Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise (23 page)

“Are you open for business, sir?” Johnnie asked.

The man looked at her briefly, and then seriously looked at her a second time, stunned by her beauty and voluptuous womanhood. He smiled and said, “You must be new around here.”

She smiled and said, “I am, sir. I just got here yesterday. I’m going to be working for Hank and Lucille. Today is my first day, and I’m really excited.”

“I see. I know Hank and Lucille. They make the best breakfast around these parts. I suppose I’ll be seeing you regularly. My name is Franklin Hill. I don’t usually open before six-thirty, but since you’re already here, what can I get you?”

She looked around for a moment or two, hoping to spot the periodical she was looking for, but when she didn’t see it, she said, “Do you carry the Wall Street Journal?”

“I carry a few. Not many people want them in this town. But I get about ten a day, just in case. Would you like one?”

“Yes, sir, I would.”

Chapter 43

“
I probably could, but it’s a big risk.”

J
ohnnie paid Franklin, and he handed her a Wall Street Journal. She smiled and tried to read the first page even though it was still dark. She moved under the streetlight and read for awhile. When she felt Franklin’s eyes staring at her ample backside, she turned around and locked eyes with him, letting him know that it wasn’t okay to gawk. When he looked away, she realized her point had been made without a single word. Then, she turned around and headed back to the restaurant, still trying to read the paper in the dark. Just as she was about to push the door again to enter the restaurant, it occurred to her that Franklin had said that not many people in Jackson wanted the Wall Street Journal. She figured he meant white people didn’t want it because she didn’t know any Negroes who invested their money.

A bright smile covered her face when she realized that she might be the only stockbroker in Jackson. Her smile fled almost as quickly as it arrived when she realized that it might be difficult to get people to invest with her because she was new in town. They might think she was some sort of flimflam artist. She knew that was an obstacle she would have to overcome. She understood that she needed people to trust her with their money, and that it could prove to be a very difficult feat because money ruled the world, and those who had it were its monarchs. Herbert Shields, Lucas’ friend, who lived in Jackson and played football for the college came to mind. He knew her, and he probably had lots of money from selling marijuana. She figured that if she made him money, his word alone would get plenty of customers.

Smiling broadly now, she pushed the glass door to enter, but it was still locked. She looked at her watch. It was close to five-thirty. She saw Lucille and Hank. They were still in the kitchen, but they were no longer arguing. She knocked on the window. She saw Hank look at her, and then at his watch. She saw him look at Lucille, tilt his head toward her, and then he looked at her again and smiled. She wondered what was going on as he made his way over to the door and let her in. “You made it on time, I see,” Hank said, still smiling. “I told Lucille you’d be here bright and early.”

Johnnie wanted to ask why Lucille would doubt her punctuality, but instead, she said, “Actually, I was here about ten minutes ago, maybe fifteen.”

“Yeah, and you ain’t just Benny’s little sister either the way you made it seem yesterday. You’re the Johnnie Wise that all the papers are talking about right now. They’re saying you were acquitted of murder charges and that the crackers were so mad that they burned down the black community. Is that right?”

Lucille came out of the kitchen. She was drying her hands with a white towel. Her face was wrinkled by growing anger. “Hank, I don’ told you I’m not getting involved with no investments. I’m not gon’ lose my restaurant trying to play the stock market.”

He looked at her and said, “Well, I am.” Then, he looked at Johnnie and said, “I’ve got some money saved up, Johnnie. Do you think you can help me make the kind of money you made?”

Although she was elated by the prospect of yet another potential client, Johnnie looked at Lucille before speaking, knowing that husband and wife were at odds on the issue. “Uh, I don’t wanna come between you and your wife, Hank. I told y’all they stole all the money I made anyway.”

Practically ignoring what she said, Hank persisted and said, “Yeah, yeah, I know, but you can do it again, cain’t you? I mean, if you did it once, you could do it again, right?”

Johnnie looked at Lucille again. She could tell she was getting angrier by the second, which told her that they had been arguing about her and investing when she saw them earlier. She looked at the floor and didn’t answer.

“Johnnie, don’t let Lucille scare you, okay?” Hank said. “She’s not going to do a damn thing to you. And if you’re worried about losing your job with us, don’t worry about it. Lucille doesn’t have the vision that you and I have. She’s a good organizer, and she keeps everything clean. She even knows how to stretch a dollar, but she thinks small-time. I think big-time, and I know an opportunity when it comes my way. Sure, she knew it would be a good idea to open this restaurant, this is small-time compared to the fortune you made. The restaurant is doing okay, I guess. I mean, we don’t miss any meals, and we pay our bills on time, but we ain’t no closer to a fortune than we was when we started. We get here at five in the morning, and we don’t lock up until eight. By the time we get home, we tired as hell, and we go straight to bed. Then, we get up at four the next morning and start the process all over again. I think those investments can put us on easy street.”

Feeling the pressure, Johnnie said, “Hank, please, it’s not that simple. There is no guarantee that you’ll make any money. Not one dime. In fact, you could lose it all.”

Chapter 44

“
What do you mean
our
money?”

J
ohnnie stared at Hank for a long minute as what Gloria Schumacher had told her the previous day washed over her. She closed her eyes for a second or two, thinking about her business being all over town in a matter of minutes, it seemed. She opened her eyes. Hank was still staring at her, trying to keep from laughing. She shook her head and laughed before saying, “Does everybody in this town know about my check?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lucille said. “The place has been buzzin’ since you left Woolies and went to the bank to make the deposit. We had hoped that you’d come back before you went over to the Clementine. It would’ve been good for business if you had. You’re probably the most famous person in Jackson, at least right now anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m thinkin’ we could put that fame of yours to good use,” Hank said. “We can all make a fortune. I expect the place will be buzzin’ with people today. All you have to do is smile, and when the people ask you about the trial, share a few stories. You can even make up some stuff if you want. Nobody will ever know. Then, they’ll go out and retell the stories and we’ll get even more customers and make even more money to invest. It’ll be great! Will you help us out?”

Before Johnnie could answer, Lucille said, “I don’t care how much money we make. I’m not investing in no stock market. I’m not doin’ it, Hank!”

“You don’t have to, Lucille,” Hank said. “But I am. I believe this girl is the answer to muh prayers. And she’s Benny’s sister tuh boot!”

“He’s probably back in San Francisco by now,” Johnnie said, “but who knows, he may just call the restaurant one day looking for me. If he does, I’ll let you speak to him, okay, Hank?”

“Really? That would be so nice. I wish I could go to one of his fights.” He looked at Lucille and said, “The way things are going, I’ll never see ’em fight. I’m in this restaurant from sun up to sun down six days a week, and I never get any time off. You’d think that Lucille would catch the vision that I have, but she hasn’t, and I don’t think she ever will.”

Johnnie looked at Lucille, and then back at Hank. “Again, investments are risky, and they take time to grow.”

“How much of the five thousand are you going to risk, Johnnie? I bet it’s enough to keep you working for us until you can get back on your feet, huh?”

“Hank, I don’t mean to offend you, and I do need this job, but I don’t discuss my finances with anybody, and you shouldn’t either. But, since you and your wife are helping me get on my feet, I’ll tell you. I’m going to invest a substantial amount of the five thousand.”

“No,” Hank said. “Not only haven’t I lost my mind, I’m willing to trust this young lady with a good portion of my money. I believe she can make something happen with it. I’ve got plenty saved up, but not nearly enough to be on easy street.”

Lucille said, “And if you ain’t careful, you’ll lose it all on a foolish flight of fancy.”

“No guts. No glory! My first sergeant used to say. Now . . . I’m willing to risk ten thousand hard earned American dollars to try to get what you got, Johnnie. Will you please help me?”

“If ten thousand is all you have, let’s invest half that amount,” Johnnie said.

“I’ve got more than ten, Johnnie. I’ve got a lot more than ten, but my wife could be right. And even you said it was a risk.”

“How do we know you’re not going to take Hank’s money and skip town?” Lucille said. “You can’t get a hold of your father, and for all we know, you never did call your brother. How can we be sure we can trust you with our money?”

“Our money?” Hank asked, looking at Lucille. “What do you mean
our
money? I got this money from my mama and my daddy when they died. They left me a nice sum of money and some land. Now all of a sudden it’s
our
money, and you don’t wanna make it grow.”

“Fine, Hank,” Lucille screamed. “It’s
your
money! You can blow it any way you want, I suppose. But just know I tried to warn you.”

“This is precisely why I would rather not do this,” Johnnie said, eyeing them both. “I don’t want to come between y’all.”

“How long you planning on staying in town, Johnnie?” Hank asked. “I mean, my wife does have a good point. No offense. But we don’t know you all that well. You seem nice enough and all, but we really don’t know you. Can you give me any assurances that you won’t run off with my money?”

“Hmm, well, I suppose I could just set up a portfolio for you, and you can handle your own money. That way, I never have access to it and can never steal it. Yeah! I like that idea. I had a fortune stolen from me, and I would never want the temptation of stealing somebody’s money because it was staring me in the face every day. That’s probably what happened to Sharon Trudeau. She probably had lots of bills to pay, and the temptation to steal from her clients got the better of her, and we all lost our money.”