Forever a Hustler's Wife (20 page)

Yarni just stood there, feeling helpless.

“I thought so.”

“Listen—”

“No, you listen,” Unique cried. “Do you know what it’s like to be forced to be a sex slave in a whorehouse? To get beaten and raped, and now almost killed? Nobody’s ever going to help me. Never.”

Yarni’s heart had been opened wide since her involvement with Des and the church. Her heart wept for the girl lying before her. She had no idea what Unique had been through, but what she did know was that she didn’t want to be one of those people who turned her back on her. So before she knew it, the word
yes
fell from her lips. “Yes,” Yarni repeated. “I am going to take you back to the States with me, if that’s what’s going to keep you alive; if that’s what’s going to let you know that you are worthy.”

Unique had a look of disbelief in her eyes.
Damn, this shit worked out better than I expected…and quicker, too,
she thought to herself. Once she’d spotted Yarni and Des after arriving at the hospital, Unique had found the bathroom and gone inside a stall, but not before locating a pair of scissors and taking them into the stall with her. There she cut her arm, but not too deep. She had been subjected to enough pain in her life; she wasn’t about to inflict more than she had to on herself.

Because the cut was actually more of a scrape, there wasn’t much blood, but fortunately for Unique, it was that time of the month. She simply pulled the plug out and smeared the menstrual blood onto her wound. It made her gag, but that blood and its scent only made her claim of rape even more believable.

Before leaving Unique’s side, Yarni promised her that she would take her back to Virginia with her and her husband, help her find a job, and get on her feet. Unique embraced Yarni and thanked her repeatedly until she walked out the door. Then Unique lay there in the hospital bed with a smile of victory on her face. Indeed, she had done her job…and well.

CHAPTER 28

The First Lady

E
ver since he returned from his unsuccessful South America trip, Des couldn’t think about anything or anybody except Felix’s killing Nasir.

Des was so deep in thought, it took him a minute to realize Yarni had walked into the room.

“You okay?” she asked after studying him for a moment.

He nodded.

Yarni sighed. “Well, if I can help you in any way, let me know.”

“Actually, you can,” Des said, sitting up in bed. “I gotta take care of something.” He looked in her eyes, and she knew that whatever he had to take care of was the source of his preoccupation. “I have to do it. I don’t really want to, but it’s got to be done.”

“Is there some way I can help you?”

“Just stand by me, the way you always do. You can’t help me with my problem, but you can go by and see Sister Robin Lyles for me.”

“Okay. Does she need prayer?” Yarni had gotten used to being part of Des’s newest game. Although she still wasn’t totally in favor of it, she took her first lady duties very seriously. In 1 Corinthians 7:14 it said, “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through the wife.” Yarni’s hope was that she could be sanctified enough for the both of them.

“Yes. She’s been calling me saying that she’s sick and needs prayer.”

“Okay, baby, I got that.” She kissed him on his forehead and gave him a hug.

“Once I get this thing taken care of, I can spend some time with my two favorite girls.”

“Okay.” Yarni said, smiling encouragement at him. She turned to leave, but just as quickly, she turned around to face Des again. She reached into the pocket of her robe, removed something, and tossed it onto the bed. “Maybe this will help you. Sometimes you need to practice what you preach.” She turned and left the room.

It was a small custom-made Bible with his initials engraved on the front in gold leaf. Des looked at the Bible for a few seconds before picking it up. As he flipped through the pages, he came across Psalm 23, and read aloud, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” and thought about what he had to do.

The next day marked the beginning of the Samuel Johnson trial. Yarni got up early and was at the jail before seven to meet with her client.

Samuel came into the attorney visiting room with a smile on his face.

“My, your spirits seem to be up,” Yarni said.

“Today I get to find my destiny. It’s the first day of the rest of my life.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” She looked sternly at him.

“Don’t tell me you want to plead me out.” He shook his head, looking at her in disgust.

“No, just listen. I finally got my hands on the file that Sledge was holding hostage.”

Samuel’s face lit up. “And?”

“I’m going to need you to listen to what I’m about to tell you.”

“All ears,” he said.

“First, I think I can get you off on your charges. However, I’m going to need your help—make sure we have all our avenues covered. The information that Sledge was holding should be enough, but you never know, so what I need you to do is first get showered and shaved. I need you to look good.”

“What? I look good now,” he said, stroking his freshly braided hair.

“Yeah”—she nodded—“you look okay, but I need you to look
GQ
good. Get the braids cut off, and shave all that hair off your face.”

“A’ight,” he said, somewhat reluctant.

“Your girlfriend, Angie, left you shoes and a suit up front. Put them on. Once we get in the courtroom, make eye contact with the jury, look sincere and innocent, not intimidating, especially to the younger women.”

“I’ve never had any problem with looking sincere to women.”

“Well, good. My goal was to get as many older and younger women on the jury as possible, and to strike out the white men and middle-aged women. I did the best I could, but you have to do your part.”

“Good looking.”

“Also, if you need to ask me something or make a comment in court, write me a note.”

“Don’t worry, I got you,” he said reassuringly.

“So, since we’re clear, I’ve got to get going. I’ve got a few things I have to do before the trial.”

“I saw your husband on television. I was shocked as a motherfucker. He in the big time now, preaching and shit.”

“Yeah, he’s doing some great things in the community. I have to go do my first lady duties now.” Yarni grabbed her bag and was about to leave, when Samuel called out to her.

“Look, I want you to know I ’preciate everything you’ve done for me. Regardless of what happens, I owe you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, for real. Nothing! I mean that shit. You went beyond the call of duty to help me, and that’s real. I owe you.”

“Just doing my job.” She smiled on the outside, but inside his comments let her know that what she was doing was not in vain.

Yarni made her way over to Sister Robin’s house as Des had requested. On behalf of Des and the church, she held a get-well gift basket, and she waited impatiently for Robin to answer the door. Someone called, “It’s open,” and Yarni went in. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw what was behind the door. It was “Sister” Robin wearing a red negligee with red stockings, lying seductively on the couch, grinning wickedly. She looked into Yarni’s eyes and jumped up, trying to cover herself.

“Uhhh,” Robin stuttered, embarrassment all over face.

“‘Uhhh’ is right,” Yarni said, placing the gift basket on the coffee table. “Surprise, baby. You weren’t expecting me, huh?” Yarni moved in closer, looking Robin up and down. “You were expecting my husband, huh?” Tears filled Robin’s eyes as Yarni got up in her face. She tried to cover herself, but her outfit was so skimpy there was no point. Yarni laughed at the attempt.

“I’m sorry,” Robin said.

Yarni shook her head. “No, you’re not. You’re just sorry you got caught.” She circled Robin, inspecting her seduction outfit a little more closely.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Robin said. “I promise you it will never happen again.”

“Naw, baby, I ain’t gon’ whip your half-naked behind. I’m a woman of God. I trust I won’t be seeing you at church anymore. You need to find you another place of worship and repent for your sins. Trust me, if I see you up in my husband’s church again, the next time you’ll be in there, it’ll be for your funeral.”

She turned around to leave, then quickly swung back around, scaring Robin. “Oh, you won’t be needing this.” She snatched the basket off the table and left.

As she got to her car, she sat there for a minute, trying to get herself together. Why did this mess have to happen today of all days—when she was about to try the biggest case of her life? She took a deep breath and focused on the trial ahead of her before praying for God’s angels to surround and protect her as well as guide her during the trial. Finally, she prayed for Desi and for Des, that God would protect him, whatever he was doing. “Lord give me the strength! Watch over my family and my friends, and give me the actions and words to win this case.”

Once she had pulled herself together, she gave Des a call, knowing that hearing his voice before the trial would help her to focus. She was disappointed when she got his voice mail.

She was mentally rehearsing her opening statement when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and groaned. She did not need to talk to her mother-in-law right then. When Joyce hung up and called right back, Yarni picked up, fearing that something was wrong.

“Hello?” Yarni said.

“Am I still supposed to pick up the baby today?” Joyce asked, ignoring Yarni’s greeting.

“Yes, Joyce,” Yarni said, rolling her eyes.

“I still can’t believe you put that baby in day care. There’s no reason for her to be there. I told you I could take care of her,” Joyce fussed.

“I know you could. Look, Joyce, we appreciate all you’ve done for Desi, but she’s getting older, and she needs to start interacting with other kids more. It’s not like she’s there every day. You still get to keep her two days a week, and if you’d like you can see her during the weekends, too,” Yarni said, trying to be reasonable despite hating the thought of having to see her mother-in-law any more than she already did.

“But there are seven days in a week. That means the people at the day care center are seeing her as much as her own family. That’s not right. You don’t know what kind of nonsense those people are putting into that baby’s head.”

“Joyce, Desi is fine. This center has a really good reputation. It’s the top one in the city. We’re lucky we were even able to get Desi in. It normally takes people six months to a year just to get their children in.”

“Whatever,” Joyce said. “So should I get her at four?”

“That’s fine,” Yarni said. “Look, I’m pulling up to my office, so I’ll talk to you later. Thanks again.” She hung up before Joyce could answer.

Before going to court Yarni went to her office to change into another suit and was greeted by a stack of phone messages. Layla was out sick, so she decided to ignore them and was just about to head into her office when the phone rang. She sighed and answered it, since Unique, who was helping out at the office since she arrived, had stepped away from her desk.

“Good afternoon,” she said.

“Good afternoon to you, Yarni,” a slick voice replied.

Yarni felt her skin crawl. “Why are you calling me?” she said.

“Why, I just wanted to wish you luck on your case. You’re going to need it,” Marvin Sledge said, and chuckled.

Yarni smiled to herself. Had the man even gone to his office? Didn’t he notice that a large number of his files were missing, thanks to Bambi’s contact?

“Oh, I’m going to win,” she said confidently.

Sledge laughed. “If you say so. Why don’t we get together afterward, no matter what the outcome of the case, and celebrate?”

Yarni pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it. The man really was crazy. She decided she had given him enough of her time and hung up without responding. She whispered a small prayer, asking God not to allow Sledge to ruin her day, then headed to her office to change. She was greeted by a huge arrangement of sunflowers, her favorite. God surely answers prayers, she thought. Of course the flowers were from Des. Yarni didn’t know if it was the sight of the sunny-looking flowers or the card that put her into an extra-good mood, which she needed after talking to Joyce. The card read:

Everything important to me begins with you.

In any state and in any state of mind,

You’re my first lady!

Loving you for life,

Des

That alone melted her heart and gave her an extra boost of confidence. She changed and headed over to the courtroom, where she kicked some ass; an award-winning actress could not have put on a better performance. She was so savvy; she looked like the black female version of Johnny Cochran as she nailed the case in cross-examination.

She paced the courtroom in her Ellen Tracy suit and Jimmy Choo pumps as she spoke to the prosecution’s eyewitness. “Mr. Smith, you testified that on the night of the crime you were there on the street at about ten
P.M.
Is that correct?”

“Yeah.”

Yarni nodded and continued as she moved back and forth in front of the jury. “And you further stated that you were across the street from where you saw Mr. Johnson commit these crimes that he’s being tried for today. Is that also correct?”

Again, he replied, “Yeah.” He slouched down in his seat, looking bored.

Yarni leaned in and asked, “About how far were you from where you claim you saw these crimes committed? Was it as far as the back of the courtroom, which is probably a hundred yards?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Mr. Smith, isn’t it true that normally you wear glasses, which, for the record, you are not wearing today?”

“Yeah, but I broke my glasses a while back.”

Yarni pressed. “On the night of the alleged crimes, you didn’t have your glasses on, did you, Mr. Smith?” She then put up a finger and said to him in a firm tone, “Remember, you are under oath, and perjury is punishable as a felony.”