Hood Ornaments

Fully expecting to get off the bus, grab his luggage, and head out to the cab line in front of the train station, he adjusted his bag over his shoulder and continued on with his plan to get a cab and go home.

Home, he thought again. He should be calling it the house.

With his grandmother gone, it’s not going to feel like much of a home. He frowned in confusion when he heard someone call his name. He wasn’t going to turn around because he didn’t recognize the voice.

It was male, older and definitely Caucasian.

Tony did not know anyone who fit that description, so he kept on walking. Then he heard what sounded like an old fashioned walkie-talkie, but he couldn’t make out what was being said. He shrugged it off. There had to have been hundreds of Tones in the city. But the sound of the walkie-talkie made him pause as it moved towards him. He walked to where the cabs were lined up and pushed open the glass door. It was at that point that he heard the radio’s loud hiss and felt the hand on his shoulder. Tony whipped around and almost knocked Detective Zero over with the bag that was on his shoulder. As he regained his composure, Detective One stood in front of Tony flashing his badge in his face.

“Anthony Thomas?”

Tony’s face wrinkled up with disgust and confusion, “Yeah? I already know about my grandmother. I don’t need no police escort back to the house.”

Zero was now positioned at Tony’s side in case he tried to make a run for it. That’s when Detective Ten spoke.

“Anthony, I’m detective Ross. That’s detective Farrell. We’re from the homicide division, and we’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Tony let go of the cab door handle and sighed in annoyance, “Look, as y’all can see I have been out of state for a few months. There ain’t nothing I can possibly do for y’all.”

Detective Farrell took Tony by his elbow, “So you are gonna tell me you haven’t seen the news?”

Tony shrugged off the detective’s arm. “Y’all are some slow bammas. As you can see, I’m in uniform. I just told y’all I’ve been out of state. Fuck, I haven’t seen television let alone news from here. I know my rights. Unless you’re gonna arrest me, I ain’t gotta go wit chu. And even if you do arrest me, I ain’t gotta tell you shit. Now let me go pack up my grandmother’s house.”

Tony went to open the cab door again but then detective Ross spoke up. “It’s okay Anthony, we were just tryin to give you a chance to tell your side of the story. We already got the Martins down at the station and they are talkin up a storm. Go home turn on the television, and when you’re ready come down to the station. It shouldn’t be long at all.”

Tony smirked, “Yeah, I’ll make sure I do that.” He finally got into the cab and gave the driver his grandmother’s address. He then put his duffel bag between his legs, unzipped it and began searching for his cell phone. He held it in his hands for a while contemplating who to call if anyone. Since the detectives told him Sticks and Dell were supposedly downtown. In cop speak, that meant they were being watched leaving Malik the only one to contact with and they weren’t on the best of terms.

“Yo,” Tony said to the driver, “Somethin happen out here that made the news?” He asked.

“Chea,” the cabbie said looking at Tony in his rear view mirror, “They found a couple of bodies in the basement of the condos they were gonna renovate.”

Tony’s stomach dropped and the Burger King that was upsetting it finally came up into the back of the cab. When it came to a stop, Tony basically tossed his fare at the cabbie, plus the extra he demanded for cleaning up the mess he made. All kinds of emotions enveloped him. He was disgusted, angry, scared.

And he didn’t know what to do.

He stared at the front door to the house for a long time. He wasn’t sure he was ready to open the door and face the emptiness. He knew he had to at some point. He thought about going to Ms. Trudy’s. Surely she would be happy to see him even under the circumstances. But what if Dell was there?

Nah, he had to see Ms. Trudy another time.

Rather than call Malik, Tony just headed to his house. He needed to put his bag down; it was heavy and weighing on him. But as Tony rounded the corner, he saw Sticks’ truck parked across the street.

Instantly, he became paranoid.

Fuck!

Once he realized it was empty he turned around sharply and walked in the direction of the police administration building. He would be safe where he was going. He just had to get there. Tony picked up his pace careful not to draw attention. He just listened intently as he walked towards the building he always avoided in the past. Presently, however, it felt like a safe haven.

A place where Tony could finally put that damn bag down. He did so at the front desk where a surly looking woman with a short blonde buzz cut was typing on a computer. She didn’t even look up from her work, and Tony cleared his throat. She resumed her typing without acknowledging him, so Tony cleared his throat again.

“Do you need a lozenge?” The woman asked as she pushed a weathered coffee cup in front of Tony. When he glanced inside, Tony saw an assortments of mints, cough drops and other candy. He wrinkled his nose when he recognized the foil wrapped strawberries. They reminded him of going to church with his grandmother on Sundays.

“If your throat is okay is there something I can help you with?” The woman asked with a smirk on her face. This time she was looking over her glasses at Tony. He sighed and put his arms behind his back in the at ease position, “Yes, um, ma’am. I am here to see Detective Ross or Detective Farrell.”

“Name?” The woman said resumed her typing again.

“Private Brown.”

The woman raised her eyebrow, “First name honey?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Anthony, ma’am. My name is Anthony Brown.”

She pointed with her pen to the plastic chairs by the window and said with slight sarcasm, “Well Anthony Brown, both detectives are out in the field right now, but you are welcome to have a seat. I’ll radio them.”

“Thank you.” Tony answered uncomfortably. He had good reason to be uncomfortable, sitting by the open window of the police station. The only thing that was in his favor was the fact that he was in uniform. From the outside, he could have looked like a SWAT officer. At least that’s what he would have thought if he happened to look in the window. But, he wasn’t, and typically people didn’t go looking in the police station for folk. The receptionist then picked up the microphone that sat on her desk and spoke some numbers into it. The numbers must have been part of the badge numbers for Ross and Farrell, because then she added, “Your witness is 10-1”

“I’ll be there in five,” Tony recognized Detective Farrell’s voice.”

“10-4,” She responded, and then she got up from the desk. “Mr. Brown, if you would follow me.” Tony cautiously got up and followed behind her. His only thought was that he was going to be placed into an interrogation room. But instead the secretary led him into a small, yet homey, looking office. It even had a couch along the side wall.

“Have a seat.”

“Yes ma’am.” Tony answered politely as he sat down.

“Although I admire that the service taught you respect, you can call me Lynn. Ma’am is so formal. The detective will be here soon.”

“Yes…Ma’…Ms. Lynn.” Tony said as he stood up while Lynn shut the door behind her. She walked back over to the desk and dropped into her chair as Farrell walked in.

“He in my office?” He asked as he shuffled through the pink slips of paper containing his messages.

Lynn nodded, “Mhmmm. Polite little thing. Quite a change for this neighborhood.”

Farrell smirked as his head danced from side to side, “It’s the service. But I guarantee you, Jacobs, it’s gonna take more than a little poke to get him to talk. They all live by a code.”

He sighed heavily and began to walk down the hall to his office.

“Good luck Farrell.” Jacobs called out after him.

“Not gonna need it, Lynn. I gots skills.” He said mocking an urban dialect.”

Jacobs went back to typing as Farrell took a deep breath before he opened his office door.