Lipstick Diaries Part 2 Page 13

  The more he focused the uglier the picture became. Standing beside him was C.O. Sweany. Under normal circumstances being that close to Dorel; Sweany’s life would’ve been in imminent danger.

  “Pipin, I made a special visit over here just to let you know that you are being charged with the murder of Hector Gonzalez.”

  “Hector is dead?” He asked, thinking aloud.

  Dorel was so drugged up he couldn’t comprehend the full extent of events that lead to this situation. He looked at Sweany trying to channel as much conscious hatred as possible through the cloud of drugs manipulating his brain.

  “I promise you, you’ll be next,” Dorel said, wishing he could break the handcuffs restraining him from strangling Sweany to death.

  Sweany laughed at the comment like Dorel was on stage at comedy hour.

  “Pipin you’s a fucking joke. Are you threating me? I’ll have your head cut off and shoved so far up your asshole that it’ll be back on your neck. Better yet, I’ll have you cut up and used as bait for prison rats. You’ll disappear into thin air just like she did. But I won’t have to, because you’re going to live and suffer slowly behind prison walls until you die miserably knowing you’ll never have the smell of fresh air, a home cook meal, or the taste of fresh pussy, because you’ll be in prison so long you’ll forget why you came in the first place. You see this is what happens when you fuck with things that don’t belong to you, especially what belongs to me.”

  “Where is Trina?” Dorel asked.

  “You would love to know wouldn’t you? Well it’s too bad you’ll never find out,” Sweany said with a grimacing smile that stretched from ear to ear.

  “I know you did something to her; and I know you had me set up. Hector had no reason to try and kill me. I owe you for that,” Dorel said.

  “I should’ve killed you myself. You so pathetic helpless and weak… I’m going to make you suffer with every breath of air you take.”

  Sweany walked towards Dorel and smacked the breath out of him, then he put his hands over his mouth and nose pressing down hard enough to stop all chances of him breathing. Just as Dorel’s brain began fighting for oxygen to stay conscious, Sweany let go. Nurse Davis walked into the room and noticed Dorel gasping for air.

  “Is everything alright, officer?”

  “Yeah, I was just questioning the prisoner about the murder he was involved in.”

  Dorel motioned with his eyes toward the nurse.

  “He tried to kill me.” Dorel said barely audible and still struggling to speak.

  The nurse looked a Sweany in shock.

  “These low life criminals will do and say anything to get their ass out of trouble. He’s upset because he just learned that he’s being charged with first degree murder. Listen, nurse I’ve been in law enforcement for over twenty years, you can’t trust these animals.”

  The nurse didn’t know who to believe a lowlife murderer or the veteran officer.

  “Listen, this is not the court for him to be tried in. He’s in a hospital bed. Right now, his life is at stake. Your line of questioning is upsetting him to the point that it is compromising his recovery. I suggest you leave until Mr. Pipin is better. He’ll have his day in court, but it won’t be here or today.”

  “I’m finished questioning him anyway. Just remember nurse, he’s a murderer and can’t be trusted. If given the chance he’d try and kill you.”

  “That’s enough, please leave.”

  The nurse walked Sweany to the door making sure he left the room. She went to Dorel to check his vitals and make sure he wasn’t hurt.

  “Mr. Pippin, I don’t know what you’ve got yourself into and I guess a murderer doesn’t have a particular look. I have a son about your age and it would break my heart to see him lying here clinging to life and being charged with murder. Your mother must be very worried about you.”

  “She’s dead,” Dorel mumbled, barely audible.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe that’s why your life took such a wrong turn. No mother around to rear you. I’m a church going woman. I’m not suppose to judge; only God can judge you but, looking in your eyes I see a good man, and looking in Officer Sweany’s eye I see evil. I think you need help, but the only one who can help you now is Jesus. I’m going to say a little prayer over you asking for God’s help and for you to be healed and make a full recovery and keeping you safe from all evil, especially that of Mr. Sweany. I feel evil down in my bones from him.”

  The nurse said a long powerful prayer for Dorel, the kind his mother use to do. He hadn’t had anyone lay hands on him and pray for him since his mother died. Somehow when she was finished he felt relieved, not really knowing why, but something inside told him it would be alright.

  He hated nothing more than vulnerablility and weakness, and right now he was both. His memory was coming through as if it were mud coming through a strainer. He needed answers and he knew where to get them.

  All his life he’d told Nayshawn every important event in his life from the time they met at age eleven and Dorel would steal cars and they would go joy ridding. He was the only other person on earth he trusted other than himself. He knew that he kept him informed on everything that took place in his life, so we needed speak to him to help him fill in the holes.

  “Is everything okay Mr. Pipin? You buzzed me.”

  “I’m sorry nurse Davis, everything is okay, but you did tell me to buzz you if I needed anything.”

  “Well, what is it, son?”

  “I really need a big favor.”

  “A favor…?”

  She looked at him confused wondering what he wanted. Later that day when the floor was pretty quiet and there wasn’t much staff moving about because most had left for lunch, she reluctantly came into Dorel’s room to carryout the favor she promised. Nurse Davis was an honest, by-the-book-Christian woman. She valued her job but she also believed that the spirit led her to do God’s work and what kind of Christian would she be if she didn’t help someone in need, and this poor soul definitely was in need of help. She felt no one would help him if she didn’t. She removed the cellphone concealed in her ample bosom and gave him a little speech before allowing him to dial.

  “You get caught you’re on your own I will deny giving it to you and say you must’ve stolen it from my pocket while I was checking your vitals. Do you hear me Mr. Pipin?”

  She sounded so much like his mother when she used to give him responsibility and she would stress the importance of him not messing it up.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he nodded.

  He needed to contact Nayshawn. When Nayshawn’s phone rang it was from an unkown number. He was apprehensive to give an answer, but knew that his boy Dorel had passed his number on to Trina. He took a chance answering, hoping it was her. The voice on the other end spoke with urgency.

  “I can’t speak long so I need you to answer some questions.”“Whose phone is this? Is it cool to talk?”

  “Yeah, this is the nurse’s cellphone. She was nice enough to let me use it, but if the guard outside my door catches me, it’s a wrap, so speak fast.”

  “I came to see you about two weeks ago. On that visit you told me about you and this chick Trina, and how she was a parole officer at the prison and that you and her was getting it in, and she ended up pregnant, but then her fiancé, a nigga name Sweany found out and was threating to hurt her; you were worried so you asked me to help her. I made arrangements to have her move up to my girl’s house in Canada. She owns a big ol’ house that she rarely uses because her business has her traveling so much. She had agreed to allow your girl to come and stay with her and have the baby there until you got out. I had made all the travel arrangements and everything, but that’s when the communication fell off. I never heard from her and haven’t heard from you since. I’ve been worried. That’s all I know man.”

  “I woke up in the hospital with a serious gut wound. Somebody tried to kill me in the courtyard. It was Sweany that set me up. I didn’t have no b
eef with anybody, and from what I heard this nigga is dead. Now I got a body charge. I’m trying to make sense of this, but these drugs they got me on got me out of it. I think Sweany’s did something to Trina, and now he’s trying to get me killed.”

  “You got to get up out of this. This nigga Sweany has you running for your life. I’ll do what I got to do to help. Let me make some phone calls. Just stay in touch with me.”

  Dorel saw the officer outside his door looking in. He disconnected his phone call with Nay, and slid it under his mattress, closed his eyes as if he were dosing off into another morphine stupor.

  The next day Dorel’s strength was returning. He’d asked the doctor to lower the dosage of painkillers he was on. He welcomed the pain, not having full function of his mind that was more painful than any wound. He sat in his bed eating his breakfast and a guard entered the room, telling him that he had a visitor. Dorel wasn’t expecting anyone he was hoping it wasn’t Sweany again. A white man whom appeared to be in his late forties entered the room. He extended his hand to him.

  “Who are you?” Dorel asked, looking at the extended hand without touching it.

  “I’m an attorney, Ernist Finestien is my name. Mr. Bradley didn’t mention me to you?”

  The name Bradley registered in his mind because it was Nayshawn’s last name.

  “You mean Nayshawn? He told me he was going to help but I hadn’t spoken to him since yesterday.”

  “Help you he did, and from what I hear you got your ass in a pitbull’s mouth Mr. Pipin. That’s why I’m here. If you let me, I will help you. First allow me to tell you a little about myself. I’ve been a criminal attorney for 18 years. I’ve tried cases on every level including federal cases. I’ve fought cases against the toughest and best prosecutors in New York, and won. My record is exemplary. There’s always a way around or through everything. Do you understand me, Mr. Pipin? You’re in good hands.”

  “How much does your exemplary service cost?”

  “Trust me whatever the fee is, you don’t have to worry about that. Mr. Bradley has already secured my fee, and has commited to handling futher charges. All I need you to do is tell me everything that is going on without withholding any details. Then concentrate on getting better so you can get out of here. You leave the rest to me.”

  Dorel concentrated as much as he could and told him how he was in the courtyard and someone came toward him and he couldn’t remember the rest. All he knew was that he woke up in the hospital.

  “Sounds like you were defending yourself. We can take the self defense angle. Mr. Pipin rest and remember as much as you can. I’ll be in contact with you. Here’s my card if you remember anything else please call me immediately. Collect calls are no problem.”

  Dorel, wanted to feel relief but he knew he had to start from the beginning to see what lead him here. Thinking about the conversation he had with Nayshawn his memory began to connect slowly with his last encounter with Trina.

  “Trina where are you?”

  The question played out in his head and tried hard to remember the last time he saw her. She’d pulled him from his cell and took him to somewhere private. She was not herself and was acting very nervous. She told him that she was pregnant, and that she wanted to leave Sweany and be with him. She looked so vulnerable and afraid, as if she was terrified of what Sweany might do to her. She told him that Sweany was suspicious and was behaving strange. He remembered feeling her in his arms clinging to him like a child holding on to a safety blanket, while telling her that everything would be okay. He sincerely wanted it to be, but unfortunately it didn’t play out that way.

  Dorel was always a man of his word and if everything wasn’t okay, he always knew how to fix it, but he couldn’t do anything from prison. He knew Sweany was behind his getting stabbed and Trina’s disappearance. He was out to ruin my life. His memory began to fill in the missing pieces as he thought about his Bird, the nickname he affectionately called her. She was a rare and beautiful thing inside those prison walls, waking him every morning. He remembered how they fell in love, and every detail of the time they spent together. He remembered Sweany came in his cell and searched for no reason in the middle of the night. That was the night Trina disappeared and never returned to work. He never saw or heard from her again. He’d made arrangements for her to leave Sweany and move in with Nayshawn’s girl, safe away from Sweany, but she never contacted Nayshawn. She disappeared into thin air.

  His day in court

  In court Finestien was like an animal in his natural environment. He knew every loophole like a good attorney should, but even better, he knew how to make it work for him even when it wasn’t on the side of his client. He was thorough and cunning. He presented the court with evidence that Dorel was acitng only in self defense. He had witnesses lined up to state that Dorel had not done anything to provoke the attack but they weren’t considered credible being as though they were criminals sitting in prison, but he did manage to get the prison tape of what happened in the courtyard.

  It was all caught on tape, and showed Hector attacking Dorel from behind and Dorel killing him only in defense of his own life. Watching the tape Dorel saw how he passed out following the confrontation. Hector first walked up from behind and stabbed Dorel, and Dorel then took the knife from Hector and stabbed Hector in the heart right before he passed out from excessive bleeding. Hector didn’t survive.

  Finestien was an outstanding attorney, and Dorel was set free of those charges. He now only had to finish the last six months of his sentence for his original charge, which he would serve in another prison. Finestien was able to get him moved saying that he feared for his life under the circumstances. This meant he didn’t have to serve time under Sweany’s reign.

  Release Date

  Dorel couldn’t believe how much had changed in four and a half years, and then again he couldn’t believe how much had stayed the same. Riding with Nayshawn through his old territory in the South Bronx, brought back a lot of memories. Nay caught him up on all the juicy details on who was who, and who was doing what, since he had been away. He promised to play it smart this time and not get caught up in trap like he did the last time. He already had a legitimate job waiting for him as a detailer at a car dealership in Totawa New Jersery. One of his old partners had gotten out of the game years ago and started his own car dealership now he had one of the largest dealerships in the area. He knew Dorel needed a job to keep his nose clean and would do anything for his boy.

  Once he went to see Rob about his job, Nayshawn took him on a shopping spree. Dorel was no slack when it came to dressing. Dorel wasn’t much of a jeans and sneakers man. He adored dressing in fine silks, and wools and occasionally you would find him in jeans and Timbs, but usually on a day when he was making rounds in the hood or looking to play some ball. He also liked suits. He could hang a suit off of his sexy body like he was Tyson Beckford. No tie, just his shirt slightly unbuttoned and his jacket fully open, like he was walking down the runway.

  After shopping, Dorel told Nay to drop him off at parole so he could report. He pulled up in front of the dingy brown building across from the courthouse on 161st in the Bronx in the wine colored CL3 with cream leather interior. It hadn’t changed much in four years. Dope-fiends were still standing outside, thanks to the methadone clinic across the street. He got off the elevator on the tenth floor and went inside. It was packed. Dorel wasn’t feeling like waiting all day. When Dorel entered the waiting area in his Gucci suit all eyes shifted on him.

  He stuck out like a sore thumb. Dorel wanted to make his presence understood by those wanting to control his life for the next year. Dorel sat in the parole office in his Gucci suit and suede shoes no socks looking like he was a model. Everyone looked at him trying to figure out who he was and where did he come from. He had already been waiting half an hour, and hated to be kept waiting. He was getting agitated. He pictured what this clown was going to look like and prayed that he wasn’t an asshole. He hated anyone one havi
ng any level of control over him.

  “Who’s Pipin?” He heard a female voice ask.

  “Right here,” he answered jumping from his seat.

  “Follow me to my office,” she said, barely turning around.

  She walked past him and made her way back to her office. He followed her round ass and long legs. That’s the only view he had of her aside from the back of her head, but the lower view was much more interesting. He thought to himself. This will be a piece of cake. Once I get her eating out of the palm of my hand then I will be free to do what ever I want without her sweating me. Dorel sat in the chair as she fumbled around with some papers. I’ll be right back she said as soon as he sat down. She came back with a file with his name on it.

  “Sorry I kept you waiting. It’s been a hectic day. Where’s your client?”

  Dorel looked puzzled.

  “I don’t know of many attorneys to come to parole with their clients. He must be special or either paying you a whole lot of money. So where is he?”

  Dorel played along, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

  “Oh, he’s in the bathroom, and he is paying me a lot of money.”

  She turned around and sat at her desk then took her glasses off. Dorel caught a better glimpse of her face and it made him freeze in a stare like he had seen a ghost.

  “Wha-aaa-at are you doing here?” The question trembled out of his mouth.

  “I’m sorry do you know me from somewhere?”

  He couldn’t believe his eyes. The beautiful face belonged to his angel. Trina.

  “What happened to you, I thought you were…?” He couldn’t speak.

  “I don’t know you. You’ve got me mixed up with someone else.”

  He snapped out of his state of shock and came back to reality. He looked across the desk at her name plate and it read Tara Evans. Damn, he was seeing a ghost.

  “So, whoever she is must have had you shook,” she said, smiling. “What did she do to you? Whatever it is, it must have stolen your heart because the look on your face is as if you had just found your lost love.”