Free I Know I've Been Changed by Reshonda Tate Billingsley Page A

better looking of the two. He had thick cornrows and wore some Karl Kan (yep, no i ) overalls. One strap was left undone and hung loosely across his chest. I wanted to tell him people stopped wearing their overalls like that twenty years ago, but then I figured, why bother?
    “Scooter. June. Isn’t this a surprise?” I put on my best fake smile.
    “What’s shaking, Cousin?” Scooter said.
    “You high society now,” June added, looking at my picture on the lobby wall.
    I simply smiled. “What brings you all down to Houston?”
    “We need to holla at you ’bout a li’l sumptin’, Cuz,” Scooter said.
    I looked at Kay, who had busied herself typing on her computer. I contemplated taking them into our conference room, but quickly nixed that idea. No way did I want anyone to see them.
    “Why don’t we step outside? Did you park out front?”
    “Word.”
    I sighed and followed them out front. “Now, what’s going on?” I probably should’ve asked about Aunt Ola, but I was anxious to get this over with.
    “Look here, we know you don’t like dealin’ with us too much since you left,” June said. “But, since you all big-time and stuff now, we thought you could help us.”
    “With what?”
    “We need you to get Kevin out of jail.”
    I looked at them as if they were on crack. “Kevin, as in your brother Kevin? As in the Kevin that killed four people, robbed a bank, led authorities on a high-speed chase, hit an old lady crossing the street and shot at police? That Kevin?”
    “Yep.” Scooter nodded as if he had just given me a simple request like, can I borrow $5?
    “They treating him like dirt in there,” June interjected.
    Yeah, that’s usually what they do to criminals, I wanted to say. “Guys, I don’t know what kind of power you think I have, but I can’t help Kevin.”
    “Can’t you do an expo on the jail or something? I seen them undercover investigations the TV people be doing,” June pleaded.
    “That’s exposé.”
    “Whatever. All I know is corruption is goin’ on up at that prison and it needs exposing,” Scooter replied.
    “Look,” June continued when he saw the utter confusion across my face. “Kevin would die if he knew I was telling you this, but some of them men up there, they funny.”
    I still wasn’t getting it. “Maybe they use humor to pass the time.”
    June let out an exasperated sigh. “Not that kind of funny.” He looked around, then fluttered his hand back and forth. “Funny, funny.”
    I wanted to scream. “And your point?”
    “Kevin is scared them funny dudes…” He paused and cringed. “He’s scared they might try something with him!”
    “We got to get my baby brother out,” Scooter exclaimed. “ You’ve got to get him out.”
    I was still looking at them as if they were crazy. I couldn’t believe they were wasting my time with this foolishness. Even if I did have the power to get Kevin out of jail, I wouldn’t. I mean, good grief, four people were killed! “I don’t know what you want me to do. But number one, I don’t have that kind of power. And number two, he committed a serious crime, make that crimes with an s .”
    “It ain’t him. He got hooked on that crack and it’s messed him up,” Scooter said, a pleading look etched across his face.
    “I’m sorry.” I shrugged and headed back toward the front lobby. I didn’t know why I thought they would just go away. They followed me, no doubt trying to think of something to say to convince me to intervene.
    “But he’s in pain,” Scooter protested.
    “So is the old lady he hit in that chase, and the families of the four people he killed,” I bluntly responded without turning around.
    “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?” June said.
    I stopped just as I was opening the door and turned to face my cousins. “It died with the invention of the video camera. Kevin is on tape holding up the bank, shooting the four people, and taking off.”
    “So, it’s like that.