, man. You’ve got no slack here.” Deshawn nodded, then looked down at the ground again. “You couldn’t tell Lil’ J to check out a layaway plan at Zales?”
Deshawn shrugged. “Lil’ J’s not much of a saver. We said we’d do one, maybe two hits-don’t let no one get hurt-and he’d have to make do with whatever we got.”
“That’s good parenting, Deshawn. Way to set limits.”
He started to smile. “Really?”
“No.”
Deshawn stared over my shoulder, taking some time to try and save face. “Okay, okay. Tell you what, I’m goin’ on home now. I promise. Just don’t call my moms.”
I took a few seconds to make it look like I was thinking about it. I wanted to make Deshawn sweat a little. I looked at his posse. They were watching us, a little bit wary, a lot curious. “I need you all to do Deshawn a favor and make sure he goes straight home. Now. No detours. Got it?”
They nodded. A pack of hyenas would be more reliable, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. I scanned the pockets of Deshawn’s hoodie. “You strapped?”
He held up his hands. “No. I swear.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “Let’s see those pockets.” If they got stopped on the way home and the cops found a gun on him, he’d be toast. Deshawn pulled out the pockets of his hoodie. They were empty. I pointed to his jeans. “Those, too.”
He gave an exasperated huff. “Come on, man. I told you, I’m clean.” He saw the expression on my face, sighed, and pulled out his jeans pockets.
As he did, a baggie full of white-ish powder fell out. I snatched it up, opened it, and sniffed. “Heroin? Seriously?” Deshawn had never been into junk. Coke, yes. Pot, yes. But heroin, never. I closed my fist around it, just in case anyone was watching. “This is enough to bust you for intent to sell. What on earth are you dreaming?”
Deshawn shook his head. “It’s not what you think. This is just business. That shit’s pure, man. I step on it hard enough, I’ll probably clear fifty, maybe even a hundred grand.”
I stared at him, wondering how he’d managed to stay out of jail long enough to get busted again. “I don’t even want to know how you scored this much pure shit. But your shop is now officially closed for business.” I dropped the baggie into my purse.
Deshawn’s eyes got big. “What? No! You can’t! You know what that cost me?!”
“A lot less than it’ll cost if you get caught with it.”
He put out his hand. “Come on, man. Give it back. That’s a lot of money.”
“Just be glad I’m not calling your mother.”
