Sissy,Detective Baylor and Detective Pile and I sat in a room slightly above the interview room with a two way mirror observing... Sissy said to me...
"I expected that he was going to bring a guy, but just as well...We all know that girls know all of the business in the community anyway..." she joked...
I laughed....I agreed...Carlotta..I mean Detective Rodriguez sat in the interview room awaiting them...I watched Sissy as Eddie C. walked in...He was tall, about six foot fall, well dressed and he carried himself with that hipster confidence an cockiness...Much like Chris Thompson and Basil Robinson still did, despite the fact that their lives were now so very different....They still maintained their swag as the kids would say.
It wasn't lost on Sissy...She was completely engaged in his movemants...
''Hello Detective Rodriguez? is it?" said Eddie C.
"Yes." said Carlotta...
"This here is Ceceilia Weldon." he said pointing to the first girl.
"My friends call me CeCe" she said.
''And this is Josie Bottoms." he said pointing to the other girl who wasn't as forthcoming...She just said-
"Yo!"
"Alright girls...now telll the detective what you told me." he said.
"Ok...well..My girlfriend Dee had been goin out with Tray for the past six months and well that kind of didn't sit right with Fruit Loops...being ,he's Dee's baby's daddy and all." said CeCe...
"Yeah...I told Fruit Loops to let that go....See...Me and him was kickin it for a minute, but I had to cut that whipped nigga loose...All he talked about was Dee and how he couldn't believe she was seein that weak nigga named Tray...and how he didn't want Tray near his daughter." said Josie...
"So they were rivals right?" asked Carlotta.
"Well kinda...Tray was tryin to make a move on George Bailey and Fruit had his own established corners..He was kinda neutral...trying to see who would win between them two....He did business with George Bailey though...George supplied him with half of his stash..so they was cool, but he aint have no love for Tray." added Cece...
"Fruit wanted to get back with Dee, but she wasn't tryin to hear nothin he had to say...And she had stopped lettin him see his daughter because he hadn't gave up no child support." added Josie.
"Dee told you this?" asked Carlotta..
"Naw , Fruit told me...All he talked about was Dee and how much he hated Tray...When he found out Dee was pregnant with Tray's child he hit the ceiling." said Josie.
"Did he ever say he wanted bodily harm to come to Tray?"asked Carlotta...
Josie looked at Eddie C. , then laughed.
"Bodily harm? Hell, he said he was gonna kill him." said Josie.
"You heard him say that?" asked Carlotta...
''Ohhhhh many times...That's all he talked about...If George Bailey didn't get him, he said he would."said Josie ,who was suddenly very talkative.
"Dee was afraid of Fruit, she knew how his temper was and she told Fruit to lay low...She didn't want Tray to know she was pregnant, but then she started showing and the word got around.." said CeCe...
"Neither of you actually saw him shoot Tray did you?" asked Carlotta...
"No...but we know somebody who did." said CeCe....
''Who?" asked Carlotta...
"Junior Barnes...He drove Fruit around a lot....If anybody know..He would...He's Fruit's right hand man." said Josie.
"You know where he lays his head?" asked Carlotta...
"I do." said Josie...
"Good , write it down for us..." she said.
"Hey look....we wasn't here right?." said CeCe..
"Nobody knows you girls are here...as far as anybody knows...I took you to the church for your AA meetings." said Eddie C. gently...
Carlotta looked up at us.....Sissy looked at Detectives Pile and Baylor.....and said simply-
''Pick him up."
She then looked down at Eddie C. and smiled from ear to ear...
II-
I rode with Detective Tyriq Pile and Detective Edwin "Duke"Baylor and three uniformed policemen, all armed with riot pump shotguns...I wondered who they thought they were arresting...John Dillinger??? But considering how volatile the streets could get...I understood...
They pulled Junior Barnes off a street corner just as he was propositioning a young prostitute!... As you can imagine...He wasn't too happy and he wasn't forthcoming with any information either..
"I aint tellin you cops nothing..." he said.
"We haven't asked you anything." I said.
"Who the hell are you?" he snarled.
"I'm Keith Wallace, Assistant District Attorney -Homicide/Major Crimes and Special Victims Units." I said.
"I aint impressed." he said.
"You have an impressive rap sheet Junior...Three arrests for drugs, a couple for weapons, group home,youth study center, two stints in the state penn....and now we've found a substantial amount of weed on you and you might be an accessory in a homicide..You know ,if you get convicted again...You could go up for life under the habitual criminal law." I said.
Junior got very quiet then... The three of us hauled him into the interview room and he saw Lt.Sissy Van Buren and Detective Carlotta Rodriguez waiting for him...Eddie C. was also with them..
"Eddie, what you doin here man?" he said upon seeing him...
"Trying to help you out playa.." he said.
"How you helpin me out man???....Did you rat me out to the po-po?" he said.
"No, not me...but the streets is talkin bruh..Streets say you and Fruit Loops was tight...Streets say you was with him when he popped Tray last week." he said.
"Aww so it's like that huh....You a sellout nigga huh, workin with the cops now...after all the crap YOU did in the street?" snarled Junior.
"Junior....I been in the joint...and you have too...but see, you was just in county...I was in the big house...You ready for that?? I don't think you are.They got enough on you to put you away for a long time...Is that what you want man?? Life in prison for something you didn't do?? Somethin you don't care about..??? I have tried to talk to you and George Bailey and Tray for years and yall have never listened...You just kill each other,day in and day out and for what? a couple of corners? So your names will ring out on the street, for a few bucks....chump change...I made more money than the three of you knuckleheads combined when I was in the game and I aint kill nobody...I just made my money and kept my nose clean." said Eddie C.
"Yeah, but one day you got knocked." he said.
"Yup..I sure did....and those was the worse three years of my life...You know...you did six at county...You feel like doing life in the real joint?" said Eddie C.
Junior got quiet.....
He looked at Sissy and Carlotta...
"I told Fruit to calm down, to forget about that babe...I say Fruit baby,all these hoes out here...Uh...sorry,I mean all these women out here...forget her and forget Tray....but he wouldn't listen....He saw Tray ...a few nights after Bennie bought it in that shootout and he walked up to him and shot him right in the head and dropped the gun in the sewer right on the corner man....I couldn't believe it.At least seven or eight people was out there on that corner....Everybody just ran." he said....
"Can you testify to that?" asked Sissy...
"Yeah...but you gotta keep me away from him...His people.." he said.
"You got any relatives out of state?" asked Carlotta...
"In South Carolina..." he said.
"Call em....That's where you're going until trial and that's where you'll make a new life for yourself." said Sissy.
Eddie C. looked at him...
"Anything beats bein dead or in prison for the rest of your life young buck." said Eddie C.
Sissy looked at Carlotta....
"Looks like we're up Chica....Let's go get him!" she said.
III-
Junior Barnes testified against him in court , along with four other people we found who witnessed the killing. We found the murder weapon in the sewer where Junior told us it was deposited. We got lucky on that. Aaron "Fruit Loops" Fullerton was convicted of the first degree murder of Trayvon Jones and sentenced to 25 years to Life in prison.... Within weeks, The Narcotics Detectives picked up all 12 members of his crew and what was left of George Bailey's old crew...They were charged with numerous drug and weapons possessions counts!
EPILOUGE:
Sometime later, we celebrated in Josie's of course....Me and Carlotta in one booth and Sissy and Eddie C. in the other...
I hadn't seen Sissy look this happy in awhile...
"I'm happy for boss lady...she needs someone in her life...." said Carlotta...
"Yeah, I was afraid she was becoming married to her job.." I said.
"Eddie C. came through for us....He got those kids to talk to us and we caught a killer and pretty much wrapped up two dangerous drug crews.." said Carlotta..
"Yeah and the narcotics boys did a good job rounding up the rest....It's going to be quiet around here now." I said.
"For awhile....but you know ,like I know...that somebody else will rise up eventually."said Carlotta...
"Yeah I know...nature of the beast." I said..."That's the game."
Sissy and Eddie got up, they waved to us as they walked out of Josies..They were holding hands....
"Well, I guess we were wrong about Eddie C. He delivered and now I suppose he's going to get his reward." I laughed.
Carlotta punched me on the arm...
"Shame on you Keith....This is their first date....I doubt seriously if he and boss lady are going to do anything tonight." she said.
"You do huh?" I said.
"I do..." she said.
"Well, who knows...You may be right....But can I get my reward?" I asked.
"Your reward? For what? You didn't do anything."joked Carlotta.
''Are you kidding,I successfully prosecuted all of those cases." I laughed.
"Oh well, I suppose you did.....I suppose I could pack an overnite bag..." she said.
"Or...I could visit your spot...I've only been there once." I said.
"Okay...but don't you have to stop and get some clothes...? she asked.
"I don't plan to be wearing any...Do you?" I joked...
"Ohhhh, you are impossible." she said, then looked at me and laughed....
For L.
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