Dirty South

“I know,” you say. You wipe your hands on a dry towel, feelin’ funny and dry in the mind ’cause of the time. Your mind awake; body want to sleep. “Let’s roll.”

Don’t take no time when you down at Ninth Ward. You remember the first time Teddy drove you here and you thinkin’ that the roof was really made out of gold. But it just look like painted tin tonight in the shine of them crime lights. Bugs gatherin’ all around them.

You bang on the window and one of Teddy’s cousins, this boy y’all call Poochie, come to the door. He smile and wave when he see you. Poochie ain’t but like two years older than you and he look like he playin’ dress-up with his cornrows and skinny head in that blue uniform.

“Nigga, you even got a gun,” you say, givin’ him the pound.

The old man whack you in the back of the head. “Where’s Teddy?” JoJo ask.

Ole Poochie shake his head and say he don’t know. But the way he won’t meet you in the eye mean he lyin’.

“Poochie, don’t pull my dick, you seen him down here with my boy Nick.”

Poochie nod.

“So where he at?”

“They left, man. Don’t go ridin’ me about this shit.”

“Somethin’ happen?”

JoJo shake his head. Bronco already headin’ down the hall.

“Hey,” Poochie yell. “Hey.”

But Bronco and JoJo already lookin’ inside of rooms and offices and wanderin’ round the studio where you supposed to cut a record tomorrow.

“JoJo!” Bronco yells. The old man go and you follow.

Poochie try to grab your arm but you already inside Teddy’s office and see Bronco down on one knee, just like that Indian scout in the movie, sniffin’ and trailin’ animals and shit. Only this time, don’t take much.

A big ole pool of red blood mixed in that high, white carpet.

“What up, man?” you yell at Poochie. You get in his face. “What up?”

“They gone, man,” he say. “That’s all.”

“Where?”

Poochie shake his head again. “I don’t know.”

“Where’s Teddy?”

Then you see the gold hook, the one laden down with keys to the two Bentleys and three Escalades, and that big Scarab sport boat. The big ole fish key chain ain’t on the hook.

“Where’s Nick?”

“I seen him come in,” Poochie say. “But only Teddy and some dude left.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Some punk nigga.”

“Was he branded?” you ask.

“I don’t know.”

“What he look like?”

“He had eyes like him,” he said, pointing to Bronco.

JoJo look at you and y’all know.

“How long they been gone?”

“They was yellin’ in here and shit for a while and then they left ’bout an hour ago.”

“I know where they at,” you say. “But he gone.”

JoJo look at you.