Chapter Nine
“Yes, I’m here to see Commissioner Jackson.” Led into the plush twenty-third floor office, Police Chief Armstrong thanked the young, attractive secretary before taking a seat.
Moments later, his old friend, frat brother, and golf partner entered the room. “Hey, Lorenzo.”
“Hey now, Hank. How you doing?” They exchanged greetings and their customary fraternal handshake.
“I’m good, I’m good.”
“How are Shelia and the kids?”
“They’re doing fine—almost as fine as that young, pretty thing you got sitting out there answering the phones.”
“Yeah, she is something special, ain’t she?” He momentarily had freaky thoughts of his secretary’s plump backside.
“What about your wife and Keisha? I haven’t seen them around the club lately, or that cute cook you got over there.”
“Aww, man, not so good, old friend, not so good.”
“What? I’m sorry to hear that. What’s the problem, if it’s not too personal?”
“It’s that same fool boy that I had arrested a few months back out at my house.”
“Oh, yeah? Not him again. What was his name?”
“Rico Campbell.”
“Yeah, that was it. Rico Campbell. Another wanna-be gangsta.”
“I should’ve just followed my first mind and buried his ass under the jail instead of listening to my wife’s fairy tale thinking that Keisha would eventually leave that hooligan alone.”
“Calm down, Lorenzo, old buddy. Calm down. What in the hell has this kid done now?”
Sitting back in his oversized leather chair, Keisha’s father took a deep breath before explaining what he’d heard from a reliable source about what Rico was putting his young, once innocent daughter through.
Being the chief of police, Hank Armstrong had seen and heard it all, but when he watched the shocking video of Keisha, a shy youngster that once played with his own children and he’d bounced on his knee, having oral sex with a dog, he was left speechless. With his jaw open, he could only rub his hand down the front of his face and stroke his beard; first, because of what his friend’s daughter was doing, and secondly, his friend having the balls to show it to him.
“Hank, can you believe what in the fuck that monster has my baby participating in?” Slamming his clenched fist on the desk, the distraught father’s fury could be felt two offices over. “One day she was a good girl—going to grad school, working part time, and hanging out with her friends. Now this, this, this—”
“How did you get a hold of this garbage, Lorenzo?”
“From what I can gather, it came from Keisha’s cell, but you can clearly see her hands were tied. And if you noticed, she had bruises on her face. I know he sent it! He must have!”
Not wanting to say he was paying more attention to his friend’s daughter’s cunt and the way she was seemingly into what the animal was doing, Hank just nodded. “Well, umm, have you spoken to Keisha? What did she have to say for herself? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, Hank, apparently so. She tried calling me several times on my cell and twice here, but what is there to say? You tell me.” He buried his face in his hands. “Strange thing is, I just saw her and that creep last night over at the Fox Theater, but I was kind of tangled up in something. But if I ever see him again, I don’t know what I might do! I also just got a call about that bum tearing up the truck I let Keisha keep. Ever since she’s met him, it’s been nothing but a damn nightmare I don’t know if I’ll ever wake up from.”
“Okay, Lorenzo, calm down. I know how you must feel.” Hank truly couldn’t imagine one of his daughters being such freaks but consoled him anyhow. “What can I do? You know the entire department and me are at your disposal. If you know where he’s staying at, I can have a car swing by and pick him up—maybe the gang squad. You know they can teach his disrespectful ass a lesson or two.”
“Naw, Hank, not yet.” He looked up with hatred in his eyes and revenge in his heart. “I have something else cooking later on that’s less traceable. But if not, that’s definitely an option. But believe me, that joker is going to pay for humiliating my family. What if this gets out to the media? My career is over. I apologize for laying this madness all on you, Hank, but . . . ”
“It’s all good. And yeah, man, I guess you right,” the chief replied, agreeing with the consequences of the controversial material being made public. “The news and every other vulture gunning for your job would have a fucking field day.”
“Yeah, that’s why I need that number for our ‘friend’ just in case, you feel me? Just in fucking case.”
Hank knew better than to write the complete number down somewhere or, worse than that, text it, considering the scandal that had just taken place with the ex-mayor. Commissioner Jackson copied the first three numbers, in backwards sequence on the top of the page of his Bible and the last four on the back of the base of one of his golfing trophies.
After handling a small amount of city business, Hank left his fraternity brother to figure out his next move.
* * *
Keisha shut the door, not believing her luck in the past twenty-four hours. First, her so-called man forced her to have sex with two guys, which secretly she enjoyed, then jumped on her for doing it. Then he let Kilo eat her out, and once again, secretly, although the thought was disgusting, Kilo had given her better head than Rico could ever do. And forget him tearing up her raggedy truck that they fought over all the time; he sent that video to just about all her family and friends. Grabbing her cell off the floor, she scrolled down the SENT box. Keisha leaned back against the front door, seeing the devastating amount of people who he’d actually forwarded it to.
This snake! Why didn’t I listen to everybody when it came to him? Why? Damn, why? I’ve been so stupid for so long. I’ve lost so much of myself. I swear I don’t even know who I am anymore. His good-for-nothing ass has taken away everything from me, including my dignity, pride, and self-esteem. His rotten ass got me running around here like I’m worthless. And the bad part about it is I’m letting him treat me that way. I swear this is it.
Somberly, she was caught up in her confused emotions. Out of desperation to make amends before probably going in the other room, killing Rico, and going to jail for the rest of her life, Keisha attempted to get in touch with her already estranged father. Getting sent straight to voicemail on his cell, then repeatedly listening to his overly loyal secretary, Robin, claim he wasn’t in the office, Keisha painstakingly got the point. Her father truly meant what he’d said in his message earlier—he was done with her.
I know my mother will listen to me! She has to! She has to understand what madness I’ve been going through over these last few months. Throughout her entire rocky relationship with Rico, Keisha’s mother was always mentally supportive, if even from afar. With shaky hands, her finger finally pushed the SEND button adjacent to her mother’s name. Within seconds, it was ringing. One ring, two rings, three rings, lastly four. Met with her mother’s soothing voice message, Keisha was left with her already red and puffy eyes now burning.
Dang, not you too, Mother! In denial, Keisha wiped her tear-soaked face with the sleeve of her tracksuit and tried to reach her mother once more. Trembling after hearing the voicemail pop on yet again, Keisha was at a loss as she slid her weak body down the closed door.
Sandy! Keisha thought with a small faint grin and a glimmer of hope. I know she has my back. She always does. She’ll know what I should do. She’ll talk to my parents so I can come back home. I know she will.
Minutes after calling Sandy, her family’s longtime chef as well as her friend and confidant, Keisha felt a sense of relief mixed with equal portions of shame, guilt, and embarrassment.
“Sandy, I don’t know how it happened. Or even why it happened. I know he’s no good for me.”
“Then why don’t you just come back home or at least get your own place? Why deal with a man like that?”
“It’s hard. Rico monitors all my money. He spends every dime I get! I can’t save anything. You don’t understand.”
“Come on. Please don’t tell me that, Keisha! It’s always a way to leave if you really want to. I’ll help you.”
“Sandy, you know I love you, and I’d never disrespect you in no type of way, but aren’t you being a little hypocritical, telling me that?”
“Huh?” Sandy questioned, assumingly in the dark.
“You know what I mean, Sandy. The entire household does.”
“No, Keisha, I don’t. What do you mean?”
“Well, the way my father speaks to you, you should’ve been left, and you stay. I know it can’t be the money.”
Momentary silence was on both sides of the line before Sandy responded. “Keisha, my situation is much different than yours. You have options I could never dream about. Besides, I have to stay—I just have to. You don’t understand.”
“I know my mother relies on you, but—”
Sandy quickly changed the subject, not wanting to talk about her own painful life, but to try to help Keisha with hers. “Listen, I have some money I’ve been saving up. You know you’re more than welcome to it.” Nervously, she covered her cell, hoping not to be overheard by one of the other part-time staff that was incredibly loyal to Commissioner Jackson in hopes of getting full-time employment.
With no more tears left to shed, Keisha stood to her feet. Pacing the floor while also whispering, she soon found out her mother hadn’t even attended the concert the evening prior with her dad or ignored her calls. Instead, she had taken more than her regular amount of sleeping pills and drank two strong double shots of liquor, trying to block out the bone-chilling memory of what she’d seen her daughter doing with “that awful four-legged creature,” as she kept screaming repeatedly. Mrs. Jackson was knocked out and was dead to the world, which at this point was better to Keisha than having to face the backlash that was destined to come.
“Listen, Sandy, I’m glad we talked.” Keisha felt hopelessness invade her soul, focusing on the closed bedroom door. “But I have to take care of something. When my mother wakes up, tell her I love her and I’m sorry I am such an embarrassment to her and my family.”
“Wait, Keisha, don’t hang up.”
“I’ve gotta go.” Keisha abruptly ended their conversation and headed toward the back for a showdown with Rico.
* * *
Commissioner Jackson rode down in the elevator in complete silence with a white business-size envelope in his hands. As the steel doors slid open, he tucked the envelope in his suit jacket’s inner pocket.
It’s more than one way to skin a cat, he schemed, walking to his city-issued vehicle. No sooner had his driver and bodyguard, Calvin, shut the door of the burgundy sedan than the embarrassed and still very much humiliated father took the documents out. Scanning them over, he handed his trusted driver a small piece of paper with an address scribbled on it.
“Remember it, then tear it up and toss it out onto the freeway,” he ordered before placing a call to another close frat brother.
Doing as he was told, Calvin took a shortcut to the small bungalow home located on Detroit’s far Westside.
“That’s the house over there.” He nodded. “The blue and beige house two doors down from the vacant lot.”
“Very good.” Commissioner Jackson frowned, causing several worry lines to appear in his brow. “Okay, Calvin. You can take me to the house first and then to the club. I have a very important meeting down there.”
“Yes, sir.”
Enduring the twenty-minute ride accompanied by bumpy, unmaintained city roads, Commissioner Jackson instructed Calvin to keep the car running as he entered his home and quickly returned.
“Okay, let’s go. I have to get to the club.”
Knowing from past experiences to do as he was told and not ask unnecessary questions, Calvin completely ignored the fact that Sandy, his boss’s chef, was waving them down as if she wanted something urgent. When the man that signed his paychecks said, “keep driving,” that’s what he did, point blank period. If he said “kick a nigga’s ass,” then so be it. Being Commissioner Jackson’s driver as well as bodyguard, his employer’s wife and daughter both had his number on speed dial. So it went without saying he’d received the damn no-the-fuck-she-didn’t video this morning when he woke up, along with everyone else in Keisha’s contact list. However, he wasn’t fool enough to mention it.