Savage Shadows

Chapter 3

Chino still hadn"t opened the folder when he went to the bar that afternoon. He made his way through the smoky establishment. Smoking in bars had been illegal for years, but Grillby"s had a strict “who gives a f**k?” policy. Chino approached the bar, glancing over at Dobbs sitting in the corner. When the bartender, Arno, came over, he said, “The normal?” Chino nodded. As Arno prepared his drink, he said, “How"s the weather in your world?” Chino shrugged. “Dark and rainy, as usual.” Arno chuckled and said, “Ain"t that the fuckin" truth?” He gave him his drink and Chino took it, making his way over to Dobbs.

There was some bluesy guitar number on the jukebox that Chino didn"t know. He sat down beside Dobbs who was reading the Post.

Post“What"s news?”

Dobbs looked up. “Nothin" good ever. I don"t even know why I bother readin" the s**t. Life is depressing enough without goin" and findin" more s**t to depress me. How "bout you?”

ever“Busy day already. Got called in to see the woman.”

“Cocoa?”

Chino gave him a sarcastic look. “Nah. Michelle Obama.”

“I thought maybe you"d gone and found you a woman.”

Chino chuckled. “Those days are over for me, pal.”

“Not for me.”

Chino took a drink, looking over the edge of his glass.

Dobbs said, “I picked up a woman last night was hot as a firecracker. Pretty face, pretty ass, the whole nine.”

“You get laid?”

“Nah, man, we made a connection. Sometimes you ain"t gotta have s*x for it to be good.”

“Wouldn"t give it up, huh?”

Dobbs shrugged. “Nah, but we goin" out again tomorrow.”

“She"s into you then?”

“Man,” said Dobbs. “All of "em are into me. You know that. You"ve met me.”

“I have. That"s why I was shocked.”

Dobbs looked at him sideways. “What the hell you know? I been knockin" boots since before you was born.”

“Your ass was ten when I was born.”

“What can I say? I got an early start.”

Chino stared at him. “You got started at ten?”

“Sure.”

“With who?”

“You betta ask ya mama "bout that, son.”

They both chuckled.

“What did Cocoa want?” asked Dobbs.

“Another job.”

“Damn. You just popped Manny yesterday, and you already got more work? No rest for the wicked, huh?”

Damn“Job security. As long as the bodies keep fallin", the money keeps stackin". So I"m good.”

“True,” said Dobbs, nodding. “Who you got this time?”

“I didn"t want this one.”

“What makes it different?”

“It"s a woman.”

Dobbs looked him in the eyes. “Why"s that a big thing? I killed a couple. Wasn"t nothin" personal. Part of the job.”

“You didn"t feel bad about it?”

“No worse than I did cappin" anybody else. s**t wasn"t fun with anybody. But at the end of the day, it was the same. It wasn"t like I knew "em. I just showed up, did my thing, went home and watched the Knicks.”

“I said I"d never do it,” said Chino.

“But you gonna do it now?”

“Yeah, but I told her I wasn"t gonna do anymore.”

Dobbs looked startled. “Anymore jobs?”

“Anymore jobs?”“No. No more women. But I don"t really wanna do many more jobs either. Like I said, I"m tired of this. I"m ready for somethin" different.”

women“You got any money saved? It ain"t like you can go back to doin" comedy. If you wasn"t funny when you was twenty-two, your ass ain"t gonna be funnier at forty-five.”

“Forty-six,” Chino corrected.

“You say that like there"s a difference.”

“That"s true. Everything after forty is the same.”

“Just wait till your ass turns fifty. Then you"ll think forty was young.”

“Forty ain"t young. Forty is old. It"s just that fifty is older.”

“You know what they say.”

“What"s that?”

“Fifty is the new thirty.”

Chino laughed. “That"s bullshit. They say everything is the new somethin", no matter how old you are. Eighty is the new sixty. "Cept it ain"t. You know why? Because you might convince yourself you"re younger, and you might even convince other people, but you can"t convince God. He"s still gonna know, and when he"s ready for your ass, he"s comin" no matter what. You try tellin" him that s**t. "Eighty is the new sixty." He"ll look at you like "man, please. You"re comin" with me, you old bastard."”

Dobbs laughed. “Maybe you"re funnier than I give you credit for.” They both laughed and Dobbs added, “But only marginally funnier. Like, you"re funnier than I thought you were, but you still ain"t funny.”

“Thanks.”

“I wouldn"t want you gettin" a swollen head. You got a fat-ass head to begin with.”

“What would I do without you, Dobbs?”

“You"d be a sad, lonely motherfucker, I"ll tell you that.”

“Nah. I"d be alright.”

“But really, you got any money saved back?”

“Not much. I got some, but not enough to last.”

“Then I guess you best keep workin".”

Chino nodded. “I guess so.”

“You know what your problem is, Cheen?”

“No, but I"m sure you"re gonna tell me.”

“The problem is, you think it"s sexist to kill a woman. But I"m callin" bullshit on that. It ain"t sexist at all. In fact, it"s the opposite. Women wanna be treated like equals, so bustin" a cap in a broad is the same as bustin" a cap in anybody else. Ain"t no difference at all "cept she ain"t got no d**k. Besides, if Cocoa wants her dead, she probably did somethin" to deserve it.”

“Therein lies the problem.”

“There"s a problem?”

“Cocoa says she didn"t do anything.”

Dobbs looked surprised. “So what"s up?”

“Apparently this is about her daddy. Cocoa wants to teach him a lesson.”

Dobbs nodded. “One of them deals. Okay. But you know, it ain"t none of your business, Cheen. This is what you do—you kill people. Like in the Marines, "we kill "em and let God sort "em out."”

“I suppose you"re right.”

That night when Chino got home, he put Tribe Called Quest on the turntable and sat in his recliner to have a drink. He picked up the folder. He opened it and saw a one-page file and two black-and-white photos.

The mark"s name was Ericka Green. It listed her name, age (she was forty), and address. There was a brief two paragraph bio saying she sang on weekends at a club called Henry"s in the Bronx. It also listed a couple of her friends and family members.

Then he turned to the photos. The moment he saw Ericka Green, he felt an immediate reaction. It wasn"t a physical one, really, so much as it was an emotional one. The light-skinned black woman was pretty—more than pretty, gorgeous really—but in a normal, everyday kind of way. She wasn"t the lead actress in the movie, but more like the lead actress" best friend. She was attractive—right in Chino"s wheelhouse—but she wasn"t gonna be offered a truckload of money to do some big modeling gig. But there was something about her. Something unmistakable. Je Ne Sais Quoi.

Je Ne Sais QuoiThe photos made him feel something in his heart and soul. It wasn"t a s****l thing. It was more of a yearning to meet her. To be around her. To know her. He"d heard people say love at first sight didn"t exist, but he knew otherwise. When he"d first met Aliesha, he"d taken one look at her and he"d known instantly.

Chino felt sad for Ericka Green. But even more, he felt bad for himself. But no matter how you sliced it, she had to die.