“Tell Kessler if he wants to bring down his partner’s murderer, I’ll help. Tell him he’s gotta check the cell phone records.”
“Tell him? Kessler’s a woman, you dumbass.” Fattie cackled. “Sounds like you and Prescott were really close.”
“I take it you’re not charging me. ’Cause if you are, then I’ll need a lawyer.”
“We’re not charging you yet, Darren. But we will. Prescott was a good cop, but he never should’ve trusted you.” Chang leaned close to me. “Did you know he had two babies at home? Babies that don’t have a daddy anymore. Doesn’t that tear you up?”
“Eleanor and Grace,” I said quietly.
He got in my face. “What’s that?”
“Eleanor and Grace. And yeah, I know they don’t have a daddy no more. And it tears me up.”
I glanced from one cop to the other. “If you want justice for Prescott, you’ll stop dicking around and go after Diamond Tony hard. From what I see, Prescott was the only one in this department with the balls to do that.”
This time I knew the slap was coming. And I didn’t care.
HEADSPACE
When I got home, Kiki was watching Dora and Tasha was doing her nails on the couch. She swung around. “Where have you been? It’s your day to get Kiki. Noreen had to call me to come get him.”
“Sorry.” I was glad she hadn’t heard that I’d been picked up. “I got a detention and forgot to call.”
“Mom ain’t gonna be happy about this. I won’t tell her if you pick him up every day next week.”
“Fine.” And because I knew Kiki was listening, I said, “I like picking up Kiki.”
I dropped my knapsack and threw my coat on a chair, then went to see him. “Sorry, man. Hope you didn’t miss me too much.”
He was staring at the TV, riveted. I wondered if that Dora chick had some sort of mind control going on.
“Kiki? You’re not mad at me, are you?”
He flicked his arm to shoo me away. He didn’t seem mad. He just wanted to watch his show.
“Okay, little brother. I got you. I better go start my homework.”
I went to my room and sat on my bed.
Prescott’s protection had died with him. Now I had two enemies—the cops and the Walker gang. And no allies. How was I going to bring Diamond Tony down with the cops determined to bring me down?
Should I walk away, abandon my mission? If it was the only way to save myself from getting arrested again, I’d have to. Problem was, by now Tony would know that the cops had brought me in. What would he think if I just up and quit?
He could get suspicious and end me like he ended Prescott.
Unless . . .
Kessler. Maybe she would listen. I didn’t need those other cops to help me contact her. I’d find a way to do it myself.
I turned on my computer. I’d bought it hot a few weeks ago. A necessary expense, since Tasha and Mom were always on the other one, and it was really slow.
I opened Google and typed in Kessler Toronto Police Department.
Score! The third entry that came up was her LinkedIn page, which she’d put up five months ago. It must mean she was looking for a new job. Not only was there contact information, but I could see where she’d worked over the last few years and where she graduated from college. Turned out she was from Vancouver.
I made some notes before calling her. I had to convince her to deal with me.
She answered on the first ring. “Kessler.”
“This is Darren, Prescott’s CI. I really need to talk to you.”
There was a pause. “I don’t know what you want, but I can’t help you.”
“I didn’t sell him out to Diamond Tony. You have to believe me.”
She sighed. “Look. Everybody’s upset right now. If they didn’t arrest you, they’ve got nothing on you. That’s all I can say.”
“Wait—please. I want to finish what I started. I’m already in with Tony Walker’s operation, and it won’t be easy to get out now. I need the cops to stay away from me. I can still help you get evidence on Diamond Tony.”
“You were Ed’s CI, and whatever deal you had with him is over. The department thinks you’re involved in his murder. Even if they can’t prove it, they’re never going to work with you again.”
“I spent two years in juvie because of Tony Walker. That’s why I became a CI. Prescott understood. He said he had instincts about people. He knew right away he could trust me.”
“Maybe I don’t have his instincts. Why should I trust you?”
“I called Prescott about nine o’clock last night to warn him that he could be in danger. The cops that picked me up said there were no messages on his cell phone. Maybe Prescott got the message and erased it. There’s got to be a way you can check it out.”
“I’ll do my best. How can I reach you?”
“This number. It’s the secret cell phone Prescott gave me.”
“Okay.” She hung up.
I sat on my bed and said a little prayer for Kessler to clear my name. For all the good praying did—it had never helped me before.
THE BUZZ
A few minutes later, the intercom buzzed, making me jump.
“Darren!” Tasha called. “Some guy named Fry is downstairs!”
“Tell him I’ll be right down,” I shouted back.
Fry. It was one of Vinny’s many nicknames. It came from nonstick frying pans, because charges never stuck to him.
“Who’s Fry?” Tasha asked when I came out of my bedroom.
“A kid from school who’s supposed to give me his history notes. Charges twenty bucks, but I should ace the test.” At the mention of school, she lost interest and turned back to her manicure. I glanced at Kiki, who was still staring at the TV.
When I got downstairs, Vinny was waiting outside the building. For once, he wore a hoodie instead of his fur coat.
Vinny and I started to walk.
“We heard,” he said. I figured we meant Diamond Tony and his executives. “How hard they lean on you?”
I snorted. “Same old shit. They promised they’d be watching us pretty good.”
“Why’d they think they can lean on you?” Vinny didn’t pull any punches.
“They saw me around and figured they’d try to spook me. Don’t worry, Vinny. I gave them nothing. You know me.”
“I do, soljah.” He clapped a hand down on my shoulder. “What they say about the cop murder case? They got any ideas about it?”
It was as good as an admission that Diamond Tony was behind it. Not that I needed confirmation.
“They’re saying it was a revenge murder. They think the cop who got killed pissed off DT. Sounded to me like they had nothing. But you know how it is. They’ll be on us for a while. Point is, everybody needs to be careful.”
“We’ll be running a tight ship these next couple weeks until we can give the cops what they want.”
“How you gonna do that?”
“South Side, Darren.” There was that sly grin, the one that had freaked me out last night. “We got peeps willing to testify that Andre made the call to kill the cop.”
I was stunned, but raised my eyebrows, trying to look impressed. “Very nice. Hope it works out.”
“It will.”
“That’ll be good for our man DT.”
“Good for us all.”
LAYERS
Hundreds of uniformed cops came out for Prescott’s funeral. A picture of his grieving wife and his twin baby girls took up half a page in the Star. I brought the paper home with me, tore out the page, and tucked it under my mattress. I’d look at it in case I ever forgot what my mission was.
I spent every second of the next few days expecting the cops to make good on their threat and arrest me. Detective Chang was probably right—they’d charge me as an adult this time.
Maybe I’d even meet up with my old buddy Jongo.
Jessica sensed something was bothering me, though I kept denying it. She saw through me
like no one else. My strategy was to avoid giving her the chance to ask questions. That meant more time sitting with friends at school or hanging out in the living room with Kendra. But I missed my alone time with Jessica.
It was a whole week until I heard from Kessler. I got home from my corner late one night to find that the secret cell had gotten several calls.
When I phoned her back, she picked up right away.
“I found the message you left on Ed’s phone. The guys at the station know you weren’t involved in his death.”
Relief flooded through me. I sprawled backward on my bed. “How’d you find it? They told me it got erased.”
“Don’t be concerned with the details. Just be glad I found the message.”
“Thanks for taking care of it.”
“You were right about Ed. He had instincts about people. He’d have wanted me to check out your story. I suggest you call it quits, Darren. You’ve done some good, but you should move on. Get as far away from the Walker gang as possible. I’m sure it’s what Ed would want.”
“He wanted to see Tony’s operation shut down. I’m not ready to end this. But if I don’t have a contact in the PD, I’ll have to.”
“It’s up to you, Darren. If you have information, I’m listening.”
“I do have information.”
“Go on.”
“I will. But we’ve got to meet in person.”
* * *
The sight of Kessler took me by surprise. On the phone, she sounded kind of tired, kind of old, but in person she was cute, with a curvy body. She had light brown skin and no makeup, making her look clean, au natural, and her hair was pulled back tightly, like a sexy librarian.
I bet Prescott noticed all of this too. Any red-blooded man would.
Kessler and I met at a vegan coffee shop downtown. She must’ve chosen it thinking that peeps from my neighborhood would never walk into a place like this. No doubt she was right.
Kessler was drinking funny-smelling green tea. She put an oatmeal square and a bottle of organic guava juice on my side of the table. I bet it cost ten bucks.
“Go ahead,” she said. “It’s gluten free.”
I took a bite. It was good, but a little dry. “No offense, but I’ve never seen a granola cop. Prescott was all about the brownies.”
She cracked a smile. “I tried to get him to lay off those things. So many empty calories.” Her smile drained away. “I should’ve let him enjoy them.”
There were a few seconds of silence. I finished the square, washing it down with the juice.
“Ed didn’t tell me much about you,” she said. “Just that he had a kid on the inside of the Walker gang. ‘A kid who had a beef with them,’ is what he said. He worked with a number of CIs over the years, but kept it as quiet as possible. The fewer people who knew, the better.”
“Makes sense.”
“Ed knew that going after the Walker gang was ambitious. And dangerous. One time he let on that he was worried for your safety.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But he said you were determined. I guess you and Ed were alike that way. So tell me, Darren. What’s this intel you’ve got for me?”
“I’ll tell you. But first I need to know that we trust each other. Quid pro quo, as they say. I need the truth about where my phone message went and why those cops told me it got erased. Why’d they lie about it?”
Kessler pursed her lips, discomfort written all over her face. She wouldn’t make it undercover, that was for sure.
“It didn’t get erased,” she admitted. “Ed had two cell phones. The department didn’t know about the second until I told them.”
“So he had a second cell phone just for informants.”
Her eyes darted to the window, then back to me. “I’m not saying more than that.”
“Then I’m not either.”
“He left it at my place,” she said quietly.
Finally it clicked. They were more than just partners.
“He never got the message?” I asked.
She stared down at the table. “I heard it go off, but I didn’t check the message. I wish to God I had. If he’d been on guard when he got out of the car that night . . .” She exhaled. “You can think what you want about me. It was complicated.”
“I’m not thinking anything about you. I know all about complicated.”
“So are you going to tell me this tip, or am I wasting my time?”
I glanced over my shoulders, just in case. No one was within earshot. “Diamond Tony is going to frame Andre of the South Side Bloods for Prescott’s murder. Tony’s got guys in the Bloods who are willing to testify that Andre ordered it.”
“Do you have any details about what their story’s going to be?”
“No, but Tony knows what sticks and what doesn’t. Vinny—that’s one of Tony’s lieutenants—was sure that their plan was gonna work.”
“God. The department might’ve bought it too.”
“That’s all I know,” I told her. “You’ve got to take it from here.”
“I will,” she said, a steel edge in her voice. She wanted to put away Prescott’s killer as much as I did.
STOP-LOSS
I could picture Diamond Tony smiling.
Andre down, check.
New suppliers, check.
Saturday morning I felt so depressed that I didn’t want to get out of bed. It killed me that I might’ve had something to do with Tony’s good fortune. If I hadn’t tipped off Prescott about Pup or the Cash Stop, all of this might’ve played out differently.
My phone rang, and Jessica’s number came up. I couldn’t talk to her, not now.
I called White Chris. An hour later, I met him at Local’s. When I got to the table, he did something he never did. I mean, never.
He hugged me.
“What was that for?”
White Chris sat down and looked at me over his basket of chicken wings. “I heard about the cop getting killed. I’m glad it wasn’t you.”
“Me too.” It felt wrong saying it. Prescott’s only mistake had been putting himself out there in front of the cameras, bringing all that attention to himself. If anyone was setting themselves up to get killed, it was me. Yet I was still living and breathing.
“I was his informant,” I whispered.
White Chris’s eyes widened.
“I’m in touch with his partner now. I told her that Tony is framing Andre of the South Side Bloods for the murder.”
“So killing that cop was all part of his master plan.”
“Right. The cops aren’t listening to her, though. They’re still going to charge Andre. Turns out he’s got plenty of reasons to want Prescott dead. Prescott’s been a pain in the ass to the Bloods for years. He even charged Andre a couple of years ago, but Andre got off on a technicality.”
“Typical. The cops have to put someone away, even if he’s not the real killer.”
“And now Tony’s hooked into the Bloods’ suppliers. I don’t know how he did it. He got everything he wanted. Revenge, supply, everything.” I put up a hand. “Don’t say ‘I told you, he’s smarter than you.’ Just don’t.”
“I won’t. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is what you do next.”
“You think I should get out.”
“I thought you should before. Now I know you should. Tony killed a cop, Darren. And not just any cop—your contact. That means he could’ve seen him meet with you.”
“If he had, I’d be dead by now,” I said. But it was still there, the gnawing fear in the pit of my stomach.
“For the first time in your life, you’re a lucky bastard. Now get the hell out.” He violently bit into a chicken wing to emphasize the point. “Look, if I saw you standing in the middle of the road with a Mack truck headed for you, I’d—”
“Okay.”
He blinked. “Did you just say Okay?”
I was shocked, too. I couldn’t quit. I’d come too far, seen too much. And now
there was Prescott to avenge.
But none of that changed one simple fact: White Chris was right. I had to get out while I still could.
I knew what it meant to say I was getting out. It meant that I’d failed. It meant that everything I’d worked to achieve in the past few months had been a waste.
But it was like we’d learned in economics class—everybody has to have a point when you get out at all cost, no matter how much you’ve lost. A point where you save whatever assets you have left.
Even if the only asset you have left is your life.
“You’re right,” I said. “About everything. Now I have to figure out how to do it. Most people don’t up and quit, especially with all the shit going down these days.”
“Keep it simple. You can say that your mom heard about your dealing and threatened to kick you out.”
I thought about it and nodded.
“You’re doing the right thing, Darren.”
But I wasn’t sure that jumping ship and saving myself was the right thing. I only knew I wasn’t ready to give up my life for this. Maybe my dad could do that, could give up his life for some cause bigger than he was. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to leave Kiki to grow up without me.
I didn’t care what the right thing was anymore. I wanted to stay alive.
My Dad
My dad fought to keep the peace
And died a victim of war
One picture’s all I have
Of him in his uniform
Growing up I needed
My dad, someone wise
Now I got no memories
None to love or to despise
A boy needs his dad
To show him the right way
How to handle the streets
And what game not to play
One picture’s all I have
Of my dad, of my dad
One picture’s all I have
And it’s never been enough.
THE TWIST
How come we can’t see stars in the projects?” Cam asked me.
The sky was smoky black. Vinny was supposed to come by soon to make the last exchange of the night. That’s when I planned to tell him my decision.