Chaser (3 page)

But in this case, it was different. Nasir was in on our plan. And because I made it clear that I wanted nobody but Nasir to touch my car, the other chasers had no choice but to fall back.

The police pulled up, and there were two squad cars instead of one. Four officers got out—three males and one female. They walked over to us as we remained seated in the Range. I was preparing my story in my head, and I was starting to feel a little better about things—safer now that the police were there and even credible, since all the tow trucks out there were creating a realistic-looking accident scene.

“Hi, ma’am,” one officer said to me.

“Hello.”

“Are you all all right?” he asked, looking at each person in the car.

“Yes,” we said.

“My neck is stiff,” Dahwoo’s girl said from behind me; she sounded rehearsed.

“What happened?” the officer then asked, not seeming the least bit concerned about any injuries.

I described what was supposed to have happened. I was only sentences into the story Kenny had told me to deliver to the cops when a second officer stopped me.

“That’s all we need to hear,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Have them step out of the vehicle.”

I was a bit confused at that point, because I expected the cops to be more sensitive toward accident victims. Instead, she seemed aggravated.

“I’m gonna need you four to step out of the vehicle,” one male officer said.

Each of us reluctantly exited the Range. Right away the four officers grabbed hold of the four of us and placed us under arrest. My heart sank. I looked at Dahwoo’s girl to see her reaction. If she was too calm, then my earlier feelings about her setting us up were most likely correct. But she looked just as shocked, confused, and scared as I felt. I looked at Dahwoo, then at Kenny. They, too, were confused. Immediately, we all started asking questions: What did we do? What were we getting locked up for? Could we call our attorneys? Anything we could think of to ask to stall being hauled off to jail. And when the questions were not getting us anywhere with the cops, we started accusing the police of profiling us.

The female cop who seemed aggravated by all the questions said, “You would pick the corner that’s being surveilled to pull off your fake little accident, wouldn’t you?”

With that, our questions were answered. Apparently, the corner we were on was being watched for drug activity by a stakeout team, and they’d gotten more than they’d bargained for that night as they witnessed our scheme from beginning to end. We were all handcuffed and taken to the Sixth Police District.

“Who put you up to this?” the interrogating officer asked me again, after supposedly going back and speaking with Kenny, Dahwoo, and Dahwoo’s girl.

His appearance was intimidating—big, bulky body; deep-set blue eyes; anger-red flesh tone—but the way he talked to me wasn’t. He was calm and endearing, like he wanted to reason with me. But I
didn’t buy his niceness. I figured it was just a technique to get me to feel comfortable opening up to him.

“I said, ‘nobody.’”

“So you planned this on your own? Because I have to tell you, that’s what everybody’s saying. They’re saying
you
put them up to this. But I have a hard time believing that, because you just don’t strike me as the type that would put yourself in this predicament. But you know, if you don’t wanna talk, I can always go off what the others have told me.”

“I’d rather talk to an attorney,” I said, standing my ground.

“Okay, fine,” he said. “Here’s my card, in case you decide you want to start standing up for yourself.”

I smirked at his final attempt to get me to talk but said nothing further.

He slid his business card across the table and left the room. I put my head down on the table and tried to register what Kenny had got me into this time. Fucking with Kenny, there was never a dull moment. In fact, I spent two of the three years that we’ve been together going through bullshit on his account. From shoot-outs to drama from the bitches he would mess with behind my back, it was always something.

I wondered when I would get tired of it all and leave him. But every time the thought to leave came across my mind, I felt burdened. I mean, before Kenny I was self-sufficient. I was going to school and I had two jobs. But once I got with Kenny, I slowly started to get used to not working and not going to school. And it wasn’t like I just got lazy all of a sudden. But Kenny would entice me to miss days at work and school. For example, he would offer to pay me triple for the hours I missed at work if I spent that time with him instead. Overall, Kenny took good care of me. I grew accustomed to a luxury lifestyle, and before long I found myself solely dependent on him. So it wasn’t easy for me to pick up and leave him when I felt like I wanted to. I always found myself asking the same questions: What would I do without
Kenny? Where would I live? What would I drive? How would I support myself? Ultimately, I felt like I was stuck with him.

I was placed in a cell alone. I was surprised, too, because I thought they would put Dahwoo’s girl and me together, since we were both females. I wanted to ask her some questions, get inside her head a little bit to make sure she could be trusted. I guessed that was the exact reason why they hadn’t put us together.

Six hours passed before I was granted a phone call. I used it to call my mom.

“Hello,” my mom answered in a scratchy voice.

“Ma, I’m sorry to wake you.”

“Which one of my daughters is this?”

“It’s Leah, Ma.”

“I should’ve known. It better be important, Leah, calling me so early in the morning, knowing I work the graveyard shift.”

I huffed and said, “Ma, I’m in jail.”

“Oh Jesus, Leah. For what?”

“It’s a long story, and I’d rather tell it to you in person. But what I need you to do right now is get in touch with Kenny’s mom. I’m sure she knows what to do to get me out,” I said.

“Why didn’t you just call Kenny?”

“Well that’s the thing, Ma. Kenny’s in jail, too.”

My mom raised her voice. “Kenny ain’t in no jail. I just seen Kenny.”

“You sure, Ma? I’m tellin’ you, we got locked up together.”

“And I’m tellin’ you I just seen ’im. He was out here makin’ his rounds when I got off the bus. You know he got half these kids around here sellin’ for him now.” My mom sounded disgusted.

A few months back Kenny dropped me off at my mom’s house, and the young boys nearby were staring at Kenny’s car, obviously im
pressed. Apparently, one of them asked Kenny what he did to make the kind of money to afford a Maserati. Kenny told him he could show him better than he could tell him and wound up turnin’ the young boy and his friends on to hustling. My mom wasn’t thrilled about it. She thought it was flat-out wrong that Kenny would have kids selling drugs. And on top of that, he had them selling in her apartment complex. She felt like that was a sign of disrespect toward her. The two of them had a falling-out over it and haven’t spoken to each other since.

“What time was this?”

“What time is it now, like nine o’clock? So it was like a quarter to eight when I got in here.”

“That’s strange. He didn’t say anything to you?”

“Do he ever say anything to me?”

“Well, can you call him on the three-way then?”

“Ugh,” my mom made a sigh of disgust.

“This is my only call. Otherwise, I would hang up and call him myself.”

“What’s the number, Leah?”

I gave my mom Kenny’s cell phone number. She put me on hold for a few seconds, then came back on the line.

“Hello,” I heard Kenny’s voice.

“Kenny!”

“Leah?”

“Yes, it’s me—Leah! What you doin’ out?”

“Never mind all that. How much is ya bail?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen a judge yet, which brings me back to my question. When did you see a judge? How much was ya bail?”

“I didn’t go through all that, Leah. Listen, call me when you get bail. I’ll be up there to get you, and we’ll talk then,” Kenny said in a rush.

“So it’s true then, huh? Y’all put this shit on me?”

“You the only one of us that don’t have a record. I’m goin’ need you to take this one for the team.”

“What?!” I was flabbergasted. “What do you mean take one for the team? What team? I don’t have any obligations to nobody but you! I never signed up to be on a goddamn team! Why can’t everybody take their own charge?” I snapped.

“Because, Leah, you’ll probably get off with a couple months if you even get any time at all. If I go up, I’m looking at at least five years. The same with Woo and his girl.”

“You’re really serious? I don’t believe you! How am I supposed to survive in jail, Kenny?”

“How would you survive out here if
I
was in jail?” He paused for a minute, I guess to let what he said penetrate. Then he proceeded, “I already put a call in to my lawyer. He’ll take good care of you. He’s talkin’ beatin’ the case.”

“This is some real bullshit,” I mumbled.

“Leah, it’s the best situation for us right now!” Kenny protested. ‘’If it was any other time, I wouldn’t put this on you, you know that. I just can’t afford a case right now. I got a deal comin’ up that could retire us, baby. That could get us out the game for good and get us that vacation home out Mexico like you been wantin’. If I get locked up for this dumb shit, all that is out the window. Otherwise, I would take the charge with no problem.”

I took a deep breath, still not convinced. If Kenny was so close to retiring, why would he have planned this stupid scam in the first place? Why would he have jeopardized the deal of a lifetime he supposedly had comin’ up?

“Listen, let me call you back,” Kenny cut off my thoughts.

“Kenny, you can’t call me back! I’m in fuckin’ jail!”

“Kenny, who that?” a familiar female’s voice sounded.

“Was that Woo’s girl?” I asked.

“Um, yeah,” he said.

“What are you doin’ with her?”

“I’m droppin’ her off, but listen—”

“‘Droppin’ her off’? That’s why you rushin’ me off the fuckin’ phone? So you can continue to spend time with a bitch! You know what, Kenny, you ain’t shit!”

“Leah, chill. Now is not the time for you to be trippin’. I know you probably emotional with all the shit that’s goin’ on, but I’m tellin’ you, it ain’t like what you takin’ it as. Just call me when you get bail so I can get you outta there and we can figure everything out,” Kenny said.

I huffed and said, “Okay, whatever.”

Then we hung up.

“I don’t believe that nigga!” I exclaimed.

“Well, you sure enough should,” my mom chimed in. How much more shit you plan on takin’ from that man? I mean, really. He been dumpin’ his mess on you damn near y’all whole relationship. And every time somethin’ go wrong, you call me. Well, I don’t know what to tell you anymore. When he cheated on you, I told you to leave him. When he put his hands on you, I told you to stab his ass. Now he got you locked up while he out runnin’ the streets with some chick, and I don’t know
what
to tell you. I mean, granted, I don’t have no big fancy house and I can’t drape you in a bunch of labels and I can’t put you behind the wheel of no luxury car, but I am ya mother! You can come home! You don’t have to put up with his shit no more!”

“I know, Ma. I know this. But it’s not that easy. When you love somebody, it’s hard to just pick up and go.” I had to make it seem like it was love. I couldn’t just come out and tell her that the main reason I stayed with Kenny and endured his abuse was because I was financially dependent on him. That was the one thing my mom had warned me of, and I wasn’t in the mood to hear I told you so.

“That’s only when that somebody you love ain’t yourself, Leah. Trust me, I know.”

“Time’s up,” the officer called out.

“Ma, I gotta go. But I’m goin’ call you soon as I can, okay?”

“All right, Leah. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ma.”

I hung up the phone, feeling very emotional. Kenny had fucked me over, and it had my stomach in knots. How could he put this shit on me?

“Excuse me,” I said to the officer who was escorting me back to my cell.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Is it possible I can speak to Detective Daily? He told me if I had any information for him to let him know.”

“I’ll page him.”

“Thank you.”

I waited anxiously to talk to the detective who had interrogated me. Finally, the time had come. I was taken out of the cell and escorted to the interrogation room. Detective Daily came in moments after I had gotten situated.

“Hello there,” he said, taking a seat diagonally across from me.

I didn’t speak. I just sat there in the chair goin’ over my options in my head. I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing before I opened my mouth.

“You wanted to talk?”

“Well, actually I had some questions.”

“Okay.”

“When you said everybody cooperated, what did you mean?”

“Cooperating means you give us all the information we ask for when we ask for it. It’s simple.”

I took a deep breath and massaged my temples with my fingers.

“Now, are you ready to cooperate?”

“I don’t know. I know this system, and I can give y’all all the information y’all want and still wind up doing time. I need to know how I can avoid any jail time whatsoever. ’Cause everybody is lookin’ out for themselves right now, and so I have to look out for me. I have to do what’s best for me, and I’m tryin’ to figure out what that is.”

The detective leaned forward. His elbows rested on his knees as he folded his hands under his chin. “Well, you know what, Ms. Baker? Today just may be your lucky day.”

I looked up at the detective. We were eye to eye. The kindness he had displayed earlier suddenly became believable. His blue eyes were filled with compassion. It was as if he knew that I was a puppet for Kenny, he knew that Kenny had been pulling my strings all along. He seemed to be able to see right through the tough facade I had put on. He knew I was vulnerable.

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, I may be able to get you a deal that involves no jail time at all.”