Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise (4 page)
Read Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise Online
Authors: Keith Lee Johnson
“Thank you so much, Lucille. I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning, and I’m starving. So a double portion would hit the spot, I’m sure. And may I have a glass of lemonade?”
Lucille wrote the order down and then said, “You haven’t eaten since yesterday morning? Were you on a fast or something?”
Angrily, she said, “No, I’m from New Orleans, and them crackers down there burned down my house. I lost everything. I mean everything, including my life savings. I don’t even have a change of underwear. All I have is the clothes on my back, and the shoes on my feet. They burned down our whole neighborhood. Everybody lost everything.”
“Ahhhh, that’s so sad, sugar. I’ll bet you’re short on money, too, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”
“What are you going to do? Do you need a job?”
“Well, I’m on my way to East St. Louis to live with my father for a while . . . just until I can find a job and get on my feet. But I had to stop for some gas and found out that I was out of oil, too. Jimmy’s checking the car over for anything else that might be wrong with it.”
“You’re in a terrible fix, sugar. How ’bout I give you your meal on the house. Would that help?”
“It sure would, but I have enough to pay for the food, Lucille. I’m just concerned about what it’s going to cost to fix my car. All I have is what I had in my purse when I left New Orleans—$45.89. But when I deduct the price of filling the tank and the oil and whatever else he finds wrong with my car, I’m afraid I’ll be whipped out. So the cost of your husband’s delicious specialty is inconsequential.”
“It’s what, sugar?”
Johnnie smiled and said, “What I meant to say was that the cost of the meal is of little importance, ma’am. It’s a much smaller issue when I look at the big picture.”
“So, y’all don’ been to college, I see.”
Johnnie laughed out loud, remembering that there was a time when she used to say that when she didn’t understand words. But she had grown significantly since those days, and now her vocabulary was such that she now knew that people were viewing her the way she viewed Sadie.
“No, ma’am, I’ve never been to college, but I hope to attend someday.”
“Well, I’ll put your order in. Is there anyone you can call to help you? Can you call your father and tell him about your situation? If he can’t help, you can work here until you have enough money to get to East St. Louis.”
“That’s so sweet of you, Lucille. The folk here in Jackson are so nice and friendly, but I don’t want to put you out like that.”
“You won’t be putting me out at all. In fact, you’ll be helping me out, sugar.”
“Huh? How would I be helping you?”
“When word gets out that Lucille don’ hired herself a beautiful new waitress, all the men folk will be runnin’ to get a peek at you. That’s what everybody’s talking about right now. And see, sugar, when the men folk come runnin’, the women folk won’t be far behind ’cause they’ll have to keep an eye on their men and get a look at you so they can see what they have to compete with. So, ya see . . . you won’t be putting me out at all. Give it some thought.”
“Okay, I will. Let me call my brother in San Francisco. He’ll know what to do. I’m sure he has some money that I can borrow. He’s a prize fighter.”
“Oh, really? My Hank used to box when he was in the Army. He listens to the fights on the radio all the time. I bet Hank knows who your brother is if he’s any good.”
“He might. He just had a fight in Las Vegas a little while ago.”
“Really? What’s your brother’s name?”
“Benny Wise.”
Lucille swiveled her head to the left and said, “Hey, Hank?”
“Yeah, sweet thang, what is it?”
“Ya ever hear of a fighter named, Benny Wise?”
Chapter 7
“
Boy, that musta been somethin’, huh?”
A
short man with wide shoulders and hard muscles came out of the kitchen. He had a square chin, and he wore a wide smile underneath a thick mustache. His white chef’s smock was stained with a variety of foods. He said, “You mean the Bay City Terror? That Benny Wise?”
Lucille looked at Johnnie. “Is that what they call him, sugar?”
“Uh-huh, and they call him The Body Snatcher, too.”
Skeptical, Lucille said, “What other names do they have for him, Hank?”
“They call ’em The Body Snatcher because he don’ knocked so many niggas out with body shots! Benny be breakin’ ribs and shit. I’d hate tuh fight his ass. Nigga be pissin’ blood for a week after a few rounds with him.”
Excited, she said, “Ya don’t say. Well . . . don’t look now, but The Body Snatcher’s sister is about to have lunch right here in Lucille’s! Her name’s Johnnie.”
Hank fast walked over, wiped his hands on his smock, and shook Johnnie’s hand rapidly. “Is Benny Wise really your brother?”
Johnnie suddenly felt like a celebrity. She smiled and said, “Yes, he is.”
“I won two hundred dollars when he fought Sweetwater. I knew Benny was gon’ kick that nigga’s ass.”
“I was at the fight,” Johnnie said.
“Really? In Las Vegas?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What was that like?”
“It was hot mostly, but they have cool air conditioners in the casinos and hotels.”
“Boy, that musta been somethin’, huh?”
“Yes, sir. It was.”
“Well, I tell you what . . . any sister of The Bay City Terror is a friend of mine. You’re food is on the house.” He took the ticket out of Lucille’s hand. “I’ll go cook this up for you right away, sweetie.” He walked off, shaking his head. “Um, um, um. The Body Snatcher’s sister is right here in Jackson, in our restaurant no less! Yes, Lawd, its gon’ be a good day today!”
Now all of a sudden people were looking at Johnnie differently, like she was royalty, like she was Dorothy Dandridge or somebody—all because of her brother’s growing fame. Even women who only minutes ago had looked at her like they’d like nothing more than to take a straight razor to her face were now smiling and nodding, like they approved of their men gawking at her, even though she could have been lying. But there were a few women who still looked down their noses at her, like they knew she was all talk.
Johnnie looked at Lucille and said, “I think I’ll try and get Benny on the phone. Hopefully, he’ll have plenty of money left. If so, I’ll get him to send me some of it.”
“You go right ahead, sugar, and give him a call. Your food’ll be ready by the time you finish.”
Johnnie walked to the back of the restaurant, her heels clicking loudly as every eye in the place followed her. Women looked her up and down as she passed while men were trying to see as much of her figure as they could. The men were unable to stop their heads from swiveling as she passed them, leaning at angles, focusing exclusively on her hind parts. It was as if she was somehow emitting a heavy dose of her pheromones and the dogs, disguised as men, were on the verge of howling as they inhaled her inebriating scent. When she entered the booth, she looked out into the restaurant. She saw lots of men looking at each other, nodding vigorously and smiling, apparently letting each other know what they thought of the beautiful stranger without saying a single word.
Chapter 8
“
Is that what you’re telling me, Brenda?”
J
ohnnie closed the phone booth door and sat down. She looked at Hank who she found quite gregarious as he was still smiling from ear to ear, no doubt thinking of her famous brother and that his sister was in a restaurant that he and his wife owned. She remembered that Lucille had said that Hank had been in the Army, and that made her think of Lucas again. Spontaneously, the courtroom scene played out in her mind. The look of betrayal on Lucas’ face surfaced, and she felt the full weight of her guilt. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to explain although she didn’t have an explanation, none that she thought would change his mind anyway. She exhaled hard, wishing she could go back in time and change it all, knowing it was impossible.
She exhaled hard again and dialed zero. Before long, she heard a nasal female voice say, “Operator.”
“Operator, I’d like to make a long distance call to San Francisco, collect.”
“Sure. What number?”
She gave her the number.
“Whom shall I say is calling?”
“Johnnie Wise.”
“One moment, please.”
The phone started ringing.
“Hello.”
Johnnie recognized the voice right away. It was her sister-in-law, Brenda.
“This is the long distance operator, ma’am. I have a collect call for anyone from Johnnie Wise. Will you accept the charges?”
“I sure will.”
“Go ahead, ma’am,” the operator said.
“Johnnie? Where you been, girl? Benny’s been worried sick since he read in the newspapers that you were on trial for murder. We’ve called the house a million times and no one ever answered. Now it’s not ringing at all, like it’s disconnected or something.”
“I didn’t answer because they put me in jail, Brenda.”
“What? They kept you in jail the whole time? They wouldn’t let you out on bail or anything?”
“They let me out, Brenda, but I was in jail for a whole day when Sheriff Tate arrested me. Most of the time, I was with my lawyers, trying to figure out why the police thought I killed Sharon Trudeau, but I had nothing to do with her murder. Nothing! Ever since y’all left, all kinds of things have happened to me. Ethel Beauregard tried to kill me twice.”
“What?”
“And that ain’t all, Brenda. A boy that liked me raped me when he found out they put my boyfriend in jail.”
“Raped? Oh my God. Did they catch him?”
“Well, sort of.”
“What do you mean, sort of? Did they catch him or not?”
“I mean someone did. He’s dead. Someone beat him to death.”
“Uh-huh. So it was your mobster friend, huh? What’s his name, Napoleon something or other?”
“Brenda, I don’t know who did what to whom in either case, and I don’t want to know. I just know that I didn’t do anything to anybody, period.”
“Uh-huh. Okay, so what happened with your friend Lucas? What’s he in jail for?”
“Selling drugs. But he’s out now. It’s been one thing after another. All kinds of stuff has been happening to me.”
“Well, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m okay, but at the same time, I’m in a little bit of trouble. Is Benny there? Them crackers have lost their minds. They burned Ashland Estates down. They tried to burn it down over the summer, but the white men who had black women living there put a stop to it. It was different this time though. They kept their plans quiet and they waited until my trial started, knowing the courthouse would be full of Negroes from Sable and Baroque Parishes.”
“What?”
“Yeah. And Brenda, all my money burned up in the fire. I had two hundred thousand dollars.”
Alarmed, she said, “Two hundred thousand dollars? Where’d you get that kind of money, Johnnie?”
“Investments. I had two hundred and fifty, but I gave my friend, Sadie, fifty thousand so she could start a new life, too. Detective Meade made Sadie have sex with him. He told her that if she didn’t, he was going to arrest Santino Mancini for raping me when he knew all along that Santino had nothing to do with it.”
“Who is Santino Mancini, and what did he have to do with any of it?”
“Santino is the father of Sadie’s kids.”
“Uh-huh. Don’t tell me this was a white man, Johnnie.”
