Free Crackhead II: A Novel by Lisa Lennox Page B

cap in his ass. Homeboy or not.
    “Look, man, I was with my brother, so what?”
    “So what? Your brotha is a fuckin’ cop,” Smurf said calmly.
    “Rookie,” Drake emphasized.
    “It don’t matter.”
    “Look, man, what he do and what I do ain’t got shit to do with the other,” Drake said forcefully. “That nigga be in the streets as much as we do. So what he got a legal hustle now? I been down with you for a while, man, and you think I’ma fuck that shit up?”
    Smurf said nothing.
    “Look, man, we got an inside man that can let us know what’s going down and when,” Drake said honestly. “As a matter of fact, when you saw us, he was asking me about that fly-ass junkie everybody was bangin’ over the summer.”
    “Which one?”
    “The light-skinned one. The ho Dink was ridin’ dirty with.”
    “What about her?” Smurf’s eyebrows raised. He knew Drake was talking about Laci.
    “They looking at Tonette and them because of Crystal being knocked, but his partner thinks they’re behind more shit too. Actually, he said his partner put a big drug case on hold to deal with these chicks.”
    Smurf thought back to the dossier that Marco had on Dame and Dink.
    “You know, man, my moms wanted me to go to the academytoo, but I wasn’t feeling that shit. Fuckin’ PD ain’t payin’ shit. I got two baby mamas and a gal. Shit . . . a nigga gotta eat.”
    Smurf shook his head and had a crooked grin on his face. “Y’all pretty muthafuckas can sho’ get yourself into some shit, can’t you?” Drake frowned. “Well, just as long as it won’t mess up our operation, then we cool. Make sure you handle yo’ shit, but check it, I need you to do something for me.”
    “You got it . . . what’s up?”
    “CLIFTON,” OFFICER JONES called out, startling his partner upon his return. Detective Clifton was reviewing the file he had buried in paperwork on his desk. “I got a positive ID on the girl in the photo.” The detective looked at the clock, then turned around and looked at his trainee waiting for him to talk. “Her name is Julacia. Julacia Johnson, and get this—she lives in Riverdale.”
    “Riverdale?” Detective Clifton interjected with raised eyebrows. He noticed his trainee glancing at the file that was on his desk and he shuffled papers to conceal it. “What the fuck she doing bummin’ around in the South Bronx? That’s actually a very odd combination.” Detective Clifton sat back in his chair with his arms behind his head. He stared at Officer Jones and noticed how handsome he was. He thought back to the case at hand to get his mind off his trainee. “The question is how she got involved with those girls. She doesn’t look like she’d be mixed up with them.”
    “Well, I’m one step ahead of you on that,” the rookie answered, not giving up how he knew of the girl. Even though he’d learned her name by going to the South Bronx, Officer Jones was just as familiar with her as every other nigga in that neighborhood. He, too, had a copy of the tape of Dame fucking the shit out of her. It was the hottest thing on the streets.
    “Well damn, Jones, I’m glad you got your ass outta there without getting shot at. It’s a jungle out there.”
    “Nah it ain’t,” Officer Jones reassured his partner. “They’re nothing but pussycats in the South Bronx,” he joked.
    The detective looked at him strangely. “Yeah, pussycats.”
    “But for real, though, it’s just everyday life. We just gotta stay on top of what’s going on down there, that’s it.”
    “I’m one step ahead of you on that, youngin’,” Clifton spoke, “but this makes more sense. Ms. Thomas alluded that someone else may be involved. You gotta give it to Ms. Johnson, though. She’s a smart one.”
    “Why you say that?”
    “Whatever this girl is doing, you can damn sure bet she ain’t bringing it back to Riverdale. I’m sure once it starts getting dark, she gets the hell outta the South Bronx, hops her little ass