her purse and emptied the clip in the bodyguard. Jeremy dropped the glasses and turned around to look at the dead bodyguard and Sage holding her gun. JJ and Jeremy made eye contact, and both reached inside their suit jackets for their pistols. Jeremy got his gun out first and started firing at JJ as JJ exited the room through a side door. “Come on Sage, we gotta get the fuck outta here.”

 Sage and Jeremy ran out of the office and got into Jeremy’s truck. Jeremy pulled off at full speed and called his brother. The phone rang and rang, but no one answered. “Oh, shit Sage, Kev ain’t picking up.”, said Jeremy. “What the fuck! JJ just tried to have you killed.”, screamed Sage. Jeremy called his brother one more time and this time Kevin picked up. “Hello?”, an obviously drunken voice said on the phone. “Kev, is this you? Where the fuck are you?”, asked Jeremy. “At the crib.”, replied Kevin. “Me and Sage are on our way there. JJ just tried to have me killed!”, screamed Jeremy. The two hung up and Jeremy continued to speed towards his brother’s condo. 

When Sage and Jeremy entered Kevin’s condo all of the lights were off and Kevin could be seen sitting at his desk as the moonlight shined in through the window. “Shit is crazy bro. What the fuck is going on?”, asked Jeremy. Sage slowly walked up to Kevin and could tell that he was drunk as a bottle of unidentifiable alcohol rested on the floor next to him. “What happened you ask?”, said Kevin as he took a swig from the glass. “The beginning of a whole heap of shit.”, said Kevin as he turned around in his chair to look out the window. 

The old black conversion van crept slowly through an alley as three young men rode in it: one driver, one on the passenger side, and one in the back. The young man in the backseat checked his all-black .380 and placed it on the floor of the van. The young man removed a small plastic bag from the pocket of his hoodie. The bag contained a gram of cocaine. He snorted some of it and pulled his ski mask over his face as the van came to a stop. He tied the bag of coke and threw it on the floor of the van.

The young man in the front passenger seat of the van looked at the driver and said, “Keep this muthafucka running. We’ll be in and out in less than five minutes.” The driver nodded in approval. The young man in the backseat picked his gun up from the floor and exited the van. The passenger exited with him as the van pulled to a park in the dimly lit alley. 

The two approached a tattered wooden fence that was open. The young man from the passenger seat opened the gate and a Rottweiler puppy began to bark. He stomped the puppy in its head and killed it instantly. The other young man heard footsteps as the backdoor of the house opened. An older man in his mid-40s was standing at the door. The young man who had sat in the backseat took aim with his pistol and shot the man in his eye from about 50 feet away. The man fell to the ground and screamed. The two young men rushed to the door and entered the house. A young man inside the house came around the corner just as the two young men entered the backdoor. Both young men took aim and shot him in his stomach three times each. 

As he walked up to the recently shot young man, the young man who had sat in the backseat felt sweat rolling down his face and into his eyes. “Kill the muthafucka!”, his friend said. He raised the gun and his hand began to shake. The sound of sirens could be heard. “We gotta hit it nigga, let’s go.”, said the young man who had sat in the passenger seat. The two masked young men ran out the back door and jumped into the van which then sped away.

______________________________________________________________________________

Justin awoke from his sleep in a cold sweat. He looked at the clock and it read 3:00 a.m. He didn’t have to be up for two more hours, but the recurring dream made him get out of bed and turn on his bathroom light. He ran some cold water in the bathroom sink and splashed the water on his face. It had been two years since that night when he, Sean, and Brandon shot his sister’s boyfriend and shot his father’s eye out. He had never given the incident a thought until recently.

Justin was away at school when he received a call that the father of his sister’s daughter, Jermaine, had grazed his niece’s arm with a bullet while shooting at Justin’s sister while she was talking to another man. In response, Justin came home from school one weekend and he and his friends ambushed the two men in their home in the middle of the night. The incident left Jermaine with a colostomy bag and his father without a left eye. Jermaine laid back down and looked at the ceiling. He hated ominous feelings and decided that he needed to go see his niece and sister when he got off work. 

Justin was the low man at an accounting firm. After four years of college, he eventually found a job after searching for a year and taking every insulting job he could until he found a job in the field he had studied so long for. After work, he pulled out of the parking garage in his 2004 Honda Accord and started driving toward his old neighborhood. As he approached the expressway, he could see that traffic was bumper to bumper and decided that it would be better to take the streets. It took him approximately 45 minutes to get to his old block. As he turned down a street to approach his sister’s apartment building, he saw his friend Sean sitting in his wheelchair in front of Sean’s parent’s house.

As Justin pulled his car to a stop in front of the house Sean smiled and threw his hand up in acknowledgment. Justin got out of the car and approached Sean. “What up big homie?’, said Justin as he walked up to Sean and shook his hand. “Hell, I shit in a diaper and my dick doesn’t get hard anymore. Besides that, I’m cool.”, said Sean with a laugh. Justin took a seat on the steps next to Sean and leaned back.

“You looking tired lil nigga.”, said Sean. “Yeah. Sitting in an office and trying to avoid beating the shit out of people you don’t like takes a lot out of you.”, replied Justin. The two laughed. “What’s on your mind? You don’t come on the block too much anymore bro.”, asked Sean. “I’ve been having dreams about that lil situation me, you and B handled for my sister a few years back.”, said Justin. “Damn, for real? Why now? We ain’t said shit about it since then.”, asked Sean. Justin looked at the ground and shook his head. “The hell if I know. That shit has just been playing out perfectly in my mind every other night for the past few weeks.”, replied Justin.

“Man, you’re just shell-shocked. You’re probably having some regrets that’s all.”, said Sean. “You know you should have killed that nigga and his father. Those bullets we put in that nigga made his ass think he was made of Kevlar when he lived.”, said Sean. “Knaw, we didn’t need to kill him. My niece didn’t die. She lived so it was only fair that he lived too.”, replied Justin. Sean lit a cigarette and shook his head as he looked at Justin. “You didn’t have it in you, did you?”, asked Sean. “What you mean?”, replied Justin. “To kill that nigga. You didn’t have it in you. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t questioning ya. But, I looked at you that night. You didn’t want to kill that nigga. You had plenty of time to kill him and his father before we heard those sirens.”, said Sean. Justin shook his head and gave out a slight grin, “I guess not, but he ain’t a threat no more.”, replied Justin.

“Hell, I’m sort of glad you didn’t, karma was a bitch on me and B for that. I got popped in that stick-up last year and turned into a fucking cyborg and B’s drunk ass killed himself driving into a light pole.”, said Sean. “Yeah, true. I guess my karma is that my sister is still fucking with that retarded ass nigga. I heard he was tooting heroin now.”, said Justin. “Hell, I bet he is. That nigga got a shit bag for life and his pops is a fucking pirate. That‘s enough to make any nigga want to get high.”, replied Justin. The two laughed. “I’m about to go kick it with Lo for a while and see what she’s on.”, said Sean. “Cool, go be the over-protective big brother. I saw her ass out here earlier cussing that retarded ass nigga out. He don’t have the urge to put hands on her since we gave his ass that operation.”, said Sean. Justin got up from the step, walked a few feet down the street to an apartment building, and rang the doorbell for his sister’s apartment. 

“Who is it?”, a high-pitched voice asked. “It’s me Lo, open up.”, replied Justin. He heard the buzzing of the door and walked up a few steps to the first floor apartment. A fair-skinned young lady with blond hair opened the door smiling. “What up bro?”, said Lo. “What the hell did you do to your hair? I guess you just have to let your inner hoodrat shine.”, said Justin with a laugh. “Whatever nigga.”, his sister replied. Justin stepped into the apartment and saw Jermaine sitting on the couch in a half daze. He was obviously high. The two didn’t speak but simply nodded at each other. “What you doing today hoodrat?”, Justin asked his sister. “Shit, I want a tattoo. You should pay for it.”, replied Lo. Justin had been thinking of getting a new tattoo. “Cool, when do you want to go?”, asked Justin. “Hell, right now!”, Lo said in an excited voice.

Lo rushed off to the bedroom to change clothes. Justin stood there staring at Jermaine. Lo came back out, looked at Jermaine and said, “Mia is in bed sleep. We should be back before she wakes up.” Jermaine didn’t say anything but simply nodded. Lo and Justin walked out of the apartment. When they were out of the building Justin turned to Lo and asked, “Is it ok to leave Mia with a dope fiend?” Lo laughed and replied, “Technically he’s not a dope fiend. He just takes a lil hit every now and again to kill the pain. And that dope fiend gets a check every month that helps pay the bills. If you’re willing to throw some rent money to your lil sis I’ll gladly put his ass out.”

The two got in Justin’s car and drove to the tattoo parlor. Inside was a short Chinese-American man named Lawrence wearing a black wife-beater who appeared to have his whole body covered in tattoos. “Justin, Lo what’s up!?”, he said in an excited manner. Justin shook his hand and started to flip through the tattoo book on the counter. “What you guys want today?”, asked Lawrence. “I was thinking of getting a grim reaper.”, said Justin. “Nigga what is wrong with you!?”, asked Lo. “What the fuck are you talking about?”, responded Justin. “You never place Death on yourself.”, said Lo. “Lil nigga people in our family live forever. A tattoo won’t send us to an early grave.”, said Justin. Lo thought about it and shook her head. “I want the grim reaper, Lawrence. You got something special for me?”, asked Justin. “Yeah, bro. I got a new design I finished last week and haven’t put on anyone yet.”, replied Lawrence.

Lawrence brought the drawing out and showed it to Justin. It was a picture of the Grim Reaper holding a scythe in his left hand and gun in his right hand. “Damn, that does look pretty tight.”, said Lo. “I think I’ll get that one too.”, she said with a smile. “I thought you’re not supposed to put death on your body.”, replied Justin. “Besides you need to think up your own shit to get.” Lo laughed and looked at her brother. “Nigga I’ve been taking shit from you my whole life. How about we both get the tatt? We can consider it sibling bonding.”, she said. Justin shook his head. “Whatever asshole, but I’m getting mine first.”, he said.

Justin got the tattoo on the outer part of his right arm and Lo got the same tattoo on the left side of her upper back. “Yo Lawrence, burn the design. I don’t want to see every nigga in the hood with this tatt next week.”, said Justin. Lawrence just laughed and said, I’ll see what I can do.” Lo and Justin walked out of the tattoo parlor as Lo looked down at her phone. “What’s that?”, asked Justin. “Nothing, Just Jermaine’s thirsty ass thinking you snuck me out the house to go see another nigga.”, replied Lo. “You are cheating on him again?”, he asked. “Hell yeah. That nigga can’t fuck or fight. He gotta change his shit bag every few hours. He should be glad I let his ass say he’s still with me.”, she replied. “Show the nigga some respect. Hell, he’s still a man.”, said Justin. “Yeah, whatever. Well, let’s go get some food and drinks. I ain’t ready to go in yet.”, said Lo. The two drove to a bar and entered. “Shit, I left my phone in the car.”, said Lo. Justin handed her the keys and said, “Here, go get it.” Lo shook her head. “Nah, fuck it. The only person calling, and texting is Jermaine’s thirsty ass.”, she said.

The two ate, drank, and played pool for a few hours. Justin looked at his watch and it read “10:34 p.m.”. “Hey asshole, I gotta go to work in the morning and your daughter is at home with Gator from Jungle Fever. We gotta go.”, said Justin. Lo grabbed her purse and the two stumbled to Justin’s car. As he drove Lo home she said, “Thanks for the tatt bro. You don’t come around too much anymore.” Justin drove and let out a smirk that Lo had long known to mean “Leave me alone.” “I got a question to ask you bro.”, said Lo. “What’s up dick juice?”, replied Justin. “Did you have anything to do with Jermaine getting shot? I mean I’ve been thinking about it for a few years. Nobody else had a reason to shoot him. Nobody ever claimed to do it. I mean he just got shot right after Mia.”, she asked. Justin pulled up in front of Lo’s apartment and took a deep breath. He looked at her and said, “Ask no questions and hear no lies.” Lo smiled and got out of the car. “Call me tomorrow asshole.”, she said as she slammed the door shut.

Justin pulled off and drove towards his apartment. He saw a blue blinking light at in the corner of the passenger side seat of the car. When he stopped for a light, he realized that it was Lo’s cellphone. He was too close to his apartment by now and decided that he would return it to her in the morning. He went into the house, got out of his clothes, and laid down. 

As Justin slept, he was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone. He looked at the clock and it read “3:00 a.m.” He picked up the phone to see that it was Sean calling him. He answered the phone and said, “Nigga is you drunk?” He heard a lot of noise in the background and people crying. “Hey nigga you need to get on the block.”, said Sean in a sad voice. “What’s going on big homie?”, asked Justin. “Just get over here man.”, said Sean and he hung up the phone.

Justin quickly put on a sweat suit and got in his car. He sped to his old neighborhood. As he approached the block he saw police cars, ambulances, and a large crowd of people. He parked at the end of the block and walked up to Sean. “What’s going on nigga?”, asked Justin. Justin looked around and saw yellow police tape surrounding his sister’s apartment building. He looked around for his sister and asked Sean, “Where is Lo at?”. Sean looked down with his hands over his face. Justin began to make his way through the crowd to get closer to the building. Suddenly someone said, “That’s her brother right there.” and two police officers walked up to him. “Are you the brother of Lola Jenkins?”. Justin stood there for a moment and felt a cold chill go up his back. “Yeah. Why?”, he replied in a shivering voice. “We need you to come with us.”, the other officer said.

Justin got in his car and followed the police to the hospital. When they reached the hospital the police officers escorted him to the lower level of the building. Justin had an eerie feeling. He knew that the only things in the basement of this hospital were the morgue and a cafeteria. He doubted that the police wanted to feed him. The officers opened the door of a room and asked him to come in. He went in and saw two metal tables with white sheets over them. 

The coroner pulled the sheets back from over one of the tables and there was a naked three-year-old girl on the table with a blue face. He instantly noticed the body was that of his niece, Mia. “Do you know who this is?”, asked one of the officers. Justin stood there and felt his eyes tearing up. ’Yeah, that’s my niece LaMia Jenkins.”, he said. The coroner then covered up the body. “Now the next body is not in good condition.”, said the officer. “Just show her to me.”, said Justin in a low voice. The coroner pulled back the sheets to reveal the body of a naked 20-something-year-old woman with blond hair. The face was missing from an obvious gunshot wound. “Can you identify this body sir?”, asked the officer. By this time tears were running down Justin’s face. “Turn her over. She just got a tatt with me today. There’s a tattoo of the grim reaper on her back.” The coroner gently turned the body over to reveal a newly imprinted tattoo of the grim reaper. 

Justin backed out of the room and walked backwards until he bumped into a wall. One of the officers walked out of the room and approached Justin. “I know this is hard for you sir, but I have some questions for you. Did you know of any conflicts or problems between Jermaine Watkins and your sister?”, asked the officer. “Where is that muthafucka at?”, Justin yelled at the officer. “Well sir, he’s in the next room. He appears to have taken his own life from a single gunshot wound to the right side of his head. We believe that he choked the baby to death earlier in the day. We found your sister in the bed and Mr. Watkins was on the floor next to the bed. The neighbors called the police after hearing two gunshots.”, said the officer.

Justin turned and began to walk out of the hospital. “Excuse me sir, we have questions for you.”, said the officer as Justin walked away. Justin exited the hospital and approached his car. He got in the car and sat in the driver’s seat for a moment. A blinking blue light caught his eyes. He reached over and picked up his sister’s phone. The phone needed a code to unlock it, but he knew what it was. He entered his birthday and revealed a screen with a picture of his smiling sister and niece. 

A blinking icon on the phone indicated 15 missed messages and 12 missed calls. He selected the missed messages and saw that they were all from Jermaine. “I’m going to kill this lil muthafucka if she don’t quit crying.”, “Yo brother bitch ass is sneaking you out to see muthafuckas. It’s cool bitch.”, “I guarantee yo ass gonna respect me tonight.”, were just a few of the messages. Justin sat back in the seat of the car and looked at the ceiling. “Nah sis, you didn’t put death on yo body. I did.”