Chapter 9
The Present
Caesar took what felt like the biggest breath of his life, and he attempted to pull himself together. He stared at the revolving door of the hospital and watched people rushing in and out, knowing that when he left, he might not ever be the same again. A hand gently touched his shoulder, and he turned his attention to his companion. Diana gave him a sad smile and urged him to follow her.
“We have to go in now, Caesar,” she said, and he nodded.
“I know. I’m just not ready.”
“Me either, but this is just one of those things that we have to do. We have each other to lean on. Come on. Before security has us removed for loitering.”
She led the way into the hospital and to the pathology department. The closer they got, the more Caesar’s chest seemed to cave. Losing his wife had been unbearable, and losing Barry had been another blow. But when he received the call that Boogie had been killed, it was like whatever life Caesar had left went with him. Boogie had become like a son to him. He loved him. Caesar couldn’t help but wonder if he had cheated death just for it to be dealt to the next person.
“How can I help you today?” the receptionist asked.
“We’re here to view a body,” Diana answered. “Bryshon Tolliver.”
The receptionist typed something into her computer, and when she found what she was looking for, she pursed her lips. She looked from the screen and then back at the two of them.
“It looks like someone already identified the body. They were able to give the police a positive ID when he was first brought in almost forty-eight hours ago.”
“I don’t think you heard me right. We’re here to view the body, not identify it,” Diana told her with a straight face. “We are his next of kin, so I’m not sure why anyone else would have been called to identify him. Find someone to take us to him.”
The receptionist paused, visibly flustered. But it was as if she knew denying Diana what she wanted wouldn’t be in her best interest. She paged someone, and a few minutes later a man wearing a pair of scrubs came to the front.
“Anna, you paged?” he asked the receptionist.
“Yes, I did, John. These people would like to view the body of the shooting victim who was brought in two days ago.”
“He was already identified.”
“I know. That’s what I, um, that’s what I said.”
John turned to face Diana and Caesar. They both wore determined expressions that let him know they weren’t leaving until they got what they came for. John sighed and looked around the empty lobby and nodded his head.
“I don’t see what harm it will do. I understand these things can be very unsettling. Was he your son?”
“Yes,” Caesar answered without batting an eye.
“Right this way.” John motioned for them to follow him.
He led them to the morgue. The room reeked of death, but that didn’t move Caesar. The only thing on his mind was saying goodbye to Boogie.
“Tolliver,” John said as he approached a cold locker. “There you are.”
He pulled the body out, and Caesar clenched his jaw as he stared at the thin white sheet that covered it. He approached slowly, and John stepped back.
“I was on my way to the lab to grab something when Anna paged me. Technically I’m not supposed to do this, but if I leave you here for a few moments, do you promise not to steal any bodies?”
“What?” Diana turned her lip up at him.
“Right, wrong time to make a joke,” John said and widened his eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
He left the two of them standing in front of the open locker. Caesar kept urging his hand to pull the sheet back, but something was getting lost in translation. He found himself reflecting on the time he and Boogie stood over Barry’s body to identify him. Whatever feelings Boogie had been feeling then, staring down at his own father’s lifeless body, were the same ones Caesar wanted to avoid. He wasn’t ready to see Boogie like that. However, that was the reason he came. He had to see for himself that Boogie was really dead.
He balled the corner of the sheet into his fist and pulled the sheet back. Beside him he heard Diana take a sharp breath. Her hand flew to her chest as they stared down at the body. Caesar’s eyes first went to the bullet holes in his pale chest. There was no way anyone could have survived a direct hit like that. The next thing he looked at was Boogie’s face, only to find that there wasn’t a thing about it that he recognized. The man on the table was about the same age as Boogie, but he in fact was not him.
“What in the world . . .” Diana whispered, seeing the same thing as Caesar. “Maybe the mortician pulled the wrong body.”
“He said the name Tolliver when he pulled this one out,” Caesar said and curiously checked the toe tag. “And this here says this man’s name is Bryshon Tolliver, but I think we can both agree that this isn’t Boogie.”
“They said someone positively identified him. Who could have done that?”
“Good! You’re here!” a familiar voice sounded almost on cue.
Both Caesar and Diana turned to the door in unison and found Caesar’s nephew Nicky standing at the morgue’s entrance. He wore fresh braids and street clothes. He also seemed out of breath, like he had run all the way down there. Nicky had been the one who informed Caesar about the shooting. If Caesar had been in his right mind when he got off the plane, he would have called his nephew the moment he touched down. However, his mind was so clouded that he hadn’t even thought to.
“Nicky! What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been trying to reach both of you for hours! When you didn’t return my messages, I took a wild guess of where I might find you.”
“Is this some kind of sick joke, Nicky?” Caesar asked with frustration dripping from each word. “You said Boogie was dead, but this isn’t Boogie.”
“I can explain everything. A lot of shit has happened. But first we need to get out of here.”
“No, I’m not spending another second without knowing what the hell is going on around me. They said they got a positive ID on Boogie’s body, and I want to see him before I leave.”
“Boogie’s body isn’t here. I’m the one who positively identified whoever that John Doe is and said he was Boogie.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“To keep Boogie safe,” Nicky answered, and Caesar’s heart almost stopped.
“To keep him safe? You say that like he’s alive.”
“He is, but we had to keep a low profile. With Zo’s crazy-ass aunt still somewhere lurking around, and Roz’s crazy baby daddy—”
“Who?” Diana asked.
“Like I said, it’s a lot. And we didn’t want to take any chances. Right now, anyone affiliated with Zo has a target on their back. So, Unc, please put that nigga back on ice, and let’s go to the Big House.”
“Wait. The Big House?” Diana asked, confused. “The location was compromised. Why would we go there? It isn’t safe.”
“I guess I should say the new Big House.” Nicky grinned sheepishly at them. “After Roz was shot, Boogie decided to take a page out of Caesar’s book. He had a house built on uncharted property on the outskirts of the city. Only we know the location of it. Now come on. He’s waiting for you.”