Bronx Requiem(117)

Palmer cut the connection. He didn’t want to hear any more threats or arguments from Eric Juju Jackson. He’d hand him a piece of paper and put a bullet in his head. End of story.





71

Beck looked at Amelia and Esther before he spoke. Even though Willie and Demarco sat at the table with them, what Beck had to say, he was going to say to them.

“There are facts I read, but I can’t really comprehend what they actually mean.” Beck paused. “Over two hundred thousand children in this country are being sold for sex. Some as young as twelve or thirteen. Maybe younger. Children. Drugged. Raped. Beaten. Murdered.

“I can’t understand how that happens. Not even to one kid, much less hundreds of thousands. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be a twelve-year-old girl and have that happen to you.” Beck paused and looked at Amelia and Esther. “I think, perhaps, you two can imagine that. But I can’t.” Beck paused again. “But there is one thing I do understand.” Beck punched a knuckle onto the dining-room table, hitting the table with more force with each sentence.

“I understand how it feels when scum like Juju Jackson and Whitey Bondurant, and their pimp underlings like Derrick and Jerome Watkins believe they have the right to terrify and brutalize people. I understand that because I spent eight years surrounded by dehumanized men like them who thought they had the right to brutalize me. To stab me. Or beat me. Terrify me. Kill me.” Beck pointed and said, “Everyone at this table knows how that feels.

“And I know one more thing. I know those murderers have to be stopped.” Beck leaned forward. “Eric Jackson and Bondurant might rule their own horrifying little worlds, but they do not rule your world, or mine. Not anymore. I’m going to stop them. I’m going to make sure they never harm you, or anyone, ever again. And I’m going to make them pay.”

Beck leaned back.

Amelia asked, “How, Mr. Beck?”

“With your help. Every one of us will have to step into harm’s way. Particularly you, Amelia, and you, Esther.”

Beck nodded toward Demarco and Willie Reese. “We’ll do everything we can to protect you. But I can’t guarantee you’ll come out unharmed. I believe we can take them down. But not without you two. So I have to ask—will you help me?”





72

The caller ID surprised Eric Jackson.

“Queenie, where the f*ck you been? Why you ain’t answered my calls?”

Queen-Esther Goodwin shot back, “Because my goddam battery was dead and I just got it charged up. Goddammit, Eric, I been through too much bullshit last night and today for you to be jumpin’ all over me. You wanna talk to me like that, I’ll hang up this phone right now.”

The pimp in Eric Jackson told him to come down hard on the old whore, and guarantee her if she dared to talk to him like that ever again he would kill her. But the cunning part of him told him he didn’t have time for the usual run.

“All right, all right, take it easy you cranky old bitch. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on? First you tell me to get the hell out of Derrick’s place up at the Houses. Then last night I got run out of Jerome’s place by that crew been battling with you. Maybe you want to tell me what the f*ck is going on. What I’m supposed to do now?”

“Look, Queenie, I don’t have time for your bullshit. Where you at? You can come up and stay at my place. I’ll send someone to get you.”

“First of all, I ain’t nowhere. I been on the move since last night. I hid out in a place up at the Houses. Then I had to move early this morning to a friend of mines. Now I’m out here scuffling around trying to get something to eat and trying to convince people to help me. And it’s all been made worse by the simple fact that I been dragging around goddam Princess, who no-f*cking-body will help because they all afraid of you and Whitey hearing about it.”

“You have Princess?”

“Yes, I have Princess.”

“How’d that happen?”

“Who you think told them guys about Biggie’s house? She the one led them to it. She came up to the house, pounding on the door, asking for a place to stay. Before I could even deal with it, when I cracked the door open to talk to her, two guys busted in. They took down Lattrell and them other two like nothing. I grabbed Princess and ran the hell out of there into the middle of the night without a damn thing but the clothes on my back. Not even my purse. I’m lucky I had my cell phone in my damn pocket.”

“Why’d she go with you?”

“Why? Cuz she didn’t want to be with them guys, that’s why. She don’t know who the f*ck they are, ’cept they say they was friends of her father, who she don’t know either. She told me she was holed up in the Expressway Motel, heard a gunshot in the lobby, and ran the hell out the side exit. She said she barely got away from Whitey, and then these other guys grabbed her when her car went out of control as she was trying to get on the expressway.”

“Why’d she tell them about Biggie’s place?”

“She said because they put a gun to her. Maybe she’s lyin’, I don’t know. Maybe she figured they might get shot goin’ in there, and she could get away. Who gives a shit? She with me now. The girl been on the run for days. She’s a mess, Eric. She got no ID; nobody to help her; she don’t know what the f*ck to do. I’m all she’s got except for a few bucks she stole from Tyrell.”