Dead Man Running (2 page)

His
fiery
closing got the congregation on its feet. 

"
And I want all you to go out and heal somebody today!  I say heal somebody!
" the reverend thundered.  "Take their hand in your
own
and
lead them to the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Bless them in the glow of the better angels, the healing waters of providence,
and
the soothing sands of salvation.
 
Lay
your hands upon them and
strip
them of their weakness.  In this way, you will heal thineself.  In this way, we will heal
Harlem
, heal this nation and redeem mankind in the patient eyes of the Lord!
"

Reverend
Ben
Wiley
soon
would take his own advice and try to heal someone.
 
And, as was his custom,
he would use more than his hands to do so.

An hour after the service, i
n
his room at the lowly
charge by the quarter hour
Harlem Arms Hotel, Wiley took the hand of a young woman and they knelt in prayer.  The woman was not of his flock, her blond hair and pale skin suggesting
a tribe
of a different kind.  True to his instincts, he would attempt to bring her closer to the Lord.

He glanced at the young woman, who offered him a smile back.  Her smile was lovely and
w
ould have been better
if she were not missing
several
teeth. 

"
Let us pray.  Lord God Almighty, we supplicate ourselves in your presence.  Please grant me these simple things, a stiff dick and a warm place to put it.  And don't let me c
um
too quick.  Amen.
"

"
Amen
," the woman echoed
.

Wiley put his sermon into action, doing his best to heal this woman. 
She
was
on top
, riding him as he worked furiously, the energy
demonstrated during
the morning
sermon now
concentrated
at the tip of his penis, deep
within her sex
.
 

As a
man who love
d
to hear
his own voice
, Wiley c
ouldn
't help but to vocalize his pleasure. 

"
Ride big daddy!
"

"
That's the way baby!
"

"
After I bust this nut I'll get behind you!
"

"
Oh, baby, baby!
"

The woman, reprimanded in the past for being too quiet, added her voice to the din of heavy breathing and squeaking springs.

"
Heal me Rev, heal me!
"

"
Bring ya momma in and I'll heal her too!
"
  Wiley laughed in that loud bark of his.

"
Oh my God, I'm coming!
"  She really wasn't but she had another appointment and needed to be on her way. 
The
reverend like
d
to be cuddled afterwards and she allotted time for that. 

Even so, she would just make her 3PM, a Knick who had just about the smallest penis she had ever seen.  She should win an Academy Award for faking orgasms with that jerk.

Wiley pulled her tight, shouted in her ear.  "
God ain't got nothing to do with it!  Time to ride the white wave!
"

Reverend Wiley let out a loud grunt.  Suddenly, the bed
wa
s still.

The woman –
who went by Peaches but whose
Christian name was Lori Keller – smiled broadly and tilted her head to her client.  Her smile disappeared as she noticed the strange expression on his face.

"
You okay, baby?
"

Wiley
wa
s not moving
and
h
is eyes
were
fixed upward.  He
wa
s clearly dead.  Once the realization
dawned in Lori Keller's less than efficient brain
, the woman scream
ed
then placed a hand over her own mouth, not wanting to alert other guests.  She quickly dressed and ran from the room.

The
hooker ran down the st
airs
and got the hotel manager
and her pimp
,
the magnificent
Mookie Sills, to come up.  Once he
confirmed the politician's death,
Mookie calmed
the woman
down
. 

After hearing her story he
got rid of her.

H
e called
Elias Turnbull, Wiley's chief of staff
. 

Ten minutes later
E
lias enter
ed
the lobby of the hotel.  The hotel lobby
wa
s like the hotel itself, small, dark and filthy. 

Elias wore a
custom
suit
from Mohan's
underneath his camel's hair coat.  His
was a civilized, elegant style
and combined with his six foot plus tall athletic frame and winning smile,
Elias Turnbull had turned heads throughout the NY to DC corridor
.
In his mid thirties he was still a bachelor and decidedly uninterested in limiting his options as far as the fairer sex were concerned.

He had hurried out of his private club
once he received his friend's call
,
the membership
one of the many perks of being right hand man for
Harlem
's premier politician.

He
walk
ed
up to the front desk,
and
barricaded behind six inches of Plexiglas
stood t
he dump's owner, the entrepreneurial
Mookie.

"
Hey, Mook, what was so urgent?
"

Mookie's dark eyes slowly transited the lobby.  Finally, he raised his gaze to an impatient Elias.  "
I didn't want to tell you over the phone, you never know if
T
he
M
an is listening.
"

"
What are you talking about?  The
M
an don't care you're running whores outta this dump.  Hell,
T
he
M
an is probably banging one in 203.
"
  Elias grinned.

"
No playa,
T
he
M
an is banging some man in 203.
"
  He smiled, his stained teeth looking nearly white against his dark brown skin.

Elias made a show of breathing in deeply, letting out his breath.  He placed his hands on his hips, leaned into his former classmate.  "
My n
igga, why'd you call me here?
"

"
It's your man, Wiley, he's upstairs.
"

Elias' eyes drifted toward the front door. 
I left
Isabelle Gentry
for this shit? 
"
I know he's upstairs.  He's been banging some tart here
, same time, same room,
since Jesus was in short pants.
"

"
You don't get it, he up there and he ain't movin
'
.
"

"
Shit!
"  With a look mixed with exasperation and panic, E
lias dart
ed
upstairs to Wiley's room.  Mookie emerged from behind the glass
partition
and follow
ed
him.

"
I thought I would call you first.  I didn't want the cops or the press to find him here.
"

"
Thanks
, Mook
.
"

"
Hey, you can thank me by speed walking that stiff outta my place.
"

The men reach
ed
the room. 
Elias opened the door and the sight made his heart skip a beat. 
Wiley
lay on
the bed. 
He was buck naked. 
His large eyes stare
d
upward. 

"Close the door," Elias
hissed
as he
walk
ed
over to the corpse.
  He reached into his coat pocket, retrieve
d
a pair of plastic gloves. 

"You keep a pair of those in your pocket?" Mookie asked.

"I work for a politician.  No telling when I'm going to be part of a crime or its aftermath."

Elias snapped the gloves onto his slender hands.  He check
ed
for a pulse but it
wa
s clear that the man
wa
s dead.  His hand slid from Wiley's jugular to his cheek.  He gently pat
ted
the man's cheek. 

"
Wiley
y
ou dumb mother
fucker
.
"

He turn
ed
toward Mookie.
  "
Looks like he died banging.  Where's the bitch?
"

"
Taken care of.  I told the bitch if she talked, I would pull her tongue out.
"

"
You think she believed you?
"

"
Damn right!  Just to show her that I was serious, I took
out
my knife and cut her a little bit.  W
h
ip, w
h
op, wham!
"

Mookie move
d
his hand like he
was
Zorro.

"
So, she won't talk?
"

"
Nah, she's dead.  I did a w
h
ip, w
h
op, wham when I should have just done a w
h
ip.
  Her body's out back in the dumpster.  I haven't had the time to chop her up and take her out to the river."

Elias stared at his friend, opened his mouth,
and
closed it
real slow
.  He shut his eyes, willing himself to wake from this nightmare.  Not only
wa
s his career over but this homicidal maniac ha
d
i
nvolved
him
in
a
murder.

He opened his eyes, instantly disappointed that Mookie and his dead boss were still there, waiting for him to do something.  He
intently look
ed
over the scene.
 

"
Way to handle your business, brother.  Listen, I need some help getting him outta here.
"

"
Don't look at me.  I get squeamish around dead people.
  Plus I got a bad back.
"

Elias cock
ed
his head and look
ed
at Mookie
.
 
It took him many long seconds to restrain his anger and frustration.

"
Did anybody ever tell you that you're one strange dude?  Listen, I'm gonna call Chi.  We'll throw Wiley in the back of the limo
, take him home
.
  We can say he died in bed, his own.
"

A half hour later
Mookie and Elias
we
re still in the room. 
After a quick
knock at the door
they
hear
d
Chi
Bright
's voice. 

"
Elias, you in there?
"

Elias open
ed
the door.  Standing there
wa
s
Chi
and an attractive young woman
, Wiley's personal assistant Jan
Sugerfoot
.  The two look
ed
past Elias to the dead body
lying
on the bed. 
A scream c
ame
unbidden from the woman's mouth
.  Elias
yanked
the pair into the room and slam
med
the door closed.