Thin Line Read online

  “Remember your promise to me, Shareef,” she reminded.

  I smiled and walked out the office. It was less than quiet in the class on my return. The room was abuzz. Most of my classmates greeted me as if I was some sort of a rock star. The attention didn’t go over well with any of the teachers. They acted as if I was about to pull out a gun and stick them all up. This overly cautious attitude by the teachers added to my reputation. I spent the whole day trying to play it all down. Finally, when school ended I had the chance to escape.

  I waited outside for my mother. She was later than her normal half hour. The time was slowly inching toward the hour when the assistant principal invited me back inside.

  “Shareef,” she shouted.

  I heard, but pretended I didn’t.

  “Shareef,” she said, raising her voice louder. “I have a message from your mother.”

  I immediately turned and looked at her. As we were walking back to the most miserable place on earth, my mind churned. Why would my mother make me stay here? Before I knew it, I was sitting in the office, watching the witches speaking on phones.

  “Shareef, your mother called and said she would be late. You may sit there and do your homework. Arrangements are being made to get someone else to pick you up.”

  “Thank you, Miss Brown,” I said.

  “All right Shareef, you’re welcome. Too bad your father is in jail, but then that jail thing seems to run in the family I see.”

  I stared at her without saying anything. Her ugly mug held my gaze for a few minutes too long and I glared.

  I removed a textbook from my book bag and buried my head in it.

  Sitting alone in the room felt like being in detention. Time dragged by slowly. Eventually I heard my mother’s voice.

  “Hey Shareef, are you ready to go?”

  “More than ready,” I said.

  We walked quickly out of the building to the car. I watched her hoping she would speak. She didn’t. We drove in silence past the Mozi home, where police officers were out. My mother turned her head to see as she drove by.

  “Wow,” I said letting up my window and slumping down in the seat. “Mom, why are there so many police there?” I asked.

  The uneasiness in my tone seemed to confuse her. My mother stared at me before saying.

  “Shareef just cut out the drama. Those guys are investigators from the crime lab.”

  When we reached our driveway, I raced from the car to the bathroom. I could feel my mother’s eyes following me all the way up the stairs.

  “Shareef, we have to talk when you come downstairs.”

  I heard her but had already slammed the door to the bathroom. Later, I came down not knowing what to expect. Mother was waiting for me. She seemed pensive and nervous. Her hands patted the seat on the sofa next to her.

  “Honey, things are gonna change…”

  Speechless, I waited.

  “Shareef, I’m talking about…” she started speaking, but her voice stalled as if she was having difficulty saying what she wanted to communicate.

  “What is it, mommy?”

  “We’re going to take care of that,” she said, gulped air, sighed and continued. “You’ve got to go and live with grandma for a while. The trial—at the trial, your stepfather decided to cooperate with the prosecutors. It was the right thing for him to do.”

  I listened intently not really comprehending the magnitude of the dilemma.

  “I—your stepfather and I, we’re not seeing eye to eye on this, Shareef. Needless to say, because of the situation he’s currently in, he has no choice. He has to cooperate with the investigators.”

  “What about dad?” I asked.

  “Your dad…? Now there’s another crazy one. He’s gonna be held for a few days to teach him a lesson and then released.”

  “But he was just trying to be helpful and get me out.”

  “Please Shareef!”

  “Okay mommy, I’ll cooperate with you and go to grandma’s. When do I leave?”

  “Tonight,” she said.

  We ate dinner and she helped me pack my clothes. With all my drawers were empty, it was like I wasn’t ever coming back. I took all my games, too. Maybe I wouldn’t need them all but I took them anyway. I helped lug the bags into the car. My room appeared empty when I returned for a final check.

  “No way am I going to do that, Lenny. He’s gonna stay with Mother. You and those lawyers can do what you want. I’m not going to put Shareef’s life in danger. Please do not call my mother harassing her. Good night, Lenny.”

  Mother hung up the phone as I made my way downstairs. There were no bags packed for mother.

  “Aren’t you coming with me to grandma’s?” I asked as we walked out.

  “No,” my mother said, shaking her head slowly. “I’ll be staying with your stepfather. Shareef, honey, I don’t want you to be afraid, but promise me you’ll be real careful when you go and stay at grandma’s, okay?”

  “Okay mommy, I promise.”

  “That’s my boy,” she said and gave me a kiss. “Now, Shareef, please call my cell if there are any problems,” she said, handing me a cell phone. “Here take this. It’s my backup line, and still has time on it.”

  “Sure mom,” I said, tucking the phone into my pocket. “Where will you be staying?” I asked.

  “Oh, in some nice hotel,” mommy smiled. “Buckle up,” she said and drove off when I did.

  I knew going to grandma’s would be a lot of fun. My body automatically slumped down in the seat as we drove by where the Mozis lived. I held my breath while we passed all the officers standing around. My mother nodded driving by. Her cell phone rang.

  “Hey Ramirez. I’m all right. You’re going on vacation? Oh, I’m jealous. I’m taking Shareef to mommy. You have fun, Ramirez. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  It was early evening when we reached grandma’s home in the Bronx. They were expecting us, and there was pizza and sodas.

  “Wash your hands and come and eat,” grandma greeted.

  There were hugs and kisses all around. My mother’s two sisters and their children were there. It seemed like a family reunion.

  While the adults sat around talking, my cousins and I chomped down slice after slice. Then we washed it all down with soda. We played video games like it was a weekend. Then hours later, the adults were finished with their powwow.

  “Shareef, say good night to mommy,” my mother said.

  I walked over to where she was standing with her arms outstretched, gave her a hug, kissed her and whispered in her ear.

  “I love you, mom.”

  “Shareef, please remember to brush your teeth before going to sleep. Get some rest and don’t you give grandma a hard time,” she said, squeezing my hand, and kissing my cheek.

  “Okay mommy,” I said.

  I felt sadness watching the door shut. Suddenly she was gone. Although grandma, my cousin and aunt remained, I felt lonely.

  “All right Shareef, go on and get ready for bed,” grandma said.

  “I gotta brush my teeth before I go to bed.”

  I saw my cousin and his mother disappearing into the bathroom and waited. When they were out, I went in and stared into the darkened mirror. The doorbell sounded and I heard my aunt rushing to the door.

  “Who is it?” she asked. “Is that you, Rita?”

  I heard the door being unlocked. Thinking that my mother had somehow changed her mind, I was about to open the bathroom door. My body froze when my aunt shrieked. The frightening noise shattered the silence and all my senses.

  My breath stopped when the sound of gunshots from an automatic weapon exploded in the living room. Terrified, I fell to the floor and crawled into a corner.

  They moved so quickly I didn’t have time to shut the bathroom door completely. Through the opening, I had seen gunshots dropping Aunt Lila in a bloody heap. Feet went by the bathroom briskly.

  “Check all the rooms quickly!” One of them loudly hissed.


  The door of my grandmother’s rooms slammed hard against the wall when a boot came in contact with it.

  “Get out of my room, murderers!”

  My grandmother’s scream was followed by a burst of gunshots. The sound of her body falling and her inaudible mumbling came after. Then there was silence.

  I heard their footsteps systematically going through the apartment, checking all the bedrooms. Suddenly there was a spine-chilling scream coming from my cousin’s room.

  “Shut that damn kid up!” someone screamed.

  “But he’s only a kid,” another replied.

  “Okay, I’ll do it.”

  There was more gunfire followed by another deadly silence. I crouched in the dark underneath the sink. My knees and teeth were rattling loudly, as the footsteps got closer and closer. The door to the bathroom was suddenly kicked in.

  “Who’s in here?”

  I held my breath, shut my eyes and whispered a silent prayer. It seemed forever before the shoes moved away. I didn’t want to look up at the face, but from my angle it wasn’t difficult to see him. Crouching deeper into the darkness of my space, I shuddered when I heard them speaking.

  “I think that’s it.”

  “Ah... That cop ain’t nowhere here.”

  “Well she’ll definitely know what happens to anyone who snitches,” one of them said with a chuckle.

  They stood around for what seemed like an eternity, then I heard them walking out. I stayed low and didn’t move long after the door had been slammed. Horrified, I waited for a long time. Cautious and slow, I made my way out. I felt nauseous when I saw blood all over the apartment.

  Too scared, I couldn’t look directly at my aunt. She wasn’t moving and I knew from the pool of blood leaking out of her that she was probably dead. Nervously I crept to my cousin’s room. I couldn’t identify his body immediately. It looked like he was asleep on the floor until I saw all the blood on the other side of him.

  “Grandma, grandma!” I yelled, shaking like a leaf in a strong wind.

  I waited outside her door at the threshold, not daring to enter. I knocked loudly, but there was no response. I was too afraid to peek past the doorway. My mouth dropped open and I suddenly felt faint.

  CHAPTER 14

  Fear overwhelmed me. My breathing came in gasps. I rushed to the phone and dialed my mother’s cell phone number. My mouth was dry by the time she picked up.

  “Mommy, they kill grandma, they kill grandma, Aunt Lila and Tito! Mommy, mommy, they were all killed!” I blurted. “Yes, I’m sure. Three men came in through the door. They were wearing police uniforms, mommy.”

  She was saying a whole lot of things but I couldn’t understand anything. It was just sound to me.

  “Everyone…” I said looking around. “I can’t move, mommy. I’ll wait for you.”

  Fear gripped me. Carnage was everywhere. The blood and gunpowder mix made me want to vomit. I understood enough to know my mother was on her way, and I put the phone down.

  It took her forever but eventually my mother arrived. Her face was blank and focused, her badge around her neck. Then the cavalry arrived, a sea of blue. I vomited the moment they walked inside.

  An officer came racing through and gasped when he saw the bodies. “What the hell happened here?” Mother was running through the door checking the rooms. I heard her blood-curdling scream when she saw her mother.

  “Oh my God…! Mommy…!”

  Time seemed to stand still. Nothing moved. My mother was dragged away shaking her head and screaming. I felt the horror of the whole thing in that single moment. The pain that clouded my mother’s face will always stay imprinted on my brain. She sat in the middle of the floor. Paramedics rushed to her side. I bawled when I saw how soiled my mother was from the blood of her family. I ran to her. She closed her eyes and cried.

  Our worst nightmare had exploded right here in my grandma’s apartment. I tried to fathom, but just couldn’t. My head whirled as I saw my mother’s twisted face, the look on the face of the police and paramedics streaming around the place.

  “Are you alright?” the paramedic asked. “I mean were you shot, or hurt in any way?” he asked.

  My father was trying to get through the throng of police officers and crime scene personnel that had descended.

  “That’s my boy,” he yelled at an officer.

  “Let him through,” Mother said.

  He came over and hugged us both. We were taken outside walking in each other’s embrace. For a second, being with my dad felt right. Mom, dad and I huddled together. Mother sobbed softly against his shoulders.

  I shook my head. One by one the bodies were being carried out in black body bags. Tears were streaming down my mother’s face. She hugged me tightly and released me when an officer gently tugged on her arm.

  “Rita… Officer Sanchez. We need your permission to talk to your son.”

  My mother turned and looked at me. I held on to my parents tighter. Mother loosened my grip.

  “Are you gonna be able to talk to the officers, Shareef?” she asked.

  Still holding my dad’s hand, I moved closer to her.

  “Rita, Shareef is too scared to be talking…”

  “Please, officer escort this man out,” she said turning to an officer.

  “All right sir, you’ve got to go.”

  “But Rita,” dad protested.

  “Calm down,” the officer said, grabbing hold of his arm, and pulling him away.

  “All right, all right, I’m going,” dad said as he was being led away. Mother turned her attention to me.

  “Just tell them what you saw,” she said.

  I looked at the officers for a minute and shook my head.

  “What’s the problem, Shareef? Would you prefer if I go with you?”

  I nodded.

  “Good, I will,” she said, holding my hand.

  I sat in the car still feeling nauseous. My mother sat on one side and a detective on the other.

  “I am Detective Jackson. I’m going to ask you about the shooting, alright Shareef? Can you remember how it all started?”

  I stared at him and felt terrible pain in my stomach. It felt like my stomach was in a knot. My mouth went dry and I wanted to urinate.

  “Are you alright, Shareef?” my mother asked.

  Before I could give a reply I was vomiting all over the detective’s car. He made a face getting out of the way. My mother searched her pocketbook and gave me a pack of napkins. Then she helped to scrub my face and hands. She wiped frantically here and there as best she could, then went outside and spoke to the officer. Minutes later, she returned and opened the door of the car.

  “Shareef, you can tell me what you saw, I’ll write the statement and you can sign it. That’s what the detective said.”

  I nodded.

  Mother sat in the car with a pen and pad ready.

  “Now all you gotta do is tell me what happened,” she said. Her voice was clear and her confidence reassured me.

  For a few minutes I said nothing. I looked out the window seeing the police rushing in and out taking notes. Everyone seemed to have a walkie-talkie.

  “What is it, Shareef?”

  “Mom,” I said after a while. “They were all wearing uniforms.”

  “What kind of uniforms?”

  I hesitated before uttering the words, “Police uniforms…”

  “Shareef, are you sure? My whole family was just killed. Please, try to be clear…”

  “Mom, I mean when the doorbell rang, the men were in police uniforms.”

  “I swear to God, Shareef. This better not be more of your lies!”

  I nodded.

  “Now, Shareef, you’re not just saying this because you’ve been acting…”

  “Mom, I saw them. There were three men. They rang the doorbell and Aunt Lila went to answer the door. She asked if it was you, then I don’t know what they said, but she let them inside. Then they started shooting everyone.”
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br />   “What do you mean they started shooting everyone?”

  “First they shot Aunt Lila then they went after grandma. She tried to keep them out of her room but they were firing guns and she couldn’t stop them.”

  “Did you see any of their faces or, what they looked like?”

  “They had masks pulled down over their faces too quickly for me to see them.”

  “And you’re sure they were wearing police uniforms?”

  “Yeah mommy, I swear they were.”

  My mother stared at me. The look of disbelief was wrinkled on her face even though she sounded as if she wanted to believe me. She asked me to recount what happened without retelling it and I tried my best to comply. When I was finished, she continued asking more questions.

  “What about badges? Could you see any badges?”

  I thought about it for a minute and shook my head. “You’re sure about this, Shareef?” I nodded again.

  She opened the door of the car and walked quickly over to the officer. Mother and the detective raced back to me.

  “Are you sure they were police officers?” he asked.

  “Please talk to us,” mother pleaded.

  “Yes they were three men and they were all dressed in police uniforms,” I answered.

  I felt an explosion coming; the nausea was a warning I couldn’t ignore. I vomited again and again.

  “Not that I don’t believe your son, but I’ll double check and see if there were any officers responding to calls anywhere in this vicinity. Maybe we can round up a few eyewitnesses to collaborate your son’s story.”

  The hush-hush jibber-jabber of police-talk between my mother and the detective continued. They both cast pitying glances at me. Then both headed back closer. My mother was looking at me as if I’d done something wrong.

  “Here Shareef, take this,” she said.

  I took the moistened napkin and wiped my face. My sticky hands, I saved for last. I watched them watching my every move. Finally the detective spoke.

  “Shareef, we’re gonna have to verify your story. Is there anything else that you saw and didn’t tell us?”

  I shook my head. I knew she did not believe me and was just too weak to argue with me.

  “If you remember anything else, anything at all, you can call me, okay, Shareef?” The detective turned to my mother and continued. “Get in touch with me immediately if he says anything.” He walked away with the information written down and signed by me.