CHAPTER 11

DANE

 

I’m at the counter, at my job, giving a teacup yorkie it’s heartworm medicine. While Tex has been walking around like shit is cool, like he doesn’t have a problem in the world, my mind is wrecked.

Since I’ve worked here, we robbed at least fifteen houses. It could be more, but some of them were a waste of time because they never had any money. But today feels different. My stomach is churning because I have a bad feeling about going through with our plan tonight. Something tells me that the job we got planned, is gonna backfire in our face, and I’m not sure how.

When I’m done giving the puppy its meds, I hand him back over to the owner, so she can say goodbye before she leaves. “He should be good with what I gave him for about three months.”

“Thank you, Dane,” Mrs. Parnell says to me, rubbing her dog’s head. “I really appreciate you taking care of Pops for me. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my trip because I would be worrying about him so much.”

While I’m talking to her, Tex comes from the backroom, takes the dog out of her arms and kisses him in the mouth. Their tongues press against each other and I think I’m about to lose my food. I think his dick gets hard when he be doing that shit or something.

“You don’t worry about nothing, Mrs. Parnell,” He says. “Pops gonna be good here. You already know how I am when it comes to the dogs. Just take your vacation and relax your mind.”

She grins like a proud mother. “I have to be honest, Tex, Pops has been to lots of boarding facilities and this is by far the cleanest and best. Whenever he comes here, he’s always happier than he was when I dropped him off. It does my heart proud.”

“I don’t do nothing but give him love.” He rubs the dog’s head, a little too roughly if you ask me. “Don’t worry. So, Mrs. Parnell, where you off too for vacation this time? Didn’t you just come back from the Bahamas?”

“I try to travel at least a few times a year, it helps me relax.”

“Wow, you must have a real wealthy lifestyle to be able to afford so many vacations. You want an adopted son?”

Although Mrs. Parnell giggles, I feel like stealing this nigga in his right jaw. Even if we wanted to hit her house, after the scene that he’s making, she would be sure to point the cops our way.

“You are such a wonderful young man, and if I ever do think about adopting, I’ll consider you.” She blushes.

“So is your husband going with you?”

“What difference does it make,” a black man dressed in a navy blue suit asks, walking up behind her. He flashes a gold badge at us. “She’s dropping off the dog, not telling you her life story.” He stuffs the badge back into his pocket. “If you ask me you’re getting a little too personal.”

I feel as if my life flashed before my eyes. I knew this morning would turn out to be terrible, and that’s exactly what’s happening. I’m not going to college, a nigga is going to jail. I’m gonna get a full ride there too.

Mrs. Parnell looks at the officer and says, “Well, let me go, boys.” She observes the officer again with anger in her eyes. I guess she wasn’t feeling how he came at us. “I have a plane to catch and don’t want to miss it.” She rubs her puppy again. “I’ll see you boys and my dog in about a week.”

When she leaves I look at the officer. “Can I help you with something, sir?” I look down at the counter, and try to arrange a box of heartworm medicines that didn’t need arranging.

“Where is the owner?” he asks me. “Of this boarding facility? I’ve called several times but can never seem to catch him.”

I look over at my brother who is staring at the officer so harshly, I’m afraid he’s going to get in trouble for the look alone. “What is this about?” I ask him.

He leans in. “Are you the owner?”

“I’m in charge of the store, while he’s gone,” I say. “Anyway the owner is never here.”

“What’s your name?”

I clear my throat. “Dane…Dane Blake.”

“And you?” He looks at Tex.

“He’s my brother, Tex.” I reply for him.

“Well, Dane, since you’re in charge I’ll hold you responsible for riddling me this question. There have been a string of robberies recently in this neighborhood, and do you know what they all have in common?” He picks up a doggy breath mint, opens it and drops it into his mouth.

Pops starts barking hysterically at the cop, and Tex rubs his head, I guess to calm him down. I don’t think he fucks with his thieving ass.

“I don’t know but I guess you gonna tell me.”

He sucks on the mint. “They all have one thing in common, each one of them have left their animals at this place to be boarded. Why do you think that is?”

“We don’t know why that is because it isn’t any of our business,” Tex says. “How ‘bout you do your fucking job and tell us.”

“Tex,” I yell. “I got this.” I put my hand out. “Relax, and go take Pops to his crate in the back.”

“But I want to—”

“Go,” I yell, pointing toward the back. “I said I got it.”

He walks toward the door and says, “Aight, but I’m coming right back.” He looks at the officer again and then leaves.

“Your brother sounds like he has an attitude. You might want to calm him down, maybe put one of them leashes around his neck, before he finds himself behind bars, with people like him.” He takes another doggy mint and pops it into his mouth. “Because although I’m a sport, my colleagues might not be so nice.”

“We don’t know nothing about no robberies. Officer…”

“Stern. I’m officer Stern.”

“Like I said, Officer Stern, we don’t have any information for you, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance. Now if you know something we don’t, you just do what you gotta do. Other than that I gotta get back to work.”

He reaches into his pocket, and throws five dollars on the counter, along with his business card. “It’s for the mints. Keep the change. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.”

When he leaves I call Tex back out front, and lock the door, even though we don’t close for hours. “We can’t fuck with it, man! The burglaries are over! That cop is onto us. He knows we been setting niggas up. I knew it was just a matter of time before this came back to haunt us and that’s exactly what it did.”

“He don’t know shit,” he says bouncing his red ball off the counter. “If he did we would be locked up right now.” He picks up his business card, looks at it and stuffs it into his pocket. “Trust me, he’s just fucking with us to see if he can get into our head.”

“You not even listening, Tex. The man said that this boarding facility is the common factor, of everybody who has been robbed. If he doesn’t know it will be just a matter of time before he catches on to us. The shit is off.”

“Well what about me? You making decisions without even thinking about where I’m gonna be when you go off to college.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” I frown.

“No, are you listening to yourself?” he points at me. “If we don’t do this job how the fuck am I gonna take care of the family? You abandoning us, man. And the shit ain’t right.”

“You act like you gonna get a million dollars from this gig!”

“It don’t matter, Dane! Now just because some cop who doesn’t have anything on us came sniffing around here, you getting all scared.”

“You heard what I said right, Tex. The shit ain’t up for discussion.”

“I heard you, but what if I don’t wanna listen? It ain’t like I need you to do a job, I’ve done plenty of them by myself before.”

“If you do that then you don’t have shit else to say to me. I’m dead serious.”

“You wanted it that way not me.”