Hood Ornaments

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but I ain’t hire no attorney.” Dre would have sounded adamant if he wasn’t still confused.

“I know. I was originally Victoria’s counsel, but I have to recuse myself because of the conflict of interest since I am now representing you.”

“I don’t get it. Who hired…”

Just then it came to him.

Sticks.

He always did have an uncanny way of knowing how to get shit done. Reginald recognized the look of realization on Dre’s face and nodded.

“Your daughter will be here in an hour or so, can you sit tight until then?”

“She doesn’t know I am here, does she?” Dre sounded frantic.

“Per Mr. Martin’s instructions, no, she does not. Once she gets here, she will be cleared then sent home. You, will then be arraigned…”

“I know what happens next…but what about the…”

“Press? Of course there’s a gag order in place. A letter will be written and sent to her school explaining the unfortunate misunderstanding. And I will do my absolute best to get you the most lenient sentence possible.”

Dre was pleased with Reginald’s first two statements, but he knew the last one was an impossibility.

“So are you ready to start?

Dre nodded, and Reginald waved the detectives in.

“Even though you turned yourself in, I need to follow procedure. Andre Watts, please stand up and put your arms behind your back. You are under arrest for the murder of Robert Hunter, Clifford Foxwood, and William Green. You have the right to remain silent…”

***

Trudy had the side door in the kitchen wide open waiting for Dell and Sticks to arrive. She couldn’t believe it when she got the phone call from Mr. Chambers that Tori was arrested. She, of course, immediately called Sticks and everything was set in motion from there. She didn’t know what Sticks had done or how he did it, but she didn’t care. Her Tori, her baby, was coming home.

Of course there were all kinds of smells coming from the kitchen, eggs, bacon, coffee, biscuits, and gravy. Anything, anyone wanted, Trudy was more than willing to provide for them.

For the first time in a long while, she turned on the radio in the window sill. The chiming of the silverware, the sizzling in the pans along with the music brought her back to a time when everything was beautiful. She reached into the cupboard to get the phone to call her son, but stopped herself as a tear fell from the corner of her eye.

That’s when she realized that nothing would ever really be perfect again. But for now she was excited, and she was going to remain that way for her granddaughter. The door to the kitchen swung open and Dell was the first to come in. He strode over to Trudy and hugged her tightly.

“I knew I smelled food from the driveway,” he said as he squeezed her.

“Nephew you know better than to have thought otherwise.”

Trudy walked over to Sticks and looked up at him. She couldn’t stop the tears this time and buried her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head.

“Now, now, none of that. This is not a sad time. We gon’ eat, make Tori a plate, do the dishes, and by the time we do all that, she will be walkin in the door. Then I dunno about y’all, but I’ma take a nap. This has been a long few days.”

More often than not, when Sticks said something was gonna happen, it did. It may not have been a smooth transition, or there may have been a repercussion or two, but the result always worked out.