âHe told me you was gettinâ your dick sucked by some broad in a blonde wig.â
Darius dropped his hands, cocked his head and looked at his slim, charcoal-colored partner through squinted eyes.
âWhat?â
Tyrone removed his hat and rubbed his low-cut afro. âMan, he said they got you doinâ baby, pullinâ your gun on her and slamminâ her on the floor.â He replaced his cap on his head as he looked Darius in the eyes. âAccordinâ to the time stamp on the video, it happened during the time
we
were supposed to be on patrol.â
Darius shifted his bottom jaw from side to side, grinding his teeth as he analyzed the information heâd just received.
How the fuck did she tape us without me knowinâ?
âWell, that ainât as bad asI thoughtâ¦a lot of that sounds like circumstantial evidence to me.â
Tyrone leaned back on the patrol car, exhaled loudly. âThatâs not all; they also got you on tape admittinâ you extorted her out of money she was gonna use for a drug transaction. Since the ho put
my
name in it, Iâm sure they are gonna investigate me, too.â He turned and glared over the roof of the car at Darius. âI
told
you that bitch Trenda was scandalous when you
first
started fuckinâ with her.â
Darius scowled at him. âQuit panickinâ, scary-ass!â
The sound of a car skidding to avoid an accident overhead briefly silenced them. âQuit panickinâ? How the hell you gonna explain the goddamn video?â
Darius walked a few steps away, while drumming the fingers of his right hand on his thigh. He froze. âRole play.â
Tyrone gave him a perplexed look. âRole play? What the hell you talkinâ about?â
A thin smile crossed his lips. âLots of people practice sexual role play. I can claim thatâs what we were doinâ.â
Tyrone stared off into the night as he contemplated his partnerâs words. âOkay, so how are you gonna explain being on tape when
we
were supposed to be on patrol?â
Darius broadened his smile. âWhoâs to say her camera timestamp wasnât wrong? People do make mistakes, cameras do malfunction.â
The patrol car radio called out their unit number. Tyrone shook his head as he opened the driver side door and got into the car. âThat sounds all good, but we still have a problem.â
âWhat the hell are you talkinâ about now?â Darius asked as he entered the car.
After responding to a request from the dispatcher to check out a domestic violence call, Tyrone started the engine. âThey alsowant to bring Trenda in for questioning, see if she wants to press charges.â
Darius adjusted his hat as they pulled off. âIn that case, weâll have to get to her before they do.â
Nine
T renda met Box in the café car to watch his collection of the Dave Chappelle Show DVDâs. âHe is a damn
fool
!â she said with a laugh as she and Box watched Dave Chappelle perform a skit with Ashy Larry.
Box wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. âHe sure the hell is!â The feel of Trendaâs thigh touching his in the booth they shared had more of his attention than the comedy playing on his laptop. He looked out the window and saw a large, brown, full moon keeping pace with the speeding train. âI order every season that comes out on DVD.â
After the skit ended, Trenda lifted her arms over her head, yawned and stretched. She looked around the car and saw they were two of the only five people still in the café car. âWhat time you got?â
Box checked his watch. âI have five after eleven.â He smiled into her hypnotic eyes. âI hope itâs not past your curfew.â
She looked at him out the corner of her eye with a devilish grin as she let her hand fall on his surprisingly firm thigh. She then slowly removed it.
Hmmmm, heâs a lot more solid than he